Neglect.

Oy... I'm such a bad blog Mom.  I haven't posted in 10 days.  Sheesh.  Well, let's see what's been going on?  Greg came down with some mystery illness and spent four days curled up on a ball on the sofa until I made him go to the urgent care last Sunday.  That was a treat.  I attended a Newcomer's party thrown by the local Jewish Federation that was quite delightful.  I met some great folks, and had the chance to hob nob with some of NOLA's finest including an acclaimed chef.  Too bad I only got to try a tiny portion of what he'd cooked!  I must make a point to visit his restaurant and say hello in the near future.  Can't hurt to have a critically acclaimed chef as a friend, now can it?  :-)  Oh, and I also attended services for Rosh Hashana yesterday at Touro Synagogue.  Beautiful sanctuary.  Amazing ceiling and stained glass... wow!

We're still settling in a bit.  We now have a small kitchen table - yay.  Wren also has a dresser, but it's still in a box at the top of the stairs.  I"m hoping that since we're all mostly healthy - perhaps we can get it put together this weekend.  I'm not sure what else this weekend holds for us.  Atticus has been asking to ride the trolley -- so perhaps we'll give that a go.  I'm sure the park will factor in sometime as well, especially if the weather dips into the 80s.  Woo hoo -- come on fall.... (I hear it's going to get down to the 40s up in Ohio!!)

Ok... I'm off to figure out dinner before I have to get the crew!  Wishing everyone a sweet new year!

Colic

I met a mom in the parking lot of the daycare this morning that just looked like she's been run ragged. Her little one was SCREAMING while mom got her out of the car and then she stopped. Mom said the little one hasn't stopped screaming yet (only 3.5 months) and is actually on probation from the daycare because she's keeping everyone else awake!!

I sooooo know her pain. I didn't even know what to tell her though... it gets better? Eventually? For us it took almost a year? That's not going to help. And she said that her husband is on a 3 month (or maybe 3 year) contract job in Brazil so she's on her own. Oy. Maybe I'll bring her a package of earplugs tomorrow. She's going to need them.

Maybe she can be my new lunch friend? She's going to need a break from her daughter...

Just Strap 'Em In

I absolutely must tell this story before I forget and it gets lost in my memory...

(shaking my head and laughing still...)

So, on the night we (Jen, Bubbe, Atticus and Wren) flew from Detroit to Dallas, Pops met us at the airport. Our flight had been delayed due to weather in Detroit (that was actually a good thing as it bought be time to get some dinner for the kids and run to the restroom). We called Pops once we touched down and said that we'd be a bit before we made it to baggage claim. It takes quite the effort to get all of us off the plane, get the stroller, get our ducks in a row, head to the nearest restroom, pit-stop for all of us and then wind our way over to the carousel. We told Pops what suitcases to look for so he could grab them in case they things were unloading before we arrived. When we finally saw Pops, he exclaimed, "you didn't tell me about the car seats!". Well, no... we sort of assumed you'd know that we had two car seats in addition to the luggage because how else were we supposed to get home?

So, now with two car seats, a few suitcases, an Elmo backpack, a diaper bag, a laptop bag, a stroller, two kids, one mom and two grandparents we set out for the parking garage. WHEW. Pops thought it would be easier to pull the car up and let us get in curbside and we agreed. He jetted off and returned with the car a few minutes later. Mind you by this point, it's late and the kids are TIRED! Pops opens the trunk of the car and starts stacking suitcases, backpacks, bags and the car seats.

Huh? Wait, we need those car seats Pops...

His answer. Priceless.

"Can't we just strap them in and install the seats tomorrow?"

No Pops. The baby is only 15 months old. I don't think you can just "strap her in"...

Oy.

My Fitness Pal

My brother convinced me to download an app called My Fitness Pal. I've done a fairly good job of tracking my eating and pseudo workouts. And by pseudo I mean -- carrying Wren all over creation, doing jumping jacks with Atticus, running/chasing the kids in a big circle in the living rom... but, whatever I'm doing seems to be working. I'm down ~5 lbs thus far with about 10 more to go. I'm hoping I can drop another 3 or so before I head out to Malibu in a few weeks for Tiffany's wedding. Buh buy baby weight... it's been fun eating everything in sight for the past few years, but it's time to go!

If you're on My Fitness Pal, let me know -- I'll add you to my list which right now is just my brother and my Dad. :) Always easier to do well when you're accountable to someone!

