Because I've been slacking in this area...

and by popular request...

A few Chase-ism's to start your day!

When we went to drop Dutchess off at the kennel before our trip, we were all in the car together.  The boys were excited that Dutch was riding with us, but then were concerned when we stopped at the Animal Barn.  Stuart got out to take her in, and both kids started wailing.

Chase said, "But Moooom!!!  I love my dog!  She's the perfect pet!  I just love my Dutchie!"

I explained that it was like "little Joey's" (what he calls La Quinta) just for dogs.  She was going to have special time and get to play with other dogs while we were gone.  

He wasn't convinced.

"Well, can we at least get a cat?"

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We were watching Chicken Little the other night as a family.  Both kids love it.  Logan cracks up and trys to act out the opening sequence when he's missed the bus.  

It gets to the part where Chicken Little's foot gets stuck in the gum in the cross walk.  Chase gets this mischievous look on his face and says:

"Hey, Mom!  Why'd the chicken cross the road?"

How he's even heard of that, I have no idea, but his timing was impeccable!

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This one's a little sad...

Stuart left yesterday to head back to dry dock after spending some great family time with us.  We had to drive him to meet his ride in the GV back to Tampa.  I didn't anticipate this to go smoothly, to say the least.  The kids really love their Daddy.

Stuart gets out and hugs the kids goodbye.  The truck pulls out right in front of us.

Chase says, "Mom!  Can we follow them?"  The truck is heading north, the same direction we're going.

"No, baby.  Not today.  We've got to head home and Daddy's got to go back to the boat."  The truck gets on the interstate.

"But Mom, we just CAN follow them.  See?"  I continue on my northward trek, leaving behind the entrance ramp.

"Oh, okay... I guess you're right... Maybe next time..." he says very sadly.  

Both kids did do really well last night, though.  Not as much wailing and whining as I had anticipated.  I know I have some days of acting out ahead of me, and that's okay.  Sometimes I feel like acting out, too.  ;)

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

"Let the good times roll!"

and we did.

Here's a brief run down:

Day 1 - Saturday

We drove to Baton Rouge to meet my mom and her husband to drop the boys off.  I was worried about a major freak out with Logan, but he went happily.  Chase was really excited to head to Texas.  

It was so odd having an empty back seat.  After driving around for 5 1/2 years with at least one munchkin behind you, it's hard to get used to the quiet of a child-free backseat.  As we headed southeast, a HUGE storm rolled in.  It was thundering, lightning, and pouring buckets of rain.  I was so worried that it was an indication of what our weekend had in store for us.  I'm happy to report that I was wrong!

We checked in to the hotel and went up to our room.  To our surprise, we had a jacuzzi tub.  I wasn't expecting that, but I sure didn't complain!  We also had a balcony.  The view wasn't fantastic (the balcony was about 2 feet from a brick wall), but I enjoyed the vines and greenery right outside.  Plus we had the added bonus of being able to have the door open without anyone seeing in.  ;)

We headed out for some lunch.  It was a LATE lunch, at 3:30.  We traipsed a few blocks down the road to the Acme Oyster House.  We had some oysters on the half shell, a good beer, and split a seafood platter.  The cocktail sauce at this place was heavy on the horseradish, and I seriously could feel my nasal cavity BURNING with every bite.  It was fantastic torture.  After lunch we went wandering through the French Quarter a bit.  It's so nice to check out the iron work on the balconies, and admire the architecture.  I also enjoy the people watching.  

We got to town too late to do much of anything touristy, so we got dressed up and went to Harrah's for a while.  We played some penny slots, and left with a few more dollars than we came in with, so that was good.  Nothing too exciting to talk about, though.

We ended up hungry after a lot of walking in the sweltering heat, and weren't sure what to try for dinner.  If you've not been to New Orleans, the restaurants in the French Quarter usually have someone standing out front with a menu trying to entice you inside.  That really turns me off, and I didn't want to eat somewhere like that.  We found this little hole in the wall bar called Yo Mama's.  It wasn't very busy in there yet, and we sat down and had a drink and ordered burgers.  I had a mushroom burger, and Stuart got a plain one.  It was so good.  The mushrooms tasted like they had been marinated in whatever the meat was marinated in.  Soooo good.  The potato salad left a lot to be desired, though.  On the way back to the hotel, we walked down Bourbon Street, and we each got a Hand Grenade.  I have no idea what's in this drink, but it's the new "must try" beverage in NOLA.  It was tasty and VERY strong.  

