Happy Easter ... still!

It's the 3rd week of Easter, so "Happy Easter" is still appropriate! That also means I'm not late in posting our Easter weekend festivities. Dressed up kiddos in their Easter finery:

Ginny & Ryan spent Easter in Omaha, so with those noticeable exceptions, the whole family was together. Mom and Dad joined in our church's Good Friday observance and the last Fish Fry. Then on Saturday, Dad boiled crawfish here for us, and Peter and his gal, Serena, as well as her brother, Peter, joined us for that. Later that evening, we attended the highest Mass of the year for the Easter vigil. That was both lovely and opened up our Easter Sunday morning! We had some basket treats and then headed off to an aaamazing brunch at Katie's in Mid-City. Mom had soft-shell crab eggs benedict, Dylan had oysters benedict, Dad had a crawfish beignet something, Peter a trout and grits ensemble, and I had grillades and grits. Seriously, like I said, amazing.

THEN! Mom and Dad didn't have to get in the car to leave on Sunday afternoon. It was so, so nice to have them relax and stay a couple of days. Dad fernagled a meeting with work in south Louisiana instead of having to catch it in Houston first thing Monday morning, and Mom, well, Mom's on perma-vacation now. To keep the Easter celebration alive because He is Risen, He is Risen, Indeed, we had a lamb roast that evening al fresco. I think Mom liked it ... just a little.

Once left to our own devices again, we got back to normal routines and things to visit: Costco Mondays, Ms. Ashley's storytime on Tuesdays, Wednesday is general freeplay or "field trip" day with neighborhood families, little library and local playground Thursdays, levee walk + playground Fridays, Paul's soccer on Saturday mornings, and then church and setting up coffee&donuts takes up Sunday mornings.

Last week was r a i n and so managing as much as possible in said rain was eventful. If ever it stopped long enough to get some playtime in, Paul got to put his dinosaur rain boots to excellent use in puddles. I love it. We had a few cancellations, too, because of the weather unfortunately: the monthly Movies of the Point, and the annual neighborhood porch sale. Bummer. We still managed a few playdates, and when the rain stopped, these roses popped out - and are still coming!

This week, though, without any rain has seen a few extras. Paul had his very first dentist appointment. Besides getting a "great job!" on his clean teeth, we left with a county fair armload of "prizes" ... they say they want kids to like it there, with a shrug. Y'all, Paul got 2 stickers and 2 toys and a stuffed animal and a new toothbrush and a balloon (which Ada promptly busted). What's Paul's fave? The new mini-floss. And there's a playground in the waiting room, no joke. Anyway, after that visit, we had an outing planned for the Louisiana Children's Museum. (Sidenote: next time I know to make the dentist visit the activity for the day.) The Museum was wonderful! There's so so much to see and do, it's incredible. We enjoyed about 2 hours there and really only made our way to about 1/5th of it. Can't wait to go again!

We will probably not take the ferry, though. Yikes. About 8 moms and accompanying kids were with us, and only one other ferried with us. She has a son Paul's age and 8mos-old twins. We arrived at the ferry terminal to head home only to be told it's out of service until further notice. Okaaaay. Long story short, this friend's husband came to pick up our huge double strollers that don't fit onto city busses (&/or they're a hassle b/c they make you fold them down...), and we walked about 10 more blocks to catch a bus at 2:10. He couldn't drive us because whose car fits 3 adults and 5 carseated children. Anyway, lef the museum at 12:30, got home at 2:45. Hey! Weather was good, no child cried, and no baby had a dirty diaper. I'd say it was a successful misadventure.

Springtime weather and Holy Week

Just a couple of days after the last post, we bought a table and chair set from Costco - for ourselves. And it's proved itself totally worth it in the last 10 days alone what with all of the beautiful weather we've been having. The temperature's been just right for every meal outside, so we've taken advantage. This post, I want to focus on what the kids are doing now because it's so easy to just breeze on over it, but they really are growing big time right now. Ada's is mostly gross motor skills: she's a-walkin'! Paul's is all in that big noggin of his.

