Tales From The Nest

Oh, Christmas Tree!

2012-01-09T14:54:00.002-06:00

There is a quiet beauty when decorating a Christmas tree. Everything seems hushed and unhurried--you can simply take your time and decorate as your heart desires. Every ornament and light is strung with care and planning until the end result shines before you and lights up the holidays.

The boys took care of the decorating of the tree this year and I am so happy they did. In the end, we had a magnificent tree that Peyton was proud to have helped set up.

I loved catching Troy and Peyton in action looking for the next perfect spot to hang an ornament. Peyton was very methodical in his approach and did pretty well once he knew to spread out his baubles evenly!

All Hallow's Eve

2012-01-06T08:27:00.002-06:00

'Tis the night - the night

Of the grave's delight,

And the warlocks are at their play;

Ye think that without

The wild winds shout,

But no, it is they - it is they.

~Arthur Cleveland Coxe

So, I failed as a Mom last Halloween in the picture department-- these are the only shots I got. In my defense, I really wasn't feeling all that great at the beginning of the night and so I just tarried along behind my little trick or' treating family while they had a blast. This was the closest we got to getting Peyton to smile for the pictures-- he just wanted to go and have a great time!

His costume last year was the easiest to find out of the whole family. He literally just walked into the costume store and within two minutes, had decided that this was what he was going to be--a Disney Car's pit crewman. He couldn't be swayed by anything else, so there you go! :)

Peyton is obviously practicing his evil eye. Are you scared yet?

I love that Chloe is looking in her treat bucket like 'What did they just put in there?!'

Lylah (dressed as an angel) has a really cute expression on her face too.

Troy decided to dress up as a person who didn't have time to get a costume.

{More sad than scary, really.}

Chloe managed to unwrap about six lollipops before I noticed--here she is enjoying yet another sucker. Sneaky girl! Chloe also happened to be the winner of a 'Sweetest Costume' prize at one house where she got an extra bag of goodies in addition to her treat.

Even though Halloween has long been over, every day Chloe asks to be "Snow White!" In fact, she calls her red sparkly shoes--her "Snow White's" since those were the shoes she was wearing with her costume that night. :)

Pumpkin-Palooza!

2012-01-05T15:36:00.003-06:00

Last year was the second year in a row that we've been to the Dallas Arboretum to see their pumpkin display in the month of October. Looks like it's becoming a fun, yearly tradition!

This last year, a few friends and I packed a picnic lunch and headed out on one of the days that the arboretum offered a story time, music hour, face painting and a petting zoo for the younger set.

But the main reason we went, of course, was to see the oodles of pumpkins that sprout up in every nook and cranny of those large, spacious grounds.

Chloe was mesmerized by the assortment of pumpkins everywhere. When I gave her a little pumpkin to hold for the pictures, she just beamed!

There's my sassafrass!

It was killing Chloe to sit still-- she was just itching to get up and hug every pumpkin!

There are literally thousands of pumpkins displayed each October at the Dallas Arboretum. I have never seen so many pumpkins in one place in my entire life until I visited this arboretum.

There was a fun hay maze last year-- but the girls thought it would be more fun to use it as a balance beam. I guess gymnastics class must have been rubbing off on them!

Last year, the theme for the grounds was different fairytales involving pumpkins. But they mainly focused on the story of Cinderella. Here we are in her fancy carriage!

We were being pulled by two stately, leafy horses!

'What are you?'

'I think you must be friendly-- let me pet you again to be sure.'

Chloe loved ♥LOVED♥ loved the petting zoo.

She wanted to hold and pet everything there. They had a pony, two rabbits, several goats, a sheep and a few clucking chickens for good measure!

So soft!

I can't wait until October to visit the pumpkin patch again!

Will you come with us this time?

Stuck!

2012-01-04T14:13:00.004-06:00

One afternoon last October, I kept hearing Chloe whimpering from her room. It wasn't time for her to get up from her nap, so I just stuck to my guns and ignored her. After a while though, curiosity got the better of me so I slowly opened up her door to find her in this predicament .

She had flung clothes and diapers willy-nilly all over the floor, put her nightlight on top of her lamp, twisted her curtains into ropes (I imagine to swing from), dislodged her naptime CD from her stereo, used the dresser drawers as stairs, removed her diaper, POOPED on top of the dresser (not pictured----you're welcome) and had lodged herself in the top drawer as seen above.

Her first expression was what I found when I opened the door. She thought I was going to be furious but seeing all that that busy body had done just made me laugh. When she saw me laughing, she began to smile too. Ah, the joys of toddlers. :)

P.S. Her shirt reads: Daddy's little wild child. Can it get any more perfect than that?

See the Sea!

2012-01-03T16:42:00.006-06:00

A passport, as I'm sure you know, is a document that one shows to government officials whenever one reaches a border between countries, so the officials can learn who you are, where you were born, and how you look when photographed unflatteringly.

~Lemony Snicket

On September 23rd, 2011-- two days before my hunk-a-burnin'-love's birthday-- we flew into Orlando, Florida, and boarded the Disney Magic Cruise Ship to sail away to the Caribbean Sea.

The first morning we woke up away from land and treading water in the wide expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, we had breakfast with some of the kids' favorite Disney pals.

I wasn't sure how Peyton and Chloe would react to the characters coming to the table, but they were absolutely ecstatic and excited to talk to, take pictures with, and hug their 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' friends.

Our server made each of us a napkin hat-- here Chloe is modeling her Minnie Mouse bow.

Peyton rocked his green Peter Pan hat.

Blurry as we are, here Troy and I are with our napkin origami.

Troy was Aladdin, and I was Pocahontas.

But the highlight of the morning came shortly after the boys left to go find the restroom and Chloe's very favorite character came out to visit. We love Minnie Mouse!

Another trip favorite for our stowaways were the Mickey Mouse ice cream bars that they had every night after dinner. They were in a sticky, melty, chocolate/vanilla heaven!

Delicious faces!

"You have pretty eyelashes."

Nearly everywhere we went on board the ship there were endless opportunities to take pictures with the gang. Sometimes we ran into them in the halls, and once we waited in line so we could have pictures with fancy Mickey and Minnie (pictures further below). Also present (which we never seemed to capture) were several Disney Princesses, and even Peter Pan and Captain Hook.

Speaking of origami, napkin hats weren't the only thing that got folded on the ship. Here, our towels were conjured into the shape of an anteater wearing my shades.

Our first official stop and location of our excursion was St. Maartin Island. It was smothered with diamond and jewelry shops, high end fashion wear, fragrances, liquor and cigar stores in a slummy, graffiti ridden, run-down French Quarter-ish looking area. Though we had fun deep sea helmet diving here, we weren't as impressed with the ambiance of this location. Our taxi driver told us that he was, "99% sure that we would be back again." Troy and I had a good laugh later about that one!

The yellow lines going into the water belong to our boat. The other hut and boat belong to "the competition".

Even cloudy, it was beautiful!

Troy and I enjoyed our little excursion under the sea together, though I must admit-- I was a little trepidacious going under the water at first!

How cute-- we have matching bubbles! :)

This prickly little sponge grabs on to your hand really well.

Troy gave it a good pet, too.

See, no hands!

The guides gave us some bread (bread?!) to feed the fish. Our instructions were to hold our hand low so that they could get our faces in the shot.

It's a little nerve racking feeding the fish-- they have teeth! I had a little nibble taken out of one finger and was pretty shocked. But, it was amazing to be under the sea. Well worth the battle-wound. ;)

Here's a picture of "The Mickey Mouse boat" which must always be said with exclamation points!!

'Little Dude, Big Attitude'. Yep, that's about right. Here's the interior of one of our cabins.

Excursion number two: Mountain Biking on Water Island across from the isle of St. Thomas.

The sun was extra brilliant when we posed for this picture. Hence, my watery eyed smile. :)

Troy wasn't so sure about this excursion at first but he was happy in the end that we did it. Once the group set off, he was gone!

I tried to tan on our trip; really, I did. Here I am in my pasty paleness getting ready to bike it down the mountain side through mud and pot holes.

Our guide stopped us in front of this sign to tell us that the hours posted here are pretty typical of island life. I took a picture because it was just too funny. On the right, it reads: Hours 11-7. Open most days around 11 or 12. Occasionally as early as 9 and sometimes as late as 1 or 2. We close about 6:30 or 7. Occasionally about 4 or 5, and sometimes as late as midnight, or later. On some days, we're not here at all, but lately we've been here alot, unless we're not.

A baby turtle! Our guide was really excited to see this little guy because turtles are pretty rare on the island and the sight of this slow mover meant that the island was teeming with new life.

At the end of our bike ride, we ended up on Honeymoon Beach which was man-made by a couple of return G.I.'s after World War II. The water was beautiful and clear, though the sand was a little rocky.

Another view of paradise.

Our last stop was Disney's own Castaway Cay (that last part is pronounced "key" not "kay"-- it threw me for a loop when I first heard it said aloud!)

From the smiles in the next few pictures, you'd think that Chloe was a beach baby to the core.

Not so.

That girl screamed and fell apart the moment her feet touched sand. She had done the same thing about nine months prior in the dinosaur exhibit at the Dallas museum when I set her in the interactive fossil dig that had tons of sand and brushes. She wanted nothing to do with that sand! I thought maybe she would have gotten over it, but I guess the fear lives on! Here she is giving Donald some love.

They're both smiling at once? Amazing!

Once we left the beach (which was a very short-lived foray) the kids had great fun at the splash park.

That night, they had a 'Pirates IN the Caribbean' Party. They handed out free bandanas and temporary tattoos which the boys donned right away. There was lots of dancing on deck, Mickey zip-lined across the entire ship, and there were even fireworks!

More Mickey and Minnie action!

One more for the road.

Besides getting food poisoning (me), we had a really fun time on our excursions and on the cruise in general. We also enjoyed listening to a comedian, a ventriloquist, and several Disney mini-musicals. I can't forget to mention Troy's favorite-- the endless buffets!

I wonder where in the world we'll go next?! :)

School is Cool

2011-09-08T06:00:00.002-05:00

Peyton's preschool sits atop a gently sloping hill that overlooks a large enclosed pasture filled with grazing cows and, when the land is not in drought, delicate wildflowers. The building is small and the classrooms are cozy and there is a low turnover with the staff which is generally a very good sign that the school is a warm and friendly kind of place-- a kind of working family.

We would pass by the school all summer on our way to the gym and Peyton would sometimes chirp from the backseat that that was HIS school and talk about old friends Allie and Alaina or teachers Mrs. Greenleaf and Ms. Oster. Sometimes, my heart would feel sad for him when he asked when he was going back to school. He goes stir crazy during the summer months, especially this last one when it was so blazing hot that we couldn't emerge from the house very often.

So, he was beyond excited when he saw the package of uniform shirts arrive at the door for him, and he wanted to try on the shirts then and there and not take them off again. Still, he had to wait another two weeks before the BIG day.

When I told him that "today is the day" he was going back to school, he was a frenetic ball of energy; little able to still at the kitchen table to finish a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of milk before rushing off to brush his teeth and to don his uniform. He wrapped his fingers around his backpack loop and dragged that bag throughout the house, inspecting the pockets and checking out his nap time blanket and extra clothing with all seriousness.

He smiled large for the camera then bounded away to the car, ready to meet his first day back with gusto.

Troy took our ever-growing boy to his first day of school and captured his small, lean, little body amble down the hallway looking for his new class.

Here he is, checking out his newest digs, with teachers Mrs. Visor (on the left) and Mrs. Maggie (on the right). I have a soft spot in my heart for these grandmotherly teacher types that seem to have a whole measure of patience and who never seem to tire of teaching these moldable little souls.

When I went to pick Peyton up from his first day, I found him at work at one of his favorite past times-- the computer. This boy is a technology junkie through and through and has been from his earliest months here on earth. Needless to say, it was hard to convince him to come home!

Here is Peyton's name tag and bag hook. His Toy Story nap time blanket is peeking out!

Here are Mrs. Visor's notes about the first day back. She's been updating her notes every day and it's nice to know what Peyton has been up to at his home away from home!

Summer's Last Hurrah

2011-09-07T15:26:00.001-05:00

Heat, ma'am! It was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones. ~Sydney Smith, Lady Holland's Memoir

The summer of 2011 was a doozy. We went 31+ days between July and August with temps of 100 degrees or higher until all of the landscaping in our yards withered from the unrelenting sun and the lakes began to shrink away from the shores leaving mudlands all around the rims. We didn't go out to play because of the high risk of heat stroke, and from what our friends tell us, the swimming pools felt like hot tubs. Finally, about four days ago, we got some relief. There's been no rain as of yet but the heat pattern finally broke and we enjoyed a beautiful balmy day of 88 degrees. I ate breakfast in pajamas and a robe out on my patio and felt the wind lift my hair and stir the leaves on the trees and it was glorious. Now that we are edging closer to fall, I feel nostalgic enough to write about August!

