a super student and sunsets

When I dropped off Aislynn at school on Monday, I looked in her cubby and saw this certificate: Super Student of the Week. She was the super student last week and she didn't even tell us! She said she forgot? Well, I wanted to make a big deal out of it so we surprised her with cupcakes after dinner. So proud of her!!! Just can't figure out how she forgot?? Maybe she thinks she is just so fabulous that it wasn't a big deal, ha ha;)

Something we have been doing lately is eating dinner early then walking on the beach. With all the off-on rainstorms we have been getting, the sunsets have been looking really cool! Eastern Lake was pretty shallow, so we splashed and played around in it one night:I guess they have been taking water samples and the Gulf is okay...still a teensy bit skeptical but we haven't been seeing tarballs for awhile now so maybe it is fine. Just waiting for all the gross seaweed to go away and then maybe we will go swimming in the Gulf again.

Oh, and if any of you were wondering, the collage was made at bighugelabs.com:)

I have 2 layouts to share from last week...haven't had much time to create anything lately:( I have a big order of pictures (Thanks Candi!!) from snapfish that should come soon and then I can get to scrapping! I need to catch up on my sewing class too, I have really fallen behind!

I used a sketch from Studio Calico for the one above. I made this for Candi's use older product challenge. The papers are at least 2 years old and those letters are at least 18 months old. I scraplifted a layout by Kandis Smith. *Oh and Becky, yup a 12x12...kinda miss the square sometimes:) Have a great weekend everyone!

the one with the slump

I have felt like I have been in a slump this week. I think it's still trying to get in some kind of routine, I was sick to my stomach and throwing up all day one day, and Aislynn's behavior has been not the best some days, which has been really frustrating to Shaun and I. But we have had a couple of talks with her and will make a few changes here and there and we should hopefully see some changes in her behavior. So I haven't felt much like taking pictures or blogging. Despite that, there were some major highlights in the week but first here the few snaps I got this week:She has been wearing her sunglasses a lot lately, pretending to be a movie star;) He has been a stinker this week...def. testing his limits lately...

And the back of his hair...I think I am just going to wait to cut it;)

Monday night, we met Brynne and Sean at the Red Bar, one of our fave restaurants...the atmosphere is so cool, and they had a band that night. We only saw a few songs before we headed out to put those crazy kids to bed:)

And this picture below is what happens when both kids get up around 5 a.m. This was about 2.5 hours later:)

We took quite a few beach walks this week. We saw rainbows 2 nights (all the rain this week might have had something to do with my mood too), and some amazing sunsets. I also had a very proud mama moment when I picked A up from school and her teachers commented that I didn't tell them my child was brilliant. They said she read a book to the class and that they were so impressed with the words she was reading and not even having to sound them out. One of the little boys Mom told me that Matthew loves Aislynn. She said he talks about her all the time and the other day he said, "Mom, Aislynn can read and she knows all the animals!" LOL. So cute...

Aislynn also is signed up for a cooking class at school, so on Tuesdays she gets picked up an hour later. She loved it...they made meatballs with noodles stuffed inside and she ate them for dinner that night.

Well, here's to hoping this week has a little bit better vibe to it and we can slip into a routine:) I will hopefully take more pictures and blog more too:)

the one with the updates

It's been awhile since I posted about what this little guy is up to, so I thought I would give a little update:) First some pictures though... Love the one below...he looks so cute:D

He loves this little push thing (we never know what to call it...bike, car, truck? Aislynn calls it a bike). Although this is the cause for most of his bumps and boo boos...he trips over it while pushing it over even stands on the seat part.

And just a picture I caught kinda by accident, but fits perfectly for this stage right now: one busy blur of a little boy. So right now, Mr. K is up to:

• walking ALL over the place...it's amazing how quick they get fast
• knows where his hair, eyes, ears, nose, belly, tongue, and teeth are
• says "ba" for ball and block (you know what he means by which one he is holding, says "da" for dog, "ea" for eat, and says "boo ba" and "di da" a lot (not sure what they mean though)...he started saying "boo ba" after he heard me say "booyah" so maybe that is what that means, lol
• has become quite the ham, especially at dinner, he loves to make us laugh
• he dances...which is hilarious to watch, he wiggles his shoulders and bounces up and down, so funny!
• is def. getting more vocal about when he wants something...he makes noise and points in the general direction of what he wants...oh and if you take something away that he wants, he is very good at letting you know he is mad about that;)
• finally will sit still for other books besides Blue Train Green Train and Goodnight Moon

Okay, that's all I can think of off the top of my head...we are so enjoying this personality of his that is coming through, seriously can't imagine this little dude not in our lives!!

