The first of two...

Blogging

2011-02-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

So, I suck at this blogging thing. I'm really going to do better from now on. Here are a few highlights of the past year since I've updated.

School is going GREAT. I just applied for the nursing program and I should find out in March if I am accepted or not.

2010 was a great year. Allie turned 5 and Kate turned 1. We took a few trip as well.

In January I turned the big 3-0 and was surprised with a NKOTB themed party to celebrate the occasion!

In February Isabelle Dru turned a year old and we had a monkey themed party at our house!

In March we traveled to Natchitoches, LA for Ben's cousin's wedding. It was beautiful and we had a great weekend.

In May we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary by spending the weekend in New Orleans with my in-laws!

In July Ben celebrated the big 3-0 and Kate turned a year old! We celebrated with a cupcake themed pool party!

In August Allie started Pre-K, and has loved every single minute of it!

In September we went to Destin, FL for a beach vacation with The Morvants and Youngs.

In October Allie turned 5!! We had a spa party, that was also a sleepover for 18 kids!!!!

In December we went to Disney World (more about that later)!

This was a start for me to decide which events I want to back and blog about!

A fish out of water

2010-01-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I will head to campus to get my student ID, parking tag and books. Considering I'm 12 years older than the average college freshman, I anticipate feeling a little out of place. The head of the nursing program has assure me that their accelerated program is mostly non-traditional students, but I'm still nervous. Especially since this first semester is mostly pre-reqs.

I'm soooo excited about going back. I have a few school supplies and a new laptop! And I hope I never have to wear another pair of black dress pants again!

Kate-A-Bug

2010-01-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

Oh my little Kate-a-bug. I can't believe she is almost six months old already. She has really found her hands lately and grabs on to everything in sight. She isn't a good sleeper, I guess that's my fault though. She likes to sleep in bed with mama, that's the only time she sleeps good. And this baby just LOVES her big sister. Allie can always put a smile on her face.

It's going to be amazing watching these two grow up together.

We just started her on solids. Her favorites are green beans, carrotts, squash, pears and peaches.

She isn't crazy about bananas, which is the opposite of Allie. That kid couldn't eat enough bananas.

She loves her toys, she got tons for Christmas. Her favorite is this spinny thing that plays music. She is teething, so everything goes straight to the mouth.

I might not get much sleep, get to eat dinner when it's warm, or take a bath in peace. But I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

Allie Nicole

2010-01-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

Allie is four now and I don't know where the time has gone. Seems like yesterday she was just a little baby.
She LOVES being a big sister. She has never said or done a mean thing to her baby sister. She always kisses and hugs her and wants to be around her.

Before Kate was born, I took Allie for a spa day. She loved it. Quite the little diva!

She loves to take bubble baths and she can pretty much bathe herself.

She is a spunky little thing. She doesn't forget anything. She remembers things that happened two years ago.

She was a little difficult to potty train. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed in December and is better. She was having frequent accidents. There was also a snoring problem, but I'm happy to say they are both resolved now.

Favorite foods:

-spaghetti

-chips

-grapes

-sandwiches

She still loves Mickey Mouse and just about anything on The Disney Channel. She is starting to learn how to write her name. She knows all of her colors and can count to 10. Even though she isn't a morning person (like her mama), she will pretty much dress herself in the morning, including brushing her teeth.

Four years have flown by so fast, I wonder what is in store for us in 2010!

Time to revive the blog....

2010-01-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

As 2010 begins, there will be many changes for our family in this new year. I need to revive my blog so I can keep up with everything!

A look back on 2009:
January: I turned 29. Nothing special there.
February: Isabelle Dru was born on February 5th. What a little sweetie she is! She is getting big so fast, I can't believe we are going to be celebrating her first birthday soon!
On the same day, we found out that we were having a baby GIRL in July!
March: I was lucky enough to attend TWO NKOTB concerts, one in Shreveport and one in Biloxi.
April: Allie's 1st dance recital. My little ballerina did a great job and loved every minute of it!
May: Ben and I celebrated our 6th anniversary, where does the time go?
June: Hmmm, nothing that I can really remember!
July: Ben turned 29. Kate Allison was born. What a joy she has been:)
August: We started adjusting to life with two kids. It was rough at first, but we are getting the hang of it.
September: Our first vacation as a family of four. We went to Gatlinburg, TN for a week.
October: I returned to work (blah). Allie turned 4, where does the time go?
November: We made some important decisions--more on that later.
December: Christmas, enough said!

I'm sure that's not everything, but it's a start. Our big decision is that I'm going to Nursing School. I will quit my stable, full time job to start school in just a couple of weeks. I'm pretty nervous about juggling it all, but I know I can do it. I have the support of my wonderful husband and family.

Looking forward to 2010:
January: I turn 30 (barf). I start school!
February: Isabelle Dru turns one! My cousin Nichole and I plan to participate in our first arts and crafts show.
March: Ben's cousin Emily is getting married!
April: Allie's second dance recital. The guys go to the Talladega for the NASCAR race.
May: We celebrate our 7th anniversary.
June: TBA
July: Ben turns 30. Kate turns one!
August: Allie starts pre-K!
September: family vacation to Destin
October: Allie turns 5!!!!
November: TBA
December: TBA

Sisterly Love

2009-08-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

Allie loves her baby sister. When she wakes up each morning, the first thing she wants to do is see her. She loves to give her hugs and kisses and tickle her. She does a great job helping give her a bath and change her diaper.

I hope it keeps up, she seems to be adjusting really well. Too good to be true almost! Here are a few photos of the girls.

Kate Allison

2009-08-18T21:51:00.001-07:00

Better late than never.....

Kate Allison was born at 12:25 on Monday, July 20th. We arrived at the hospital around 10:00 am to get prepped for surgery. The section went great and Kate was perfect. She was smaller than I expected, since I had an ultrasound 10 days earlier and they estimated she was 6 pounds and 9 ounces. So we thought she would be over 7 pounds by birth!

The rest of the day was a little fuzzy since I was so doped up on morphine for the pain. We had tons of friends and family there to welcome Kate, but nobody was more excited than her big sister!

I was in a good bit of pain for the rest of the day and we managed to get some sleep that night. Tuesday brought more visitors, less sleep and more pain. Luckily we were discharged Wednesday.

It's been an adjustment, having 2 kiddos to take care of. Kate is a good baby, but sometimes Allie gives us a run for our money! But we wouldn't change it for anything:)

Surprise Work Baby Shower

2009-05-26T10:42:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday my wonderful co-worker's threw me a surprise baby shower! My mom, sister, Ben and Allie all came to the office to surprise me as well. We had a great time and Baby Kate is already one lucky little girl!

We got tons of diapers and wipes, some new outfits, 2 diaper bags, lotions, bubble bath, baby wash, etc... One of my co-workers even made us a beautiful blanket that matches Kate's bedding!

Bumble Bee cake, courtesy of Bill Martin.

The blanket my friend Cindy made for Kate!

My family

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mother's Day. My husband is so great.

First of all, I got to sleep late. Well, this wasn't that big of a deal actually. My little munchkin likes to sleep, so we are often up before she is. But it was the thought that counts! Then Ben made cinnamon rolls for breakfast-my favorite!

We didn't have any plans for the day, so we decided to try and make it to the LSU Baseball game. Unfortunately it was sold out by the time we made it there. Allie was devastated, but we took her to see Mike the Tiger and that cheered her up a little bit. Then we found the ONLY restaurant in Baton Rouge that wasn't packed, Voo-Doo BBQ. I guess it was because we were in college town.... So we enjoyed a yummy lunch.

Then we stopped by Wal-Mart to get Allie a little pool. That girl just loves the water. We also picked up a few little pool toys and some ice cream cones. We spent the rest of the day hanging out by the little pool, watching the game outside, and eating ice cream cones. We rounded off the day eating some yummy bbq Ben made for us. It was a great day and I can't wait to have TWO little girls to spend it with next year!

Disney on Ice

2009-05-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

Last night we took Allie and Saylor to see Disney on Ice. I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was! The skating was awesome and there were tons of colorful costumes and props. The girls really enjoyed it.

Allie and Saylor waiting for the show to start.

Allie and the Flounder hat.

I think this was Lelo and Stitch.

No clue what this one was...

Peter Pan, I think.

Tinkerbell.

And of course, Mickey and Minnie.

Allie and Isabelle

2009-05-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of Kate Allison slowly approaching, I find myself looking back at old photos of Allie when she was small. The I look at Isabelle and see how tiny she is, but that she won't be so tiny soon. I wanted to share a few photos of them both over the last few months. Allie loves Izzie and always wants to hold her and feed her. I hope she loves Kate this much!

Both of them looking at their Pop!

Helping mommy cook.

My little ballerina.

Look at that hair!

Isabelle eating her first grape.

NKOTB Bossier City and Biloxi

2009-05-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's taken me this long to update on my NKOTB adventures back in March. We had a BLAST. I'm very upset that I won't be able to make any of the summer shows due to being wayyyy to pregnant! But Bossier City and Biloxi were worth the splurge and we really enjoyed ourselves.

The 5* meet and greet was awesome. We were more prepared this time, so I made sure I stood by JoeyJoe (my favorite!) and Sheri was next to Jon. They are possibly the worst quality photos ever, but here they are!

Here are a few photos from Bossier City. We lucked out AGAIN and got 2nd row, CENTER stage seats. It was awesome. I wanted to post a variety, but I noticed about 2/3 of the way through the show that most all of my photos were of Joey...oops!

Biloxi was even better, but the mean old security guard from NKOTB came up and told me to stop zooming in my camera, so I don't have many pics. But it was a smaller venue and lots of fun!

Allie's 1st Dance Recital

2009-05-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

Allie's first dance recital was on April 25th at the Baton Rouge River Center Theatre. She did GREAT. She had a blast and has already stated her wish to return next year. We were so proud of her.

We couldn't take any photos during the performance, but here are a few of her after the show. She received tons of flowers, and a few presents. Thanks NeeNee and Pop for the jewelry box, Nana and PawPaw for the bag full of goodies, Nanny and Uncle Shaun for the ballerina movies, Paran Shaun and Aunt Wendi for the doggie. Thanks to JuJu, Paran Shaun and Aunt Wendi, Nanny and Pallas, and Aunt Shannon for the flowers!

Opening her jewelry box at dinner.

Family photo that includes Baby Kate!

