Merritt the Daredevil!

Merritt attended her best friend's birthday party this afternoon! It warms my heart because her best friend, Lauryn's mom and I are friends! It was a great birthday party because Lauryn's mom and I realized we have many of the same friends through the years! I saw on of my first best friends today with her two children as well as high school friends and their children! It was so wonderful to see 6 degrees of separation in the works! Merritt had a great time with her best friend! When I asked her why Lauryn was her best friend she replied, "Because I like to hang out with her!" Pretty good reason, I think!

Soccer Season Begins!

Soccer Season began today and oh what a day it was! Yesterday the mercury hit 80 degrees and this morning it topped out at 47, wind chill probably made it 30! The girls had a grand time despite the temperature! Merritt scored 2 goals in her game and Morgan scored 1! By the time Morgan played the wind had picked up and she gave me permission to wait until next weekend for pictures! Morgan scoring goals will follow next week! Merritt is #34 in the above photos!

Merritt's Entourage

en·tou·rage (on-too-räzh)
noun
1. A group of attendants or associates; a retinue.
2. One's environment or surroundings.

In celebration of Construction Week, Merritt's class took a field trip to Lowe's to construct a coin bank. When Scott heard that Merritt would be accompanied by Momma, Poppy, GranMe, Poppa and Mumsie, he taught her a new word ~ entourage! We all had a lot of fun and enjoyed helping Merritt and her classmates construct!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

You can't help but experience Mardi Gras if you grow up in Louisiana but it wasn't until my parents moved to South Louisiana that Mardi Gras became a special holiday for me and my family! I have many great memories of bringing college friends home to celebrate Fat Tuesday in the French Quarter. Remember....what happens in the Quarter, stays in the Quarter!

Now that my parents have retired and moved to North Louisiana, I'm sure my traditional Mardi Gras days are over. The fact that I'm a responsible wife and mother has put a damper on my French Quarter days as well! I'm sure the jury is still out on how responsible I am! With great parades held here locally and good friends and family to celebrate with, I'm looking forward to new Mardi Gras traditions!

Scott and Merritt on David's porch enjoying

Spanish Town parade post-Katrina.

Same fence... but look how much she's grown!


Morgan waiting for her school parade to begin.

Sisters enjoying Leapster downtown before the Spanish Town parade begins.

Look who found the baby!

Until next year.....Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Dear God, Let the Tooth Fairy Have A Vacation!

I have spent 3 hours out of the last 48 hours trying to convince a 7 year old why it's in her best interest to let her momma pull her teeth! What a weekend! Being a mother is definitely the best job I've ever had but also the most difficult! I prayed without ceasing for two healthy children and God blessed us with both! I never thought about the years following birth. As we continue to hit the milestones in both girls' lives, I am reminded that the worrying and praying don't end at birth. In fact, they never end!

I've also realized that as a mother you do many things for your children that you never even did for yourself! How can the little girl who went to the dentist to have every tooth pulled now be the expert tooth puller in her home? By the grace of God and because of the love for a child is the only way I can explain it!

Dear God, thank you for the patience this weekend and the strength to do the unthinkable! But please, no more loose teeth for awhile! Amen!

Throw Me Something Mister, Pull a Tooth Sister!

We had a great time this weekend, Mardi Gras style! We started out Friday afternoon at Morgan's school with a Mardi Gras parade and then headed to Baton Rouge for Poppy's side of the family's annual Spanish Town Parade at cousin David's house. This was the grand finale as David's house is on the market! He's only moving down the street but it was bittersweet remembering the many fun times we have had with friends and family! Thanks for putting together a last minute mini-reunion!

We had lots of delicious food and many fun swings on our favorite porch! We sure will miss this porch, David!

Morgan decided to have an apple Friday night and in all the excitement forgot how she usually gingerly eats an apple due to her loose top teeth. The apple trick really works! Momma had to perform the final tug which was a little traumatic but once again, we survived! Where is that Daddy when we need him?

Home Is Where My Family Is

Thanks to my aunt's mailing mishap, I got to stop by our first home to pick up some mail. The newest couple to start their lives in that home invited me in for a tour. The girls were in the car and truth be told, I'm not sure my heart could have handled it so I declined. What I could see of the house though was beautiful! I thought about our old house alot that night wondering if we should have ever moved! The history that we made there; kind of made me sad until I realized it doesn't matter where we live as long as we are together!

