Nov. 13, 2006 - New Orleans Trip
A few weeks ago we went to New Orleans. I had been before, but it had been several years and I didn’t remember anything about it. Chris used to live outside of NO, on the North shore, so he was fairly familiar with that area, though not with downtown New Orleans. It was our first family trip anywhere farther than his parent’s house. I thought it would be fun because Chris had a surprise weekend off and I had started a new job, we needed to go while we could. We just planned on driving down, seeing the zoo & aquarium and coming back. I wanted to spend at least one night because I didn’t think we could see them both in one day comfortably, not to mention the drive there and back. DH didn’t want to stay in New Orleans, so I looked for a motel in a nearby city. He also wanted to rent a car because neither of our cars is very reliable. I thought those would be the hardest parts about getting ready for the trip. I had gone places by myself a few times, camp, youth conferences, and on family vacations, but I’d never traveled when I had to make sure we had everything for 3 people.
I had made a list and so it was just a matter of gathering the things together, once I got some things to put them in. DH’s birthday was the day before we were to leave and we met his mom for lunch. She said we could take her vehicle to save us the expense of renting a vehicle. That was a godsend because it was also larger than the one we had rented, so we’d have room for everything easily. I took off Fri. so I could pack and get ready to leave as soon as DH got home from work. He had a friend in Mandeville, outside of NO, who said we could stay with him one night. First thing Fri. morning was to go get the Durango, so we head out to where she works to switch vehicles with her. Chris hadn’t buckled DD’s car seat in and so before we got very far, her seat had fallen over and she was hollering for help. I pulled over on the side of the highway, tried to turn the car off, and the key wouldn’t turn. The car was stuck on. The key would come out, but it wouldn’t turn towards me to shut off the car. I decided to go on and hope it would shut off when we got there. It wouldn’t. I went inside and told my MIL the bad news and she told her boss who was able to get it off by pushing something back in with a screwdriver. She had to do that to get it to shut off the whole time she had it and we had to do it a few weeks afterwards. It’s still very hard to shut off.
Thursday I had borrowed some bags from my mom to pack stuff in since we don’t have any luggage. I borrowed everything that was easily accessible because I wasn’t sure what I would want to use. I hoped to get all our clothes in one duffel bag, food in another, and toys for DD in a third. Well, DH filled a bag up easily just with some clothes for himself. When I started putting DD’s stuff in another bag, it too magically filled up. So we ended up with three duffel bags of clothes. Food took up one big bag and 3 small coolers. Another bag had food accessories, towel, bib, bowls, spoons, glasses, etc. . . . I took a tote bag with some books and stuff for the motel for DD, and filled up a crate w/ toys that either had lights or music for the trip, hoping to keep her happy. We had the big stroller and an umbrella stroller, sleeping bag, pillows, quilt, a bag w/ tapes, tape player, and batteries, and a few books, magazines, and puzzle books for DH and myself, just in case. We looked like we were going away for a long, long time. With as much stuff as we had, we could have easily been gone 1 week and had need of nothing.
Anyway, Friday I went to get the Durango, then I went to Wal-mart for a few last minute ‘necessities’, for some reason I went by my moms, I think to get some ham for sandwiches, then we went to the park to meet w/ the home school group and let DD play and get good and tired. We got home around 3:30, and then I had to pack everything in the jeep. I don’t remember if DD got a nap or not, seems like we were hoping she’d sleep on the ride down there. I don’t remember if she did that or not either. I do remember it was a smooth trip down there, DD was good, no problems, except for a headache I’d developed earlier in the afternoon, probably from stressing so much about forgetting something. We went to eat at one of DH’s favorite places, and his friend met us there. We followed him and his Fiancé back to their apartment and sat around visiting for awhile. They have 2 birds that talk, sing and whistle, but they were shy and didn’t do much while we were there. I did hear one of them whistling the theme song to the “Andy Griffith” show though. They had a blow up mattress so I got the bed made around 10 and tried to get DD to lie down beside me on the sleeping bag. DH and his friend went out for a few hours to visit old haunts and chat some more.
Saturday morning we got up around 8 so we could get to the zoo before it got too hot. We got dressed, fed DD, repacked, and left before DH’s friend got up. I had printed out maps from several locations to several locations hoping we’d have whichever one we needed when we needed it. DH thought there was a big football game going on Sat, so his friend told him another way to go to avoid going through downtown. We purchased tickets for the zoo/aquarium combo, and then walked around the zoo while I took tons of pictures so we (hopefully) would remember some things about it! We saw a show where kid volunteers had made costumes to show off some of the unique animal characteristics. When we left, we couldn’t find DD’s cup, so DH went back to look for it, but we never found it. DD liked when we were through looking at animals and she could play on the playground. :-) She also liked the petting zoo, where she groomed goats and followed a big tortoise around.
