so stinkin' cute . . .

this wasn't in the plan for today . . .

today is my last day to get christmas things finished before the girls are finished with school. brown eyes last day is today . . . and the big girls have their christmas program tomorrow. so that leaves today to finish any odds and ends that need to be finished before heading to missouri on monday.

and my poor little shrimp is home sick with a yucky tummy!

(on the brighter side . . . i did just get to talk to my good friend jill for the first time since she had her first baby! and we will both be in town for christmas so we will get to see each other!!)

at this moment (a few hours ago) . . .

little brown eyes: me don't need my nuggle, mommy.

me: you don't need your snuggle? (said with complete shock)

little brown eyes: no, mommy.

me: ok. (in complete disbelief)

little brown eyes: me want my nuggle, mommy!

since when does a sassy little 2 year old understand need and want?

*********

could he be any cuter . . . i mean really?

(ok . . . so maybe i'm a little biased!)

*******

snug as a bug in mom and dad's bed

*******

my little side kick

please, can we paint . . .

the girls have been begging to paint the past few days. it's been a while since we have done a fun craft project . . . so i finally gave in today. i found this fun idea here . . . and have had it bookmarked as a craft project to do. and today was the perfect day for it!

unfortunately . . . i don't have many action photos of the girls. i'm sure you can understand . . . a 2 year old, a 3 year old, a 5 year old, paint, and glass ornaments . . . photos of them creating these beauties wasn't top on the priorities! i love how they turned out . . . and even more . . . i love that the girls finally got to paint and had so much fun making these and deciding who each of them were for!

it was 'good' . . .

i asked little shrimp how she liked doing her cheer in front of all of the people yesterday . . . and she said, "good!" so . . . i guess that means she liked it! not that i would have expected anything else . . . she has been waiting and waiting for the day that she gets to go to competition like her big sister. despite the long face on little miss in all of the pics . . . she had a great time too. she gets so serious at competition. little man slept like a baby thru the entire competition in his new favorite place . . . until right before the award ceremony. brown eyes was tired and actually took a nap too . . . i'm not sure how considering how loud the music was!

the girls are so young that they don't actually compete . . . they are just in an exhibition category. so they all get medals . . . and everyone is happy!

shrimp and little miss are pretty much right next to each other thru the whole routine . . . if you can find the little one . . . that would be little shrimp . . . then you should be able to spot little miss too. this was the first competion . . . and you can tell they don't have the routine down completely. but it sure is cute . . .

save the toys . . .

ok . . . this is going to be a link-filled post. i came across some info, while reading my way to long list of fave blogs, that really scares me.

i don't like toys that could harm my children. i'm not interested in my children playing with a piece of junk (sorry . . . you can call me a toy snob if you want) from china that might have lead in it.

i love handmade toys. i love the fact that my children have to use their own sounds . . . actually use their imagination to the fullest. i love the fact that their handmade toys are things that will become heirlooms and will, hopefully, be passed onto their children . . . and passed on again to their children.

there is a new law that will go into effect in february that just might make these handmade toys that i (and my kids too) love illegal! yes . . . illegal!

i am not good with details . . . and there are tons of other posts floating around the blogworld that cover this . . . so i am just going to put a few links up if you are interested in learning more about this and how you can help keep the wahm's and wahd's and mom and pop businesses going.

read more here. here. here. here. here. here. here. here. here.

want to help?
write your state representative
sign the online petition

it's that time of year again . . .

it doesn't seem possible that an entire year has passed since little miss' first cheerleading competition!

but it has . . . and tomorrow our 2 big girls will be competing (they aren't actually judged) together! shrimp is really excited . . . i think she more excited about the makeup that she finally gets to wear than actually performing.

yes . . . i will post pics and video as soon as we get home. i haven't seen the routine (except for bits and pieces at home) . . . so it will be a surprise for all of us!

a southern winter wonderland . . .

