Lot's of New Happenings

Cabe and I have been very happy with our old school, 19" T.V.* We figured we would just wait until it died to get a new one.  Then we moved here and we could no longer see the T.V. from the furniture.  So we have given in and bought a new T.V. It looks so good over the fireplace.  The room feels more complete. I plan to upload a family photo to have on the screen when we aren't watching it. 

 My Little Miss yesterday was full of surprises.  She's been telling me for a few weeks that when she turned four she'd stop sucking her thumb.  So I reminded her yesterday morning.  She immediately stopped sucking it.  I asked if it would help her for me to take her bear away and put it in the top of her closet.  She said yes and that was that. 
She has not asked for her bear (I still can't believe this) and she has not sucked her thumb once!  Not once!  She told Mr. M when he got home from school, "I'm four now so I don't suck my thumb." Last night I asked if she would like me to put yucky stuff on her thumb to help her remember to not suck it in the night and she said yes. 

I'm so proud of her.  She's amazing.  She is going to do great things in her life with resolve like that.

When they were installing our T.V. yesterday, Miss L and I were outside priming furniture.  I had to go in several times to answer questions.  While I was gone, that girl painted!  She painted really fast, and really well.  She even did the back sides of things and the undersides.  She is my new painting buddy for sure.

This bookcase is one thing we painted.  It was white (I think) when I was little (and it was antique even back then).  Then in my teens I painted it red, in my twenties I painted it black, and now in my thirties I am painting it blue.

*Mr. M was telling me yesterday that all words have vowels.  He looks up at the new T.V. and says, "Wait.  T.V. doesn't have any vowels!"  So I went into an explanation of television and intials and all that. Now he gets to enjoy all the confusing parts to the English language.

Mr. M also learned to say his "th" sound last week.  For a long time he's said "f" or "v" for the "th" sound.  His teacher was getting after him so I sat him down and helped him learn to hold his bottom lip down (he was tucking it) and put his tongue against it and he did it!  Now I'm helping him recognize all the words that have the "th" sound in them.

Mr. D loves to sing Jingle Bells.  The only reason I can tell what he is singing is that he'll get part-way through and yell, "Hey!" I guess for the, "sleigh" part. He also sings Away in a Manger but sings, "A-way, a-way, a-way, a-way." He is impossible to understand.  People say, "Oh he's probably just going to be quiet."  No. He talks constantly, you just can't understand a word.  As Cabe says, "We get all the noise but no communication."  Here and there an understandable word emerges though.

My Princess Is Four

Yesterday we had a busy, busy day.  We were still able to fit in an evening trip to the Jumping Zone. We don't know a lot of people yet so we decided just to have a family party.

Apparently Mr. M just thought his sister needed help getting up.

 Mr. D spent the entire time throwing balls out of the pit and I spent most of my time picking them up.

 Mr. M had a great time until he got a rubber burn on his neck.  Then he just wanted to go home.

 Miss L had a blast.  It was packed and at this particular place they don't let adults play, so I was bored out of my mind.  But the joy on her face was so worth it.

 I asked Miss what she wanted for her birthday meals.  She said strawberries and blueberries.  Easy, peasy.

For gifts she asked for a princess crown, princess shoes, and a fairy.  Surprisingly I was not able to find princess shoes in time, but she can get them late.  She wears them enough to make it worth it.  Here's most of her loot.

 She wanted a princess cake.  I made it late last night and although professionals probably wouldn't love it, my family thought it was fantastic.

 We gave her a scooter as well but it has something wrong with it and she can't ride it yet.  That was a bummer.

She told me she wanted to turn four but promised she will stay four forever.  Thanks goodness because this is going by way too fast!

 I let her choose the candles and put them in.  She blew them out so fast we hadn't even started singing yet.  She was a little excited this year.

