And so it begins...

Today was a day that has been on my radar for a while now.

Amelia started kindergarten.

How did she go from this...

...to THIS??

But I did NOT cry.

We really couldn't have asked for a better day. Amelia woke up in a good mood, and we got ready quickly enough to have an obligatory photo session before we left.

The collage below makes me laugh. Amelia wanted us to do happy, sad, angry, etc. poses, but I don't think we ever got our act completely together. Oh, well. Good times!

 

And here is Amelia with her teacher. Amelia just walked right in, and I don't think she ever even told us goodbye!!

Then Darryl and I went to Another Broken Egg for a breakfast date. Not a bad way to spend the morning.

When I picked Amelia up, she said she had a great day. She told me all about the new rules for her class and how even though her BFF Grace isn't in her class, she still was able to see her at lunch time.

We're so proud of our little kindergartener!!

Summer 2013: A Retrospective

If I were to try to "catch up" with things on this blog, I would probably never blog again. But because Amelia is starting kindergarten tomorrow and I want to document her year (as well as other goings on), I feel I need to look back on Summer 2013, also known as "the summer that wasn't my favorite."

First, there was the move to a different house. I might also add that the longer we are in it, the less we like it. While we are grateful to have a roof over our heads, it seems that every month (sometimes every week) unveils a new problem: AC issues, ant issues, electricity issues, funky kitchen layout, etc. Thank goodness this is just a rental!! And in some ways, I feel as though we are still settling in. It doesn't feel like "home" yet. Sigh.

Second, I had my wisdom teeth out at the ripe age of 39. While it wasn't a TERRIBLE ordeal, it wasn't fun. And I'm still having an issue with my lower jaw that has yet to be resolved.

Third, Darryl has traveled for work most of the summer. Again, we are grateful he has a job and provides for us, but we've missed having him around.

We HAVE had some fun, though, especially these last few weeks.

First, Amelia's friend Grace and Grace's mom invited us to Houston to do the "American Girl" experience to celebrate Grace's birthday. Amelia didn't have an AG doll, but I had always figured she would get one at some point (plus we had been having a pretty blah summer), so we decided to live it up and go. We had so much fun, and the girls were great and pretty well behaved (except for one incident involving Pepper the Dog, a pet of Grace's doll). Yeah for all girls' trips!!

 On our way to Houston!

For Grace's birthday lunch, we dined in the AG Bistro. Amelia had fun helping her doll drink from the teacups.) (By the way, Amelia has named her doll "Amelia." That doesn't get confusing at all.)

Sweet friends.

IMMEDIATELY upon returning from Houston, Darryl, Amelia, and I went to California. (When I say "immediately," I mean that I threw out our dirty clothes from the Houston trip and packed our already-arranged-before-I-left clothes for California within an hour and we headed to the New Orleans airport.) Darryl's Aunt Margaret had passed away, and Darryl wanted to go to her funeral, so we tagged along as well.

We really enjoyed getting to see some of Darryl's family that we don't see that often. (Also, can I just say that the weather in California was nothing short of AMAZING??) We spent a few days just hanging out with family and catching up. One day, we strolled the Huntingdon Beach area. I would say that I plan to do a separate post on California, but let's face it...I probably won't. I'll just share some of my favorite photos.

 Somehow all of us girls (although I am by far the senior member of this group) ended up playing various games with a ball with Amelia in Aunt Margaret's front yard. At some point Amelia left, and we realized we were still playing... Lots of laughs with this crew!!

 Here we are at Huntingdon Beach.

 Malorie and Amelia watch the surfers as they attempt to catch some good waves.

This is how Darryl cooperates with my requests to take a photo.  He looks like he would rather be getting a root canal.

 Amelia enjoyed riding on Uncle George's shoulders.

A few shots of places we visited our day at the beach.

The last two days we were there, we decided to have a little fun by going to California Adventure and Disneyland. The first day was a shorter day because we wanted a chance to visit a little more with Darryl's family that evening (family members were gradually starting to fly home by that point), but the next day was a long one.

