Louisiana Livin'

Hugs and Kisses to you on Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T05:40:00.000-06:00

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Krewe of Centaur Parade 2012

2012-02-13T08:26:00.002-06:00

We had a great time at the Centaur parade on Saturday's. We went out to the Dicharry spot on Kings Hwy. I just look at our last trip at their spot 2 years ago and was shocked to see how little our kids were! And we all only had 1 child each. I love being able to look back on my blog for any time in Bennett's life...these blogs are great things to have! :)

We bundled up and headed out to the parade around 3:30. Henry wore 2 regular outfits under 2 fleece ones with 2 pairs of socks and he had on a hat and blanket. He had to be the warmest person out there. He was so good the entire time. I was really nervous about taking a 6 month old, but he was fine and seemed to enjoy the busyness of the day.

Cone head Bennett

I was glad that Amy and Michelle popped over. I was extra glad to finally get to see Michelle's ring!

me and sweet B

me and Amy

Bennett was a huge fan of the cotton candy sweet as gold

Bennett, Drew, Annabella, and Mason

The LA Tech band was in the parade

"Throw me something Mister!"

Erin and Amelie

My snugly baby

Dicharry family

I want some beads!

Bennett and Mason

Hottie and Lindsey Lewis :)

And here's the family photo we got. Neil and Henry look adorable and Bennett and I...well...don't!

Don Juanz and Anna Kate

2012-02-12T20:00:00.000-06:00

Our church offers a Parent's Night Out once a month for $10 a kid. It is awesome! They are in their regular Sunday school rooms and I just feel safe leaving them. We went with a few other couples to Don Juanz AKA the best Mexican restaurant in SB.

Neil & me, Jen & Ray, Trey & Erinn, Jessie & Mike, and Casey & Matthew

Since we were in Bossier we HAD to go by and see Anna Kate. She made her debut last week and I have been dying to get over to see her. She is such a doll and her parents are definitely smitten.

Isn't she adorable??? I'm talking about the baby...not me.

Sweet little baby. She has some pretty blonde hair.

Jared's "daddy bag" came in so we brought it over to him.

I mean really...Katie doesn't even look like she was just pregnant! She looks fabulous!

Henry is 6 months old!

2012-02-11T21:17:00.001-06:00

Weight-

Height-

Stats borrowed from Casey's post about Evie. (She helps me remember things!)

size 3 diaper
6 month clothes
You are eating 5 eight ounce bottles a day. We have been introducing baby foods to you as well. So far you have had green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, green peas, squash, and pears. We feed you this along with oatmeal at dinner time. You are doing better at eating with a spoon but you still sometimes try to suck.
You sleep like a dream...or so we think. We have the sound off on the monitor.
You are not on a napping schedule. I wish you were. I am more relaxed with scheduling you than I was Bennett. I just don't really mind when or where you sleep.
You have been rolling both ways like crazy. We will put you on your mat and you will be off it and to the other end of the living room in 1 minute! You are a mover!
Still no teeth, but you are chewing on things (hands) and drooling some.
Mary and Charles (the people that keep you during the day) just love you so much. Charles says that you are the "cleanest baby with clean ears and nose." I hope you are!

Henry with Mary and Charles

You are just as sweet as can be and I seriously can't give you enough kisses every day! You are a total, complete momma's boy and I love it! When you hear my voice you always want me to look at you or pick you up. I love that you love me!
You also love to watch Bennett and never take your eyes off of him. He loves getting you to smile and so do we! You laugh at ANYTHING he does. He can sneeze and you think it's the funniest thing you've ever seen.
You are such a great baby. I can't say this enough. You are happy to sit in your seat and just take in your surroundings. You only cry if you are tired or hungry.
We think you are such a big boy...you do too. You love holding your own bottle. It still tips over because you really aren't strong enough but you are trying!

Bloggers Get-Together

2012-02-08T08:07:00.000-06:00

If you said you were interested in getting together for a Blogger's gathering I sent you an e-mail or I left a comment on your blog if I couldn't find your e-mail address. Hope you can make it!

If you are interested, please leave a comment with your e-mail address and I'll send you the message!

Hope to see everyone this Sunday!