My little girl is so precious.  She is getting so much less shy and she rarely cries anymore.  She actually stood up in primary today for them to sing to her.  She talked to some of the people who called to tell her happy birthday.  She's coming out of her shell a little and I'm loving it because I want everyone to see what I see.  She is just so darn cute.
I love you, Miss L.  I love you because you are my sweet, precious, amazing, beautiful little... I mean big girl.  Happy Birthday Little Miss.

Things We Do For Fun

 I know this is blurry but they were just too quick for me!  I think it's hilarious that D loves to push Mr. M around on this thing.  They take turns and laugh and giggle and I love it.

 We've been getting a lot of rain (big surprise, eh?)  The kids are ecstatic about the puddles.  Apparently even fairies love puddles.  And little boys who are supposed to be changed out of their school uniform.

 And a little baby boy who wants to do all that his siblings do.  "What for me!"

 I wanted to get a pic to replace the one at the top of the blog.  A good friend suggested that the one above no longer applied.  I need to get them out of the boots and into Mardi Gras beads.  That may happen but I think the boots represent as well.

 I may use this for the top...maybe....

 We have two rules after school.  First, do your homework.  Second, change out of your uniform.  When we came in from puddle playing I reminded him to go change but apparently the remind wasn't strong enough.  He went out back and rode his bike and this was the result:

 I had torn the tags of this shirt that morning.  He hid it in the laundry basket but Miss Lib tattled.  It's a good thing though because when I found it in the basket later that night I was unprepared for the extent of it.  At least I'd had some notice of what was coming.

Here's the Princess herself.  She spends hours every day combing her hair and mine.  Hours.  I haven't figured out how to tame my hair in this climate yet so I just let her go to town it's frizzy and wild no m atter what.

"Oh mom, you look so pretty.  Your hair is so soft and silky and beautiful. I love you." I get compliments all day long. I can never get enough of that!

Fairy Wings and a Preview

I walked by Miss L's room and she was lying on her bed with fairy wings on, reading a book.  The sun was hitting her face and lighting it up.  It was a picture-perfect moment.  By the time I got back with the camera it was over.  But I snapped this one anyway.  Now you can see a preview of her very purple wall too. 

Up until today she has always said she wants to be a fairy when she grows up.  Today she changed it to a princess.  Mr. M wanted to be a baker but now he wants to be an artist.  I'm pretty sure Mr. D wants to be a demolisher of some sort, or maybe an acrobat.

Miss L is a Fashionista

Miss L has great fashion sense. 

She will tell me if she doesn't like what I am wearing.

She will tell me over and over again that I am pretty and she wants to be like me when she does like what I'm wearing.

The other day we made a short trip to Kohls. She pointed out shirts as we went by, "Oh mom, you need that shirt. It's so pretty and sparkly."
I tried on every shirt she suggested because she really does have great taste.

I liked every single shirt she picked out and none of them were shirts I would have chosen for myself.

I couldn't afford to get them all but I did get this one and then let her snap a pic specifically for this post.

 The next day she had her first Louisiana b-day party to attend.  She looked so pretty I couldn't pass up a picture.  I wasn't keen on the red shoes with the outfit, but once again she was right - they were perfect. :)

I adore my little fashionista!

Sleeping Situations

Miss L and Mr. M have many sleeping options.  There is a queen bed in the boys' room and two twins in Miss L's room.  Yet this is how they choose to sleep.

 They've been begging to camp in the backyard.  At our old house we had crappy grass and an apartment complex and an alley behind our house.  I was always nervous to let them sleep out and they never got to.  Here, however, I wasn't nervous at all...especially since Dad joined them around eleven or so. 

 They wrestled, they squealed, and they stayed up late talking. I was in the carport painting and could hear their silliness.   Mr. D hung out for awhile and would stand over the top of them and then throw himself down right on them.  He's a brute.

Kids are so great.  They are so easy to please! You know, if you can understand what they want.

 
Tent = One night of pure bliss.
 