August and September are busy, busy months in our family. My Uncle Bruce celebrates his birthday August 1st, I celebrate August 5th, Troy's half sister, Laura celebrates hers August 18th, and Troy's mom celebrates on August 21st. Then September begins and the birthdays continue with my mom and my friend Isela on the 1st, my friends Kelly and Amy on the 2nd, my dad (today!) on the 7th, my friend Haley on the 10th, my sister-in-law Naoko on the 11th, our friend Aaron and Troy's brother Jason on the 21st and Troy on the 25th! Whew!

My friend, Elizabeth, asked that I post about my birthday (which seems forever ago) and I decided today would be as good a day as any to jot down my thoughts about the day. Troy had to work that day since it landed on a Friday, but I was heralded a very happy birthday by nearly everyone I've known for the past 10 years via Facebook land. :)

My neighbor friend, Kelly, stopped by bringing a large tupperware bowl of fresh fruit which was enjoyed by all (we are fruity kind of people in the Majoue house) and my other friend Haley brought by these beautiful deep red flowers in a glass vase that looked so real that I went to water them the day after she brought them by and realized they weren't real after all! My other friend Val dropped in and brought me large, gorgeous stalks of violet gladiolas that graced my bathroom and brightened my day every morning for a week. At the door, I received flowers twice from a florist, once from my Uncle Bruce and his wife Chris, and again from my dear Troy.

flowers from Bruce and Chris

flowers from Troy

When Troy got home, he brought with him a box of the most delicious cupcakes from Gigi's that I've had since the time I went to Sprinkles with Aidan and Jeremy about two years ago. They looked (almost) too beautiful to eat but after we ate dinner, we tore into those delicious morsels until we were sugar sick.

gigi's cupcakes

Troy also gifted me perhaps one of my favorite gifts of all, a giftcard to Amazon so I can pick out the books I'd like to read next. My mom and dad also spoiled me by giving me a giftcard to go shop at Ann Taylor Loft for some new pretty things. Thanks to everyone who called, stopped by, emailed, gave me a shout out on Facebook or who brought by some form of endearment or another. I love you all!

As for the heat of summer, here's to hoping that the dog days of summer are now over so we can enjoy the cooler weather that fall brings. Already, my fall wreath is gracing my door, autumn leaves decorate my mantel and I have dreams of making pumpkin cheesecake, spicy gingerbread loaves and chili and cornbread.

Oh! Speaking of cheesecake, I made this one for my birthday and it was spectacular:

lime-coconut cheesecake from Our Best Bites.com

If it's still hot and summery where you are, give this cheesecake a whirl-- it's cool and refreshing and helps cut the heat! Enjoy. :)

To Save a Life

2011-08-11T18:04:00.010-05:00

{me, before everything began}

*I must give a disclaimer before I begin this post. This topic has been on my mind a lot lately, and it is not an easy thing to talk or even write about. In fact, this may be the hardest post I have ever written thus far. I did not want to write it, but it has been keeping me awake at night with this nagging feeling that I must push through and get it out. This post may save someone else's childhood or it may help someone who has also felt that they were alone and that no one else could possibly understand what they have been through. Maybe you have a friend who has been through this, or a mother, even a sister. If you have a young daughter, I beg you to read this.

***

"I have no regrets in my life." A dear friend of mine stated over four years ago as we kept pace together, running the two mile course around beautiful La Franiere Park. It was another splendid day, the humidity was low and it was cool enough that we had on long sleeves and pants. The water on the lake was rippling, birds were flying overhead, ducks were navigating the shore and fallen leaves were dancing across the ground. We took turns pushing the double jogging stroller with our first borns in tow, her first, a girl; my first, a boy.

Her words arrested me for a moment and I was momentarily flabbergasted. A life of no regrets? It sounded wonderful, a life lived to the fullest-- no pausing to look back or to second guess ones self.

Those words haunted me for days thereafter and every once in a while I'll still hear them-- no regrets.

You see, I have so many, many regrets in my 32 years of life. Some are of my own making, and others are choices that other people have made that directly affected my life. Today, I'm going to talk about some of them. It is uncomfortable, and heart wrenching, and these things have plagued my life and changed who I once was when I had no fear of people and wanted to please everyone. I am going to talk about three of these major events, though there are others.

These are the events that when shared, I feel can change or save some young girls' life today. I won't go into explicit, lurid detail-- partly because it's not neccessary, and also because it still hurts too much. I know you will get the point, regardless.

Sorry if this post gets long-- that's the nature of remembering.

***

I met my best friend from elementary school, Wendy, in the 5th grade. I had only lived in Alaska for a few years at this point, so to me, Wendy was distinctly different because she was Native Alaskan and not like the children I grew up going to school with in North Carolina. She had long, beautiful, thick dark hair and nearly black eyes that twinkled when she was happy. Once summer hit, we would spend endless hours together having watermelon fights, begging her dad to take us to the video rental store, spying on the cutest boy in our class that also lived in her neighborhood, and talking; always talking.

Wendy was the one who introduced me to Melanie when school started up again. Pretty soon, we were an unbroken triangle-- always trying to sit together at lunch, whispering and giggling in the halls, and planning what we were going to sing at the school talent show-- we were contemplating a Paula Abdul or a Janet Jackson song.

During this period, we were constantly having slumber parties-- usually at Wendy's house, though there were was one at Melanie's. I remember the first time I saw Melanie's room. She, like me had a love for unicorns. Her walls featured posters of the unique single horned horses that she had colored herself-- the kind that had the fuzzy black outline as well as posters that lit up when a black light was turned on. She had oodles of stuffed animals, a lava lamp, ceiling stars that glowed in the dark, her own TV in her room and a daybed.

I had always wanted a daybed-- something that could function as a couch/makeshift futon during the day and was a bed when you moved all of the pillows and stuffed animals to the side. I was in awe of everything-- simply everything.

We three twelve year olds stayed up late, watched movies, giggled, talked, ate candy and other junk food and had a generally wild and fun time. Eventually, we all got tired and Wendy curled up and slept on the trundle bed on the floor. Melanie squished one way on the day bed and I slept the opposite way-- my feet at her head, her feet at mine.

It took me a while to drift off-- the excitement of everything kept me awake for a while but I eventually dozed off. I woke up some time later and at first, I couldn't figure out why I was awake.

I wasn't the type of girl that frequently woke up at night or needed to use the bathroom so I blinked and tried to focus on the light that was streaming into the room from the hallway.

In that moment, I realized that my shirt was up, and my chest on the left side had that numb, uncomfortable feeling when it's been rubbed too much and for too long in one spot. I could see Melanie's dad hovering over my left shoulder and when he saw that I was awake, quickly tugged my shirt down and told me to go back to sleep.

He slipped out the door and the room was bathed in darkness again.

I might have forgotten that anything had happened had Melanie's dad not pulled me aside as we were getting our things ready to go home.

He grabbed my arm as I was walking out the door and shut it before I could get out and said, "Hey, nothing happened last night. I came in to tuck you girls in and you had pulled your shirt up in your sleep. I was just pulling it down when you woke up. Don't tell your mom and dad about this."

I was pretty scared because I knew I hadn't pulled my shirt up in my sleep and the fact that he told me not to tell my mom and dad made it seem even more suspicious. I think I ultimately didn't tell my parents anything at first because I didn't know what to say. It wasn't until Melanie told me on a separate occasion at school that sometimes her dad came into her room at night and did things to her that I decided it wasn't a mistake.

I went to the school nurse and asked her in a round about way what to do if someone was touching one of my friends. This, of course spurred all kinds of questions and answers in which the truth came out. I can't remember all of the details on whether the nurse called my parents or how it went down, but they eventually knew what had happened and that Melanie had told me about what was happening at home.

Things got really bad after that.

Her dad called our house and I answered the phone. He yelled at me over the phone and called me things that no child should ever hear. In fact, I think he made several calls over the course of a week though we didn't pick up the phone. Once, he left a message saying more of the bad things he had said on the phone on the message.

At school, Melanie wasn't speaking to me and I couldn't figure out what had happened. She just said, "You know what you did! I told you not to tell anyone!"

Eventually, Melanie told me they were moving to Hawaii because of what I did. They packed up pretty fast and moved out of town and it was years before I would see her again.

One night, my parents and I happened to be in Anchorage which is about 50 miles away from the town of Palmer which we lived in. We were at the mall and had decided to eat pizza at one of my mom and dad's favorite places called Round Table Pizza. It was a typical pizza joint of the 80's and 90's-- it had a jukebox, an arcade room; the usual fun stuff for kids.

I was in the arcade room before our pizza was ready just checking out the games and seeing if there were any I wanted to play when someone said my name. I turned and saw a vaguely familiar face standing before me.

She said "Do you remember me? I'm Melanie."

Then it clicked and my stomach tightened. I didn't know what to say, so I looked at the floor and said, "How are you? Where have you been?" She told me that she had moved to Hawaii and then she said, "You ruined our life."

I think I may have mumbled sorry and then someone, maybe her mom, was calling her. I didn't want to see them-- her mom or her dad, so I said goodbye and back pedalled out of there as fast as I could.

The guilt I felt over ruining someone else's life ate me up.

Big time.

When future things happened to me, and didn't involve anyone else but me, I still couldn't find the words to tell. I thought maybe it was my fault these things kept happening. Maybe there was something I was doing or not doing. So I kept it inside. If I did share what happened, it was usually too late. Too late to make the person responsible for those actions pay for what they did. This is one of my biggest regrets-- because I didn't speak up, someone else most likely had to go through what I did because I didn't have the courage to raise my voice. I was just so scared. Young and scared.

***

{Mr. Friendly Neighbor Man's house}

Pretty much since the time we moved into our neighborhood out in Palmer, we had these awful neighbors that lived to the left of us. They had two kids, a girl and a guy who loved to tease and torment me. If you've seen the show 'The Little House on the Prairie' with Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon, you'd recognize Nellie and Willie in this girl and guy.

It got so bad that if I saw them outside, I would either hide in the house until they were gone or sneak out through the back door and amble alongside the house so I could avoid them. So, it was with great pleasure one day that I saw that they were moving. It didn't take long for the house to be reoccupied, this time a single man and his dog.

No kids.

When he saw me outside, he'd make small talk or tell me that I looked pretty. As a nearly fourteen year old girl, it was flattering to be called pretty. This man became an odd friend of sorts. I'd tell him what was going on or share things I had written with him. He always seemed interested in what I had to say and seemed to be a kind person.

I was a very shy, introverted person by this point. The events that I described prior to this changed me almost over night. Where I used to talk to anyone, now I was nervous and didn't know what to say. I wanted to feel like I belonged, but didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. I ended up switching schools because the kids at my old school kept saying that I was snobby and that I must think that I was too good for anyone because I wouldn't talk to anyone or make eye contact. In reality, I was lonely and I really wanted a close friend. So when this man didn't treat me like a stupid kid and actually seemed to listen and didn't make fun of me or laugh at me, it was a relief.

Despite trying to reach out and make new friends around this time, I went through a terrible depression where I wouldn't care for myself or the things around me. I won't go into too much detail here but things were a mess in my life inside and out.

I called Wendy one day to tell her I was thinking of suicide. I was a squeemish girl so I wasn't thinking of slitting my wrists or anything like that. I was going to walk to a nearby bridge and jump. As my thoughts swirled out of control, I wrote really dark poetry during this time. Jumping must have been really on the forefront of my mind because here is one of the poems I wrote:

Suicide's Angel

Toes curled, clenching cold concrete.

Limbs taut, straining tight on edge.

Hands fisted tightly, knuckles white.

Oblivious to the cars behind her,

Yielding, propelling, nudging, racing.

One split second of raging frenzy.

Adrenaline rushing, pumping, seething.

Fleeting glance at a man,

Leaning silently, cautiously looking,

Curiousity gleaming.

Sweat wet in a golden sheen.

Turning back and looking downward,

Into the swirling abyss of a river.

Heart throbbing, pulsating, beating,

As she flies through cool, bitter air.

Tragic gray eyes blinking

Against brilliant sunshine,

An instant like eternity,

Watches counting the seconds

As she plunges deep, thinking only,

I'm free.

