"Finger Food'

I made the most delicious dinner last night. It was a recipe from this last issue of Gourmet Magazine for Chicken tostadas. and it turned out just like the photos. It wasn't quick like they said, a lot of prep but well worth it. It was so easy though that I am using the chicken and sauce again tonight and mixing it with pasta instead of making tostadas. It was very versatile.

I had to use a jalapeno pepper in place of a Serrano Chile because our supply of Chile's is pitiful around here. But it still worked.

I know that Uncle RaRa and I devoured ours. We used our hands and just chowed down. It was quite messy but scrumptious. J is a Midwesterner and I have found that they (sorry for generalizing and please feel free to put in your 2 cents if you think I am wrong) don't like to eat with their hands. You know, we grew up picking a lot of crawfish, shrimp and crab so it's just second nature to me. I even think J eats ribs with a knife and fork. But believe me, some things are just easier when you classify them as finger food. Then you can go to town without any utensils getting in the way.

We went to Commander's yesterday for Uncle RaRa's bday. He sent us home with a chef's hat for W. W thought Master P would enjoy wearing it.


Today we just played outside in the backyard. We were going to Daneel park but P took a long morning nap so W and I went outside to play with the new water guns.


I pulled out the trusty Mexican blankets from J's bachelor days and let Master P hang out with us when he woke up. It was actually a blast.

Here's Master P relaxing.

and W taking a rest in between water gun fights.

For baby Kate

Another friend just had her new little baby. Welcome to the world Baby Kate!

Having my second baby was an exercise in patience. It was hard and I don't know how I got through the first few weeks (well, yeah, I do. with the help of J, W and my friends and family) but now I can't imagine not having Master P in my life. Anyway, the point of posting is that hearing of the new life entering into our world made me nostalgic for a tiny little baby. Not for long, just for a second but there's nothing like a little baby looking up at you so hard. Sometimes the intensity of the gaze makes you think that they've known you forever and others it's like they are desperately trying to figure you out. Whatever it is....what I do know is that babies are miracles.

I haven't shared a photo of P man lately so thought I would. Here he is in all his chunky baby glory. (We have a gazillion hand me down bibs. This day he was "Jack")

More about Toxic bottles

I finally gave in and bought some glass bottles. Only because when I was at Babies R Us the other day I noticed that Dr. Brown's were now in glass. I am still not totally sold that the plastic ones are poisonous and if it's true it's kind of hard to avoid it all... What with plastic sippy cups, plastic bowls, plastic water bottles, AHHHHH!!!!!!. I figured that I would buy 4 and atleast alternate them with the evil plastic ones to eliminate Master P's exposure to the toxins. They are still sitting on my counter in the packaging waiting to be sterilized.

Alleluia moment Number (I'm just guessing) 100

I have a lot of Alleluia moments. I'm sure we are way past Alleluia moment number 100 but I decided to start keeping track of them and thought 100 was a good number. You can read about another moment. and another one. We had one last night.

W is not an eater. and all of the experts who give advice on "how to get your kid to eat" don't know anything. I can't make it look pretty or make it fun by making funny faces with ketchup or make it "fun" by giving him something for dipping. None of it matters. He won't even try a bite. Most things I know he would like but he won't even try it.

I tried to trick him last night by calling the pizza (Amy's pizza), cheesy breadsticks. He loves the ones from Reginelli's. He was not fooled once he saw the tomato sauce oozing out and messing up his fingers. I panicked and like always rushed around trying to find a way to make it more appetizing for him. I know this is the reason he's a picky eater. It's my fault. and I did it yet again. Until I was just too tired. I cut it into squares and put it on the ottoman and rolled it in front of his easy chair while he was watching Elmo (this is awful, right? Letting him watch it totally in front of the tv on my new furniture) and left the room. A few minutes later I peeked in and there he was with tomato sauce all over his face smiling. I came out of hiding and he said, "Good!". This was the Alluluia moment! I could hear the angels singing. He ate the whole personal pizza. Now I know it's not the best thing he could be eating but that Amy makes a mean pizza. The crust is whole wheat, the tomatoes organic and well, W could not have said it better, "Good!".

I am so tired of making grilled cheeses. I am even more tired of making the real chicken nuggets from Whole Foods that take 30 minutes so Amy's pizza was the next best thing. I'll say it again. Alleluia.

