The end of another era

When I was pregnant with Quinn (that is right, I am using real names, you know this is going to be bad) I needed validation that I was a good mom. I needed constant "baby" talk to prove to others as well as myself that I was happy about my pregnancy and ecstatic about having another baby just seventeen months after Addie was born, not to mention I was only 23 when I had Addison and 24 when I found out I was pregnant for Quinn. The truth is motherhood has been really hard for me. I am not saying I am a bad mother, in fact I think I rock at this motherhood thing, but it has not been, nor is it presently an easy adventure.



I will admit motherhood is the most challenging and the most rewarding thing I have ever experienced, but being a mom is only part of me. It is not all of me. I have been having issues with this blog (as well as my email address) for a while now because I no longer want to be defined as just a mother. I am a kick-ass mother, but I am also a descent wife, an incredible friend, a borderline alcoholic, a Lexapro junkie, a Project Runway enthusiast, a cell phone addict, and an up and coming fashioinista....okay well maybe not that last one but everything else is true.



This blog is just not doing it for me anymore I have tried to blog about different subjects but I feel like it just is not working for me right now. I no longer have the passion to write about my family stuff anymore. I am proud of being a mother, my children are incredible, but I need to take sometime to find out what really inspires me.

I am shutting this one down but I will keep you posted if I ever open up a new one.

I have a tummy...and I am proud

Tonight while relaxing after a pretty uneventful Valentines day, I was listening to a little Jr. Gong and one of the lyrics really hit home:

"The body is just a vehicle transporting a soul
It is what's inside that vehilche that is beaty to behold".

I have a tummy now. After 20 (non-consecutive) months of being pregnant, I have a tummy, and no matter how hard I try I can not get rid of it, it refuses to decrease in size. But tonight I made peace with my tummy. It represents me, it is beautiful, it is my badge to show the world that for 20 (non-consecutive) months I had a little human being inside my belly. How awesome is that?

My belly is a reminder that I have two beautiful, healthy little babies that inhabited my body for 10 months a piece. Today we all get so hung up on body image. We all strive to look like the stick figures we see in the magazines; but when the day is done how to those "celebrities" feel about themselfs? Do they have a loving husband waiting for them at home? Do they have children who run to them with open arms screaming "Mommy, Mommy"?

My belly is beautiful, I am beautiful. I am blessed, and if the only sacrifice I had to make for being SO blessed it a couple of pant sizes I think that is a pretty good deal!

My body may not look like is once did, but my soul is more beautiful then ever and I am perfectly content with that trade off.

Blogging, the Mother of All Procrastination

I am blogging so often this week because I have run out of procrastination activities. Today at 3:30pm I must submit a 40 question survey on a co-worker (who happens to be a friend of mine). It is not that this is a horrid or boring task, in fact I am quite excited about it, the problem is it requires an excessive amount of attentiveness and resolution that I can not offer on 8 hours of sleep in the past 72 hours.

I was going to blog about my diy "Under the Sea" invitations that I completed last night for LuLu's 2nd birthday; but I realized right after I published the pics that my name, address and phone number were on the invites so I will have to wait and re-post those once I get on photoshop.

So, instead my topic for today will be about other blogs. YEAH!!!!!!! The following are my daily check in blogs (no particular order):

Apartment Therapy: I actually stop by this site way more then once a day. My favorite divisions are Ohdeedoh, Re-Nest and Apartment Therapy San Fran. Jess got me hooked on this apartment therapy thing. I have bought and read the book and now look for inspiration and encouragement on the web. Of course, with two small children, I am moving at turtle speed but it is getting done (slow and steady wins the race...right??)

[black. white.yellow] and just another stupid blonde moment: These two are must stops. I used to have a third but she has decided to NEVER update her blog and looking at the same post day after day makes me sad.


