Lucky Stars!

Isn't this quilt awesome? It's by the mom of one of my best friends from college. Her mom is a total sweetheart and an amazingly talented quilter. But what's special about this one is that it is part of the 2006 $100,000 Quilting Challenge! Please just take a moment to go to the Quilting Challenge website and vote for this quilt, Lucky Stars, by Sue Rivers. It is on the bottom row. She's done a lot of amazing quilts before, and I am so excited to see this one getting the attention it deserves! Thanks for voting! :-)

Thanksgiving

We had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. Ben's parents came down bearing bedding...no, seriously, they brought us a scrumptiously somnulent memory foam king bed that is so cuddly and comfy. It was nice for me and Ben to get some "time off" -- we even went to see the new Bond flick, which was actually pretty good! And we made more progress on the bathroom, thanks to Ben and his dad's hard work (pics later). Anyway, here's a little sampling of our weekend. It was nice, and now we can't wait to hit Dallas later this week...and then to Kentucky for Christmas later in December. Yay!

Woohoo! And the faithful shall be rewarded...

Nov. 26, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Adam "Pacman" Jones jumped up and down, waving his arms, encouraging the fans who stuck around to stand and cheer their Tennessee Titans.

He and Vince Young made it worth their while, too, delivering the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history with a stunning rally.

The Titans cornerback intercepted two passes and had a 23-yard punt return that revived his teammates in the fourth quarter. Then rookie quarterback Young finished off an improbable charge from a 21-point deficit to a 24-21 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.

"Wow," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said when it finally ended.

Two pipe cleaners and a MICROPHONE

Okay, this was the laugh of the day at our house. Background to this: At his school, Will's language arts teacher uses a little "helper" called "Mr. Googly-eyes." Mr. Googly-eyes is a tricky little fellow who will jump around while they're reading words and randomly stop and they have to stop...anyway, you get the idea. He's a stick with googly eyes that the teacher uses as a pointer.

Well, we've been doing our fair share of home reno's lately, and when you go to Lowe's and get paint, they give you a stirrer. So Will has taken one of them and decided he wanted to make his OWN Mr. Googly-eyes. So last night, we sat down together with some art supplies to create Mr. Googly-eyes long-lost brother. As Will discovered what all we had craft-wise, Mr. Googly-eyes became Mr. Googly-eyes goes to Bourbon Street -- he's a little wild and crazy looking. So we're laughing about that, and Will's like, okay, we're done gluing, so now I have a few things I want to draw. SO he went with a mouth (which he "x"'d out and redid a couple of times until he was happy with it...) and even some toes, okay, cute. Then...he begins drawing at Mr. G's waist. And it's...somewhat...cylindricle...with a circle on top...WILL! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DRAWING ON MR. GOOGLY-EYES????

"It's his microphone, Mommy. He has it clipped onto his belt."

Okay...so I'm trying really hard not to roll in the floor laughing. So I call Ben over to see Mr. G's microphone-belt. This did not help the laughing situation. He was trying to hide behind the door, doubled-over, laughing.

So meet ***Porn Star Microphone Mr. Googly-Eyes*** hehehe

Seriously. It's just clipped to his belt. Can't you tell?

I love the innocence of children. It can teach us, it can move us, but it can also make us have semi-asthmatic moments of attempted laughter suppression. Like this one.

My life...a glimpse

Yes, this is posed...well, I am, at least, and the kids are being themselves, which is what I intended to capture. I like the way it turned out...I think it says what I want it to say. What that is...well, I guess that's up to you. :-) 

Thank you for contacting Delta...it wasn't US! It was FREEDOM, not US!

This is the email I received today from Delta. I saw another one that a mother had posted to a message board that was essentially identical except for these two lines: The employees involved were
Freedom Airlines employees. No Delta employees were involved in the decision to remove Mrs. Gillette from the aircraft.

