Now the gut-wrenching sad part of my New Orleans visit
It was my 1st time back post-Katrina; it has been almost 14mos. since the storm. However, from what I saw, not a lot has changed in many, many places. Empty is a good way to describe it all. I sample a few photos:
This is West End Park -- the former location of Jaeger's, Bart's and other bar/restaurants.
Just one of the thousands of homes in the Lakeview area. The horizontal lines on the pole are water marks. The slow steadying markings as the water subsided. You can still see the family's couch in the front. These poor, poor families.
Yes, that is a boat in the middle of the street. Miles away from where water is now. Still there after all this time.
Breach now fixed, but if you can see the large piece of grassy land -- completely washed away homes.
Touching.

HOME.............
Still here, just wondering around with several blog topics in my head and I can't seem to get any of them out of my brain.

What a difference a week makes.....all of a sudden I'm magically older AND did a quick visit to New Orleans (compliments of my brother). In recent years as my bday approached I found myself having to figure out how old I was turning. It's not that I can't do math, it's just that now the bdays just seem to melt into one another and they are just another day. Don't get me wrong; I love my the gifts/hugs/cards. It is just that it's a reminder of my wrinkles and slowing metabolism.

Now - the visit to New Orleans. It was nice to spend time with my family by myself. Not having to worry about what my kids are doing and what they might get in trouble for is always nice. Plus having undivided attention to play with my nephews is an added bonus. I was able to surprise a couple of friends that didn't know I was coming in town and I even scored a nice dinner out of the deal. Just to enjoy a grown-up dinner with friends is quite a treat. I even got to pop in on a family bday party for my 80yo Uncle Jesse. I saw cousins I hadn't seen since my wedding (almost 11yrs. ago). The Cantrelles sure know how to make me remember home: comfort food, Saints football, and lots of fun. Stepping off the plane in New Orleans, I felt a feeling of 'aaaaaahhhhh, it's good to ge home' even after being gone for 16yrs. BUT then, stepping off the plane in OC to a gaggle of screaming kids 'Moooooommmmmmmmyyyyyy's here!' also sent into the mode of 'it's good to be home.'

Home is where the heart is; very true, but don't forget that your heart has many chambers!

LOVE is finding your favorite place in Dad's lap no matter how old you get.

Like most things in life when major changes happen the event usually means good & bad things happen. For example, when it rains in SoCal --good=we NEED rain; bad=people can't drive in spit drizzle. Need another example, teens start to drive--good=your taxi service is slowing; bad=you add MORE worry onto an already full plate. See what I mean.

SO......Ian is heavy into learning to dress himself & potty training; doing really well; about 95% there! Yeah, right???? Well, let's talk GOOD = no more poopy diapers; easing the budget from the diaper cost; mastering milestones; interesting clothes choices and this:



Now, here's a little BAD = visiting every toilet in every store we go to; wiping another child's butt; toting extra clothes wherever you go; and the dreaded plugging the toilet and holding the flusher so water flows continually and non-stop while you scream for help.



I stopped counting at 12 towels.

Pull up a chair and enjoy a little Pete's Pond.........
http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/wildcamafrica/index.html

I just got lucky and sat here watching a herd of elephants (at least three of them babies) for 10minutes. The elephants moved back into the brush. And suddenly, look here come assorted deer type creatures.

Many thanks to Amy@thefoilhat for linking me to this. Nature in it's truest form.

Over the years I've mostly found magicians annoying; meaning, they mostly just piss me off b/c I want to know 'how do they do that?' A couple of years ago, we were given tickets to see David Copperfield. His show was really amazing and he was very personable (as opposed to the plastic guy I envisioned him to be). His tricks were awesome. Then came David What's-his-name/failed drowning stunt guy Blain?....he is good, but I'm over him now. He seems wasted all the time and he lost his appeal. Along comes Criss Angel. You GOTTA see this guy. First you have to get over his grundge look, but it suits him well. This guy FREAKS ME OUT; CREEPS ME OUT and makes my jaw drop.
His TV show is amazing. The stunts he does continue to captivate me and I can hardly tear myself away. Check him out.