1. 102_8895, 2. 102_8896, 3. 102_8899, 4. 102_8903, 5. 102_8904, 6. 102_8905, 7. 102_8906, 8. 102_8907, 9. 102_8909, 10. 102_8910, 11. 102_8912, 12. 102_8913, 13. 102_8914, 14. 102_8918, 15. 102_8919, 16. 102_8920, 17. 102_8921, 18. 102_8922, 19. 102_8923, 20. 102_8924, 21. 102_8927, 22. 102_8928, 23. 102_8930, 24. 102_8929

feeling guilty . . .

it's snowing . . . it never snows in new orleans. i'm not even sure if little shrimp remembers snow. brown eyes doesn't . . . but she "don't like dat" (referring to the snow). little miss remembers snow . . . and asks me weekly when will it snow in new orleans? and what did i just do? i took them to school. i'm feeling a little guilty because they really could have stayed home with me and played in the snow . . . and come inside to dry their clothes . . . and then play in the snow some more . . . and come inside to warm up . . . and play in the snow some more . . . and well you get the point. right now it is snowing so hard . . . i could almost forget that i am in new orleans and feel like i was at home in missouri. so . . . i'm going to crank up the christmas music. make some vanilla ice coffee . . . oh wait its snowing . . . i will warm it up today. do some laundry. and pray . . . pray . . . pray that it is still snowing at noon when i pick the girls up! (and if the guilt gets the better of me . . . i might just go pick them up from school!)

write this one down in the history books . . .

it's snowing in new orleans!

it's the next best thing . . .

to being in his mama's belly!

little man loves his new hideout . . . he's snug as a bug with mommy and he's safe from those crazy little girls!

our resident elf . . .

we came home last night and found this cute little elf in our house. i guess santa thought the girls needed a little extra motivation to be really good! if you don't have a resident elf in your house . . . i highly recommend it. although . . . i do warn that the first 24 hours might be slightly traumatic to the little ones in the house. it wasn't too long and the girls warmed up to ziggles (that is the name they gave him) and now are constantly talking to him and giving him messages to tell santa!

it was an all nighter . . .

i'm sure you can imagine . . . non-stop from 9pm until 6am!non-stop sleeping that is!!!

it's a good thing she's cute . . .

because she is very two and that ornery beautiful smile is the only reason i have kept her!

(of course i'm kidding about keeping her . . . but man oh man is she a hand full right now!)

it was just a little white lie . . .

little miss: when you were a little girl did you always listen to your mommy?

me: yes, i always listened to my mommy!

little miss: you always listened?

me: yes . . . always!

(nana . . . please don't tell her otherwise!)

if i had an extra 600 dollars . . .

i would totally buy this rug for my house!
but i don't so i won't be buying it for my house!

the title was going to be . . .

i wish i was doing this . . .

but when i got up next to her to take a picture . . . i noticed not only is she still wearing her dorothy shoes . . . but she is laying with the wizard of oz dvd case. so then this picture became more than me just wishing i was already in bed and now i don't have a title because i think it's just too cute for words how much this little shrimp of mine is in love with dorothy!

it's simple . . .

there is a lot that i could want (ok . . . that i do want) . . . but there is nothing that i need! and that is why i'm thankful.

happy thankgiving!

it's always something . . .

sean is replacing a big roof . . . on a big house right now. well this big roof that is old and being replaced . . . decided to leak while we were at the super dome for the saints game. the roofer that is working on the job is already out of town for thanksgiving . . . so that means sean is the one that is up on the roof right now trying to temporarily fix the leak and try to prevent any other leaks from occuring. our plan was to leave last night for missouri and arrive today . . . probably about now. well because it's supposed to rain for the weekend . . . and this roof is causing some major stress for my husband . . . we decided it would be in our best interest to stay in new orleans for thanksgiving. so now if the roof decides to leak again . . . we won't be 675 miles away from it. unfortunately . . . we will be missing out on a camping trip with my parents and my 2 big brothers and their families. but . . . we will get to spend christmas in missouri and this will allow us to stay for a lot longer than if we were going for thanksgiving. (mike and heather . . . i think you should make another trip across the country for christmas too!) i'm bummed (do people still say that?) that we don't get to see my family today but i'm so thankful that sean has work that is throwing us for a loop . . . and i'm thankful that we have wonderful family in new orleans to spend thanksgiving with. and now . . . let's pray for a white christmas in missouri! it would be the absolute greatest gift for the girls!