Day 2 - Sunday

Sunday morning we woke up to rain.  Lots of rain.  We were planning to walk everywhere, because parking tends to be pricey and inconvenient.  Because of the rain, though, we couldn't even get to a shop to purchase an umbrella without getting soaked.  We drove to a nearby Walgreens and purchased two umbrellas.  Our plan for the day was to head to the Aquarium of the Americas, and maybe check out the IMAX.  

By the time we found a parking spot, the rain had almost stopped.  We hadn't been to the aquarium since August of 2002, when I was about 6 months pregnant with Chase.  It was really fun.  We both loved walking around and checking out all the exhibits.  I had a great time watching the penguin feeding.  The seahorse exhibit is one of my favorite.  I think they are amazing animals.  

Our movie didn't start until 2, so we had some time to kill after the Aquarium.  We strolled over to Bubba Gump's for lunch.  This was where we'd eaten almost 6 years ago.  It was really yummy, and our waiter had a good sense of humor.  This is also where I was introduced to Purple Haze.  I have a tendency to be a beer snob after living in Humboldt County, the land of breweries.  Purple Haze is a fruity, summertime beer, and very refreshing.  

After lunch, we headed to the IMAX to watch the Dolphins and Whales movie.  It was a 3D movie, which was fun.  It's hard for me to get used to the effects since I wear glasses.  It's hard to get everything lined up just so.  I love marine mammals, and was prepared to fall more in love with them during the film.  The effects and majesty were great.  The narration was not.  It was disappointing that the movie turned into an environmentalist guilt trip.  I have no problem trying to save the earth.  I want our children and their children to grow up being able to appreciate the various forms of life here.  I was just frustrated that the movie wasn't more about the animals and less about the not-so-hidden agenda.  stepping gracefully down off my soap box now

We took the car back to the hotel and changed clothes.  There was a creole tomato festival at the French Market, and we wanted to check it out.  We wandered down and walked around.  It was hot and crowded.  We did make one purchase, some Mardi Gras beads with a Coast Guard pendant.  It was the only one she had, and it was a great find!  We got the heck out of there, and walked through some shops.  Most of the souvenir shops were various layouts of the same crap, but the galleries and small businesses were fun to look in.  

Because this get away was such a treat, and an opportunity to explore ourselves as adults, individuals, and as a couple aside from being Mom and Dad, we made a pact to try new things and step outside our normal limits.  It was a nice challenge, and we had a much better time than I would have in the past.  I was really able to let go a little and have a good time.

Dinner on Sunday was at Pat O'Brien's.  I somehow managed to get to dinner without my camera.  I tried a drink called the Rainstorm, which was completely delicious.  Stuart and I shared a trio sampler of cajun cuisine, which included gumbo, crawfish etouffee, and jambalaya.  Oh.how.yummy.  It was spicy enough without being too spicy, and really a taste of home for us.  We also had the strawberry hurricane cheesecake, which was divine.

Day 3 - Monday

For whatever reason, Mondays are dead in New Orleans.  All of the museums, the Audobon wildlife parks, and quite a few businesses are closed.  We went down to the Riverwalk, though, and walked.  We watched a cruise ship moored up getting ready to leave.  We looked in nearly every shop in that center.  It was surprising to me how many shops in New Orleans had belly dance costumes and accessories.  

We had lunch at the Jackson Brewery, at a place called The Lazy River.  It wasn't until I checked the bank account that I realized it is a Pat O'Brien's restaurant.  LOL.  You'll see the humor in a minute.  I enjoyed another Purple Haze with my red beans and rice.  Mmmmm.  Southern cuisine.  

After lunch we headed back to the hotel and took advantage of the pool.  It was a beautiful day, and the saltwater pool was really soothing.  We were the only ones there for a while, so that made it even better.  

I really wanted to go back to Pat O'Brien's for dinner Monday night.  I wanted to dress up a little bit, have another Rainstorm, and go back armed with my camera.  I'm really glad we did.  I had crawfish cakes and Stuart had shrimp creole.  I had a Rainstorm and a Hurricane.  Our waitress informed us that the Rainstorm had 3.5 shots of liquor and the Hurricane had 4.  Uh, yeah.  I was a little giddy when we left.  OH!  I almost forgot the pecan pie we shared.  The pecan pieces were large, and the portion was generous.  It was yummy.  Beyond yummy.

We did a little more walking around and then turned in early.  I wasn't in any shape to do much of anything else.

