friends

my 2 buds and i went out for a fun night in new orleans last saturday. good times.

bay st louis

this is a view of the cute bay front houses that i took from our ferry ride-the houses are so beautiful! (they are new.)

my latest masterpiece

almost. this was the dinner i cooked for kelly stephens and myself last friday night. "ultimate chicken tenders" recipe found on the back of the bisquick box-delicious. even andy loved them. also made susan's macaroni salad, which was great, and a homemade broccoli and rice casserole. note to self: you must cook the broccoli first. it tasted terrible. oh and the never fail texas cheese toast.

this is the easter chick in question that kate killed. (it's not real.) it was with us about 48 hours before she poured water on him and he drowned. rest in peace, little chick.

today was better than anticipated. i think that's because so many people are praying for me. i had fun with kate, she had 2 naps (something she hasn't done in months), and i even felt good about taking her to the beach. she had a great time, and her dad and i took her and she had a fab time. there was some crying, but that is to be expected. we had a great time there with the underwoods and the sabins, our 2 good friend couples.
brought K home and she was ready for bath/bed. so sweet. she took her medicine and was a good girl.
thank you Jesus for a fun day! i did take her to K Mart to get 2 new toys-a doll buggy (baby stroller) for little baby toys, which she loves to push, as well as a grocery cart, which she hasn't taken interest in yet. the doll buggy wins over the cart. it is handy, because she can put her blankie in the buggy and push it around. she even put her popsicle in it and pushed it around.
sigh. what a fun girl.

thanks for praying

i sent a prayer email for k last night for all the folks that signed up to pray through lagniappe, and a few folks wrote back. this, by far, was the best response:

Cammie, Our daughter, Becky, is a research chemist (PHD in Toxicology). I sent a note and asked her about Kate, and this is her reply this morning.

Maybe it will help set your mind at ease.

Love, Barbara

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 7:58 AM
To: Barbara Hardman
Subject: Re: Note from Mom

Hey Mom...yep, i'm finally back from all this traveling...whew!...glad to be home! (We did actually have some pretty good tex-mex while we were there).

Anyway...it sounds like poor little Kate is having a tough time of it!...and her Mom and Dad too taking care of her through all of this...it's especially hard with really young children because they are generally much more susceptible to infections than adults or older kids.

The "Hand and Mouth" disease is also referred to as Hand, Foot and Mouth...mostly because that's where the rash from the infection appears. Kids and elderly are more prone to show the symptoms, but anyone can be infected (and therefore carry the virus and spread it...even some kids can be infected without showing the signs). It is not the same as the Hoof and Mouth disease found in cattle and horses, although apparently the virus is in the same family. All of the things that Kate was diagnosed with are definitely uncomfortable, but shouldn't really be major problems...the only thing to watch for is that she doesn't get too dehydrated...and keep her as comfortable as possible while these things run their course. The mold shouldn't affect this directly, but may aggravate some of her respiratory problems (especially with the cold).

We are still working out our schedule, but definitely plan to have more "Cabin Time" this year than we did last!

Gotta run and get ready for work...will touch base later...take care...

Love, Becky

On Apr 25, 2007, at 11:13 PM, Barbara Hardman wrote:

Hi Becky, Guess you are back from Texas - how was the Tex-Mex food??

This E-mail is from Bay St. Louis – a young family who went there to help is having a lot of health problems. Can you shed any light on this – especially the Hand and Mouth.

Anyway, they are a great couple and the Mom, Cammie, talked with Dad a lot and set up our schedule, arrangements when our team went down.

Remember, Camp is waiting!! Love, Mom

it really made me feel like someone cares about me the way that i came to care for the hurricane victims-that people that don't even know you would want to help you.
k seems to be doing okay-1 Popsicle so far today, and 1 nap already (it's only 1230 pm).
i made a "play pallet" for her, with a bunch of blankies and threw some toys on it, and she's rolling around on it.

neigh

today brought me back to the times when i had a newborn, no one to help me, (i.e. i sat at home by myself with this new person every day), and no clue what i was doing. i can say that today i was reminded of those days in louisville. i woke up, and decided to keep K at home. i can do this. i'm a great mom. (k sometimes goes to play at daycare, sometimes stays home.) 7:37 am K is screaming, and nope, i'm not quite ready to wake up. i put on a dvd for her, gave her a sippy cup, changed her, and wandered back to my bed. don't worry folks, my house is very childproofed so i didn't really worry that she would hurt herself. plus, i wasn't really going to sleep, just to rest. well she decided she wanted to come scream at me for not getting out of bed, so there was nothing restful about it. she wanted me to get out of bed and hold her and play with her. so i did make my way to the couch, and that seemed to be better for her. she'd bring me a book, want me to read it to her, communicate with me in her foreign language, and then move on to something else. at about 1030, 2 hours early, she was ready for "night night". so i gave her some tylenol and put her to bed. and then....ah...i went back to bed. mmmm good sleep except for nightmares. noon we were both awake and ready to do something fun. we went to mcdonalds, just to get out of the house, and she did eat some french fries. (she hasn't been eating for a day or 2.) we played until it was time to go to the doctor, and man did she play. she was rolling on the floor, dancing, running. she had a great time. i was able to work on the computer and it was a win win.
now the doctor was not so fun. of course, we had to wait over an hour. how do you make a sick kid wait for that long? i tried to give kate a sucker, but the nurses got mad at me for doing that. "The doctor can't examine her well because she now has sugar on her throat." Shoot. So i took the sucker away from her, well that was not a good idea. Pitched a fit. on the floor kicking and screaming. i tried giving her a sticker, but who cares about a sticker when you just had a sucker ripped out of your hand? after about 1 minute i had to give the sucker back because we were locked in a tiny doctor's room waiting. i couldn't take it. she threw it on the ground and didn't want it, so i threw it in the trash! FINALLY the doctor came after several fits, throwing the pacifier on the ground in anger, hitting me. She sat so still while he was examining her.
Diagnosis: Hand and Mouth disease, which sounds worse than it is. i had a long talk with the doctor about it, and he said she just picked it up from daycare and that it's only contagious among little kids. (isn't this something horses get? did she get this from some random horse that is wandering around bay st louis?)
Diagnosis II: Rotavirus. I have never heard of this pre daycare, but apparently it's something that is contagious (andy and i have had it twice, as well as kate. she still has it.) it sucks.
Diagnosis III: Cold. Nasty and it comes and goes as she goes in and out of school. She has a nasty runny nose and a deep cough.
Diagnosis IV: Continual Ear infection. This is number 3 for the spring. I hope this round of antibiotics works.
Poor bear. She was so fussy all day, and went to sleep at 5:55 pm. Very tired and worn out. Doctor prescribed augmentin, tylenol, and popsicles. I think i can handle those.
God give me strength for tomorrow!
Prognosis: We will all live through this. So that's good.