California Adventure was pretty awesome. Just their Cars attraction alone is reason enough to go; it is amazing. And the park is pretty new (I think it was built in 2001?), so it just feels newer. We all loved it.

Disneyland (which we didn't even get to the first day) was lots of fun as well, but I think Disney World in Orlando is better. Disneyland has a certain retro charm to it, though, and it has some of the things like Tom Sawyer's Island and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride that aren't at Disney World any longer.

I have TONS of photos of those two days, but because I need to wrap this up (and because I'm tired and still have several things to do before going to bed), I'm just sharing a few. Maybe I'll share more later, but...possibly not. (You know how I am.)

 Radiator Springs!! (Seriously...it was amazing.)

 I just realized that this is the photo that has Amelia with closed eyes. I know I should put a better one, but...

 Darryl does the "spinning round and round" rides with Amelia because I don't like 'em.

 This was as we were about to depart on the Radiator Springs Racers ride. This is BY FAR the most popular attraction at California Adventure. We were grateful we were able to ride it three times over the two days!

 If any of Darryl's co-workers still check in on this blog...you're welcome.

 Amelia in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle!

This photo makes me LAUGH AND LAUGH whenever I see it. (Yes, I'm wearing a fedora. I needed a hat ASAP because of a sunburned scalp.) (And to Darryl's co-workers...you are welcome once again.)

And FINALLY, a few days after we returned home from California, Amelia and I took a road trip to Florida to see my parents. I did a horrible, horrible job of taking photos on that trip. I think I took one. I'm pretty sure my mother will blog about it, though...so I'll link up to her much-more-thorough recap when that happens.

So here we are, at summer's end. I'm glad we ended on a high note. :-)  I must say, however, I'm LONGING for some routine and structure.

Tomorrow I'll be sure to document Amelia's first day of kindergarten!

(I'm not even proofreading this post. The English teacher in me disapproves, but the rebel in me applauds.)

Recipe Review: I Went on a New Recipe Binge

Until last week, I really hadn't cooked much in the last month or so. With all the moving and Darryl's recent travels for work, there really hasn't been much opportunity to cook. But last week, I
 was chomping at the bit to try some new recipes, so here are some links to some recipes you might want to try (or avoid):

Salted Oatmeal Cookies: Several years ago, when I was still teaching high school, a student's mother made some delicious oatmeal cookies that had a hint of a salty taste. Then a couple of weeks ago, my friend Tim (seriously, Tim...bring back the blog) posted a photo on Facebook of some salted oatmeal cookies he had ordered from a bakery up North. I was intrigued. A quick Google search found this recipe for me, and I thought they were amazing. They are thick and chewy with just a hint of salt.

Verdict: Definitely keeping these in the cookie recipe rotation.

The Pioneer Woman's Spaghetti Sauce: I love spaghetti and always have. No one else in my house seems to appreciate it. Darryl will "tolerate" it on occasion, but he claims I made it all the time when we were first married, and now he is tired of it. (Dude, that was fourteen years ago. Whatever.) Thursday night, Darryl was out of town, and I decided just to try a spaghetti sauce recipe for my own personal happiness. PW's seemed easy -- and I haven't tried many of her recipes I haven't liked -- so I gave hers a go.

Verdict: I didn't love it. I halved this recipe and had a good bit left over that I froze (Darryl, there is definitely some spaghetti in your future), but it was lacking something for me. I think the bay leaf flavor is a little strong. It certainly isn't BAD, but it didn't rock my world.

Chicken and Rice Casserole: I had pinned this "healthy" recipe a while ago on Pinterest. (Truth: I typically pin something healthy and then pin something like a cupcake recipe. It's a problem. I want to be skinny, but I like my cupcakes too much. Or my oatmeal cookies. Or my spaghetti.) ANYWAY...I think this recipe originally appeared in Cooking Light. I have made some CL recipes in the past, but I have found their recipes are super time-intensive or to have 25 ingredients. This one looked fairly simple.

