Fat Tuesday 2009...Well actually it was Sunday!

Let me just say that I LOVE MARDI GRAS! So much in fact that it makes me want to move back to Louisiana each year around this time. I love king cake season, going to the parades, and just the excitement of it all.
I have been pregnant or nursing for the past~seems like forevah~Mardi Gras seasons and so it has been forever since I have even been to a parade. And trust me you don't want to go to a parade nursing. I saw a girl in the bathroom this year "pumpin and dumpin' and it ain't pretty folks...just not something you want to do in the middle of Mardi Gras...trust me!
So anyway, this was our year. The girls were both old enough to enjoy the festivities and so we made big plans to go.
Louisiana bound, top down, (not really...we have no convertible...just a mini van...would've opened the sun roof, but it was too cold) petal to the ground!
We arrived in Baton Rouge on Friday afternoon and the first place we stopped was Jay's Donuts to get our very 1st king cake of the year. Jay's is only open for breakfast, but I saw a couple of people inside making goodies and so I banged on the door and begged them to let me in to buy the last strawberry cream cheese filled king cake of the day. YAY! The best $20 bucks I have spent in a long while!

The History of King Cake...
The Mardi Gras season begins on January 6 and continues until Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. During this time of year, one of the most beloved traditions in New Orleans is that of the King Cake. On the Christian calendar, the twelfth day after Christmas is known as "Epiphany", "Twelfth Night", or "Kings Day." It is the day the gift-bearing Magi visited the baby Jesus, and is celebrated with its own unique rituals. The New Orleans tradition, begun in the 1870s, borrows heavily from European customs. As part of the celebration of Mardi Gras, it is traditional to bake an oval cake in honor of the three kings - the King Cake. The shape of a King Cake symbolizes the unity of faiths. Each cake is decorated in the traditional Mardi Gras colors: purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. A small baby, symbolizing the baby Jesus, is baked into each cake.
In New Orleans, King Cake parties are held throughout the Mardi Gras season. In offices, classrooms, and homes throughout the city, King Cakes are sliced and enjoyed by all. Like the biblical story, the "search for the baby" adds excitement, as each person waits to see in whose slice of cake the baby will be discovered. While custom holds that the person who finds the baby in their slice will be rewarded with good luck, that person is also traditionally responsible for bringing the King Cake to the next party or gathering.

Next stop...Mimi's...there, we unpacked, hung out for a while and then went out to Las Palmas for dinner. After dinner, we stayed up EXTREMELY late...even the girls. But thankfully hubby let me sleep in, so I could be rested up for the next big day.
The next day was Pey Pey's party. It was a special day filled with fun times. Check out the previous post for the scoop and some fun pics!
So now that Pey Pey's party was over we needed to make Mardi Gras plans.
After much discussion and preparation, we decided that the Sunday uptown day parades would be the most perfect place for our little group of families to get together for some Carnival '09 fun. Each family had specific Parade essentials that they were in charge of bringing, including, but not limited to things like...wagons, ladders, ice chests, sandwiches, chips, sweets, tissue, juice for the kids, beer for the grown ups, water for all, hats, coats, jackets, etc. etc. Pretty much everything, but the kitchen sink! People, you have to be prepared (especially with the kids) or you will get down there and have to pay like a million dollars for a sip of water.
Anyway, we were VERY prepared and on the road at 8AM Sunday morning heading east. We had some friends follow and some others meet us near Cannon's restaurant on St. Charles Ave. We were early enough that there was minimal traffic and we got a SWEET parking spot in the restaurant's parking lot. We scoped out the neutral ground right across from Cannon's for just the right sunny patch and parked our wagons and ladders at the edge of a group of frat boys. One of the boys commented that we might not want to be so close to them because they were FRAT BOYS, but I assured them that these mamas could all hang and would be totally fine!
We were not gonna let this spot go...it was right across the street from the Mardi Gras Mambo Punch stand and the restaurant bathroom...no porta~potty for us, baby~YAY again!
We were pleased as punch with our set up and then the fun began. We had a picnic, did a little people watching, and then the parades started roll.ing.
We stayed for 3 consecutive parades that rolled pretty much back to back. The first was Krewe of Okeanos~Founded in 1949, the Krewe of Okeanos is named for the Greek god of oceans and fertile valleys. Formed by more than 250 male and female riders, Okeanos is known for its elaborately-costumed captain and king. The next was Krewe of Mid City~Founded in 1933, the Krewe of Mid-City is the 5th oldest continuously parading organization of the New Orleans Mardi Gras season. Often called "The best day parade in Mardi Gras," Mid City has gained a reputation of having themes dedicated to children and for having some of the best bands in Mardi Gras from all over the country. And last but not least was the Krewe of Thoth~Founded in 1947, the Krewe of Thoth is named for the Egyptian Patron of Wisdom and the Inventor of Science, Art and Letters. Among Thoth's throws are 3-D die-cut metallic necklaces, 6" stuffed polar bears and many varieties of specialized doubloons.
The kids had a great time and the grown ups had an even better time. We talked and danced and laughed the day away! Brooke and Bailey behaved quite well and Bailey even took herself a long nap right on the parade route. It was late in the afternoon when she started to rub her eyes and so I plopped her in her stroller and she passed out. She was literally only steps from all the marching bands and slept right through it all. This one sweet lady passing by on a float saw Bailey and threw her this teddy bear. She was very specific that it was for Bailey ONLY and the other parade goers around us knew not to mess with it.
At around 4:30PM, the third parade ended. We decided we should head out before Bacchus (a very big and popular night parade) started because it wouldn't end until VERY late and we didn't want to get stuck in all the traffic and the scary night time hoopla. Besides we had been out since 8 in the morn and we pretty much had our fill.
Check out all the fun pictures we took!