the turtle and the doctor

we had a weekend. just like everyone else had a weekend, but we had one too. i got sunburned on the beach, had a great time, but i had too much sun. sunday i was so embarassed by my "coon eyes" that i stayed in bed. sunburn wears you out, ya know.
kate played for 2 hours at the beach, though, and her smart mama made sure she had on sunscreen. mommy forgot it for her own face.
but it was really fun!
monday i went in to work, worked on the house, and i mean WORKED. i mopped, disinfected, lysoled, scrubbed, bleached, got rid of all the germs.
andy had fun with ryan so i had the house to myself to clean.
today regular tuesday-kate to school by 8 am, staff meeting. all morning. i love staff meetings. andy went out of town to louisville, and i think he's doing well. spent the afternoon doing errands. (read: walmart, assorted stores, etc.) picked kate up, and her nose was gross. snotty. i stayed in her classroom for 30 minutes, just chatting with her teacher. i'm so glad that my work was able to help her get back in her house-my friends at work sheetrocked her house, and now she's even eligable for a grant, and i hope she gets it. she can get all new appliances and floors. that is so important to me-she's the first person i "know" that needs help here. i hope we can help her even more. she has 2 kids under 3 and they are still in and out of their fema trailer.
anyway, took kate to the park, and we had fun. she can do the slide with almost no assistance!
took her home, and ryan was here. he's our friend, who just moved to the bay to work at Lagniappe, and he's sick. so he's here watching tv and trying to feel better. kate entertained him a bit, then we went through the ever painful bathtime-she still doesn't like having her body cleaned. off to bed for "book-ahs", "nu-nu" (pacifier), "Cup" (sippy cup) and "nigh nigh". she loves her routine.
we found a turtle on the way home from school. i saw it, pulled over, backed up, picked it up. showed it to her when we got home, she bit it. he stayed in his shell for about 30 minutes. i need to go check on him now but i bet he's long gone. but he's ever changed from his bite from kate. he was a small turtle, but he had no life with us-he's better off down the road. he was very timid. something that kate is not.
kate got a bad report at school today- they said she was very aggressive, angry, scratchy, hitting, biting. what can i do about it? these are things she picks up at school!
but she does have a doctor's appt tomorrow for the snot, the coughing-i think that is what is causing the aggression.
i'm SO TIRED of taking her to the doctor, but i don't know what else to do. i think the mold is causing her to not get well, so i am praying that we can get rid of the mold within the next week or 2.
God help us here! We need it!

sin is like hair on your white tile bathroom floor. you clean up, it's there. bugging you. sitting there. clean it up, there's still more. under the furniture, keep it hidden, and it gets bigger. there is nothing to get rid of it.
thank goodness i can realize this. i don't have to conquer it, because i never will.
thank goodness Someone else did!

i love that chubby arm and those chubby cheeks. kate is so talented-she is now blowing kisses, talking up a storm, brushing her teeth.
what a great age-19 months. the challenge is that she now wants to be the boss. if the sucker is too sticky, she pitches a fit. if the wagon won't roll the right way, fit. if the stroller bounces too much, fit. blankie not in sight? fit.
this must be the pre cursor to terrible twos. but she's still pretty sweet and good.
still totes her sippy cup, blankie, and pacifier around. she's a very routine little girl. (definitely my child.)
cares nothing for fashion, or clothing for that matter.
she's a baby doll!

RIP

Rest in peace, little chick. we got a toy little peeping easter chick as a gift, and it peeps when you put in in the palm of your hand. apparently when i was sick in bed today, kate threw the chick in the way of the kentwood water cooler, turned on the water faucet, ran fresh water all over the kitchen floor, let rosie the labrador retriever stomp around in it, let them throw the chick in the water, deactivating the "peep" noise the chick makes.
time passes...
as i open the back door later tonight to check on rosie, i hear "cheep cheep cheep".....andy lets me in on what happened. kate ruined the peep in the water, so andy threw the chick out the back door to make sure he couldn't hear the constant cheep cheep cheep. so now when i open the back door, i hear CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP.
i am saddened at our loss of a toy. i am sad that the toy is on the back porch calling for help....cheap cheap cheap. it's like it needs to be rescued. but alas, i can do nothing.
will the chick be dead in the morning? i hope i am not the first on the scene.