Microsoft Life Cam

For Christmas I got my parents a Microsoft Life Cam
so that they could see the Little Buddy and Master P while they were away. We finally got it hooked up and OH MY GOSH! I feel like I'm on the Jetsons. It is so much cooler than I ever thought. My dad got his end working after a lot of hoo-rah and he popped up. W was sitting on my lap and immediately said, "Papa!". Now I don't look too attractive on the Life Cam but I am definitely hooked. I highly suggest it especially if you have family who can't see your kids often enough.

An early father's day cheers.

I just finished reading Kate F.'s blog, one of my favorites and it reminded me of my fabulous dinner I made the other night. So New Orleans and so good albeit a big rich. J didn't enjoy it as much as I did being a midwesterner and all but it sure brought me back to Saturday morning's when I was a kid and my dad would make fried green tomatoes for us.

The reason I thought of making it is because my tomato plant is producing a buttload of tomatoes and 4 of them we picked off weren't ripening to red so I just fried them up with yellow cornmeal, salt and pepper, that's all and made Shrimp Remoulade to go on top. I wasn't sure that the Remoulade was up to par (I had to make 2 batches) so I didn't plate it as I envisioned with the shrimp on top of the tomatoes.

But cheers to Dad for raising me to be a good ole fried green tomato fryer. One of many, many, many reasons that I love him.

winners, losers, boozers, lookers and hookers

Some new words to add to W's vocabulary. I have "I love this bar" by Toby Keith on a cd and W picked up the words quickly and pretty much it's all he likes to hear. I guess I'll have to stop playing it when he's old enough to know what the words mean but for now it's actually kind of funny to hear him singing it with such gusto. and then say, "Sing it again!"

What are we up to? Not much and you'd think I were super busy what with this lack of posting. J and I went to Cancun and had a blast despite the "tropical storm". The boys had a great time with Uncle RaRa and Aunt JoJo, Mimi and Papa and Jessie and G. I worried about leaving them for nothing. W didn't even want to talk to us on the phone. I was really worried about Master P being pissed at me when we got back. We left W for the first time at this age and he wanted nothing to do with me upon our return. They grew so much while we were away. Seriously. P was so much bigger, clapping and babbling nonstop. and W was talking so much more too probably because everyone else can't read his mind like we do.

So the summer's here and no one is going to camp and we are left to our own devices. So far it hasn't been too bad. OHHHHHHH!!!! But the big news is, is that W pee peed on the potty!!!!!! Yes, all on his own. We were about to take a bath and he said he wanted to pee pee on the potty. I rolled my eyes and thought, yeah right. So we pulled out the potty and lo and behold......I was speechless. Then I started yelling and jumping up and down. It was quite the event.

Anyway, I try to plan my days. If you are in the same boat as me, with nothing to do, it's the best way to go so you don't lose your mind. I plan something for every morning. If it's a simple morning activity like going for coffee or going to the playground then we come home and paint or do something else. But it is definitely nice to know what we are going to do. Our options are...
swimming, Parenting Center (although we haven't yet done this because they are well for the first time in eons and I can't stand the thought of having them sick again), going to get coffee and a cookie either at the coffee shop or after driving the car at the grocery store, playdates, Children's Museum. I'll add the park in there if it's in the early morning. Story time at the Library is always good too.

I'm under the weather-Zicam seems to be working-so I'm signing off now. I'll be back more regularly over the summer.

I can't believe my baby just finished his first year of 'school'. It makes me proud and sad and sentimental all at the same time. He's grown so much -from a baby to a boy and I have to give a big Kudos to his awesome teachers for showing him the way. We love you!

A Halleluiah Moment

These are those moments where we have a major breakthrough and it sings in my head. Like when you get a baby to sleep through the night or W eats something new and healthy. We had another one this morning.

We went to get shoes for W yesterday. He only wears Keds. It’s not my doing…HE WILL ONLY WEAR KEDS…and he hates to be barefoot. Drives me insane.

But I tried anyway. He picked out purple Polliwogs (kind of like crocs but they have animals on them and they come in one size). Wasn’t sure he would wear them. He talked about them and held them when we got home but wouldn’t put them on his feet. I wasn’t going to push it.

