NOLA getaway...

It is no surprise that Jason and I structure our entire life around our kids...to a degree that I'm sure many think is unhealthy. And every once in  a while, I start to get that strange twitch in my eye that never goes away and I start to think we're a little overboard in kiddie land as well. 

We were a little weary about booking this trip months ago for two reasons. One: the house situation, just so happens that the weekend trip fell exactly 7 days before we're set to move. Two: last time we booked tickets for this trip, we found out we were pregnant, and we didn't really want to jinx ourselves into another bambino, we're good with the three crazy ones we already have! But we pulled the trigger and bought the tickets anyways and had a great time! J's good friends Gary and Scotty came with their significant others, and we had ourselves a little mini-reunion. You see, if you don't know already....Jason and my story starts over 8 years ago, in a little bar on Bourbon during Mardi Gras. Gary and Scott just happened to be with J when he and I met.

I could go on and on about the trip, and New Orleans itself. Ever since school, I've considered the town my home, and I still do. The trip didn't disappoint: from the food we ate, sites we saw, and the laughs we had with great friends! If it were possible to be in love with a city, NOLA would have my heart from here to eternity!

First stop was Port of Call for a burger, baked potato, and drinks...it was exactly as i remember it...amazing!

My favorite Tulane professor even found time to drive out to the airport and share a quick lunch with Jason and I. She is the reason why I was so successful in my career as an educator. She was my biggest cheerleader and I'm so grateful to still have her in my life!

Priceline rocks! we ended up staying at the Saint hotel on Canal St. a block from Bourbon. Although it didn't have any new orleans charm, it was clean, super sleek and all around a great call!

Walking Bourbon during the day.

I wish I could explain to you the smile I had walking through these doors of my old stomping ground. This is where I was first introduced to J. Gary (and Vinn) are to blame for this one!

Love New Orleans ornate charm...

yummm....

Columns hotel...

Loyola

Tulane campus...so much has changed and yet nothing has changed at all..it was nice to walk through and stop at the bookstore to drop a couple hundred on sweatpants and other stuff...i know its a lot, but trust me, any pair of sweats I buy is money well spent!

The new students center, or at least new to me!

Another must stop, along with superior grill and cafe du monde, all of which we visited...

Audubon Park

Riding the trolley...

These are just a couple of the many pictures I took throughout the weekend. I had such an amazing time! It was awesome to get to spend time with Jason away from the kids. and I can't wait till we get to go back again!

The chaos is upon us...

I think the anticipation of the end of school and the house move has worn me down. Now both are just two short weeks away, and I find myself exhausted before it even starts! Like every busy time, more events pop up making it even busier than expected. And that perfectly explains the month of May for us! 

This past weekend, Jason and I took the opportunity to use some free byron nelson tickets and headed to watch some golf with some good friends of ours. What I thought was going to be a boring, semi-pointless outing, turned out to be lots of fun. Its nice to get away and not worry about the kiddos for an afternoon, and I also found my first golf crush. Some Canadian golfer in yellow pants, Graham something or other, was fun to watch (and not too bad to look at either), and we spent a good bit of time following him, and of course stopping to watch Phil and Arnie (sp?) and some other golfers whose names I ought to know by now! Here's a shot of us on the 3rd hole. The best part? Checking out all the multi-million dollar homes that back up to the course....can you say wow! some people just have TOO much money!

This girl is as active as ever as school comes to a close. Field Day, Splash Day, Ice cream Social, Kinder graduation, last soccer game with the wild cats, as well as her last girl scout meeting with troop #208! There's so much she's going to miss about living here, but she also seems super stoked about the new house and starting a new chapter. Here she is at her girl scout picnic:

On Sunday we found ourselves stopping for lunch after a quick trip to the store (because a quick trip never actually ends up being quick)....I took one look at Ky with her hands across her mouth and her eyes as big as a deer in headlights and I knew right away that the wiggly tooth that wouldn't fall out finally met its match against the toasted turkey cheese she chomped right into. Tears automatically started to fall from her eyes when she realized that she swallowed the tooth along with her lunch...after some consoling and letter writing, turns out the tooth fairy had no problems understanding the conundrum, whew! catastrophe averted! She's such an adorable little girl! sometimes I forget underneath the layers of intelligence and maturity of a 30 year old, she's still a kid at heart!

The in-laws come in town tomorrow evening and then J and I head for our trip to NOLA! I can't wait! I'm hopping the kids are manageable, and I'm hoping the trip is fun with very little hangover and lots of laughs. (the later is guaranteed with the couples going with us...its the first one I'm worried about!)

Mother's Day Weekend...

Had a great weekend hanging out with the family for Mother's Day. I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband and three awesome kids! We close on the new house tomorrow...let the adventures begin! Here are a couple shots of the kids from various points this weekend...

