Happy Birthday to youuuuuu....

Yes Virginia, there IS a reason to smile on April 15th

.......its DEAN'S Birthday!
I bet he used this smile on his mom a LOT! And yes, it always works!!!

This is the man...
who I can't stay mad at....even when he throws the ball for Ginger the DAY she got her stitches out ,who will pull me into his lap when I start to cry, who hands me a tissue in movies BEFORE I start to cry, who makes sure the kids walk on the outside, while he walks on the inside....if you're a parent, you know what I'm talking about, who brings me Star buck's hot cocoa...even in summer because he knows I want it, who understands that underneath that tough girl exterior is a real softie that just wants everyone to get along ,who moves the furniture...again...and again...and again, who takes the kids to the mall because I HATE the mall, who fills the tub and lights the candles and lets me have some ME time while he tucks the kids in bed,
This is the man I thank God for everyday!
Happy Birthday honey, we love you!!!!

You're getting sleepy.........

going...

going...


gone.

something special

Yesterday at work I had a VERY nice surprise....you KNOW how I love nice surprises!

I had been asked by the art teacher to come see her in class.
I went in and she handed me this year's financial report for the parish.

It was opened to a pretty picture.....that Curly Girl had drawn!

I was soooooo excited. A picture she had drawn had been selected to be shown in the report...which is a pretty big deal.
I thanked the teacher and told her I couldn't WAIT to see the original and have it framed.
Then said told me there was ANOTHER surprise! She had submitted the picture to an art exhibit being held in the Governor's mansion. The exhibit showcases art from all the schools in the state.

Guess what? (you know already...right?)

Curly Girl's was ACCEPTED!

She told me that you never know when (or if) you'll get the original back so that is why she gave me a copy of the report.

Now we wait to find out WHEN the exhibit is so we can all truck over there...and see it in person.

So...forgive the picture of the picture (taken at night)...but I'm so proud of her.

Congratulations sweetie!

A Fairy Went A Marketing

Remember this post?... well, I got my package and everything is so cute. Missy even made us all little catalogs.


here is a close up of some of the goodies.

Many of these items are going to end up on my YOE tree...they are just too cute!

Thank you for hosting Missy!

April's Toy Society drop

I fell in love with these bunny finger puppets I found at purl-bee's blog.

Here is the link to make your own....

I made one in a hurry to take with us into New Orleans to the City Park. It was super easy which was great because I only had a few minutes to put it together.



We left it at the entrance to Story land.


The wind kept blowing the box between the lamb and Mary so you couldn't see it....I was tempted to move it but Dean convinced me to give it a while.

We went back about 2 hours later and drove up in time to see a little girl run off with it.

A day out.......

Dean had Good Friday off so we all went into New Orleans for the day.

Since Rip stick Boy's ankle was still messed up, we couldn't do too much walking.

Besides snowcones and lunch, we also went to the Sculpture Gardens in City Park.

Here are just a few of the photos Dean took.

This tree reminded us all of Mardi Gras....there are beads in trees EVERYWHERE this time of year. I really thought this one would be entitled "Mardi Gras Tree." But the artist called it the "Tree of Necklaces."


This spider was HUGE



I loved this one...called "Overflow"...reminded me of how my brain never stops....


This freaky one is called "Monkeys"....the texture on the hands and faces was disturbingly realistic. It was one of those sculptures that you could look at for a long time....weird!


I loved this one....but I'm a sucker for horses.


Of course, we had to check out Blue Dog....which had a yellow and red side...

anyone who knows me well, knows I ADORE tortoises and turtles. I would love to have this giant in my own garden....


RB's ankle was getting tired so instead of going through the Botanical Gardens, we took a paddle boat out...it was so much fun!

Here is a sweet little duck nest right by the paddle boat dock....


one of the many swans.....

here is a pretty bridge...there were 2 wedding parties here and both brides were getting photos taken on the bridge. One groom was crying...kinda loudly. We couldn't tell if they were tears of joy or regret!

a view of the Museum of Art...

make way for ducklings...


You could go back through part of the Sculpture Garden from the water..


and this one is in the water.....gorgeous. It was about 30 feet tall.

the kids enjoyed themselves...while Dean tried to soak them in the fountain!


We only rented the boat for an hour and all agreed that next time, we would rent it for much longer...there was so much we didn't get to explore!

Happy Easter everyone!

Ah, a little ME time......

bubble bath- check

chocolate-check

good book-check

good wine-check






cat....uh...cat?


hmmmm.....not quite sure he was invited......