So we were getting ready for school and I was putting on his shoes. The Polliwogs were right next to us so I ever so slyly slipped them on his foot. He got up and started walking, hesitantly at first then I heard it

Halleluiah!!!!!!!!!!!!

My own private hell

I’ve been out of commission since the Monday after Mother’s Day. I woke up and wasn’t hungry. It wasn’t just that I wasn’t hungry it was that I didn’t want to eat. I didn’t feel bad or anything. I ate two bites of cereal and put my spoon down. I am not sure you understand. That doesn’t happen to me. Even if I am not hungry, I finish everything on my plate. We were taught that as kids. The reasoning was twofold. 1. Not really a reason, it was just something you did. 2. If you didn’t eat it and eat it fast it would be eaten soon by someone else. But this particular morning I couldn’t.

Master P and I went to get coffee. Drank it and was fine. Came home and all of the sudden I was so hungry (or so I thought) I was nauseous. I could barely get through finishing feeding him his bottle. I scrambled two eggs and started eating them. I started to sweat and then I wanted to vomit. Blah. I couldn’t shake the feeling. But always with reason 1 in the back of my head I took a break and went back to the eggs. Gross, I know. I barely choked them down.

I had to get W from school but at this point I felt like laying on the bathroom floor with a bucket by my head. I took a Mardi Gras cup with me to pick him up in case I couldn’t make it home. And the day went quickly downhill.

By 3pm I couldn’t move. I was lying on the floor with P begging to die. Called J to ask if he could come home early. I promised him he could work all he wanted the rest of the week. No questions asked. He seemed exasperated but said he would. 3:22pm I couldn’t take the floor any longer. I picked Master P up to go upstairs and then I had to make a crucial decision. Do I vomit in the powder room while holding him or try to make it to my bedroom. I took off running, made it to our bed where lovingly placed him (or rather kind of quickly yet safely chucked him) and made it to the bathroom. Whew. Called J. He was on his way home. He said he was at Jackson ave. I hung up the phone and cried. Not because I was thankful he was coming (which I was) but because I didn’t think I had it in me to wait the 5 minutes more that it would take him to get home.

From then on I threw up 5 more times. Mostly dry heaving.

8:15 we called the doctor for something to STOP IT!!!!

TMI I know but he gave me a suppository. First time I ever gave one to myself. I couldn’t very well ask J to do it and well, he didn’t offer.

It was my savior. It didn’t cure the nausea but I at least slept a bit. The rest of the week was up and down. One minute I would feel ok, the next I was back in hell. The dr. thought it was food poisoning. So on top of being sick I was in a deep depression thinking I could never go to Superior Grill again. It was the only thing I ate besides beignets at 11am Sunday morning. My life as I know it would have been over. No more SG Margaritas!? No more Superior platter?! I couldn’t imagine and still can’t. But I am thinking that it was actually a stomach bug since it lasted a whole week. And boy do I feel skinny!

So we went to visit the in-laws this weekend. It was probably the first plane trip the W can remember. He's a seasoned traveler, what with Katrina and all, but this was a new thing as far as he was concerned and he loved it. The whole trip was an adventure for him. From the airplane to the hotel room key card to meeting his cousins and back. On the way there he fell asleep on the plane but since he couldn't recline his seat he did an instant face plant into his tray. Luckily J caught him by the forhead in time. and because J had to hold Master P as well (due to airplane regs, I won't get into it) he had to hold the baby with one hand and keep W up by his forehead with the other.

The cribs were like a cage. W couldn't get comfy and the minute he woke up on Sat. he said, "I tired". W threw up all over himself and creation and ended up in a St. Louis Cardinal onesy that was a gift complete with the knee socks in 45 degree weather.

They were totally out of their element. Meeting a ton of new people and new animals and still managed to wow everyone.

The moral of the story, or the trip, is that my boys are great kids, great travelers in the face of adversity.

Stalker in the House

Today was Jazz Fest at W’s school. They had bands and Plum Street snowballs and crafts and musical instruments for all the kids to play. They seemed to have a grand time. I had fun too but I got to meet this little girl. If this is any indication of the kind that W will be dating…I’m up a creek.