[black.white.yellow] : Is a must stop for all things style. The latest crazes, trends, and of course anything that is black, white and yellow. Jess also participates in Apartment Therapy's Cure so there are a lot of before and after pics of her divine apartment and she has been posting weekly updates on Season 4 of Project Runway. You might be thinking I am bias because the author is a friend but she is even listed as a link on Apartment Therapy Chichgo so it must be true!! I stole this pic from Jess's blog while she was in FL.


just another stupid blonde moment : A new blog from a new blogger; Brit gives a fresh look on everything from computer fashion, to closet organization. My favorite thing about this blog is I always feel like I am learning something. Whether it be the "breath of fire", a recipe, or how to track our walking progress with the Nike plus (we are training for the Crescent City Classic); Brit has got the down low. Just check it out. I stole this pic while brit was visiting h-town.


Brit and Jess - The island inhabitants. This was my pic (no theft involved).





Design Sponge: I love, love, love this site's DIY posts. If you are looking for inspiration (especially for a furniture facelift) check out before and after. There are also guides and instructional podcasts. My favorite part about this site is the pictures. If you are stressed just go and check out the pictures. Everything is always so pristine....so organized. Instant gratification.


This picture is from the office of Jessica Jones, author of How About Orange...

How About Orange... I do not personally know Jessica Jones, the author of this blog, but I sure wish I did. She is a DIYer, a mommy, a superb graphic designer and a fascinating blogger. Her site contains TONS of DIY ideas with links to tutorials, stories, cool site links, and SO much more. Jessica Jones also just came out with a line of fabrics being sold on jcaroline.

There are SO many more but I had to force myself to work on the survey throughout the composition of this blog and now I am exhausted. I had so little energy to begin with. So I will have to finish another day. Perhaps tomorrow....it seems like it may be one of "those" weeks.

My Beef With Red Meat

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, more commonly referred to by New Orleanians as Mardi Gras (if you are not from Louisiana you might refer to it as "the Mardi Gras"). It was a spectacular Mardi Gras, mostly because it was my first Mardi Gras after two consecutive years off (one because LuLu's birth, and last year because I was pregnant and annoyed). The weather was perfect, the parades were throwing and the kids were behaving; I could not have dreamt of a better day.

But now play time is over, Lent has begun (Ash Wednesday) and being a Catholic girl, it is time to give up some things that make me happy and/or do things that I do not like to do. I have decided to go 40 days with NO red meat or poultry. (Not even roast beef po-boys to cure hangovers). I am trying some new recipes to try to prolong my husband's inevitable discovery that I have decided to extend the "no red meat" January rule indefinately.

In November of 2007 I decided I wanted to get more information on vegetarianism. After watching I am an Aminal, The Story of Ingrid Newkirk, I relized that I NEVER think about the origins of the things I put into my body. So I hit the books; and although I am still on the fence about poulry and seafood, I do have beef with red meat.

My first major concern are the heath issues associated with consumung red meat. The saturated fat in red meat contributes to heart disease and atheroscleroses. Recent studies have also linked red meat consuption to an increased risk of cancer. And the vertict is still out on the effect that the growth hormones cows are injected with have on the human body.

My second major concern is environmental implications. It takes loads of land to raise cattle(an estimated 26% of all non-ice-covered land). And loads of food to feed them and fatten them up(. What if, just pretend, we decresed red meat consumption by 50% and used the extra land (for living and the crops that would have gone to feeding the cattle) and donated all of that food to 3rd World countries . For more information on the environmental implications of eating red meat, here is a link to Livestock's Long Shadow.

Oh Yeah....We Are Family!!!

I never post pictures, mostly because they stay on my camera several months before I download them. Last week I finally got around to getting them off the camera, because our memory card had run out of storage capacity. Here are some pics from 2007....I am confident that by the time you get to the end of this blog you will have to agree that I have some REALLY FREAKING CUTE kids.....and my husband is not too bad either.

Christmas in the Oaks
We took the kids to Christmas in the Oaks when we got back from Colorado. K-K and Paw Paw came with us. LuLu loved it!!! This is the fam inside of the whale's mouth in Storyland

Colorado 2007 -
We went to Crested Butte, Colorado the week before Christmas with family. It was awesome. On our last night it actually started snowing, LuLu loved eating snow so catching it on her tongue was right up her alley. The first day up there we bought DBug a sled, his car seat carrier fit perfectly inside of it, so he was pulled all over Crested Butte and loved it. I would often check on him to see he had fallen asleep. Sean hit the slopes but I stayed behind with the kids (yes, I am still bitter) maybe next year!