What I didn't know was that when I told Wendy about what I was thinking of doing that she had called the police. There was a knock at the door and there were two paramedics standing there on the doorstep. It was my turn to be angry that someone had outed me, and I was. They asked me if everything was okay, and I told them it was. They asked if I needed any help. I told them I didn't. They told me that I had to sign some release form saying that I didn't want any help from them. I signed, and they left. I thought that that would be the end of that and I could wallow in my sadness all by myself.

I was wrong.

My parents came home and told me that Wendy's father had called them and told them what was going on and then there was a BIG discussion about what was going on. The next day, we headed into Anchorage for what I thought was just a family excursion. My mom and dad ended up taking me to an in-patient hospital to treat my depression.

I was there several weeks.

When I came back, Mr. Friendly Neighbor Man was still there and asked where I had been. I told him about what was going on and then he told me he had to go out of town for a week and asked if I would house sit for him and make sure the dog was let out and fed.

He took me through the house telling me where the dog food was and how to lock the kennel. What I thought was odd was that he had bought oreo cookies and ramen noodles for me to eat "if you get hungry" and told me that I could watch whatever I wanted to on the TV. He said that he had a lot of movies too and that he didn't mind if I hung out around the house.

He left three days later, and I did what any teenager does when they have a house to themselves.

I snooped.

I found pornography magazines.

And XXX movies.

And things I knew were toys that people used on each other.

And real photographs of this man naked.

There were also photographs of young girls that were nude and posed with him doing things that I knew I shouldn't be seeing. It wasn't like I went into closets or bedroom drawers looking for this stuff. The pictures and two toys were in a kitchen drawer. The movies were in the TV cabinet with the other movies he told me that I could watch.

I don't know why I didn't say anything, or do anything, or TELL anyone. But I didn't. I was disgusted, and scared and I just wanted to get away. I ended up going over there only to feed and let the dog out and as soon as I was done, I booked it out of there.

On day five of seven, I was letting the dog out and he came home early. I remember the hair standing up on my arms when he walked in and knew that something bad was going to happen.

He was looking at me oddly and telling me how he was away for some Navy Seal thing that he had to do. He told me that he had guns and other weapons in his house. He wanted to show them to me and told me to follow him. I didn't want to follow him. I wanted to leave. But he was an adult and I didn't think I had a choice to leave because I was always told to listen to adults.

We ended up in his bedroom. He told that before he showed me anything else, he wanted to take some pictures of me and for these pictures, he wanted me to take off my clothes. If they were good, he said that he could sell them and I could be famous. I didn't want to be famous. I didn't want to take off my clothes, I just wanted to go home. But I was scared that he would hurt me so I did what he said. He took several pictures and made me do different poses. At one point, he asked if he could touch me. I was hugging my knees and crying at this point, trying to cover my body and I just shook my head no. He let me get dressed and I left-- I never ran home so fast in my life.

I stopped talking to him after that. I found out a few weeks later that he had married a foreign mail order type bride that was younger than eighteen. She couldn't speak a word of English and when anyone saw her outside, she had that same lost, crushingly sad look on her face that I often saw on myself in the mirror. Not long after that, my mom (who still knew nothing of what this man had done to me) told me that he had left his house in the middle of the night and that the feds and police had found over two thousand different photographs of young girls in his house. Two-thousand pictures. I told her that he had taken my picture too, but it wasn't until two weeks ago this year that I told her that I was nude in these pictures.

I became pretty unraveled after that. I was failing in school, I was constantly fighting with my parents, I couldn't sleep at night and the depression came back. I ran away from home that year, once for a whole week and the second time for a full twenty four hours. When the police found me the second time, I told them I didn't want to go home. I spent the night at a foster home and was interviewed and found that my home was a suitable place for me, so I went back.

I guess I was trying to run away from all of the bad memories and all of the things that were going on in my life. I thought if I lived somewhere else, I could just start over and I wouldn't be reminded of all of these bad things every time I looked out my window.

I don't remember the man's name. I've tried to remember, but my mind just keeps blocking it out. I feel horrible that I never told my story when I had the chance to right everything and that it is perhaps too late. I've told Troy that I want to find out the records of who has lived in that house and see if I can track down what this man is doing now. Hopefully, he is behind bars. I pray that he is not free, out doing this stuff to other young girls like he did to me.

This man stole my trust of people. It is because of him that I can no longer look men in the eye or speak confidently to people I first meet. He is the reason why for years after this happened, if I suddenly found myself in a hallway with a man I didn't know, I would flat out run to get away from him-- even if the man in question looked "normal". I became scared of people following me. Once I learned to drive I would literally go to the police station if I felt like the car behind me made too many of the same turns. In short, this man destroyed me.

***

Two years later, the house next door still stood empty. I had stopped looking at it because if I looked, I would remember. Wendy had long stopped talking to me after the whole Melanie incident and the suicide call. I remember trying to call and talk to her one day because I felt like I needed a friend to talk to. She quietly told me that she thought we were moving in different directions and that we really couldn't be friends anymore. My heart was crushed even though I hadn't seen her for some time. My new best friend at that time was what you would deem today as a frienemy. She dated everyone I had dated, usually right after I had dated them. If I said I wanted to do or have something in particular, she would try her best to do it or have it first.

So it stung when the guy that had moved in across the street liked her and not me. I tried my best to be the fun girl next door, but I didn't talk a whole lot and I was very insecure and didn't have a lot of self confidence. Nick was always game to come over and jump on the trampoline with us, but his eyes were only on her.

Imagine my surprise when I got a phone call from him one day out of the blue. He asked what I was doing and asked if he could come over. My heart flip-flopped when I thought of him coming over to see me-- all alone. I frantically straightened things around the house but in less than three minutes, he was at the door. I let him in, trying not to seem over eager. We made small talk and he asked to see the house. I gave him a tour and then we ended up back downstairs again. I couldn't think of a single thing to say so we just sat, side by side on the couch.

Suddenly, Nick leaned forward to kiss me and I pulled back. I knew this boy didn't like me-- not like that. He pushed me on the floor and I started to laugh; I thought he was playing around or something. He was furiously unbuttoning my jeans while pushing down his shorts and trying to get at me. Right then, I knew why he had wanted to come over and I told him "No." He kept struggling to get my things off and he had me pinned on the floor. Over and over I kept telling him no but he just kept at it. Just as he had begun to do what he came over to do, my parents came home from work and opened the garage door. Nick took off running through the front door and slammed it, just as my parents walked in.

Like the man next door, I stopped talking to Nick which his sweet step-mother thought was really strange because she knew how much I had liked him and how he used to hang out with my friend and I. I wouldn't look at them or speak to them from there on out. Fortunately, two years later, I had gotten a job in Anchorage and I was out of that neighborhood and away from those awful memories.

***

Yes, these things really did happen.

I wish I could say that I had come up with them to be merely illustrations of the point I want to make, but not so. Here's the part where I try to save a life. It could be your daughter's life or maybe this post will help you to understand what a friend, a sister, a mother or even yourself has been through.

First, it is imperative that you know the people you send your children away with. It is not enough to know that your daughter is friends with their daughter and that they talk all the time and love to play together. It only takes a matter of minutes for someone to ruin the innocence of your daughter (or sons!) childhood and shadow it forever. Get to know the parents of your children's friends. If you don't feel comfortable with them or if something doesn't seem right, listen to your intuition.

A friend of mine told me that she let her daughter know from an early age that she would not be having or going to sleep overs because she's aware of the dangers of sending her children away with potential strangers. If there is a sleep over that has been planned with one of her friends, she attends the festivities such as eating dinner together and watching a movie and then gets picked up before everyone settles down to sleep for the evening.

Second, don't let your children house sit, run errands or do general favors for the neighbors next door unless you are going to be present with them or they can take an older sibling with them. As much as you want to trust your neighbors to do the right thing, you just never know who is really living next door.

Third, that guy across the street may be really cute and he may be great friends with the family, but under no circumstances should a guy be alone in your house with your daughter. Make it a house rule that no one comes into the house without permission from you first.

Also, just know that even though you attend church with someone or feel that someone is okay doesn't mean they are. Most people are good and will prove that they are good, but there are some that would suprise you if you knew what was really going on in their head.

Just think, Mark Hacking's family never in a million years thought that he'd end up murdering his wife, Elizabeth Smart's family thought they were helping out a straggely homeless man before he abducted and raped her and nobody knew that Keith Brown was molesting his five daughters even while acting as a devouted father and manager to his children's musical group.

Here are some statistics that really woke me up:

Roughly 33% of girls and 14% of boys are molested before the age of 18, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Nearly 2/3 of all sexual assaults reported involved minors and roughly 1/3 involved children under the age of 12. In most cases, however, child molestation goes unreported. Estimates are that only 35% of sexual abuse is reported. Kids can be frightened or embarrassed and many times do not say anything.

In reading Jaycee Dugard's story of her kidnapping and molestation, she said something that really stuck with me. She said that it's [her kidnapper's] shame not hers. She doesn't need to feel embarrassed by the things that happened to her because it wasn't her that did those things. He did them to her-- it's his problem and the focus should be on what he did.

I think this subject is taboo because it makes people uncomfortable and they don't know what to say or how to react to someone who tells their story. Most people try to sweep it under the rug and pretend that these things never happened. In doing so, we end up perpetuating the problem or not getting the help we need and deserve.

If something like this has happened to you, you are not alone. Yes, there are ups, there are downs. There are days you think you've conquered those feelings only to be slammed with depression or memories of what happened once more.

It can be hard to trust people-- hard to be confident, hard to know how to act "normally" when you're afraid of people. It does get better, but it's a slow process and I'm not sure you're ever really "okay" after something like this happens no matter what level or intensity it happens at. But you learn to function and you take it one day at a time.

I know this post is a sticky subject. The object of this wasn't for me to have a pity party or for me to get a grab at attention-- it is literally to open your eyes about the dangers that are out there. I hope you never have to experience something like this-- either first hand or through a loved one. It can be devastating. Keep your children close and get to know the people around you. You could save someone's life.

Sweet Child of Mine

2011-08-09T18:14:00.001-05:00

It seems like it was only a brief moment ago when I first heard her distinct little cry as she was ushered into this life. Minutes later, a nurse placed her warm, pink, bundled little body into my arms and I looked at her delicate face and her soft chestnut brown cockatoo mohawk for the first time and everything seemed to pause and stand still-- Chloe was my everything and my world in that instant.

With the birth of Peyton, I was a tremulous, nervous new Mother; constantly worrying and fussing and exhausted-- little able to slow down and enjoy the moment. When Chloe came along, I consciously made the effort to slow down and soak everything in and yet, time seems to be spiralling out of control even as I'm living in the moment.

I swear I blinked and one day she was sitting up, the next, crawling, and only moments later, walking. She's done everything seemingly faster-- walking, talking, figuring out how to get up on things and into things.

It is both exhausting and exciting.

I never tire from watching this remarkable little toddler, no longer a baby; make her way into this life and figure out where she fits into this world. Every day, she is experimenting with her actions and her words-- seeing what the end result will be. I feel a heavy responsibility to protect her from the world while still allowing her to explore it. It is a fine and scary line to know when you are protecting your children too much and when you need to give your children wings to fly.

I find myself holding her and snuggling her more than ever because she is growing right before my very eyes. One day, she won't want me to kiss those velvety cheeks anymore or will push me away when I try to rub noses with her. I would say that that seems so very far away, but yesterday she was a baby and today she is on the verge of being no longer a toddler, but a little girl.

These are the times that I realize that even though she is my daughter, she is not really mine-- meaning that she is autonomous and that she will eventually make her own decisions and choices about life independent of me. I hope that she won't forget about her old mom and will still let me kiss those sweet cheeks, at least once in a while. I am reminded of the song from the children's book, 'Love You Forever' by Robert Munsch that says,

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living my baby you'll be."

I'll add that I'll love both of my children even when I'm no longer here to be with them. A mother's love never dies!

Brother, Sister, Friend

2011-03-20T18:28:00.000-05:00

Kiss Us, We're Not Irish {but we're Scottish, British, Bohemian, Indian and French}!

2011-03-20T18:22:00.002-05:00

We love to celebrate St. Patty's Day every year even though we have no ties to Ireland. It's a fun excuse to eat traditional food, listen to celtic music, and watch a foreign film from Ireland!

This year, the leprechauns left goodies for the kids to find at the kitchen table. There were green books, green cups, a green ball, a frog shaped magnifying glass, a green pinwheel and some jelly beans in three different shades of green!

Those leprechauns even left green outfits for the kids to wear so they wouldn't get pinched!

Chloe enjoyed playing with her "flower" most of all.