Ada has really taken off! While she's been toying with the idea of walking for what seems like months now, she's finally started doing it alone, just because, and without prompting. And she's most proud of herself; she gets the widest grin when we catch her just standing there. Helps that Paul will shout out sometimes, "Mama! Ada's standing!!" Then she grins and laughs. She's also begun walking herself along in or on the push-cars we have, so that's neat! Oh, and she's gone girlie-girl on us, requesting headbands and laughing once she gets them:

Paul is also taking off - in his imagination! And I'm relishing it. He said several things I keyed into, and now I'm noticing how often he really has his own train of thoughts - it's awesome. Ok, example 1: Ada was crying in the car on the way home from the store, and he tried calming her (cute, I know) by saying, "It's ok, you'll see Uncle Pete soon. He'll have backhoes for us to play with" What? How? Where did that come from? We had just seen him in Houston, ya know, but still. You better deliver, bro... Ex 2: Reading about what the Three Trees wanted to be when they grew up, he said he wants to be a backhoe because 2 shovels. Later that day, Dylan kind of loaded-questioned him, and it came out he wants to be the driver, but I'm sticking with his first answer. Ex. 3: We were eating out back, and we could see (poor indoor) Lucy in the window. Paul starts telling me she looks like the "Unts-uh" ... wut. You know, "with the green arms at the window" oooooh, the Once-ler, from Dr. Seuss' The Lorax! And she totally did! Because she's black against the black of the window showing just her eyes! Anyone? Google it. Last example: Paul was saying how pretty my Cologne coffee mug is, with the bridge over the Rhine and cathedral. Then he says, "I would like to go there. That bridge. Trains go on that bridge!" I told him we'll go one day and ride trains ... and eat delicious German bread. So he says, "Good bread on trains on big bridges, mmmm! Let's bring all of our boxes. To live. With Nana and Pappy, too. We'll miss Gus and Ben." Baaahaha, I loved the whole 3 or 4 minute exchange.

Dylan's been busying himself with work, yes, but also with helping to organize our neighborhood Movies on the Point monthly event, the first of which was a great success! And he's gotten himself switched into this local chapter of the Knights of Columbus, so our involvement there has increased; and everyone's so happy to have us.

And I have kept busy with the children, duh, as well as the usual cleaning and cooking and entertaining but also sorting through things, trying to simplify here and there. We've received many, many nice kids' clothes in sizes through 5yo boys, so I've had to get my head around what, how, and where to keep things. I've also felt an itch to get Paul (and to a lesser extent, Ada, too) involved in activities where s/he's got to answer to adults besides Mama and Papa; Paul's had 2 toddler soccer classes (the second of which was much more positive than the first ... hoping that's a trend!), and there's a big hope in a local art class for little guys. Check them out here to have a peek at what just joined our neighborhood; we attended an open house, and I think I'm in love! We've joined the nearby community garden, too, and have hopes there to pique interests I'd otherwise be less capable of doing on my own at home. 

Now it's Holy Week, and the Triduum starts tomorrow with the Last Supper service - Paul's excited about getting to rip into a giant loaf of bread for dinner, ha. Nana & Pappy are coming in, too, and we're planning on attending the last Fish Fry on Friday after a Way of the Cross, having a crawfish boil on Saturday with Pete, and attending the biggest Mass of the year on Saturday night, the Easter Vigil. Then, come Easter morning, there'll be baskets to get into and a brunch to enjoy. 

Our Lenten Life

We're trying hard around here to keep things simple, preparing ourselves for Easter and its big celebration, and while we're counting the days with little, purple crayons and cotton balls and reading daily reflections with penances, I still find there's been a lot of good reasons to indulge. Since Mardi Gras, Mom and Dad came into town for Dad's work for a week, then they took us back to Houston with them for a week, and now we've been here, back at home, for a week.

Daylight Savings Time was in there somewhere, too, and that always throws us for a loop. Never really noticed or cared before kids.