It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt

2012-02-08T07:20:00.001-06:00

We started out on Sunday morning with a trip to the doctor for Henry. He has had a gunky nose and needed some antibiotics. We lounged around and then headed to Bennett's very first soccer practice! I've been looking so forward to this for weeks now. He has been so excited to play. He keeps saying "I have to practice for soccer games!" That's right, buddy! Our team, the Jolly Green Giants is lead by Coach D (Maddie's Dad). We practiced at Shreve Island because he is the PE teacher there. So nice of him to coach! I really love that we get to do all these fun things with our friends.

Andre was awesome with the kids. I can see why he is an elementary PE coach!

All the kids put their hand or foot on the ball and yelled "TEAM!"

Bend it like Bennett

Oh yea!

Out little athlete

Bennett, Caroline, and Maddie looking cute after practice

We had a few people over for the Super Bowl on Sunday night. Neil smoked pork for about 12 hours and it was delish. Everyone brought something so it made it totally easy on us. And the best part was that Neil cleaned up the ENTIRE kitchen after everyone left. He is a keeper! :)

Henry was really over stimulated with all the people over and I when I went to check on him he had his little feet hanging out of the crib. I love those little feet.

Cole, Neil, Matthew, and Neil

Beau was dying to be on camera

I got the opportunity to do Caroline and Georgia's hair. They loved it! So funny!

Me, Casey, Leslie, Erinn and B.

The best part of the Super Bowl was the Madonna half time show. The kids were having a blast dancing to the music.

Notice Bennett's moves...he must get that from his dad

Henry and Evie

I told you about the "fun" and I told you about the "games"...now here's the "hurt."

The adults and babies were downstairs talking and eating and maybe even watching the game. We let the older boys watch a movie upstairs. They thought they were so cool and big being up there without us. Well everything was nice and quiet until I heard Bennett screaming. A few parents saw him with blood running down his face. We all ran up the stairs to him. Turns out that he was sitting in front of the recliner and Mason accidentally pushed the lever and the foot rest whacked Bennett in the face. Bennett kept saying "the rocking chair did it!" Mason was so sweet to check on B...he felt so bad...he is such a sweetie!

Bennett was so brave! Neil told him that getting his first bloody nose was like a badge of honor. He wasn't buying it. We talked about it that evening in his bed and he said "my nose bleed and I cried." He has such a sweet heart.

My sweet boy with his first bloody nose. He was trying to smile, but couldn't really figure out why!

Low Key Saturday

2012-02-07T08:12:00.000-06:00

We had a nice weekend. I LOVE weekends. I really do. They are the highlight of my week. We stayed in pajamas pretty much all day. We thought it might be nice to put something decent on for an hour to go to a birthday party. It was so nice! I had plans to get a lot more done that I did, but I guess that's what next weekend is for.

I went to a couple garage sales because I am looking for another bed side table. No luck. I did find a sweet deal on a Bumbo for Henry. We misplaced Bennett's.

Look at these cute brothers watching the iPad. Henry just rolled on over to where Bennett was and joined him!

Love this!

Henry really enjoys his Bumbo.

We decided that it would be nice to get out of the house for a little bit so we went to Haadi's birthday party. Bennett and Haadi love each other. His teachers say that they love to wrestle all the time. They said it is pretty even so they let them exert their energy!

They always set up their chairs in the classroom like a train and they did it here too!

The birthday boy and Bennett

Avery Ella, Julia, and Bennett

Me and my boys in the jumpy

Look what came in the mail!! My dear friend, Amanda sent me this awesome necklace from Ethiopia for my birthday. Thanks, Amanda!

Henry's Painting!

2012-02-03T23:27:00.000-06:00

Erinn finished Henry's painting and brought it to me on Thursday! I LOVE IT! Thank you, Erinn!

If you want one of your very own and I know you do...E-mail Erinn!

The boys and their paintings. Bennett kept saying "That's me!"

Local Bloggers Get-Together

2012-01-31T09:04:00.003-06:00

I was talking to Casey yesterday about getting some local bloggers together for coffee or dinner or lunch or something soon. I don't have an agenda, but thought it would be fun since there aren't that many of us!

If you are a blogger in North Louisiana, would you be interested? Please leave a comment and I will get it planned! Tell your bloggy friends!