Day 4 - Tuesday

I woke up at 4:30 Tuesday morning.  I was a little green around the gills from Monday night's beverages.  We had an early breakfast and got everything packed up.  We left early to head back to Baton Rouge to meet up with the kiddos.  The treat for me this day was that my mom, both sisters, and my grandmother were coming to bring the kids.  We hadn't all been together in about a year and a half.  We had lunch at Chili's and walked around the Tanger Outlet Mall for a few hours.

Our trip was fantastic.  I really want to take advantage of the boys being able to get away on their own with our family and Stuart and I being able to get away and recharge our relationship.  It was so nice to remind ourselves how fun it is to be friends and just hang out together.  I told him that the trip, for me, wasn't about me "falling in love all over again."  He looked at me a little funny.  I told him that I didn't feel like we'd fallen out of love at all, so I couldn't fall in love all over again.  We are completely head over heels still, and I love that.  We held hands, laughed, and completely enjoyed one another.  

I'm ready to plan our next trip now...  I know it'll be a little while, but we've got to make a point to reconnect like this more regularly.

The album of photos is available here for your viewing pleasure.

What a freaking day. **warning - graphic images**

I will preface this by saying that for about an hour and a half today, my children were remotely well-behaved, and I got to talk to a special friend on the phone.

Now, then.

I am finding more and more that there is only a 15 minute window in this "single mom" life where my home is presentable for company.  For those that know me, and know the chaos that can be my home, I've actually been doing a very good job keeping a tidy home.  Well, after the kids go to bed at night.  You'll get to see more in a moment...

I thought, a few days ago, that I'd buy a watermelon to share with the kiddos.  Chase ate a little, and Logan ate a lot.  Of course we wake up the next morning to a screaming, bleeding diaper rash.  It's on the mend now, but still really sore and really raw.  Diaper changes are torture for both of us.  Add to that his all ready lovely two year old attitude, and Logan is just a swell guy to be around.

For some reason, my home is being invaded by spiders.  Not just little pesky spiders.  I'm talking as big as or bigger than a 50 cent piece.  For example:

So, on top of the spider invasion, I forget that it's visitation night for the church.  Ugh.  It's 5 minutes to 7.  The kids just finished eating, I just came out of the bathroom, getting ready to do bath time.  The house is, well, I'll let it speak for itself:

I hear the knock at the door.  Thinking very unchurchly things, my kids screaming to go outside, me about half-dressed in grey and pink yoga pants and a black camisole, I answer the door.  There stands a very Southern older lady, all made up in her coordinating pantsuit with floral applique'.  Imagine the look I got.

*sigh*  

I grew up in a home that was never visitor-ready, and it made me embarrassed for friends to come over.  I have worked really hard to be better about keeping my home clean.  With Stuart gone, I'm struggling with the caring for kids, dog, myself and home all alone.  

Oh, and to top it off, Chase just saw me posting the picture of the living room and said, "Oh, what a mess!!!"  Yeah...NOW he notices...

I absolutely cannot wait until our New Orleans trip at this point.  I love my children with every ounce of my being, but I'm needing a break.  For real.

Oh, and I forgot to add the huge lump I found under Dutchie's right front leg.  It's like someone put a marble under her skin.  :(  We'll be getting her to the vet, and hoping it's nothing to worry about.  *sigh*

New skill

Well, no, it's not that the fridge is learning to rappel.  

It's actually, in fact, more along the lines of this:

In yet another "Daddy watching the boys" episode, Logan breaks into the fridge.  Chaos and disorder ensue.

Here's what happens when I get a break.  I leave for a couple of hours.  This particular day, I was going to get my hair cut.  The last time, it was to shop with a friend.  Both times, I've been gone just a little while, and I get the call:

"Babe, guess what your son just did..."

On Sunday, it seems that my son wanted something from the fridge.  He, in all of his two-year-old glory opened the fridge to get to the cupcakes that Nena sent home with me.  Instead of just eating them quickly, he placed one upside down on his head.  Then he smeared one in the carpet in the living room, and another on the wall.  Neat, huh?  He also thought that the picture of a strawberry on the Cool Whip container indicated that there were actually strawberries inside.  In his disappointment, he got Cool Whip everywhere, after letting a plush toy swim in it for a while.

My response?

"You're fired.  You suck as a babysitter."

Hubby says, "Fine.  I'll just pack my stuff up and leave tomorrow."  (Headed back to dry dock.)

Touche'.

