Catching Up

Hi. I am a slacker, I know. It's been awhile. What have I been doing you ask? I don't know, I really don't know. But sitting down and editing photos and writing doesn't seem to be fitting into that schedule and truly, I miss it.  

So here I am with a family update. Nothing special, just trying to catch up and then I am going to make a better effort to take time out for me to write our life down because I need to have something for me, right? And this blog is my thing, my creative outlet, something to do for myself. 

So, first thing is first. We survived Isaac. 

And looking back, our 24 hours without power was really wonderful. We had the windows open, the breeze was cool, the kids played and played and played and we ate and played and watched the storm. We were headed out in the morning to try to find some ice for our food when the power came back. Perfect.

George and I caught up on some checkers and cards and he was reminded of just how competitive I am (bad trait, bad). Everyone slept wonderful without power and overall it was just peaceful, minus the deep hum of allllll of the neighbors' generators. We spotted someone across the lake with candles lit but other than that we might be the only generator-less family in the hood. And that is all right with me. 

Our clean up crew and Elsa in her favorite jersey (??).

Jude is a new boy now that he can walk. No more babies over here and oh, it feels so nice. His new favorite hang outs are on Elsa's bed, in one of our empty cabinets (because this house is a hoarders paradise, storage galore over here), on top of anything he can climb on, in the mix of whatever his sisters are doing, or anywhere someone has food. 

This kid will eat anything as long as you are eating it but the moment you set him in his high chair and feed it to him with a spoon or cut it up nicely for him, its over. He might take two to three bits and he's done. So he grazes and thats okay with us. Remember when Elsa did the same?

He now gives the best kisses. He leans in, bottom lip out and gives a full on muah too. Its the best. I live for them. And he has learned to growl. 

Playing outside with him is such a joy now that I don't have to worry about his poor knees on the cement. He is busy in everything and playing, just playing. It is so nice to have my arms free again.

His first walk around the house. 

Other major happenings, Nyah and Elsa are now taking showers. Not a big deal, I know but up until this point all three of them have been taking a bath, together. And yeah, they don't fit, and Nyah is old so in the shower they went and it is so much easier, and quicker, and Elsa especially loves the shower. She giggles the entire time. Why didn't we make the switch sooner?

Nyah still wakes up excited for school every morning, though has started taking her lunch. Beefy taco melt just wasn't her thing and I can't really blame her. 

I finally broke down and emailed her teacher, just to check in on how she is doing. I am so proud of myself for waiting so long. Kindergarten is so impersonal. Nyah gets out of the car in the morning and gets back in the afternoon and what goes on in between is a mystery. From what I can gather, they play and read stories and thats about it. 

And Elsa is still running things. She asked Nyah today when she was not accepting no for an answer, "Who's the boss, Nyah?" 

Yeah, Elsa. Handle it. 

She wills start at the Montessori school Nyah went to in January. She is just so aware, so wise, she would be fine in school now but I am enjoying these long days her. 

"I do myself!" is her favorite phrase lately. And she does do it herself. Cleaning, dressing herself and changing outfits five times a day, cooking, dragging a chair across the house to reach her light switch. Just watch out, she has it under control.

So thats it. Thanks for checking in.

Crawfish Season

Its crawfish season and we are quickly learning that is a really good thing. 

This little girl is even a fan.

Pop stopped in the other day for a quick visit. Since we had an extra pair of hands on deck we felt brave and decided to venture out and enjoy a meal outside of the home. Sammy's is our spot. A restaurant we take our family to for local flavors and Southern charm and its just loud enough for us to almost blend in.

Eating out is something we just don't do since we became a family of five. It's way too exhausting.  

But we took turns holding babies and peeling crawfish and ended up having a wonderful evening out with minimal damage to the restaurant. All in the name of hot, boiled crawfish.