Verdict: This recipe takes more time than you think, and it is a casserole, for Pete's sake. That being said, it WAS very good. I had already taken one shortcut in buying a rotisserie chicken breast from Fresh Market, and now that I've made this dish once, I think there are a few other shortcuts I could take. So basically, this is good recipe that I plan to try again, but I want to try a few other ways to save time.

The Pioneer Woman's Baked Creamed Corn with Red Bell Peppers and Jalapenos: I actually made this from her cookbook rather than from the recipe I linked to here, and that recipe is a little different. The most notable difference is that the cookbook calls for just one red bell pepper, and I thought one provided just enough red bell pepper-iness. (But if you are a fan of red bell pepper, go crazy and use two.) Interestingly enough, in the cookbook, this is referred to as a "casserole," but that term is misleading...so I'm glad the website basically names it what it is.

Verdict: Y'ALL. THIS CORN WAS RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING. So, so, so good. Like slap yourself good. (Also, I served this with a slotted spoon, and a good bit of the heavy cream and butter is left in the dish...so while I'm sure this dish wouldn't qualify as a "healthy food," I don't think it is as bad as you might think when you see the list of ingredients.) Bottom line: Make this dish. You won't be sorry.

Ina Garten's Tomato Feta Salad: My friend Martha recommended this recipe, and it seemed very summery and yummy. I found some good cherry tomatoes as well as some yellow tomatoes at a farmers' market (have you tried the yellow ones? they taste like sunshine in your mouth), so I gave this a try.

Verdict: Very tasty. I also love, love, love feta cheese, and combo along with some white wine vinegar and olive oil? So yummy. I will definitely make this again.

Side Note: Saturday night, our friends Damian and Rebecca came over for dinner. We had the tomato salad, grilled steaks, the PW corn, and blueberry cobbler. For me, it was kind of the perfect summer meal. :-)  (For my parents...we will definitely recreate that meal the next time you visit.)

Confessional Friday: Pet Peeves

I rarely do link-ups to other blogs (not really for any reason, but whatever), but this particular link up from the Blonde Ambition blog involved discussing pet peeves. Any time I can vent about pet peeves, I relish the opportunity. So here goes.

1. People who like to wear their birthday suits rather liberally in the gym locker room. (I could probably devote a post specifically to "gym pet peeves," but for now, I'll refrain.)

2. People who angrily express political views on Facebook.

3. Drivers who don't follow the carpool rules. (I can get really upset about this one.)

4. Media worship of The Kardashians (can't stand them!) and Brangelina.

5. Justin Bieber. And his pants.

6. Rude customer service. (Honestly, I hate to rat out my current town, but this is a HUGE problem in Baton Rouge. Seriously, checkout lady, are you really not going to even say "hello" to me??)

7. Women who complain about how fat they are when they are obviously smaller than I am. That's pretty much saying, "And I think you are fat, too!"

Edited to add one more:
8. I hate when people post on Facebook or forward through email internet "hoaxes." Ever heard of Snopes? Check out its truth before you post it / send it, people. (There is a post going viral on FB right now about how this country is "run by idiots," and Jeff Foxworthy is being attributed as the author. Um, he didn't write it.)

Whew. I feel better!!

An Evening With Audra McDonald

Because I took a bit of an unplanned, long blog break, I want to write about a few of the goings on in our lives over the past few months. These are going to be a bit random, but I'm just going to go with it.

About a month ago, FIVE-TIME Tony winner Audra McDonald came to Baton Rouge and performed with the BR Symphony Orchestra. I went by myself, but I didn't care. (I think some of my friends thought that was weird, but if Darryl had gone with me -- and it wasn't really his cup of tea -- we would have had to get a sitter. None of my friends here knew who she was, so I didn't want to ask them to fork out money for someone they didn't know...so I went alone.) I had a seat on the fourth row. FOURTH ROW. Several times throughout the concert, I had moments of, "Holy cow! I'm twenty feet from Broadway great Audra McDonald! Holy cow!"