She was even brave enough to try the Irish Lamb Stew for dinner, devoured entire wedges of the Irish Soda Bread, emptied her glass of the green tinted lemonade and ate every last crumb of her grasshopper brownie for dessert!

Mimzy and Sir Grandpa visit!

2011-03-20T18:10:00.000-05:00

Peyton discovered that like Daddy, Sir Grandpa is also a good cuddler!

And Chloe learned that Mimzy will tickle you until you can't breathe!

Oh, and Chloe also seconds the notion that Sir Grandpa's chair is the place to be!

Heartfelt Morning

2011-03-20T18:05:00.001-05:00

My two baby Valentine's woke up to heart shaped balloons, stuffed animals, and mini boxes of chocolates for all on Valentine's Day morning. Peyton was the first to discover the loot and came tearing into our bedroom to ask us if it was someone's birthday!

We treated our little friends to a breakfast of heart shaped pancakes with sliced bananas and strawberries, whipped cream and strawberry syrup.

They enjoyed every heart-y bite! ;)

Ears, Tubes, and Smiles

2011-03-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

Our little man has suffered from ear infections since he was itty bitty, never seeming to have a spare moment of peace during the winter months before the next infection began when the other had left off. After dealing with speech delays and round after round of antibiotics, we finally got in to see an ENT who advised that Peyton have his adnoids out and tubes put in. He had the surgery done in February and did very well with recovery.

We had been warned by friends who have children that had undergone the procedure that some of their little ones had woken up disoriented and quite angry. Thankfully, Peyton was a trooper and was only a little out of it for about 5 minutes until they brought him a popsicle. Since he's recovered, he hears us whisper now, (which he was previously unable to do) and he seems to be learning words and speaking in complete sentences a little more every day. Also, noises that didn't startle him before seem really loud to him-- especially the toilet flushing!

The week of Peyton's surgery, we were surprised to find a box at the front door addressed for Peyton. When we opened it, it was full of get well cookies that were shaped like happy smiley faces. Peyton was ecstatic and enjoyed his supply of edible happiness from my Uncle Bruce and Aunt Chris. Thank you so much guys-- you made Peyton's week!

He was such a great big brother that he even shared his cookies with his baby sister!

Ladies Man

2011-03-20T17:39:00.001-05:00

Peyton had a Valentine's day party at school in February and came home with a box filled to the brim with cards and candy. He took the afternoon to look over them all and save his favorites (he's in love with Allie and has been kissed by Julia) and to eat as many heart shaped candies as he could before Mom told him that he had to save some for after dinner. He certainly loved every aspect of the holiday!

King Cake for Mardi Gras

2011-03-20T17:34:00.000-05:00

If you're born and raised in New Orleans, or even if you only live there for a year or two, you can't escape the spirit of Mardi Gras! Troy was born and raised in the N'awlins area and lived on both the West Bank and the East Bank so he's very familiar with parades, beads, King Cake and the second line. We may live in Texas now, but when Mardi Gras rolls around you know we're going to have a King Cake shipped straight to our house to enjoy and polish off!

This year's choice-- strawberry and cream cheese filling with traditional frosting on top and dusted with green, gold and purple sugars. Delish!

What's Cookin'?

2011-01-19T14:19:00.004-06:00

This little man's been in the kitchen cooking with Daddy.

He's helped make biscuits, pancakes, and last night he helped make sloppy joes.

Pretty soon, he'll be cooking us dinner un-assisted...

Okay, that may be a few years away; but a girl can dream, right?! ;)

And I see little Chloe is not far behind him!

Sassy Lashes

2011-01-19T13:21:00.002-06:00

Sassy Lashes is the name of one of Steve Gonsalves' cats (of Syfy channel's original show, Ghost Hunters).

Betcha didn't know that! :)

I watched a Q&A once where he talked about his cats 'Sassy Lashes' and 'Home Depot' and thought that the name Sassy Lashes was most definitively an unforgettable name for a feline friend.

Although I don't have a cat, I do live with a 'Sassy Lashes' of my own, as can be seen below:

Let the dress up games begin!

I think we're in trouble now!

Seriously, can she get any cuter than this?!

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

2011-01-18T09:58:00.003-06:00

I've been sick since Saturday.

All day Saturday I kept telling Troy that I just felt so tired and that I just wanted to go to bed. I would clean up, do dishes, go upstairs to bring a wayward toy back to its toy box and just be utterly exhausted. By Saturday night, I knew what was going on. My throat started to feel sore and I felt like I had a lump stuck in it.

It wasn't until Sunday morning that I really felt awful. Sensitive skin (which I always get when I'm very sick), tiredness and a severe sore throat as well as working hard to breathe-- I had it all. I'm pretty sure that I have strep throat though I haven't been to the doctor yet-- WebMD says that it usually goes away on its own between 3-7 days in most cases with or without antibiotics. I'm holding out to see if this thing goes away and if it gets too bad, I'll be making an appointment for sure!

Anyway, Troy was a dear this last weekend and cooked all the meals and did the grocery shopping. He made sure I had soup and sore throat lozenges and took care of everything so I could rest. On Monday, he wrote me from work to tell me that he had a surprise for me, but wouldn't tell me what it was. At 3:00, the door bell rang and I peeked out our bedroom closet window to see who it might be.

I didn't recognize the car and almost didn't go to the door because we often have solicitors in our neighborhood and I hate telling people that I don't want/can't use their business. It wasn't until I saw flowers in the backseat of the car that a lightbulb went off in my head. I raced to the door and sure enough, there was a women standing there with the happiest arrangement of flowers I've ever seen.

Sure, it was overcast and the sun hadn't been out in days, but those flowers were like sunshine in my hands. It even had a foam sunshine propped amongst its foliage! I knew before I read the card that they were from Troy but the card confirmed what I already knew-- my husband is the sweetest thing! I am so glad that he takes such good care of our little family. That man would literally do almost anything for us and I love him for it. Hopefully, I'll feel better soon and can make it up to him by making him one of his favorite meals or something!

Aren't they beautiful?

Addendum: Literally as soon as I got done writing this, Troy told me he had ANOTHER surprise for me! Apparently, he had gotten "them" yesterday as well and told me that "they" were out in the car, in the glove box. When I got out there, look what I found in the car!

I couldn't believe it! I had told Troy last year that I wanted to see The Chieftains in concert here in Dallas, but I wasn't sure if he had remembered. And, incredibly, last night I actually had a dream that I was telling someone about the concert-- and then he presented me with the tickets this morning! These are my Valentine gift but he decided to give them to me a little early. I am so excited! We'll be dancing irish jigs for sure next month! :)

Hypnotic Donuts

2011-01-11T18:59:00.000-06:00

Have you ever heard of Voodoo Doughnuts from Portland, Oregon? I saw them featured once on Food Network on one of their hotspot countdowns and thought their doughnuts looked over the top yet strangely delicious. While thumbing through D magazine last month, I came across the Dallas equivalent-- Hypnotic Donuts which operates only Saturday and Sunday in a pizza shop. That's right, a pizza shop. They don't have a sign advertising that there are donuts inside but they have a website and a facebook page that tells whether or not they'll be open and what kind of special donuts will be on the menu. They only accept cash and there are no donuts in a case to peruse over-- they only decorate them by hand after you've ordered them which means you'll have to wait a bit, but they're worth it.

The D magazine told us that they're open only from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and that they sell out of donuts fast so it was a mad rush last Saturday to get the kids loaded up and out the door to make the half hour drive over to The Pizza Guy pizza shop where Hypnotic Donuts likes to hide on the weekends. When we got there, they were all out of white cake donuts which made me sad because I really wanted to try the Lucy in the Sky with Lemons which is a white cake donut with lemon frosting, crushed lemon heads and white chocolate.

Troy and I decided to try the Reverse Oreo which is a glazed donut with chocolate frosting topped with large chunks of Oreo cookie, the Roof of the Mouth which is a chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting and large chunks of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (wholly rich-ness!), the Morning Breath (my favorite) which was a chocolate cake donut with chocolate frosting and covered in Junior Mints and a Turtle donut which was a chocolate cake donut with chocolate and caramel frosting and chocolate and caramel drizzle. We also got the kids a Homer which is a glazed donut with strawberry frosting and loaded with sprinkles on top.

They also make biscuits as well and they are even bigger than the donuts and have interesting yet tasty combos. Troy fetched himself one called Maribeth's Just Born Bonus which was a biscuit with fried chicken, tater tots and peppered white gravy. He inhaled that thing in about 5 minutes!

So needless to say, we'll return again for sure with cash in hand ready to wait for our crazy combo donuts! Let us know if you want to visit-- we'll take you there! :)

On Christmas Day in the Morning!

2011-01-11T17:56:00.003-06:00

I love the excitement of Christmas Eve and the anticipation of Christmas morning. It's one of the few times that I feel that exhuberant boisterous joy that I felt as a child where you're too ecstatic to sleep and where you're beyond excited to pass out the gifts you've gotten and to see what surprises await you. Troy and I were beside ourselves for the kids to wake up and to let Christmas morning commence, but collectively they both decided (on the one day that we were all up and ready to go) to sleep in.

At 8:30, they were still not awake so we tiptoed upstairs, softly called their names but there was no stirring these cherubs! Finally almost a half hour later, our sleepy heads decided to emerge.

Chloe really did not know what to think of all the hoolabaloo. She took everything out of her stocking, inspected it then generally spent the rest of the time on the outskirts of the living room with her fingers tucked in her mouth and her blanket pulled up to her chin. I think with everything going on it was just too overwhelming for her. We managed to pull her back into the fray a couple of times, but she really didn't get what it was all about. I'm sure she'll catch on next year!

Peyton was thrilled with his new camera, his dungeon and knights set, and the play laptop computer his Mimzy and Sir Grandpa got him. His Grandmother Linda also bought Peyton and Chloe a whole new wardrobe-- there were many beautiful things for Chloe and many outfits that make our handsome little guy look sharp. Thanks Linda! (They wear something you bought them every day!)

Both of the kids got books from my Uncle Bruce and his wife Chris which Chloe wanted to read on the spot! In addition to that, Chloe was spoiled with a drum and musical instrument set and a Fisher Price doll house. Mimzy and Sir Grandpa also got her a miniature play laptop too!

But really, I think I was the most spoiled of all. Troy knows my love of books so he got me an Amazon gift card to read to my heart's desire. If that wasn't enough, he also got me a Cricut paper cutter, new p.j.'s, and a new workout outfit.

Troy got some much needed new shirts and blue jeans, a talk on CD that he's been trying to hunt down for forever, and a television series on DVD that I thought he'd enjoy.

The shirt above is a joke between Peyton and Troy. Troy often tells Peyton to 'Hold your horses' when Peyton wants something right away. This shirt says 'Hold Your Horses' and shows the silhouette of a person hugging a horse. At the bottom it says 'Even Horses Need to be Held Sometimes'.

Hilarious.

My Mom loved seeing all of the excitement of Christmas morning!

Speaking of my Mom and Dad, my parents spoiled us GOOD. There was a Wii for me!!

And a smoker for Troy!

And my Dad joined in the fun too. He and my Mom exchanged iPads so they were very merry. :) The things we got them weren't nearly as cool. ;)

And I got the steam mop I've been wanting to get!

Overall, it was a VERY merry Christmas. I hope your Christmas was ever so merry too!

Christmas Eve Pajama Party

2011-01-11T16:08:00.003-06:00

It's a tradition from when my Mom was a kid passed down to me and now continued on with my little chicks. Every Christmas Eve, the children get to open ONE gift from under the tree. It's always new Christmas p.j.'s for all. And this year was no different.

I think I have quite the little hams on my hands, don't you? :)

Chloe was so wiggly that Peyton had a hard time posing with her! I think she was more excited about p.j.'s than Peyton was.

And of course, we didn't forget about Santa either! We left him plenty of homebaked goodness and a glass of milk to wash it down with.

Coming up next, Christmas morning!

Peyton Sings with Angel Wings

2011-01-11T15:43:00.001-06:00

Peyton's preschool puts on a Winter Program every year in December and this was his first time to shine in it. We were asked by his teachers a while back to send in a white sweatshirt with him to school and then about two weeks later, it was sent back home with the cutest little angel on it made from Peyton's hand and foot prints to be worn for the program.

His Early Preschool class sang two songs; one about angels and the other, the ever tried and true 'Jingle Bells'. I had noticed the practice sheet for the song about angels in Peyton's classroom one day but thought it was just a poem until I heard his class actually singing it.

The words were:

I like snow.

Falling down.

I can make snow angels.

In the snow.

On the ground.

Angels all around.