Mardi Gras

More than a week since my last post, feels like an eternity. We have been relishing in the spirit of the Mardi Gras festivities down here. And before I start, I have to admit that I had absolutely no prior knowledge of anything Mardi Gras. Never been, never even had a desire to go, but here we are. So if this post seems basic in knowledge thats because it is. We have so much to learn.


So little did I know that Mardi Gras really takes up most of the month of February and there are actually Mardi Gras parades taking place the entire month all over the state. Big parades, little parades, wild parades. 


Another gem of the season, King Cakes, which began showing up in stores on Three Kings Day and stay until Fat Tuesday. Nyah taught me all about this sweet indulgence as they have been enjoying King Cake at school all month. I finally did my research so I wasn't a bit phased when she pulled a collection of plastic babies from her pocket on her last day of school before her vacation. Vacation? Yes, Mardi Gras is a state holiday. Here is what she looked like when I picked her up from school on Friday.

Read here to learn more about the King Cake tradition. All I know is its dough drizzled with sweet icing and who doesn't like that? 


When we asked neighbors and anyone and everyone else where to go and what to do for Mardi Gras the first thing everyone would say was, "DON'T TAKE THE KIDS TO NEW ORLEANS (what ever you do)." I was just guessing to avoid all that encompassed the reputation of Mardi Gras? 


So what did we do Sunday? Took the family to New Orleans for the Bacchus parade, of course. We had to see what it was all about. And mind you, we are no newbies to parades. St. Croix's parades and St. Thomas's Carnival are wildly wonderful. No one in the islands seems to be the least bit shy about their love of celebrations. 


So we arrived in New Orleans. The crowds were massive and we did our thing, worked our way to the front, and tried not to get taken out by the beads being thrown. Turns out the people on the floats love kids so the girls got more than their fare share of beads. George lovingly caught and adorned the girls with all the beads they could ever imagine. 

If there was lude behavior going on, or nudity, we were oblivious. We stayed and danced and celebrated until just after 8 pm when we quickly made our exit. Overall, it was a great time and something we will absolutely do again. Our island babies were right in the mix. They loved every minute.

And I can't end this post without including a photo of the waste. Plastic beads seem to loose their luster after a few minutes and end up on the ground and that makes a whole lot of garbage. I think its all in the chase with the bead business.

So we have officially checked Mardi Gras off our life list, though I must admit, I am still partial to Carnival. The costumes are what its about for me.


Happy Lent!

The Backyard

Though the color of the water in their lives has changed a bit, it still seems to have the same appeal. 

Water has such a way of drawing them in. Today, to do some "fishing". 

This is the body of water behind our house and up until this point, we had not let them get down and dirty in it yet. There is a steep incline heading to the water where they have the opportunity to build some speed. I have such fear that one might run straight in since we don't have a fence up to prevent this, yet.  (And now you know what I think about at night when the lights go out.)

But yesterday after they had had their share of picking flowers weeds to give each other and me, chasing each other, and squinting into the sun, I finally gave in. The worst that could happen is that one would go in and I would just have to stand up and go in after them. Big deal. 

How could an island momma have a fear of the water for her children you ask? Well, I don't know. It happens. Maybe because they aren't strong swimmers and I usually don't have all hands on deck since Jude has staked claim to them, and since the water is now in our backyard. Who knows? But this reminds me that I must get around to scheduling those swim lessons. For my sanity.


But I am so glad I dropped my fears for that moment because they had so much fun being kids. Must check myself more often. 

The Chase

There are the funniest little bugs flying around here in Louisiana. They come out after a good rain, fly low to the ground, and look like a big, slow, lanky mosquito. And trust me, I know my mosquitoes. But the best part is, they don't bite. I am sure these bugs have a name and I should look that up, but I won't.


Nyah has been into bugs lately. Not into them as some, but into watching them from a distance and making characters out of them. This morning as I was walking inside, she was low to the ground looking at something and said, "Wait! You're going to step on my prisoner!" She had found an ant.