That photo looks farther away than twenty feet, but it was taken with my phone. Trust me. Audra and I were tight. :-)

I took the photo above as a joke for one of my friends -- but I was excited!!

So if you are wondering who Audra McDonald is...Many people know who as Naomi from Private Practice (a show I didn't really watch unless it just happened to be on in the background). However, I first became acquainted with her from Rosie O'Donnell's old talk show. (I know Rosie is a divisive personality -- love her or hate her -- but I loved how she featured Broadway performances on her show. It gave people like me, who aren't frequent visitors to New York, a glimpse of Broadway greatness.) At the time, Audra (because we are on a first-name basis, of course) was starring in Ragtime, for which she later won a Tony. And thus began my fascination with her.

Here's a clip I found on YouTube of her singing one of my favorites. She opened with this in Baton Rouge, and y'all...I might have teared up. I don't know if was the song, or just the whole experience, or everything, but dadgum. The girl can SING. (She's also funny!) So enjoy this greatness for yourself...

I'M BACK!!! (I think...)

So.

I've been asked by one of my three or four readers if I have given up the blog. Of course, it looked that way, didn't it? In fact, I entertained the idea. I let two months go by without posting ANYTHING. No promises to be back, no photos, nothing.

I was living in a stressful limbo, and when I live in limbo, I tend to be in an overall type of "funk" that makes me not want to do anything I don't "have" to do. It's a lovely time to live with me, I assure you.

No sarcasm whatsoever.

Here's the deal that we've been living with since early this year:

As far back as January, we thought we were moving back to Atlanta this summer. Some things had changed at Darryl's job, where it seemed that it would be better if he were back in the office instead of working from home. I started applying for jobs in Georgia. I even went to Atlanta and interviewed for one. (More about that later...maybe.) I even turned in my resignation at LSU. But by the time mid-May rolled around, things just weren't shaping up for us to make a move. I had heard nothing about a job. Darryl was having a hard time finding a house for us to rent (and we really didn't know what budget we had for finding a house--would I be working? would I not?). Darryl was assigned to a project in a different location that would require more travel there than to Atlanta.

So we decided to stay in Baton Rouge for another year. My supervisor was extremely gracious about my situation and was able to stop the paperwork process for my resignation. Amelia's school had an opening for kindergarten (!) this school year. We found another house to rent. (That was the kicker...we still had to MOVE because our last house had sold, so we had find a different place to live.) Basically, everything fell in to place for us to stay one more year.

But another kicker??? As were were moving our things from one house to another, I had not one, but two people in Georgia express interest in hiring me. Oh, timing. You make me laugh. Not really.

We like Baton Rouge, though. We're happy to be here another year. I'm glad to have some continuity in our life. Amelia LOVES her school (so do we!), and I'm thrilled she will be there for kindergarten. I like my job, and I'm happy to have it another year.

And of course, we have another year of beignets and kolaches. (Y'all. I have discovered the bacon and cheese kolache and my life might never bet the same.)

But I'm now surrounded by boxes that need to be unpacked. Good times. We've been chipping away pretty steadily at that.

So that, really, is my excuse for the lack of blogging. All this moving stuff was was rolling around in my head, so I just wasn't in the mood, you know?

But now? I think I'm back. :-)

That time I didn't blog for two months with no explanation...

I'm sorry I abruptly dropped out of the blogosphere like that. (Especially when I was on a roll...well, for a week, anyway.)

Shortly after that last burst of blog posts, life got a bit hectic.

In other words, I don't know what I did wrong, but in my attempts to "stagger" work that was turned in by my comp classes and my lit class, I somehow managed to get myself on a neverending cycle of grading.

Seriously. I was swimming in papers.

And when I had free time, the last thing I felt like doing was writing. Instead, I preferred to play with Amelia, sleep, or catch up on TV shows.

