mardi gras.....

it's funny to scroll through facebook and see who all is married, who all has kids. i can't believe this-my husband will be 30 next year.
am i that old?
it is also a bit amusing to go through it to see who all i remember from my days in clinton, etc. who all my husband has a history with....
i'm also trying to be hip and work on my "myspace" page but i just can't do it. it's too juvenile to me.
so valentine's day is upcoming. i've never had an exceptional vday. it's highly overrated. what does it mean exactly? tell someone you love them? you should do that every day!
i can remember a valentine's day dance when i was in 7th grade at my friend's house. i was wearing a denim shirt. have i said enough yet?
oh and i had a plaid skirt on.
oh my word.
andy has been out of town for a few days now, and i've been home bored. kate was really fun today. i think the highlight of today was seeing lane shaw, a lagniappe church member, get her new home. lane is about 60 yrs old, uses a cane and seeing eye dog, and lost her home in katrina. today she was brought a new house from texas. i was there to see it arrive, and i rejoiced with her to finally have a home. katrina stole her home and now she has something she can call home! that is big news, people.
kate is getting a tutu for valentines day. that highly overrated holiday gave me an excuse to get her a present, which i don't do often, so a tutu is on its way from ebay land. it's purple and sparkly.
i want to go somewhere tropical soon. yes, i live at the beach, but remember-i live at the hurricane destroyed beach. i don't know how to make this work but i'm hoping.
ok so i'm new to the area, and there is this big thing here called mardi gras. that is a national holiday here. schools close, work closes.
i went to new orleans 2 weeks ago, pre mardi gras, and it was still happening. it was fun, but i can't imagine it at mardi gras. maybe i'm too old, maybe i'm not rock star enough to do it mardi gras. people here don't take down their christmas trees; they leave them up, take down the xmas decor and put up mardi gras decorations.
had no idea. it's fun, really. so apparently you are supposed to go some parades. i'm holding out for the ever so innocent bay st louis parade sunday afternoon. i can't hang with the nola parades. however, i love new orleans any other time of year. i love its mystery, its intrigue, but i hate the smell. if i lived there, i'd do nothing but have fun. i love the cat's meow (karaoke), famous red door, pat o's piano bar, but i hate the court of two sisters. too overrated. had my first hand grenade, pretty tasty.
so we do have a king cake, we have some mardi gras beads, and that's about it. party on.

why i can't

this is the reason why i miss all of your weddings, your parties, your weekends away, your meetings, your bible studies, your committee membership drives, your shopping days out. this is why i can't answer the phone when you call, why you have to leave a message. this is why i can't go grocery shopping when i want to, why i can't take a nap when i want to, why i can't make plans to go on vacation when i want to. she's why i can't watch tv when she wants to watch the wiggles, she's why i can't eat lunch when i want to because she wants to play, she's why i can't dress cute each day because she will inevitably spill on me, spit on me, snot on me, or poop on me.
she's why i can't decorate my house as cute as i'd like because she'll rip it up, break it, tear it to shreds. she'll cry when i'm on the phone, she'll talk back to me when i'm worshipping her, she'll cry when i'm laughing.
she'll scream when i'm driving, cause me to turn off my favorite music for some nursery rhymes, read a book to her when i want to read my OWN book, find her blankie when i want to find my own place, fix her a "sipper cup" when i want to have a glass of wine.
she's why i promptly wake up at the same time each day to decide what exactly we will do all day, she's why i grocery shop for cheap diapers, why i call for our chart number at the pediatrician. she's why i'm concerned with which car the car seat is currently parked in, why i'm concerned with who is doing nursery on sundays, why i'm worried if her day care teacher is taking a day off.
she's the one who dictates whether or not i wear makeup-are we going out, or does kate want to stay in all day? are we going to make it through the wait at the post office, or should i save that for another day? can we go to the mardi gras parade by ourselves this weekend, or should we take someone with us?
those of you with 2+ children, disregard this post. i am by no means a champion mom. i am still a rookie, still new. still wondering what to do.
those of you with 2+ children, feel free to laugh. what will i do with another one?
God is so good. Look at her face. she's why i don't care what my day turns into. she's why i'm so happy. she's such a blessing; she's why I don't care that i don't wear makeup as much anymore. i don't dress up, i'm doing well to have hair washed and brushed.
she's why i love watching disney channel, she's why i love baby lotion and baby detergent. i love folding baby clothes.
she's why i love cleaning the high chair, she's why i love tossing out the diapers. she's why i don't even mind the diapers!
she's why i love weight gain, she's why i love not having my own identity anymore. she's why i love tickling, love closeness.
she's why i love shopping for bargains and not being able to go out as much as i want. i love having her, i love her, i love needing her, i love smelling her.
we have no babysitter here, we don't know one. we can't afford one. we have no family here. we have no one to offer advice, but for those in church. we have no one to grandparent her really, since we live so far away from all. we rely on our church family to hug on her, love on her.
we have no advice but for what we ask, what we study.
i love being a mom, come what may.

tori spelling

unfortunate for her, but good company for me, someone ELSE gained weight during their pregnancy!

good stuff

If you want to learn alot about your relationships, yourself, and your marriage, i suggest you listen to the sermon series from Jean Larroux about relationships.
Click here to get 7 Relationship issues Jimmy Buffett sang about....

life has slowed down a bit, which tends to happen when you get sick. last week i worked a lot for lagniappe, worked on my jewelry for Swanky Girl, and worked on my swanky blankies for Baby Swanky. I delivered them to the store but the owner was out and I haven't heard from her yet. I haven't taken my jewelry by the other store because i've been sick in bed all week. my third cold since jan 1.
my new thrill is poker. texas hold em is quite fun. i like it on tv, online, and in the flesh-no money exchanging of course. just chips.
andy is going to louisville tomorrow, and i'm staying home with tater. i don't feel like packing the 2 tons it takes to go somewhere with her.
rosie had her first bath in about 1 year yesterday. we took her to dazzling dogs and it was amazing. i didn't even recognize her when she returned.
andy has been pulling double duty, or acting very responsible, by taking care of kate (taking her to daycare) all week for me so i could rest. it was a large task to get her dressed, loaded, fed, make sure she has all she needs, as well as getting himself ready. he said, "i didn't even have time to poop." haha. now he sees what i do almost every day!
we've been watching "Man camp" on dr phil each day. well he watched a few minutes of it. dr phil told the wives to trash the house. they threw food everywhere, messed up every room. the women left and the 3 husbands had to clean it up by themselves. it was funny to watch, and one guy even refused to do it because "he didn't make the mess." BOY howdy. if i only cleaned up my own mess each day, i'd be done in 4 minutes. but that's not what it's about. it's about working together to make sure it gets done no matter who does it.
kate has been busy today with her pull toys, pulling them around the house. she's sleeping now. she can now say "thank you." but she doesn't know what it means.
there is a mardi gras parade here in the bay on saturday. i guess i'll go check it out but i don't know who to go with. also is second saturday, where all the stores have open house/live music. it's fun. maybe tater will go stroll around with me.