Wordful Wednesday: Pumpkin Girls

Finally, after nearly 6 months of temperatures in the 90s and above, fall has officially 
arrived in Louisiana!!  The windows have been thrown open, pumpkin spice candles are lit 
in every room, and I cooked my very best soup to date: beef and vegetable with every 
single ingredient purchased from our local vegetable co-op.  Isabelle and I 
finished homework duties at lightening speed last week so that we could catch an hour 
of sunshine before dance class.  We walked over to the little pumpkin patch at our 
church and I let the girls pick out pumpkins and a few gourds.  These photos are an 
amazing representation of life with my two girls lately: Isabelle prancing around with 
her head in the clouds, dancing and singing to herself as she acts out the musical that 
exists inside her extraordinary imagination.  And Brees, my sweet little baby who has 
grown into a toddler overnight, running at full speed the second I point my camera into 
her general direction, covering her face with a diva-like "No pictures please" attitude.  
They have such different personalities and I'm not sure if it is because of their age 
difference or if they are just truly different people.  Only time will tell, I suppose.  Until 
then, we will treasure these moments of Belle's super size grins and the glimpses of the 
back of Brees' head as she heads for the hills.   

 

Remain Calm

This weekend was spent making french toast, brownies, baked spaghetti, cornbread, 
and anything else my hungry family could think of.  I cooked and cooked and cooked 
some more, stocking both our freezer and our fridge as I prepare for a very busy 
month ahead at work.  I can feel the anxiety rising as I glance over my calender for the 
next 3 weeks: the meetings and deadlines and countless projects mounting.  But I 
am working hard to make sure that everything is in place so that I don't drown 
in responsibilities.  Some days, I wake up at 4 am to finish my work so that I don't have 
to take my evening hours away from my family.  I plan out our meals so that my 
schedule doesn't affect our family dinner ritual.  And I make sure to enjoy the quiet 
times when they arrive, the calm before the storm.  This weekend was one of those 
times: two whole days of nothing on the agenda but laughter and love.  We all slept in, 
stayed in our pajamas for most of the day, watched movies, picked pecans, worked on 
our office remodel, and cooked A LOT.  Isabelle wrote me a story about a girl who finds 
a fairy under her bed and Brees became obsessed with an old wooden puzzle she found at 
the bottom of her toy box.  I had originally planned to venture out to a dinosaur exhibit 
on Saturday but Shawn said, "Let's just stay home.  Enjoy each other.  Relax.  You need 
that and the girls need you".  The smartest man I know, that husband of mine.  It was 
a beautiful weekend.  Now let's take these busy few weeks by the balls.

 

Steppin' Out Mama

On Thursday, I went out.  On a school night.  To a fashion show.  Wearing heels and 
lipstick.  With no kids!  It was a bizarre feeling for me to finish up homework, put supper 
on the table, get my girls in their jammies, all while curling my hair and picking out 
jewelry.  My company generously gave me a ticket to their fancy table for Pink October, 
a local event devoted to breast cancer awareness and the importance of early detection.  
The entire night was truly inspirational and I felt so blessed to be in the presence of so 
many courageous women.  The highlight of the evening was when one of my neighbors, 
a beautiful women currently fighting through her own personal battle with breast 
cancer, strutted her stuff in the fashion show, got to the end of the runway, tore off her 
wig, and shouted a big "WOOHOO!!!".  Her confidence and amazing spirit brought tears 
to my eyes, the entire crowd going wild as she smiled and danced her way across the stage.
Many blessings to those fighting this disease, prayers of comfort to the families affected, 
and thoughts to those who are now at rest.

I had such a nice time and made it home just in time to share a bowl of ice cream with 
Shawn and David Letterman, heels and lipstick excluded.  

Blouse: Clothing Showroom via Zuilily//Jeans: The Flirt Skinny via Old Navy//
Boots: Spancy Ketosherosh

These jeans are my new favorite thing.  They are skinny jeans that actually fit me
despite the fact that I have hips and thighs and a butt.  Skinny jeans for curvy girls:
Oh, Old Navy, you are so clever!

Wordful Wednesday: Halloween

We started Halloween off right this year with my cousin April's second annual holiday
bash!  Being an elementary school teacher makes my beautiful cousin the hostess with
the mostest as she knows exactly how to entertain our kids and give them a night
to remember forever.  She turned her home into a spooktacular venue and served the
most delicious treats.  We feasted on chili and more candy than I care to admit, jumped
in the Spiderman jumper, baked pumpkin cookies, and did the Monster Mash on the
back porch.  A few things to remember from all the ghost and goblin fun:

1.  Brees hates all things Halloween and becomes a Stage IV Clinger at the sight of
anything  jack'o'lantern related.  I was not aware of her extreme vampire/Spiderman/orange lights/skeleton/pretty much anything else you can think
of aversion until we showed up at the party and she lost her mind.  The poor little love
spent the ENTIRE party in my arms with her thumb in her mouth and her legs
wrapped around me in a vice grip.  No matter how much we bribed her with cookies
and other goodies (what responsible moms we are), she would not budge.  Treat or
treating should be a BLAST this year!

2.  If either of my children scores some M&Ms Candy Corn White Chocolate Candies
this year in their Halloween baskets, no promises can be made on whether or not
said candies shall be present in the morning.  Mama needs a little treat now and then,
too.

3.  When your 8 year old decides to steal your makeup to vamp up her costume, make
sure she isn't using your long last red lip stain.  On her cheeks because she thought it
was blush. Ever.

Happy Halloween!!!