Christmas 2007
We did not send out Christmas cards this year because we could never get both of them in a picture without one or both crying. The top picture is LuLu with Chad, then DBug doing a cheesecake pose, then two of DBig and LuLu. Notice, in the picture where they are on my bed, DBug is pulling LuLu's hair, which should explain alot.

Thanksgiving 2007

If you do not believe me but this point that I have cute freaking kids you are either a) blind; b) jealous or c) blind.

November 2007: Because of the brace that D-bug has to wear, which connect his feet, he is unable to be easily put into a walker so I bought him this so at least he would have something fun to look at. Of course, LuLu thought it should be hers. They spent over 30 minutes laying side by side in this thing. The best $18 I have ever spent!

Halloween 2007: D bug was Superman. He had on his costume for maybe 30 minutes due to the fact it was SO hot outside. LuLu was supposed to be an angel but refused to wear her costume except for the halo, which she wore the entire day. Dbug still had on his casts.

My daughter, the penguin

When I got home last night Doodlebug was sleeping and LuLu was watching Happy Feet. Now, when I say "watching" what I mean is running around the den like a crack head and then sporadically breaking out into a wild stomping dance which would result in her trying to jump in the air and scream "Mambo!"

Since I do not have an actual picture of LuLu, this is the closest thing I could find that looked like what she was doing. The dancing lasted for almost the whole movie except for a five minute window when she fussed "NO! NO! NO BITE! OH NO MOMMY....UCK...GONNA BITE MOMMY" at the leopard seal for trying to bite Mambo. I am almost positive her father fed her pure sugar for dinner, especially since half the bag of marshmallows has mysteriously disappeared.

Yesterday was the end of my first 21 day habit and the beginning of my second. My first habit of the New Year was to perfect a "before bed" routine. Although it is not perfect, now I wake up to a fresh pot of coffee, ironed clothes that were picked the night before, a perfectly packed diaper and work bag, a table set for breakfast, and the kids clothes neatly laid out waiting for them. This is an amazing improvement to the frantic race to the door which used to be my morning.

Yesterday, I also started habit #2, which is to get my ass in shape. I went to my Doctor on Friday to get the go ahead and he gave me the okay. So yesterday Jess, Britt and I walked 2 miles after work. I do not know if it was the exercise or the B12 that Britt slipped me after lunch but I felt incredible last night. The only bad part is that by the time I get home Dbug is asleep. I think I am going to have to ask Sean to keep him up so when I get home I can at least give him his bottle and put him to bed. If all goes well my health habit will finish up before Valentines Day so i can totally pig out on whatever I desire.

I Got Told !!!!

My daughter has decided she knows the words to ALL the songs on the radio. Being only 2 years of age, I promise you she does not. Yet, her not knowing the "exact" words does not prevent her from making up her own noises and sounds to mimic the songs. At first it is adorable to her hear echo "brella, brella" as Rihanna belts out "Unbrella" or chant "NONONONONONONONONONO" throughout the entire 4 minutes of Winehouse's Rehab, but is gets very old very fast. I have a 45 minute ride from home to work every morning and Lu's singing I can only tolerate for about 15 minutes.

I devised a game of distraction that we now play every morning. I start the game by asking "Where is K-K?" and it goes something like this:
Me: "Where is K-K?"
Lu: K K at wurk.
Me: Where is Paw-Paw?
Lu: Paw Paw boo quaine (read: boom crane)
Lu: Wear Kin?
Lu: Kin seepin (read: sleeping)
Lu: Wear Cow? (read: Kyle)
Lu: Cow al gowne.
Lu: Wear Chad?
Lu: Chad Outside.......

You get the idea. I start asking the questions but after the first two rounds she asks the questions and then answers herself. She goes through everyone she knows: animals included. Today we got to Mr. Kitty, MiMi's cleverly named cat:

Lu: Wear M'Kitty?
Lu: M'Kitty outside.
Me: Oh, my goodness I bet Mr. Kitty is cold, cold, cold.
Lu: yeah...cole, cole, cole
Me: OOOOOoooooooo doggie!
Lu: No mommie, kitty cat.