oOo Wordless Wednesday oOo Mardi Gras 2009

Playing Ball...

with Grammy...


and Grampy...


is super fun, and makes one tired boy on a New Orleans summer day.

As seen in my kitchen.

Not an original idea,it was Kimber's, but maybe I'll do a whole series of post showcasing every room in my house.











*I guess the boys are technically in the dining room, but you can see it from the kitchen.*

Thursday's Thirteen 'U'

Bought to me by Kimber courtesy of Izzy 'N Emmy



1.UMBRELLA:: It has rained A LOT lately. Mason has begun wanting to hold the umbrella. Which is nice, but unfortunately he is much shorter then I am, which leave me , well, out in the rain.



2.UNIVERSITY:: I attended Monmouth University for a year. I wish I would have stuck with it. So trust me kids, STAY IN SCHOOL! And don't waste $26,000 of your parents hard earned money.


3.UNITED STATES:: I am proud to be an American.


4.UNCLES:: I have the best uncles ever who live in Massachusetts and Minnesota. I do not see them nearly enough. I miss them an I wish they were able to be more involved in Mason's life, so he could know what great men they are. (I also have amazing aunts, but that's an 'A)

5.UNICORN:: What Mason calls a pinata.

6.UNDERWEAR:: No diapers in this house currently. Mason has been potty trained 100% since December!

7.UGGS:: No, thank you. Even if I did like them, it is far to warm all year in Louisiana for that.

8.UNDER:: Louisiana is 'under' all the other states. :o)

9.UNIVERSAL:: Somewhere I'd like to visit. I've never been to any of those Disney type parks. I'm a Great Adventure, Dorney Park, Hershey Park, and Sesame Place kinda girl. I miss Tri-State Area parks.

10.UPS:: They brought a package to my house today. Nothing exciting, just a reflective shirt for my husband for work.

11.URBAN DICTIONARY:: A silly website.

12.UTAH:: Makes me think polygamist.

13.UPPER DECK:: I love baseball. I love The Philadelphia Phillies. I love upper deck homeruns by The Phillies.

oOo Wordless Wednesday oOo

Trains.

Mason loves trains. LOVES them. Especially Thomas the Tank Engine and all his Friends. Mason got a new train set this past weekend. He loves it. I mean can a boy have too many trains??

An award? For me?

A big thank you to my bloggin' buddy Kimber, for send this award my way ♥ .



Here's the rules:
List 5 obsessions that I have and then tag 5 other people.

5 of my obsessions


1. Being a mom: Can I call that an obsession? It is my favorite thing in the world. I love being a parent. I want (almost) nothing more then to be a stay at home mom. I don't go out without Mason, because I really don't want to. He may drive me crazy, but I wouldn't want anyone else to do it.

2. Facebook: Yes, I admit it I am obsessed. (It was definitely not me who updated my Facebook status via cell phone in line at the bank) It is a really convenient way for me to stay in touch with my family and friends who are 1300 or more miles away. And honestly, I'm a bit nosy and like knowing what is going on in peoples lives. I like Myspace a bit too, but Facebook more.

3. Texting: I text a lot. A LOT. It goes back to the faraway friends thing :o)

4. Reading: I enjoy reading. I will read pretty much anything. And I refuse to read the back of books or the inside cover flaps cause I think it gives away too much of the book, just let me read it!

5. Ikea: How I miss Ikea! We had one right over the bridge in Philadelphia when we live in South Jersey. Cheap, cool, furniture. AWESOME kitchen stuff. I got my favorite stock pot EVER there for $30! Great thigs to hang on your walls, and most of them have an area for your kids to play in while you shop, if you aren't completely paranoid like me. AND cheap and yummy food! It's an awesome place.

Now to pass it on:

1. Alyson:: Where have you been my friend???

2.Tanya:: Cause she is my girl.. and she gets me.

3. Michelle:: My Metairie friend. Who has the cutest daughter.

4. Tiffany:: Come back to bloggin'!

5. Emily:: My new bloggin' buddy, and possibly future Louisiana resident.

Not Me! Monday

Head on over to Mckmama's blog and read everyone's too!


This past week I certainly did not skip church on Sunday because I was sick and tired of getting up and having to get not only myself ready every day but my husband and son ready too. I would never do something that lazy.

I also did not curse my bank for something that really had no control over because it inconvenienced me.

I also did not feed Mason and the little boy I take care of boy I watch Taco Bell and Burger King this week. I only feed them the healthiest foods.

Thursday's Thirteen 'V'

Again, thank you Kimber for finding the blog of Izzy 'N Emmy



1.VALENTINE:: My son was born on Valentine's Day 2006. At 9:23pm to be exact.

2.VAMPIRES:: Not my usual thing, but I loved the Twilight Series.

3.VACATION:: My favorite word ever. Okay, maybe its a tie with the word .free.