She’s an older woman. She’s in the 3 year class. All I can say is that I am glad she’ll be graduating next year. My mom said the same thing about the older woman my brother dated when he was a sophomore. She was a senior and my mom called her a slut, I’m not kidding, and sprayed the hose on her car (he couldn’t drive yet) while they were in it making out. Anyway, the teachers mentioned this girl in the conference. They kind of glossed over it and said that the ‘older girls loved W and treated him as their baby on the playground.’ They always say how cute he is as they pull him around during recess. I thought it was cute, too. Until today. We were sitting on the steps listening to the band and his teacher walked up and introduced this little girl to me who was sitting next to W as the girl who loved him. I did not notice her until then but when I glanced down she was staring so intently at him. If she had a booger sticking out of her nose it would have been on W’s face. That’s how close she was to him. He wasn’t paying her any mind. Really, it was as if she didn’t exist. I guess that’s the best way to deal with it but she freaked me out and had it been me I would have slapped her upside the head for getting in my space. I hate to say this about another child but she was freaky looking. Maybe it was the way she was looking at him, I don’t know but I wanted to take my baby and run. This territorial feeling that I have never experienced washed over me. I now understand the craziness that surfaced in my mom towards all of Uncle RaRa’s girlfriends. For the rest of the morning every where she went she this little freak would suddenly appear next to W. She never uttered a word and he never gave her the time of day. It’s not like E who loves him and takes care of him. I mean, he talks about E all of the time and smiles when he sees her. This girl, he looked right through. Thank goodness. Hopefully, if he attracts stalkers of this type throughout his life he’ll have the good sense to ignore them like he does this girl. If they were older I would be worried. But luckily they are only toddlers and if she snaps I am not sure she has the hand eye coordination to really hurt him.

Babies bedtime

Putting W to bed always made me anxious-from the very beginning. I think it was because he was my first and my ocd really hit its stride after I had him. And now there is so much to do to get him ready for bed that it all just makes me aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh… I don’t know why.

I feel kind of guilty now because while J is putting W to bed, I put Master P to bed. And I actually enjoy it. It, of course, entails a lot less but I do enjoy it. I wash his face and hands, change his diaper, rub lotion on his legs and put on his pjs. Then I turn out the light and get his pop pop (pacifier) and we rock and sing. In keeping with my obsessive tendencies we of course sing the same song first. The Gambler. It relaxed W when he was a baby and P seems to like it too. Now, as much as I hate to admit it, I can’t sing. But I LOVE to sing. LOVE LOVE LOVE to sing. And there are certain songs that harmonize in my head better. The Gambler is one of them. Some others are Whitney Houston’s I will always love you and any of Air Supply’s songs to name a few.

Side note. When we were kids my dad would put in the Kenny Rogers and Helen Reddy 8 track on our way up to Vicksburg to visit his family. We (my dad, uncle Ra Ra and I—no matter what my mom says she rarely came up with us) would all sing loud and clear. I am not sure that The Gambler was on the soundtrack but Lucille was and The Coward of the County (you gotta love that one) but I don’t think those make for such good bedtime crooning.

Anyway, I am trying to mix it up a bit with the songs. I will always sing The Gambler first but I am hoping by mixing up the other songs every night my OCD won’t creep into Master P’s bedtime routine too badly. That’s when my anxiety gets out of whack and then I we would all be up a creek.

Cradle Cap

Master P has cradle cap. W had it too but for some reason I wasn't worried about it. I have ridded Master P of it and I feel very satisfied. Cradle cap is really nothing to worry about. It eventually clears up on its own but if you want to get rid of it try this...

Wet baby's hair and rub with baby oil. Rub with a wet washcloth trying to get the flakes off the scalp. Then wash with Head and Shoulders. Afterwards, use a brush and brush away the flakes. hHe next time you wash your baby's hair with Head and Shoulders let it sit and it should really help with the cradle cap.