With Saylor, don't they look so grown up!

NeeNee and Isabelle

And a BIG, HUGE, ENORMOUS thanks to my mom (NeeNee) for taking Allie to dance all year. Without you, she wouldn't be able to go. I love you mom!

Adventures in Babysitting...Izzy

2009-03-01T18:54:00.001-08:00

Brooke and Shaun missed their one-year anniversary on February 2nd cause she was in the hospital. So nearly a month later, they decide to venture out to dinner to celebrate. And I got the first babysitting job. Well, it wasn't an easy thing to get let me tell you. I had to fight my mom for it!

I was excited to see how Allie would really react to another baby in the house, one that would surely require all of my attention at some point. I also wanted to see how I would handle everything. It went really really well! Allie was quite the helper and delighted to do anything I asked her to.

Ben stole her from me pretty quickly. He's a baby hog.

Staring at her Uncle Ben.

Allie being silly.

Uncle Ben getting Izzy to burp.

Full belly, happy baby.

Allie actually took this picture.

Allie just loves her cousin Izzy!

Allie enjoying the burgers daddy made!

The Block is Back....AGAIN!

2009-02-27T14:50:00.000-08:00

Life is good. NKOTB are coming back to Louisiana. Am I going...why of course. I wouldn't miss this for the world.

Sheri and I will be heading to Bossier City on March 10th. We purchased 5*VIP tickets again, which means we get to meet them again. I vow not to freeze up this time and I'm working on something to say that sounds seemingly intelligent.

Then that weekend our hubbys are taking us to Biloxi to see them AGAIN. Yes, again, just a few days later. The guys aren't coming to the show, but we will hang out in Biloxi all weekend. We didn't get 5* packages again, just 4*. Since it's a smaller venue, we are hoping for good seats.

The countdown has begun. T-minus 11 days and counting!

Baby Theriot is a.......

2009-02-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

GIRL! We found out the same day that Isabelle was born. Since we were already at the hospital, we snuck over to Dr. Lawler's office to have an ultrasound. Her name will be Kate Madison, and we are thrilled to have 2 little girls!

The arrival of Isabelle Dru

2009-02-23T07:05:00.000-08:00

Isabelle Dru Morvant (a.k.a.--Izzie) was born on February 5th at 8:18 a.m. She weighed 5 pounds, 8.8 ounces and was 19.25 inches long.

We arrived at the hospital at 7:00 a.m., where my poor sister had been on bedrest there for almost a month. I took the very last belly shot....

Allie wished her Nanny good luck.

Brooke's nurse and my dad.

We were shooed out to the waiting room, all 95 of us. We anxiously awaited Isabelle's big arrival, but we passed the time with Cheetos and Coke.

Here she is! Perfect as can be!

Brooke went to recovery and we went to watch Isabelle's first bath.

Cute little bum.

Isabelle and big sister Sheyenne.

Isabelle and her NeeNee

Isabelle and cousin Allie.

Isabelle and Uncle Ben.

Waiting for Isabelle: A day in the life of Brooke and Shaun

2009-01-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, my sister is having some problems late in her pregnancy. It started with gestationtal diabetes, now she has high blood pressure. Dr. Lawler admitted her to the hospital yesterday, January 12th. It was supposed to be a day or two, but it looks like she is stuck until Isabelle makes her appearance.

An ultrasound revealed that she is around 4 pounds and 14 ounces. So we are hoping she bakes a little longer.

So what does one do in a hospital room all day long? I headed over there on my lunch break today to see for myself. It was a very interesting hour and a half. Here is my experience, in pictures of course.

First things first, Brooke updated her MySpace and Facebook (important stuff).

Shaun did a little dance for us.

Then he had to go potty.

Brooke put on some fuzzy pink socks after her shower.

I sat back and took off my shoes too...why should she have all the fun?

Her IV that she says hurts.

The TV that they will spend a lot of time watching. And the VHS player. Yep, a VHS players. I think I have Top Gun on VHS somewhere....

Don't worry, she isn't dying or anything. This is a happy hospital!

Shaun's bed and the beautiful view.

Shaun checking out the view...

I didn't bother to tell her that her pj's didn't match. That would be kind of mean.

Then, just as we were wondering what we would do next...someone dropped off a hospital survey!

We decided that I would be the one to fill it out. Yay for me!

So I began the survey... but it got kind of boring so I quit. Maybe on my next visit I will finish it up.

This is what they were doing when I left. Something tells me they will be doing this a lot.

Hang in there sis, it will all be worth it!

Christmas trip to Natchitoches

2009-01-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

The weekend before Christmas we headed to Natchitoches, Louisiana to see the Christmas lights. I've never been before, it's a quaint little town with tons of charm...and not much else. If you have ever seen the movie Steel Magnolias, it was filmed in Natchitoches. My parents, sister and hubby and Sheyenne, and my in-laws all joined us.

Anyway, we made reservations months ago so we could check out the lights. Our old neighbors live nearby, so we met up for lunch at a local favorite spot. It was a very nice time.

At lunch.

Then we walked around downtown, visited some shops and just hung out. The weather was beautiful, it was a little warm for December.

My dad always makes the weirdest faces...

Sheyenne spent some time jumping.

When the sun went down, we staked out a spot to watch the fireworks and admire the lights. We all had a good time.

Allie and the foot-long corn dog. Can you believe she didn't eat it all?

Beautiful lights along the river.

Baby Theriot

2009-01-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

Pregnancy update: All is going well so far, baby looks great! Heartbeat was 157 when I went in for my 12 week appointment. I've had a lot of morning sickness, and some pretty bad migraines. I'm seeing a neurologist, so hopefully that will get under control soon.

Here are some pictures of our little peanut!

Name Baby Theriot!

2008-12-17T11:22:00.001-08:00

Click on the button below to help us name Baby Theriot!

Sneaux Day in Baton Rouge!

2008-12-12T07:25:00.000-08:00

It doesn't snow in South Louisiana. It just doesn't. So imagine our surprise when we woke up to this yesterday morning:

I got Allie as bundled up as I could and we went outside to play in the snow. She didn't like it as much as I hoped she would. When we went out, it was still snowing, so I think it was a bit much for her. She developed a bit of a cough afterwards, so I didn't take her back outside again.

Down our street.

Allie's swingset.

The front of our house. You can see Mickey "sleeping" on the front lawn. Allie was worried that he was too cold.

Across the street.

I was trying to start a snowball fight.

It didn't really work.

Our little snowman.

She had about enough at this point. I didn't have any gloves for her and her little hands were freezing.

Mama, I'm freezing!

All in all, it was a good day. I don't expect we will see snow again for another 10 years at least. So it was good while it lasted!

NKOTB seen dancing with fans!

2008-12-08T14:30:00.001-08:00

Three members of the band The New Kids on the Block were spotted dancing with two of their biggest fans! Jon Knight, Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre showed that they still have "The Right Stuff." The delighted fans couldn't believe their good luck.

"I can't believe we got to dance with them", says longtime fan Sheri Young. "Jon is sooo hot, I'm still in shock. It was such a good time!"

Take a look for yourself....

NKOTB Dances With Fans

It's the most wonderful time of the yearrrrrrr!

2008-12-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

Still haven't found my camera, but we bought a new one yesterday! Woohoo and Merry early Christmas to us!
We are all decorated for Christmas and ready to go!

Our beautiful 9-foot tree!

Mickey Mouse outside, this is Allie's favorite part!

Didn't Ben do a good job!

He even put lights in the side bushes.

Then we dressed Allie up in hopes of getting a good shot for our Christmas card.

This is Charlie, the elf on the shelf. He watches over Allie and reports back to Santa.

BIG NEWS!!!!

Baby Theriot #2 is on the way! Expected due date is July 22, 2009. I've been to the doctor and all is looking well. Allie is excited to be a big sister and has requested a little sister...or a brother. Depending on when you ask her!!!!!!

Allie turns 3!

2008-11-21T15:17:00.000-08:00

I apologize for my blog updating tardiness. I lost my camera. It's gone. Not to be seen for a few weeks now. Still housing photos of Allie's birthday and Halloween. I'm hoping it will surface soon, I think it's just somewhere around the house.

On to more important things. Allie is 3! I took her for professional pictures and they came out great. It was a rough start, but after she warmed up she did wonderful!

Her birthday party was a blast, I really hope I can find my camera soon so I can do a real blog update on the party. But she had a great time and got some generous gifts.

It's a little snowman!

2008-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Winter is here...well, kind of. In South Louisiana we only get a few days of "winter" and that means temps in the 30s. No snow, no road closures, no shoveling the driveway.
But it is coat weather for us! So this morning Allie was excited to wear her new winter coat for the first time. She looked like a little snowman and could barely move!

The Block is BACK!

2008-10-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Many of you will want to just skip this blog entry. There will be NO making fun of me in the comments (this means you BIL).

If finally happened. My dream came true. The New Kids on the Block reunited. It was one of the best nights of my life. Seriously...don't make fun of me. It was.

I remember the late 80s and the early 90s. The New Kids were everywhere and I was happy to jump on the bandwagon. This was mainly thanks to my neighbor and good friend Sheri. She is a few years older than me, so she was prime NKOTB lovin' age. I was a little young to be so obsessed, but that didn't really matter. We memorized all of their songs by rewinding the tape player and stopping it so we could write down the words. We hung up posters all over our bedrooms, even though my dad didn't like it. We purchased the ridiculous memorybilia; buttons, sleeping bags, lunch boxes and even NKOTB dolls. I had Jordan, my sister had Joey and Sheri had Jon.

Our wonderful parents took us to the concerts. I specifically remember one where it was my sister and our parents. All we did was scream the entire time. Couldn't really hear anything. But it didn't matter. We were at a NKOTB concert! My dad just sat there and shook his head in disbelief....what were we screaming for? He didn't get it...... When I think of what my parents must have given up to take us to that concert....THANKS MOM AND DAD!!!!!

Fast fowards 15 years. To my delight they announced a tour and New Orleans was one of the stops. Not that it mattered, Sheri and I were already making plans to travel to Houston or Dallas to see them if they didn't come to New Orleans. Sheri then talked me into spending $375 on a 5-star VIP package. I am one of the cheapest people in the world. That was hard for me. But one of the BEST things I've ever done. It was just amazing.

