The southern snowstorm

Yes, we got it. And boy, was it cool.

Will was again ridiculously excited. But the real story today is Laila. She was feeling much better today (finally!), for one. For two, during the light dusting of snow we got earlier this week, she was in school and it was gone by the time she was out. So today, was really her very first snow EVER.

That's right -- the kid was born in Louisiana, remember? So she was a bit confused and mystified. She'd of course seen representations of snow on TV, but I do think she was surprised at how COLD the white stuff really is. But she took Will's cue. He stayed out for quite a while, and I only let Laila out for a few minutes. But it was her first snow, and it was fun.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Let's go fly a kite!

Will got a new kite a few days ago, and we decided that instead of cursing the high winds because we can't get anything done outside, we'd take advantage of them and go fly a kite. Will's very proud of his "three-dimensional wingspan attached space shuttle." Anyway, after a crash course (pun intended) on kite aviation, we walked over to some empty lots in our neighborhood and let 'er fly.

I'm also trying out one of the lenses I got from Ben's parents' friends generous Nikon-tastic gift: a manual 50mm f/1.4. I LOVE this lens, and I'm really happy with the amazing speed and the great colors from it. I also used a filter with these, though I can't remember off the top of my head which it is. Anyway, I'm getting better with my manual settings, and I love this lens. So, with that...

Our day trip: Aquarium of the Americas, NOLA

Yes, despite the sorry state of our house and the number of home improvement projects begging to be completed, we decided life was too short to worry about the dishes and headed to New Orleans today. We thought about the zoo, but rain threatened, so we headed over to the Aquarium of the Americas.

We expected Will to enjoy it, but Adelaide's might have been the most enthusiastic visitor of all of us. I guess we should have expected it -- Adelaide + water + animals = Luuuuuuuv. Or something like that. She's a naturalist, to be sure, and she was thrilled at the visit. It also alleviated some mommy guilt on my part -- Go Diego Go was mentioned more than once today, and Adelaide even recognized the macaws and remembered their sound!

After the aquarium, we headed to Cafe du Monde...well, okay, not the original. Will was BEAT after traipsing around the exhibits, and while Ben and I were all for walking over to the French Market, neither of us desired to haul a tired 6-year-old on our backs. So we went to the one in Metairie, and WOW was it GOOD. I mean, INCREDIBLE. Will got a hot chocolate, Ben and I shared an iced cafe au lait, and Adelaide chowed down with the rest of us on some steaming hot beignets. We were left with full bellies and powdered sugar blizzards on our clothes...a good deal.

Photos from Will's birthday party

Will's birthday party

Come see Will's big project...

Will and Daddy Build a Computer

Indoor Kids (and mommy musings)

Okay, so I realized I hadn't been taking many photos lately. It's interesting -- when I wasn't writing, my camera was always at hand. It kept me sane in some ways, I guess -- I HAD to be creative somehow, and the camera was a stop-gap until I realized there was no reason to quit writing just because you have kids to take care of -- quite the contrary, actually.

Anyway, I've been pretty busy lately, and that is good. I was nervous for a while after I left the editing job at the local parenting publication because I didn't really feel like I knew what I was doing. But I have made some amazing friends who have helped me along the way (Sharon Anne Waldrop and Gina Roberts-Gray, whose bylines you might recognize, have been amazing!) and I'm seeing some very real progress. I don't want to post about the assignments I have right now because they can always get bumped, but I will definitely post when they do run.

But of course, this is titled "Indoor Kids," to match with my previous "Outdoor Kids" post. The kids love being outside, but my creative kids can definitely wreak havoc...I mean, PLAY... inside, as well, especially during March Madness and deadline time! Will loves the new Sumo Lounge we got -- I am going to review it soon for my column that runs in Baton Rouge Parents Magazine, but I'll give you a preview right now -- it's AWESOME! For one thing, both kids can comfortably be on it at once, which is an absolute Godsend for my family since when Adelaide sees Will do something, she MUST do it, as well, which leads to him often reluctantly surrendering his seating preference to avoid shrill-induced hearing loss. But with the huge Sumo Lounge, they completely don't have to -- they just plop down on it together. Anyway, the photo of him at the top is on the big Sumo Lounger, as he is often found.

Adelaide is, of course, into EVERYTHING. You can see the train table behind her -- she loves it, which has induced a bit of a train-lovin' renaissance in Will. (See, the "you have it, I want it" goes both ways here.) Anyway, they both play on it, but his is more construction while hers is, shall we say, deconstruction. For a girl who would wear frilly dresses and patent leather mary janes every day of the week if I'd let her, Adelaide certainly does love crashing cars and trains into each other. Then again, she's surely been watching brother. You can also see her "Pata-pata," as she calls him -- the darn thing plays patty cake every time you touch it's foot. We knew when Will was 1 that he was showing architect/engineer tendencies. Adelaide, if we are again correct, will be a vet. She loves animals, live and pretend, and treats them like baby dolls. Anyway, she's always finding something to do, and I'm hopeful that as she gets older, it will involve more fun playing like this and less hunting for leftover Adelaide snacks on she's left herself, Hansel and Gretel-Style, on floors in nearly every room of the house.

Anyway, that's my musings today on my indoor kids. I had a bit of writer's block before I started this, and now I'm feeling better, so I'm off to do some paying work with my renewed flow of wordiness. :)