Hallow Cupcake!

Li made these cupcakes. They just crack me up. She tries so hard to make them perfect. Not too shabby for a 6yr old.

FIrst Day of School

Tuesday was not just the first day of schools for the girlies, but an important milestone for MM. No more baby school. Time for new and exciting things, Pre-K3. She's been excited for months to go to school with Li at her Big Girl School.  When the morning came she was nervous and would let us take a good picture of her.

Sweet, sweet Li couldn't sleep the night before. She is so much like me. Worried if her friends will be in her class or if she'll like her teacher. But when the morning came she was all smiles as she stood in line. Happy to be there.

After school was over they were happy to see their daddy and ready to start the new year off right.

Who lives in a Pineapple

There is something so zen about icing cookies. Even if you do it as poorly as I do. No one will ever hire me to decorate cookies for them. I've been shown how to do it properly. And of course, there's a plethora of information on the internets. But I find the proper way tedious. I just don't have the patience. Plus, I kinda like the abstracty look of these cookies. When I'm finished, these guys are supposed to be SpongeBob & Patrick for the girls birthday party

If ever someone makes you cut out cookies, you know they love you because these are a pain.

Random Mishmash

Normally, I like to do separate posts for each idea. I'm not good with flow and tying themes together. But I've been a bad blogger lately. I haven't blogged about much of anything as of late. This random mishmash of the things that have been rolling around in my head. Sorry, I know its long.

Running
Race season is almost here! My first race is 10days out. The inaugural Louisiana Half.  I'm so excited. I love race day. The excitement, the comradery, the medal, the after party. A few of my friends are running this race too. Plus a bloggy meet up. I should have tons of fun.

This past Sunday, I "ran" my last long run of my training. I put ran in quotes because I didn't run it. Well, I ran 3 miles out of the 10.5mi and walked the rest. My hip/ITband is still bothering me. Running hurts. But walking is fine. The one advantage to being a slow runner is that my running isn't that much faster than walking. So it's not a big hit to my ego. My plan is to walk the first half marathon. Then maybe rest a bit, do all my stretches/strengthening and see if it will ease up. If not, I walk the second one at the end of the month too. I know that I should just rest and not race.  But I've signed up, paid, and told people I was racing. So I'm racing.

Weekend Fun
Now that its fall, festival season here in Southeast Louisiana has started again. Last weekend was the beginning of Oktoberfest at the Deutsches Haus. It was a fun way to introduce the girlies to the little bit of German heritage they have mixed in with the Cajun and Irish. What's not to love about this festival. Lots of pork, lots of beer, lots of people, and of course music.

The Big Man, MM, & Li enjoying the porky goodness

Li dancing with the Big Chicken to (of course) the Chicken Dance

MM being too terified of the Big Chicken to dance with him

MM with me and with her daddy. 

Yeah, that's a Road Id.  I make them wear them at festivals/Mardi Gras

The next day we went to the Alligator Festival in Luling. In reality, we went because it was close to the house. (This isn't a very exciting festival. More like a state fair.) Nothing is ever close to our house. We have to drive at least a half hour to get to the fun (which is fine). But since this was close, we took the girlies to the festival.  Of course, we ate lots of alligator food, alligator burgers, alligator sausage, alligator fritters, etc.  Then once we loaded up on food, we hit the rides.

I was trying really hard not to let my engineering self 

talk me out of letting my girlies ride these unsafe looking rides. I'm

not scared to ride them but putting my kids on them is a completely different story.

Of course, there was a baby alligator from a local farm to pet

Wedding Weekend
My Brother is finally getting married on Saturday. I'm so excited/happy for them. I love my new sister in law, Lindsay.  The girlies along with Lindsay's nieces are the bubble girls. I bought gorgeous white eyelet dresses from a seamstress on etsy.  Don't you just love etsy?!

We are going to spend a few extra days in Mississippi to make in a mini vaca. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to share next week. 