Our Weekend

2012-01-29T12:07:00.002-06:00

I couldn't believe how quickly our week flew by and that we were already to the weekend. Friday got here so fast! I think our weekend might have gone a little bit faster, though. We started off by camping. On Saturday, I sold our bedroom furniture on Craig's List. I had to get all the drawers and what-not cleaned out. I didn't really think ahead on the whole where-am-I-going-to-put-my-stuff thing. So, I have my clothes sitting on the shelf in our TV cabinet! It's OK, because I have got to get something done in our room. Ever since I found a very inspiring room on Pinterest...I haven't been able to get it off my mind! Our room will be making it's transition to white and gray...can't wait!

I went to a couple sales with Erinn, we met up at Starbucks with Leslie, and then I went to a couple estate sales with Amy. We found a little nightstand for $7 that I spray painted gray. It looked really good last night in the dark. We shall see what I think in the light of day.

On Saturday night, we headed to Derrick's 40th birthday party. April, his wife, planned a low-key party with his friends. He loves rotel and wings, Strawn's strawberry pie...so that's what she had! It was cute.

Happy Birthday, Derrick!

We got up and headed to church with just Henry since Bennett was in Ruston. Bennett LOVES going to Ruston and he is loved on so much while he is there. I thought Henry looks adorable in his little cap for church. Neil did not love his accessory!!! :)

It was a great family-filled weekend. Looking forward to many more where we are ALL together.

Happy Campers

2012-01-27T21:29:00.000-06:00

All the Lewis boys went camping yesterday after school and work. Henry and I joined them for dinner and campfire time for a little bit, but came home for bed and warmth! Bennett was thrilled to be out at the 604 Hunting Club. Neil has been trying for about 2 years to get some sort of shelter out there for us to stay on weekends or for them to hunt. I think they have finally decided on a single wide mobile home. It's gonna be swanky! I can't wait to have a little redneck weekend getaway!

I was so excited to head out there after work. Bennett was so excited he could barely speak in a full sentence. He just couldn't get over the camper, woods, and endless supply of flashlights. When Richard pulled up with the camper, it was like he was seeing a celebrity pull in to Hollywood.

I will speak for Neil when I say that he was probably really glad I decided to go out there. He never really thought about what he was going to do if Bennett needed to go to the bathroom. Let's just say that we had a piece of firewood, wipes, a flashlight, and the woods. I won't elaborate, but I want this written so we can look back and laugh!

He was such a big helper unloading all the wood. Check out his boots.

He unloaded all the chairs.

Look at the Lewis boys with their arms crossed! So macho! (Richard had his arms like this so Bennett copied to look like him!)

With camper in background

Grandad and Henry

me and my little man

Having a flashlight outside while camping is the BEST!

All 4 boys!

Roasting marshmallows

He ate about 15 marshmallows and that was only while I was there.

He had canned apple juice and thought it was so cool.

Connor and Chad got there later and they had a BLAST!

Random Week Post

2012-01-26T11:11:00.000-06:00

Our week has been full. We haven't had lots of activities or anything like that...it's just busy going to work at 7 and not getting home until 5:30. We have had lots of fun in the evenings relaxing (ha)! We seriously go 90 to nothing until the boys go to bed. It's fun chaos and I would not change it!

We decided to have our Gymboree friends over on Tuesday night for dinner and play time. I made this Paula Deen dish that was not fabulous. I joked that it might be one of her "post-Diabetes" recipes! Ick, don't make it! Bland city.

Bennett and Mason had a blast in Henry's bed

Henry, Evie, and Ahni playing

All 5 kids! Bennett, Henry, Ahni, Mason, and Evie

Last night, Bennett and Neil got their hair cut. Bennett hops right up in the chair and is so good while getting his hair cut. He requests a brown and orange sucker afterwards.

And on a totally random note... I FINALLY had my towels made. Jeannie did an awesome job putting the boy's initials on them. They go great with the shower curtain.

Is it already Thursday? I guess time flies when you're having fun!!

Beville's Baby Shower Dinner

2012-01-21T22:16:00.000-06:00

We had a fun time last night celebrating the Beville's! We can't wait to meet their sweet little Anna Kate! Katie is due February 13th, so AK could be here any day! We are so excited for these 2...they are going to be great parents!

We got Jared his own "Daddy bag." It's manly, but doesn't come in until the end of February so we had to give him a picture.