The big day was Saturday, October 18th. Friday night Sheri and I gathered in her garage to try and find old buttons. We found a lot of old stuff, including t-shirts, magazines and tour books, but no buttons. Then we spent a few hours googling the guys and reminiscing. We found some funny videos on You Tube and laughed our butts off. All of this while our kids were running around playing...my how times have changed! I couldn't really sleep Friday night. I was so excited.

Saturday morning I headed out around 10:00 and picked up Sheri and her supply of liquor. We picked up 2 other NKOTB fans and were on our way. After a late lunch at Pat O'Briens, we returned to our hotel to get ready to meet the guys!!!!! After a few shots of vodka, we finally calmed down enough to get dressed.

This is where the fun began........ We waited in line for a while. Received our tickets, 3rd ROW! Got our gift bags, which included a NKOTB blanket and some other cool stuff. A few more drinks in the bar with 150 other anxious women, all our age, most married, most with kids...we were quite a sight. There were some hoochies like you would not believe! During the weeks of preparation for this concert, there was a brief moment where I considered wearing my hair like I did back then, then a co-worker pointed out that there was a good possibility that my hair-style might be mistaken for a bad fashion choice....so I opted to keep it modern. But some of these girls didn't. And they looked like there were still trying to wear the same size clothes they wore back in 1992. It was quite funny actually.

Anyway, they take you in groups of 10 for the Meet & Greet. This was mostly a blur, but the guys were super nice! Everyone got a big hug and then we posed for our picture. We just got the pictures yesterday, and I must say that this was a bit of a dissapointment. Red eyes, not centered, blurry....you get the point. I guess you can only do so much with so many people. But it was great getting to meet the guys!

After that we headed to our seats, where we realized we were actually in the 2nd row, because the stage was split. And we were directly in the CENTER. Our seats were beyond awesome. IMO, the seats were worth $375! Unfortunately we had a long while to go before the guys came on at 9:00.Tammy Chynn was cute and interesting, Natasha Bedingfield totally rocked.

Then it was time....... I can't even begin to describe how excited I was. They built up the crowd for serveral minutes before the guys were lifted up on stage. From then on, it was 2 hours of pure heaven. They rocked out to the old stuff, including many familiar dance moves. Joey and Jordan did some solo stuff. If you are a TRUE fan, which I am, you knew and loved their solo stuff as well! They also performed several of their new songs, which I love as well. I think the new album rocks and listen to it all day long.....(I'm pitiful, I know).

Of course we painted the car....I hope my hubby doesn't read my blog...He would be so mad!

Waiting to get our tickets!

The crowd was going wild, it was so loud! I was still in shock that we were that close to the stage.

And there they are! They opened with "Single" which is now one of my favorite songs!

Donnie did most of the crowd interaction and he was amazing!

Jordan during his solo.

Yes, "Baby I Believe in You", too.

Isn't he a cutie? I love me some Joey Joe.

They might be older now, but these guys still have it. You could tell by the end of the night that they were exhausted!

Danny did some seriously awesome breakdancing.

This one doesn't even need words...

"I'll Be Loving You Forever"

Jordan....sigh. I just love him.

A little bit of Jon booty!

The "pretend" encore. I knew there were coming back. We needed some "Step by Step" and there was no way I was leaving until we got to "Hang Tough"!

This really was the end:(

They also went to a smaller stage in the back for a few songs. Since we were so far up front (I know, don't you feel sorry for us?), we couldn't see at all. We couldn't even see the screen. But at least I got to rest my feet for a little while!

So, in case you haven't figured it out, I had a fantastic time. Hopefully they will tour again next year and I'll be there! Have to get the 5 star package again, or at least seats in the first few rows.

I've waited 15 years for this....

2008-10-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I have. When the New Kids on the Block disbaned in 1994, I took it hard. Would I never get a chance to wear my Jordan button again? Would I never hang a new poster on my bedroom wall? Would I never get the chance to memorize the over-exerted dance moves of NKOTB? It was a grim year....

But here we are, 15 years later and I get to see them THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!

A good friend of mine talked me into not being cheap for once and getting the VIP Package, which includes kick a$$ tickets, a meet and greet, a photo op, pre-party and more cool things.

So think of me this weekend, I'll be Hangin' Tough in New Orleans, re-living my teen days!

She's Minnie Mouse!

2008-10-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Allie is old enough to know what she wants, and she knew that she wanted to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween this year! After searching many stores, I found this costume at The Disney Store. They were out of the ears (oh no!), but I managed to grab them online. Never mind the fact that I paid $8.50 to ship them and they only cost $7.50....but the girl had to have ears!

I'm confident that she is going to be the best Minnie Mouse ever!

Wyatt's Baptism

2008-10-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Saturday before Wyatt was baptised, I got to watch him for a few hours! We had a blast and he behaved like an angel.

Again, doesn't he look good with two kids?

The baptism went well. He loved the water on his forehead!

The happy family. James, Wyatt, Jennie and Abby

And of course Allie was there and was on her best behavior!

It's a girl!

2008-09-29T17:35:00.001-07:00

I was right...and the poll was right. But mostly I was right. It's a baby GIRL! Isabelle Dru Morvant will join our family early next year. Yeah!

Thank you Aunt Cindy!

2008-09-19T19:52:00.001-07:00

When we got home today, Allie had a nice surprise in the mail. Aunt Cindy from Hong Kong sent her these adorable yellow football ponytail holders! So we ran to her room and put on her LSU shirt and did her hair in ponytails. It was adorable. She loves her present.

Thank you Aunt Cindy for thinking of Allie. We miss you so much and can't wait to see you, Tim, Lily and Violette again:)

What will it be?

2008-09-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

Brooke and Shaun are having a baby! Is Baby Morvant a GIRL or a BOY? ( surveys)

Stay tuned to find out the answer. Big ultrasounds scheduled for Monday, September 22nd!!!

Hurricane Gustav

2008-09-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

So we had to leave our beach vacation early to head home and ride out a hurricane. The only thing on our minds was Hurricane Katrina back in 2005 which devastated New Orleans. We live outside of Baton Rouge, and the city doubled in size overnight. Our streets were crowded, gas and food was hard to come by. It wasn't pleasant, but we didn't lose our homes or anything major.
So when Hurricane Gustav headed right for Louisiana, we were most worried about New Orleans. We needed to be home and be able to get right back to work when it was over. The firm I work for is headquartered in New Orleans, meaning there would be a lot for me to do.
Little did we know that Gustav would do a major number on Baton Rouge.

After we got home very early Sunday morning, we slept until almost noon. We didn't know that it would be the last night of good sleep we would get for almost a week. My dad wanted us all together for the storm, so we packed up and headed to my parents house. We cooked a yummy dinner and went to bed early.

Monday morning Gustav rolled in early. We lost power by 9:00 am and sat there all day watching the news (thanks to a generator) and watching the major winds tear down the fence and blow trees around. My parents lost their entire fence and even a light pole in the front yard.
By late afternoon, the storm was over. Amazing how quick it comes through, then leaves and we have to pick up the pieces. Since we had a generator, I really wanted to go home. We headed back and spent the night at home. Ben only wanted to run the generator a few hours a day to keep the freezers cold. Since the humidity hadn't got in yet, Monday night wasn't too bad.

Tuesday started the first of 4 very long days. We woke up and ran the generator for a little while, watched the news and huddled around the fan. Then we headed to Ben's parents house to visit. Ben and his dad waited in line for about 2 hours for gas.
Wednesday, we did it all over again.
Thursday, we did it all over again.
Thursday morning was when I had my breakdown. It was so hot. I was tired. We were eating junk food. No end in sight. I just cried and cried. I remember at one point Wednesday night I layed there feeling like I was suffocating cause it was so hot. The entire subdivision was completely dark, not a light in sight. It was so spooky.

Luckily one of the malls in BR was open, so Ben sent me and Allie off to get some air. Brooke and Shaun came over that morning and Brooke started crying when she saw poor Allie and how hot she was. Her hair was matted to her face.

Jennie and James were at the mall with their kids too. We enjoyed some cold air for a few hours, then headed back to their house. They had a window unit in their bedroom and all 6 of us locked ourselves in there for a little while. The girls played and we listened to a press conference from Entergy, saying that we should have power back by Friday night. Woohoo!

I went home to find that Ben did some laundry and hung it out to dry in true white trash style...

As luck would have it, Jennie and James, Ben's parents and my parents all got power that evening!!! So we hooked my parents camper up to their house and slept in there. I didn't sleep good for some reason, but I was cool and that was all that mattered!!!

\

Friday was a day of waiting to get power back. I helped my dad clean up the yard while Ben cleaned up our yard. Our favorite restaurant in Baton Rouge was open, so we headed out for dinner and gorged ourselves. Allie gobbled up a pulled pork sandwich like she hadn't eaten in days. Meanwhile, Brooke and Shaun were still waiting to get power back like we were. We were calling every 20 minutes to see if our answering machine picked up so we would know it was back on.
On our way home around 8:30, we resigned ourselved to the fact that we were spending another night in the camper. Then Ben called one more time and....POWER WAS BACK ON!!!

We were all so excited!! We packed our bags, did a little dance, and off we went!

It's been almost 2 weeks since the hurricane and we are just now getting back to normal. Stores are now stocked again and no lines at gas stations. My boss was one of the last to get power, just this past Thursday night. I hope we have seen all we will see this hurricane season. One is more than enough for me...

Our (very short) Destin Vacation

2008-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Hurricane Gustav, our vacation was pretty much ruined this year. We were all so excited about our trip, we've had it planned since February. But mother nature had other plans for us. We decided to go anyway, knowing that a hurricane was likely heading towards us. We were mostly worried about not being able to get back home if New Orleans was hit the way it was back in 2005 during Katrina. We headed out early Thursday anyway and decided to make the best of the time we would have.

Me, Ben, Allie, mom and dad left on Thursday. We stopped in Ponchatoula to get Sheyenne and got to Destin around 5:00. Our condo was gorgeous, and right on the beach. We had 3 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms...what more could you ask for?

Beautiful views

Very early Friday morning the rest of our crew joined us. We hit the beach right away. Even though it was Labor Day weekend, there weren't many people around. I guess they were smarter than us and decided not to chance it with a hurricane in the gulf.

The pool was huge, we spent a good deal of time there too.

Rocky got to put his little feet in the sand for the first time. Then my parents realized they could get a $500 ticket for having him on the beach, so off he went...