Me with the Bride-to-be at her Shower

Although, I've been a bad blogger, I have been checking in on your blogs. I can do that without having to put together coherent thought. I'll try to stop by over the weekend but no guarantees.  
What do y'all have going on this weekend?

The Saints are Coming...

This song has been running thru my head all day. Probably, because I've heard it ten times in the last week. They are! In a few hours, the Saints will be whippin' up on the Vikings. All of NOLA is giddy with anticipation. Living in the "City that Care Forgot" my whole life, I've never know every New Orleanian to feel the same way about one thing. I love the festival/party feeling in the air. Now that the humidity has broken and there's a hint of fall, it's a great time to be in NOLA.

Everyone is sporting their gear today. Every business gave their employees permission to wear black and gold. Even Li's school, that has super strict uniform policy, allowed them to wear a Saints shirt over their uniform.  Luckily, I bought her a new shirt for this season. But I didn't have any black and gold hair thingies. So I had to improvise. Not to shabby for one night's notice.

She giving me the peace sign or the British equivalent of the finger. Probably the latter. 

And of course, what ever sweet sister is doing MM has to too.

All of downtown is shutting down early. People started tailgating yesterday. Not exaggerating.  Even the main Post Office shut down early.

Who Dat!!! Who Dat!!! Who Dat!!!

Monkeying Around

To celebrate MM's birthday, I cut out of work a few hours early and picked up the girls to go have some fun. We headed to the Monkey Room to climb and play and burn off some energy. The Monkey Room is like a super nice McD's play yard on steroids. They play fun and funky children's music. Snacks are available. And of course, party rooms.  This is how there website describes it.

The Monkey Room provides fun and active play for children from infants to pre-teens in a single location.

The Monkey Room contains a huge, custom designed play structure for children 3 – 12 with slides, climbs, obstacles, and other fun elements to explore. An adjacent toddler area for younger children includes play equipment sized just for this age group.

We want to get kids moving and playing where the weather is no excuse!

At first MM was a little hesitant. She spent the first 1/2 hour in the toddler area. Li joined her and showed her how to climb up and slide down. But as her confidence grew, she decided to try the big girl slide. Li ran around like a wild monkey. Once MM got the hang of the lg play yard, Li would give her a boost up to each level. So cute. The girls had the best time.

Now that we had burned off energy, we were famished and ready to re-fuel.  Since I was driving I got to choose dinner. I'm kinda obsessed with burritos right now so we headed to Juan's Flying Burrito on Magazine.

 The girls loved the guacamole.

Li  only ate the tortilla of her burrito

MM would only eat my burrito

The afternoon was a lot of fun. We had a great time. What's on tap for your weekend?

Happy Birthday MM!!!

Today is my sweet baby, MM's birthday. The whole time I carried her was easy. No pains, rarely uncomfortable, my only complaint was I didn't sleep. I thought for sure I was having another non-sleeping baby. Boy was I wrong.

Two years ago yesterday, I was 35wks pregnant. My head was pounding with headache that I had for 2days. Drinking water, resting and soaking in a tub didn't relieve it. The nurses at work checked my blood pressure, 150/90. Too high. That night we packed our two yr-okd, Li, in the truck and headed to the hospital with out knowing what to expect. After an hour of resting and a mercury drip, a doctor told us I had preeclampsia. My BP wasn't coming down. The baby had to be born that night. Understandably the Big Man and I were scared. But being the big, tough man he is, he didn't let me know how worries he was. After 8hrs of labor, MM was born 6lbs, 1oz. Small but not too tiny. She was as perfect as her sister. Gorgeous cupid's bow lips.

The first month was tough. The 1st week in the hospital with jaundice. Weeks without gaining enough weight. Then the supplemental feeder. This is my 2nd baby breastfeeding should have been a cake walk. I've never worried over anything that much. My oldest is tough like me. But MM, I thought of as too small until she was a year old when the Dr said "she sure doesn't loo or act like a preemie" I felt like someone lifted a weight off my shoulders.