Jared and Katie

Amy and me

Here we all are: Hanna's, Beville's, us, Amy, Raines', and Cox family

Yay! A boppy!

Only a couple more weeks until we all meet Anna Kate!!!

I'm Baaaaaaaaaack!

2012-01-18T08:05:00.000-06:00

Today was my first day back to work after being off for almost 8 months. I haven't not worked for that long of a stretch since I was a freshman in college. It was nice. I loved staying home and being with my kids day in and day out. I felt like I could stay on top of the house work and laundry. I am surely counting my blessings!

Now, I am back to the grind. 2 fabulous things about my first week back... 1. it's a 4 day week and 2. we have 2 green and gold days! (this means that I get to wear a school t-shirt)

me and my boys on my first day back to work!

I had a nice first day. I liked my classes and everyone was so sweet to welcome me back! Now the question that is on everyone's mind...When is our next break???

Guess what? My cousin, Carrie started a blog! I am so excited to have a family member join the blog world. Check her out here.

My Actual Birthday...the BIG 3-0!

2012-01-16T20:50:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe that I am 30. I feel like it was just yesterday that I turned 21 and got to go to the casino for the first time! My how birthdays change. This birthday started with poop and lots of it. Bennett and Henry had extra poopy mornings. (Can I say that?) Anyway, I got so much done around the house today. We were all off for MLK day and had a nice relaxed day at home. We left only to meet friends for lunch at Chick-Fil-A. I got so much laundry done, cleaned a bunch, and made lunches to prepare me for going back to work tomorrow for the first time in 7 1/2 months!

So, here is our day in pictures...

Neil got up and made homemade banana pancakes complete with candles for us. Such a sweetie!

Bennett wanted to blow them out after me.

Beautiful! (except for that large number on top)

We met Dad and some friends at Chick-fil-a for lunch. It was a lot of fun to enjoy these friends during the day one last time before my return to work.

Henry/me, Casey/Evie, and Ann/Max

Look what Ann made for me! A personalized birthday banner!

me, Dad, and Henry

Mom was so sweet to take us to Outback tonight for dinner. She even brought balloons and one said "fabulous, flirty, and 30!" I don't know about the flirty part!

Mom, Bennett (with tongue out), Henry, Neil, and me

Neil and me

Happy 30th to me! It was a great birthday! Now, back to the real world tomorrow!

Leslie's Going Away Party

2012-01-15T12:48:00.000-06:00

Leslie got an AMAZING job in Dallas and found out she would be moving. We are SO PROUD of her! She really deserves this new job because she has worked so hard. She is going to be an interior designer at the largest health care facility construction in the USA! How fabulous is that?

Once we heard the news, we all got together to plan a "Texas" themed going away hoe-down. Since she is moving to Texas, we thought she needed BBQ, boots, and all things cowboy. The decor turned out soooo cute! Erinn made everything look so cute with her artistic eye.

Here's the BBQ table along with boots and bandannas

Jacques made every bit of the BBQ and it was amazing! He is an excellent chef.

Bandanna bunting is so fabulous!

We served tea and lemonade in Mason jars...so southern!

Erinn, Leslie, me, and Emily

Cheers!

The Sigma Kappas in attendance...I think we should send this to the Virtual Violet!

The hostesses with the guest of honor. L-R Deb, Erinn, Leigh Ann, Leslie, Holly, me, Emily, and Emily

Holly and me! I just love Holly Wood!

Carol was so sweet to hold Henry while we cleaned up.

me, Leslie, and Erinn

My 30th birthday celebration!

2012-01-14T18:38:00.001-06:00

I had such a wonderful birthday celebration last night. We sent the boys to the Buteau's to play with a babysitter while we had dinner. Neil orchestrated the whole thing and I felt so special. He is such a sweet husband! He enlisted the help of Leslie, Amy, Casey, and Erinn with the details. It was not a surprise or "purprise" as Bennett calls it. I told him that I did NOT want any form a surprise party. I would have been too embarrassed. Anyway, he had Charles Ashley cater the dinner. I had close friends and family over for a fun evening of food, drinks, and games! Everyone that came was exactly who I wanted here.
And this party just shows how much Neil really knows me. He took pictures of every detail before the party...something I always do. He helped plan the menu and knowing my love of sour cream...he had sour cream au gratin potatoes. He had Caesar salad because it's my favorite and several other things. I just loved it!