Saturday the girls went shopping for a little bit while the guys headed across the street to watch the LSU game. Due to the hurricane, the game was moved up and we weren't able to catch it in the condo.
Once they got back most of us decided that it would be best to head out that night. They were starting the contraflow early Sunday morning, and we might not be able to get back home. Looked like Hurricane Gustav was headed straight for Louisiana.
We tried to enjoy the rest of the day at the beach. Truth was we were very angry that we had to leave and barely enjoyed our vacation. We were out a lot of money and heading home to face a hurricane.
Looking back I wish we would have just stayed and came home after the hurricane.
Maybe we will try again next year.

The ride home went fine, we made it in just under 6 hours. I love Destin and wish we could have stayed longer.

A ballerina in the making

2008-09-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

With three dance classes under her belt, I think Allie might be getting the hang of it. She's potty trained now as well, so she's on her way to full blown big girl status! She comes home singing the songs they teach her like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "The Hokey Pokey."
I can't wait for her first recitial in April!

This is her friend Hunter Riley. They go to daycare together and were very happy to meet up. Bad news is that Hunter is actually in gymnastics class when Allie is in dance class. They are so cute together.

Some of my shots are kind of fuzzy. I'm taking them through the glass window and trying not to let her see me. Quite a challenge!
She loves the pom poms. Maybe I should put her in cheerleading.....

At the end of the class they roll down the mat. I think this was her favorite part!

Brody came over for a visit!

2008-08-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend Allie went camping with my parents again. So Ben and I had a quiet weekend. Saturday we went out to lunch, went to a movie, did a little shopping, went to church, stopped for snowballs. Saturday night we were planning a small dinner and a movie at home. But much to our surprise, Wendi was in town with Brody! We were delighted when they stopped by for a visit!

Can you believe that he practically pushed me down to get him out of his carseat so he could hold him first and feed him?

Nice to know he hasn't lost his touch!

About 20 minutes into the visit, I finally got ahold of him!

Then Ben took him away from me. Butthead.

They had a staring contest. Ben won.

We were so glad we got to spend some time with Wendi and Brody. They live 2 hours away, so we don't get to see them as often as we would like. We love you guys!

She's a dancing girl!

2008-08-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

I went back and forth trying to decide if I should enroll Allie in dancing this year. She wasn't fully potty trained yet and I don't know how interested she would be. And it's expensive...but I finally decided to give it a try. I waited until the last minute so she didn't have the little leotard, tights and tap shoes like all of the other little girls. So, thanks to me, her first day didn't go so well.

Standing in front of the dance studio, about to go in.

Thanks to my wonderful friend Sheri, Allie has several leotards now! I ordered her shoes and I think the next class will go much better. She loves her "tutu" and the shoes.

So stay tuned for more pictures to see how the little ballerina does. And a HUGE thanks to my wonderful mom (NeeNee) who will be bringing Allie to dancing every Monday. We appreciate it more than you know:)

August recap

2008-08-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

The entire month of August just flew by this year! Here is a recap of some of the things we did.

Friday, August 8th was my baby sister's 27th Birthday. Since her hubby had to work that night, we celebrated the night before at Copeland's for dinner.

Ben and Shaun

Pregnancy Massage!

Cute onesie for the baby

A pregnancy journal and book on breastfeeding from us. My dad was very excited as well. I guess he wants to touch up on his breastfeeding skills...

Shaun thought it was his birthday

Allie really thought it was her birthday and had to have her own candle!

The following night Pennington Balloon Festival. This is the 4th year in a row we have gone and I think it gets hotter every year. We waited until about 6:30 Friday night to head out there. They have the parking down to a science, so it was pretty painless. We got some overpriced dinner, and headed to the field to see the balloon glow and fireworks.

Setting the balloons up for the glow

Enjoying the balloon glow with daddy

This is my sister. I thought this picture would make my mom proud...mom are you proud?

Playing with the $15 toy we got her

Then that Sunday was LSU Fanfare. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I know it involved 3 hours worth of standing in line to get Les Miles' autography. But at any rate, we were happy cause that meant we got to see Parain Shaun for a little while!

Ben and Shaun getting ready to leave.

Allie with her Parain. She is wearing the bikini my parents bought her, she loved it and would not take it off!

Wyatt Joseph

2008-08-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

My husband has 3 godchildren. How unfair is that? So I was THRILLED when Jennie and James asked me to be their new baby's godmother! Then my sister asked me to be her baby's godmother! Soon I will have TWO!

Baby Wyatt Joseph was born on July 22nd. He was a couple of weeks early, but is perfect. I've got to hold him several times, feed him and he even pooped on me when I was trying to change him.

With mom right after he was born.

With Nanny!

Doesn't Ben look good with babies? Does anyone else think we should have another one?

Wyatt and big sister Abby (who turned 2 yesterday, Happy Birthday Abby!)

Allie would make a great big sister....

Spoiled Rotten

2008-08-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

As the first grandchild on both sides of the family, our little one is pretty spoiled by everyone. Nanny gives her anything she wants, JuJu buys her presents everytime she goes somewhere, and I'm not even going to get started on the grandparents! Allie spends a lot of time with both sets of her grandparents.

At one recent visit, her pop helped her build a tent. This is a tradition started by Uncle Shaun. He doesn't seem to remember that payback is a *****.

Another time NeeNee made her chocolate cake. And fixed her hair to look like....I'm not sure exactly. But she was up until mindnight that night and I'm blaming NeeNee.

Toddler Bed Drama

2008-07-25T06:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ben was fishing and I wasn't feeling well, so I took Allie's mattress out of her crib and put it on the floor in the "playroom" so she could lay down and watch tv. She loved it and pitched a fit when I wouldn't let her sleep on the floor that night. So that got us thinking that she was probably ready for a toddler "big girl" bed. We also want to turn the playroom into her room and leave her current room for baby #2. The crib is huge and we would have to completely take it apart to move it, so it makes sense this way.

So last night we went to Wal-Mart to get the bed. I pulled four possible bed sets, Dora the Explorer, Elmo, Mickey Mouse and Princesses.

She knew right away which one she wanted, Dora.

So in the buggy it went.

We washed it when we got home so it would be all soft and smell good.

The ever so reliable daddy put the bed together.

She jumped right in, said good night many times and said she was sleepy.

Yeah right. There were monsters in her room. Never any monsters in the other room, but monsters in this room. So the ever so reliable daddy sprayed monster repellant (aka Febreze) to get rid of the monsters.

Then she wanted the tv on, we said no, and she threw this little tantrum.

After another half hour of crying, screaming and getting out of bed, the mattress went back in her crib, and so did she. We shall try again tonight. Maybe it was just too much excitement in one night. Who knows?

My last supper

2008-07-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

I had to have my wisdom teeth removed last week. I can't even begin to describe how TERRIFIED I was. I dreaded it, knowing that the recovery would be brutal. My oral surgeon warned me that it would be, since I was older and all 4 of them were coming out AND they were all impacted. I set the date for Thursday, July 10th and just hoped that I wouldn't die.

Soooo, Wednesday night my family joined us for my last supper.

On the way there, I was convinced this was my last dinner before my death.

Sis and I shared chicken fajitas and they were YUM!

We all gathered around for my last photo...

I carefully documented my last bites.

Savored every moment...

I'm very happy to report that I lived through it. Thanks to a valium and lots of other stuff, I don't remember much of the surgery day. Even Friday and most of Saturday were great. I spent a lot of time sleeping and watching reruns of Beverly Hills, 90210. My wonderful in-laws kept Allie Thursday night and even brought her by for a little visit, at least I think they did. I really don't remember much...
Friday my parents took Allie camping, they had a blast. Another post to follow with pictures.

Saturday night is when I started feeling like I. WANTED. TO. DIE. I developed dry socket and had a constant, throbbing pain that would not go away, despite popping numerous pain killers. I was beginning to think I would overdose. After a miserable Sunday, my wonderful mother-in-law took me to the doctor Monday morning and he stuffed some stuff in my mouth that provided instant relief. I went home and slept for a long time, since I was in so much pain the previous two days I didn't get much sleep. I stayed home from work on Tuesday as well and spent some time trying to feel human again and loving on my baby girl. I returned to work today. I'm still feeling pretty sore and tired, but much better. This was a very miserable experience and I'm glad he took all 4, cause there is no way I was going through that again.

Thanks to my wonderful in-laws and parents for taking care of Allie this weekend. I know she had a great time. And thanks to my wonderful husband for taking such good care of me:)))))

Happy 28th Birthday Ben!

2008-07-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

Ben had 2 birthday celebrations this year. Saturday before his birthday we tried a new place in Baton Rouge, B.J.'s Brewhouse. It was pretty good. We had a nice time.

Deryn and Kerry. We were so glad they could make it. We never get to see them anymore:(

Pop fed Allie's baby.

I love this pic of my mom and Allie.

Sunday, the day of Ben's birthday, we went to Livonia to try Not Your Mama's Cafe & Tavern. Seriously.... I gave Ben a hard time about it, but it was very good!

Allie took this picture, can you tell?

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit behind on my blogging...

We spent our 4th of July just as we have for the last 8 years. Ben's parents throw a pool party each year and it's a blast! We were especially looking forward to this year's party since it was on a Friday. Having it in the middle of the week really messes things up.

The party started at 3:00 and I made my infamous pulled pork to bring.

Jennie and James came, and brought little Abby!

There was swimming...of course.

Lots of playing inside when the rain came.

My adorable mommy and daddy:)

Uncle Shaun hooked Allie up with some fireworks.

I don't really have an explanation for this...

Waiting for the big fireworks show.

The crew.

Fun times...

2008-07-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

We had a nice and relaxing weekend. Since we now have a housekeeper (God Bless Mrs. Virgie), we get to spend more time organizing our house. We spent most of the day Saturday doing just that! And we had a bbq at our house and took Allie swimming!

She did so well, kicking her legs and "swimming" on her own.

We got her this new swimsuit, which we think helped a lot.

My dad took her for a bike ride.

Aren't they cute?

BIG NEWS! Allie has used the potty a few times! Here she is enjoying a surprise for doing so. A blowdryer, brush and mirror for her baby doll.

Cookies and Potty

2008-07-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

Last week I made these. I didn't eat any, but Ben said they were good. So did Allie, my mom, my dad, my sister, my brother-in-law, my father-in-law...you get the picture. Homemade peanut butter chocolate chip. Click here for the recipe.