how i feel

"Listen" by W.A. Merwin, printed from "Travelling Mercies" by Anne LaMott, Anchor Books, a Division of Random House.

with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridge to bow from the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water looking out
in different directions

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging
after funerals we are saying thank you
after the news of the dead
whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you
in a culture up to its chin in shame
living in the stench it has chosen we are saying thank you

over telephones we are saying thank you
in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators
remembering wars and the police at the back door
and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you
in the banks that use us we are saying thank you
with the crooks in office with the rich and fashionable
unchanged we go on saying thank you thank you

with the animals dying around us
our lost feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us like the earth
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
we are saying thank you and waving
dark though it is"

since easter, we have been battling lots of stuff. mainly sickness. the day after easter, i went to my trusty family doctor, and he prescribed new meds for me, and scheduled me for a CT of my sinuses, and wanted to move me to another doctor. this freaked me out, so i decided that we needed to have our house searched for mold, because i know this is the culprit that is keeping me sick.
this past monday, andy was feeling worse, and i was even worse, so we both went to the doctor. we both have strep throat.
long week short, the mold inspector came, we are positive for mold in the attic, which is circulating through the air ducts, had an A/C man come inspect, who had the solution, met with lawyers to see how this fit in with the home warranty issued by our contractor (which is still valid), and see where this leaves us, since we are now up to $1000 on medicine since february-with insurance. they encouraged us to do more research, have the building inspector from the city come, yada yada, etc. so the inspector came, did a poor job, called our trusty contractor, he yelled at andy. i was sick in bed and missed the whole thing. later that day, contractor's wife came by to help out, went in the attic with andy (this was 12 hours midway through my 24 hour virus, which started monday afternoon.) all i heard was vomit spewing. andy got sick in the attic, down the ladder, all over the hall......
and the mean contractor's wife got the mop and cleaned up. that is something. i don't know if it's love, or being moral and doing what is right, but it's something. i was thankful for the help since i was sick still. (and sinfully, secretly in my heart, i was hoping she might get sick too because of all the pain they have caused us. but i really really don't hope she gets it.)
so we were both sick in bed yesterday, thankful that kate had a good school to go to, that we could trust to take care of her and teach her things while we were both in different rooms, sleeping off and on. it was miserable.
we are over the virus now, but i still wasn't well enough to get out of bed today. strep throat still bitching at me. my ear hurting.
andy overslept so he couldn't take kate to school, so we (he) had a long day with her. andy and i both have been having cold sweats all day and night, so badly that he even has been showering daily, as opposed to his every-other-day rule. i have washed my sheets daily because it is so miserable. that's the first thing a sick person wants to do-laundry. gross.
enough complaining.
i just had to get it all out. our internet was down for several days, so i couldn't even blog! i would lie in bed, thinking of what i would be blogging if i had internet.
well you haven't missed out on anything fun going on around here, because it's been all yucky. right now i am watching american idol to see who is going home.
we are running 2 dehumidifiers, graciously loaned to us, so that we can reduce the humidity in our house, which will reduce the chance of us having to run the a/c too much. we also are running an ozone machine that is purifying the air, graciously loaned to us. i am so thankful for the kindness that people have extended to us in lending these items.
the ozone machine kills all the germs in the air, and even kills bad smells. it's awesome. i wish they had 3 of them at daycare. (at the end of the day you sure can smell poopy diapers.)
i haven't worn makeup in like 2 weeks now. that is a long time for me. being sick has made me even more depressed. maybe when i feel better physically i'll feel well enough to put some on, which will make me feel better too.
and my hair is at the point that i know you all know about. too long to be short, too short to be long, don't know what to do with it. do i need new color? new cut? ahhh i just need something.
i feel so unsatisfied. but my mantra for the past few days, while thinking of how unsatisfied i am, is how unsatisfying the world is. money, looks, beauty, weight, food, clothes, children, husbands-none of these things will ever fully satisfy. only Jesus. i'm glad i know that-i just need to believe it.
i had a learning moment last week, when i was well enough to go to Bible study, and we were talking about our lives, and i was so mad about the mold in my attic, but i said, "Well, if i didn't have this situation, i wouldn't have this realization." My realization: We can clean the surface, look beautiful, have our house put together, but if we have mold deep behind the layers, nothing we can do will fix the mold unless we get to the root of the problem. That problem is sin. We have to let Jesus fix it, and rely on Him for everything, not using our abilities to clean the surface and make things right. I'm thankful for learning this, even if it took 2 months being sick to learn this. I am crappy on the inside, and no amount of cleaning i do will ever get rid of it. only Jesus makes it clean.
yes i'm waxing spiritual tonight but it's been so long since i've blogged!
my favorite new show is "Notes from the Underbelly" on ABC. it is about new parents, and it is exactly what andy and i were going through just 2 years ago. it is hilarious! you should watch.
thank God, Sanjayah just got kicked off american idol. he is crying, but i know he'll be in the news for a while. chin up, young person.
things i need to do: clean the sand out of my car, search for lost sippy cups (they will smell bad, i know it) , call my friend in London, think of something to dream about, clean the jets in my bathtub, get flea medicine for my dog, search for kate's pacifiers, pluck eyebrows, research dehumidiers.
and while i have been thinking about all these things in my life, i can't help but think of how sad the parents of the children that were murdered at V Tech are. i am so sad with them. i can't even watch the footage. it really put my life in perspective. God has a purpose for this and I am happy in His plan.
So tonight, after the whole virus thing, i finally got my selective appetite back, and i wanted something specific (i have pms too). I really wanted a caesar salad and eggplant with pasta from trapani's. andy wanted pizza. i gave in, we got pizza.