Now, she's an average size, wild maniac. MM looked so much like her sister when she was a baby. I would look to see how she was different from Li. I knew they would be compared. Li we knew was smart because she spoke so well. But MM has her daddy's patience and figured out how to work things way before Li. MM observes things, watches people and learns.

From the time MM was 4 wks old, she has slept thru the night. (So different from Li.) She still goes to bed at 6:30 PM and will sleep until 9AM if you let her. If you feed her lunch too much after noon, she falls alseep in her food. I have met few people who love dogs as much as she does. MM gives the best chubby arms hugs, esp to babies. She loves to hang out with me while I cook, and to sing and dance. My daddy is her favorite person in the whole world. It melts his heart.

Don't get me wrong. This is a bad baby. She'll tell you that too. She aggravates and pinches her Sissy to get her to play with her. Up until 2wks ago, she refused to call herself anything besides "Baby". Now she has decided to go by her middle name. She does not do mornings. Cranky and fussy is all you get before 9AM. But I love her with everything that I am.

A few of my favorite pictures of MM

Busy Busy Busy...Boot Camp Challenge

It's going to be a busy weekend. The girls birthday party is this Sunday. I will be spending the next few days grocery shopping, cleaning, decorating, and cooking. My to-do list is a mile long.

The Big Man's best friend is coming to stay for the weekend. It's great. We all love Uncle Jim and we don't see enough of him. But that means I have to clean my spare room and bathroom and vacuum upstairs. I was hoping to get away without doing all that this weekend. Then we have another party on Sunday evening that I'm looking forward to. But I've got to get two girls down for good naps after their party. So as not to be too fussy at the night time party. Starting to get a little panicky just typing this. Ok, Meg, Breathe.

With all that to do, how would I fit exercising in. Well, last week I stumbled on Inperspire's Weekend Boot Camp Challenge. The idea is to challenge yourself a little more everyday. Boot Camp begins Friday and ends Sunday at midnight.

This weekend's Challenge Goals:

200 Jumping Jacks
300 Jump Ropes
100 Push ups
300 Squats
10 – 20 count Wall Squats
10 – 10 count Planks
100 Sit ups

The Boot Camp Challenge is meant to challenge you at whatever level you are now.  You can split the challenge anyway you like, e.g., you can do 50 jumping jacks on Friday, 50 on Saturday, and 100 on Sunday.  If you cannot do a full sit up, modify and do 25 crunches in the morning, 50 crunches in the evening, and so forth. I love that you can squeeze these in whenever you get a few mins.

Stop on over to Inperspire's blog and join the Challenge.


What are your weekend plans? Busy, Parting, BBQing, or just Chillaxin'?

PT and Road ID

Physical Training
For the past week, twice a day, I've been doing the stretches my PT gave me. It amazes me how the series simple exercises can make all the difference in the world. Before I started, my knee/thigh/hip would ache. Even with out me doing any strenuous activity. Now, I only occasionally get a twinge. 

This morning, Mary (my PT) had me warm up on the bike for 10mins. I can not tell you how excited I was about it. So strange. I used dread the bike. Now I love it. Weird. We went thru the exercises and she added a few more. I'm starting to realize that not all of my leg muscles are as strong as they should be. Ok. I've learned my lesson. I'm going to start cross-training religiously. Not just the half attempt at it I had done before.

When our session was over, I asked if I could run again. Nope. Gotta wait a few more weeks. But I can cycle. Which is good, because I have been on the bike a few times. I'm glad I'm making progress.

Road ID
My girls birthdays are in a few weeks. And they are little, nearly 2 and 4. And I'm a fanatic about safety. And we often go to places with large crowds, festivals and parades. I bought them road ids for their birthdays. I know this is a weird gift to get kids. But Li can't remember her address or phone number no matter how many times we practice. And MM will only be two next month.  They are sweet girls and don't run off. But it only takes a second.  So I've decided just to be on the safe side, they each need a Road ID.

When ever your order from road id they send you a coupon to share with your friends.
Coupon Number: ThanksMegan746564

The coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order placed by 06/05/2010. To order, simply go to RoadID.com or click the link below:

http://www.RoadID.com/?CID=ThanksMegan746564

If you prefer, you can call them at 800-345-6335.