The week with Mom and Dad here was great! It was funny, too, because his work put them in a hotel in the warehouse district, and Mom was free to just meet up with us - not stay over or spend all day - just meet. It was awesome, like we lived in the same place. (Not to be read like staying over isn't awesome, duh.) We met up for lunch with Dylan one day, and we met up one morning with a bunch of Point moms for the Audubon Insectarium, after beignets, of course. That was great ... and creepy. It's a beautiful museum, thank goodness, because the, uh, specimen are disgusting. Come pet this (insanely massive Madagascar) roach! Look how many termites fit in this huuuuuge jar, making it an "infestation"! Unlabeled jar with a "Smell Here" sticker - no, I will not! There was an interactive short film that rocked (your seat, literally)! And there were big beetles in the table tops. Alive. Guten Appetite. Anyway, we also got to visit with two of my aunts, one on either side, Aunt Cyndi & Aunt Mollie. Lovely to see both! 

"Paul - go sit by that butterfly" Bam.

What Ginny sees in Ada on Aunt Mollie's rocking horse.

Then, Mom and Dad spent the weekend over here at our house, and we enjoyed some City Park sunshine, more beignets with Uncle Pete, and had a great start to Sunday with gorgeous weather and a tease-taste of the "Friendship Day" festival here on the Point (when St. Patrick's and St. Joseph's Days are sorta celebrated: the Irish and Italians coming together over food and drink). And Michael Knoll arrived in New Orleans that day, too! We'd caught up with him 2 Easters ago in Austin, MN, and now he's in his 3rd year on his basketball scholarship to St. Ambrose - always a pleasure to cross paths.

 

Then we hit the road for "Tetsas!" Paul's an excellent traveler. Ada, well, Ada gets there. Once we flip her to forward-facing, I'm sure she'll improve, but Girl just don't like being in that carseat. Moving on...

We had bad weather all. week. Other than missing backyard play & driveway trike riding, we survived just fine. We hit up HEB (aaa-mazing and Paul had his own tiny-sized hand basket in tow), got a haircut, went to a mall with a giant indoor playground, had dinner at our fave Mexican restaurant, drove around hunting cowboy boots, had a 1-year-old photo shoot (adorbs), and...

...went to Paul & Ada's first RODEO! Ada was cool with whatever, but Paul loved it! He wore his teeny cowboy boots aaaall day, chucked the hat after about 20 minutes, saw cows and horses, and tons of tractors. It was really precious. That night, Papa drove in.

   

And then Saturday happened. Saturday was beautiful. The weather made a 180º, and everybody came in to celebrate Dad's 68th birthday. We had Dad & Mom, Ginny & Ryan, Dylan, the kids & I, and Peter & Serena. We had drinks and snacks and tailgated (in the drive...) and crawfish and kids' and dogs' play and an apple Pi pie (c'mon, it was 3.14.15) and a fire and apparently no cameras. Too engrossed in enjoying the day - all 8 adults - to remember to take a picture together.

Sunday we hit the road again but not before early Mass at Christ the Redeemer and their delicious St. Joseph's Day spaghetti dinner and seeing their beautiful altar with breads, cakes, cookies, and more.

This week has been much more calm and slow-going, relatively speaking. We've done our usual round of grocery trips, story times, and playgrounds but have also had ridiculous nighttimes. Ada's getting molars already, so she's been up a lot and for long periods. Though Paul doesn't actively wake, it surely takes a toll on him during the day. They both sleep so. hard. during naptime. There were also lots of green things to eat on Tuesday (spinach-infused French toast, melon, Brussel sprouts, spinach-onion soup), and Italian things with a St. Joseph's altar on Thursday.

Let's talk development for a bit: Ada's getting those molars, yes, but she's also walking! Not everywhere all the time yet, but she's doing much more than just walking along things. When she's distracted, she'll walk clear across the room ... to Lucy, making her weird, inimitable Lucy sound. She's eating more and more, still a big variety. And more independently than Paul, in fact. I spoon-feed only oatmeal for breakfast, and she does the rest. Still nursing a good 4-5 times in a 24-hr period, reluctantly overnight, too. Dylan recently pointed out that because she's so tiny, perhaps she does, in fact, need something in that long stretch. During the day, she's nursing and eating. Anyway, there's that.

