JD & Anne's engagement party

Tonight we had the pleasure of celebrating JD & Anne's engagement at a fabulous party in New Orleans. We got to meet JD's parents and family members and see lots of the extended Hadskey family. The food (and cake) were amazing!!! I was separated from my purse and camera for most of the party, but I did manage to squeeze in a picture with cousins Anne, Cameron and Katie. Baby Elise fell asleep immediately at the party and was nice and comfortable in her mom's arms. I'm pretty sure my boys have NEVER fallen asleep in my arms in public. Even as infants ;)

Thanks for the wonderful and fun party Ms. Deanne!!! What fun it was!!

Ms. Heather's Pumpkin Patch

Oh what a day it's been! My Mom's group had Ms. Heather's Pumpkin Patch on the calendar since all the kids are out of school today for the parish fair. All was fine and dandy until about 4 am when a horrible storm decided to roll through and dump rain for 5 hours! Luckily it all cleared out and everyone decided to brave the wetness. Jack's friend Graysen and his mom, Naomi, rode with us in the van (which Jack is quick to tell anyone who will listen that the van has "magic" doors) out to the pumpkin patch. There were about 11 buses there by the time we arrived. That's never a good sign. Theo was running all around the place once I let him loose, promptly tripping into mud and then again several times at the petting zoo. Good times. I think next time I go I will score some Xanax off of someone first. It was crazy.

The good points were that the boys had a blast!!! I saw my friend Ellen from grad school and that was a treat. Jack and Theo got their faces painted and picked out their own pumpkins. We love Ms. Heather's Pumpkin Patch..... maybe just not on a hot, humid, wet day with eleventy billion school kids and one frazzled mom ;)

Black and Orange

I've started putting Halloween decorations out! There are so many cheap decorating tips in magazines these days, so I decided to try some out. Here's my mantle.... complete with twigs from my backyard that I spray painted. I'm too cheap to buy the ornaments that are meant to hang from the twigs, so little rings will have to suffice. There's more to come....... so stay tuned!

In honor of Corinne

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Here are a few ways that you can help.

One of the easiest things you can do to help raise awareness and money for childhood cancer is eat at Chili’s. On Monday, September 28th, all Chili’s restaurants will be donating 100% of their profits from restaurant sales to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in honor of childhood cancer awareness.

If you can’t make it on the 28th, that’s ok too. All month long, Chili’s is running their Create-A-Pepper campaign. Guests who make a donation to St. Jude will receive a pepper coloring page to color and decorate. You can also purchase Create-A-Pepper t-shirts, or donate online and create an electronic pepper.

Aside from all the work Chili’s is doing for St. Jude and childhood cancer awareness, there are many other ways you can make a difference.

Wear a yellow ribbon, the symbol of childhood cancer, or add a yellow ribbon to your blog (feel free to copy mine).

Make a donation to the oncology unit at your local children’s hospital, or give them a call to find out if there are ways you can volunteer, or items you could donate that would help.

Remember families you know that are battling childhood cancer, and give them your encouragement and support.

Drop by Care Pages or CaringBridge and leave an encouraging note for a family that is coping with childhood cancer.

Most of all, remember that childhood cancer is something that exists beyond September. Help to raise awareness and support families of kids with cancer all year long.

Ode to Harry

Our beloved Harry fish went on to the promise land today. He lived a full life with us. We brought him home in January and he was a valued member of our family. Believe it or not, he was really friendly and would always swim around to face us whenever we happened by his tank. He was the most social fish I've ever met and I'll sure miss him. The boys don't know about Harry so we'll probably just tell Jack that he "had to go to the fish doctor". His class pet last year went to the doctor a couple of times and the kids were none the wiser ;) Hope the next Harry is as nice of a fish. RIP Harry.

Tea with mom friends

My Mom's club has a Mother's Morning Out today at a local tea salon. We all got small pots of tea and shared our selections. The hands down favorite was something called Midnight Rain, a coconut and almond extract flavored tea that tasted just like wedding cake. You know I was all over that one! We all had a delightful time and could actually carry on a conversation, which never happens when our kids are around ;)

Playdate with Will & Erik

Theo and I got together with his friends Will and Erik today. They had fun playing with trucks and Will's sister's Dora playhouse. Those boys sure do love Dora and Swiper ;) Theo burned off some energy dancing before we came home and he napped.