4.VOODOO:; Well I do live in New Orleans. Here are some pictures of one of the touristy voodoo shops in the French Quarter.



5.VICARIOUS:: One of my favorite TOOL songs.

6.VALLEY:; I grew up in a neighborhood called Cherry Valley (on Cherry Tree Lane, in Cherry Hill.. lost of cherry named things, NO cherries.)

7.VRBO:: A cool website.

8.VEAL:; Something I will never eat. I saw a 20/20 special when I was a kid about the poor baby cows they get veal from. Horrible things they do to the cows. F*ck veal.

9.VENUS:: A planet and a razor for women.

10.VAN:: Not for me :o)

11.VOLUME:: The volume it reaches at work somedays is mind blowing. Two 3 year olds can sure make a whole lot of noise. Especially when there is a recorder involved.

12.VIOLENCE:: Never the answer...

13.VICTORY:: Who doesn't like to win? I LOVED then the Philadelphia Phillies got a victory and won the World Series!

oOo Wordless Wednesday oOo

December 2006

Things this Jersey Girl has learned about LOUISIANA

I'm still learning a lot about my new home. Here are some of the silly things I've already learned.



- May/June-October is ridiculously hot. You think it gets hot and humid in Jersey.. YOU ARE MISTAKEN.

- "Fall" might as well be summer.. it is still 80 degrees most days.

-They eat beignets not donuts or bagels.

-They definitely don't know how to make a cheese steak or pizza correctly (no offense to any New Orleans establishments. They make a mean muffuletta!)

- They eat Po'Boys .. nothing like a hoagie... except the kind of resemble each other and are both sandwiches.

- There is NO last call at bar, and no open container laws.

- They have Drive-Thru Daiquiri places... you literally drive up to the speaker box (like at any Wendy's ect.) order your drink and drive up to pay and pick it up... then drive away with it. You know how it's legal? You aren't allowed to put your straw in the top while driving... CRAZY!

- EVERYWHERE SELLS ALCOHOL. (now I'm not a drinker, so this doesn't really benefit me) You can get it at grocery stores, gas stations, even Rite Aid sells it.

-Parishes are what you live in not Counties.

- At night they drive around in these pick-up truck and spray everywhere for mosquitoes (though they say the mosquitoes are bad here, Doug and I think NJ was worse, but I'm sure its because they DO spray here.)

- At night they also drive around in the back of a pick up truck and shoot Nutria in the canals on the highways.. and they will even pay you something like 3 dollars a tail.

- You can't make a left anywhere like in NJ, but instead of jug handles, they make you go through the light and make a u-turn.. There are more u-turns here then anywhere ever.

- The pronounce things very French.. like Hebert and Richard are pronounced "a-bear" and "re-shard".

-When you go to the store to buy groceries.. people here say their "makin' groceries". I've also heard when its someone's birthday instead of saying "so-and-so turned 25. They say so-and-so made 25.

- They call a canoe a pirogue.

- At restaurants instead of ketchup on the table its Tabasco.

- NO ONE works on Mardi Gras Day. And Mardi Gras is really 2 weeks of parades and concerts, leading up to the full day of parades all over the area.

-Even though the Gulf of Mexico is right below us.. there is no beach. You gotta go to Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida for that.

- In the summer almost every day it is super hot and it rains.

-It's a soft drink, not a soda.

- I live RIGHT near the longest bridge in the WORLD over water. The Lake Ponchartrain Causeway is almost 24 miles long and there is no shoulder.. how crazy is that?!

-Bourbon Street is very touristy.

- I say Metairie like met-ar-ie, some locals say it met-tree.

My Louisiana Bloggin Bud has hit 100 posts!

Kimber !! 100 post is quite an accomplishment. I hope there is 100 more to come!

Head on over to her blog and check it out! She is having a give away!!!





*okay I admit, i really want to win! Ive never won anything, ever.*

Wordless Wednesday (On Friday!)

My absolutely gorgeous niece Kylie Rae @ 2 1/2 weeks old.

Prayer

Growing up I never considered myself very religious. I guess I believed in God and Jesus. We celebrated all the Christian holidays, but we never went to church. I think my parents both had not so great experiences with their churches growing up. My mom remembers the church bothering my grandfather for money when he had 5 children and a wife at home to feed. My parents wanted my brother an I to be able to make our own decision about what we believed in.

When I was 16 I begun attending an Episcopal Church with a friend from high school. I listened to the messages and felt so welcomed by the whole parish, so I continued to go. Every Saturday I would sleep at my friend's house and Sunday morning we'd head to church. After a rather traumatic breakup in high school, my friend who I attended church with invited me to something called "Happening". Happening is a weekend retreat at a church. Its pretty much run by teens for other teens. Where teens share their experiences with faith. There are all sorts of activities all weekend. More then I could ever explain. But after that weekend, everything just clicked. I felt like I knew that Jesus was my savior and that I needed to listen to God's word and pray and give thanks. I decided to get baptized in the Episcopal church when I was 16. My parents came and supported me while I stood on the alter on Palm Sunday and was baptized.