The mother who recieved that email had pointedly mentioned that it was illegal to do what she did in the state of Vermont, where the aircraft was at the time of the offense. Anyway, here's their not-so-timely but nonetheless necessary response:

Customer Care	Mon, Nov 20, 2006 at 5:04 PM
To: alyson.english@gmail.com
Dear Ms. English, Thank you for contacting us through delta.com. We are sorry for the delay in responding to your message. Delta Air Lines is disappointed to hear about the removal of the passenger onboard Freedom Airlines Flight 6160. As you may know, they are one of our Delta Connection partners. Delta supports a mother?s right to breastfeed her baby onboard our aircraft. Please let me assure you that we are working with Freedom Airlines on their investigation of this matter. Following the results of this internal investigation, Delta will work with Freedom (a subsidiary Mesa Air Group) to ensure that their procedures mirror Delta?s service standards. Please accept our apology for the poor impression, and we welcome further opportunities to be of service. Sincerely, Lewis Wright Online Customer Support Desk http://www.delta.com Original Message Follows: ------------------------ Email about Other topic: Comments: I am disgusted by the news that a woman was kicked off of a Delta flight for nursing her child. It further infuriates me that the Delta spokesperson acted like it was acceptable to ask a nursing mother to cover up. It ISN'T. She was feeding her child in the best, most natural way possible. How ignorant can you possibly be? Honestly, my words cannot begin to express the absolute antipathy I now posses for Delta. I will never fly it again, my family will never fly it again, and you'd better believe I am blogging this and posting it to online message groups and encouraging everyone I know to withhold their business from a company so ignorant that once the flight attendant's abject stupidity was relayed, couldn't even manage to figure out that DELTA was in the wrong and release a statement to that effect. Welcome to the next millennium Delta. Your business plan shows you're behind the times, and apparently your customer awareness does to. Besides, what was she supposed to do? Pump her milk? I don't think that would have been allowed on the plane. Those scary liquids, they get you every time. Thank you so much for showing my family and everyone I know what kind of company you really are right before the busy holiday travel season. We'll enjoy flying on your competitors airlines even more now. Alyson L. English

grout, grout baby

Well, progress again -- baby steps for us, lol. We have got the grout in! Yay! Now we just have to let it set and then clean and seal it...and then we can finally put the sink and potty back in. Very exciting. We are really happy with how it looks, though -- I was unsure, at first, about the slate and how it would look, but Ben and I are both pleased now that were seeing how it is really going to look. We are going to have to get the grout haze off the slate, and we want to seal it so that the slate keeps its nice coloration. Then moulding, fixtures...

*sigh*

We have so much left to do. 

Delta: Fly the ignorant skies

No. Way.

I was completely taken aback when I read this. My first reaction was disbelief; my second was disgust and anger. Take a moment to read this story pasted below this message, which I cut and pasted from MSNBC.com. If you have the same reaction I did, please email Delta and let them know how you feel.

I encourage you to pass this along to others who need to know what kind of company they are dealing with when they fly Delta, as well.

What makes me the maddest is that rather than immediately saying the flight attendant was in the wrong and the mother had every right to nurse her child, the airline basically said it was okay to blatantly discriminate against a nursing mother because she wouldn't smother her child with a blanket while she nursed. I fail to see how sitting by the window in the next-to-last row with her husband in between her and the aisle was so offensive they needed to be removed from the flight. It sounds to me like the individual flight attendant, roaming the aisles, had some sort of backwards personal objection to naturally feeding a child and decided she didn't want them on there. It sets an extremely dangerous precedent if flight attendants are allowed to remove paying customers simply because they are made uncomfortable by their own ignorance.

Confront the ignorance. Email the airline, and if you feel so compelled, take your business elsewhere.

thanks,
alyson

Woman kicked off plane for breast-feeding baby

BURLINGTON, Vt. - A woman who claims she was kicked off an airplane because she was breast-feeding her baby has filed a complaint against two airlines, her attorney said.