LOVE is picking THE perfect Halloween costume and wearing whenever you want, even if it's 80 degrees outside.

Beyond being incredibly cute, I think Ian is either going to be high maintenance or a metrosexual. His favorite thing these days is "creamy, clean, & mint". Translation for this toddler speak would be: I would like some lip balm, purell, and a tictac. The boy will stop playing at the park and has even bee-lined over to my purse during a Mommy&Me class to do this. I know part of it is the allure of my Mom's mysterious purse, but I laugh every single time he does b/c I thought for sure he would be 'over' it by now.

I even find myself double-checking for these items occasionally b/c I am trying to avoid a random meltdown.

Maybe he needs his own man-purse.

While I slowly drudge toward becoming a Mom of four KIDS, kids as opposing to newborns/nurslings/toddlers (b/c for the 1ST time in 8-1/2 yrs. I'm NOT doing anymore diapers or always toting a stroller), there are still things that I enjoy with my little Ian even though he's plodding toward being a big boy. I love children's music. I always have since I was teaching.

I guess I should clarify -- GOOD children's music; FUN children's music. I did allow some Barney for my first-born, but the purple thing got OLD really fast. One of my classroom favs. was Red Grammar and I still play him in the car. Amanda was playing on the computer and came across this http://disney.go.com/disneychannel/playhouse/choochoosoul/index.html
If you're feet aren't movin' and/or you butt isn't groovin' you must be dead. I don't know which one I like better ABC or 123. Now that I have those fun little diddies stuck in your head my work here is done.

ALL ABOARD!

LOVE is having a brother to learn everything from whether it's skateboarding, silly faces or simply to have a hug!

This post confirms that I truly am a Mom who's lost her mind. Here's a little piece of sunshine in my day; insert black mascara raccoon eyes b/c I had tears rolling down my face. It was Sean, Amanda and I sitting in the family room.

First, Amanda chose The WorryWarts by Pamela Duncan Edwards as one of her stories. It's like one giant 'W' tongue-twister. What a hoot! Hard to get through b/c we were laughing so hard.

Next, came a few selections from Tinkle, Tinkle Little Tot )It's a library book - thank goodness b/c owning it would send me over the edge. Potty humor is just beyond funny. Try this one:

The Tushy Pushy (to the tune of Hokey Pokey)
You pull your undies down,
You take your potty out,
You sit your bottom down,
And you push the poopy out.
You do the Tushy Pushy
Till the poop is in the pot,
That's what it's all about!

Can you hear the howls???

We all have pet peeves; some big (DO NOT leave yer trash, especially diapers at the showers, on the beach)/ some small (put the toilet seat down, thankyouverymuch). Overall, I try to let most things roll off my back and not get in a huff over stuff. However, one thing that I've noticed more and more recently is GRATING ON MY LAST NERVE.......Moms who walk around [more like chasing] a kid with bitefuls of food at the park. For the love of God, PLEASE make a freaking choice: 1)eat at home and let the kid play 2)set some boundaries like 'eat 1st, then play' 3)at the very least, sit HERE when you come to get a bite of food; DO NOT walk around & climb when you are eating. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not hard people! I have four children so I've been there/done that with rules and I am still doing it. If you are THAT concerned that your child consume some food maybe you shouldn't be at the park for crying out loud. Is applesauce by the spoonful necessary? Do you really thinking shoving a mini-carrot in your 3yo's mouth while climbing a ladder is smart? Look at me while I speak slowly and clearly 'Get. over. yourself. Leave. the. kid. alone. Back. away. from. the. playground.'

Stepping off my soap box; back to the regularly scheduled program.

Need a laugh???

Ya know when you are eating a soft bread (think hot dog bun or pizza crust) and it sticks in your teeth or on your upper pallette, you use your tongue to just kind of get-it-off. WELL, try teaching that to your 2yo. I just giggled every time he took a bite of food b/c the bread seemed to get stuck in his teeth everytime. Nothing funnier!