I wish I could say that I have been a good Christian since that day, but I would be lying. The friendship between my fiend and I had changed and I was no longer going to church with them, or with anyone. I still talked to God, but mostly when I was in trouble and was hoping He'd help me find a way out. I didn't go to church unless someone was getting married, baptized, or had past away. Until very, very recently.


Fast forward to today. Today we have recently joined our local Episcopal Church and attend every Sunday. They have a nursery where Mason goes to "school" and Doug an I are able to go to the service in peace. As he gets a bit older we will have him come with us, but now, it would be a waste. And as he gets even older, if he decides he does not want to attend our church, then I will not force him.

But I'm getting off track and the whole purpose of this post was to be about PRAYER.

Prayer is an amazing thing. If you haven't tried it, go ahead give it a shot! But I will tell you from personal experience as a young adult that you can just pray for things you want. God isn't just going to help you with the lottery, or not get caught sneaking out by your parents. That is not how it works. Now I have only been back to church for a very short time, and I am NO expert (though I intend to take come bible classes and further my very limited knowledge), but when I pray the first think I do is give thanks. How can I not? I am such a blessed person, sure I have my drama and bad days. Sure we have months where we aren't sure how on earth we are going to pay all the bills this month, but over all, we are healthy and happy, and so are our loved ones. So I always thank God for all the wonderful things in my life. Then I pray for the people who need it the most. Whether that be my sister in law's brand new baby girl who was in the NICU for 2 weeks, or someone like Stellan who I do not personally know, but I read his mother's blog and he has affected me in such a way, I can't explain. I pray for other babies who's blogs I read are stuck in terrible situations. I pray for my friends & family who are in tough situations at the moment. I pray for the safety of my husband and his coworkers who work in a dangerous field. I pray for my son. And then at the very end I pray for myself. I pray God will continue to fill me with the need and desire to attend church, that he will help me be the best mom, wife, daughter, sister,and friend I can be, that he will get rid of the unnecessary drama in our lives.

I've seen the power of prayer work. I've seen thousand of people pray for a baby who is just hanging on by a thread and miraculously that baby get better. I've seen hearts healed and drama ended.

I don't want to sound like my way is the only way, it sure it not. I don't think it matters if you go to church necessarily, I think what matters is you are thankful for what is provided for you and you want the best for others and you put both before yourself.

Thursday's Thirteen 'W'

Again, thank you Kimber for finding the blog of Izzy 'N Emmy



1.WATER:: I guess I have water on the brain because it has been a rainy few days in New Orleans. But still a HOT few days. You need to drink tons of water to stay hydrated in the deep south in the middle of summer.

2.WIKIPEDIA:: Thank God for that website!

3.WET:: Today I walked from my job to my house with both children, ya know my own and the one I watch.. I checked the weather radar before we left and figured we'd be fine.. We were not. We got SOAKED. Wow.. Kids LOVED it, I though it was unnecessary.

4.WEDDING:: Sunday is my 1 year wedding anniversary. 4 days after that we will have been together 7 years, so in a way. only celebrating 1 year married seems a bit funny to us.


5.WATERMELON:: Yummy summer treat! Seedless only please!


6.WOMEN:: I am lucky to be surrounded by strong women in my life. from friends to family. I know some amazing ladies.

7.WAWA:: The best convenience store ever. They are only in a few states in the north east. They have THE BEST COFFEE EVER. Living in the south for 2 years now, I even miss their hoagies. I'm pretty sure Wawa means goose of something in a native american language.


8.WORDS:: I am consistently telling Mason to "use your words" when he gets to upset and starts the mumbling crying thing.

9.WENDY'S:: When one of my best friends was pregnant, she craved Wendy's so much that the drive thru guy knew what we were going to order before we did and even told us one night that he had seen us driving like 5 towns over. *remember Michelle?

10.WAHOOS:: Indoor swimming when I was a child.

11.WHACKOS:: HA! Don't we all have some in our lives that we wish would go away?? I bet you do! Well do what I did (according to my sister in law) and grow some balls and put them in their place! It worked WONDERS and both sides of our families are THRILLED with the results. *Even if she tells me to "leave her alone" and she still reads my blog.. I LOVE my blog tracker that lets me know who is reading my blog*

12.WETLANDS:: The coastal and swampy regions of the area I live in are fading FAST. And with the wetlands going, it makes New Orleans and the lower lying areas much more vulnerable to sever hurricane damage. So SAVE OUR COAST!



13.WHALE WATCHING:: Something I've always wanted to do. Now if only I wasn't terrified of the ocean and boats..