And here are my latest scrappy pages: The one above, I lifted from Heather Bowser. And that one I lifted from Kelly Goree.

The sewing class started and is going very interesting:) It's harder to sew on fabric...more slippery than paper. I am also terrible at sewing in a straight line. Really really really hoping this is one of those things that practice makes perfect;)

the one on the first day

All week last week she was so nervous until we got a backpack on Friday. Then it was all "When is it my first day of school?" "Is tomorrow my first day of school?" So today was like Christmas morning, I think due to the nervousness mixed with excitement, and she got up at about 6 a.m. She was a star when it came to taking the first day photos: New hair bow, new dress, new shoes:)

She said she was this excited:

She was so excited when we got to school and gave me a big hug and Kieran a big kiss and said "Have a good day with Kieran, Mom." She even told a little girl that was shy, "Some school students are nervous on the first day, but it's okay."

When we picked her up, she was a grumpy, cranky mess. She didn't want to talk about her day or tell me what they did. I think, well KNOW, that she was super tired and it was lunch time. Later though, she filled Shaun and I in on the day. She said they had circle time where all the kids shouted their names, then stations. She picked the kitchen station where her and 2 other girls (she couldn't remember anyone's names...not even the teachers) pretended to make breakfast (fried eggs and bread). She told me "Mom, we pretended we were princesses! I was Cinderella, one girl was Belle, and one was Princess Aurora!" Then they played outside for a little bit, "but not too long because it was so hot." And they had circle time again where the teacher read a story and then they danced. She told me she didn't follow the other kid's moves, she just did what moves she wanted to do:) She brought home 2 pictures she colored, thankfully...as she was quite concerned that her backpack would be empty:) So she did have a good day and she told me she was excited for her second day of school! Woo hoo...so relieved;)

Kieran was so happy to see his sissy, as soon as he saw her he was babbling up a storm and the whole way home he kept chatting away to her:) She said she missed him, but not me...ouch. I said, you must have been to busy to miss me and she said, "Yeah, that's right." Well, at least she missed Kieran:) Now to figure out how to adjust him to this new schedule...kinda cuts into nap time for him since her school is 35-40 minutes away with traffic and is only 3 hours long. He was definitely one cranky dude today.

the one with all the sand

So Shaun and I are HUGE Friends nerds. We have all of the seasons and have been watching them again lately, we are on season 6, one of the best, imo! I saw on someones blog that all of their title posts were, the one with....which if you are Friends nerds like us, you get it;) So I am totally stealing their idea. I mean, each blog post is a little "episode" of our lives, so it fits right? Anyways, I haven't taken any pictures this week since we have gotten back, so it was my mission to get some yesterday.Should I cut his hair? I kinda want to, but just not sure yet. I love how the back curls under almost (need to get a snap of that!) but his hair is getting longer, hmmm... He LOVES these cars. There is a set of four and you pull them backward and let go and they zoom forward. He pushes them around, but hasn't quite grasped how they actually work yet. If we make them go down the long hallway, he giggles big time and chases them, so cute!

Just some more walking pictures, def. getting better at this!

Nice tongue sticking out for concentration;)

So we went for a walk on the beach last night. There was SOOOOO much seaweed washed up, it was gross and it smelled bad:( But K didn't mind...he got the best deal;)

She didn't mind either, she just danced around on the sand.

K's kisses. Slobbery, but sweet, I love them:)

Oh yeah, sand does taste gross...

And if you think that is a sandy face, he was walking on the sand after this and took a nose dive and there was sand EVERYWHERE-his eyes, nose, ears...all over. He wasn't too pleased, so we went home after that:)

Getting ready for school Monday, is it weird that I am feeling some super anxiety over this? Aislynn is too, I know she will love it...I think I am feeling anxiety over her anxiety, lol! Anyways, have a great weekend!