Emily Gillette, 27, of Santa Fe, N.M., filed the complaint with the Vermont Human Rights Commission late last week against Delta Air Lines and Freedom Airlines, said her attorney, Elizabeth Boepple. Freedom was operating the Delta flight between Burlington and New York City.

Gillette said she was discreetly breast-feeding her 22-month-old daughter on Oct. 13 as their flight prepared to leave Burlington International Airport. She said she was seated by the window in the next-to-last row, her husband was seated between her and the aisle and no part of her breast was showing.

A flight attendant tried to hand her a blanket and told her to cover up, Gillette said. She declined, telling the flight attendant she had a legal right to breast-feed her baby.

Moments later, a Delta ticket agent approached and said the flight attendant had asked that the family be removed from the flight, Gillette said. She said she didn't want to make a scene and complied.

"It embarrassed me. That was my first reaction, which is a weird reaction for doing something so good for a child," Gillette said Monday.

A Freedom spokesman said Gillette was asked to leave the flight after she declined the blanket.

"A breast-feeding mother is perfectly acceptable on an aircraft, providing she is feeding the child in a discreet way," that doesn't bother others, said Paul Skellon, spokesman for Phoenix-based Freedom. "She was asked to use a blanket just to provide a little more discretion, she was given a blanket, and she refused to use it, and that's all I know."

A complaint against two airlines was filed with the Vermont Human Rights Commission, although Executive Director Robert Appel said he was barred by state law from confirming the complaint. He said state law allows a mother to breast-feed in public.

The Vermont Human Rights Commission investigates complaints and determines whether discrimination may have occurred. The parties to a complaint are given six months to reach a settlement. If none is reached, the commission then decides whether to go to court. A complainant can file a separate suit in state court at any time.

--------------------------
Update: hehehe

Here's an automated response I received after blasting Delta at that handy little link shown above (the emphasis is mine):

Your email to Delta (KMM14287997I41L0KM)
1 message
Customer Care Tue, Nov 14, 2006 at 10:34 PM

Thank you for taking the time to get in touch with us. We appreciate
every opportunity to listen to our customers and act upon what we hear.
Our response to your e-mail may take a little longer than usual due to
the high number of customers who have contacted us recently. In the
meantime, thanks for your patience.

AS THIS IS AN AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED MESSAGE, PLEASE DO NOT REPLY.

Sooooo...what are you waiting for? Let them know their actions and response are unacceptable!

I thought it was OUR bathroom!

Adelaide asks, "Why, oh why can't I come check it out?"
Sorry, Adelaide. We're just not done yet! The weekends just aren't long enough to let it all set...we're grouting asap!

 

And now for something completely different...

Diaper Diva strikes again!

 

 

I adore the floor

 Well, this is definitely progress, eh? Ben worked all afternoon on this, and although it isn't clean yet, I think you can see that it is going to be pretty great. Now work with me here -- take the vessel unit and imagine it on this floor...except clean...oh, you get it. We're so excited to FINALLY be making some progress :-) 

My find

No, not Ben's butt -- the vessel sink! Randomly was on clearance at the Lowes near Will's school -- the unit, the marble countertop and the vessel bowl...for $140! I am feeling soooooooo Lisa LaPorta about it! Anyway, it was on some strange clearance...we couldn't see anything at all wrong with it -- it was up on one of those "don't touch" displays -- and snatched it up. Now we do have to buy a really expensive vessel faucet, BUT we had paid about $140 for a crappy little vanity unit that we were going to have to buy a countertop for, and it wouldn't have looked NEARLY as nice. So we're feeling good right now...knock on wood...

Anyway, do you like the color we finally decided on? We do! We've also decided to do a crown moulding on the ceiling and a base moulding on the floor around the tile. We think it will dress it up a lot. Now we just have to actually get the TILE down! Which, I don't know if I mentioned, we also "stole." We got it at the Habitat of Humanity ReStore in BR. It is verrrrrrry hit and miss, but we managed a hit this time, with some cool rectangular and square bone-colored natural tiles. We also got some inexpensive slate tiles to mix in. Can't wait to get it laid down, now so we can get this bathroom functioning again -- we have to lock the door so poor Will doesn't mistakenly pee on the concrete floor during his middle of the night..eh, call of nature. Anyway, consider this a sneak peek at what we HOPE will be 99% finished this weekend! 