In our ongoing efforts to get Allie potty trained, I tried bribing her with a cookie.

It was funny at first.... Then she just started getting made at me.

So I gave in and gave her the cookie.

The potty has taken up residence in our living room. Please excuse the Christmas pillow on the couch. I'm a little behind in putting them up for the season.

Ha mom, you just thought I was going to use the potty. WRONG.

Shiney's Birthday Party

2008-06-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

Sheyenne's birthday party this year was as Skate Heaven.

To my surpsie, Allie loves to skate!

I think Ben had just as much fun as she did!

We did the Hokey Pokey.

Rode the horse.

Allie even decorated Sheyenne's gift bag with stickers. Notice her in the far right corner...eating.

It was a long day and the little one was pooped.

Allie and mommy

My mom and baby sister.

Back to work now. I must earn some extra money so I can by the brother-in-law a new pair of jeans.

Allie goes to the movies.

2008-06-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

This post should probably be titled "Sheyenne's Birthday Movie", but you know me. I have to document Allie's first trip to the movies!

My niece's birthday was last week and she told me she wanted the movie Kung Fu Panda. Well, it's in the theatre. So I decided to take her and a friend and to bring Allie along. My wonderful mom also came with us.

The pre-movie photo. Allie knew we were going to the movies, but she had no clue what that actually meant.

So many theatres in Baton Rouge, but we chose the one by the mall.

She just wants to be one of the big girls.

With NeeNee waiting in line for popcorn.

With mommy.

She ate the ENTIRE time. I'm not kidding.

Post-movie photo. They all had a great time.

It went really well. The movie was really cute. There was a lot of fighting, so it wasn't exactly Allie's kind of movie. I was still impressed that she sat still as long as she did. I think we will try another movie in the near future.

Happy Birthday Shiney Bug, hope you had a great time!

Father's Day Weekend

2008-06-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

Ben finally got the chance to go to Alexandria to visit his godchild Brody the Friday before Father's Day. I had to work, but Ben and Allie enjoyed their visit. I had a girls night with my sister and some friends. I would have taken pictures, but Ben had my camera.

The proud daddy (Shaun) with baby Brody.

Ben and Brody

Allie, Ben and Brody

Her Paran built her a tent on the couch.

And she tried to ride Duke the wonder dog.

The Saturday we got a great surprise. My sister and her hubby are expecting their first child in February. Congrats Brooke and Shaun! Then we went to a wedding and I forgot to bring my camera. Boo....

For Father's day we headed to the in-law's house for swimming and boiled crabs.

Of course Allie was ready to go!

Yummy crabs!

My hunny bunny.

Allie watching Strawberry Shortcake, she was pooped.

That evening I made loads of homemade lasagna (Ben's favorite) and all of my family came over to eat dinner and watch the LSU game. We had a nice time, but I was too busy to remember to take pictures. Boo again...

We eat, we take a bath, we sleep

2008-06-13T07:03:00.000-07:00

Has anyone realized that this blog is simple an excuse for me to share as many photos of my daughter as possible? Here is a rundown of what we do in the evenings...

We eat dinner. Yummy steak and crash hot potatos.

We got get Allie to give her a bath, and she's STUCK!

Ok, all out and ready to go!

I can do this myself...

No daddy, I CAN DO IT.

Mommy, make him leave me alone...

Ok daddy, maybe I can use some assistance.

Thanks daddy, you are my hero!

Now, I can get my diaper off...

She even knows that it goes in the trash, too bad she can't pick up on potty training this easily!

Trying to moon me, how inappropriate.

Loving bathtime.

Simple lives we lead. It's the little things that make you smile. I should have gotten a picture of what she slept in...a shirt that is too small with unmatching shorts and striped socks. But she did it all by herself!

The love of a Grandparent

2008-06-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest things I've ever had to do as a parent, was to drop my 10-week old infant off at daycare. Depressing. Cruel. Just really bad.
I feel better about it now that she is older. She loves going and has a lot of friends that she asks about. But one thing that has always made me feel better from the beginning is that my mom picks Allie up just about every day for me. She gets off 2 hours earlier than me, so Allie gets to spend lots of time with her NeeNee and Pop.

My mom takes her to the store and gets her treats. Wal-Mart is affectionately known as "The Icee Store", due to the Subway inside that offers icees. And of course she gets one every single time they go.

So what do they do with her until I arrive to pick her up. Which by the way, she usually fights me and doesn't want to come home...

The check out the flowers.

Spend lots of time outside.

My mom fixes her hair and she promptly pulls it out.

Allie cuts the grass.

Waters the flowers, which she helped plant.

It's a big job, but somebody has to do it.

They eat watermelon in the swimming pool.

And Pop always manages to get a few kisses out of her.

Thanks mom and dad for taking such good care of my baby girl! She is luck to have you both.

And so am I:)

Tag, I'm it

2008-06-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was 18, getting ready for my freshman year of college. Probably shopping for things for my new apartment. Working as a waitress at a local restaurant.

2. What 5 things are on your to do list today?
Go to Walgreens at lunch (already did that one)
Confirm my appointment at the OB tomorrow (already did that one)
Go to the gym (not sure if I'm gonna get to this one)
Eat dinner
Fold some clothes

3. List snacks you enjoy.
Oh gosh. Food is my ENEMY. Cool ranch doritos, french fries, pickles, any other kind of chips.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Buy a big piece of land and build homes for my family and friends. Give a lot of it away.

5. List places you have lived.
Brusly, Louisiana
Atlanta, Georgia
Hammond, Louisiana
Port Allen, Louisiana

6. List jobs you have had.
Waitress
Public Relations Intern
Production Coordinator
Marketing Coordinator

7. List names of people you want to know more about.
Julie
Danya
Sonnie Boy

Hairstyles of the not so rich and famous

2008-06-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to let Allie's bangs grow out, so it's made for some very interesting hairstyles the last few days. I also try and let her pick her clothes, so we have had some interesting color combinations as well.

This morning I pulled her hair to the side with a white ponytail holder. Then she found a hot pink one and insisted that I put it in her hair too. She happily modeled for me while eating Froot Loops.

Ok mom, we need to expand my wardrobe a bit...

I say cheese and you see a mouthful of cereal!

A work of art.

I love Froot Loops!

Beautiful baby blue eyes.

I'm cool, I know it....

Lovely Weekend

2008-06-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

I wish we had more weekends like this one. Quiet, lazy, nice.

Saturday we took Allie to Ben's parents house to go swimming. Brooke, Shaun and Sheyenne joined us. We had a nice time, but it was hot!

Enjoying the pool.

Trying floaties for the first time...she wasn't a fan.

On the way there, Brooke and Shaun did a quick dumpster dive and got this monkey out of our neighbor's trash can. (what am I gonna do with them?) Needless to say, the monkey provided us with lots of entertainment throughout the day!

Shiney and Allie

My hubby doing a belly flop.

Allie and Shiney laying out.

Allie and her Nanny getting down.

The monkey got some sun too.

And had too much to drink...

Sunday Jennie and James came over to watch the LSU Baseball game with us. Allie and Abby had a good time playing as usual.

James swore that turning his hat outside in would bring better luck for the Tigers. He was right!

Allie got to indulge in one of her favorite treats last night for being such a good girl all weekend. Ice Cream!

Probably should have given her this before her bath...

We also had a big bbq Saturday night for the LSU game, but I was so busy cooking and cleaning, that I didn't take any pictures.

GEAUX TIGERS!

They got a new car!

2008-06-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

My sister and her husband (also known as Brooke and Shaun) got a new car yesterday! They need the space for their entourage. I kept telling her that she didn't have an entourage, therefore didn't need a new car. But Shaun's imagination won out and they got this beauty!

She was so excited, she peed on herself!

Not really, we were playing with water guns!

My little orphan-looking child.

Does she look pitiful or what?

And I hurt my foot in aerobics class yesterday. It's pretty swollen and it hurts. I think I need to tak a week off from all chores. Ben will have to take over...

Allie gave my foot a kiss, hoping it would get better.

The Last Hurrah

2008-06-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Our Anniversary weekend will sound pretty boring to most, but we had a great time. We spent the night in Lafayette and had a wonderful dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The next morning Ben dragged me to the Academy to get some new shoes, which was just a cover up cause we all know he wanted to look at the hunting and fishing stuff!

From there we headed to Alexandria, Louisiana. Population 46,362. Our friends Shaun and Wendi are two of them. They had their first baby yesterday (can't wait to meet you baby Brody!), so we spent their last single days with them. They just moved back to Louisiana from Pennsylvania and this was the first time we got to see their new house. Shaun had to work Saturday, so we took Wendi out to lunch and then we went to see the movie What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas with Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz. Very cute and funny.
A quick stop by TCBY cause mommy and baby needed a chocolate fix, and we were on our way back to their house. There, we did nothing. And it was so nice. Wendi and I talked about the delivery (she had a scheduled c-section cause the bebe was breech), watched some tv and waited for Shaun to come home.
Then we continued to do nothing for a few more hours. Blissful. Finally we dragged ourselves here for dinner. It was delicious, gotta love some good seafood!
And then we stayed up until almost 2:00! I think Shaun and Wendi were feeling really anxious and nervous. We had a great time.

Sunday morning the guys got us donuts for breakfast, we watched Selena on TNT, then headed to Home Depot. A quick lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, and we had to say goodbye. The Last Hurrah was over.

Baby Brody was born yesterday morning, and weighs in at 7 pounds, 4 ounches and is 20 inches long. I was waiting to do this post until I got some photos, but none yet. Ben is his godfather and is so excited to meet him. We aren't sure when we will get there to meet him, we want to make sure they have alone time and get settled in first.
Congrats Shaun and Wendi. We love you!

Ben and Shaun doing nothing.

Wendi got us this delicious strawberry cake for our anniversary.

It was gooooddd!

My lovely husband.

Duke, The Wonder Dog. He was hoping we would drop a piece of cake!

Quite possibly the last belly pic. She was so cute!

Loving on Wendi and the baby!

5 Years Ago Today

2008-05-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

May 30, 2003. My wedding day. I looked forward to that day for more than 14 months. The day was much like today is, sunny and warm outside. We had a night wedding, so I had all day to be nervous. I spent the day with my bridesmaids, getting our hair and makeup done, eating lunch, getting dressed. Ben spent the day with his guys, having a bbq at his parents house and hanging out by the pool.

