Cabbage, Potatoes, Carrots and BEADS! Our St. Patrick's Day Parade.

I'd never "caught" cabbage, potatoes, carrots and beads at a parade before until we went to the Ponchatoula St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday, March 15.

Dawson was very confused. He was expected to catch candy, so when someone handed him a carrot he took it and just stared at it as if to say, "Why in the WORLD was I just handed a carrot?!"

Jillian was terrified of the bagpipes, Justis and Travis had a blast trying to catch the bouncy balls being thrown and bouncing EVERYWHERE, and Madalynn cared about getting her beautiful beads.

By the end of the parade we had a huge paper sack full of beads and another huge paper sack full of giant carrots and potatoes. We didn't get a cabbage, but they were handing them out, too.

I got my hair cut in the window of a local salon right before the parade, so people would pass by and wave at me and smile as my stylist cut my hair. The kids got a kick out of seeing mommy in a storefront window.

We left the parade smiling because we cease to be amazed at Louisiana's unique ways of celebrating things. We also had a good pan full of fried potatoes that night!

Madalynn's First Sleepover

Madalynn spent her first overnighter at her friend Lilly's house March 12!

Lilly is the daughter of my good friend Jennifer and is Madalynn's friend from home school co-op.

Madalynn and Lilly were both taking a three-day art workshop in Covington (where Lilly lives), so Jennifer offered to allow Madalynn to stay over one night to save me a morning trip taking her to the art workshop. Not only was I blessed by making one less trip to Covington, Madalynn had a BLAST!

Lilly took Madalynn to her grandma's house to eat pizza. They then went back to Lilly's house where the two of them did their art homework together and watched a little bit of American Idol. The girls made a "house" for Lilly's hamster and Lilly's mom read them an Amelia Bedelia book before Madalynn borrowed some PJs and the girls turned in for the night.

We missed having Madalynn at home that night, but we gave her a call to talk to her and tell her good night. Travis shed a tear when he realized our daughter is growing up fast.

I picked her up the next day after art workshop and she couldn't stop talking about her great sleepover with Lilly.

Madalynn can't wait to host Lilly for a sleepover now!

Young Man Justis

Justis is a joy to have in our home. He is the one always keeping me on my toes, for sure. He's to go-to guy around the house when Travis is gone. He always willingly helps me with what I ask and even goes out of his way to find ways to help me out.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got two very nice compliments about Justis from two of his co-op teachers and the lady who organizes co-op. His reading teacher told me she wanted to take Justis home with her. She went on to say how he quietly follows instructions and doesn't have to be prodded to finish his work. She said he showed perseverance! Justis's art teacher gave one student at each table a sunflower. Justis received one for being a good listener. The leader of co-op told me she had heard my son Justis was very smart. I smiled and agreed with her. Sure, I'm a proud mom, but he IS quite witty.

Justis is very detail-oriented, and we're enjoying watching him develop in his personality and character. He cares so much for the feelings of others and is always the first child to share what he's playing with, eating or drinking with anyone. We love you, Justis Shane!

Do Princesses Wear Cowboy Hats?

Princess Jillian wears cowboy hats AND her daddy's caps!

Pink and camo make a cute mix, right?! We can't decide if Jillian's tomboy/princess style is influenced more by her two older brothers or is an attempt to make a reinvent a fresh country princess style. Whatever the reason, she certainly has a unique style.

Here are some pictures of Jillian wearing some of her favorites. Remember, WE didn't chose these outfits for her. She picked them out herself!

Backyard Campout in FEBRUARY!

I would have laughed at the thought of camping out in February when I lived in Kansas. February, after all, is quite possibly the coldest month of the year in Kansas! That's why I never dreamed we would set up the tent in the backyard for a February 17 camp out.

Travis told me of his intentions to camp out with the kids. I said, "Have fun. Jillian and I will sleep inside, where it's warm!" I offered my support with setting up the tent and providing the ingredients for s'mores.

Sleeping bags ready, the kids and Travis went out to camp. I spent some time sitting with them while they cooked s'mores and shared stories. Giving kisses to all of them, I turned around to check into my warm cozy bed, wondering when they would get too cold and come in.

Travis, Madalynn, Justis and Dawson have resolve and warm bodies, apparently. Although the daytime temperature was in the high seventies before dark, the temperature got down to 43 degrees that night. Brrrr!

They came in early the next morning with red noses and smiles on their faces! Turns out they ended up sleeping two to a sleeping bag and invited Dixie (our chocolate lab) in to keep their feet warm.

The next night those crazy kids were asking to camp out in the backyard again! We somehow convinced them to wait until the weather was a little warmer!

Meet Slider

This is Slider, our new pet turtle!

I uncovered our little turtle while raking leaves in the backyard. He was on his back and hidden away in his shell playing dead. I picked him up and thought, "Should I let the little guy go, or tell the kids?" I chose to tell and show the kids. The turtle went from our entertaining discovery to a permanent resident in Madalynn and Jillians' room.

Slider is named after the kind of turtle he is. He's a red-eared slider, and he swims!

You may be wondering why I found a swimming turtle in the backyard. We are in the rainy season here, and we pretty much live in a swamp. Our yard gets saturated and water stands for a long time after it rains, especially in holes. I think the little guy got washed into our backyard or was hatched in a little water hole there.

Madalynn has taken responsibility for Slider. She feeds him and takes him out once a day to hold and show the siblings. Slider lives in a little plastic reptile home. Half of his home is water, the other half is aquarium rocks. He swims around, then gets up on the rocks, then swims around again and gets fed regularly.

Salmonella lives on turtles and other reptiles, so I am very particular about hand washing before and after holding Slider!

Slider's a cute little guy, but boy does that tiny turtle stink up Madalynn & Jillians' room! Yuck. I told Madalynn we'd keep him until/unless he seems to need his natural environment. Turtles live a LONG time...Hmmmm.....

Toothless Wonder

A good tooth brushing and an hour of wiggling was all it took for Madalynn's first lost tooth to go from solid to GONE this morning.

Madalynn has been waiting for this "right of passage" (as she sees it) into "big girl" territory FOREVER! She no longer has to sit and look at all of her friends' toothless grins longing for a space in her smile.

"Mom!" she hollered as she rushed into the kitchen with her mouth wide open this morning to show me her wiggly discovery. She was talking so fast I couldn't understand most of what she said. "What do I do" she asked.

I told her that most of the time it takes a while from a tooth to go from loose to gone...sometimes a week or so. Imagine both of our surprise as she caught her tooth in her hand and gasped, "It came out, Mom! It came out!"

Her tiny tooth is waiting in a cup on her dresser for the tooth fairy to take and replace with money.

"Do I look funny?" was one of the first questions she asked me.

I hugged her and told her she looks beautiful. Enjoy the picture of beautiful, toothless Madalynn.