Seriously!

It's my new favorite phrase; compliments of the BEST SHOW EVER - http://abc.go.com/primetime/greysanatomy/ If you haven't watched, get the DVD and catch up already. I watch lots of assorted stuff but this is my new MUST-SEE-TV (sorry NBC). Patrick Dempsey has surpassed Mel Gibson on my HOT list; Mel has been lookin' a little tired lately. Patrick has come A LONG way from the movie Run (1991). The phrase "you've come a long way baby" certainly applies.

Here's to Season 3!

LOVE is endless piggy back rides (even better naked) from your sister!

What??? is up with late night television. It is REALLY bad!

As part of my usual weekend evening ritual, I was scrapbooking last night after the kiddos went to bed. Once Monk and Survivorman were over it all went downhill. Ferpetesake, do I really need to see ONE MORE girls gone wild video/advertisement. Don't these programming people have daughters???? I'm mortified everytime a commercial comes on; AND that would be every 30sec. once 11pm hits.

From one extreme to another......so to avoid the GGW insanity, dh started grasping at straws and checking every random channel. Something special caught his eye. That would be the Porter Wagner show. What's really sad? I KNEW who it was before he did. Now, did he change the channel? Nope. We spent a good 10minutes admiring the songs, clothes, etc. He had nothing on Lawrence Welk.

You will be pleased to know that we did find a Starz channel preview weekend and promptly switched to the movie Hitch. Gawd, we need Tivo.

TAXI! Did someone call for a taxi?
That would be the new service I've started now that school is back in session. Along with the school & preschool shuffle, we have dance (two days x 2 kids); soccer (1/wk. overlapping times with dance); religious education (still waiting on that schedule addition); and Brownies (so what if it's right after school, it's another pick-up time).
HOW ON EARTH do the superMoms out there do it once everyone is in activities? I know my kids are still little, but even though I'll be able to 'drop them off' at things as they get older I see MORE things being added. Remember, the little guy is still only two. I think he's a bit young to start piano or violin even though many in my local community beg to differ @@
As it stands I feel like a heathen b/c I have the kids choose two things each. I have to have SOME sanity and really want them in bed at a decent hour; not to mention, I would like a family dinner meal more days than not.
Things I will be thankful for: 1)my husband likes to cook 2)three out of four kids can buckle themselves in safely and 3)CARPOOL starts next week.

Excuse me while I go to bed. The taxi driver has to get up early.

Readin'; Writtin'; 'rithmetic!!!

It's that time of year again. How can it be that I have a 1st grader and a 3rd grader? Up until last Wednesday, I was still saying K & 2nd. Maggie seems to be liking 3rd grade so far (hey, 3 full days and no complaints); Sean thinks his classroom critters are cool (bearded dragon, tarantula, spotted gecko), but overall 1st isn't too exciting. Amanda is anxious to start Pre-K on Thursday of this week. As a family, it's our 5th consecutive year at the preschool with one more child to get through after Amanda. I think we'll hold the record for longest attendance without a break, lol!

Stay tuned for the tear report. Will Amanda get through her 1st few days w/o tears? If so, when will they start when her 2-day-a-week reality starts?

LOVE is the magic you feel when you discover your FOURTH child is the 1st child to adore his 1st visit to Disneyland..........

So we went to the beach for the 3rd time in one week (and we have plans to go on Tuesday too). We get around --Sunday it was Newport Beach; Wed. it was Newport again; today it was San Clemente and Tues. it will likely be Corona del Mar. So many beaches so little time.......

My kids really have NO CONCEPT of what it's like for some folks. I tell them that many people in this world have never been to the ocean; can you say "huh??" 'Yes, darlings. Unless you live near a coast line, chances are you haven't been to the ocean. That's why people vacation. If you live in Oklahoma, where's the ocean?' Again, more "huh??" 'Do you think people who live in the African desert just drive to the ocean?' I'm thinking my kids aren't very worldly.

They might not be worldly but they sure look like cute beach bums.