I voted!

It wasn't the most exciting vote ever -- I still remember standing in a line that went out the door at my HUGE church in Kentucky during the 2000 Presidential elections. I wore my "I voted" sticker proudly that day -- it was an exercise in patience and perseverance! Anyway, more or less just a bunch of constitutional measures on our local ballot this time, but I wanted to go vote to allow a local area to incorporate their own school district outside of EBR's failing district. Plus I fondly remember going to the polls with my mother every time there was an election. What's funny is that I realize now that she HAD to take us because school was out, but then I just loved going and watching her pull the levers. It really showed me that it was something you don't "think about" doing -- you just do it. So hopefully I can instill that in my munchkins, which started today when Will went into the booth with me, for the first time aware and understanding what was going on. In some ways, I'm even prouder I packed my kids up and voted today than I am of sticking it out in line in 2000. Then it was clear what was on the line, and everyone was getting to the polls. Today, turnout will be light and there will be constitutional measures passed that will make a difference but aren't glamorous enough to inspire passion and mass migration to polling places...and I voted anyway. That's the lesson to teach my kids.

Thanks to my #1 Crafty Girl Tanya Nichols for the super-cute voting illo at the top of the page!

For your viewing pleasure...

Okay, you can sort of see the Smurf Gunk behind the new colors. These are some of the others I tried. Try not to laugh too hard when you see the green I thought was great in the store. Anyway, I think we're going with this steel "Wedgwood" blue -- we are using both slate and an "ibiza bone" looking tile -- it will look cool...we hope... 

Paint Mortification

I am bad at picking paint.

I am GOOD at picking colors that go together, but somehow, the colors on those little cards never translate well to the walls of my home. *sigh* I have now tried THREE colors in the redone bathroom -- one because I was cheap and the previous owners left it here -- I thought it was a nice light blue but it came out looking like something a smurf sneezes out...okay, I don't really know what that would look like, but it was ugly. Then I tried a nice blue that I actually successfully picked out. It's a nice color, but there are NO windows in this hall bath, and with the tile we've chosen, it didn't look to good either.

So I went back to Lowe's today to find a new paint color. I thought I'd picked a nice warm, muted green color that, on the walls, appears more like a muddy grass stain mixed with newborn baby poop. Excuse my graphic color descriptions, but seriously -- I hate it.

BUT, on the upside, I did find an AWESOME vessel sink with a stand, a granite top, and the vessel for less than $150! It was the display model on uber-clearance, but this particular model happened to be way up high where every random passerby couldn't grope its bowl, and it is in good shape. I'm VERY happy because we thought we'd purchased an all-in-one on the cheap only to discover it had no top. But it all turned out better this way. NOW we just have to return the other...which should be fun...

Anyway, my paint pain continues. I still think a nice green, or maybe a true Wedgwood blue would look nice...but crap, who knows? Certainly not me.

Halloween photos...finally!

Trunk or Treat and Halloween

Yes, finally, some Halloween photos. Click on the image above to see the album.

The womanly art of spackling

Well, we are finally doing it. After thoroughly enjoying a year and a half of irritation the previous homeowners left us in the form of the front room bath, it is time for the healing to begin. Yes, we would walk in and behold the nasty berber carpet, the toilet that wobbled, the gray and white striped wallpaper, and the toilet paper holder that we had to reposition because apparently Mr. Crooked lived here before and enjoyed torturing others with his DIY mishaps. Ah, the memories.