this is your best friend when you have the stomach virus. just to let you know my view for the past 24 hours. at least it's kinda cheery with yellow walls and lime green trash can! note the comet on the back there.

my stash

this has been my life for the past 2 weeks as i've been trying to get well soon.

i love this picture

is this picture scandalous? nope. we are still good tub buddies. it gets the job done happier and safer. i have a big jacuzzi tub and she could easily fall down, so i feel better if i'm watching her closely. and i don't get that much time to myself so i have to get a bath somehow. but yes, we do kiss on the lips.

this is a Bible verse i had taped in my kitchen that was sent to me by my friend when we were in 7th grade. i held onto it, and i have moved it now 8 times. 8 times! so a few months ago i put it on my cabinet, and out of the blue, my friend found me on facebook!
God is so good! but i'm still working on being slow to anger. you'd think after i had carried this verse around for 14 years i would know it.

this is a sign i painted in my kitchen. no one really abides by it but it would be nice.

this is my favorite plate. it's hanging in my kitchen. too bad i can't eat off of it, since it's decoration. it's french bull. designer is tepper jackson. she is my favorite designer!!!!!

i have strep throat and upper respiratory infection. and my internet is still down.
soli deo gloria.

Do I look 26? I don't feel it at all. I think I feel 23. I used to always look at girls and wonder how old they were-girls my age were much prettier and mature than i was, and now that i am 26, i don't think i look like it. maybe i look older, maybe younger, but i don't feel 26. that is an odd age. 21 is a fun one, 23 is a great one, because you are basically out of college and high on life, 25 is the mid-twenty something crowd, but what is 26? it's really nothing. most folks my age don't have a 2 year old. (she's 19 months.) that makes me more mature, right? plus i have a job, a home, a husband, so i'm pretty much 32! but i watch the bachelor, and the girls my age look nothing like me. but what they lack is security, family, and somewhat some direction. i'm so thankful that i don't have to compete for a husband, so thankful that i got a good one (i think i got the best) as well as that i already have a wonderful baby! i am so blessed.
so whether or not i look 26, it is what it is.

oh my word this is me when i was 23, fresh out of college and working on swanky girl designs purses. do i look 23?


this is me and my best bud helen clare when she got married in 2004. do i look 24?

and now me in 2005, a new mommy. am I really looking like a 25 year old?
well in that picture i don't really care because i was so happy to have a baby after all the hardship i went through being pregnant. i had a tough road to hoe with that girl and i'm so glad she is in my life. i don't really care that i am fat now, i don't care that she craved fast food and i had to have it or i would throw up when pregnant, i don't care that i now have red blotchy spots on my face thanks to pregnancy, i don't care about my scars and stretch marks. i realize that my young, 20 something friends that don't have children have no idea about these things, but this is my reality.
right now, the highlights of my life are : having a child that loves to sleep, being able to afford diapers, a quiet house after 7 pm, clean laundry, resting in Jesus.
i am past the point of being upset that friday nights i don't have a date on the town, that a great evening includes a bath and clean teeth. things change when you grow up, and my identity cannot be placed in what fun thing i do on the weekends, or what great outfit i have. now it's all about kate and andy, and making sure that they are okay. and i like it that way.this is a picture of me being 26, and i'm in my room in my parent's house. it's special because all my "stuff" is there. my yearbooks, my high school photos, my toys. behind me on the wall are some paintings my mom did when she was 15 and wanted to be a fashion designer-i love those paintings. i can't wait to put them in kate's room when she grows up. but right now, they belong in my bedroom at their house. in this photo, i was putting kate down for a nap at their house. i am reading her a bedtime story that my mom read to me, and it is so beautiful. i can remember reading the story to myself, and now i'm so thankful that i have that book to read for kate. at the last page, she says " night night" and that is amazing.
so no matter what i look like now, no matter that now my photos are family photos, and i now pay 4o bucks for easter pictures of my kid, i don't care. i love being 26, although i feel ahead of the game and behind the game at the same time.
i don't know what 26 looks like, but from here for me it looks just great.