**Oh, P.S. A drew a name for my challenge and Candi is the winner, so I will send you some goodies soon!! Thanks to everyone who played along:D

new orleans

We had such a good weekend! The last time I was in NO was when I was about 3 months pregnant with Aislynn (so pre-Katrina). It's dirty, slightly smutty in parts, alive, full of culture and creativity, unique, old and full of history, and FULL of character. It is such a neat city, and while we didn't do anything big, wandering around it's streets, tasting it's food, and listening to it's music...oh and being kid free...well, it was a great time;)

Here is the "skyline." I put that in quotes because to my Chicagoians (ok, I know that is not what you are called!), this small line of buildings probably looks weak in comparison to yours. But regardless, there is a thrill for me to arrive in a city. Where we live is so laid back, and I love the vibe a city has...stuff is happening, lol!As soon as we got to our hotel, we showered and got ready for dinner reservations. As we were leaving, there was a guy in the elevator saying they saw Brian Williams in the lobby. Just a few pics before we left the room...

Snapped this on the way to dinner, I love love love the old condos on top of retail and restaurants. I love the balconies, the character of each one, love:)A shot of the Louisiana Supreme Court building.

Nola, is one of Emeril's restaurants and where we ate on Friday night.

:) I was wondering just how he looked so handsome and I think it was because his shirt was blue, his eyes are blue, and he is in front of the orange wall. And orange and blue are complimentary colors. And, well, he just is so handsome;)

My food: Buttermilk fried chicken breasts, bourbon mashed sweet potatoes (YUMMMMMM), and sauteed sugar snap peas. I like spicy cajun-y food, but in New Orleans, they use lots of seafood, which I am not a fan of, so I opted for a southern dish. I did taste one of Shaun's shrimp from his appetizer (Brynne-can you believe it, heeeee hee!) and it was confirmed. The sauce was good-the shrimp, bleh-did not like the texture.

Shaun's food-cannot remember the technical stuff, but basically a filet with shallot-potato mix and a port wine sauce and other stuff=yummy yummy yummy.

If you know us, you know we like treats. So we had to get 2;) Shaun got this, a chocolate pecan pie with sweet potato ice cream. The ice cream was so delicious, but the pie was just okay, kinda dry. But it sure does look pretty and tasty, huh?

I got a creme brulee trio: vanilla bean, mocha coconut, and coconut cream. The mocha coconut was soooooo incredibly delicious!! Shaun and I devoured that one and ate a lot of the others, but we did not finish out desserts. Can you believe it? We were stuffed, plus we had drunk a bottle of wine.

The people at the table next to us were sharing their 25th wedding anniversary and were laughing when I was taking pictures of the dessert, and they offered to take one of us:)

So after dinner we walked back to the hotel and who should be leaving the elevator, but Brian Williams. And the dork that I am, followed him. But then I couldn't get his attention, which was probably good. I was, um...tipsy and had no idea what to say (I was joking to Shaun that I would tell him I liked his work on Sesame Street b/c he was a guest on there once!). I think that is my closest celebrity encounter though.

After that, we went to Bourbon Street and listened to jazz and drank some more. Too much. Let's just say I was not feeling very good at the end of the night.

Saturday started off with lunch at the Palace Cafe (if you have seen Runaway Jury-that is where they get lunch) and then aimless wandering around.

On the edge of Jackson Square, they have tons of artists selling their work. A lot of them are working on new things, so you can watch their process.

One of the landmarks of New Orleans, the St. Louis Cathedral.

Just an old house that I thought was lovely:)

And another NO landmark, Cafe Du Monde.

Just a self-portrait type picture:)

And goofy pics in a souvenir store.

We have a picture of us in front of this fountain when I was probably like 19 or 20, I will have to find it-we look like little kids!

A little shopping, and then we were off to La Boca, an Argentinian steakhouse. It was SO good.

Shaun got skirt steak and I got a steak similar to a filet, but can't remember the name. We liked each other's better than our own:) Then for sides we got grilled asparagus, french fries (which were amazing!), and baked corn pudding (YUM). No dessert, but we did have bottle of a yummy Malbec.

Then we headed to Frenchmen Street, the real place to go listen to jazz. And wow...the difference from the jazz on Bourbon Street was insane (actually one group on Bourbon Street was pretty good). We saw Astral Project and they were amazing. Just the venue was really cool too and super nice people! And more good wine, which I drank too much of....again.

We had such a great weekend and when we got home Sunday, the kids were happy to see us! They had such a good time with Grandma and James though, and I will post pics of their weekend when I get them. Now it's back to reality...and the last week of "summer" for us...A starts school next Monday!