So we actually really got down to business last night. After trying to take the wallpaper of with scrapers and physical prowess, we rented a steamer. So last night and today we steamed off the wallpaper, occasionally taking a little bit of the drywall with it. We took out the vanity unit and pulled up the carpet, pad, tackstrip and molding. The mirror is gone, as well. So after we finished all of that, it was time to start patching those wall gouges before we could prime.

And I have discovered something about myself -- there is something strangely calming to me about spackling. I love it. Glopping the goop, spreading, evening out...it's totally zen to me. I mean, next time I've had a bad day, I think I'll just go spackle somewhere to calm down.

Anyway, we're taking a break now while the spackle dries so we can sand and hopefully prime tonight, as well. I am taking photos of the process, and I'll post them later. But right now, since I am done spackling, I decided I'd reminisce on my happenstance discovery of this lovely aspect of DIY. Now back to work!

Help us, John Kerry!

What better illustration of the fundamental STUPIDITY of what Kerry said than the very people he insulted showing that his words were so incorrect and ridiculous that they only want to laugh in his face?











The fact that he says it was a "botched joke" does not excuse what he said -- the reality is that he would never have said it that way if he didn't think it were true.

The reality is that all educational levels are represented in our armed forces. But there are other choices for people than to join -- and that is just it -- it is a CHOICE. Maybe he doesn't agree with the choice, but that just further illustrates why he has no right leading this country in any capacity: An inability to realize that people are making a conscious choice based upon their personal goals and ethics is a fault that is mutually exclusive of someone who needs to be able to listen to the many sides of an issue before jumping to conclusions.

Yes, realistically, many in politics today are motivated by black and white, line-in-the-sand mentalities on both sides of the political fence. And it isn't okay either time. But as my five-year-old would say, "You shouldn't say someone is stupid." Say that what they did was stupid (like pull out in front of you in traffic and dart through a busy intersection -- that's usually when I get chastised by the Kindergarten Morality Police), but saying that someone is stupid...it is a word that should never be used as an adjective for a person. It demeans and dehumanizes.

So why would John Kerry do that to the troops? It certainly didn't work out in his best interest. I guess I would just have to say that it might have been his own "intellectual laziness" -- the laziness of not bothering to look beyond the political mores upon which you define yourself -- that made him do such a "stupid" thing.

Prayers for Jana

Hi, everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to tell you all about my friend Jana. I am a member of an online group for moms, and we are all very close. Jana is one of us. She has four children (and two dogs) and is in neurological intensive care right now. She had surgery to remove an angioma in her brain. She's had some setbacks with seizures since coming out of surgery, and she could really use your prayers.

Her husband, Brad, is doing an awesome job updating their CaringBridge site. You can see it here if you're interested. He's reading the guestbook to her when she's lucid, so just signing and telling them you're praying for them would mean a lot.

Thanks, everyone.

Here comes the bride

Bride looks pretty...Groom does all the work, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

And the groom, in the background, keeping her on schedule :-)

There goes the bride

There goes the bride, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Me and the little princess

Great view, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

The reception site was just beautiful, and the weather couldn't have been better. Here Laila and I smile for Daddy out back...

Lookin' sweet

Lookin' sweet, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Wow -- what a cake! Will is impressed...

The best school pictures EVER

No, seriously. I about fell out of my seat when I saw these. Why is it that whenever I got my school picture proofs, I always had a wayward hair, a half-closed eye, or icky-looking skin...not to mention the side ponytails and coral lip gloss. But somehow, my child comes home with these incredible photos...and I even forgot it was photo day and sent him to school in a brown t-shirt that says "rock on!" on the front of it. He's just so cute, though, he can't help it. :-) 

Funny Girl

Sunny Days sweeping the clouds away, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

She was making such adorable faces, I just had to take her outside in her pretty dress and have some fun...and fun was had. Oh, have I mentioned how HOT it still is here? Hello? October? Someone wake up fall. He overslept.

Locks of love!

