LEGO to help "rebuild" NOLA schools...

This is a really cool bit of info. It caught my eye because Will is LEGO-obsessed, but I really think it is a cool idea.

Apparently LEGO will collect the bricks and make a brick-for-brick matching donation to New Orleans schools. Some of the donated bricks will be used to construct a model of the rebuilt city, as envisioned by local New Orleans children and kids across the country, to be donated to the city as a public work of art.

The website says this: "Through the LEGO Builders of Tomorrow program, children are encouraged to donate one or more of their LEGO bricks and send drawings, photos or notes describing something they think would help New Orleans become a strong city again. Each child who donates one or more of their bricks will receive a LEGO-studded rubber bracelet to recognize their contribution to the cause."

I just think it is really a great idea -- I think I'll talk to Will about it tonight and we'll pick out some of his to send along. I would love to feel like we were able to be a part of an outreach to the kids of New Orleans. Besides, it is really a chance to share some child-like joy and imagination to help resurrect some of the art and spirit of NOLA that still seems waterlogged even after all these months.

bad mommy! bad!

easter bunny baby
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Okay, yes. Yes! I do horrible, humiliating things to my children that they will hate me for when they are teenagers.

With Will I seemed to need to photograph his early bathing experiences ad nauseam, and with Adelaide, it appears I must put her in ridiculously cute costumes and make her submit to my photographic will.

But how did it happen? How did I become a mother exploiting the chubby cherubic baby girl I love? Well...it all just came together -- I got the diaper cover for like a quarter at a garage sale. And then, one fateful day at Target...it happened. I walked by the ever-tempting junk at the dollar spot and I saw them. Pink. Fuzzy. And ridiculously adorable.

It was just all laid out for me, right there...and then, I did it. I picked up the pink bunny ears and placed them on her head. And my conscience spoke to me. NO! it said. NO! This is wrong! You cannot do this to your daughter!

But then...well, there was an ever so slight giggle from behind me. I turned to see a woman looking adoringly at my daughter.

"I shouldn't," I said to her, pleading with her to agree with me. "I shouldn't...it's just wrong!"
She smiled. "I have three boys," she said, still smiling, but now with an ever so slight look of longing twinkling in her laughing eyes. "If I had a girl, I would do it, too."

And there. She had done it. Sealed my daughter's fate as a baby bunny frozen in photographic time. With only the 25 cent bunny diaper cover to beckon me, I was safe. I had bought it, yes, but it had sat, dormant, for a week. It was the ears that did it. The combination of the two...well, it was too potent for any mother to resist. Like muses from the Odyssey, they sang to me of the fleeting moments of babyhood, the cuteness that it would be, and the realization that no child at all aware of themselves would consent to such a photo. Poor Adelaide. I was just too weak to resist!

I suppose I could have just taken the photos and kept them to myself. I could have sat back, admired my work, and gone on with life. But alas, I am weak! The grandparents...they're so far away! Her aunt and uncle...they would just love to see this. And there it went. To my flickr page, and now, to my blog. I won't tell you all there are more photos of her like this if you go to the flickr page, though. That too would be wrong.

My consolation lies in the fact that one, she is a girl. This isn't Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" bedecked in pink fuzziness at the age of eight. And two...well...okay, maybe there isn't a number two. Maybe I just need to admit to myself that I have done it for my own satisfaction and be done with the guilt.

Or maybe I should store these away for when she's in high school and they ask for pictures of her as a baby for the obligatory section in her senior yearbook. I bet looking back then, I will be glad I did it.

At least that's what I'm telling myself now. Because I am glad now, really. I love it, and I am going to enjoy it. So no guilt, right? Just loving that I have a beautiful baby...who can't argue yet.

My friend Tanya's hilarious illo

sketch
Originally uploaded by loveforhim16.

Okay, I saw this today and I had to post it, because the bottom thing with the little boy and the cat is just sooooo Will! Now, I do have to say if this were Will and cousin Caroline at Ma and Gaggy's house, well...the cat would be pursued by two tormentors!

easter kids

easter bunny baby
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

I don't know. They're just the cutest ever.

hmmmm

hmmmm
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

This is a really fun photo of Adelaide from yesterday -- she is considering whether she would prefer her graham cracker or her fingers in her mouth.

riding in style

riding in style
Originally uploaded by je ne sais quois.