For the most part, Peyton had a deer-in-headlights look about him, but every now and then he would put his arms up or bounce to the music with his friends. It was so cute to hear all of those little voices out of key and tumbling all out of place up there in the front. It was so darling!

When it was all over, Peyton was so excited to see that Daddy had made it to see him sing! It was in the evening right at 7:00 so I wasn't sure if Troy would be able to make it on time but he came just in the nick of time and didn't miss a second of it. Peyton's first performance was unforgettable. So proud of my big boy!

2nd Annual 'My Favorite Things' Party

2011-01-11T15:16:00.007-06:00

'Brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things...'

I first fell in love with the notion of 'Favorite Things' parties when I attended one while I was still living in New Orleans. Our host, Allison, had invited each of us to her home where she served us cold chicken salad, cucumber punch and oreo balls while we talked and laughed and each swapped 'things'. It was a good excuse to get the ladies together and have a good time, then go home with new things to enjoy.

The idea is to decide on a budget, say five dollars each for five items (for a total of $25 spent) which was how I was first introduced to a favorite things party, but my favorite way to host a favorite things party is for everyone to buy 3 items at 10 dollars an item (for a total of $30 spent) because then everyone leaves with more substantial things.

Everyone comes with their 3 items all wrapped up and ready to swap. We all write our names 3 times on three slips of paper, put them in a bucket and draw three new names. These names are the people who you will be receiving goodies from! It's so fun and interesting to see what everyone will bring and a lot of times, I end up going out after the party the next day to pick up some goodies that I didn't end up drawing because I want to try the items myself!

In October of 2009, I hosted my first party in my new home state of Texas and invited the friends I had gotten to know. They loved it so much that they asked me if I'd throw another. So, in November of 2010, I hosted another one-- with more friends, more goodies and more fun.

It was a hit! It looks like this might be a yearly tradition now, which I don't mind a bit. It really is a fun time for all.

I had a lot of fun baking up goodies for the party. I made homemade Caramel Apple Cider and whipped up some brownies, served sliced apples with caramel dip, and there were plenty of satsumas to eat as well.

I also made Cranberry Cinnamon Chip Bars, Apple Cider Spice Donuts, and Easy Pretzel Turtles! The donuts were a HUGE hit with everyone. Very delicious and easy to make.

All of the ladies chatting before the big reveal.

The loot. :)

Everyone had such a good time! See you next Fall!

Thirteen Point One

2010-11-15T15:04:00.000-06:00

I did it!

I ran a half marathon yesterday and lived to tell the tale! :)

Way back in June, I emailed my friend Courtney about a crazy idea-- I asked her what she thought of training for a half marathon together (in spirit that is-- she lives in San Antonio, I live in Dallas). She enthusiastically replied YES! and we began running.

Yesterday was our true test of stamina. She had injured her leg in September, I had injured mine in October. She hadn't run a "long run" (more than 4 miles) in 2 months. I hadn't run more than 8 miles since the previous weekend. We weren't sure what amount of running we'd be able to do at the race but we ended up doing really well considering all the time we had taken off right before the big day. Of course, we still took some breaks to stretch, get water, walk when we felt our knees act up, but I'm proud of what we accomplished!

It was forcast to be in the 40's with rain, but we lucked out and it was about 54 and cloudy with a slight breeze-- enough to keep us cool once we were warmed up and running.

Below is a video of the course we ran-- it seems LONG (and it's only 6 minutes!). This was the video that made me nervous before the race. ;-)

Race day! This was seconds before we hopped into the sea of people. There were 33,000+ people running the 1/2 and full marathon. In the picture at the bottom left, you can see the people running ahead of us; behind us there were just as many people!

Troy tried really hard to get a good picture of Courtney and I getting to the finish but there was a huge mob of people so he ended up shooting this over his head and hoping for the best. Not bad! Courtney is in red with the white hat and I'm in the purple shirt.

Heading for the finish!

We did it!!

Look at the amount of people there were! This is not everybody-- there were still people crossing the finish line as we made our way out. If you think about 33,000 people being there plus each of them having at least 2 people there cheering them on, that's a lot of bodies in one place!

Here are my results. Not bad considering I was running out of practice and worried about my knee injury flaring up (and it didn't! Today I'm walking around fine-- in fact, tomorrow I'll probably be running again!)

Here's my "proof". ;-)

All Hallows' Eve

2010-11-15T13:01:00.000-06:00

'The skies they were ashen and sober;

The leaves they were crisped and sere-

The leaves they were withering and sere;

It was night in the lonesome October

Of my most immemorial year.'

Edgar Allen Poe

Peyton the Pirate in a Parade

2010-11-15T12:12:00.005-06:00

Peyton's school hosts a Halloween Parade every year so that all of the kids can dress up in their costumes and have classroom parties to celebrate this fun holiday. Peyton was thrilled with his costume this year and cried when I took it off for the first time; which for anyone who remembers Halloween last year and the year before that, that's saying something because he HATED Halloween the last two years.
He cried when we put him in his costume, he cried when we took him from door to door, was mad when someone put something in his treat bucket-- it was seriously such a hassel that I kind of dreaded it this year. But, like I said, no worries this year-- he actually enjoyed dressing up and going trick-or-treating!

Anyway, Peyton woke up grumpy the day of the parade and didn't want to wear his costume until I pulled it out of the closet and then he was tearing off his pajamas as fast as he could go to get the costume on! I told him that he was having a party at school and he was excited to get there.

At 10 a.m., Chloe and I pulled into his school to watch the parade of costumes. Now it was Chloe's turn to have a fit.

She cried.

She screamed.

She leaped forward to try to get out of my arms.

She didn't want to stay in the stroller, she didn't want to hold my hand.

She wanted to walk!

She wanted to get down!

She wanted to see what all of the excitement was!

So I didn't get many pictures.

But it looked like Peyton enjoyed marching around the parking lot! And I love it when I surprise him at his school. His face is always like "What?! What are YOU doing here?".

And Chloe was finally happy when she got to walk beside her big brother for a brief period during the parade. She reached up and grabbed his hand and they both held hands and walked together for a few minutes side-by-side until she got distracted and wandered off. So cute!

Fun with a Honey Bee

2010-11-10T14:29:00.000-06:00

Anybody home?

I guess not. Oh well, we'll try later.

Quick, let's make our escape!

Free pumpkins! Hey, is anybody looking?

I'll just nab one of these little pumpkins!

Uh oh, you caught me!

Mmmm. Scratch and sniff!

Trunk or Treat

2010-11-10T14:18:00.001-06:00

Troy, A.KA. 'Antoine Dodson' warns everyone to:

"Hide yo kids, hide yo wife and hide yo husband too."

Peyton the Pirate is in search of some booty.

Meanwhile, I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee.

{Won't my mommy be so proud of me?}

Not pictured: me dressed as Christine O' Donnell (of "I'm not a witch" fame).

Mimzy the Cat Woman holds a sweet baby honey bee.

Rico Suave

2010-11-10T13:59:00.000-06:00

What cute men I have. :)

Autumn at the Arboretum

2010-11-10T13:48:00.001-06:00

It was a lovely day to go to the Arboretum-- the morning was crisp and cool so we donned our coats and strolled through the manicured grounds to take in the sights of fall.

There were myriads of pumpkins everywhere-- so many types and varieties that I had never before seen. The abundance of pumpkins altogether was quite a sight as well. I had never in my life seen so many pumpkins at once!

The gardeners had set up a few pumpkin cottages throughout the park that each depicted a story which had something to do with pumpkins like Strega Nona or Cinderella.

Chloe seemed to enjoy the fresh air and the change of scenery very much. In fact, the outdoors lulled her to sleep at one point after lunch.

What a charming little place!

Chloe brought along her friend, Kendall too. The girls had so much fun together!

I love the contrast between the bright brilliant orange of the pumpkins and the vibrant purple stalks.

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!

Look at all of the different kinds! Chloe had to explore for herself.

Just beautiful. Look at how the pumpkins line the way as far as the eye can see.

Inside the pumpkin village.

A close-up of the construction of the cottages.

Simply amazing.

Care to rest a spell?

Jack-o-Lantern faces peering from the shadows.

Some of the many varieties that were used throughout the grounds.

This was astounding-- I think they said that throughout the entire grounds there were 10,000 pumpkins. I wonder how many they used to make this little section!

Going to the Arboretum wouldn't be complete without visiting the replica homesteads.

Seeing this sod house reminds me of Laura Ingalls Wilder. :)

There's my little punkin!

Do you see the mischevious look on her face?!

It's always fun to see pumpkins with friends!

Dregs of Summer

2010-11-10T10:04:00.000-06:00

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. ~Anthony J. D'Angelo

On Being On Hiatus

2010-07-27T10:27:00.003-05:00

It's been quiet around here.

Have you noticed?

My time hasn't been my own lately. I am enveloped in caring for two lumps of soft flesh that clamber daily for stories out of picture books, castles built out of blocks, piggy back rides up the stairs and snacks tucked into waiting palms.

I have also been feeling rather melancholy; there's a lingering, drifting sadness that washes in and goes out with the tide and ebbs and flows just like the sea itself. I have ups and downs, but regardless of what is going on, every day there is this sadness that clings to me like seaweed. I have always known that I suffer from depression, but some times are worse than others and recently it has been back full force-- leaving me floundering like a buoy in the storm.

For weeks I have felt like I am nothingness epitomized. Like I could disappear tomorrow and no one would notice. Maybe the kids would notice for a little while but when I wasn't in their peripheral vision, when I wasn't there to bathe and dress them, to play and sing to them, to read and comfort them, they'd find a new moon to orbit their sun.

I am reminded of a quote from a movie we watched recently where the main character says, "In a room full of people, I have never felt so alone." Many times, I feel just that-- like I am in a room full of people who are happy and confident and going on with life without me while I feel as though all of the light of the world has been snuffed out and I am struggling to find my way back in the darkness.

I don't want to be forgotten. I think that is what is troubling me so much-- I want to be somebody, to do something, to be remembered for more than just being a mother. I agonize over being asked what it is that I "do". I dread being asked that and when I am confronted with that awful question I almost feel like apologizing for it-- sorry, I'm just a Mom. That's all I "do". And though there are many women that are proud of the title 'mother' and rightly should be since it is such an important job, I feel like I want more in life than just that role and title.

Through thinking of this and what it is that has been troubling me, I have come to the realization that I am not a very good mother, nurturer, care giver. I recognize that I am selfish with my time, that I want to be "me" a little too much, though I don't even know who "me" is any more.

Don't get me wrong, I love the children.

I do.

But there is a lot of regret, a lot of unfulfilled wishes and dreams behind all of that too.

I regret not learning culinary arts when I had the chance because I was scared of the instructor and thought I couldn't do it.

I wish I had traveled the world and learned more about the history and the story of different architectural wonders as well as the local people and their rulers and the cultures they were surrounded by.

I would love to learn to speak another language fluently instead of grasping at straws because I know a few phrases but not enough to communicate with any one.

I yearn to write a book that will do well-- not for monetary reasons but because I want to leave my mark on this earth when I am dust once more. But I am afraid to keep writing because simply put, everyone and their dog is writing. Someone always knows someone who has written a book or is writing a book or who has a blog or who writes articles. It's no longer something distinguished-- it's like saying I drank a glass of water today-- nearly everyone has done that.

Not only is the writing thing troubling me, but I also want to learn to sew, to garden, to decorate cakes, write calligraphy, draw, paint, make stained glass, swim successfully without doggy paddling, learn to do mathematics with ease, fix a car, hang a picture straight, use a table saw, build furniture, reupholster my couches, run a full marathon, etc... There simply isn't enough time in the day-- and it feels like time is flying by faster than ever now.

I know there will come a time when the kids go back to school and I will have time to do those things-- they won't be little forever. But there is this sinking feeling that I am losing me while I am janitor, chauffeur, housekeeper, maid, laundress, chef, nurse and general gopher for them.

I know there will be people who read this and think that I am selfish and that I should enjoy spending time with my children while they still want to spend time with me. I agree. I know I should, but when you are in a state of mourning for yourself and in the thick of things with depression, logic is thrown out the window.

Just feel better!-- you might say. Stop thinking about those things! Just be happy!

Easier said than done.

But I am trying. Every day I try to do a little better, to forget about me for this space of time and to let my children wish and dream because right now it is their time to explore this world.

And while I am trying to be there for my two impressionable little babies, I also try to carve out time for me so I can continue to be strong for them. I think that is why my current goal of training for a half marathon is so important to me-- because it will be an accomplishment just for me. A goal that I've been working towards and living for that will strengthen me and in turn strengthen my family.