Our ceremony was long, but beautiful. I don't remember too much of it, I just remember how excited I was to finally be there, in that moment. Our reception was so much fun, we danced, talked to friends and family, had a great time. We left around midnight in a limo my aunt and uncle rented for us. In the five short years we have been married, they are both gone now. They did so much for us on our special day and were so happy for us. I can't believe they are forever gone now...

We headed to New Orleans where we spent the night at The Sheraton, before heading to the airport for our 6:00 a.m. flight to Mexico. I say spent the night, but we were only there for about 4 hours. Then we spent 5 wonderful days in Mexico at the Aventura Spa Palace.

It was a wonderful day, a wonderful week, and a wonderful 5 years. Thank you to my parents for giving me (us) such a wonderful day. They fulfilled my dreams, as well as theirs. It was a day that I will never forget and will always be grateful for. Our friends and family did so much for us and have continued to be there for us. There is only one person in our 15 member bridal party that we have lost touch with. We remain very close to most all of our friends, even asking one of them to be Allie's godfather.

Our first dance.

Ben with his best man, Kerry.

Our first kiss.

Our entire bridal party. 6 bridesmaids, 6 groomsmen, 2 ushers and a flower girl.

Memorial Day

2008-05-28T13:55:00.001-07:00

Poor hubby had to work on Memorial Day, so it was just me and Allie. The in-laws invited us over for a bbq and to swim in their huge in-ground pool.

Starting off with a cute photo of Allie:)

She loved jumping off the side.

Kick those legs!

My sister-in-law, affectionately known as JuJu. Ain't she pretty?

In other news, Operation: Potty Train Allie isn't going so well. We have spent countless hours in the bathroom with no results. I'm getting frustrated...

Hoping that reading a book will help.

I thought for sure something was happening here..but nope.

This is Allie the morning after her big swim at the in-laws house. She was exhausted. I moved her from her bed to mine, in hopes of her waking up on her own. No luck. It was a whiney morning for all involved.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

It's so hot outside. I have to keep reminding myself why I live in Louisiana. And it's only May. Warmer weather is sure to come. Sunday was Ben's only day off work this week, so he used it to get some important things done. Like washing his truck and letting Allie SWIM!

Keeping the gas guzzler clean, good thing it never goes too far.

Of course she wanted to help in any way possible.

It sure was hot, ain't he cute?

Finally getting to swim. She was "running experiments", as Pop would say.

She wanted me to fill up her water gun.

While they were washing and swimming, I picked some basil from my herb garden.

And made this delicious pesto pasta!

Later in the day, Jennie, James and Abby came over to play and for dinner.

She would kill me if she knew this was on here!

I gave the girls a bath.

That's over 50 pounds in my arms. They were HEAVY together!

It was a great day. I served up some jambalaya for dinner and the girls had a blast playing together!

American Idol Finale Night

2008-05-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

As always, starting off with a cute photo of Allie!

Daddy is so proud of his LSU National Championship football...

Dancing

We both LOVE David Archuleta

Come on daddy, dance with me !

Getting down

He would kill me if he knew these were on here...

Daddy has some moves too!

Unfortunately, David Archuleta did not win. We were both pretty sad:(

Happy Birthday Uncle Shaun

2008-05-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

May 21st is a busy day for us. It's my brother-in-law's birthday, as well as my father-in-law's birthday. We celebrated Uncle Shaun's birthday last night at T.J. Ribs.

Of course we start off with a cute photo of Allie.

The whole gang which included me, Ben, Allie, Brooke, Shaun, mom, Dad, Pallas and Brent.

Our lovely waitress, Rachel.

My dad, there are no words for this.

Helping Uncle Shaun open his presents. It wasn't really Doritos, but a piece of paper with a photo of his new BBQ grill!

Allie and her NeeNee.

Cake!

He lets her get away with anything...

Again, no words for this either. I do think red and pink are his colors.

What a weekend.

2008-05-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

Hubby is in the middle of a shutdown, which means 16 hour days alllll weekend. It sucked. And I was sick. Friday night we didn't do much of anything.

Saturday morning Allie woke up at 6:00 a.m., she NEVER wakes up that early. We did the Cystic Fibrosis Walk around the LSU Lakes and I was miserable.

At Mellow Mushroom after the walk. I felt like poo.

Luckily my wonderful sister and brother-in-law took Allie for a few hours so I could be miserable by myself. I took a long nap, then a long bath before I drug myself over to their house to get my child.

Sunday Allie and I went to Babies R Us to get a shower gift for one of my co-workers who is having TWINS! How awesome is that? A boy and a girl! And of course Allie got a few new nightgowns and a Dora the Explorer plate.

After a quick nap

We played outside in the pool and ate popsicles

NeNe and Pop came over for a little while to watch

It was hot outside though

We blew some bubbles, and called it a day.

Allie loved her new Dora the Exlporer nightgown so much that she wouldn't take it off this morning

I hate to put it back on over her clothes...

Then she was happy again!

Travel

2008-05-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

I would love to travel more. I can honestly say that I have been many places in my lifetime, but there is so much more I want to see.

My parents took us camping a lot when we were kids. I have visited must of the Southeast United States including Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Georgia. My first time on a plane was May of 1994 when I went to Washington, D.C. for my 8th grade graduation. My second time on a plane was in May of 2002 when I went to The Bahama's on my sister-in-law's High School Graduation trip.

Ben and I went to Mexico for our honeymoon, a cruise to Jamacia, Cozumel and The Cayman Islands in 2004, Pennsylvania and New York City in 2007 and another cruise earlier this year. Oh, and for our 1st anniversary we went to a cabin the Blue Ridge Mountains.

My absolute favorite trip was New York. I have wanted to go for YEARS and never thought I'd make it to be honest. Some friends of ours were living outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and we wanted to go for a visit. In three days we managed to visit Lancaster and Hershey, Pennsylvania for Amish buggy rides and a tour of the Hershey factory. Then we spent a wonderful, amazing, magnificent two days in New York City. And of course, Allie came with us. We rode the double decker buses around the city and saw as much as we could. We walked around Central Park, visited Ground Zero, drooled over the shops in Rockefeller Plaza and ate a few very expensive dinners. We stayed at a lovely hotel in Times Square. It was just an amazing trip. Allie behaved like an angel and did so good on the plane ride! She hung in there with us when we dragged her all over the place.

Me, Wendi and Allie in Amish Country

Ben, Me, Allie, Wendi and Shaun in the Hershey Factory

New York City!

Statue of Liberty

Ground Zero

Ready to go eat an overpriced dinner mommy!

Central Park

Rockerfeller Center

She's a swinging...

2008-05-16T07:55:00.001-07:00

Despite the rainy weather, Ben was determined to get Allie's swingset finished last night.

I mean, he had to. The girl has no toys to play with.

She offered her help, anything she could do to speed up the process...

Finally, she got to swing. It was a beautiful moment, a long awaited moment.

Daddy was still hard at work.

Then she got to test out the rock climbing wall...

And peek her head through the hole.

After that I made her come inside for dinner and a bath. But I'm happy to report that thanks to a late night visit from Uncle Shaun, it's finished! Well, except for one little thing. Allie is very excited and grateful to have her swingset completed!

Doing our part to stimulate the economy

2008-05-14T10:18:00.001-07:00

We have been talking about using some of our stimulus check to help stimulate the economy. We really wanted to get Allie a swing set and Allie really really wanted us to get her one. Ben wanted to build one, I tried to talk him out of it, he tried to talk me into it, we dropped it. Then we started talking about it again, I tried to talk him into a small plastic one from Toys R Us, he tried to talk me into building one, I tried to talk him out of it. We dropped the subject. You get the point. Yesterday when we got home, Allie saw Niki outside on her swing and wanted to go over and play. Then of course she threw a fit when we tried to get her off. Isn't it obvious, she really needs her own swing set.
Soooo, off to Toys R Us we went. They didn't have the one we were looking for, so we went to Academy. And there it was, just calling our name. Allie loved it. She loved the slide, the swings, the chalkboard, everything about it. Of course the price wasn't on it, we were hoping to spend around $300, but this one was $600. You know what comes next, Daddy pulls out his wallet and it's ours!

We have three big boxes on our back patio waiting to be put together. Allie is beside herself with excitement! And don't let us fool you, we are too!

And of course Daddy wanted a present too, a LSU National Championship football!

Operation: Potty Train Allie

2008-05-13T09:48:00.001-07:00

Operation Potty Train Allie in it first stages. I want to enroll Allie in dancing in the fall. You have to be 2 1/2 and potty trained to enroll. We have one out of two so far. We. can. do. this. I have lots of things to bribe her with, I just hope it works. We sat on the potty last night and explained that she gets a sticker to put on the potty chart and an m&m if she makes a pee-pee and a present if she make a poo-poo. The only thing she made was me crazy. Lots of screaming and crying later, we called it quits for the night. Round two will commence this afternoon.

Sitting on the potty

The potty chart

The bribing loot

Mother's Day Weekend

2008-05-12T07:23:00.001-07:00

I realized something this weekend. I wish my life was one big revolving weekend. I think that's called retirement...

Saturday poor hubby had to work, so I took Allie next door to play with our neighbor, Niki. It's very ironic to me that we ended up living next door to a little girl that is exactly FIVE days older that Allie. Can't beat that for a playmate! We have been living in this house since November of 2006, right after the girls turned one. They get so excited when they see each other. Niki has a super cool swing set, which Allie loves to play on. Mike and Amy (the parents) set out her little pool and the girls had a field day.

Allie and Niki enjoying the pool

Amy pushing the girls on the swing

It sucks to be short

She loves to swing!

My third Mother's Day post-delivery was very nice. We started by going to church, where Allie behaved like a normal 2 year old would. My dad cooked a big bbq for us moms and we pigged out. Then I spent two hours on their couch watch The Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. Then we headed home where I spent another several hours on our couch catching up on TiVo. When Allie went down for a nap, so did I! It was a great and very relaxing day. The only bad thing was that I went to bed with a huge migraine and don't feel great this morning. I think I'm coming down with something.

Chilling on the couch with mommy

Silly girls!

Allie...continued

2008-05-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

There is no way I can describe what it's like to be a mom in one post. Or in 20 posts. But I want to use this blog to document as much of my life as I can. So I'm backing up to the first few weeks of being a new mom.