So, as we were enjoying the warm afternoon yesterday, Ny found one of the mosquito like bugs and began following him, but only mustered the courage to touch him with a stick. 


Finally, Elsa caught on to what Nyah was doing, walked over, grabbed the bug, examined it and in just a split second realized her power. She quickly looked at her sister, held the bug out and began chasing a screaming Nyah around the drive way, while George and I looked on laughing. 


And this, in a way, sums up the drastic difference in personality of these two sisters. Both so uniquely, both so wonderful. 

*And for the record, George and I aren't really that cruel. Nyah soon realized the humor in the situation and joined in our laughter, without loosing much speed.

Play

A few days ago I reorganized and changed up the kids play area a bit. As you know, their "playroom" is in what is supposed to be our dining room but the space works much better as a playroom, for now. Honestly, they just bring whatever is occupying them for the moment to play with next to us anyway, so we're just going with the flow. 

I also find they look at books so much more when the books are placed out in the hub of our family hangout space. And I am happy anytime my kids have a book in hand. Because who really wants to have to retreat the isolation of a bedroom to take in a few books? (Me, me!)

So after the change up, they woke up and got right to playing with such Christmas morning vigor. Giving such concentration to things that have been around forever. I guess the change in location, different groupings, or the discovery of that missing piece somehow made their things shiny and new again. 

For us, an organized play area is key. Because from watching these little ones day in and day out, it seems to me that play and learning are one and the same. I want to provide them with a clutter free learning environment so they can play, and thus learn, to their fullest potential.

I couldn't help but snap these photos, so early in the morning (one still with no clothes), as they were so intensely playing, because it was really one of the first moments all three of them were fully engaged in play together. They were doing it peacefully without mauling one sibling, which usually happens to poor Jude, or finding the others toy the absolute best thing ever invented, must have it right now or I will loose all control and act completely uncivilized.

They were each doing their own thing, deep in their own thoughts. Though this only lasted a few moments, I hope there will be many more mornings like this to come with these three. Because how awesome would it be to have two other siblings, so close in age, to navigate and discover this world with? 

Must rearrange and reorganize more often (and find a more gender neutral rug).

Soaking It Up

It warmed up over the weekend so we headed out to take advantage and soak up as much vitamin D as possible. 

And at our house, I guess that means pants and shirts must come off.

Ah, freedom.

N'awlins

Family is gone. The holiday that I wish would never end is over. Actually, we still have Pop and my sister here so we don't really have to get back to reality until the end of the week. 

Before everyone left we made a trip to New Orleans to check things out. There is just so much to see and eat there, I feel like we have hardly scratched the surface. 

This was our third day trip to New Orleans. Two of our trips we have been rained on, and one of the trips I found my self on Bourbon Street, at night, with my stroller. Not a good look. There aren't enough ear muffs in the world to protect my children's ears from the craziness that dwells there. 

So although some of us did get rained on this go around, we only made a quick appearance on Bourbon Street, in the afternoon, so only minimal debauchery was witnessed. So overall I would call it a successful trip. 

We are finally getting to know our way around the French Quarter so we can be better tour guides when guests visit. 

Nyah now knows New Orleans is a place she likes and asked if she could take her Aunt Nikki there tomorrow. And yes, she is still rocking the costumes. 

Though I may grumble about living in Louisiana from time to time, it is wonderful to watch my children explore and new place and culture, take it in and enjoy it. Because New Orleans has a lot of it all.

I on the other hand just want to see Brad Pitt's house, but don't tell anyone. 

So though the bulk of the family was gone, I truly cherished every moment with them, every indulgent meal, drink, each day I blew off the gym. And thats what its all about.

Priorities

Hot chocolate with marshmallows. One of the many perks of living in a place where the temperature drops below seventy degrees. 

And also the thing she confessed to her teacher she was most thankful for in life, just above puzzles, playing with her sister, and Mommy fixing her hair. 


I'm just relieved I made the list. Rupunzel's mommy has been redeemed.