Neil and me (still 29 in this picture)

The decorations were so cute as well! Leslie HAND-MADE the cutest "Lindsey is 30" banner. I just love all of the cute fabrics and ribbon she chose. Amy planted cute cyclamen in pots for each table. Leslie also added paper "place-mats" for each guest and markers on the table for them to leave a message for me. So thoughtful! There were pictures of me EVERYWHERE. They had them clipped to the stairs, bookcase, and on the tables. Some really old ones, college pictures, wedding pictures, family pictures, TONS of pictures. I loved the invitation, too. I never thought I would get to have a fabulous invitation made by Caroline at the Paper Tulip, but I did! It's adorable with a green chevron pattern in the shape of a big square...add a vellum envelope and you have a recipe for a fab invitation. She is supposed to be sending me a PDF so I can post it here.

The menu was fabulous. Charles made "soup shooters" for the appetizers. They were wonderful! I love foods that are in a mini form. He made crab and corn bisque, tomato basil, and loaded baked potato for the passed app. It was so cute!

Amy posing with the soup shooters.

The cake was so great! Bennett watched the Elf on the Shelf movie about 98,264 times in December and a little bit of January. So, we watched it that many times. Chippy the elf sang a song called "Extravaganzalorious" that would get stuck in my head for days. So, this is where Neil got the writing for my cake!

Look at the detail on this!

Matthew and Casey

Me=the product of these 2

Carol, Leslie, and Dad serving their plates

me and Leslie

Rebecca, Richard, and Carolyn

Beau and Tim drawing their pictures.

Amy is practically an artist!

Here I am waiting on my cake to arrive while everyone was singing "Happy Birthday!"

NEW TO POST!!!! I found some software online that allowed me to recover old files!!! It found lots of files that I had lost spontaneously. So, without further ado...the rest of my birthday celebration!

Janine, Mom, and Neil sang our family birthday song to me...How sweet!!

Erin and me with the scarf she gave me

Thanks to Leslie for the Twilight game!

Love these Lewis family notepads from Erinn

The Smiths looked so cute all cuddled up!

group shot!

My SIL and me

It was a fabulous birthday celebration. I was so glad that Neil's parents spent the night with us and Mom decided to keep Bennett over night at her house. It was a great night!

Henry is 5 months old!

2012-01-11T21:02:00.007-06:00

Henry is 5 months old!!! Where has the time gone? These 5 months have been so wonderful!

(Borrowed from Evie) We didn't go to the doctor this month, so no height/weight stats this month.

Size 2 diaper, but I have size 3 on back up. You are a BIG boy.
Size 3-6 month and some 6-9 month clothes
You eat 5 6oz bottles a day. You have been eating oatmeal at night. I just added peas and pears. We are waiting a couple days after the pears to try something new.
Sleep has been more consistent. We decided to turn off the monitor because you were waking us up all night. Sounds pretty harsh, but one of my friends told me that her Dr. told her that he did that with all 4 kids!
You have become a ROLY POLY within the last few days. This weekend you were rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy like crazy!
You love being held, your play mat, and now your car bouncy.

I have stopped giving you so much Zantac. I think your reflux has gotten so much better.
You are overall a happy baby. You will stare at someone until you get their attention and you just smile the biggest smile. Love it!
You have found your feet. You love grabbing them and pulling on them.
You are such a SWEET baby. I'm talking so sweet. You are happy, cuddly, and smiley.

We LOVE so much, Henry! You are such a delight to be around and we all love spending time with you.

Look how much you have grown!

Bennett's Day!

2012-01-11T20:34:00.000-06:00

Bennett had a special day all to himself just like Henry. He started off with breakfast at school with Neil. He loves getting to go to the Dad's Club events with his daddy. They were extra excited because a policeman brought a police dog. We told Bennett what they were going to have for the entertainment and he said "policemen are mean." He was remembering back from this summer when a hideous policeman pulled me over for speeding. He was a complete jerk, yelled at me, wouldn't acknowledge Bennett, I was crying my eyes out, and I was 8 months pregnant. I was speeding, but he didn't have to be a jerk. Now, Bennett thinks all cops are mean. So, we are trying to teach him that they are helpful and nice. Neil said Bennett wanted to sit at the very top of the bleachers. He said he cop asked "what does this dog do?" Bennett yelled out "HE BITES!" Hmmmmmm...