After my emergency c-section, I spend some time in the ICU. I was completely unprepared for this. I was very drugged up and don't remember much about those first few hours. I remember getting to hold my precious baby for a few moments, then throwing up all over the place. That was nice. We didn't tell my family Allie's name until after she was born, I imagined them coming into my room and seeing her for the first time and us announcing the name. Instead, I was chilling in the ICU and Ben rolled her out in her little incubator and got to see everyone's faces when they met her for the first time. That still hurts when I think about it. They took video of her first bath, which Ben showed to me later. My family did get to come and see me in the ICU for a few minutes, even though it was like 1:00 in the morning. Allie spent the night in the NICU and I drifed in and out of sleep, I was so groggy. A really funny thing that happened here...it was time change that night. All of the clocks in the hospital stopped at 2:00 and just stayed there for an hour. I honestly thought I was going CRAZY. In retrospect, it was funny.

The next morning my family and friends started to show up and take turns going to see Allie and coming to see me. Sometime around 5:00 am, she had to move from the transitional nursery to the NICU and the lovely nurse brought her to me for a little while. Though I don't remember much about the night before, I do remember Dr. L telling me that he would be back around noon to hopefully release me to my private room. And I knew that was the key to getting to spend time with my baby. Sometime late morning I asked my nurse when he would be coming by, I was anxious to get to my private room. She told me "Dr. L already did his rounds and won't be back today. You are going to stay here and your baby will stay in the NICU. That's what is best." I lost it and used many choice words on this lady. She had just turned away my family because it wasn't visiting hours. She wanted me to "calm down" so my blood pressure would stablize. After I yelled at her for a while, she went and got my mom for me. And she never came back, I got another nurse. Stupid woman. And sure enough, around noon Dr. L came back and released me to my private room.

My mom gave me a nice surprise. Along with a beautiful card, she took the white teddy bear that my sister gave me many many Christmas' ago and cleaned him up, tied a pink bow around his neck and some balloons. It was very touching and sentimental and he "fluffy" is still sitting in Allie's room.

So I eventually got to go to my room, but Allie had developed a bit of jaundice and had to stay in the NICU under the lights. But being in a room meant I could go down and see her as often as I wanted to. I pumped every 2 hours and sent breastmilk down to her. I spent a lot of time in the NICU that day. That night, Sunday, was the last time I would get a good night's sleep for weeks....

Monday morning Allie was released from the NICU. This was hard. She was a good baby, but I was so FREAKED out. I didn't sleep, I just cried and worried. It was a long two days.

We were released on Wednesday afternoon and headed home. The next several days were a blur. I remember lots of pumping, lots of nursing, lots of diapers, lots of dirty dishes and dirty clothes. And not much sleep. For me anyway. Ben didn't have a problem sleeping. This is when my hormones started to crash and I was so upset about the way the birth went. Even though I knew I had no right to be, I couldn't help it. It was a rocky few days.

The beginning of week 2 my mom took off of work and came over every morning to help me. That was the only time I slept. Ben would gladly take night time feedings, but I didn't sleep anyway. I was too worried that she would be dead when I woke up. I even had the BeBe Sounds AngelCare Movement Monitor. It didn't help me much those first few days. And she was so SMALL, only 5.5 pounds. She was in preemie clothes until she was almost 2 months old.

Most of this was just for my memory, and I'm sure it's pretty boring to everyone else. So here are some photos to make up for the boring post!

My baby girl over the years...

She loves American Idol!

She hurt her arm last year, it was very sad.

Her 2nd birthday party was Mickey Mouse

She's also a LSU fan!

Grandparents

2008-05-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Allie was also born on my grandfather's birthday. The grandfather I never got to meet, he died before I was born. When I was born, I had 3 living grandparents. Both of my dad's parents and my mom's mom. I was very close to my mom's mom, Big Mama is what we called her. We lost her in 1990, and it is still very hard on my mom.

My only living grandparent is my dad's mom, and I haven't talked to her in years. His dad died in 2001, and let's just say that I don't have too many fond memories of him. My grandmother is pretty much estranged from all of her kids, except one. It's a very sticky situation that I don't really understand. How you can choose one of your kids and treat the other 5 the way that she does. But I made peace with the situation a long time ago and I can honestly say it doesn't bother me any longer. That still doesn't mean I understand it though.

I look at my parents with Allie and wonder how a grandparent can not care about their grandchildren? Not care enough to treat them ALL equally and love them all the same. What kind of person does that? And when they are little, not as older adults when you can use the excuse that you don't like the person they have become or agree with some of the decisions they have made. Anyway, enough about that.

When I married Ben in 2003, he had all 4 grandparents. How awesome is that? From day one I have felt like a part of the family and they have treated me as such. Unfortunately, we lost PawPaw Ned in February of this year. He was 89 and had cancer, again. He was lucky enough to have all of his children, most of his grandchildren and his wife by his side when he took his last breath. I hope we can all be that fortunate.

So to sum it up, Allie is a very lucky little girl. And it might sound crazy, but at only 2 1/2, I think she already knows it.

A name, what's in a name?

2008-05-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

The first of two...what does that mean?

I could mean many things. The first of two children that I hope to have. The first of two marriage that I hope to have (just joking on that one!).

The first of two refers to me, the first of two daughters for my very lucky parents. Since so much of my life revolves around my family, I thought it was appropriate.

And SpunkyMonkey.blogspot.com was already taken.

Allie

2008-05-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

I discovered I was pregnant on March 17, 2005. It was a bit of a surprise, but we were thrilled. I was always one that wanted children so badly that I feared I wouldn't be able to have them. After reading many blogs, I really realize how lucky we are to have gotten pregnant so easily.
My mom cried when I told her, my dad smiled from ear to ear. This was to be the first grandchild on both sides.

I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy for the first several months. I didn't have much morning sickness, but I was constantly exhausted and my tummy was queasy. For the first trimester we were still living with Ben's parents (remember, knocked-up and no place to live) and it was actually a blessing. I would sleep from 7-7 and have to DRAG myself out of bed. I had found a job by this point, but I hated it. More on that later. There were many days that I would come home, eat some soup and go to bed. I remember wondering how I was going to do this with a young child when we were ready to have another. But magically in my 14th week I started to feel better. I didn't gain much weight, I actually loved being pregnant.

When baby Jude died, I was 29 weeks and 5 days pregnant. We buried him on a Monday and I had a check-up that Tuesday. It was the first time my blood pressure was elevated. I told my doctor what I had been through that weekend, and she said it would probably go down, but I should rest as much as I could. Being a naive first-time mom, I didn't really think much of it. The next week my BP was still elevated, so she got stern with me. So I listened a little better. By 33 weeks I was on modified bedrest, meaning I could go to work, but that was it. By 34 weeks, I was on full bedrest, stuck at home and off my feet. I was constantly at the doctor getting tests run, having multiple ultrasounds and non-stress tests.

On October 28, it was a Friday, I headed back in to the doctor for another appointment. I was told I would have to see one of the associates, because my doctor had a death in the family. I didn't think much of it at the time, thinking it was a grandmother or something. Not to undermind the loss of a grandmother, but you will see what I mean. When I got to the back, I realized there was something else going on. There was a lot of sadness and tension in the air, I could sense it. I saw another doctor and asked how Dr. P was doing. The response was "It's going to be very difficult, but she has a lot of great family and friends to get her through this". Uh, oh. That's not what you say when someone loses a grandmother. I quickly forgot about that when she announced that my BP was too high and she wasn't comfortable with it. They usually made me lay on my left side for 15 minutes and would take my BP again, and if it went down, that meant I was ok as long as I stayed off my feet. Not this time, it didn't go down. It was 161/111. I'm not sure how bad that really is, but I had to go to the hospital. It was around noon on Friday.

So off I went, crying the entire time. I called my hubby, who left work and came to the hospital. I was under the impression that it would just be overnight, so I resigned myself to a long night with the hope of going home in the morning and continuing the rest of my pregnancy. Later that afternoon I met the doctor on call for the weekend. It was a MAN. Up until this moment, I had only been seen by female ob/gyn's. My thought was that this man was crazy if he thought he was getting anywhere near my vajayjay. Freak, pervert. What kind of man chooses this as a profession anyway? Ew. But to my surprise, I LOVED him. I never felt uncomfortable for one single second. His bedside manner was teriffic. He checked me and then broke the news that I would probably be spending the remainder of my pregnancy in the hospital. I was 35 weeks and 5 days. I cried like a baby. But even then I thought I would be pregnant for a while and Dr. P would be back in enough time to deliver me.

I didn't sleep well at all that night. Poor hubby had to sleep on the hard hospital couch. It was just not a good night. The next morning my parents and sister came by and I learned quickly that it was going to drive my crazy, having them all there all the time. I finally convinced them, hubby included, that I would be fine by myself. It was a beautiful October day and they should enjoy it. Hubby had tickets to the LSU game that night and I convinced him that he needed to go. I was just going to be laying in the hospital watching tv. My wonderful mother and sister went to our house to clean, it was a wreck. They finished the baby's room, while hubby washed the cars and did some outside work. I settled in and ate breakfast and looked forward to a shower and a nice long nap. I was even going to ask for something to help me sleep. I went for an ultrasound and learned that my fluid level was low, and they estimated that the baby was 5.5 pounds, had lots of hair and long legs. I got back to my room and was heading to the shower when Dr. L came in. He said due to my low fluid and high BP, it wasn't safe to keep me pregnant any longer. My kidneys and liver were starting to feel the effects for it all, so it was time for this baby to come out. I was stunned. I didn't believe him, I even reminded him that I wasn't due for another 4 weeks. But he was worried about me having a seizure. He told me that I had 12 hours to get this baby out and that was it. I would not be pregnant tomorrow. I started freaking out and calling the troops. He wouldn't even let me shower. They wheeled me to labor and delivery, the entire time I was sobbing.

Around noon they hooked me up to Magnesium Sulfate, which is used to control high BP. I didn't know that they also give Mag to women in pre-term labor. I was fighting an uphill battle. They started pitocin and off we went. Broke my water around 5:30 and I was a wopping 1 cm dialated. Still naive, we kept going. Around 9:30 he warned me that things weren't happening as fast as he would like and he needed to see some dramatic change soon or I would end up in the OR. At 10:55 he checked me and I was......1.5 cm dialated. So he called for an emergency c-section and the roller coaster ride began. I was freaked out. I did the only thing I could think of and called Jennie. Jude had only passed away a few weeks before, but she was the only one I knew who had a c-section. She tried her best to comfort me and make me feel better about the entire situation.