I don't even want to think about the exerted effort I put into finishing up paper grading before Spring Break. I REFUSED to have papers to grade over the break. Lots of late-night grading. Lots of coffee.

I do not get any essays to grade until Wednesday the 24th. In that window of time, I promise to fill in the 2-month gap.

But not tonight. :-P

Because nothing says "love" like cowboy boots...

So a few weeks ago, Darryl informed me that he had two gifts in mind for me for Valentine's Day, but he wasn't sure which one to get. One was a gift he could pick out himself, and one was a gift I would have to know about in advance because I would have to pick it out.

(I must pause here to say I was quite impressed that Darryl was thinking about Valentine's Day several weeks AHEAD OF TIME. He has come a long way since the Valentine's Day when he picked up some roses from Sam's, left the card unsigned, and then told me I could fill it in with whatever message I wanted.)

(Yes, he really did that.)

(That was not our best Valentine's Day as a married couple.)

(You can tell I've completely let it go.)

Back to the current story...

Darryl told me what the gift was that I would have to choose on my own: cowboy boots. Now before you snicker at A) the thought of cowboy boots as a Valentine's gift, or B) the thought of me wearing cowboy boots, you should know that I have been eyeing cowboy boots for a while but could never commit. I've seen women my age (and older) wearing them, but I also see college-aged girls wearing them (albeit with Daisy Dukes or mini-dresses, but that was not my wardrobe plan).

And I liked the idea of cowboy boots, but Darryl wouldn't tell me what the other gift was, the one that he could pick out.

Essentially, folks, I was faced with a Showcase Showdown dilemma.

If you've ever watched The Price is Right, you know about the Showcase Showdown dilemma. If you are the biggest winner, you get to be in the "bid or pass" situation after seeing Prize Package #1. I mean sure, the trip to Paris seems great, but what if the next prize package is a new car? Or two new cars? Or a two new cars AND a trip?

And the cowboy boots were very appealing. But what if the other gift was a car? A trip to New York?? A car AND a trip to New York???

(Truth: I was pretty sure it wasn't either of those things.)

I went to try on some cowboy boots and fell in love with a pair that I thought I could pull off (as in "pull off" the look, not "pull the boots off my feet"...although that is also a "must" with a pair of boots, correct?). They fit like a dream, and I decided to go with the prize package #1.

Before Darryl purchased them, he was kind enough to reveal Prize Package #2, and it was a Kindle Paperwhite. And while I would love one of those, I was already attached to my boots.

And I wore them this past Saturday for the first time, with jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. And no one stared at me (that is always my fear when I go outside my fashion comfort zone), so I consider that a successful first run with the boots.

Aren't they pretty?

And if THAT isn't a romantic story for Valentine's Day, I don't know what is.

Thank you, Darryl, for my boots! I love them, but I love you (a little bit) more!! :-)

If you need a good ego boost...

Amelia is into giving compliments lately. When I'm dressed for work, she often tells me, "Momma, I love your necklace" or "Momma, I love your shirt."

One day, I might have changed from my work clothes into some pajama pants before 5:00 p.m. (don't judge me -- I have embraced the pajama pants with gusto), and she kind of looked me up and down and said, "Momma, I love your...socks."

It's a stretch, I know.

The other day at Middendorf's, we had a waitress who I think already had one foot in the retirement home. When she came to bring us our change, Amelia told her, "I love your glasses!" I wonder if she had gotten that compliment lately.

(Also, I was wishing Amelia had told her that earlier in our dining experience because maybe I would have gotten my Diet Coke a little more quickly.)

Yesterday, Amelia said she wanted to make a Valentine card for the both of us, and she wanted an envelope to put it in. She went to her room, returned with a sealed envelope, and wanted me to open it. Inside I found this (I'm pretty sure I'm the larger square-shaped one):

And then she said, "Hang this on your board so you can look at it and know that I love you forever."

Melt. My. Heart.