Well, I had recently decided that two YEARS was long enough to go without a haircut, and I thought that while the long hair was really pretty for a while, it was starting to look a little stringy and dowdy. So I made an appointment at the Baton Rouge Aveda Institute, which rocks, because they use all Aveda products and really great student stylists, and you can seriously get a haircut for $11. Wow.

So I went in and I was like, "It's too long!" And that's when she pointed out to me that it was in fact so long that I could donate to Locks of Love and still be able to have some decent length. So we did it, and I am so pleased! Okay, this is a picture taken by a five-year-old who is supremely excited to be using mommy's expensive camera after mommy has has a LOOOOOOOONG day with the chillins -- Daddy in in Kansas City, and the kids had a photo shoot today for an ad for a local store...and they weren't their normal pliant selves. Seriously, it was like pulling teeth! Hopefully they got a couple of good ones...Anyway, here is my "new look," and I am so happy I was able to do something good with all that extra hair! 

Well, at least Will only bought a $7 video game...

Okay, in this article from Reuter's "Oddly Enough," this kid gets an entire story because he bought a pink convertible off ebay. Bah! He probably just saw it on the homepage. It didn't require him to, say, type in a search term, read the description, and THEN hit "buy it now."

But seriously, this is how Will bought a Spy Kids computer game off ebay when he was three years old! I had left myself signed into ebay and he used the "Buy it Now" option. Of course, his game was only $7 and I just paid it and decided I had a good story to tell. Probably because when he did it, I had recently tried to explain to the cable company that it was my three-year-old that had purchased the Spiderman 2 pay-per-view and they were NOT nice about it, and Verizon was also completely unforgiving when I tried to explain that, in fact, my preschooler was the one sending text messages, not us. So I figured, $7, you know, whatever.

At least it wasn't pink. ;-)

*sigh* Meet Will, via Calvin...

Wow...this is so us. I don't know how many times we've marveled at his absorption in his building toys, only to conclude "He'll probably grow up to be an architecht." And we KNOW he's got a wild imagination...Click image to view larger! 

Bye, guys! We'll miss you!

Ann and Joey are leaving for Montgomery this week. They've been our closest friends since we moved here, and it is a pretty sad thing to see them go. Tonight we went out, with several other friends from church, to Ichibans, a japanese steakhouse. Will pretty much loved it, except for when the fire "scared him out of the crap," as he would say. But he loved it when the griller started flipping egg bits into people's mouths! In the picture, Eddie and Karen White; George and Carolyn Myer; Greg and Sally Palmer; Tim, Rachel, and Maya Wylie; Joey and Ann; Hannah, Eddie and Karen's daughter is holding Will, and then us of course. *sigh* we're going to miss you, Ann and Joey! 

LEGO master

Yes, I have two children...and here is the little prince..., originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

He is really good, don't you think?

One-year-old portraits...*sigh*...one year...

One-year-old portraits...*sigh*...one year..., originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Well, after a bout of illness on little missy's part (she's fine now -- apparently just a viral bug that causes fever -- was better in about 48 hours), the weather was finally cool enough that I felt inspired to go outside and get some "real" one-year-old portraits. We went into the backyard and caught a few, and then we went to Independence Park's Botanical Gardens. She was pretty interested in most everything there, particularly the rocks. I had to fish several out of her mouth. They were those little pebble-type ones, which, I have to admit, do look somewhat like the might be in the general baby snack food genre. Nonetheless, I would have thought after the second or third time she tried to bite down on it, she would have learned.

Thankfully, however, she has learned that a stern look and an open palm in front of her face mean "Get whatever is in your mouth OUT and put it in my hand."

I was pretty pleased with these results. If you click on the photo, it will take you to the flickr photo page. From there, you can click on each individual square's notes (it will say "larger" when you mouse over it) to see a bigger image.

joy in motion

joy in motion, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Can anyone believe that my babies are this big now? I can't. They can play together so well when they want to, despite the age difference. Chase is one of their favorite games. Do you see how real the smiles on their faces are? Wonderfully, beautifully real.

fashion queen

fashion queen, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

have I mentioned SHE is the one who goes for frilly frou-frou? This was her cousin's tinkerbell outfit, lent to us for Adelaide. I had stored it away when we got it because it was just too big. But recently I was going through her closet to look for some hand-me-downs for a friend of mine, and I found it. I got it out and hung it up with her other outfits, not thinking too much about it.