We ate some sandwiches when we got back to the car and discussed what to do next. The aquarium closed at 4, and it was already after 2. I suggested that we find the children’s museum and do some exploring there. It was on the same street as one near the zoo, so I thought it would be close. We drove and drove down that street. We finally found the children’s museum, paid $5 to park, and went in. That’s when we found out that the museum also closed at 4L We must’ve looked pretty pitiful because the lady at the desk said we could go in for free and see what they had for the 30 minutes they were open and then maybe come back tomorrow to play for longer. We went upstairs to the toddler area and stayed in there most of the time. DD loved the trains. We left to visit the Seuss exhibit and see the play barges before they announced that we had to leave. There was so much more neat stuff there; I wish we could have stayed longer. I just saw a billboard that said they’re building a children’s museum in our area next year sometime. I am really excited about that! We didn’t want to go to the motel and waste half a day, so DH suggested the River walk Mall, since he thought it’d be open until at least 10 or 11. On the way back to our car, we went in an art museum (showcase?) and looked at some interesting things. The most interesting to me was a large puzzle collage. It was at least 4’x4’ and covered in sections of put together puzzles. I had done some of them, and I love puzzles so I took several pictures of it, hoping I could enjoy looking at them in more detail later. As it turns out, the flash kind of messed that up, and when you zoom in, you can’t see the detail like I wanted, more just colors. But it was so amazing! Anyway, so we drove to the mall, paid to park again, walked towards the aquarium, bought a few things to get our parking reduced, went outside, and took some pictures by the fountain. There weren’t many people around at all. It was very empty so it was easy to relax and just enjoy the scenery. My mom had told me about the free ferry, so we rode it across the Mississippi river. We went downstairs for the first half and I got sea sick so then we went up on deck and that was much more enjoyable. DD learned a new word while we were down there: Amazing! She used it several times about the boats, animals, and other things we saw. We went back in the mall and noticed there weren’t many people in there either and some of the stores were closing! Come to find out, since DH lived down there, they’ve changed their hours! They closed at 6:00 now. Maybe because of Katrina, we’re not sure when or why they changed. At that point we decided to go to the motel, which was about 30 miles away.
DD was getting cranky because she hadn’t had a nap and was getting tired. DH insisted on driving, and wanted me to try to navigate. We didn’t have a good map of NO as a whole, just the ones I’d printed out from place to place and some in tour books that are certain parts of the city. Needless to say, we got turned around a few times and ended up finding the motel about 90 minutes later. DH wanted to go to another mall he remembered, the Esplanade (?) so off we went to find it. We hadn’t eaten so we hoped to find the mall quickly and eat before going to the motel. Well, turns out he didn’t exactly remember where it was, and I ended up getting carsick while trying to help him find it. We got there around 8:30, and it closed at 9:00. At least we didn’t have to pay to park! We grabbed a quick bite, but didn’t have time to look at anything or walk around. We were all tired and cranky by the time we got back to the motel. DH & DD relaxed with some cartoons while I got some ice to put in the coolers. We all went to bed pretty soon after that.
Sunday morning we headed out to see the aquarium after eating breakfast at the Denny’s in the motel. Since we had a while to ride and I’d just eaten, I unbuttoned my skirt to be more comfortable. When we were getting out in the parking lot, DD was in her stroller and said her stomach didn’t feel good. All of a sudden she threw up, all over herself and the stroller, and me because I was trying to get her out of the stroller! We got her stripped, cleaned up and redressed. I felt something slip, glanced down and noticed my skirt in a pile around my ankles! I hadn’t felt it because (thankfully) I had on a slip. We tried to clean up the stroller, but it was wet, so I put our sheet in it so she wouldn’t have to sit on the wet parts. It looked like it might start raining, so we were hurrying. While we were walking, it did start raining. I knew I forgot something! It’s a good little walk from where we parked to the aquarium and with every step it started raining harder until we were completely soaked by the time we got inside. Thankfully I had an extra outfit for DD in the diaper bag so we changed her again. DH and I looked in the gift shop thinking about getting new shirts to wear, but we dried off enough while looking around to be comfortable. The aquarium wasn’t as interesting to DD as the zoo, so she said she was ready to go home a few times. We watched them feeding the sharks and rays right before we left. I tried to get several pictures there too, but the glass makes it difficult to take with a flash. DH wanted to finish walking the River walk so we went there after finishing the aquarium. We ate lunch on the River walk, got a few souvenirs, and got back in the jeep to go home. DD took a nap most of the way home, but woke up about 45 minutes from home and was fussy the rest of the way. Overall it was a fun trip, and I’m glad we went. Next time though I will try to pack less and be sure to have a good map of the city we’re going to though.