The Grammys (Because Sometimes I Like to Write about Nonsense)

Y'all. I love an awards show, and the Grammys might be my favorite. I care diddly squat about who actually wins; I just like to see the performances and bizarre moments that make the Grammys truly awesome.

Before I list my thoughts and observations, I feel I must apologize to my Facebook friends for my excessive Grammy-related posts. Something about an awards show brings it out in me, and I feel a need to voice my EVERY THOUGHT about what I see on the screen before me. I did try to reign it in a little, but I think I might have failed.

So here we go...

1. I wish everyone would stop hatin' on Taylor Swift. I find her delightful. And if she uses men for songwriting purposes, so be it. WE are the real winners for the songs that result from the breakup, yes? ("Dear John" might be one of my favorites, so thank you, John Mayer.)

2. What was Adele wearing?!?

3. THANK YOU, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE.

4. Kelly Clarkson can SANG, y'all.

5. I read some amusing tweets about what movies people would like to watch on Carrie Underwood's dress. (What was up with that?)

6. Frank Ocean. DID. NOT. UNDERSTAND.

7. Darryl did not know Miranda Lambert is married to Blake Shelton. (How could he not know that?)

8. I wants someone (and by someone, I mean Adele, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, and Carrie Underwood) to stage an intervention for Rihanna and TALK SOME SENSE into her.

9. I super-loved Adam Levine and Alicia Keys (by the way..."Girl on Fire" is Amelia's jam) and the Marley tribute featuring Bruno, Sting, Rihanna, and more.

10. Darryl did not know that Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are married. To each other. (Again, how could he not know that?)

11. Darryl is apparently an LL Cool J fan. (How could we be married almost 14 years and I  not know that?)

12. This was quite possibly one of my favorite Grammys ever. :-)

(As I type this, I happen to have E!'s "Fashion Police" on in the background. Kelly Osborne just gave Adele's dress a thumbs up. Kelly has lavender hair...so really, who is she to judge???)

(But I'm sitting here in plaid pajama pants, so who am I to judge??)

(But I'm pretty sure I have more room to judge than Joan Rivers does.)

The Weekend: Grandparents, Catfish, and Parades, Oh My!

My parents came over this weekend (well, technically, they came over on Thursday) for Grandparents' Day at Amelia's school on Friday. We were excited to have them visit -- Amelia loves her Nana and Paw-Paw and couldn't wait for them to see her school and meet her teacher.

 

I didn't actually get to attend the Grandparents' Day festivities (as I am not a grandparent), but apparently some songs were sung, some crafts were given as gifts, and a good time was had by all.

Saturday, we all went to "the swamp" to have thin fried catfish at Middendorf's.  We hadn't been there since Darryl and I lived in Baton Rouge about twelve years ago, but the catfish were just as good as I had remembered. (I'm not a huge catfish fan -- I'll eat them but they aren't necessarily my fav -- but I really love these paper-thin fried ones. Because let's be honest...it's all about the "fried" part.)

On our way back, we stopped at Cabela's, and Amelia wanted me to take a photo of her with this "pirate skeleton" in the aquarium.

Later that afternoon, Darryl and I made a quick trip to a nearby store to get not one, not two, but THREE King Cakes. (One of them, though, was for my parents to take to Darryl's brother and sister. They live in the same town as my parents, and the brother and sister live across the street from each other...just in case anyone was wondering about the logistics of the King Cake sharing.)

And because my gluttony is often followed by immense guilt and feelings of "I really need to eat better," our cart looked like this.

(Also, for any of you outside the state of Louisiana...if you have not had a legit Louisiana King Cake, do NOT judge this dessert by the the dried out fakes that you find in chain stores across the country. They are NOT the same.)

That night (we are now at Saturday night, if you haven't fallen asleep from this riveting blog post), my parents offered to keep Amelia so we could go out, so we met our friends Damian and Rebecca and had a nice meal at Little Village, a restaurant Darryl and I had never been to. The food was pretty good, but our waiter...bless his heart. Darryl said he had "waiter dyslexia" because he got our orders backwards every single time.