not so happy easter

i can't say this was a fantastic easter. i was so sick with my allergies that i coughed all night long, and so much that andy didn't think i was well enough to make it to church, so he let me sleep in, and we all missed church! i don't think i've ever missed easter sunday church before. i was so disappointed. but i was too sick to really be upset. i ended up sleeping until 130 pm when andy woke me and said it was time to get ready to take him to the airport. so we got his suitcase packed. it was relatively easy since he could only take clothing and not shampoo, toiletries. how expensive it must be for him to have to go buy new ones in nebraska! that's frustrating.
so we went to our easter lunch at o charleys, where the food was not that special, but it was good to be together. (cracker barrel was crowded.) we then took him to the airport and then i took kate to the park. it was too cold, and the park was not geared for kids under 2, so it wasn't fun. we came home and played in the yard, and she got sleepy early, so we had bathtime. bathtime went well but ended not well-kate must have been very relaxed and she used the bathroom in the tub-and not in the kind of way that would easily wash down the drain. i got her out, dressed her, sang, read our "book-ahs" and she went right to bed at 630. i love putting her to bed-it is my favorite part of the day because she is so sweet and cuddly and loving and quiet.
now mommy had the task of figuring out how to clean this out. well first i tried to wash it down the drain. that did not work. that stopped it up. crap, i thought. (literally). i went to the internet to figure out what to do. "try baking soda and vinegar mixed together then flush with hot water" it said. i did that, no major breakthroughs. i tried scooping out, using a paper towel to pick it out, took all the toys and put them in the dishwasher, got my cleaning utensils out, tried unscrewing the drain, tried unscrewing the overflow valve, nothing worked. finally i used a metal coat hanger and fished in the drain, and it worked! i even fished out some mardi gras beads, and i think that is what was clogging the drain. i was so proud that i fixed it myself. then after that i was able to clean it quickly. i still don't have my appetite back but i am sure that will come soon.
so i am having an evening home with rosie, as kate is sleeping, and she is such a good sleeper. i am going to take her to school tomorrow so that she can play and have a fun day. i will do some work for lagniappe tomorrow, as well as prepare for the big lawsuit.
the big lawsuit-we are suing our contractor that built our house because he is such a liar and he never does anything in the contract, and it is truly a problem. there are things wrong with our house that need to be fixed, and he is supposed to do so, but never does. and when he does, he does a terrible job. so next friday i am meeting with our lawyer to discuss what we can do. i need to spend some time this week taking pictures so that i can have a good presentation for our case.
the easter bunny visited the chapman house here on the coast last night, and brought us some tasty peanut butter eggs, some books, guitar strings, stuffed animals, and i got a fleur de lis necklace. it's from a new orleans designer, and it was something i had designed in my head, and never found before, and then when i saw it, i was like, that's it! that's exactly what i would have designed! she is a really neat designer. she only has a handful of stores that carry her stuff, and bay st louis is lucky enough to have a store that carries her stuff. andy had been looking for a necklace with a fleur de lis on it for me for a while, and he told me about the store that carried them, so he went with me to check them out.
the weather has been great-i love it when it is around 65 degrees. too cold for the beach this weekend, but that's okay.
i'm hoping that i don't have to go to the doctor again this week, i hope my allergies will get better.
pizza hut opened here last week, so we tried it out last night. not bad. it's nice to see new restaurants open here. a sign of encouragement.
i am looking forward to listening to the sermon from today as soon as jean puts it online.
hope you had a hoppy easter!

and why does the easter bunny carry eggs? shouldn't he carry carrots?

easter photo

mom, why is the bunny running away?

Kate has been a handful these days. several tantrums per day is normal, but that is okay. we get through it. she is very cuddly, more than ever, and tonight she learned the word "egg". that was exciting-good timing. other new words are forthcoming, we are working on woof woof, meow, mouth, su su. (for friend susan). she is very good at "shoes."
andy is flying out tomorrow for omaha, nebraska for a business meeting, and he'll be back tuesday afternoon. that is exciting! i hope he has a good time. kate and i will be here holding down the fort.
i have been cleaning the house a lot, since rosie (bo bo) is shedding so much, but it's therapudic for me to do my routines/chores and accomplish my martha stewart things. andy has been busy, as he moved into a cute new office last week. it has great paint colors and nice open window views. in the back there is a new orleans style courtyard, and it is great for hanging out. he has renamed his company "Fox Web Company" and has a great new logo. i'll post his site when it's ready.
i haven't been creating jewelry or blankets or purses lately, but i miss doing so. maybe i'll come up with something soon.
i've been doing phone calls/emails each day for work, and that keeps me busy. kate had a cute little egg hunt at school last thursday, and it was so fun. not only did she get 2 spankings before and after the hunt, she went to bed early. she went to bed early tonight, too. i am not sure if she is feeling really well. at her checkup this week, we found out she had a sinus infection and still has an ear infection. she's been taking medicine all week but not willingly.
today we went to a lagniappe church wedding. it was nice. i had a fun time and the food was tasty. andy was the best man, and he did a great job. he also sang at the reception and i enjoyed it. kate had lots of fun going from person to person and had a great time.
i like this picture because i was so proud of her to see that she could climb on this rocking horse and ride it so fast! i was like, wow! she really does learn stuff at school! they taught her how to blow kisses, and i also learned that kate hits kids at school. the teacher said they all hit each other, so i guess it's nothing new.
but i spank her when she hits me! you can tell that she is doing it to hurt you, because she is mad. we are nipping that in the bud, as andy griffith says.
i am still wrestling allergies and a sinus infection, and it's driving me nuts. coughing and snot every day, and i don't know how to make it better. i'm on zyrtec, and just finished a z pack (great meds) so i hope it gets better soon.
american idol was okay this week, it's just kind of boring. i was sad that gina had to go home, i loved her. she was edgy and non conformist.
and yes, i did watch the premier of the bachelor this week. although deep in my heart i know that show is a joke, i am a hopeless romantic and i feel there are some validating qualities about the show. although i don't put that same pressure on my husband, i do wish for some romantic moments here and there-it was fun dating him and i'd like to have some more fun dates in the future.
our jobs are both so different and consuming that it's hard for us to find time to do so. also, with a young kid, with no babysitters around, we rarely have opportunity to do so. we've had ryan kalberkamp, a friend of ours from state, staying with us for 2 weeks, and it was great having him around. he babysat for us one night, but we were both so wiped out from work/life that we had a "not so much like college" date, as we had to discuss money, kate, etc.
we tried to go out again the next night, as andy's mom was in town for a meeting and came to visit, and we went to a great restaurant in diamondhead. it was a restaurant i had tried on the previous night on a girl's night out, and it was DIVINE. yummy and i could eat it right now. great service, awesome food and drink, ahhhh it was so great. so if you come visit me i'll take you there and you can pay. because it is expensive and i probably can't go again until i win the lottery.
i am going to release kate's easter picture in a few moments. it was really cute, she was SO excited to see the bunny (which she named Bo Bo) and was sad that she could only hold him for 30 seconds. i wish i could find some bunnies for her to hold but she loves any animals, really. but i've been keeping the photo safe until easter.
Easter has always been a great time for me. i have so many wonderful memories of easter. my mom always made me an easter dress, and i had a hat, and the easter bunny always brought me good stuff, even all the way through college. and there HAD to be a chocolate bunny and i loved it. and my mom got stressed about dyeing eggs so we didnt. we had plastic ones. and i always went to the big social event of the spring, the easter egg hunt at val hall's house. val hall's mom was named val, and her grandmother was named val. val and i went to kindergarted together, and i always went to that egg hunt until i was in high school. and i always wanted the golden egg but never got it. they had a beautiful mansion in brookhaven and everyone in town was there. and you had to wear your nice dress and bring your basket.
so i tried to introduce andy to the easter basket, as he has never seen such. it was a sight our first easter. he did a great job. he was working on it before sunday morning church but that's okay. (everyone knows the easter bunny works during the night.) but i can remember being in our double bed in louisville, ms and we presented each other our baskets, and it was so funny. he bought me all the candy i hate, and i bought him all the candy i like.
the following easter, i suppose i had impressed upon him the importance of holidays to me, as instilled in me by my mom, and i got a diamond wedding band. i don't think we can top that one. (the band is worn on top of my engagement ring so i wear 3 rings.) it's an eternity band.
last easter, i didn't get anything because we were a) at a destination wedding that i was planning at a plantation in natchez, ms and it was fabulous; b) we had a baby and she got the basket. i made her a little basket and she loved it.
so i have a special basket for her tomorrow, thanks to contributions from me and my mom, complete with cowpring eggs, polka dot eggs, some books, some stuffed bunnies, and some candy for andy. i made 2 baskets and i hope kate will share with andy.
a first: i do not have an easter outfit. shame of all shames. good thing is,i go to a church where it doesnt matter. i'll scrape something up-but i'd rather have my house and my child and have a basket for her than have a fancy outfit that no one will even remember.
of course, kate has a smocked easter dress from madison, ms (swanky capitol of MS) to don tomorrow. thanks to grandmother britt.
well i better go. the laundry needs to be rotated, the easter basket needs to be fluffed, etc etc etc.
happy easter! i hope that you know the joy of Jesus this season, and that you know how much He loves His children, and that you know that He is the true God and our savior, and that nothing in this world, not money or people, parties, dates, kids, jobs, can fill the void we have that He fills. He does it all and we need Him.