 Paul is getting so sharp. I mean, I think he always has been (smart, you know), but he's recollected 2 things lately that impressed me: that we had 2 staircases in our Austin house, and that there was a playground outside our old St. Augustine's church for after-Mass play. He also knew that our friends here, Stacy and Minty, haven't been to that church. He's a huge helper in the kitchen, too. Big shout-out to Colleen who helped me take that next step to getting his help at the stove and not merely prep. He adds ingredients now and stirs and seasons. He's also very good about listening while we cook and staying away from the fire and hot pans. It's awesome!

Mardi Gras in New Orleans: how it's really family-friendly

We're in Lent, now, and Paul's eagerly coloring a square a day on our little calendar & glueing a cotton ball a day onto our "Lenten Lamb" until Easter. We're going simple with food, doing the KC fish fry on Fridays, and having donuts after Mass on Sundays ... because Sundays don't count.

And Ada's close to a walk, standing unaided for 10+ seconds like a champ.

But before all that came Mardi Gras! And not the drunken fiasco most people envision. Of course, there is drinking, and some people go too far, yes. But it's awesome for kids! Here's how we celebrated our very first Mardi Gras as New Orleanians.

General info

Ginny & Ryan arrived midday Friday in order to spend Friday night's Hermes & Saturday morning's NOMTOC and evening's Endymion with us. They had to go back, begrudgingly, before Bacchus on Sunday evening, but they Mardi Gras'd pretty hard and had a good experience of it. There were also a few things we had been learning from friends and neighbors about how to "do Mardi Gras" here, including how to set up & where, and we were thankful for the tips. #1, Kelly, another Point mom & friend who'd recently moved over here from Uptown, lent us her currently-being-renovated-2blks-off-the-parade-route-key so that we would have bathroom access. #2,  she told me to go ahead and use the ladder (nice offer, but I didn't realize how rockin' awesome an offer it was til I saw the ladder and realized it's not just any ladder but a ladder with a kid-container on top!) #3, bikes. We biked across on the ferry and through the crowds with the kids in tow. It was honestly and really and terrifically the best way to get around. #4, unless you're at the start of the parade, a parade rolling at 6 does not mean you see it at 6; you set up by then, but where we were for 2 days, at St. Charles Ave & Washington, we had about an hour before seeing the first sirens and lights clearing the way for the parade. #5, snacks.

Friday the 13th

Gin & Ryan walked (poor things) while we rode our bikes to our spot right in front to watch Hermes. We cheersed, shared pizza, and laughed at the kiddos, making our first parade a huge success! Paul and Ada were in love with their kid-box ladder - they could see everything; Paul was in awe of just all of the stuff to see, the lights, the music, the costumes, the float designs. He very quickly learned "Throw me somethin', mista!" and was a pro come nightfall. And, boy, did he get some throws -- they love throwing to kids! Lil Miss Adeline was in music heaven; the float music, sure, but the bands - she loved the marching bands! Atta girl. She sat at the edge of her seat and watched and pointed at all the drumlines, but when the brass started blaring right in front of us, she clapped and bopped and laughed. Between the two of them, it was magic.

Then they sacked out in the Burley bike trailer. Since Dylan and I were under no time crunch to get home, we moseyed our bikes along St. Charles, seeing a bit of Krewe d'État, back into town and to the ferry. But not before, duh, having to cross the parade route in town. We found the official police-attended crosswalk, where folks would gather up to cross the street until there was a big enough gap in the parade, and we got squished through -- freedom on the other side! We both sighed relief when we exited the ferry on our side, thinking, wow, quiet & sanity. Got the kids in their beds, stayed up way too late (read: midnight) with Ginny & Ryan, and slept, refreshing ourselves for Day #2.