So, if you find me reading in between nap times or holed up "using" the bathroom when I'm really trying to skim a paragraph or two, or catch me trying a new recipe or see a calligraphy set scattered among scrap paper, just know that I am trying to retain a little of "me" too.

How do you make time for yourself?

What do you do when you feel like you are forgetting who you are?

From Here to There

2010-07-25T09:54:00.001-05:00

Meet Courtney.

She's my good friend who also happened to go to high school with Troy in New Orleans back when he was a teenager. I can't even imagine! He tells me he was, ummm...not as humble back then. So sorry Court! :)

Courtney and I both met at the church that was on LSU campus before either of us was a Mrs. and while our husbands-to-be were still hustling through college.

Now we're both married with TWO kids each-- time has just flown by! She and her honey Jared moved to San Antonio a few years ago. We drove up from New Orleans and visited them while we still each only had one kid in tow (though she was pregnant with Jack at the time!)

Then we moved to Texas about a year and a half ago as well. Too bad it wasn't San Antonio because we'd have insta-friends if we lived there! We've become really close through blogs and Facebook though so it's nice to know she's not that far away if I want to get away on a road trip and see her.

About a month ago, I got something in the mail talking about running a marathon and it started the wheels in motion thinking about running seriously again. I had been running a mile or two around the neighborhood but not much more than that.

I knew there was no way I could do a marathon right now-- training for one is so labor intensive and takes a good deal of time; something I don't have a lot of with two kids under the age of 4.

I looked on the brochure and saw that they had a full AND a half marathon in San Antonio in November. I shot Courtney an email with this "crazy" idea of running a half marathon and what did she think? Did she want to tag along and run with me in November?

I got an ecstatic email back that YES! She would do it too!

So we've been training together, yet separate-- she in San Antonio, me in Dallas and reporting to each other about our running ups and downs as we push ourselves to our goal.

With that said, today I ran a 10K, something I haven't done in two years! I got up early before anyone in the house was really fully awake and hit the pavement hard. An hour later, I came back and had met my goal! From here on out, I will have run more than I have ever run before (8 miles+).

Who knows, maybe one day I will run a full marathon-- but for now, it's looking like a half is do-able!

Thanks Courtney for helping me push myself a little further each time. It's always better to have a pal to commiserate and triumph all of your highs and lows with! I'll see you at the start line in November!

Transformations

2010-06-10T13:14:00.001-05:00

Do you remember this? This mantle has been the bane of my existance ever since we moved into our house. I love it because it is gorgeous and tall and everything you could want from a mantle but what the pictures don't represent is the grand scale of this thing. It is a beast. I know it doesn't look big, but let me tell you it is a mammoth when you see it in person.

The only time we ever got it to look halfway descent was in October when we had candles and pumpkins and a fall leaf arrangement up there. Christmas was marginally better than its blank state but not by much. It just looked, well, ackward. Nothing fit.

Finally, FINALLY, I like and even LOVE my mantle. We spruced up the living room and now here's how it looks today:

Much better, right?!

On the mantle from left to right are pictures of the French Quarter, the Natchez Steamboat, Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral and another French Quarter view. These were all pictures we took on our recent trip there. We had no idea that we'd be framing pictures from our trip so the quality perhaps isn't the best but it's a start and we can always go back and take better pictures since we'd have a purpose to next time.

These silhouettes were a one-afternoon project.

I took profile pictures of the entire family in the morning, uploaded them to Target's photo page (Shutterfly) and had them developing while I went to Michael's to pick up the frames, paper and spray adhesive.

Once I picked up the pictures and got back home, I attached the photos to the red paper with tape (just in little loops so each side would stick together). I only taped the areas inside the faces that I wanted to keep because I needed my project to stay still while I cut it out.

Then I got out a cutting mat and my Xacto knife and went to work cutting out the profiles. When I was done, I removed the tape from the red paper, took it in the backyard and sprayed the back with adhesive and attached to the white paper.

After that was done, I used the paper insert from the frames to trace out what I would need to cut to make the silhouettes fit their frame.

Viola! Easy peasy fun project! Chloe's is super cute and Troy's profile is spot on! Which one do you like? I think next time I do this I will wear a pony tail to give my profile a little more definition. The plan is to do this once a year so I can see how we're growing!

Troy still needs to hang the curtains in the office and the kitchen so it still looks like it's missing SOMETHING in this picture. If you look closely, I've added an old friend to one of our kitchen windows. Peyton's room used to have red, yellow and green paper stars hanging above his crib when he was still a baby and not climbing the walls. Now it's impossible to decorate his room at all. It literally has only a bed in it because he kept ripping down his decorations and pulling the dresser down on himself. So I found a new home for my star. Maybe it will stay a while; who knows?

Troy teases me for this, but now at night, I light up the mantle because I think it so fun to look at.

We're getting close to having our downstairs all fixed up! We just need our paintings from New Orleans in the dining room and it will be perfect. Those won't come until later in the year so for now it is still empty and barren in there. :-(

It's coming along though!

Sunshine on my Shoulders

2010-06-06T22:48:00.000-05:00

We sent out invitations that said, 'Our sunny girl is turning one, please join us for cake and fun! The party begins at one on the dot, so come and laugh & play a lot!'

We had the party yesterday on Saturday, June 5th, even though her actual birthday is June 1st. We figured more people would show up on a Saturday afternoon than a Tuesday night. :-)

Here comes the sun!

It was the perfect party for such a cheery, sunny girl.

There were chocolate covered strawberries, lemon cookies, lemonade, Sunkist (we couldn't resist) as well as other bottled juices and artichoke jalapeno spread with slices of italian bread.

Nope, that wasn't all; there was fruit salad, mini chicken salad croissants, and salt and pepper kettle chips.

Yum.

Add some great friends and it was a birthday bash!

This wasn't the cake we initially chose. When I went to go pick up her cake that morning at the grocery store, there were about 10 other graduation cakes that they were in the process of making. One lady had ordered a cake that was supposed to be ready for 10:00. At 11:30, it was still not done. I walked out of the store and sent Troy on an errand to find a new cake, pronto! I never did get a call from the first store about the initial cake we had ordered. Good thing we made do! It was the only hiccup we had the whole day-- everything else went smoothly and turned out beautifully.

Speaking of cake... I think Chloe is a fan of it! She sucked on a handful of cake for the longest time after Troy showed her that she could eat it!

We had to throw that dirty girl in the tub after her cake introduction so she had wet piggeties the rest of the afternoon. :-)

After cake, we opened presents. Chloe is such a girly girl! She smiled at all of the outfits she got and loved on all of her new stuffed animals.

Here's what Mom and Dad {Troy and I} got her: a new walker to help her with those baby steps!

I think it's a hit!

Chloe had a fun day 'pigging' out and playing with all her new things. Here she is loving on her pink pig that her Mimzy and Sir Grandpa sent her.

We're so happy that Chloe was able to have some of her baby friends over.

Here Chloe is adoring Audelia's headband and was trying to steal it!

Her other friend Isabella was drinking a bottle and poor Kendall was at home sick and missed the party but her Mom was able to come in her stead. Peyton was also thrilled to have buddies his age to play with too- he had fun with Darien and Brooke and older friends Wyatt, Alyssa and Madi.

Thanks to everyone who made Chloe's first birthday so very special! I'm sure she'll love looking back at pictures of it one day.

Speaking of good ol' friends...

2010-06-06T21:47:00.000-05:00

While we were still in New Orleans, we tried calling our friends, the Roberts, who still live in Metairie. Funnily enough, they were in DALLAS while we were in NEW ORLEANS! We had swapped places! When we got back, they were still in Dallas for another day or two visiting family so we met up and had dinner at Scott's parent's house.

Emily and Peyton were long overdue for a visit. Now if we could just get Peyton, Emily and Calyn all together again it would be like the three Amigos all over again. Chloe and Madison have yet to become as tight as these little buddies used to be, but they're working on it. Here Emily is showing me her skills with the hula hoop.

Baby chain!

Check out those BLUE eyes! I always hoped our kids would have cool eyes, but Peyton's eyes are now just brown. There for a while, he had these cool slate grayish blue eyes that were awesome. He had them up to a year and then they turned hazel. Today at dinner, Troy noticed that his eyes are now more brown than hazel. I guess they are going to stay that way. :(

While the babies were playing, there was a great bustle in the kitchen to get dinner underway. Aimee is making a fabulous salad with blackberries, mandarin oranges, red onions and pecans and Anita is making chocolate covered strawberries. The strawberries were so good that I craved them for a week and ended up making some for Chloe's birthday party.

Silly 'Beans'. :)

Chloe was having a time. She really was not happy with us after the long excursion in the car to N.O. and back and then being there for dinner past her bed time. That night she was anti-sunshine girl. :)

Meanwhile, 'Beans' got to lick the spoon from the chocolate and was as happy as a clam, can't you tell? ;-0 Really, she was happy; I think I just startled her here when the flash went off.

Almost the whole gang {Madi and Chloe were in bed at this point}. From left to right: Troy, Peyton, me, Emily, Aimee and Scott.

Thanks for having us over guys! The food was great but the time spent together was even better. Let us know when you're back in town and we'll cook YOU dinner. ;-)

Mang-oue Reunion

2010-06-06T20:56:00.006-05:00

We had a great time on our spur of the moment road trip to N.O. but the highlight of the trip was definitely meeting up with some of our very dear friends, the Mangum's. They gave us the green light to crash at their place on the way back home so after four hours in the car, we took a brief detour off the main strip and visited our buds in Northern Louisiana!

These two were finally reunited after a year apart. Calyn and Peyton have some good memories together when they were babies and toddlers and are no strangers to playing in the water together; like this old post.

While Jeni was inside making a salad and the guys were throwing some ribs on the grill, these two were having a wet and wild time in the backyard.

This picture makes me giggle.

It didn't take long before they had established a game of sorts without speaking. They'd run to the fence, turn around and race to the pool. Going full force, they'd jump into the pool and laugh hysterically at each other. Notice that both of our kids have succumbed to movie merchandise fever-- Peyton is wearing 'Cars' swimming trunks, Calyn a Disney Princess swimsuit.

Let's do it AGAIN! :-)

A few times, Peyton ate it and inhaled a mouthful of water.

By the time they were done they'd given the lawn a good watering!

While there were swimming dives going on in the background, this was going on simultaneously. Check out those ribs! They were go-o-o-o-d. Jeni has a 'secret recipe' that she used and they were awesome. Aaron did a great job firing them up.

Leave it to Troy to jump in and lend a hand. I don't think I've ever begun and finished cooking a meal without Troy altering or fiddling with what I'm doing. I think he might have missed his calling in life as a chef. ;-) He's a pretty good lawyer though so I think it worked out.

Jeni was smart and knew that the kids probably wouldn't enjoy ribs like the rest of us would so she hooked them up with mac and cheese. I love that Peyton is wearing Calyn's sunglasses; upside down. Right in the middle of me taking this picture, Calyn was asking if I was going to take her picture too. Got ya, Wags!

It was hard to say goodbye the next morning. We decided to take some pictures before we headed out and I'm glad we did. It made me smile that Jeni who usually has dark hair went lighter and I went darker with my hair {even though I usually keep my hair lighter}. So we played opposites this go around!

Jeni had to tell them, 'Hug each other like you like each other." because Aaron and Troy were really far apart in the picture before. Guys are so funny about hugging.

It was great seeing these guys again. Four hours isn't too far, but it sure seems that way. I wish the Mangum's were closer. :( We'll have to plan more visits with each other and soon! Luckily, we get to see these guys in July when they'll come down to catch a soccer game. I guess that's the only way we'll 'lure' them down! ;-)

Second Line Wedding

2010-06-04T14:12:00.002-05:00

As we were walking towards Jackson Square to get to Muriel's {having finished dinner at Bacco}, we heard the bells of St. Louis Cathedral ringing out wildly. Normally, the bells chime the hour but this was a great cacophony of noise. I turned to Troy and said, "They normally only ring the bells like that for funerals or weddings, right?!" Troy told me that he thought so and I started quickening my pace.

Sure enough, we saw a whole wedding party outside in front of Jackson Square beautifully dressed and dancing with parasols to a jazz band that was cheerily playing. I asked Troy if he had ever seen anything like it {since he grew up in New Orleans} and he never had! So we stayed and watched a while.

Here come the Bride and Groom! They were positively gleaming-- it was the cutest thing ever. Talk about a party in the streets! Everyone that was a part of the wedding was dancing along with the band and there were plenty of onlookers like us who were snapping pictures of the whole parade.