And does anyone else think it's crazy that it's January and they are sleeping outside?  It was fairly cold last week when Mr. M had no coat.  I bought him a coat and ta-da 70-80 degree weather appears.  It's rather nice except when we are painting or cleaning a room with no fan.  When that happens we are drenched in sweat within minutes.

My dad, "Well, did you turn the air on?"
Me, "No!  It's January, I just can't bring myself to turn on the air in January."
Dad, "Well then...."

So it's my own fault.  Now that we are done painting Miss L's room I can pretty much just avoid the kids rooms anyway. They can clean their own, mine has a fan.

Randomness

My big, little boy.

What is wrong with this picture?
I can see a number of things....but he was happy so all was right at the same time.  Make sense?  Maybe?

 Miss L received a letter from her best friend, Molly.  She was very excited to say the least.

 Tonight, as I was cooking, I realized it sadly has been quite a while since I cooked with much fresh food.  While we were at the hotel and traveling we ate out a lot.  I looked at this pan tonight and was so grateful for a home and fresh food and it smelled and looked so good!

I believe I am actually caught up on blogs for today!  Holy cow.  It's time to begin last year's blog book.  Oh how I dread this. I really should switch to digital scrapbooking, it would be easier in so many ways.  But I'm comfortable with the blog and so far haven't had enough gumption to change over.

Water and Lemons

I inadvertently left this water jug outside last week and the next day it rained.  Look at all that water!  After living in West Texas and enduring a horrible drought, this is just crazy to me.  And these people claim they are in a drought. :) All relative, I guess.

 I cleaned it out so we could put our lemons to use.  To tell the truth, our lemons are not the best lemons ever.  I've heard it takes a few years for a lemon tree to mature and this is the first year these lemons have even been edible (according to our new neighbor - our lemons tree drops lemons into three other peoples' yards - I'm not sure how they feel about that).  And I'd say they are only sort of edible.  But we made lemonade anyway.

I gave the camera to Mr. M and let him document our lemonade making.

 The Miss L wanted a turn while I ran in the house to gather sugar and water.  When I downloaded pics I found what I call the, "Torture of Mermaid Barbie. A Documentary."

 I love the back wall of my house.  It is almost completely covered in windows and french doors.  I love to sit and do preschool or crafts and look out at our pretty back yard.  And I can send Damon out to play while Miss L and I work and I can see him.  It's the best!

We love our yard.  We have grass!  We haven't had real grass in a long time.  We lay on it all the time and stare up at the stars or play Frisbee with the dog.  Of course, we have to be covered in bug spray or we'll be eaten alive, but it's worth it.

M and His New School

Mr. M started at his new school last week.  It was a lot of work to get things rolling!

Our paperwork was locked inside our fire-safe and the keys got lost while traveling. 

They wouldn't do a single thing without that paperwork. 

So we got the paperwork out and they still wouldn't let us register him until we had an electric bill but they won't let you get electricity set up here until you have closed on the house. So while we were homeless he couldn't attend the school. Somewhere in there we found out that every school requires uniforms - even the high schools. So we went on a uniform hunt.  It took five stores and four hours to get a couple of uniforms.  Everyone was out of something.  Mr. M really wanted khakis and a blue shirt but they just couldn't be found at first.  Now we have all we need but boy that was a work-out. 

Then we got a list of classroom supplies needed and he only needed five things (I couldn't believe it after the lengthy list they gave us at his old school).  I thought it would be an easy task.  It took five and a half hours and seven stores!!!! Everyone was out of something.  They take a one-hour nap every day and he needed a blue and red kinder-mat.  No one had them.  I had to drive to Breaux Bridge to find one (next town over). And even then it took a couple of stores before I found one in a little tiny school supply store. But it's done and all's well. 

He loves his new school because he likes nap time and he gets two recesses.  We like it because he's learning cool science things and we love science.  I have no idea how it compares academically to his school in TX.  He does have more homework here and the work seems about the same to me. I've heard bad things about the schools here but we love his teacher.  She is the sweetest, kindest person.  She giggles all the time and is so happy.  She about had a heart attack when I volunteered to come in and help.  I'm excited because I love to be in the classroom.