Bennett and Daddy before school this morning

I dropped Henry off at the babysitters house and then headed to pick up Bennett from school. We had his first dentist appointment today! He was the perfect patient and I was so proud. I didn't know if he was going to let them dig around in his mouth but he did.

He chose not to lie down...he wanted to sit. He chose strawberry toothpaste.

He liked the suction. They said to "kiss" it...he liked it!

Such a big boy getting x-rays!

While we were waiting on the dentist to see him, he got to play and climb on this structure in the waiting room.

Dr. Lauren with Bennett. She said that his teeth look great, but they will probably be crowded when his permanent teeth come in. She said we should expect to be seen by the orthodontist around age 6! I guess he has my teeth.

We met Casey and Evie for lunch and then headed to Kiddie Mia's to play games. We went to play at Kiddie Mia's a while back and Bennett has been talking about it ever since. I thought this would be fun for his special day.

Nothin' but net!

We had a great day! I love spending time with my boys!

Henry's Day!

2012-01-10T19:20:00.003-06:00

I didn't plan for it to work out this way, but with my last week before work I had 1 day for Henry and 1 for Bennett. It ended up being a Henry day because we had Gymboree so I thought we should just spend the day together. We started with a VERY lazy morning. Henry fell asleep next to me on the couch after we played. Sounds like a good morning to me...NAPS!

We headed to lunch with friends before Gymboree. Counter Culture is the place to go. We basically had the place to ourselves!

Casey/Evie, Me/Henry, and Ashleigh/Ahni

Our next stop was Gymboree. I am wearing my stay-at-home mom gear (yoga pants and a MOPS t-shirt). Man, I will miss this wardrobe!

Me with my sweet big boy

So strong!

I asked if Henry could "graduate" today. It's not really a big deal, but I needed the pictures! We all said "Hip, Hip, Hooray! Henry graduates today!"

Love!

Bubbles just for Henry!

Evie got to get in the tube with Henry...love these cute babies!

Henry and his posse! Henry has been in a class of all girls the whole time and he is the youngest! Pictured from L-R: Mollie, Evelyn (same birthday as Henry and born at same hospital!), Henry, Evie, Ahni, and Dossett

Evie giving Henry a little head rub

Henry and his Gymbo teacher, Stacey.

We will miss all of our Gymboree friends. It sort of feels like I am closing a chapter in a book or moving or something...

Anyway, we headed to get our new washing machine at Appliance Outlet! If you need an appliance...go there! You can't beat the prices or the service. I like my new washer better than my old one and I really liked my old one. No more laundromat for me.

We had the privilege of having Maddie with us again on Tuesday. She is sooooo good and was a pleasure to be around. She did not want to leave our house! Bennett has been really wanting someone to drive around and Maddie was the perfect passenger.

Last week of freedom

2012-01-09T21:30:00.000-06:00

We have arrived at my last week of freedom. I go back to work on January 17th. I have had the best time ever being home with my Henry, going to all of Bennett's school activities, lunches and dates with Neil, enjoying the holidays, and relaxing on the weekends. I am about to get back in full swing of lesson plans, work activities, and the most important...preparing my lunch for the next day. I will end each Sunday with going and blowing to get ready for the week ahead. No more relaxing on Sunday nights for me. This season of my life has been one of my favorites and I do not want it to end. Who knows? Maybe I will get 7 1/2 months off of work someday again...hope so. This week I will talk about my last week of doing what I want, when I want!

We began Monday with a "trial run" of how our mornings will go. We just needed to practice all getting out the door by 7:15. I will say that we did a great job. Neil is going to take the boys to their childcare locations each morning because his schedule is more flexible and he has a great attitude about it.

The first thing on my agenda was to stop by the Laundromat to do 2 loads of Bennett's pee-soaked linens and our clothes. This has to be the most inconvenient thing. Our washer decided to quit working on Thursday night and Chris doesn't get any washers in until Tuesday! Can't wait to get a working washer again. 5 days in long enough to go without one!