Just so you know, this is the 4th and 5th Road ID I've bought.  I love this product its unobtrusive and practical. It makes me feel secure to know that if the worst happens, they'll know who to call.

Weekend Activities (Better Late Than Never) & 3 Change Challenge

I meant to do this post Monday but as usual I got busy. But like I said better late than I never...

Weekend In Review
This past weekend I didn't do a lot of scheduled exercise but we certainly were active.

Friday, I ran a few miles in the morning. Then in the afternoon I loaded the girls in the trailer and we peddled off to the library.  All I could think was "Wow, I'm a dork. I've got my helmet on, pulling my girls on a bike, to the library." But I got some good cross training in and a trip to the library.

Saturday was the City Park Botanical Garden Plant Sale. The girls and I gave the Big Man some time to himself. We loaded into the truck and headed to the park.My mom, dad, Ted and Diane met us. The weather was gorgeous. We spent 4hours walking around, buying plants. I had to replace everything that died during the freeze this winter.

Some pictures from the day. Li making funny faces. Not meaning to, but as my mom says, it's the only face she has.

MM with her fav servant, my Dad.

Sunday we took Li out to ride on her bike. The Big Man loaded his bike and Li's bike in the truck. With MM in the trailer, I rode over to the empty neighborhood next to ours. Poor MM, the whole ride over she kept asking "Where Sissy?Where Sissy?" Typical 2nd child. Idolizes and loves her sister. Li practiced her bike riding up, down and around the block. The coaster brakes were messing her up a bit but she's working on it. I let MM out of the trailer to run the streets.  MM refused to ride home with me. So pulled Li back home.

3 Changes Challenge
Amanda at runtothefinish issued a challenge to her blog readers to make 3 changes in your life in the next 30days. Bust thru a plateau. Shake things up. Change is hard for me. Really hard. But since I started my birthday challenge at the beginning of the month, I figured I would incorporate this.

My 3 Changes
1. Add more core/ab work (at least 3x a week) to my routine.
2. No cursing. I've been working on this one already but I'm not 100%
3. Clean out and organize my spare room/closet. This is very embarrassing. I'm not an overly messy person. But I've been ignoring this room for along time. I plan to take before and after pictures then blog about it.

Anyone can join. And we all need to make some sort of change in our lives. Stop on over to runtothefinish and participate. At least 1 random winner will be drawn to win prizes worth over $200.

Biking with my Girls

Look at my new toy! A bike trailer for my girlies to ride in.

I got it for my birthday. But I didn't have a chance to use it until yesterday. In fact, it was still in the box. After a few mins assembling it and attaching it to my bike, the girls climbed in. I handed them they're dinner, a la Mermaids. (Y'all remember that movie? The mom, Cher, fed the kids appetizers/party food for dinner. We had leftovers from the Easter party.) That's the key to keeping the fighting to a min, snacks. Good thing the like fruits and veggies. I'd feel silly giving them chips so they'll be quite while I exercise.

I'm super surprised with the quality of this trailer. It was very in expensive. One of my fav friends, Travis, turned me on to nashbar.com.

 MM & Li packed in to the Trailer with dinner.

 Unfortunately, I have no stats. In my excitement, I forgot to grab my Garmin. I know I rode for 40mins and I figure about 7-8mi. Clearly, I'm not speedy on the bike either. What evs. After the first block, my thighs were burning. After about 1.5mi, I wanted to turn for home. It's quite a resistance workout pulling 80lbs on a bike. But I was determined to ride for 40mins. As you know, I've run 3 half-marathons in the last year. I am tough and strong and my legs can take a beating. But geez louise that was a struggle. I had to stop to catch my breath after 20mins. Than after another 10mins. But I made it the full 40mins.

I'm super new to the biking scene and I have a few questions I'd love for people in the know to answer...