another sunday in the city . . .

the weather was beautiful . . . there wasn't a saints game to watch . . . so we did what everyone should do when you live in a city with so much to see. we spent the day downtown . . . uptown . . . and at city park.

we started out in the french quarter with lunch at cafe pontalba.

the food was great and the view was even better!

in new orleans . . . you never know who (or what) you might see. everyone has to eat right?after lunch . . . we finally took the girls on a streetcar.

this was the 2nd time for little miss. she was only 6 months old the first time she went . . . so to here this was the first time! shrimp actually went for her first time a couple of weeks ago with our next door neighbors . . . but she still was very excited to go again! and this was brown eyes . . and of course little mans . . . first time!

like i said . . . you never know what you might see in new orleans!

there is always something beautiful to see on st. charles avenue.

so many great things to look at . . . the girls kept forgetting the rule about keeping your head inside the car!so . . . we got off and went to borders.

and i gave into the peer pressure . . . and got the book that everyone is talking about.then we went to city park so the girls could play. little man and i stayed in the car because he was starvin' marvin. and that is why there are not any pictures from the park!

last but not least on our funfilled sunday . . . big sister got to give baby brother his first bottle!

it was a perfect day!

dreaming . . .

do you think she is dreaming of when she was still the baby?

i spy . . .

a very cute (and sleepy) baby boy

we had a wonderful day yesterday in the french quarter and i have tons of pics to share! but . . . i have been doing loads . . . and loads of laundry today because we are leaving tomorrow night for missouri! and tonight the saints are playing at home for the monday night football game . . . and we are getting ready to head downtown for a fun night . . . without our 4 children! so . . . you will just have to wait to see the fun we had yesterday!

friday night fun . . .

2 budding little chefs in the kitchen . . .

mixing . . .

and kneading . . .

the perfect pizza dough for a super yummy pizza . . .

to provide lots of energy for a game of charades!

can you guess what little miss is?

no, it's not a trapeze bar . . .

yes, it is a fun little corner in the playroom for the girls to let their imaginations go wild and pretend to be who or whatever they want to!

that little space isn't quite done . . . so i will share more pics when (who knows when that will be!) it is finished!

it's not easy . . .

preparing dinner with a 2 year old, a 3 year old, and a 5 year old in the kitchen isn't an easy thing. they seem to want to take over and not let me actually get dinner ready.

so i distract them with some pots and pans to 'cook' with . . . but i'm sure you can guess where this is going. empty pots . . . spoons . . . forks . . . can you say major headache?! they decided to form the naked sisters band and i'm sure neighbors 4 blocks over could hear their lovely percussion skills!

when i confiscated the instruments band practice was over it was time for a little body art!it was such a loud lovely night in our house . . . and i'm so glad to say these crazy girls are all in bed sound asleep and most of the blue marker washed off!

apparently . . .

this is how a funny clown smiles!

(and i think she would know . . . she is definitely the clown in this family story! and from what i understand she is quite the clown at school too!)

role call . . .

well sorta! i don't know whose name to call . . . but i want to know who all visits this little corner of the blogging world. my little feedjit thing shows people from all over the world and i want to meet you! so . . . leave a comment and say hello!

i'm happy . . .

because he's happy!

i'm doing it . . .

as much as i wish my girls would just let us tuck them in, snuggle for a couple of minutes, and then drift off to dreamland . . . i really do love sitting with them for the really long time that it actually does take them to go to sleep. i love it because that's when they talk the most. that's when they talk the most about what is really on their mind and what really matters to them.

and last night was no different. little shrimp is the one with the 100 million questions every night.