it pains me that i dont blog more often. i have been working and playing, and blogging is something i think about daily but hardly get to sit down to do.
last week was spent working, imagine that. kate went to school, mommy and daddy went to work. we planned to go to louisville last weekend and we left thursday night. we have had a house guest since last monday, ryan kalberkamp, and he is thinking about working at lagniappe. he has been a real blessing around the house-he makes his bed and does dishes! how nice! he's like me!
he's fun, too, because he and andy go fishing almost daily and bring home some trout or redfish. we had trout last night, and it was tasty.
in louisville, it was good to go back to visit. my mom came up last friday and took us to lunch at the most fabulous lake tiakahata, mmmm so yummy. i miss that place. she took me shopping for an easter outfit for kate, and we did well. all items were on sale and were unique and swanky. she also got a new pair of shoes for easter so she should be great. i'm keeping the nursery sunday so that will be fun!
i've never done that so i think it will fly by.
we went to super bulldog weekend, and it was so great to be in starkville. andy went to the RUF crawfish boil with kate, while i spent some time with friends at the MSU v Kentucky baseball game. it was not as fun without kate, since all my friends had their kids, but i learned a lot about being a mommy. i missed her when i wasn't with her. she is really fun these days. she can kiss me, love me, and do lots of tricks.
since we've been home, i've cleaned my entire house top to bottom, and done lots of laundry. i also worked on scheduling volunteers for lagniappe, and worked on proofreading/approving a brochure for a senate candidate all night tonight. i am really such a night owl that i get my work going late at night, and i love it.
kate graduated from her 1st class at day care today to the next class, and we are sad because we love her teacher. she got a certificate for being a big girl!

bslbeach

our fun times at the beach today!

i have sand on my stove.

i don't think i'm supposed to have sand on my stove, let alone in my kitchen. but this is what happens when you live at the beach. sand everywhere-and it's beautiful.
we've been to the beach every day this week, and it has been healing. relaxing, although kate is still trying to get her act together in the wind and the waves. bless her little heart.
she is so fun. today i brought some crackers to feed the seagulls, and they were MAD for the crackers. they just about landed on our heads to get those things. kate was in love with them. with her arms outstretched to the skies, she welcomed the birds to land on her but they would not. she was so cute, smiling at them as they squawked at us for more cheeze-its.
at one point i feared for us because they were so close, but then andy threw some sand at them, and they digressed.
i took a "mental health" day, as kelly calls it, and went to Slidell, LA. they have shops there, and grocery stores-we don't have those here in the Bay. it was nice, but still depressing. i purchased a journal with which to keep up with my daily doings-what i do, who i talk with, etc. so that i might remember next week what work conversations i had.
thus i have sand on my stove from putting our beach bag there, and i kind of like it.