1.  I get sore spots on my hands. Should I just suck it up or buy padded biking gloves? Is that a silly thing that wimps do?
2. How do I find a comfortable pace? Even without the kiddos, I'm struggling to find and pace I can go the distance.
3. Are they're workouts/training plans that help with speed and endurance, like with running?

 Thanks for the info.

Happy Happy Birthday

Happy Happy Birthday Big Man!

Li, MM with the Big Man at the Irish Channel Parade

Thank you for being our strong,  patient and kind Daddy. We love you.

Girls Day Out - Dreams Come True Exhibit

One of my New Years resolutions is to do more fun activities with the girls. MM is big enough now to not have to carry. And of course, Li is always up for new activities.

The New Orleans Museum of Art the Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney Studio, an exhibit featuring original artworks from The Princess and the Frog, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. My girls are not much into princesses but they love Disney movies. I knew they would enjoy it.

Since I had a few days off after Mardi Gras, I decided that would be a perfect time to bring them. I figured I'd bring them in the afternoon then we could eat dinner at a restaurant, which we rarely do.  I decided to take them on Thursday afternoon since the Big Man had to work. But I didn't check what time they closed. We showed up at 3:50PM. Tens mins before closing. Whoops. Luckily NOMA is in City Park. Since I promised them something fun, we headed to the play ground in the park.

 On the play ground equipment

So attempt one failed. Luckily, I had Friday off too. We packed up and went to NOMA when it opened. The thing about bringing a crazy wild maniac of a 20mo old (MM) to a museum is that you have to go thru the exhibit quickly. The museum has a no camera policy or I would show you some of the amazing drawings/art. This going to sound dumb...but I didn't know how complicated animation is. It really is an art form, not just an ability to draw. I wish I could have spent more time reading and examining the displays. But Fridays is field trip day. Along with my wild maniacs, there 100 other kids milling about. At least I didn't have to worry about my girls being too loud.

MM and Li on the steps of NOMA

There's still time to gather your green running gear and enter my St. Patty's Day Virtual 10k. I'm sure everyone could use a little duck of the Irish.

Oh When the Saints....

I don't know if other cities do this or if it's just NOLA's love of music. But there are tons of songs written about our Saints. These songs play on the local radio stations during football season. The boys are playing in the NFC Championship on Sunday and it's all any one can talk about. Since I can't get these songs out of my head I thought I'd share my favs with y'all.

This is probably the fist Saints song I heard. I remember being a kid and knowing the words.

 I Believe -Harrison Ave

A song that was originally written for the first post-Katrina season. This season was the first time in franchise history the Saints made it to the NCF Championship. It was exactly what the city need. This song was re-done for this season.

This is The Way We Live - Baby Boy da Prince (a local rapper) 

This may be my favorite of this group. Even if you don't listen to the others, listen to this song. It's uplifting and is not strictly about the Saints. I may be partial because Cowboy Mouth reminds me of good times in high school.

I Believe - Cowboy Mouth

This song is traditionally a hymn that we've adopted as a theme song. Growing up Catholic I could never understand why they play a Saints theme song in mass.

Oh When The Saints - Dukes of Dixieland

The first time I heard this song I cracked up. I like it WAY better than Miley's version. You've gotta know a lot about NOLA and the Saints to get the references. And my 3yr-old love it.

Party in the MIA - Datman

I'm sure I'm missing some. But as you can tell we love out boys and to write songs about them. These songs will be on heavy rotation until the season is over. We're favored to beat the Vikings by the Vegas stats but the spread is only 4pts. So this game should be fun to watch.

Last Saturday, we dressed in our Saints best to watch the game. I didn't own any Saints gear so I made my shirt. It's amazing what you can do with a bleach pen and a black shirt.


Who Dat!

Happy New Year

I know, it's been awhile since I've blogged. But, let me tell you, the holidays were crazy. I'll blog about our Christmas activities in the next few days. I'm glad to be back at work, to be back in our routine.

2009 was a challenge but my whole family is better for it...

