Comparing Notes?

Today Cullen noticed something I would have NEVER thought he would have actually noticed. He asked why I had a picture of me holding toddler-age Lila up close and one of me holding toddler-age Carson up close and don't have one of me holding toddler-age Cullen up close. I do have one that my sister-in-law took and I only have one. It is sweet but it is not in a frame anywhere. Who would have thought Cullen, who I have to remind to comb his hair and change his clothes, would have noticed this? I showed him the picture in the scrapbook and said I would make a copy and frame it too. The way I REALLY wanted to reply would have made him turn red and be too embarrassed to ever ask a question again. I wanted to say...
"Yes, but I breast-fed you the longest, sweetie..."

Gratitude

When I am feeling especially overwhelmed or tied down God sends me a message to help me realize my blessings. As much as I am restrained by my children I am also empowered by them and I literally would not want to be here without them. Today I was frustrated by the screaming, messiness, and general disobedience of my children. I was wondering why I hadn't put Lila in daycare for the summer (this mama needs a break!) and why I didn't enroll the boys in more camps. Then a friend on Face book posted a link to her friend's blog about the shocking and sudden death of the friend's 14 month old baby. That was God's message to me to suck it up and count my blessings. My blessings are plentiful.

The same thing happened a little over nine years ago. I was pretty depressed after Carson was born. I was overwhelmed and had very little help with a two year old and a newborn at home. Kevin was working hard, like usual, and my grandmother was sick and then passed away, which kept my mom busy emotionally and physically. She was unable to help as much with newborn Carson as she had with Cullen. In May of 2002 Carson was almost six months old, Cullen was two, and, between lack of sleep and a bout of pneumonia (which I suffered from and recovered from without help with the children... they just laid on the sofa bed with me for a week), I was feeling down, drained, and was wallowing in self pity. At the end of the May a girl I knew was driving between Baton Rouge and Lafayette and was in a terrible car crash with her almost three year old and her older son, who was about ten. Little Cole was killed in the crash and his mother, Amy, was injured so badly that she was in the hospital for weeks and unable to attend his funeral. That terrible accident helped bring me out of my depression. My children and I were alive and well; it was time to live our lives and enjoy it! Through the loss of one little boy's life I was able to realize that I needed to value my life and my blessings more.

I hope that I can remember this every day this summer, even if there are a few moments where I forget the treasure that I have.

Crawfish Soup

This is from Jason; it's awesome!

1 lb crawfish tails
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 stick butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup flour
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups milk
Salt
Pepper
Creole seasoning
Garlic powder
Paprika
1 lb tasso, chopped
From Amy: I add a capful of crab boil. I also add a few cans of corn if I'm in the mood for it.

Melt butter - sauté tasso for about 5 minutes. Add white onions and half of
green onions, sauté.

Add Chicken broth, let cook for a few minutes. Slowly add flour, whisking
as you add to avoid lumping. Add crawfish. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring
constantly.

Add cream, milk, season to taste (throw in Tabasco). Bring to boil, reduce
heat and continue stirring. Add rest of green onions and paprika before
serving. Bon appetite!

My Babies in their Christmas Finery

I have given up on the "perfect" picture. However, these are still sweet to me. I loved how their outfits matched without the boys having to be in "baby" clothes. Happy New Year!!

New Year's Resolution

I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions because I usually break them and I hate to set myself up for failure. For this same reason instead of making a "to do" list with just big statements on it I break it into smaller tasks... "Do laundry" turns into "1. Wash Laundry (2) Put away kids laundry (3) put away adult laundry," etc. That way even if I don't finish it all I still feel like I did something. There is a fine line between OCD and normal and I walk on it daily...

My New Year's resolutions this year will not involve weight loss. I do want to lose 8 pounds but I'm not fully committed yet. Instead, this is what I plan to do:

1. Learn all of the Countries in Africa:
Did you know that there are up to 54 if you count the islands like Madagascar? I am counting those too. I only know TEN so being the geography snob that I am I feel ignorant. I learned many of them in the past but forget them. I was one of four people to make an "A" in the second Geography at LSU and I intend to keep my bragging rights. I have printed a blank map and I have printed one with the countries listed on them. I plan to know them by mid-February.

2. Teach the Kids Religion
I just want to work on some of the basics... the songs, the stories, the books of the Bible, the interesting things that kids should just know. They don't seem to learn as much during their one hour of catechism each week. The teachers there are so sweet and it's an organized program but an hour a week just isn't enough. This way I can do it MY way. I don't plan to ever enroll them in Catholic school but I can definitely teach them more about The Bible.

Gingerbread Village

I have a brilliant new marketing plan or at least a good idea for placement of products in major grocery stores. I feel as if gingerbread house and village kits should come with some sort of alcoholic beverage for the adult. It would need to have some a timer on it because goodness knows I had enough trouble assembling those things sober; the cocktail would have come in handy afterwards. I must hand it to the kids that not once did they say anything about how much better Daddy would have done it (although he would have done it much better, I suspect). I made the icing too thick and messed up the icing pouches that came with the kit. Then you actually have to assemble those little suckers! If the walls aren't quite straight then the roofs fall off. Needless to say my village would not pass inspection for quality of construction but once I smeared the icing on the roof of each little building the kids had so much fun! I learned years ago that what looks good to me and what looks good to them are two totally different things. Fun was had by all... Cullen, Carson, cousin Phillip, and Lila. If I had been in possession of a bottle of champagne I would have made mimosas for one. If you drink with four kids present that doesn't count as drinking alone, does it?

Pre-Christmas

I love that two days ago Cullen and Carson both cleared off a shelf for the Harry Potter Lego sets that they hope and wish with all of their hearts to receive for Christmas. I love this because:

1) They actually cleaned something up, which is in itself a cause for celebration
2) They live a life where they feel confident that they will get the basics of what they want
3) They both still believe in Santa. I think one is teetering on the edge of knowing the truth but he still WANTS to believe and both boys will always play the game for Lila.

We don't over-indulge them. My motto is that just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do something. We could buy them a four-wheeler for Christmas, for instance, or a new DS game every week but we don't. We could get Happy Meals every day but we don't. I don't want them to live a life where we can't keep up with their demands. These Lego sets are a fraction of what some of their friends will get but Cullen and Carson will be happy to get them. The sets are on backorder but I have inside information from a certain elf that Santa prepared far enough in advance where he doesn't need to worry about a shortage of Harry Potter Lego sets.