Here is adelaide in her new carseat that we bought after she and Ben got rear-ended the other day. Both Ben and the pediatrician said that even though they were only rear ended (though "not a tap," as ben puts it) you should always replace the carseat after any kind of impact.

Thing is, Ben got a fair case of whiplash. Adelaide, however, was fine because she was rear-facing and in her seat correctly. Otherwise, she could have had some neck and back injuries. Thus, we purchased a seat that would allow her to be rear-facing up to 30 lbs.

Yes, that is a lot of staring out the back, but she's never known any different. And rear-ending happens in BR more than any other place I've ever known. So we aren't taking chances.

Besides, it looks pretty comfy to me.

It's in their genes...

Took some pix of the kids with books the other day...appropriate for Will, of course, my ultra-precocious bibliophile. Adelaide, however, has started enjoying books quite a bit herself! Okay...enjoying chewing on them, but it's a step...I love these pix of them with their lit!

 

super-spin-mom

super-spin-mom
Originally uploaded by secret agent josephine.

From flickr -- I love this woman's work because it is so my life!!! This is really one of my absolute favorites and I just had to post it...a picture IS worth a thousand words!

Check out Murray State on ESPN2's Cold Pizza

Is that teddy ruxpin?

Teddy_200x243
Originally uploaded by jenninn.

OMG, I found this on flickr -- that is Teddy Ruxpin! My brother LOVED his teddy ruxpin, which to today's kids would be a crude precursor to Furby-like animatronic plushies. (just ask my son) But I have fond memories of Teddy, such as constantly helping my much-younger brother change his batteries. Ahhh, Teddy...where art thou?

Adelaide version 6.5

So she's 6 1/2 months old...and I got the picture bug! This is a sampling...go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/alyson_mcnutt_english/ to see more of her, the kids, and general family pix...I just went "pro," which means I paid so I could have unlimited photo storage. We just knew soooo many people who lost photos in the hurricane, and I just thought online storage was the way to go. I plan to keep adding more, older ones too, periodically. We have really older digitals on a disc in a safety deposit box, but the ones we don't, I plan to upload. But you can always visit the about link and check out any new stuff I've put up!


 

One down, 19,999 to go! Way to get the job done, FEMA!

Passed this on the spillway headed into New Orleans. It was not, if you were wondering, part of a caravan.

Go FEMA. Woohoo. One trailer.

At least one more family will have a place to lay their heads. I am happy for them.

But who would have ever considered that it might be a good idea to get temporary housing for people before kicking them out of hotels?

Nah. To much thinking. Says FEMA: head...hurts...can't...think...critically..... 

Mystique -- the kids first Mardi Gras parade...

Here are my favorite photos from the Krewe Mystique de la Capitale parade from this afternoon. We got SO. MUCH. STUFF. I mean, people were running over handing the kids stuffed animals, bling-o-riffic beads, and all sorts of goodies. Will had a great time, and Adelaide loved the music and bands. It was cold and a little rainy, but we all are glad we went. Next time, however, we're bringing a bag so Adelaide can actually ride back to the car in her stroller. (What you can't see is that beyond the stuff in the seat, the basket under the stroller seat is bulging with stuff!)


 

ha ha ha ha ha another good one

Once again, found this on flickr -- not one of mine, but awesome nonetheless... 

HILARIOUS -- THIS is Mardi Gras!

I use flickr (see my little flash thingy to the left -- that's flickr) anyway, I had loaded all my mardi gras photos on there, and I thought I'd do a search for other mardi gras photos, and I came upon this one. Looking at it, I knew it was supposed to be NOLA mayor Ray Nagin...but I didn't know what it was all about until I read the caption...









"This is going on a "Chocolate City" float. Mayor Nagin will be playing the race card."

If you don't get it, check out this link http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/suburban/2210102.html 

Happy baby

She was just cheesing the whole time I was taking these pictures.

 

Be my Valentine

They are the best Valentines in the world...they give me love, I give them love, and they remind me of how much love I share with my husband.

(Quit making gagging noises! We really are that sweet!) 

Cutie Pies

They were so good natured about my picture-taking...I guess they're used to it... 

Kisses and Love

Will gives his baby sister a smackeroo on the head.

This is different than the smackeroos on the head I am anticipating in a few years. 

"My Funny Valentines..."

They are funny, let me tell you...