Beck lining up his cars...

Newie loves chasing the ZhuZhu pets around the house...

 Hanging out in the front yard...

Beck has gone 4 of the last 5 nights with no accidents! wahoo! looks like that's one less thing to address this summer, as he figured it out all on his own!

Love this shot of Newburg...who is now walking ALL over the place, albeit not very gracefully. 10 minutes into our park trip this morning he'd already fallen 4 different times, the last one ending up with a busted lip....hopefully we get it mastered soon....injuries are no fun!

Stratton's vocabulary has exploded lately, among his favorite words to say are: mama, dada, kiki, ball, go, no, uh oh, wow, jump, down

Love this shot...

 I can only imagine what the smile on the other side of his shovel looked like....this boy does very little in the middle...he's either ecstatic with joy, or is absolutely miserable...

You can really tell how much beckster's front teeth are starting to push forward, esp. the one with the crown..which is why the nighttime thumb sucking will be gone by the end of this summer....time to put on your big boy pants sir!

Before heading to Ky's kinder music program, i took beck and her in the front yard to get some shots. they were both so excited that they couldn't stand still, but the poses made me laugh...

Kids and I on our way to church on mother's day. I wish i knew how to do that cropping and editing to get one decent looking photo...oh well, there's beauty in the imperfection, right?

#3...

When people ask how Stratton is doing, my answer never seems to change...he's a handful...in almost every way! If he isn't crawling around flushing the toilets in the house, he's eating june bugs at ky's soccer practice or trying to break even more glass dishes in the kitchen than he has already. 

Now, this doesn't mean I don't love him, it simply means that he's a hot mess. When we found out about #3, I remember my mother telling me a story about an older woman she works with who, in a similar situation, had 3 children with the last being a surprise. She told my mom that #3 came for a very specific reason. That she challenged both parents, and the family dynamics in a way that neither of the other children had done. She also went on to say that she brought a sense of joy to the house that was, simply put, priceless, and well worth the journey. The coworker said that she learned more from raising her last born than any other event in life. Whew...that's deep.

When I think about Newie right now...I just think he's a pain in the butt with a silly grin. But I do love the little guy and something tells me he's going to PUSH me to grow in a way that will be different than what I will learn from the other two...and it sure seems like there's a hell of a journey on the horizon!

Ky and Beck were over 2 before they started trying to open doors. This one? 14 months...and he's not far from mastering it...given another half inch...

We laugh that Newie has dishwasher radar. He could be on the other side of the house, but if he hears someone opening the dishwasher, its a mad sprint to the kitchen (and by that I mean fast crawl, let's not get confused guys, its not like he's walking or anything yet..but he is getting pretty close. taking 5 or 6 steps here and there). Not sure what his fascination is, but this is definitely his favorite place to be in the house right now...

Yeah, this seems real safe...

And if the dishwasher happens to be closed, he's totally content going through all, and I mean ALL, the kitchen cabinets...lucky for me, he usually tries to put it all back...

Warmer Weather...

Apparently, I'm the only one in the neighborhood that thinks it is CRAZY that the pool is open already! And I don't mean CRAZY good...I mean CRAZY bad! Hellooooo...it usually doesn't open until the end of May...if it's warm enough to swim (which it really isn't in my opinion) what does that say about where the temps are going to be come August? We'll have PLENTY of pool time when the temps reach the 90's and beyond. While we're still in the mid 80's I'm good with hanging outdoors in the mornings and evenings!

Since I'm clearly in no rush to pack up my pool noodles and lather up the sunscreen just yet, the kids have no other choice than to be content with a hose in the backyard. (which they actually LOVED) and by "they" of course I mean Ky and Beck. (I just enclosed stratton in the trampoline and occasionally showered him with water). At one point I looked over and he had his face shoved against the netting...and although I'm not sure what he was thinking, my bet is that it had something to do with trying to will himself outta there.

Here are a couple pics of the two weenies before we turned on the hose and completely flooded our backyard! (don't worry, it was all dried up before Daddy saw it! ) Kylie's new glasses she got with Nana crack me up, they're about the size of her entire head!

Maybe not the next Mia Hamm....

So Kylie started off the soccer season super strong! Really excited and surprisingly aggressive! Although her work ethic hasn't faltered (she really does work so hard!) She's found complacency in always being a step away from the "pack" that follows the ball around. And she's already expressed an interest in trying something else after this season is over! Although Jason is bummed, he's really enjoyed coaching her team this year, we have to keep perspective! Before the season started...I was expecting tears, and an outright refusal to practice or play. We got more than we expected! Here are a couple shots I took at her last game. I have to keep telling myself, that as long as she's active in something and enjoying it, we're good...but man...it would have been so nice had it been soccer. Who knows...maybe she'll come back to it sometime in the future!