• My husband was laid off. Then, he found a more fulfilling job that allows me to work part time. It's nice to be able to cook more and spend time with the girls.
• I've learned a lot and grown more comfortable in my work.
• I turned 30.
• Our girls are growing into tough, independent, sweet-natured javascript:void(0)people. Their personalities are very different but they are learning to love being sisters.
• I taught myself to run then trained and completed a half-marathon. Goals I thought out of my reach.
• My husband patiently supported me thru it.
• I lost 35lbs. My husband also lost weight.

My goals/resolutions for 2010

• Find Li a big girl school that she loves as much as she loves daycare.
• Teach MM to be nicer to her sister.  Maybe that should be, teach Li to play with MM so MM won't have to aggravate Li to get her attention.
• Plan more fun family outings.
• Run 3 half-marathons with a PR each time.
• Complete at least one duathalon.
• Loose 20lbs to be back to my fighting weight (i.e. high school)
• Raise more than my goal of $2100 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
• Remember to LOVE my training.
• Be nicer and more patient with my husband.
• Work on my temper.
• Remember to smile.

Some of these are harder than others but I am nothing if not determined.  Thanks for reading my blog this past year. I hope you reach your goals in 2010 no matter what they are.

NOLA Turkey Day Race 2009

Thursday morning, I woke the family up early, dressed everyone warmly, and headed off to get Nanny Goat (my sister).  I thought it would be fun if we all ran the Turkey Day Race.  By fun,  I meant we could all burn some calories before we pigged out. 

The Big Man agreed to push the girls in the jogging stroller in the 1mi race. Nanny Goat & I  could run the 5mi race at full speed.  By that I mean, Nanny Goat could run her pace and I could run mine. She's too fast for me to keep up.  But I'm happy with my finish time 59:56.

Since Li always wants to race like mommy, The Big Man got her out of the stroller to run the last 100m.  They gave her a ribbon at the finish line. She is so proud of the ribbon. She has told everyone about it.

Now for the race day photos:

Li and her ribbon

 MM showing off her running skills

Me almost to the finish line. I have got to work on keeping my head up. 

The Big Man with his running buddies

MM, Me, Nanny Goat and Li

Look at the difference in Nanny Goat & my running outfits. She's in tights, a long sleeve shirt and a jacket. I'm shorts and a technical tee. She likes to be hot when she runs and I hate to run in clothes. 

We had fun and it was nice to get some miles in. But I doubt we'll do it next year. It just made the day too hectic. 

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween. The weather was perfect and the girls had fun Trick or Treating. 


Cutie Girl Witches 

I couldn't convince MM to stand for  me to get a good picture. And I thought Lilly was stubborn. 

Their faces in this one cracks me up.

Time Out

At our house when you misbehave, you have to sit on stairs. MM had to sit in her first time out this weekend. 

 But then, this is probably why she was being bad.  
 

She was so tired. She would just lay down on the ground.

Emily's Party

This past Saturday we headed to Lafayette our niece Emily's birthday party. They had a big blow up slide for the kids.  

Li did not get a nap on the way. She was cranky.  At first all she wanted to do was stand in the pool and pout.


I love this picture. She's making one of my faces. 

After a few mins, she warmed up . This is her jumping from the top landing on to the slide, like the big kids.

 

MM enjoyed her self too. She thought the slide was hilarious.

She's definitely a Granny's girl.

  

Here she is begging cake from the birthday girl.

Florida Vacation

I know, I know... It's been a long time since I updated this blog.

We didn't have time for a long vacation this year. But we were able to squeeze in a trip to Panama City Beach for Labor Day weekend.

My friend Laurin told me about this kid-centric condo, Splash. If Li has told you about the big bucket. This is what she meant.


There's a large bucket on top of the play structure that fills up and dumps water on everything.


At first, Li was a little intimidated. But she got over that FAST.




MM was amazed by this frog turtle.





I wanted to get a picture of the girls together in their bathing suits. But Li wouldn't cooperate. (Don't know where she gets that from.) These are the best I got.

But I was able to get them to sit nicely together and take a picture as we were leaving.