...and I still had to clean the wall and carpet ~ Figure that one out...

It's official

Hotel is booked.  Kids are goin' to Grammy's, Aunt Ame's, and Grandma's.

Mom and Dad are goin' to New Orleans!  I cannot wait!!!  Absolutely cannot wait.

I used Priceline to book.  My sister does this ALL the time to book hotels.  We got almost 1/2 off of the advertised sale on Orbitz.  The only catch is the ungodly parking cost, but that's at EVERY hotel in NOLA.  

I'm so excited.  I'm ready for a couple of easy days sans kids.  I love my children dearly.  I really do.  I'm just growing weary of the single mom lifestyle.  I miss my best friend, my confidante, and my love.  I'm so looking forward to sleeping in - or not.  ;)  I am ready to stroll the streets hand in hand.  I cannot wait to eat dinner slowly, able to carry a real conversation.  

Just a few weeks away!  Woo hooo!

The apple doesn't fall far...

A little before 1:00 am, the screams could be heard in my home.  I was roused from a finally deep sleep by screaming and blood.  LOTS of blood.  It was Chase.  There was blood ALL over his hands, his pants, his face, his shirt.  It took me a minute to figure out what was going on.

He was having a nose bleed.  It was pouring.  Now, if you don't know Chase, he's a little on the sensitive side.  He's really freaked out by the sight of blood.  He's obsessed with Band-Aids and Neosporin.  Honestly.  Most kids ask to walk down the toy aisle first thing when they go shopping, but Chase asks if we can look at the Band-Aids.  

I wake up enough to move him to the bathroom.  This is where he freaks the heck out.  He saw the blood and started jumping and flinging his hands.  I was trying to hold some tissue to his nose to stop the bleeding and he was fighting me.  Blood sprayed all over my ivory shower curtain.  

Logan, at this point wakes up screaming bloody murder, too.  When he gets woken up , he wants to be held, and he was angry that all my focus was on brother.  So I had a kid freaking, with blood everywhere, and a kid pulling on me to pick him up.

I finally explained to Chase that I knew he was scared, but I used do have nose bleeds, too.  He didn't need to worry, we just needed it to stop.  When I say I used to have nose bleeds, too, I don't mean just a couple times in the winter when the air was dry.  

In second grade, I had 63 documented nose bleeds at school.  On every permission slip for every field trip, my mom wrote "frequent nose bleeds" under medical conditions.  The doctors couldn't do anything about them, but they finally stopped when I hit puberty.  (gotta love that irony, right?)

We finally got the nose bleed to stop.  I sprayed some stain remover on my shower curtain and got it in the wash.  I got him cleaned up, and everyone jumped in Mommy's bed to snuggle and get a couple more hours of sleep.

I honestly hope he doesn't get them with the frequency I had them.  He was a trooper, though, once he realized he wasn't hemorrhaging or something.  

Yee haw.

My fantasy

To eat, to chew -

To chew, perchance to dine

This is my fantasy.  I want an uninterrupted meal, with no one to wait on.  No one needing food cut up.  

In an ideal world, I would prepare the food, a la June Cleaver.  I'd wear my lovely half apron, a string of pearls, and be just a perfect little wifey.  The mashed potatoes would be creamy and tasty, and the gravy - well, I'd know how to make gravy.  

Once my adoring sons and husband were seated at the table, I would bring in dinner.  No, it's not suitable to just serve it from the pot!  Serving dishes are required!  Plates are dished up, my children LOVE the food, and my husband actually tastes it before seasoning it.  Everyone waits until I am seated comfortably, we say grace, and dine together.

In reality, my adoring children are very picky.  We serve our food straight from the pot, unless I've made a salad of some sort.  My husband never tastes ANYTHING without seasoning it first.  It's a little quirk that's still as quirky 13 years later.  

Even if we all start out seated at the same time, say grace, and begin eating, I hardly ever get a bite before it's cold.  Honestly.  I get a bite halfway to my mouth, and someone needs more ketchup.  Get it, sit down, now the other needs more corn.  Oh, sure while I'm up...

When hubby's gone, it's only worse.

Taking the kids out isn't really any easier.  Yes, someone is serving the food for us.  Someone else has the leg work.  We have the added challenge of keeping the food and hands in our eating area.  Oh, and keeping the noise level somewhere below jet aircraft.

I'm so looking forward to a few days' vacation with my hubby.  To sit and eat together, and enjoy a meal.  That's a real fantasy of mine.