I wish I had video to show you, but in this picture, the bride and groom are dancing too! In fact, I think the groom was getting down more than the bride. :-)

Off they go... can you see some of the band at the helm?

We had time to kill before we went to Muriel's so we walked around and when we came back to Jackson Square, the bridal party was just making their way down the street in front of Muriel's. Look at that enthusiasm! They look like fun people to know.

FYI: a second line in New Orleans is usually the party after the main parade. That's where all the people follow behind and either walk or dance to the music waving handkerchiefs or twirling parasols. It's considered a jazz funeral without the body.

I was so glad we got to witness this. How often do you see a wedding parade in the streets?!

Date Night

2010-06-04T09:23:00.002-05:00

On Friday night, we decided to go out on a date {just the two of us} because it had been a while and we thought we should take advantage of the opportunity we had to go and have an evening out together by ourselves. We enlisted the help of Grandma and got dressed up and were off. Peyton was all smiles when we left because he got to swing on the porch with his new buddy. And we were all smiles because we were FREE! :-)

We chose one of our favorite locations, Bacco, to have dinner. Initially, we tried to get reservations at Muriel's since we had never been and wanted to try something new, but they were booked for dinner until 8:45! So we compromised and had dinner at Bacco and dessert at Muriel's.

It didn't look like Bacco had the same problem that Muriel's did that evening! There were plenty of tables available. It is cozy in Bacco and has a formal air but not so fancy as to be stuffy. As you can see there are people dressed up as well as people wearing casual. They all mesh well here.

Starters: SHRIMP BRUSCHETTA and CRAWFISH TOMATO BISQUE.

The bruschetta was my favorite.

Troy's main dish: GRILLED VEAL CHOP

[with Cannellini bean purée, asparagus sauté, roasted tomato-veal reduction].

Delicious.

My main dish {a little blurry and out of focus}: BACCO SHRIMP

[Jumbo Louisiana Gulf shrimp, garlic, rosemary, Abita Amber beer, Creole seasonings].

Yummy, but not as tasty as Troy's!

*As a side note, the very first time I ordered this, I received quite the shock. They brought the plate out with shrimp tenticles and eyeballs still intact. I had to tell Troy to deshell them for me because it was seriously turning my stomach. The second time, I got wise and told them to 'behead' them before they brought the plate out!

Here we are at the end of our meal before we headed over to Muriel's. We forgot to take pictures of our dessert there-- I think when they set the plates down before us, we started inhaling them and only remembered at the end that we forgot to document it!

To end the evening, Troy ordered the Pain Perdu Bread pudding with candied pecans and Rum sauce and I had the Dark Chocolate Brownie with peanut butter gelato, caramel and chocolate sauces.

It was divine.

We would like to go back and try dinner sometime too! I told Troy we also need to come during the day when it is quiet so we can see what the rooms look like since it is a little piece of history. Plus you never know-- we might see their ghost! ;-)

Angelo Brocato

2010-06-03T12:11:00.002-05:00

Our friends Aaron and Jeni told us about Brocato's once when we were eating dinner together. They said that they drove by Angelo Brocato's all the time on the way to Aaron's Dental School and it looked like a fun place to check out together. Troy and I were game when they told us this and we tried a few times to meet up with J and A at the Gelato shop, but something always prevented us from going.

Eventually, they went without us {insert sad face here} and reported that is was absolutely delicious. The really silly part of the whole thing is that we never ended up going WHILE we lived in New Orleans. It took us coming back to VISIT to try it. ;-)

When we walked in, we weren't prepared for all of the different kinds of deliciousness there was. It was literally like being a kid in a candy store-- I wanted one of everything! Here, Troy is paying for our gelato.

Do you see that smile on his face? I tell you, there is something about being in a small old fashioned treat shop that makes you feel young at heart again!

Chloe and I shared the rum raisin and Troy and Peyton devoured the amaretto. Chloe is definitely a Mama's girl- she loves anything cold and tasty!

At first, Peyton didn't even want to sit and try the gelato. He was tired and cranky from walking around downtown and wasn't in the mood to cooperate. But after that first bite, he was begging Troy for bite after bite of the creamy cold gelato!

See what I mean about a small shop? It's very quaint.

Here's the gelato case. It took us several minutes of taste testing and mulling it over before we could decide! Everything looked so good.

They even have two whole cases devoted to pastries and baked goods. Thank goodness I didn't know that before we got there because I might have skipped lunch to indulge in some treats!

More tastiness!

Angelo Brocato's--100 years of tradition; and I believe it!

If you visit New Orleans, try Brocato's on Canal Street when you go. You won't like it, you'll love it. ;-)

Quarter View

2010-05-30T10:43:00.001-05:00

The Big Easy waking up.

Business is up and booming. I often get asked if it has recovered from Hurricane Katrina and from what it looks like downtown, I'd say it is very close to looking 'normal' (the way it did before 2005).

Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral. The Cabildo (old city hall) is to the left of the cathedral, The Presbytere to the right.

The Natchez steamboat. This one was built in 1975. I wonder if this boat looks similar to the one that Mark Twain piloted in the 1850's.

Trolley Car-- these always remind me of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. :-)

Classic Quarter scene.

Quaint Quarter homes.

Muriel's Restaurant. This originally started out as a humble cottage in 1718 and was subsequently torn down and reconstructed sometime between 1743 and 1762 to become an opulant private residence and what you see today. It became a restaurant in 2001 and according to the owners and local patrons, it is reportedly haunted.

Many pathways lead to small gardens or private courtyards. This one is a public corner off of the French Market.

The good old muddy Mississippi.

Another quiet nook.

I often wonder how old all of the buildings are since some were destroyed by fire in 1788 and again in 1794. Many of the buildings just smell pretty old-- history really does have a scent!

Jackson Square facing the Mississippi River. Back in the 1800's, you could see the river from the Square, but it became imperative to build a levee thus blocking the view of the river. However, by standing on the 'Moon Walk' {the river walk named after former Mayor Moon Landrieu} you can get a clear view of Jackson Square and the Mississippi.

The city at dusk.

Quirky Quarter

2010-05-28T23:43:00.005-05:00

And now for a little New Orleans flavor...

'Who Dat' refers to the NFL New Orleans Saints and more specifically the phrase that Saints fans chant-- "Who dat say they gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat? Who dat?"

Baby Saints fans have a different version of the above chant that goes, "Poo Dat!"

Legal Saints fans (21 & older) would be all over this beer mobile. It's a cooler with wheels!

Then you have street performers like this one decked out in silver paint and full metallic gear doing the robot for spare change....

Or you have balloon artists like this guy who will whip up a balloon and give it to your kids before you can say, "Ummm, that's ok." and then ask you for a "donation".

There are even literal street artists!

Sweet holy tackiness. Notice 'Saint Drew Brees', winner of Super Bowl XLIV and slayer of Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

Speaking of Saint Drew, how about this lovely addition to your home?

You laugh, but this is high priced art in the French Quarter all because of that iconic blue dog.

Vampire or zombie? You decide.

Who's YOUR crawdaddy?

Ahhh, yes. The Zoltar machine from the movie 'Big' with Tom Hanks. I wished that Peyton would go from a testy toddler to a perfect potty trained angel.

Yep, it didn't happen.

I want my money back.

Pan handlers, street vendors, 'psychics', portrait artists, street musicians and that guy in the red shirt... you can find them all surrounding Jackson Square.

Swing dancing in the street with a full band.

Graffitti on the trains, on buildings, sidewalks, abandoned houses, occupied houses, urinals, on top of other graffitti- in short, everywhere.

A long line of horse drawn carriages and the smell of crap they leave behind. Not as romantic as you might think.

Cajun hot sauce and seasoning are a local obsession. There are literally hundreds of variations of cajun seasonings including one called, 'Slap Ya Mama'.

Nice.

Po-boy love. Funnily enough, Troy who was born and raised in New Orleans and who has had many a po-boy has never heard of the Leidenheimer company. Guess they can't be that much a part of the 'cultcha'. :)

Mardi Gras Court Jester who likes to be paid under the table. Notice the pail-o-tips to the left.

Watch out for those loose women. I hear they like to frequent the street below.

Bourbon Street: a one way street to Hades.

Quintessential New Orleans: a window case filled with seafood and beer bottles.

What the Locals Do After a Humid Day Strolling New Orleans

2010-05-27T21:23:00.003-05:00

They get Sno-balls! Believe it or not, Sno-balls are very different than snow cones (and much better). Sno-balls are much softer due to how the ice is shaved (versus snow cones which are just chipped and crushed ice) and they are extra tasty because of the copious amounts of syrup that is drizzled from top to bottom.

Anyway, it certainly was hot enough for Sno-balls after our walk downtown and the kids were looking pretty wilted and parched. So we did what any local would do-- we made our way to Sal's on Metairie Road to get ourselves some sweet ice-y goodness in a cup!

Troy and Peyton ordered the Purple Dawn which are Strawberry and Spearmint syrups put together. Those two combinations wouldn't ordinarily sound good together, but it was actually quite tasty!

Chloe and I ordered the Joker which were Rasperry, Blackberry and Grape syrups all put together.

Did you notice the LSU shirt in this picture? I told you they're crazy about their LSU Tigers here! :-)

Peyton didn't want to wait for Daddy to give him a spoon full so he grabbed a chunk of ice off the top as I was taking this picture! His aim isn't always the best so most of it landed on his feet which were in sandals and it gave him a bit of a shiver.

Once Chloe had one bite, that was all she wrote! She was barely patient enough for me to take a bite and quickly dip the spoon back in to give her a turn once more!

That's one wine colored face of satisfaction!

Such happiness over a simple pleasure!

I'm not sure she liked it, are you? We might have to try it again sometime to see for sure. ;-)

Check out Mr. Strawberry Lips! I'm thinking next time we shouldn't walk so close to the cemetary- he looks possessed! Then again, we've been thinking that long before this trip.

Maybe it's just because he's a toddler.

But then again, you never know; ESPECIALLY when you're in New Orleans. :-0

{Michalopoulos Art Gallery} French Quarter, New Orleans

2010-05-26T18:59:00.007-05:00

Now I'll let you in on a little secret...

One of the real reasons we wanted to go back and visit The Big Easy was because we wanted to scope out some paintings for our home. We are smitten with the work of James Michalopoulos and think that it would be a perfect and fitting touch to add a little New Orleans to our Texas home.

Troy was born and raised in New Orleans; in fact, the hospital he was born at is only 7 minutes from the hospital Peyton was born at (27 years later). So New Orleans is firmly rooted in Troy's heart and even with all of its problems and crime, I have a soft spot in my heart for it too.

After our breakfast of beignets, we headed down town, paid for parking and settled the kids in the stroller. We bounced down the uneven sidewalks and smelled the original scent that is New Orleans and made our way to the gallery with haste.

James' art style is wild and impressionistic and reminds me a lot of Vincent Van Gogh with a Creole feel. It is vibrant, textured, vivid and really captures what it means to live in New Orleans.

There are so many that I wish I could call my own...

The Garden District style homes (see painting at bottom right) get me every time. I love those beauties with their wide porches, distinct gables and quaint courtyards and gardens.

I love the funky cars he paints too. Troy thinks they are 'cool' but don't evoke enough of a New Orleans flair to him.

This serigraph print is one of my absolute favorites. It shows Louis Armstrong standing outside on St. Louis Street in the French Quarter holding his trumpet and wiping the sweat from his face. I just love the golden glow from the windows, the crescent moon in the sky, the band waiting for him back inside and the pure look of joy on his face. Just beautiful.

Oops, this one turned out a little blurry; but you get the idea. This is a painting of one of the many thousands of above ground graves that can be seen in cemetaries across the Crescent City. The reason that the dead are buried above ground and not below in New Orleans is because the water level is so high that in many cases, to dig deep enough for a grave, you'd risk hitting water. This presented a nasty result during Hurricane Katrina when there were literally corpses floating in the rising water levels because they were swept out of their tombs. I'm just glad I was spared that particular image of the city...

The tilting angles of the buildings in the French Quarter really make me think of Van Gogh- that painting in the center is superb don't you think?

Check out that blue car! Wouldn't it be fun to ride around in a classic vehicle? The building looks familiar, and I'm sure my New Orleans friends will be able to tell me what it is but my mind just can't figure out where I've seen it before.

More art from upstairs.

James also paints depictions of nature; one of my true hearts delights. I adore trees- and he captures them in his colorfully kaleidoscope way.

Troy really likes the yellow house with the tree branches caressing the sky and framed in by moon and cloud swirls. I really like the swirly pond to the right of that painting.