(No offense to any of you who have the "real deal" dyslexia.)

Sunday morning, my parents left, and we decided to get out for a bit and try a couple of parades our next-door neighbors suggested in the big city of Thibodaux.

There is no way I can describe the amount of crap loot Amelia acquired from these parades -- beads, moon pies, stuffed animals, swords, more beads, more toys. INSANITY.  Amelia even has the proper parade pose down:

It was a good weekend. And now I am enjoying my favorite Mardi Gras tradition of all: the Mardi Gras Holiday. It's even better than the King Cake.

Orange

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the LSU Lady Tigers were going to be taking on the Tennessee Lady Vols here in Baton Rouge. I was pumped because one of my former BHS students, Draya, is a freshman Lady Vol, and I of course wanted to see her. After a little bit of Twitter communication between the two of us, she was sweet enough to reserve me a ticket and we made plans to meet briefly after the game.

Don't get me wrong...I really do like the job I have right now. It is manageable, enjoyable, and affords me the balance that I think I need right now in this season of life. HOWEVER, if you asked me what I miss most about teaching high school, it would be the bond that teachers share with their students -- the bond that is created from seeing them for 55 minutes a day over the course of a school year, from attending their activities, from chatting with them in the hallway, from watching students achieve their goals...whatever those goals might be. (Also, high school students are FUNNIER.)

But anyway, Draya wanted to be a Lady Vol for almost her entire life. When she was in my AP Language class, she would use the Lady Vol basketball program (specifically Pat Summitt) as an example in her essays whenever the opportunity would afford itself. And while she had wonderful coaches and opportunities to develop her talent as a basketball player, she also worked tirelessly toward her dream and did everything in her power to make it happen. And it did.

So to see her walk out in her orange last night was a big proud teacher moment for me. I am in NO way responsible for any of her success (maybe I helped improve her already-strong writing abilities? maybe?), and we really just keep up with each other via Twitter (social media is crazy, yo), but seeing someone living her dream? There's just something cool about that.

Mardi Gras Madness

I am not Catholic, but I almost feel that I should confess my "sin" of not blogging and ask for absolution.

Life has been busy lately. What can I say?

But here we are, in the midst of Mardi Gras season, and I can tell you one thing: Amelia has embraced the Mardi Gras parade.

We took Amelia to TWO parades Saturday -- an afternoon one and an evening one -- and she had a blast. And we had a blast watching her.

Part of the reason Amelia loved the parades so much was because of the loot, of course. Once she received this princess wand, she was a happy camper.

Amelia's school had a Pre-K Mardi Gras wagon parade today. We decorated Amelia's wagon with essential Fleur de Lis and Mardi Gras ribbon. Little did I know that some wagon were going to be hardcore with lights and music.

(Note to self for every school event we have attended thus far: We need to STEP UP OUR GAME.)

ALSO...I was not aware the student body was going to attend the parade. I thought we were going to just parade around for family and friends. No, sir.  We paraded through a crowd of kids ranging from kindergarten students through fifth graders, all screaming, "Throw me something! Give me some beads!! Give me some candy!!" We ran out of beads quickly, and then Amelia was sad she had nothing to throw. Again, we need to STEP UP OUR GAME.

But it was fun.

Amelia and a friend.

Amelia told a teacher I made her mask. By "made her mask," she means I tied the string to it. How's that for crafty?

 

Just keeping it real...Amelia was not happy because I wouldn't let her stand up in the wagon and ride. I'm so mean.

And this has absolutely nothing to do with Mardi Gras, but check out this oak tree at Amelia's school. Darryl's dad was always a huge fan of the Louisiana oaks when we lived here about twelve years ago, so much so that we have a lot of laughs about it. (Seriously...he was obsessed.) I think he would have given this one a "thumbs up."

And to link obsessions with Mardi Gras...you know what I'm obsessed with? King Cake. That might be a post for another day...

What's up, 2013?