Allie was born at 11:09 pm, on a Saturday night, October 29th. She came out screaming and was so tiny. Just as they guessed, exactly 5 1/2 pounds. She had a lot of hair, but they so wrong about the long legs thing. She was only 18 inches long and to this day is still a shrimp.

Allie's baptism, 3 weeks old

The picture we used for her announcement, 3 days old

Other randoms about me

2008-05-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

My very best friend in the entire world lives in Hong Kong. We met over 10 years ago when we worked at the same restaurant during college. We just clicked and that was it. She got married in 1999 and I was in her wedding. When I got married in 2003, she was in mine. We both got pregnant at the same time and had our girls just three weeks apart. We think they are destined BFF's. Cindy and Tim also have their own website.

Last year at this exact time we were in Fort Walton Beach, Florida with them. Cindy (that's her name) had a cousin that was getting married there, and her husband married them. How cool is that? Anyway, her husband wrote us months in advance asking if we would be able to make a family trip to Ft. Walton to surprise Cindy. Of course we said YES! And then Cindy started asking us to come down and I had to put her off, which was NOT fun. She simply doesn't take no for an answer. But the look on her face was worth it when we pulled up in front of the resort and surprised her! We spend a wonderful 5 days with them and it was a great and relaxing vacation. Our condo was right on the beach and right next door to theirs. The wedding was way over by then, so it was just us.

Cindy, Tim and Lillian

Allie and Lillian

My little beach baby!

Allie and Lillian sharing a banana

I work at a law firm. I'm the Marketing Coordinator and I do enjoy my job...most days. I'm still not quite sure how I got here. A while back my manager said that she too just "fell" into this job. There is always something fun going on. I'm not the best writer and I'm not always the most creative, but I get the job done. I really enjoy events, that's probably what I'm best at. I usually remember the little details that are easy to forget. And I like to step back the day of and see how it all comes together. And I love my co-workers, I think we all work really well together. And my hubby is an electrician. So that's how we pay the bills!

Some of my favorite things
Reading, sleeping, long baths. I love to cook, but we are trying to eat healthier so I've haven't been cooking so much lately. I love going to the movies. Some of my favorite shows include Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Las Vegas (boo, it was cancelled), American Idol, Army Wives, Ugly Betty and ER. My favorite actor is Josh Duhamel (HOTTIE) and I love Country Music. My favorite place in the world is New York City. I've only been there once, but I really want to go back again. My favorite foods include french fries, mom's chicken and sausage gumbo, broccoli and bananas. I don't really care for animals, but I'm trying to find a yellow lab puppy for my hubby for his birthday. We had a yellow lab, but she passed away last July.

2008-05-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

My sister is 19 months younger than me. We haven't always gotten along in the past, but we are best friends now! She recently got married, on February 2nd of this year. Her hubby is a little older than her and has a beautiful daughter named Sheyenne who is 10. I was so excited to have a brother-in-law and a niece, and I adore them both!

My parents have been married for over 35 years. My dad drives us crazy sometimes, but he is the best dad you could ask for. He gets along with my hubby and Allie just dotes on her "Pop". My mom is a very emotional person, just like my sister. I think I am emotional, but not to the level they are. She is very sensitive, but the most loving and caring person I know. And Allie dotes on her "NeNe". They are always there to help us out when we need it. My mom picks Allie up from daycare every day since she gets off earlier than I do.
Earlier this week when daycare was closed due to a death in the family, my parents bailed us out. Ben doesn't get much paid time off, so I'm usually the one that has to take off when something comes up. I have taken off a few days lately and didn't want to do so again. So my dad kept her for the first half of the day, then my mom took off early and came home to keep her. How awesome was that? And don't let them fool you, then enjoyed every minute of it!

This is the only picture I could find right now of my parents with Allie. Please excuse the funny look on my dad's face!

Baby boy Jude

2008-05-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

On June 29, 2005 one of my best friends gave birth to her first baby. A boy they named Jude. Before his birth, Jen and James found out he had cleft lip and cleft palate. We weren't sure how bad it was going to be, and it was bad. He couldn't eat well, breathe well, or even sleep well. They had a very rough first few weeks with him. He had surgery when he was just a few weeks old to insert a feeding tube into his stomach. He ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. Eventually he had another surgery to begin correcting his lip so he could hopefully eat normally. He also had really bad acid reflux which only made matters worse.

Then we all know, Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005. We live about 60 miles outside of New Orleans, in Baton Rouge. While we weren't "directly" affected by the hurricane, we were affected. Traffic was horrible, our store shelves were empty, long lines at the gas pumps..you get the picture. It was actually a very scary time for us. But the worst part of all, is what happened on September 16, 2005. After a routine visit to the pediatrician, Jude was in the back of the car on the way home with his daddy when he stopped breathing. By the time his dad realized, it was too late. Having a medical background, James tried and tried to get him breathing again before the paramedics arrived. Jen was on her way home when her husband called her frantic. They airlifted him to the hospital, but it didn't matter. He never started breathing again. Just shy of 3 months old and he was gone.

I have never lost a baby, but this tragedy has changed my life forever. The next three days were three of the hardest days of my life. Immediately I felt guilty for being pregnant. Would Jen hate me now? Was our friendship gone? Our babies were supposed to be friends, playmates. The day I found out I was pregnant she took me shopping for pre-natal vitamins and we talked about how fun it would be to share this together. What was I supposed to say to her? Should I leave her alone, or go to her? And in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about how I was going to raise my child and keep my sanity after what has happened.

Of course we went to see them. She had her brother call us from the emergency room, so we knew what we meant to them. There are no words to express the sadness that we faced that night. We hugged and cried. I didn't know what to say. Ben didn't know what to say. What were we supposed to do? They seemed to want to talk about it, so we did. They were having an autopsy performed, so there were so many unanswered questions.

In the midst of all of this, they had two friends staying with them that lost their house in Katrina. We invited them to come and move in with us and give Jen and James their space. Very gratefully, they accepted and moved in that night. Oh, I also forgot to mention that Jen and James were closing on their house the following Monday and moving in with her mom for a few months while they were having a house built. So Saturday they had to continue packing their house. Your son dies on Friday and you have to pack on Saturday. But like she said, it was better than sitting around. Since I was so pregnant, I stayed at home and cooked a few things that I wanted to bring over to them that night while Ben and our Erica (our evacuee, as we liked to call them!) went to help, along with Erica's husband.

Late morning I heard a knock on the door and it was Jen, standing there, shaking and sobbing. She just got back from the funeral home, making the arrangements. I think it just hit her at this point and she didn't know how to handle it. We sat and talked for a while and she admitted that a part of her was relieved because he was so sick and was going to have such a long road ahead of him. Maybe this was better. She tried to convince herself of that, and I tried to help. Later that day they got the autopsy results back, it was ruled SIDS. Selfishly, I was hoping it would be anything but SIDS. Unexplained death, no reasons, no explanations. Just happened and we can't tell you why. Great. I had heard about SIDS before, of course. But I never knew anyone who lost a baby to SIDS, so I continued to push the possibility of it happening to me out of my mind. Now here it was, in my face. How in the hell was I going to raise a baby now? I'm already a worrywart, how was I ever going to survive? I didn't have much time to think about myself though. Jen and James asked me to do a reading at the funeral mass. I was honored. Not really nervous, just honored that I could do this for them, for Jude.

Sunday was the worst day though. We packed up all of Jude's things and put them in storage. I remember wondering how they were supposed to go back to being just Jen and James now? They could sleep all night and eat a meal without being interrupted now, but how were they supposed to do that? It was just a bad bad bad day.

Monday was the funeral. There he was, laying in the smallest casket I have ever seen. In the outfit he came home in, the same hat and everything. His hat was a little tight because they had to cut his scalp for the autopsy. This little bitty baby. I did the reading and it went ok. What really got me was when we put him in the "wall" as I like to call it. Wasn't he cold? He needed his mom to comfort him and keep him warm and fed? I just didn't understand it.

Thus began my stress, worrying, and ultimately, the premature delivery of my daughter.

Jumping on the blogging bandwagon

2008-05-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

I love to read blogs. I love to comment on blogs. So why not have a blog of my very own? Actually, I do. http://www.brittanyscookingblog.blogspot.com/. I love to cook, but then I went on a diet and stopped cooking anything fun, so that blog is basically dead now.

I'll start from the beginning. I'm the first of two (hence the blog title). I'm currently 28 years old and my younger sister is 26. I live in the South, the great, hot, humid, hurricane fearing, good eatin', redneck loving state of Louisiana. I've been married to my husband Ben for almost 5 years. May 30th is our anniversary. Where did the last 5 years go? I guess that's another post.

In October of 2005 we had our first child, a daughter we named Allie. She is the joy of our lives and we love her to pieces. We are not quite ready for another one just yet, although we have been talking about it a lot lately.

Us. This was taken on our first trip up "north" to Pennsylvania and NYC!

Ben and I went to high school together, but didn't date then. We didn't start dating until March of 2001, after meeting up again in a bar. Yes, a BAR. During Mardi Gras. That will be a great story to tell the grandkids one day. We dated for a little over a year before he asked me to marry him on April 20, 2002. It was quite a shock, since we were only together a little over a year. I still had a year of college left, but I kept my promise to my parents and I didn't get married until I graduated. So I graduated on May 17, 2003 and got married on May 30, 2003. How's that for timing?

We moved about 45 minutes away to Ben's hometown where most all of his family still lives (except for his parents and sister), where his grandfather remodeled a house for us that we were going to live in (RENT FREE) for up to 5 years. Woohoo! How exciting was that? But after 5 longs months of living in the middle of nowhere, and I really mean that, the grocery stores (there were only 2 of them), closed at 6:30 pm.

So....we moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Seriously. I was actually offered a job there and off we went. The next year and a half were pretty hard for us. Neither of us ever lived away from home like that before, so it was quite an adjustment. But we managed and even enjoyed some of our time there. In February of 2005, we came home. We were anxious to start a family and we knew we wanted to be close to our families. We did the unthinkable and moved in with the inlaws for a few months while I looked for a job and we bought a house. Then I found out I was pregnant. Living with the inlaws, no job and pregnant. We were thrilled! I found a job soon after and we found a house and moved in. Things were moving along well.