Well, usually, after she wakes up, I will change her diaper, then walk her over to her closet and stand there trying to decide what to put on her. Lately, however, she's started exerting the force of her own personality and trying to pull and make choices herself. Of course, the first time Princess Poopy Pants spotted this deliciously diva outfit, she had to wear it. The hat? Gymboree. I know. But she wanted it, and who am I to trump child-like creativity?

Happy birthday, baby

chocolate-flavored paper plates ROCK!, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Some kids cry when they're sung to. They turn their nose up at the cake and just want to be done with the whole thing...not Adelaide! Once she'd finished off her cake, she went for the plate, too.

She had a great 1st birthday. :-)

I said I wouldn't succumb to the whole "princess" thing

I said I wouldn't succumb to the whole "princess" thing, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Aw, but mom got her the crown, and she has such this little "princess" thing...I have never encouraged frilly and feathers, and I've never intentionally "blinged" her...but she LIKES it. SHE wants to wear the frilly dresses and change her shoes three times during the day. And what can I do...it's about letting her be herself, after all. That's all I want.

Happy Birthday, Adelaide!

One year in a life, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

I can't believe she will be one year old on Saturday. What a year it has been!

Mommy Seuss

She won't sleep.

She won't sleep at night, or during the day -- it doesn't matter at all what I do or what I say.

She screams and she jumps, she tosses about. She throws her bottle and pacifier out.

Her anger is real -- her face is so red! I don't know what to do...but she must go to bed!

I feel like a mommy who is bad and uncaring, but I can't take much more of this tantrum that's blaring.

She needs to sleep, and she needs to sleep long. I know this, I do, but it still feels so wrong.

I have no more tricks up the proverbial sleeve, and gas costs way too much to just up and leave.

I have sang, I have held, I have snuggled, I have rocked, and now I just sit and stare at the clock.

When will it stop? When will she rest? When will she lay her head in her nest?

These answers I have not, though a headache I do. So I'll just take more Excedrin and change some more poo.

And now that that's done (and she continues to wail), I seek a happy ending to this sad tale.

But my only solution (I can't tell a lie) is to let her stay in her bed and cry.

*sigh*

His first day of Kindergarten

His first day of Kindergarten, originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

Here's a mosaic of his first day...he was so calm, I was so anxious...he was so happy, I was so sentimental...
1. All ready to go -- his brand new backpack he designed himself on LL Bean and his "WILL" lunchbox (in LSU colors, of course, *sigh*)
2. Come on, Mommy! Let's GO!
3. He's so relaxed. He was totally calm, picked up a book that was in the backseat, started looking at it on the drive, no worries for him.
4. Welcome to Runnels, Will! Here is your cubby for your lunch and your snack...
5. And here is your locker for your backpack and other items. Look! It has your name on it!
6. We love you Will! Have a great day...
7. Cool, coloring. I'm all set!
8. Okay...he's at school, coloring, and has already talked to a few of the kids...guess it's time for us to leave now...and I have a Kindergartener.

Wow.

me

making peace with myself
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quoi.

I took this today when I was laying around trying to get some good shots of Adelaide. Not entirely sure how I feel about it, except that it is me...

Having fun together

Daddy is on the computer. Will wants to be on the computer. Will sits on daddy's lap on the computer. Adelaide thinks she is as big as them. Adelaide likes to play with Will. Adelaide likes to play with Daddy. Adelaide decides to join them.

Fun ensues. 

shoes you can use

Will wouldn't leave his shoes on...guess who won't take hers off? She looooooves her footwear. Seriously. 

blahhhhh