Saturday the 14th, Valentine's Day

New Orleans Most Talked Of Club, NOMTOC, is the Westbank's big to-do. And all the old guys at church were relishing telling us their stories and encouraging us to go. Taking in full stride that we're Westbankers, we put it on our list of must-sees. The route was super close to us, and we passed (Imma say it) the best poboys around on the way to the corner where we'd see it. Dylan and I split a crawfish poboy, Gin & Ryan had shrimp & hush puppies, as did the kids. This parade was a little more low-keyed than the bright lights from the night before, and it was daytime, so we had space to lay out a blanket to eat on, and then just stood in the street for the parade - no ladder boxes necessary. Paul stood next to me or on D's shoulders, and Ada had a turn on Papa's shoulders, too, when she wasn't in the Björn. We really loved this one, and it reminded me of Mardi Gras with my family down in Thibodaux almost 20 years ago. (Up to this point, I preferred that, almost, as it felt easier and a little more family friendly; read on, though, to Mardi Gras Day...)

We left around 2, when the kids got more needy (late night + no nap, yet), and switched gears, reloaded food and drinks, dropped off our throws to get back in the Burley (for naptime) / on our bikes for Endymion with Peter's gal, Serena ... and Peter! He wasn't supposed to be in town, but he surprised us, and the Braud kids + significant others were all together! This parade is on Canal St. rather than St. Charles Ave like all the others, and that's not the only way it's different. Endymion was flashy, loud, fast, and fun. We did not have access to our friend's house & ladder (different parade route, remember), so Paul was on Dylan, and Ada was on me the whole night. That was a much more minor thing, though, really, than I thought it'd be, and we had a ball! There was a big crowd of LSU med friends, and we were, at times, a good 15 people deep. Everyone was impressed with how well the kids were handling everything - the lights, the late, the noise, and Ada - in her bee costume facing outward in the carrier - got 3 people asking for a photo of us. She giggled and danced and clapped ... and pretty well won over the crowd. (Me inside: hooray for showing that people with kids & kids can have fun, too!)

That was a later night out, and the whole energy level was a bit more elevated than the 2 previous ones. Getting home, even on bikes, was a bit interesting. We passed street after street of parked-not-parked cars in traffic, ambulances, crowds on bikes, and we rode a little faster through a neighborhood or two before crossing that official crosswalk again. This time, there were pushers. In that moment, I thought of my Aunt Cyndi, who lives here in NOLA, who does not go out to play for Mardi Gras anymore, and her getting trampled story I'd like to hear more about. Anyway, having the bikes was a sort of double-edged sword because we got pushed around a little more because they're big and awkward, but I also felt a little more protected because I couldn't actually get knocked over. There were about 300 people trying to cross one 20ft section of a street a.s.a.p. in both directions. I even called out "Watch it, my babies are in there!" Anyway, we're all good. And we ended a second night with a big at-ease exhale on our Westbank-bound ferry.

Sunday the 15th

Ah, the joys of having children - we were up in time for 8am Mass. That left Ginny & Ryan a little more quiet time to sleep, but once Paul was back home and had had a piece of king cake already, he was ready to play with Tante Ginny & Uncle Ryan ... only they were most decidedly not ready for that. I kind of let Paul play at them, though, since, hey, that's what it's like when you stay with us, but I did draw the line when Paul started beating on a drum about 6 inches from Ryan's head. Sorry I didn't catch him sooner, Ryan ... he and Ginny suggested books to Paul instead. Paul said, deal ... read me one thousand books. Haha, ooh, goodness. They treated us to delivery pizza and slowly got their things ready to get back on the road. We all left the house at the same time that afternoon - they for Houston, and we for Bacchus on St. Charles.

It rolled in the late afternoon, but unlike Hermes on Friday, there was another parade directly before Bacchus, which means people were already set up. And lots and lots of people. We went to "our spot" and it was packed. We kind of found a nook on the streetcar line that would've sufficed, but we saw about a 2ft wide hole riiiight on the street; someone nearby heard that we were contemplating that spot and said "You set up, you gone get shot" ... alright, alright. I mean, he wasn't threatening to shoot us, but, in hindsight, I wonder what he actually was saying. Anyway, we're newbies, I get it, but it's funny feeling possessive about a little strip of grass for a few hours. A lady on the other side of us overheard us, and she invited us to put up our ladder in that little hole, saying that's her family's spot, and she wants us there, "We got da whole row here, you just go der and have fun". So we went, and had fun. (Minor annoyance and shrug-point was that about 3 11/12 yr old girls behind us on little step ladders kept calling out to the floats "Throw behind the big ladder!!" Sigh.) Peter and Serena were at a party just 5 or 6 houses down from us, so they watched the first half with us - really fun! They shared our (Ginny's) pizza, and helped me finish a ginormous king cake I'd bought Friday. And Bacchus' theme was children's stories!! It was precious seeing Paul point out "Pooh!" and "Cat in Hat!" And I loved the Harry Potter float, of course. We crossed St. Charles at a less-travelled spot than downtown and made it home with no stories to tell.