The next day after realizing I hadn't shared with Merritt that she was sitting in the driveway of our first home, I started telling her about it. How it was the home Momma and Daddy bought before they were even married. How Morgan came home from the hospital to that house just 2 days after she was born. She wanted to know if she came home from the hospital to that house too. I explained that no, we had moved into GranMe and Poppy's house for a few years and that's where she was born. She said, "then we moved to the White and Black house, right?" I told her she was correct (our house is white with black shutters). She went on to say, "then when Morgan and I are bigger, we will move to a different house, right?" I told her that we hope not. "When Momma and Daddy bought this house we planned to stay! We might make the house bigger but we plan to stay!" She thought about that for a few minutes and then replied, "yes, but when we get old like Ms. Jo we move into an apartment, right?" If we're lucky and healthy, yes, Merritt, we will live in an apartment just like Ms. Jo!

Note: Ms. Jo is my grandmother who has lived in our town for four years. I am so blessed to share the same city with 4 generations of my family! My children are so blessed to grow up surrounded by parents, 2 sets of grandparents and 1 great-grandmother! Morgan is blessed to have memories of her other great-grandmother, Great Gran who passed away this past summer.

My Funny Valentines!

We had a great Valentine's day! It began with a party at Merritt's school and ended with a Mardi Gras parade! Busy day!

Merritt even got a valentine from an older man! Cooper, who is 5, gave her a sweet little puppy stuffed animal that he picked out all by himself! Merritt accepted it very shyly but since has showed it to everyone proudly saying that Cooper gave it to her! Morgan got lots of treats from her friends and the ipod candy heart boxes were a hit (thanks Jennifer for the idea)!

It's All In The Lick!

Merritt was a hard worker tonight getting all her valentine's signed, stuffed and addressed! Sealing them was her favorite part! She was proud to let me know that everyone will think the sticker closed the envelope but it's really the lick!

Happy 200th, Abe!

Both girls' schools celebrated Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday! Thanks to Mrs. Bryan's preschool class for the hat/beard mask! We had fun remembering a grand president, the log cabin he was born in, his famous top hat and of course the money that his face graces!

Homework Rocks!

Each week Merritt gets to bring home a "take-home pack" which consists of activities to be completed. This week's pack was centered around positional words. Morgan was a big helper completing the "to-do list" giving me time to bake cupcakes for Merritt's Valentine's party! After reading the included book, it was time to take the stuffed chicken on a tour of our home. I decided to document the tour! Enjoy!

First, chicken had to sit in a bathtub!

Walk across a room!

Hop past a mirror!



Skip through a doorway!





Stand inside a closet!

Sit on a carpet!

Walk around a chair!



Crawl under a table

Stand beside a TV!




Jump over a toy!

Hide behind a door



Climb up a stairway!

We had a great time working as a team! Thanks bis Sis, Morgan, for all your help!

See You Tonight Tooth Fairy!

We were late to school this morning but who cares when you have a tooth in a ziplock bag to show your class! Morgan says it doesn't even count as being late!

Last night I discovered the bottom one hanging by a thread and really tried to convince her to let me pull it! No luck! This morning I couldn't in good conscience send her to school without pulling it! Sure, she's smiling here but moments before there were many tears!

We will anxiously await the tooth fairy's coming! Wonder what she'll bring! I'm thinking the momma whose husband was out of town for this fiasco and had to be the one to pull the tooth deserves a little something under her pillow!

Tooth Fairy Hurry Up!

I'm sure the Tooth Fairy is shining her wings and reloading her special flying glitter dust but I doubt she'll make an appearance tonight! Friday morning as Scott and I were leaving town, I discovered the wool had definitely been pulled over my eyes! Morgan's two bottom teeth are far looser than the top! When I asked her why she hadn't shown me those teeth her response was, "You would have pulled them!" She's not yet figured out that I am more scared than she is!No tooth duty needed by the grandparents this weekend, though!

Ironically, last week in school Morgan studied Dental Health. Her friend, Athan's dad is an orthodontist and he provided the whole class with toothbrushes. One day she did the above watercolor of the tooth fairy. Loosing a tooth or four would have been an exciting end to their Health unit. No such luck! Scott is out of town tonight but when he gets back tomorrow, I'm sure the jar opener will come out! Watch out, Morgan! Go visit your principal before your daddy gets home! No jar opener and you get a special tooth necklace! Who could ask for anything more?

Red, White and Blue

Today was Red, White and Blue Day at Merritt's school. They've had a week of patriotism and learned all about the symbols of the United States. I asked her if I could wipe the chocolate ice cream off her mouth before our little photo shoot. She said, no, she wanted it there!