Not Suitable for those without a sense of potty humor

I am BM obsessed. I always have been. It runs in the family. My brother and dad are similar in their enjoyment of BM's. Not Mom, though. She thinks it's inappropriate to talk about going to the bathroom and J is very uncomfortable about the whole subject so I'll leave him out of it. Anyway, Master P is constipated. It's awful. I discovered it a few days ago. I had just gotten out of the shower and my hair was wrapped up in a towel. I looked at him and he had this awful look on his face and then he erupted into this horrific scream. I thought that it was because he didn't recognize me with the towel around my head. Wasn't the case. He's constipated and uncomfortable. I tried to get him to drink water but he just spit it out. I need to get some Karo syrup and prune juice before I go ahead with the glycerin suppository. Anyway, all of this constipation talk got me reminiscing.

When we finally ended up in Baton Rouge after Katrina we had to share a house with another couple. S was pregnant and the LB was 1 month old by the time we all moved in together. I found a kindred spirit. She too likes to talk BM's. Can you imagine the conversations between a pregnant lady and one with a new baby who like to talk about BM's? There was never a shortage of conversation. It was fabulous. Now that we both have 2 children we spend countless hours on the phone discussing and analyzing their habits. It's great.

It almost reminded me of college. When I first transferred to U of Alabama my roommates drank a lot of purple Koolaid. One of the first things they told me. It makes your poo green. But you probably already knew that.

And then I started thinking about Uncle RaRa and his potty humor. It was actually Jazz Fest about 10 years ago when he taught me the phrase "dropping the kids off at the pool". The memory couldn't have come at a better time. I used to be as obsessed about Jazz Fest as I am about BM's. I went every day from beginning to end. and never failed, someone always had to drop the kids off at the pool. I know, disgusting. The port-o-lets are hot and steamy and not an ideal place for doing that but when nature calls... Thank goodness Jazz Fest is not my thing anymore. Because although the thought of schlepping around in the hot sun with sweaty people getting my feet dirty (I hate getting my feet dirty. That was the one thing I always dreaded about JF) sounds awful, the thought of having to drop the kids off at the pool at the Fairgrounds during JF is worse.

But don't get me wrong. There is a little piece of me who is dying inside to go to Jazz Fest despite the hot, sweatiness of it all and the despite the $50 ticket. (I remember when it was $12. I think I was in high school. That was a lot for a highschooler who got something like $40 a month in allowance) I would love to bring W just for a morning. He loves music and I know he would dance until the day is done but it's not going to happen. So for all of you Jazz Festers eat a falafel sandwich, a crawfish strudel and crawfish bread for me. Sit in the Gospel tent and sing out loud and don't forget to bring lots of toilet paper.

All Natural-yeah right

The Little Buddy came with my mom and me to Sam's Club today. I have to say, he enjoyed it. Who wouldn't? I was looking for tortilla chips. I never found them but did come across All Natural Cheetos Cheddar Puffs. It sounded good and healthy so I picked up a bag and promptly handed them over to W. He was set for the rest of our Sam's trip. I am not sure who ate more, Mimi or W. Mimi kept saying how disgusting and bad for you they were but that didn't stop her from eating them. Never does. I think between the two of them they went through 3/4 of the bag. and she scolded me several times for letting him have them. But you know what? The LB may be a carb loader but on a daily basis the worst thing he eats are mini blueberry muffins. Otherwise he is eating flax seed and onion whole grain pita chips or veggie chips (on which I'm still not totally sold) from Whole Foods. He deserves a little indulgence every now and then of all natural goodness.

Picture perfect

The perfect photo. With 2 kids. Does it exist? With W it is always so easy to snap the perfect one because he is such a ham for the camera. Always hammin' it up, I tell ya. But to get one of both of them looking at the camera and smiling is hard. First of all, I think we need a new camera. The delay is so freaking long that I have to snap the actual photo before they even smile and I don't even know if they are going to smile. A friend of mine got the best one of her two kids for her Christmas card. It was adorable. Her secret....put them both on the bed and stand above them. So I tried it and it worked...kind of. It's hard to get Master P to smile if he doesn't have anything at which to smile but at least his expression was pleasant.

Sunday we walked to the park to eat breakfast at the golf house and we stopped at the playground on the way back. By this point W was way tired. You know how they get, all hyper and giddy. I knew when I was taking this picture that this face was one of pure joy, the joy you get right before they can't take it any longer and have a total meltdown. I was right. He threw a tantrum when we were leaving because he didn't want to go and then the whole way home (about 20 minutes) he screamed "I NIGH NIGH!" over and over and over again.