Mardi Gras Madness

This will be one of several posts over the next few days about Mardi Gras madness! Kennedy is celebrating at school today with a mini-parade; then at Queen Audrey and King Hank's birthday party tomorrow with a kids parade featuring decorated wagons and bikes; then that evening with the Krewe of Gemini parade that rolls through Shreveport; and then Sunday with the Krewe of Highland parade that is VERY kid friendly. We have never been to the Highland parade before and we will be riding in it to promote the St. Patrick's Day parade next month!

We Louisiana folks LOVE parades!

Here is Kennedy's mini-float for her school parade today. She is the Krewe of Princesses! have I mentioned that I LOVE arts and craft projects?

The idea behind their school "parade" is that each child was asked to decorate a box, fill it with goodies and they'll walk through the school throwing their prizes.

More to come throughout the weekend!

The way I dress

So apparently I dress like someone who is in her late 30s or early 40s. I was told this weekend, by a kind-hearted person who said it in the nicest way possible, that the jacket I was wearing made me look a lot older than I was. So since I'm 31, my question is - exactly what SHOULD I wear? At work, I need to wear jackets a lot because I'm around donors and I represent the campus. When I get home, I wear old t-shirts and shorts because with an 8-month old who spits up a lot, anything I wear will get dirty in about 5 minutes.

So what is a girl to do?

I'm am now officially super self conscious about everything in my closet.

8 months and 84 years

The past 8 months have flown by. I haven't always felt the time was flying, like when Chris and I were trying to get him to "latch" in the early weeks... or when "B" would cry for no reason... or when we got up for the fourth or fifth time in the middle of the night. But now, he's sitting up and eating baby food. He's grabbing toys and laughing at his "sissy" (as we call big sis Kennedy). He's ticklish and an overall happy baby.

When Kennedy was about this age, we sat her outside on the lawn with Roscoe, our resident elderly dog, and took this exact same picture. My sweet dog has been with me since 1997, which for those of you counting - is longer than I have been with Chris. He will be 84 years old this spring and you can tell he's slowing down. His arthritis makes it hard for him to get around. His hips are stiff. His ear infections are hard to keep clear. But Roscoe has been with me through some pretty tough times in my life and I consider him my first child! Yes, he has his quarks like refusing to go inside his dog house we built for him. But he's my 84-year-old baby, just like my 4-year-old baby girl and my 8-month-old baby boy.

Kennedy, the artist...

Kennedy has become quite the little artist. For 4 years old, I think she does a great job of writing her name, drawing pictures of our family and coloring in her coloring books. This weekend, she decided to draw her daddy and baby brother. We aren't sure what daddy is holding, but take note of the rather large belly button. And, of course, Brady would be the little pea pod shaped image next to daddy. He's wrapped in a blue blanket.

The family wouldn't be complete without Roscoe, our 12 year old dog (84 in dog years). It's a huge deal for her to think of him because she is terrified of him and clings to my leg every time he slowly walks near her. He would never be able to catch her, but being nose-to-nose with an animal that's your height is probably pretty scary.

Being a Phi Mu

Being a Phi Mu as an alumna is unbelievably different than being a Phi Mu as a collegiate. There are the obvious differences. In college, I was interested in the parties, collecting party shirts, fraternity guys, and staying out as late as possible. Now, as a member of an alumnae group, I am more involved in the philanthropy and the sisterhood of Phi Mu. I was the president of the alumnae chapter in Dallas and now, I am advisor of the collegiate chapter at LSUS. It's been an amazing experience for the past two years and I have truly come to love these girls as my little sisters. I enjoy giving them advice and going to Leadership Conference with the Executive Committee. Last year, we went to Houston (I was VERY pregnant) and this past weekend, we went to Memphis.

I may be ten years older than these ladies, but I really am just a 20-year-old at heart! I truly cherish these young women.

Fundraising and training in memory of our friend

I met Amber Sabala last year through our best friends Ford and Susie Stinson. Amber's husband Eric transferred to Shreveport from Corpus Christi, Texas. He was working for Advanced Applicators there, but the company wanted him here in Louisiana. They weren't too happy about moving at first, but I think it only took a few weeks for them to start to like the lifestyle of Bossier City.
Susie and Ford had spent some time with them and assured us we would like them. We started hanging out together at each other's homes, grilling and having drinks, helping each other move, talking about our parents, our kids, our desire to have kids. I grew to like her more and more.
Just a week after Chris and I had our usual crowd over for beer, pizza and the LSU game to celebrate the move into our new house - I got a phone call from Ford. Amber was at the hospital, tests being run, doctors weren't entirely sure but it was looking like Leukemia. Ford picked up Chris and went to the hospital. I stayed home with the kids.

Her room was filled with friends and people from her church. No one was 100% sure of her diagnosis, but everyone prayed and prayed ... and prayed some more. After an hour, Chris came home to be with the kids so I could go to the hospital to see her. It was a late Sunday night and I needed to be putting Brady (who was 4 months old then) to bed, but I wanted her to know she had friends here to support her.

I am unbelievably grateful that I decided to go to the hospital because that was the last time I saw her. The next day she was diagnosed with Leukemia and for the next 28 days, she fought the cancer so hard. She was too sick for visitors, but Susie and I would go to the hospital anyway. We visited with Eric or their family members in the waiting room. We brought home-made signs, a sassy wig for her hair loss, lotions, girly stuff.

But on our way home from a girls weekend in Memphis, Susie and I got phone calls from our husbands at the exact same time. They told us the news. Amber didn't make it. That was November 16.

I have lost family members in my life. You expect to lose grandparents and great aunts and uncles. But I have never lost a friend before. It has not been easy. But we all know she is in a better place now - no pain, no cancer, just peace.

I signed up to do my first half marathon last fall before Amber got sick. After she died, I thought of her during each and every training run. Every time my legs would hurt or I would get tired, I would think... "Just think about all the pain and suffering Amber went through... you CAN do this."

Now, in Amber's memory - a group of her friends have decided to train for another half marathon and raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. We are a part of Team in Training and each person is required to raise $2500 each. Our team goal is $30,000! Our team wants to make a difference in the fight against blood cancers.

I hope you will consider donating to our efforts. This race will be mine and Chris' first half marathon together and we are excited, but more importantly honored to be a part of this team. Our captain is Eric, Amber's husband, who has done an admirable job of getting through each day.

Mine and Chris' site: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ms/cmc09/jlapierre

Thank you for your consideration.... it means a lot to Amber's family and other families who are battling the same disease.

Every little bit helps.

My niece

I don't get to see my niece as often as I'd like. She reminds me SO much of my little sister. And THIS face is an expression I see on my own daughter quite frequently. It's as if she's saying, "Hmmph. I'm not happy about this. I think I'll pout a little and see if I can get my way."

Sometimes it works.