yes, i have posted this photo on kate's blog as well, but this was amazing. i saw not only 1 rainbow but 2 at the same time. i could not believe it! how amazing. definitely a highlight of my life.
i've had a hard week, i haven't been feeling well, thanks to the pollen. the doctor prescribed a beautiful shot in the butt for me, as well as some zyrtec, so let's hope i can pull through.
here's hoping for a good st patty's day. kate has been great, doing her "fish lips" which means she wants to give you a kiss. it is so beautiful to have your child kiss you.
i cooked some chinese food tonight, but it wasn't that great. waste of time and money.
we did go to the beach today, and it was perfect. it was breezy, kate was wearing a diaper and a smile, and we had our beach chairs. the beach isn't perfect but it's a fun beach.
she loved it and went to bed without a peep.
andy crashed around 930 because of his allergies/working hard all week. so i wrapped up the evening with some dishes and some laundry.
we watched a funny movie, RV. i wouldn't want to watch it again but robin williams was funny. it had a lot of bathroom humor and i don't go for that too much.
be sure to wear some green tomorrow or if i see you i and you don't, i'll pinch ya.

ah, paris

i want to be in paris, france right now. i am watching everyone's cheesiest tour guide on tv, samantha brown for the travel channel, and it is amazing. i absolutely loved being in paris. andy and i went right after our wedding, stayed with his brother tim and his wife christa, and we drove from germany to paris for 3 days. i studied french in high school, did very well, and loved it. i hoped to one day be able to use it!
and so we went to paris. ah paris was so wonderful. i loved every ounce of it, every minute. they sleep late there-i was awake before most of the parisians at 10 am, and stores didn't really open until 11 am. i wore andy out. he wanted to rest and stroll, i wanted to take it all in. i didn't care too much for french food, except the french fries. mmm. but the other junk was too weird. we ate at mcdonalds! (they call it mcdo's).
i did find some good pastries there. we had a great hotel with a balcony to the paris streets, and i loved going on it to see what was going on. the wine there was great, and cheaper than water. i never made it to a museum, something i regret, but we did see Versailles, the home of Louis XIV. it was beautiful and way too regal. i was never scared there. even on the subway. the only thing that frustrated me was how long all the meals took. they take forever to eat. i am not used to that , but that is why french women are so thin.
i also found that the more i spoke in french, the more the french tried to impress me with their english. so we had no problems.
i couldn't wait to return, and bought tickets for andy and me for spring 2005....had a great deal. but then suddenly i was pregnant and was too sick for flying. so we lost our tickets but did get a refund on the hotel room. i had even booked a room at the ritz-carlton paris for my friend and me for her birthday (my friend lives in london) but had to cancel that. i was devastated.
but i know that one day i can take kate there! i bet she will love it. i can't wait to go back, speak the language, stroll around. i went in winter but i loved it-it was no colder than it is here.
j'aime paris! and no, i do not mean paris hilton. paris france!

i do not dig the time change. i like nighttime, and now that comes even later. kate is up now, over 1 hour past her bedtime. oh yes, i tried to put her down at regularly scheduled bedtime, but that didn't fly. i guess it will be a soft adjustment.
this past weekend was spent in clinton, ms for andy's sister emily's wedding. it was a beautiful wedding. i was very impressed. her dress was beautiful, the bridesmaids looked great, and it was really nice. the only thing wrong with me was my allergies. i wasn't used to blooming pear trees, since on the coast nothing is blooming. i haven't seen a flower, really, unless it was at the garden center at walmart.
so my nose couldn't handle all the beauty in the air. i spent most of fri night, and sat night in the bed. my throat was killing me.
we made it home sunday and i took a 2 hour nap. last night i slept for 12 hours. why does allergy medicine have to make one so sleepy?
i worked a lot today for Lagniappe, and was thankful to not have to send kate to daycare. yes, the group from Louisville, MS is in town, and they were gracious enough to babysit for me. how nice it is to see them.
friday was nice. we had a wonderful visit with my parents, whom we haven't seen in 4 months. of course they were very excited to see KT. mom showered her with lots of cute smocked dresses, and dad gave her a tricycle (she'll use that in a year or 2.)
they were very kind, no harsh words, and i was very amazed. my day got even better with a visit to Amy Head, my favorite, amazing cosmetician, as well as to the shoe store. Mom gave me a gift certificate to Amy Head for Christmas, so i was able to put it to use. My time there flew by, and I could have spent all day there. But, the gift certificate ran out so i had to leave. i can remember visiting there after i had kate, from the recommendation of my friends, and it was great. i've had makeovers at clinique, estee lauder, MAC, mary kay, avon, etc. but this one topped them all. i could have sat on the floor of the amy head studio and licked it i was so happy to be there. i would have stayed longer but the associates were looking at me funny. a
my feet were hurting so badly that my mom helped me go to the shoe store and acquire some nice shoes that leave me with no pain. as well as look cute. i got them in black. it was so nice to be spoiled by my mommy. she was so excited to see us and it made me feel great.

i'm not used to someone being so happy to see me. i guess that causes my cynicism.
and yes, i got to have some krystal hamburgers while i was in jackson. mmmmmmm.
so this week, we're going to try to make it through work, allergies, crying (kate), poopy diapers, the need to change lightbulbs, having the Louisville group over, etc.

american idol is not doing it for me thus far. i have not been impressed by anyone except for the two black girls. they are so awesome.
and most of the men are fat-not that this bothers me, it's just different.
i could totally judge this competition.


kate did not poop in the tub tonight, so automatically the day was good. although, i did get a note from the principal at school ( i.e. day care director) that she bit another child today. I got an "incident report." Kinda like something that they do before they send the kids to the detention center or alternative school. so i'm wondering if kate is on the right path. is she using violence to get her way?
teacher said that she was holding another kid, Ellen, and kate got jealous and bit Ellen. Next thing you know the police will be on my doorstep holding a sippee cup asking me if it belongs to me---that Kate stole it from a fellow classmate. I must stop the madness. Actually i thought the whole thing was funny-brought me back to 5 year old kindergarten when I was sent home for the day for biting Bethany. Bethany pinched me, so i bit her....something that sends you home. And MY mom thought it was funny at the time, too.
Kate didn't seem too sick today, but the teachers at school thought something was bothering her-I remember to my days as a nanny, and baby Jack would bite me when he was teething-so maybe kate is in pain.






