La La La Lagniappe

I'm featured in a treasury!

Sooooo exciting!!!

too much help!?

It's obviously possible. Hazel was content feeding herself fish until these 2 decided to "help." She was less than enthused.

happy mardi gras y'all!

Better late than never, right!? This week last year we were in Monroe for Hazel's baby blessing, but this year we stayed around for all of the festivities! Mardi Gras has officially made it to my top 3 holidays. It more than just BEADS...I mean we definitely got our fare share of them. Just look at the boys and their beads from the Tuesday parades. The parades actually start like a month before, but most are the week of. Orum thought he was so cool because he got a giant necklace and a fleur de lis necklace!

It's beautiful FLOATS...that are adorned with real gold! I love the beads dripping from the trees and all the people with their hands up yelling, "throw me something mister!"
LADDER SEATS--which Hazel decided made a good bed. She actually slept sitting up in it through the loudest parade ever the night before! I painted ours metallic gold with a black fleur de lis on the back. I'm thinking about covering it all in beads for next year.

That's our church in the left corner--so convenient for parking and for setting up camp! We had such a great "little" spot! Little--as in the size of 2 tarps. We had a table with the food, a little picnic table for the children, camping chairs surrounding the perimeter and our ladders along the street. I will take the credit for claiming the spot, but Orum and a couple of his friends camped out after Monday night's parades to keep it for Tuesday's. Personally, I think it would have been just fine unmanned, but they insisted.

It's GOLD STRETCHY PANTS! Lora's costume was very low key. I didn't take any pictures of the ones I saw, but I should have! People walk along the streets between the parades, but I wasn't fast enough to

It's KING CAKE BABIES! Only Elijah would And SHOES! My favorite krewe, MUSES, is all women. Their coveted throw is a shoe! I caught the saints one last year, and a lady threw the LSU one to Renée this year! It needs another coat or two of glitter, but she was SO excited! She was holding up a little shoe while yelling for one. A lady saw her and reached down to get this little one just for her! They all decorate and throw their own. I'm sure she was saving it for the cutest little girl she saw :)oh, and then there's HATS! Yes, that's right...Reggie Bush threw me a signed super bowl hat! Elijah was NOT happy that I wouldn't let him have it. I know, mean mom. I'm putting it with the beads that Drew threw me the week before :) I guess the players were just drawn to our saints ladder seat!And to get all that...we had to get all this too...ahhhh...the junk. Now to make it all disappear.If only it were as easy as cleaning the streets...unfortunately there are 3 little pairs of hands that keep claiming stuff as theirs. Stuff that they must have because it's their favorite. and they can't live without it.

The streets are insane...they are littered with beads and trash and who knows what else, but in a matter of a couple of hours they are clean again!

I LOVE MARDI GRAS! :)

our valentines...

I may have gone a little overboard this year. Orum says that I spent WAY too much time on something for kids who just want the candy, but my kids were VERY excited about them. Hopefully their friends were too.

Both of their classes had Chineese New Year celebrations, so I thought take-out boxes and felt fortune cookies were a must! I made Elijah's first...his teachers wanted them 4 days before the party. can we say ocd?! After taking his 18 boxes apart, sewing the heart, and reassembling them, Renée's 12 boxes just got a label. It was pink. She loved it. Hopefully, making them for 3 classes won't lead me to the vday aisle at walgreens!

when the saints go marching in...

On Tuesday, the city had a victory parade for the Saints. And of course, we were there! Unfortunately, Orum had class! The law school just wanted to add a little more misery. The other universities closed at 1pm. Renée's school dismissed at noon. He and his classmates were probably the only people NOT there...I heard there were like 800,000 people there!

Orum's aunt and her friend drove in from Monroe {4hrs} and the family beside us drove from Nashville! {8hrs} We even found this guy sitting in the middle of the crowd! He was jamming out to "party in the mia"

And seiously, how cute are there 3 in sitting in the ladder! It was COLD--one of the coldest days of the winter! AND we waited for 2 hours for the parade to get to us! They were troopers, although I think it's going to be a while before Hazel wants to sit up there again! It was bedtime and she just wanted to sleep.

We usually bring the stroller for her, but I was alone. I only have 2 hands. I had already walked a mile {literally}--holding hazel, pulling the ladder, and trying to get the other 2 to stay close. Bringing the stroller too was not an option. My arm was sore for days. Luckily, they are easily made happy with food :)

Right behind these priests was the first float...Drew Brees was on it. I didn't get a picture because I was busy catching the beads that he threw right to me! Yes, it's true. I caught a pass from Brees. The Nashville people beside me went NUTS!

Each of the "super krewes" donated a float for the parade. Brees rode in on the Bacchus float--the parade that he is king of this year. The kickers rode in the muses' shoe. Hartley threw me a bead too:)

Then he, like Brees, got off the float and walked around the street to meet and greet! We weren't close enough to actually touch them, but it was fun to hear the crowd get so loud and crazy!

There were several more floats with players and cheerleaders and lots of marching bands. Shockey was on our side as well. When he came by some girl started climbing up the back of our ladder! {not ok}

The last float was the Orpheus train. Shawn Payton was at the front with his family pumping the trophy the whole way!

And last, but not least Gumbo. He often greats the girls at Renée's school on "black and gold" days!

Who dat nation...

Today, we drove around the city. A parade was en route, so we drove around the edge of downtown, but this is what we saw.

makeshift projection screens...
flying pigs...
festive shirts...bleachers in the street...

a couple of dissenters...
people in black & gold EVERYWHERE...
dressed up dogs {and owners}...

balconies ready for a party...
joan of arc...

balloon arches...
saints-mobiles...
a couple of "saints"

a portable party house...

our neighborhood pigs...

a few decorated cars...

and these cute kids...

black & gold!

Of course, today is "black and gold day!" And since it's a BIG day, they needed some new gear! Someone didn't want his picture taken--he shall remain unnamed, at least I finally got a smile instead of a scowl.

Obviously, this is not the kind of fabric I usually go for, but right now it's like gold! The Monday after the game, it was sold out! There was a waiting list...and I actually got a couple of yards--yesterday. Just in time to stay up making clothes for school today. I guess I should get started on Hazel's outfit. We wouldn't want her to feel left out this weekend!

so much to celebrate!

With so much to celebrate in the next few days--the Saints, Vday, and Mardi Gras--how's a boy supposed to decided what to wear!?! Well, since the theme of show and tell was Mardi Gras it was an easy decision today--I can't say the same for the rest of the week!

His favorite part--the hanging tips of the mask...with bells! I'm afraid there may be a battle to get it off of him tonight!
{Don't worry it really is purple...I don't know why it photographed blue!}