Wordless Wednesday (with the BFFs)

Prayer for Kennedy

God protect my baby this school year.
Bless her as a student, a leader, and as a Godly friend.
May she be bold for you....
May she be your hands and feet to her friends and to those who don't know you each day.
Your loving hand be on her always.
Amen.

Last person......

I just might be the last person on the earth to buy one of these things. But I am going to give it a whirl. I've been a Blackberry user for years now and I had decided to go with the new Blackberry Torch. But I am curious about this little gadget. There are so many things I have been accustomed to with the Blackberry. But as Susie reminded me, I'm a Democrat. Change is good.

Wordless Wednesday

(Sometimes, Papa has to just give in and play hairdresser...)

May I Present........

...the Royal Duchess, Susie Stinson! Yay Susie! My BFF was selected to be in the royalty of the Krewe of Justinian XVII! One of the perks of having a friend in the royalty? Parties!


With Chris out of town for the Red Sox game, I asked my favorite "guy guh" to escort me to this very high end occasion! We had an absolute ball!

And all of the duchess' best ladies were given masks to make sure we were dressed for the Masquerade Bal. We all looked very festive while we drank, danced, and celebrated the upcoming Mardi Gras season.

Deanna Hardy and me...

Shelley, Susie, and me... besties!

What a Fun Age

For all the hype you hear about the "terrible two's" - there is soooooo much more that is fun at this age. Brady learns new words everyday - probably trying to keep up with his sissy.

Just in the last week, he started looking at me with the sweetest eyes and says: "Mommy, I hold you." My heart melts E.V.E.R.Y. time. I immediately scoop him up. He never wants to stay wrapped up in mommy's arms too long, but that's okay... I'll take every second I can get.

This weekend with my birthday, he enjoyed repeating "Haddie Buuuday!" over and over and over. Anything he sees that is colorful that might, possibly be birthday related - he points at it, squats down a little bit and shouts.. "Haddie Buuuday!!!"

And once he got the hang of "Happy Birthday" - and heard the happy birthday song a few times, he started pointing to birthday things and says, "Haddie Buuuday HOOO HOOO!"

We figured out that he's trying to say "..to you.." - and we laugh and laugh and laugh.

Having a boy has been so much fun!

Summer is Over....

Depending on who you ask in he LaPierre house, you'll get a myriad of responses to the phrase... "Summer is over." Kennedy, while exhausted from all her summer activities, was somewhat ready to get back to a routine. Brady, of course at daycare, didn't miss a beat. But Chris? He was ready for the return to normalcy (whatever THAT is) in the LaP's house.

It's not that he didn't enjoy Kennedy being home with him some weeks during summer break. It's just that he, bless his at-home-working-heart, was... well, trying to WORK. She didn't understand that daddy couldn't be interrupted every 10 minutes.

Sweet girl started first grade last week and, so far, loves it! She is sandwiched in between two boys (ewwww... yuck!) because they sit in alphabetical order. So it looks like she won't have to worry about getting in trouble for talking!



And since she has to wear a "borrrrrrring" uniform, she can add her own unique style with some hot pink, sparkly shoes. Work it!


And what a perfect opportunity to welcome the new teacher, Mrs. Barton, back to school with a little "treat" bag of Rice Krispie treats!

It's going to be a great year!

Big kids = big beds

Since Kennedy is starting first grade this year, we knew the REAL homework would begin. And while I love our home (love, love, LOVE it) - the only downside is the small bedrooms for the kids. They're not TINY, but they don't have a lot of room for furniture. Once you fit a double or queen bed and a dresser, there's not much more room to play.... or put in a desk for homework. So we decided to get Kennedy a loft bed. You know... the kind that has the bed on top and desk underneath?

So we surprised her with this bed and she gladly helped her daddy put it together. Chris said she was a big help and he even let her screw in some of the pieces. She LOVES to help.

