The Louisiana State Capital

My parents were in town and we decided to visit the capital b/c Adam, Caleb and my dad haven't had a chance to go up to the top. We had a great view! We also saw the bullet holes on the first floor where Huey P. Long was assassinated.

We survived!

Just a small update. We all survived the 4 days apart. Chris had a blast at the BBQ Competition. He came home exhausted and full. The boys and I had a great couple of days packed with the zoo, water activities, etc. Even with Caleb getting his 6 month shots and the Dr. finding a double ear infection, he was great! So, back to normal.

Stuff and Things

Where have I been? What have I been doing? Beats me. Where did the time go? So, here's some thoughts: (disclaimer: I'm feeling very sarcastic...brace yourself)

1. I cleaned my carpets until midnight on Mother's Day. It was the first chance I had to do it with my new carpet steamer while the boys were asleep and I actually had energy. Chris and I actually took turns and kept commenting, "Can you believe how dirty the carpet was?", and "Look how much better it looks!!" This was totally therapeutic for me! No sarcasm here.
2. I showed up to the pediatrician's office a day early for Caleb's shots. We'll repeat that morning again tomorrow.
3. Caleb has now begun the disappointed, miserable cry every time I walk away from him. It's really fun.
4.My parents and I took the boys up to the top of the Louisiana State Capital for the first time. I would have pictures, but Chris took the camera to Tenn.
5. Chris is in Tennessee...The Memphis in May Bar-B-Que competition to be exact. He's been giddy about this trip for months now. He got invited to be on a team, we think as more of a clean-up staff at this point, by a friend. He and the other 3 guys he's going with are nerding it up BBQ style for 4 days.
6. So, with Chris in Tenn. I'm holding down the fort. I think I mean that literally. There will probably be at least 2-3 forts built out of couch cushions this weekend. I'm a little nervous about this, not b/c I don't know what I'm doing, but I just don't know how my nerves will take it. No breaks, no Daddy coming home at 5pm to be silly with them, no great meals cooked for me!! At Wal-Mart today, I bought Adam 2-3 new cheapo toys to get out more energy than normal these few days (he won't get off the new bouncing ball! It's working already!!). And, I bought myself, IT'S COMPLICATED with Meryl Streep. Love this movie. I have visions of putting the boys to bed early, popping the movie in, and eating Blue Bell out of the carton. I'll tell you later if it actually works that way. I also bought a few frozen pizzas anticipating no time to actually cook anything. But, don't worry, I got bananas too!
7. Starbucks is having Half Price Frappuccino(sp) Happy Hour from 3-6...see y'all there!

We've Hit 95 Degrees!

So it's already summer here and it's only going to get hotter until next October at the earliest. You northerners must be so jealous of our heat and humidity. We already get to swim.

Another Fabulous Meal At Our House...

While living in Austin, one of our favorite restaurants was called Louisiana Longhorn. They flew in fresh bread from Gambino's, here in Baton Rouge, for all their meals. One of my favorites was called the Pirogue. It was a loaf of Gambino's french bread hollowed out, stuffed with fried shrimp or crawfish and topped with etouffee sauce. AMAZING. So we tried to recreate it at home and it worked perfectly. We put our own twist on it though. Of course we bought fresh Gambino's french bread. You can't fake that. Then I fried shrimp according to John Folse's recipe and Chris made a tomato cream sauce to top it. Drool. We have put this on the list of meals to serve when we have company. We do take requests.

My Boys

So another great present for my birthday, among many, was this piece commissioned by my mother-in-law from Chris' cousin, Lexie. I think it is beautiful. It's in her style and she totally captured my boys and their expressions. I think she used this picture of them as a jumping off point.

Hey Lady!

So after going to a Karate visitor class to see if we wanted to sign Adam up for classes ($400+), we went out for pizza to discuss what a rip-off it actually is. Hence, Adam will never be the white version of Bruce Lee. It's too expensive. That's not actually the story.

Background: Occasionally (yes, Chris, every so often) Adam and I will hit a drive-through window. He has a paranoia that I am going to forget to order for him although this has never happened. He's very specific about what he wants. "I want chicken. I want french fries. I want root beer. And I want a toy." He tells me this over and over as we wait to place our order. Then, as I'm ordering at the speaker, he tries to yell from the backseat his order. I guess he doesn't understand that when I say Happy Meal, it includes all that stuff. Anyway, this happens all the time...I mean occasionally.
Real Story: So, Pizza. Chris orders a large pizza for all of us from the nice, alternatively dressed, twenty something girl. Adam seems to be only paying attention to his coloring sheet. As she walks away however, he yells, "I WANT PIZZA TOO, LADY!!"
Chris and I both locked eyes and then busted out laughing. I'm sure a couple other people in the restaurant did too. Well, the laughing was probably a mistake b/c later on in the meal, Adam was apparently low on root-beer. As the lady walks by our table, not to our table, he yells out again, "I NEED MORE ROOT BEER, LADY!!" It is apparent that our table manners need work. I have no idea where he learned to address people as Lady or that he had mastered the art of ordering. Maybe we should just eat more PB and J at home.