Potty Prodigy

Wren may very well be a potty prodigy. Really, I mean it. She's been pointing to her diaper and saying pee-pee, so I pulled out the baby potty yesterday morning and put it in her room. She went twice yesterday! She didn't go yet today -- but we've only tried once. We'll give it another try after nap. :)

Wouldn't it be fabulous to be done with diapers all at once? Woo hoo!

Life in the Big Easy

We're slowly settling in... and I'm making much more of an effort to meet folks here (at least compared to life in Ohio). I had lunch with a friend of friend (a very nice lawyer who's invited us over to his parent's house for the break fast after Yom Kippur). I've met with the woman who's in charge of newcomers to the Federation, Jody. She's great -- and she has a 3 year old son named Billy. And she has a ton of friend all of whom have 3 year old boys. Woot. I met a bunch of them out at Danneel Park yesterday morning. What a fantastic park. Both kids had a blast - and Atticus even learned how to pee on a tree. I know, right? Oy. At least boys have the option of peeing on a tree! It was a pretty funny sight to see half a dozen three year old boys all circled around a big tree going pee.

This morning was at Tot Social at the Uptown JCC. Wow. Note to self, call again tomorrow to see if there's any room available for the kids. The outside play area alone would make it worth switching daycares! I spoke with a few new Moms and Dads while Atticus and Wren made friends and played. It seems the Jewish community is full of three year old boys! :-)

After a morning of playing, I picked up Greg and we thought we'd try out the restaurant around the corner from us, Lucky Ladle. We arrived about 10 minutes before noon -- but when we went inside we were told that they were actually closing for the day! They'd been so busy that morning that they'd run out of food! Are you kidding me??? So, since we were still hungry - we went to the place next door, Jackson. While the food was quite tasty - the place was practically empty and it still took almost 40 minutes to get two plates of scrambled eggs for the kids, some french toast for me and a crepe for Greg. For some unknown reason - we just do NOT have good luck with restaurant service! Honestly - the table of 4 that came in well after us (at least 15 to 20 minutes) after were served first, and had already paid their tab and packed up before we could even contemplate asking for the check. Sigh.

Now... I'm ever so patiently waiting for the littles to fall asleep. Once that happens - I'm going to catch a few zzzzz's too!

Swamp Sized Mosquito

My poor little prince. A swamp sized mosquito found him sometime yesterday and worked his blood sucking way up Atticus from his leg to his arm (twice) to his cheek and then twice on the edge of his left ear! Owie zowie! Big red welts and icky-oozy bug bites and there's not much I can do for him. Poor guy!!

First Saturday in NOLA

Wow. What a first Saturday. Thank goodness I went to the Urgent Care Center yesterday -- I did have strep. I got a steroid shot in the tush, which seems to be working wonders and I've started on my 10 day course of Amoxicillian (or however you spell it)!

So, this morning, we packed up the kids and headed the 3. something miles to the French Quarter. We started out with beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde, then strolled across the street to catch the tourist-y horse and carriage ride (which Atticus loved and which lulled Wren to sleep), then a quick jaunt over to check out Greg's new office (much more formal than the previous year), and then a pop-over to the Seafood Festival for a quick bite before heading home for naps. Whew. I had wanted to try the shrimp poboy from Acme, but the line was too long (especially with two anxious toddlers) so I instead grabbed some crabcakes from Pigeon Caterers and some Gator Sliders from Royal House. I'd never actually had gator before. Pretty darn tasty. But, neither kid was a fan of the choices -- so it was time to pack it up and head home. I think they would have enjoyed shrimp, but alas... there's always tomorrow!

We also managed to check off one more thing from the to-do list today. We drove out to Target and purchased a dresser for Wren's room. Now she'll have someplace to put the two ginormous bags of clothes that our dear friend Amy (and her daughter, Katie) have donated to us! Wren does NOT need clothing right now -- that's for sure! :-)

I think tomorrow will be slightly calmer, but who knows. Atticus wants to bake cookies, so that will require a trip to the grocery store - always an adventure. I'm considering making these Pancake Squares for breakfast if I can find my baking powder... YUM. I honestly think I could eat breakfast for 3 meals a day. :-)

Lots more to say, but it's getting late. I've uploaded a ton of pictures and video to the July and August Picasa folders. If you don't have the links, let me know -- I think it was supposed to auto share with the group, but I'm not sure that actually happened... And I did get some pictures today, but they're still trapped on the camera. All in due time...

Hysteria -- Movie Trailer

Oh My Goodness... depending upon the release date, I may have to fly somewhere to see this with some girlfriends! Thanks Amy for the tip off for this new film...



Too funny!