With Kennedy's queen bed now available, we decided to move it into Brady's room and skip the toddler phase of his bed and go right to the big boy bed. The ONLY reason I thought this might work (meaning Brady staying in bed) is because he gladly slept on a double bed with Kennedy when we were on vacation.

It seems strange to me that he (who just turned two this summer) went straight from a crib to a queen bed. But folks - let me tell you, it was the easiest transition. He does not get out of bed! Now, I must confess that he doesn't go down EASILY ... with ME! With Chris, he lays down, says "Night night, Daddy" and talks himself to sleep. With me, it's all tears and "Mommy, sleep here. Lay down." I have to get Chris in there every time.

But as much as I'd love for him to go right to bed, it's sweet knowing that he still wants his mommy. At least one of my kids does!

And so as Kennedy starts first grade and Brady moves up to a big boy bed, I'm happy about the contentment of my family... but I'm also watching them grow up soooooo incredibly fast. Could I please slow it down a little?

In lieu of gifts.....

For Kennedy's birthday party this year, I wanted to try something different. My sweet (slightly spoiled) daughter has everything she could ever want ... and YET - on many occasions, she asks for more. No matter what store we're in, she wants me to buy her something. We could be in a TIRE store and she'd ask for a pack of gum or candy.

(I suppose this is my fault because I like to buy her things now and then. But I guess I have been doing this too much lately. Shame on me.... )

So to help teach my daughter to have a giving heart, we decided to take a card from the Arnold playbook. I gently encouraged Kennedy to select an organization of her choice and on the birthday invitations, we asked that in lieu of gifts, her guests bring an item to donate.

At first, she was confused by the gesture. I had to explain that there are people out there that don't have toys. At this statement, her face dropped. She couldn't believe that there were people who (**gasp**) didn't have toys! That's all it took. My sweet girl understood what she needed to do. So we brainstormed together to determine WHO to donate to.

...School supplies for kids who don't have money to buy them...
...Basketballs to the YMCA...
...Baby supplies to the Providence House...
...Sports equipment to Rock Solid...

"Rock Solid?! Oh yes mom!! Pleeeeeease!"

Kennedy has spent several weeks at Rock Solid this summer, which is a non-profit, Christian-based camp for kids. They swim, play basketball, soccer, do craft projects. They do not sit in front of the TV or watch movies; they are not left to sit in a room with nothing to do; they play, play, and play some more. She LOVED it.

So we asked our guests to bring sports equipment like soccer balls, basketballs, or sunscreen, hula hoops, and bubbles.


Then, Kennedy and I packed it up and brought it to Shelley McMillian, who is one of the most amazing women I've met. She has such a sweet spirit and loves the kids who come to her camp. She is a dear friend of my mom's, which makes her even more amazing in my eyes.

I am so proud of Kennedy for taking on this idea and embracing it with all her little might. I think that giving heart is well on its way!

Sweaty Mess

This is the time of year (STEAMY August in Louisiana) when I cannot stop sweating throughout the day.

I sweat in the morning when I am blowdrying my hair....

then I cool off...

And I sweat walking from my garage to the car (usually because I'm carrying practically everything I own: gym bag, laptop bag, purse, breakfast, and Diet Coke)...

then I cool off...

And then I really sweat walking from the car to my office... (again carrying everything I own)...

then I cool off....

And today, I went to the gym at lunch which meant sweating walking to the car... AND during my workout (second shower of the day after workout)... AND walking back from the car to the office.

I am sitting at my desk, eating my lunch, shoes kicked off under my desk and fan blowing at high speed.

COME ON FALL!!!!!

Best running buddies

Let me introduce you to my friends Scott and Daniel. I love them. No really. They are some of my favorite people. Ever. I met Daniel through work and we ran the New Orleans Half Marathon together this February. And now Scott is running, too! They are running the Tyler Half....I might! No pressure. I'm enjoying running for fun right now.

Happy Trails!

Things Kennedy Says.....

Kennedy: "Mommy, what's for dinner tonight?"

Me: "Pork tenderloin."

Kennedy: "Ummmm, mommy - what's fork tender-oil?"