"do you know where pink lemonade comes from?"
"why is pops your dad?"
"why is nana your mom?"
"why do carrots have grass on the top of them?"

last night i had an aha moment (isn't that one of oprah's catch phrases?). little miss wanted to know which room was mine at nana's house when i was a little girl and what kind of toys i had when i was a little girl. so i started telling them all the things that i loved to play with the most . . . barbies . . . a barbie house . . . a pink barbie corvette . . . cabbage patch dolls . . . a play kitchen . . . baby stroller . . . a memory game . . . and that's when i realized something.

they really do not need to have all the toys that they have! i have been wanting to get rid of a lot of the toys they have but have been feeling really guilty about it. so they are still here . . . all over the floors.

so it's decided . . . i will get find new homes for the extreme amount of toys in this house! my plan is to keep the toys that require them to use their imagination . . . only their imagination. i want to keep the toys that they will remember the most . . . like the things i told them last night that were my favorites. what is so funny . . . all the toys that i told them last night . . . the ones that i remember playing with all the time are all the same toys they love the most and they play with everyday.

i'm sure i will keep a couple of toys that i would rather not keep . . . because i don't want them to be the kids with no toys when they want friends to come over and play.

to me the most important thing is a happy house . . . a house that is easy to keep clean and picked up even with 4 children . . . a happy dad who comes home to a clean house and good dinner . . . happy children that have a lot of one on one time with mom because she isn't constantly picking up toys every singe moment of the day . . . and when dad and kids are happy . . . you know that mom is happy!

just some monday jibberish . . .

why are sean and i the crazy people for not allowing our children to overload on sugar? i'm very proud of the fact that my children don't drink soda . . . and actually ask for water at meal times and throughout the day! i'm proud of the fact that they eat what we at mealtimes. i'm proud of the fact that they eat carrots and hummus, apples, broccoli, etc. because they choose to for a quick snack.

i did good at the grocery store this morning and only spent $138 for a week of groceries . . . for 5 people . . . and that's for cooking 5 meals . . . not to mention the snacks . . . breakfast stuff . . . and lunch stuff. just to let you know . . . i do like this so far.

what kind of dishwasher soap do you use? right now i am using this . . . but it just isn't doing the trick. i like not using detergent with all the yuckies in it . . . but it just doesn't clean as well and leaves lots of cloudy spots/residue all over my dishes.

my best friend from high school and college is going to the hospital at 6 a.m. tomorrow to have her first baby! i'm so excited for her and her husband . . . and can't wait to see him. unfortunately . . . she is in nashville . . . i am in new orleans . . . so that means i will get to see him in pictures. hopefully it won't be too long until we are both back in missouri at the same time!

i already have dinner cooking and it smells really good. my mom's chili recipe is the best! how can it not be . . . it has chocolate in it!

love this . . .

'forts' were a common thing around the house when we were growing up and it's fun to see that my girls are really into making 'tents' for themselves now!

i don't know any child (or adult for that matter) that wouldn't absolutely love this!

(image from gardenymph)

this idea has definitely been filed in the 'to do' folder for that special treat for the little ones!

just a minor emotional breakdown . . .

today, i'm afraid, is the first of many more emotional breakdowns to come! i am in denial that my little miss will be starting kindergarten in the fall.

i really don't know where the past 5 years has gone. really! i feel like we blinked and our sweet baby girl had turned into a beautiful little lady overnight. wouldn't it be great as adults to have the same concept of time that a child has! maybe the days wouldn't fly by so fast. i am very excited that this milestone is approaching (way too fast) . . . but at the same time it means that our baby girl is getting so big!

it is only november . . . so i'm sure you are wondering why in the world i'm already thinking about all of this today. well . . . when you live in a city that you don't just go to the school that is in the district you live in . . . you have to start thinking about school very early. this morning i went to an open house at one of the schools that we are considering for little miss. it's time for us to fill out applications and take tours and all of this kind of stuff that makes starting kindergarten way to nerve-racking for me!

tomorrow we will be taking a tour of the school that i visited today. i saw a small glimpse of it this morning as i made my way into the cafeteria to listen to the principal speak and it truly was a beautiful building . . . inside and out . . . the halls were lined with outstanding student artwork, the classrooms were bright and colorful . . . perfect for a young mind's creativity and knowledge to fluerish, the old wood floors and the gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows . . . have seen many children pass thru the halls the past 91 years.

i never would have thought that my children would be going to school in new orleans. but life is what it is. when you are married to someone who has a construction company . . . you do what you have to do and sometimes that means you have to go where the work and opportunity is. especially in today's economy. and you do with excitement and enthusiasm for your children.