There are other options for school here and I hate making decisions.  There are French-immersion schools here that I'm looking into for next year.  I wish I could finish out the year and see how it goes before I had to decided whether this school is right for us.  Oh, being a grown-up it totally overrated.

Welcome to Louisiana!

Via my blog anyway! 

I hope you all enjoy learning about LA as much as I've enjoyed it.  It's a great place. I'm going to write about Cajun country interspersed with a million or so pics of the kids playing at our new location.

First View of The Beloved Lemon Tree

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A venture out of the hotel.

 Their first meal at the new house and I'm sure the first of many pics on this bench.

 I tried to clean the day we got the house but I was so overwhelmed.  Finally I gave up and the kids and I just played in the empty living room.  The floors were so slick they were constantly falling down and colliding but surprisingly there were no tears. The floors are still rather slick and I usually slide from room to room.

 We have been in LA now for more than a week.  The only thing I really dislike is the traffic. It's horrible! The people, however, are incredible. They are so kind and friendly.

 When I moved to TX I was surprised by how much friendlier the clerks and waitresses were compared to UT.  LA has even TX beat by a long shot.  Everyone is so polite.  Even people younger than I sometimes call me sweetheart or honey.  They say, "Yes, ma'am." I've never heard anyone say, "What?" but always, "Excuse me, ma'am?"  Another popular phrase is, "Oh, my mistake," even when the mistake is mine. They bend over backwards for the costumer, except at Wal-mart and Target, the people at those stores are usually dull no matter where you are. 

 They have the most unique accent. They are completely unaware of it as well (at least the ones I've asked). Some sound Southern but others, the Cajuns, have their own sound.  All are shocked to find out we moved from TX because we are missing the drawl.  They talk a lot about Texans and their drawl.

 Our neighborhood is amazing. Our neighbors have stopped by almost every night with gifts of some sort.  One night they brought us a huge pot of gumbo and we ate it for four meals and then froze the rest. 

 Most people come to our carport door.  In fact, our front door doesn't even have a doorbell.  That has taken some getting used to.  When the bell would ring I'd automatically head for the front door at first.

 EVERYONE LOVES THE SAINTS!  I mean it! When they brought the gumbo they said, "Do you have the Saints game on?"  "No, we don't have a TV yet." "Oh it comes on the radio on station....."  They reminded us three or four times before they left to turn on the radio.  They also gave us an update on the last few Saints games and the LSU games.

 On a game day the kids wear Saints or LSU shirts to school, it's not mandatory but I didn't see one kid without one on.  All the business let their employees wear jerseys or game shirts too.  At Best Buy I thought the guy was some random customer trying to help people because he was completely decked out in Saints gear including a beanie.

 We may have to become Saints fans just to live here.  I don't really have a team I stand by so I guess I can do that.

 I've so enjoyed this time with my kids.  They are so silly and cute.  Miss L is to die for these days.  She is just so darn funny and cute and girly. 

 Mr. M is in school again so I feel like I hardly see him.  But this weekend is a four-day one so we have loved having him home.  He is a sweety. Miss L thinks he hung the moon most of the time and copies everything he says or does.  Watching them together is so amazing.  However, they have more space to make trouble in and if I forget to check in on them when I get involved unpacking, I often find a huge disaster and a long clean-up ensues.

 Lil' D is still our resident destroyer and terrorizer but he's also such a lovey guy.  He wakes up at five every day just to come sleep with us for another hour or two and I love it.  He loves to grab my neck in huge hugs.  He melts my heart.

The lemon tree has lost some of it's luster for the kids, but just some.  I find lemons all over the place.

 For the first few days M kept his pockets full of lemons. I kept telling him we own the tree we don't have to hoard the lemons.

 The sycamore tree will be huge hit too, I think.

Life is good!  We are happy campers!