I realize we are almost a week into the new year, but with all the Christmas catch-up posts and such, I haven't publicly acknowledged it.

So...Happy New Year (a week late)!

I typically make a few resolutions, but I didn't this year. I think I have accepted that I never really keep them anyway, so what is the point?

Plus, last week my parents had Amelia with them, so Darryl and I pretty much feasted on fattening food and restaurants all week, so while most people were cutting their carbs and going to the gym twice a day, we were eating steak, risotto, chicken parmesan, Mexican food (not at the same time). This week is a "getting back on the wagon week" for us. I'll just say the scale was NOT kind this morning.

Yikes.

ANYWAY, I feel like I have been on Christmas Break forever, and I'm not complaining...but it is hard to get back into the routine. Amelia went back to school today (technically, her school started this past Friday to make up for the "hurricane days" last fall, but she was still with my parents), and I go back next week. And guess what? I have done very little to get ready.

Again, yikes.

If you have made it this far into my blog post and are still awake, kudos. You might also be wondering what the point of this post is. Really, I don't have one. I think I'm just delaying the many things I have to do.

Better get to that to-do list...

Christmas: Rounds 1, 2, and 3

Round 1: Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Day here. It was a really low-key day, partly because that is how we wanted it, and partly because the weather was too terrible to do anything else (rain, wind, tornado warnings).

At about 6:45 that morning, Darryl and I were so excited that we woke Amelia up to see if Santa had visited, and indeed he had! Amelia had asked Santa for a tent, Princess and the Pop Star Barbies, and some superhero ("super-here-e-o") toys, and she was excited to see that he had delivered!

Amelia was so fun this Christmas season. Christmas night, I let her stay up past her bedtime so we could watch The Polar Express (again!) together...mainly because I just didn't want the season to end. Everything this year was more exciting, shinier, brighter -- MAGICAL. We loved every minute.

At least there was a little more fun to look forward to...

Christmas: Round Two

Two days after Christmas, we went to Florida to visit our families. On Thursday, we did Christmas with my parents. We had a great time devouring ham and all the fixings, and of course, Amelia was pumped to open presents.

My mom had given my dad an iPad for Christmas. Let me tell you something about my dad: he HATES technology. (This might lead you to ask why the iPad would my mom's choice for a gift for my dad...well, she -- and the rest of us -- are determined to bring him up to speed, at least a little.) He now has an email address and has discovered Netflix, so he might admit to liking technology at least a little bit.

Christmas: Round Three

The next day (Friday, for anyone who is trying to keep track), we did Christmas with Darryl's side of the family. We spent some time hanging out outside around the firepit at Darryl's sister's house, and then we had dinner across the street at Darryl's brother's house.

Darryl's sister, Ashley:

Amelia and Avery making a hot chocolate toast. (They did this on their own...cracked. me. up.)

Our niece Savannah--she is growing up so fast!

Ashley, Amelia, and Avery

The fam just chatting around the table

Our nephew Cameron (also growing up so fast) and Avery

This photo makes me laugh. The girls were anxious so open presents, so Darryl set a timer on his phone and Amelia and Madison watched the minutes tick by. Oh, the anticipation!!

All the cousins

It was a fun, lively evening!

Other Notes:
1. I assure you that Darryl was very much a part of all our Christmas festivities. However, when I point the camera his direction, he does things like this:

For all we know, that is Dr. Evil behind that iPad.

2. Another fun part of Christmas in Florida was that on Saturday, my mom and I ventured out to see the movie Les Miserables. Y'all. Loved it. It is not a flawless movie (ahem, Russell Crowe), but overall it is a wonderful movie. I want to see it again at the theater.

Also, if Hugh Jackman proposed, I would say yes. That is all.

I really have more to say about it...that might be another blog post. Or not. Who knows.

3. And that wraps up the season for us. Amelia has spent the week with her grandparents, so Darryl and I have enjoyed a week of being lazy, having nice dinners out, and watching movies and football...but we miss our girl and look forward to her coming home Friday!