Sooooo...we headed back to Mimi's house in B.R.
We arrived at Mimi's around 6,unpacked, and took inventory of our loot. After a little rest, we decided that we would take Mimi out for dinner since it was our last night in town. We went to Calendar's and had spinach dip and shrimp poboys. YUM!
It was a super great end to a super great Fat Tuesday 2009...well actually it was really Sunday, but you know what I mean!

Pey Pey's Party!

This weekend we traveled to Louisiana to do a little celebrating! We did lots of fun things while we were there, but the most important was a special birthday party.
Peyton, my brother's son, which makes him my precious nephew, celebrated his 2nd birthday with a (click here to view pics) Construction Themed Party outside at Mimi's house in Baton Rouge. Becky, my sis in law, bought tons of construction zone decorations and we strung them all over the garage to make it look really festive. She even borrowed some authentic orange cones that they put out on real construction sites from a friend that has connections with the real orange cone people. (Shelly does your dad still have his business...maybe the cones were from him?)
Anyway, it looked super festive...complete with a bulldozer pinata' and all! Oh and of course every good party has a bounce house..yep had that too! It was a beautiful sunny day, the perfect weather for an outside party. We all had a great time celebrating with family and friends...the only thing missing was Big Daddy. Big Daddy is Peyton's maternal grandfather. He wasn't there because he went to be with the Lord in January, but I am quite positive he was watching from heaven, bursting with pride, smilin' down on his family, and lovin' that his sweet angel boy had such a great 2nd birthday. Big Daddy you are missed here on earth, but what a comfort for your family to know that because Jesus died for our sins that they can see you again in heaven one day!
Becky, Brian, Pey Pey, and Mimi too, we had a super fun time. Thanks for having us celebrate with you. Looking forward to watching our boy grow and learn over the next year. Please know that we love y'all dearly and are blessed to have you as our family!

Happy 2nd Birthday Pey Pey!!!

A Very Valentine Celebration

On Thursday, Brooke had a Valentine party at school. She woke up and was so excited to bring a Valentine present to her teacher and goodies to exchange with all her little classmates. Mrs. Rocket organized a cookie and ice cream sundae celebration. Brooke came home and told me all about it.
She said, "Today we had a Thanksgiving Party!"
You mean Valentine's?
"Yes, 'Balentine's' is the day about loving and sharing and caring and smiling all day long! We had that kind of party!"
"And I didn't even have to pull a spot!"
Mrs. Rocket has them "pull a spot" if they disobey or break a rule. Brooke has only had to pull a spot once (and she totally thought the world was coming to an end) since August...a far cry from last year's Valentine's day!

After school, we headed to dance... the kids danced and Miss Joy had a special Valentine necklace and sucker for all the girls.

My Brookie sure does enjoy getting special treats on special days...she is just like her mama!

Today, we had the Mommy and Me Fun Friday playgroup party. I bought a load of balloons and other assorted pink and red paraphernalia, planned lots of Valentine activities & crafts, made treat bags, decorated cupcakes and then delivered them to the Brands for our little Valentine gathering.
April got her home ready and even made some really pretty heart shaped sugar cookies too.
We ended up with about 20 kids running around. Each of the guests brought valentines and exchanged them after doing crafts, playing games, and having a picnic outside. The kids and mamas too all had a lovely time!!
Thank you so much April for letting us play at your house...you were quite the hostess! :-)

After the party, the girls and I ran an errand and then came home to make some chocolate covered strawberries...well actually they worked on a MESS of their own while I covered the kitchen in chocolate!
We waited a little while till Daddy got off of work and then met him at O'Charley's...I know, I know, not the most romance place, but I agreed that we wouldn't have an extravagant Valentine's day dinner and hubby wouldn't get me a present if we could go to Mardi Gras next weekend and so O'Charley's is so not extravagant and so that is where we went! Besides, we LOVE free stuff and we had a free appetizer coupon, a five dollar off coupon, and they have free rolls and kid's meals, so we ate tons for just a few dollars.

After O'Charley's we went home and let the girls open their goodies. Bailey wasted no time and busted open a few chocolates before we could even stop her! And even though we weren't supposed to get presents, I got hubby some new luggage. Our old stuff all had broken zippers and so it was a pretty much a necessity. I got a great deal too...if you are ever in the market let me go with you and I can get you a grand old deal as well!

After opening the goodies it was time for dessert. We had an assortment of Valentine candies and we devoured this plate of chocolate covered strawberries in no time.