i took her for a stroll this afternoon-the weather was beautiful and around 65 degrees, which is my ideal temperature. we strolled down carroll avenue, which is a really cute street in BSL although there are still trailers and construction. you can tell it used to be very picturesque. little beach cottages with neat yards and landscaping and gingerbread on their eaves. i'd love a house like that. although cottages are tiny, they are adorable. they are very much like the cotton district-pastel colors, small yards.
we strolled to the Sycamore house restaurant, which is only open on the weekends, but the draw is that they have a toddler swing in the oak tree in front. kate loves it.
and for once we had a fun bath time tonight-she actually took the cup and poured the water on herself. that's a beautiful thing.
i've been busy with my Swanky Girl jewelry for the past few days. even andy has been helping me critique my knots. i'm almost ready to deliver them to my client, the store named A-OK. i think the owner is going to love it since he pre-ordered 10 pairs of earrings and wants to see necklaces.
dr phil last week had a mom who had a pair of deaf, blind triplets. no matter how bad my day is, i know hers is tougher. May God give her strength!
andy went to new orleans tonight with a team from RUF Virginia Tech. i am sure they are having some tasty beignets. i stayed home because i wanted to catch up on chores/get ready to go to Jackson this weekend (laundry).
Tomorrow's big event: getting my hair highlighted. I'm very apprehensive, since i'm going to a new place, but i'm hoping for the best.

kate today went to the doctor and she has upper respiratory infection, ear infection, and bacterial infection on her rear.
she doesn't act sick but she is sick. the doctor said," good thing you brought her in." she wants to recheck her ears in 1 week.
my poor baby! the antibiotic-a whopping 75 dollars. that stuff better be good.
kate also poo pooed in the tub tonight.
so it's been a red letter day for me today.

February business

not posting in a long time indicates that i have had no time to post-but have wanted to.
since last post, a few weeks have gone by.
our latest highlight was a random trip we took to Gulf Shores, Al, our favorite vacation spot. kate was obviously happy to pose on the way in the car for a photo. she cried most of the way, however. Andy saved the day by showing her a DVD of kid songs.







We went to Martinique, somewhere that we have vacationed about 4 times before. it is always so wonderful. great weather, great place to stay, plenty of room, plenty of good times. Jereme and Rachel, Andy's brother and wife, usually join us. We took some more friends this time and had a great time. This was our house. We had our own golf cart for driving round, pool next door, hot tub as well.






Lily and Kate had some fights, some laughs, but loved seeing each other. They are both so very different, 2 days apart from birth, but yet very alike. Two little kids the same size was a lot of fun, but they were both on different sleep/wake schedules for the most part.







Kate was sick most of the time, unfortunately, thanks to a prior week at daycare. She had pink eye and allergies. Mom (Me) had them as well.
We made it through, though. It takes a lot to keep Kate down.
We were gone Friday through Tuesday, and usually on the last day of vacation, I am in a funk. I don't want to leave, I feel like the time went by too quickly and there was so much i wanted to do that i didn't get to. So the ride home is long and sad.

andy also had fun, even though he had to work some of the time. he and i didn't get to spend too much time together because there were so many things going on, but we still had a great time.



I was so tired when we got home that i went right to bed. I even worked on scheduling volunteers while i was gone. You know, there aren't very many places that you can go without Internet. even the Krystal in Gulf Shores had WiFi. They had no Krystals, but they had Wifi. Don't ask me how a Krystal runs out of Krystals. It's a travesty.
Kate was stressing me out some of the trip, so i was able to have some time to de-stress by driving to town to pick up medicine/supplies/groceries. My favorite part of the trip happened daily at about 2 pm-i'd pack up and head to the beach. Chair, tanning oil, towel, and cold drink. Kate, family and friends in tow, but we all had a great time. It was fun to watch kate stomp on the sand and run around. Her new thing is running around. I love this picture-I love the beautiful color of the waves, I love the way the sand felt, I love the view of Kate checking it out. She has Andy's sunglasses around her neck, and she's having a great time. We must recreate that at the Waveland beach!



Kate and I have spent the past 2 days at home recovering from the trip, doing laundry, playing with Rosie, and working for Lagniappe. Kate has been really happy to be at home, which makes me think she wasn't comfortable with the vacation house. Even though I was! It was 3 stories and beautiful. Funny though.

kelly and i ate at jimmy buffett's sister's restaurant, "Lulus." it was great. good food, good atmosphere. i didn't even knew he had a sister but she must be cool. we need a restaurant like that in bay st louis.
tomorrow i have a staff meeting to prep for all the groups arriving for the big spring break push in march. this weekend i'll be around. andy has been suffering from allergies just like kate and i have been, but he's a trooper. he's glad that kelly is working for him and every day says what a good job she is doing.
kate is so sweet. for some reason she has been really attached to me lately-even when andy comes home from work, she only wants me to hold her. we are very close and it reminds me of her being 3 months old and me hating to leave her for even 30 minutes. it's nice to be bonded with her. i'm working on new words with her. she can say book, blankie, mama, dad, bobo, and other good things.
I rearranged my kitchen today. i had a lot of junk that i thought was cute on the countertops but i like it now much more-with less clutter.
we will be going to jackson next weekend for andy's sister's wedding. that will be fun to see everyone.
if you want to see more vacation photos, but there are a LOT, click here.