How now brown cow? I must admit that I love that brown cow. I'm not sure where I'd ever put it, but the bright blues, greens and brown and cream looks lovely together. I also love Peyton sneaking a peek outside to see all the action on the street.

Troy is just so-so with the man taking a stroll down the street, but I ♥LOVE♥ this piece of art. I love the beautiful homes in the background, the light shining down from the moon and the happiness on the man's face. Perfect.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but the painting of Satchmo is truly beautiful and unique. All of the swirls of paint and color combined, the action of Louis playing the trumpet- it's stunning.

This one at the top is Troy's favorite and very likely will be a giclee hanging in our home within the next 6 months. Although we'd love to have the original, we just don't have $27,000 lying around. Yes, you read that right. 27 G's! The giclee's price isn't anything to sneeze at either, but is certainly more affordable than the original.

Here are some other favorites that weren't at the gallery the day we went {James was in San Francisco at a meet and greet at his gallery there so he took a bunch of our favorites with him}.

"Home"

"Trees to Please"

"Marigny Made"

"Greek Revival"

What do you think? Do you like Michalopoulos as much as we do?

Beignets {or Ben-Yays for My Non-Southern Friends}

2010-05-25T13:06:00.002-05:00

After all of that driving and a nearly sleepless night once we made our destination (because someone smallish decided he needed to sleep smashed in between Troy and I and tossed and thrashed about all night long), we knew that we needed something extra tasty to wake us up.

Now, extra tasty in my book is something decidedly not healthy for you and when you're in New Orleans, that usually and especially means something fried and if it's for breakfast, that means fried AND liberally covered with powdered sugar.

Beignets, it's what's for breakfast. :-)

We weren't quite ready to head to the French Quarter so we ate at the Cafe Du Monde on Veteran's Boulevard which was the location we always went to when we lived there and were craving some beignets.

However, if you've never been to New Orleans and you decide to visit, you must do the ultra-touristy thing and have your beignets at the French Market downtown across from the French Quarter.

Trust me, there's just something about eating them in a covered cafe with walls open to the air and the sidewalks; wonderful on a dreary rainy day where you can smell the moist earth but be protected and cozy with a mug of hot cocoa {or chilled chocolate milk in the humid days of summer} and watch the people go by and the birds flit through the trees.

Just remember to bring cash because they don't accept credit or debit cards {which we had totally forgotten this go around; oops}.

She had no idea that she was in for a tasty treat...

Feast your eyes upon that! Fried doughy pillows of sugary goodness. Scrumptious {and messy!}.

The instant Troy set the tray on the table, Chloe lunged and I mean LUNGED for the beignets.

And she almost got them with the very tip of her little fingers. Thankfully, I was able to avert near certain disaster and save them from the adorable clutches of Troy's doppelganger.

Peyton knew what these were... and it didn't take long for him to dig right in!

See what I mean about messy? It is inevitable; you will leave with sugar on your face, your clothes and your hands no matter how carefully {or not} you eat them. Check out Peyton's shirt! :-)

Troy told me not to add this picture because when I took it, he was in the middle of a bite. I still think he's cute, even when he's eating and covered in sugar. Maybe especially because he's covered in sugar... be still my sweet tooth!

New Orleans tested, girl approved!

If you go visit the big N.O., try a few beignets. You'll love them.

Unless you hate sugar.

Then you might not like them. At all.

But that's just weird.

Who doesn't like sugar? :-)

Road Trip!

2010-05-24T20:39:00.001-05:00

Last Wednesday Morning, we decided enough was enough. We were tired of being stuck indoors. We were tired of mindless television. We were tired of slow paced reading. We were tired of all of our toys. In short, we were tired of everything but complaining about being tired. So we decided it was time for a road trip!

We loaded everyone up, packed a million diapers, a million and one outfits (because statistics and bad past experiences have confirmed that one diaper will fail and you will need an extra outfit), a hundred bottles of baby food, a dozen toys and a handful of books and crossed our fingers for the best and headed for our old home, Party City, A.K.A. New Orleans.

To my surprise the babies lasted much longer than I expected before they were exhausted and tired of (you guessed it) the truck. (I believe that if you round to the nearest minute it was about 10 minutes in to the trip). I guess at age 3 and nearly age 1, your attention and patience threshhold is basically nill. Poor Chloe cried 6 out of the 8 hours, nearly non-stop.

At one point, Peyton unbuckled himself, we had to stop for a diaper emergency for Chloe (I told you that extra outfit would come in handy) and make one more pitstop for lunch (which Peyton deemed unnecessary and therefore refused to eat) before we could continue without stopping.

But finally, FINALLY, they fell asleep. Not at the same time (of course), but sleep they did!

Thank goodness Troy had everything under control because by hour 5, I was tired of constantly turning around to pick up dropped toys, tossed blankets, slippery sippy cups and handfuls of snacks. As you can tell from the picture, Troy is autopilot mode, which not surprisingly looks like the same mode he falls into during long (for him) shopping excursions.

I will say that the weather was beautiful and there were lots of fields and trees to gaze at.

I was also thankful for this little bit of comic relief:

We passed a truck in Northern Louisiana that was painted in LSU colored stripes {purple and gold} down the side and said, 'Tiger By The Tail' on the back. The love for all things LSU in Louisiana is astronomical. Don't ever mess with a true LSU fan. I mean it- things could get ugly, and fast! :-)

Stay tuned for more about our adventures in N'awlins over the next few days...

Where's Your Daddy?

2010-05-16T20:16:00.002-05:00

So after church today, Troy had a last minute meeting to go to so he told me just to head home. {Actually, what really happened was I messaged him on my Blackberry because he disappeared back in the building and I had no idea what he was up to. I thought he was in an emergency bathroom session because he didn't tell me he had a meeting! That's when he told me to head on home.} I started up the truck, proceed to back out and I've not even put the truck in forward when Peyton starts having the BIGGEST melt down. "No! Daddddeeeeee! Daddy! Daddy! Want Daddy! Daddddddddeeeeee!"

You'd think I'd killed his best friend.

It turns out that Peyton thought I had forgotten Daddy and that we were abandoning him by taking off without him. This thoroughly traumatized the little guy.

Driving down the road, the crying continues- loud, excruciating and sorrowful cries. I'm not ready to go home yet so I drive past our house and as I'm driving the crying gets quieter and stops. I sneak a peek in the mirror and see that Peyton is passed out in the back seat, his head lolled to one side. So I drive around for a few more minutes then decide to head home for real this time since Troy doesn't have keys to the house with him so he'd be locked out if I wasn't there to let him in. I pull into the garage, go to open the door but Peyton is still snoozing on so I leave his door open and walk over to let Chloe out.

Suddenly, Chloe giggles because I've just released her from her seat and Peyton opens up two groggy eyes and blinks in confusion. In .2 seconds the crying starts again, and somehow, it's even LOUDER than the last time. After about a half hour of uncontrollable crying, I message Troy and say, 'Peyton is having a major meltdown because you are not here. When are you coming home?' Then I 'pinged' him.

[About 'Pinging']: When you 'ping' someone on our Blackberry's, it sends a strong vibration to the receiver's phone. I always joke with Troy that I'm pinging him in the butt. :-)

He writes back after I've pinged him and says, "In 5 minutes."

Well let me tell you, 5 minutes isn't ordinarily a long time unless you have a hysterical three year old that is having coniption fits and following you around blubbering and turning red and making sounds like he's going to be sick {which makes my stomach roll}. A few minutes later, I see a truck outside and figure that it must be Troy returning home. I cajole Peyton to the door, open it and out Peyton walks, crying into Troy's arms. "Dadddddeeeeeeee!"

I'm not sure, but I think Peyton is a Daddy's boy. What do you think?! :-)

By the way, the picture above was taken 45 minutes after 'the ordeal' and as you can see, he still looks like he's not thrilled about the whole thing. I told Troy that he's never allowed to have after church activities again. And I mean never. Sorry God.

This is so true...

2010-05-16T18:37:00.000-05:00

As seen on Facebook. :-)

Peytonisms

2010-05-14T15:32:00.000-05:00

Troy: "Bye Peyton."
Peyton: "Where are you going?"
Troy: : "To work."
Peyton: "Are you going to have fun?"
Troy: {laughing} "Yes, Peyton."

Said when I was laying down on the bed:
Peyton: "No night night! Go! Get outta there Mama!"

Good Mail

2010-05-13T16:21:00.001-05:00

I love finding fresh rhubarb on my doorstep. My mouth is already watering! Should I make strawberry-rhubarb pie or apple-rhubarb crisp? Dillemas and decisions {of the best kind}!

Thank you Uncle Bruce and Aunt Chris for the splendid surprise! I can feel summer in the air... can you?

Peter Pan {Sans Tights}

2010-05-13T13:31:00.002-05:00

What?!

Chloe wasn't using it.

Besides, she plays with my toys all.the.time.

This thing is so cool. It lights up, it spins around, it rattles...

You should really jump in and take it for a whirl.

I'm just sayin'.

It's awesome.

Later alligator~

Morning Girl

2010-05-12T15:03:00.003-05:00

Wanna play?

Xoxo,

Doo not Poo.

2010-05-12T11:34:00.002-05:00

Dear Neighbor With Dog,

I know you love your furry friend to pieces. I'm sure you spend all of your spare time together canoodling on the couch and sharing sloppy wet kisses and the bottom of the ice cream carton. Since you are so in love with your pad footed pal, I'm sure you don't notice the {ahem} dirty things that your friend does like oh, I don't know...poop on my lawn. Maybe you do notice, and that would be even worse. Because you know. And if you know and you're not picking it up, that's just plain gross my friend.

You see, I have pets of my own. Of the human variety. And they have the bad habit of not looking where they walk {or crawl} so it's really just a matter of time before, you guessed it; they step in it and track it back in the house. I'm just glad that my husband caught you before you walked away the other day. I'm sure it was all innocent and that you didn't see your dog pause and leave a deposit {even though you stopped a moment to ~~watch it go~~ observe the green grass and the beautiful blue skies}. Sorry if that embarrassed you and made you lie about forgetting to bring a bag to clean it up. Hopefully you'll remember a bag next time!

Sincerely yours,

All of us

Music Swappage!

2010-05-11T10:58:00.006-05:00

I've listened to a lot of music in my 30 years of life. We're talking about tons of music here, people. And not just one style of music; I mean, that would be too simple and normal. I do have A.D.D. after all!

At one point of time I may or may not have listened to The New Kids on the Block. Maybe I did because I found a cassette tape at a garage sale while visiting my Grandmother for summer in Wisconsin. But who knows, maybe that didn't really happen. {At least, I try to think of that as not happening.} Don't worry; if I were to have gotten a tape like that, it would have been trashed as soon as I came back to school and heard everyone talking about LAME the NKOTB were. [Insert blush here.]

I went through a summer in middle school where I listened to nothing but classical music like Vivaldi, Beethoven, Bach and Tchaikovsky and read things like Shakespeare (really, ask my Mom) or To Kill a Mockingbird. For fun. {Actually, I still do things like that; but that's just how I am}

Then I was over that and started to listen to Alternative like Nirvana, Metallica, Weezer, Filter... I also cut my hair in a pixie cut, dyed it bleach blond and wore alternative style gear. Oh, and I also wanted to get a tattoo on my cheek of a star. Like Star Bright. Thank goodness that didn't happen.

From Alternative, I moved over to punk rock. My boyfriend in High School played for a punk rock band so for a while I listened to things like N.O.F.X., No Doubt and Blink 182. And yes, he did have a mohawk.

At some point in my early twenties, I also went through a country music phase where Tim McGraw and Martina McBride were my best friends. I was really trying to be a good girl since I was a teacher and I needed to be an example. I still listen to country music... I do live in TEXAS after all! {It's kinda unavoidable.}

So basically, if you have it, I probably have it too or at least something very near to it.

Anyway, are you wondering what all this talk about music is for?!!

Well, I thought it would be fun to do a little music swappage. You share with me, I share with you; how is this not a good plan? ;-)

So let me know if you'd like to swap a mixed music CD!

I promise there won't be NKOTB on it. But the rest will be a surprise! [Hint: If you look at the music at the bottom of the page, you'll have an idea of what kind of music I'm listening to right now.]

I'll give you to Friday to speak up. Meanwhile, I think I'll go browse my iTunes music list!

P.S. I'm thinking of music that you're listening to right now; unless, you know, you want to get all golden oldie on me; after all, maybe that's what you're really listening to! Like everything else, I went Woodstock-Era crazy my Freshman year of High School so I'm not above a little Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix or songs like 'Werewolves of London.'