I must say we all thoroughly enjoyed (click here to view all the pics) THE DAY!
Hopefully, tomorrow we won't be too bummed out that everybody else is doing their Valentine's thing and we just have a regular day!
Even though I didn't even receive an official Valentine's present this year...the love that Hubby and the girls give me each day far outweighs any ole present that money could buy... gotta LOVE that!
"So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days." Genesis 29:20

Please share with us how your Valentine's Day was filled with JOY and LOVE?

Hair nets, Happy Birthday & Home Again

This past weekend we took a much needed little family road trip to Knoxville, TN. (Actually Hubbs and I got in a doosey of an argument on Thursday night, almost got a divorce, and didn't go anywhere, but people were counting on us to be there...
Soooo we sucked it up and decided to stay married!! ;-)
And on Friday morning, we loaded up in the mini van, dropped Teddy off at the money pit Weatherly Animal Clinic for boarding, and we were off. We had a relaxing drive while the girls watched a movie in the back. They behaved perfectly!!! Have I mentioned that we LOVE our van?

After a while we all got a little hungry, so we looked for a place to stop. I was totally craving Outback, but the GPS was acting crazy and we couldn't find an Outback anywhere close by, so we settled for Western Sizzlin. I am pretty sure it was my first time and I am pretty sure it will be my last if I have any say in the matter! Yuck is all I can say to describe that place! Well I take that back...at least they had fresh yeast rolls ~you can't really mess those up~and the peanut butter cookies were pretty good too, so it wasn't a complete bust.
After lunch, we stopped by the Mayfield Dairy Factory for a free tour. It was a fun little diversion and I highly recommend it you are ever driving through Athens, Tenn. We all had to wear hair nets and hubby had to wear a beard net too. I had no idea that we would even have to wear hair nets at all and the fact that they matched our outfits totally made my day! Here we are looking red hot in our hairnets with the cardboard Mayfield man.

We are total dairy lovers, so it was really cool to watch them make the milk and ice cream cartons and fill them up with all that good stuff! Oh and we found out that the Mayfield Dairy people package the Walmart brand of milk too. Hmmm, I betcha a dollar that it is all the same milk, just a different carton and different price!!!
At the end of the tour, there is an old-fashioned ice cream parlor that offer lots of Mayfield ice cream flavors...including new trial ones and all the old classics and all for a very old fashioned price!

Of course daddy picked a classic...his favorite....MOOSETRACKS!

On the way out we posed by the big heifer for posterity. We plan to go back this summer (when there is not any snow around) and will have a picnic on the grounds. You can come along if you want too? The rest of the drive was nice...from Alabama to Tennessee is always so pretty. We even saw some snowy hillsides where the snow had not melted from the "snow storm" earlier in the week! About 45 minutes after the tour we arrived at our final destination...The Lorenzs! There we visited, had dinner, and then dessert. These two 4 year olds sure do love king cake!! Thanks Mia for bringing it all the way from New Orleans.The next morning, we played, talked and napped...and then played and talked and napped some more. I tried to get some cute pics of the babies together, but as usual Bailey didn't cooperate for a picture request! Ava thinks Bailey is a little crazy... Mr. Mark snuggled with the big kids to watch Tinkerbell. Brooke hadn't seen it before and loved it. She now wants to add it to her Disney collection!That afternoon, we went to Evan's 4th birthday party at Bounce, USA. The party had a football theme and all the guests were encouraged to wear their team colors. I am sure you know what colors we wore! Mommy, Daddy, Brooke, and Bailey each had a great time at the party taking advantage of all the fun things to do. Cookie loved the giant slide and was really good at the obstacle course! Mommy had fun bouncing with Brookie and doing the "Hustle" with Evan's Grandma Mia.Daddy spent some time smokin' Mama at the basketball game and the rest of the time was spent chasing after Bailey!!!But of course, our favorite part of the part of the party was the eating part. The cake and ice cream were yummy...so good in fact, we all went back for seconds!Evan loved being the birthday boy, had a super fun time at his (click here to view pics...password:evan) party, and got lots of great presents! After the party we went back to the house to drop off all the party goods and then went back out to Roadhouse for dinner. We told the waiter that it was Evan's b-day and they let him sit on a really cool dressed up saw horse and then one of the hostesses came over, stood on the table, and made everyone in the place give Evan a big birthday "YEEHAW"!!! It was really cute...too bad we all forgot our cameras at home! On Sunday morning, we packed up and headed back to the Ham. We drove for about an hour and then stopped at Shoney's for brunch. We filled up on all kinds of delicious cold and hot breakfast goodies and then we were back on the road again. The girls got some suckers for the ride home which kept them quiet and entertained for a good long while. We arrived home that afternoon to some GLORIOUS spring-like weather and decided it would be a really good idea to go to the park. The girls had a blast riding their bikes and playing on the swings. They even made a few new friends! After playing a while at the park we picked up Big Ted from the vet, dropped him at home, and then decided to go over to Dairy Queen for a quick dinner and some MORE ice cream...it wasn't exactly Mayfield, but DQ was still pretty darn good!

Sooo, what were you up to this weekend?