i just have to keep telling myself that little miss is beside herself that she is starting kindergarten next year . . . and maybe by the time she is finished with kindergarten i will be able to accept that she is growing up . . . but probably not!

with a face like this . . .

how could i not want to keep him next to me at every possible moment? and not to mention . . . the fact that there are 3 other demanding little ones in the house that make the use of my 2 hands greatly needed! and 1 of those 3 demanding little ones (ahem . . . brown eyes . . . ahem) is a little more on the rough and what can i do to make my baby brother cry side than on the sweet side so i have been searching and searching for that perfect baby carrier to keep my little man out of harms way. i had a baby bjorn for the 3 girls . . . but now i'm ready for a change. i am thinking a pouch sling is exactly what i want. i thought i had found it but realized that little man needs to be a little bigger before this will work. then after a little more searching . . . i came across the perfect sling! the fabric is gorgeous . . . and from 1 of my favorite fabric designers. i mean it is named the emily baby sling . . . it must be a sign that is the one i need to treat myself to! the only thing . . . i have never used a pouch sling before and i would love some recommendations before i make the plunge. do you have a recommendation for a pouch sling?

i read today that it is international babywearing week . . . funny that i am in the market for a new baby carrier right now!

you would think . . .

that with 4 children . . . that 1 (just 1 is all i'm asking for) would look like me.

this wild thing might be my only hope!i can definitely say:

she has inherited my cheekies (is that a word?). and by cheekies . . . i mean cheekies on the face . . . and cheekies on the backside!

and the big brown eyes definitely came from me.

and i think that might be the extent of it!

now . . . the personality is definitely from her daddy! my little brown eyes doesn't know a stranger. and if you knew me 'back in the day' you would know that i was (okay . . . probably still am!) shyer than shy!

it's a good thing i have a cute husband . . . because now i have 4 little ones that look pretty much just like him!

eyebrows . . . messy house . . . and festival fun . . .

pops . . . you would be proud of your smallest grandson! he is a 1-brow raising little man! (and aren't these the cutest little jeans?)

this is the reason my house is messy . . . this little vacuum elf won't leave my vacuum on for more than 2 seconds at a time. which means . . . this small foyer took about 30 minutes to vacuum this afternoon!

little man experienced his first festival yesterday . . . and had a great time strolling around in his stroller at lakeview fest. and of course i didn't have my camera with me. i took a pic on my phone but i have no idea how to get them from my phone onto my computer. so just imagine a picture of little man in his stroller looking super cute with his saints shirt and stylish blue jeans on and his big blue eyes!

(insert pic here)

friday night fun . . .

with 4 little ones that were all awake before 6 a.m. this morning (gotta love the time change) . . . it was a very easy bedtime tonight! at this moment i am the only one awake in the house. i could be doing laundry . . . but i did 4 loads today and i think that was enough for 1 day! i could clean bedrooms . . . but everyone is asleep. i could clean the dining room . . . but i don't want to. i could clean . . . well there is a lot of cleaning that could be done . . . but how fun is that for a friday night?! so i'm enjoying the very quiet house and getting my blogging fix before i join the others in dreamland.

i think this is fun . . . so i'm going to do it too!

Where is your mobile phone? kitchen

Where is your significant other? bed

Your hair colour? brown
Your mother? survivor

Your father? greatest

Your favourite thing? beach

Your dream last night? ???

Your dream goal? lots

The room you're in? messy

Your hobby? creating

Your fear? loss

Where do you want to be in 6 years? settled

Where were you last night? home

What you're not? musical

One of your wish-list items? house

Where you grew up? Missouri

The last thing you did? tuck-in

What are you wearing? jammies

Your TV? conan

Your pets? cute

Your computer? fingerprints

Your mood? sleepy

Missing someone? family
Your car? huge
Something you're not wearing? makeup
Favourite shop? online

Your summer? fast

Love someone? absolutely

Your favourite colour? every

When is the last time you laughed? tonight

When is the last time you cried? ???


now it's your turn!

watching and waiting . . .

and learning about politics in a preschool kind of way!

warning this will melt your heart . . .

this wasn't the little man's first smile . . .
but the first one i was able to capture!