Monday, Dylan went to work, and we took a break. Chill out at home day!

Tuesday the 17th, Mardi Gras Day!

Early to rise! We packed pancakes, coffee, and hot coco in the Burley along with two very bundled children and hit the ferry in time to watch Zulu come down the street around 8am. And just in time, too. We were riding on Baronne (where Kelly's house & ladder are), and we were one major street from Washington when we had to cross ... a parade? We asked a man standing next to us which parade this was ... "Zulu, man!" It was coming down a cross street we didn't expect, ha! So, we stopped right where we were and stood in the intersection for our first Zulu. It was gorgeous! I loved the Indians' costumes, the music was fab, and we caught a few coconuts! In fact, that same man said his wife's sister marches in Zulu, and she gave us our first coconut ... then 2 others were given to Dylan when he had one or the other kid on his shoulders - seriously, they love the kids. This was the first parade we didn't plan on meeting up with anyone. Other families and Peter & Serena didn't do the early morning, but we ran into friends from down the street! New Orleans is the biggest small town. Besides, to me, it seems the most traditional of all on Mardi Gras day to wake up for Zulu and follow with:

Rex, the Carnival King. Rex did not disappoint. I wonder if it was the tradition, or the early morning, or the daylight instead of night+flash, or maybe it was just too cold this year for many, but I. loved. Rex. Seems if ever the word "classy" could be tied to anything Mardi Gras at all, which is debatable, it'd be Rex. The parade overall was shorter, the floats were more approachable (read: smaller scale), there wasn't any bling, just prettily decorated floats and costumed riders, everything was very orderly and smooth, and they're the ones who make you learn to catch. OK, so there's this thing with Mardi Gras that you can't pick up beads or anything from the ground; you're supposed to catch stuff, and if it falls, you leave it for lost. I dunno, but that's a thing. And Rex has uniquely designed beads in a tiny bag for each float, like - this is the Boston Tea Party float, so there's a bead, a cup, etc, from that float with the Boston Tea Party logo thing on them and if you don't get one as it passes, you don't get one. Makes it kind of collectors-y, ya know. Anyway, there's a medallion on each float's bead that cracked if it hit the ground!! So, you had to catch or it'd break! There were also tons of riding lieutenants, which are the men in gorgeous purple, green, and gold capes and masks on horses just strolling through who give out doubloons, my fave. I asked for one, and he threw it to me, but with my mittens on, I stumbled and dropped it. He shouted out "Ya gotta catch it!" Alright, alright, Rex, I'll try harder next year!

Then we caught an hour or so of the trucks parade which has big ol' 18-wheelers decorated in kitsch with loud uhns-ts-uhn-ts music throwing kitsch, which is all kinda fun, but we'd had enough, I think, and the kids were done by then. Cold day, outta food, ready for naps. I think we did it well!

We came home, sorted through all our throws, made piles to be sent outta state, and had Mexican for dinner. Since Dylan and I have been married, I've always tried to have the most cajun meal with king cake on Mardi Gras day, and now we're here, we were outta king cake, and I couldn't cook anything delicious quick enough, bizarre. In hindsight, that's what our chill-out Monday's gonna be for - making Tuesday night's delicious meal. All in all, I'd say we had a wonderful first year here - family, friends, kids, & bikes -- all great! (Mom & Dad had such FOMO*, they've already decided to come next year.)

*fear of missing out

After Mardi Gras, everything purple, green, and gold got packed away, Paul and I made a couple of crowns of thorns from our dead ivy/creeper in the garden, and we got our ashes to begin Lent.