I began the day with my last MOPS. If you can join MOPS...please do! It is such a fun way to hang out with other moms with the same beliefs and values as me. I will miss it so much.

Me, Emily, and Casey at my last MOPS

After MOPS, I had to head to school to try and get my classroom ready. I am going to try and go a few times this week. I really couldn't get much done in the 2 hours I was there because students were in and out and they had their projects EVERYWHERE. To say that I am a little overwhelmed by my classroom might be a small understatement. I will head back there on Thursday.

After school, I headed to trade cars with Neil and then to school to pick up Maddie and Bennett. Bennett was so excited to have Maddie ride in his car! We headed out to pick up Henry after that. This was Henry's first day to go to his new sitter. They are a really sweet older couple. The husband LOVES to fish. This is the only picture I took because he was so excited to show us his catch. He would not let us leave until we saw the fish. Way to go!

After we saw the fish, we headed to our favorite fro-yo spot! We are really using our Christmas elf gifts! Bennett and Maddie were LOVING their yogurt. They even took turns feeding each other. :)

Our evening ended with dinner, folding laundry, and one of us watched the LSU/BAMA game. It wasn't me and I didn't even find out who won until the next day. It was a productive first day of my last week of freedom.

"Swinging" into the new year!

2012-01-07T17:09:00.001-06:00

Henry loved his first time swinging today!

2012

2012-01-07T08:55:00.001-06:00

Wow! It has taken me a full week to type a post in the new year of 2012. Since the first and most memorable thing that has happened this year was the stomach bug invading our house I can see why I haven't posted. It was the most deadly virus ever. Neil, Henry, and I all got it along with several of our friends. Needless to say, it was awful. The only way we got through it was because my mom was able to come over and help all day long. My dad brought us some Pedialyte at 5 am for Henry. Thank you LORD for parents!

This week has pretty much consisted of finding child care for Henry, going to lunch, and getting things ready for my return to school. We actually found a place for Henry to go during the day. We found this little older couple to keep him and they were so sweet! The only downside is they are about 25 minutes from our house/work/school. Oh well, we can do anything temporarily.

I actually managed to take a few pictures with my phone this week. They are really random...

We met Drew and Beau at the park and Johnny's on Monday before the plague came over us.

We fed Henry some more cereal. Bennett loves sitting right next to him at the table.

We started feeling better and went for a Jeep ride.

My Henry looks so big!!! And then about 20 minutes later...puke EVERYWHERE!

We had a night out last night to celebrate Erin's 30th birthday!! This is the year when tons of people I know are going to be turning the big 3-0! And I am up next...

Me and the birthday girl or AKA: Co-Room-Moms

Lindsay, Erin, Erinn, me, and Leigh (We missed you, Casey!)

New Year's Eve 2011

2011-12-31T12:47:00.000-06:00

We had a great time on New Year's Eve this year. We never have anything to do and it is usually a big let down if we do. This year was different! Erin planned Amelie's first birthday party on December 31st. She had it at 4 and continued until dark so we could do fireworks to bring in the new year. Erin thought of everything...she had champagne glasses, confetti, silly string, and tiaras! It was a ton of fun and I am already looking forward to next year!

Happy 1st birthday, Amelie!

The bubble wands were a hit.

Sweet little one with silly string all over his face!

Happy 2012 from the Lewis family.

Mason and Bennett had fun blowing the horns.

The Dicharry fam! Love this one!

mommy + baby + champagne= fun New Year's Eve 2011!

Maddie and Mason were the brave ones with the fireworks. All the other kids were scared.

We ended our night by coming home before 8 pm, bathing the kids, and climbing in Bennett's bed for the flashlight book. We were all asleep by 9:30! I read a quote somewhere yesterday that said:

“Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to.” - Bill Vaughan

Henry tries oatmeal!

2011-12-27T15:37:00.000-06:00

Henry got to try oatmeal for the first time today! I thought he looked so big in the chair with a bib on. He did a great job taking in a little bit of food. He didn't really act like he liked it but I bet he will when I add some fruit! I looked back to see what it was like when Bennett had food for the first time and it was like a trip down memory lane! Do my boys look alike to you???

Thank you for the cute bib, Aunt Rebecca!

Cute brothers

yay! Food!

Ick!