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Nov. 1, 2006 - Fall Festival
Last night we went to a local church for some 'alternative to halloween' fun. I met my dh & dd at my mom's after work and we walked around their block with my 2 sisters. Then we went to the fall festival for some fun and games. There were more people there than I thought there would be. It was very crowded.
There was a 5 gallon bucket of mixed candy at every game that the kids got a handful of when they were done playing. Every time they told dd, Cheyenne, to get herself some candy, she'd get out one tootsie roll and promptly open it and stick it in her mouth. She wasn't interested in getting a lot, or a variety, she just stuck with what she knew she liked. No thought for the future, just eat what I can right now.
The lines were long and so we tried to find the activities, like making a mask and crawling through a tunnel instead of waiting to play a game that she would be too young for anyway. Cheyenne just learned how to cut paper into little pieces and use a glue stick to put them on construction paper. They provided animal stickers and markers to decorate the masks with. I noticed she made hers by making a small line or circle with the marker and then covering it up completely with the sticker, like she had to 'glue' the stickers on the paper with the markers. I guess they are both cylinder shaped.
They had a stage/runway that the kids could get on and see themselves on a screen, talk in a mic and pretend to be a star. Cheyenne wasn't tall enough for the mic, but once she saw herself, she just kept smiling and waving. 
There was also a place set up with benches and a photographer where the kids could get their picture taken in front of a nice fall background.
It was over promptly at 8:00 and we waited for a lot of people to leave before we tried to go anywhere. Most of the games were cleaned up quickly, but there was one called "Hidden Treasures" which was a children's pool filled with wet sand. During the fall fest the workers would 'hide' small prizes under the top layer of dirt for the kids to uncover. It was too heavy for them to move, so it was still out, no prizes, but Cheyenne didn't care. She had more fun that 20 minutes just playing in the sand. Not digging, but more like building. Other kids saw her and joined us, soon there were a half dozen kids digging in the dirt.
On the way home, something must have clicked in Cheyenne's head because she sang the alphabet song correctly for the first time ever! She has been singing it something like "A B C D, Q R S, W X Y Z, Now I said my ABC's, Next time won't you sing with me." She had the correct tune, but just never could remember all the letters. I was afraid she would get it so memorized correctly that it would hard to undo it. Then last night, she started singing and continued with E F G and kept going through the entire alphabet. We all clapped and so then she sang it about 10 more times before she went to bed. She'll be 2 1/2 in 1 week. It's hard to believe. She can count to 10 or 12 usually with no mistakes also. Just have to brag on the baby sometimes. 
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Nov. 1, 2006 - We Are Blessed!
When I saw these pictures, I was amazed. I never even would have thought about doing some of the things they do! I would have wanted at least a pick-up truck, preferably with a trailer attatched! Creativity knows no bounds when faced with need.
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Nov. 1, 2006 - True or False?
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This is a neat quiz. Get a pen and paper and jot down T or F for true or false and then see how many you get right. NO peeking at the answers!
1. Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
Do you think you know the answers? You may be surprised by a few of them. I know I was!
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LMK what you think of the results and how you do
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Nov. 1, 2006 - Not Yankee, but not Dixie either
For having a mother from WI and going up there every year for a few weeks, I was a little surprised at getting 0% Yankee. I guess I've adapted better than I thought
Although, I just added them up, and they only add up to 95%, so maybe there is a 5% Yankee in there somewhere. Who knows. Fun quiz though. I'd never heard of a few of the words they asked about.
Your Linguistic Profile: |
| 60% General American English |
| 20% Dixie |
| 10% Upper Midwestern |
| 5% Midwestern |
| 0% Yankee |
href="'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz/" >
What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
Click link to take the quiz yourself and let me know how we compare!
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Oct. 26, 2006 - Women's Profound Sayings
| - Reason to smile: Every 7 minutes of every day, someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring. - One of life's mysteries is how a 2 pound box of candy can make a woman gain 5 lbs. - The best way to forget all your troubles is to wear tight shoes. - The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you're doing, someone else does. - The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends. - I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting my pantyhose on fire. - Amazing! You hang something in your closet for awhile and it shrinks two sizes! - Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like, "You know, sometimes I just forget to eat." Now I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name, and my keys. But I've never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat. - A friend of mine confused her valium with her birth control pills. She had 14 kids, but she doesn't really care. - The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing ... and then they marry him! - I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are: eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That is my idea of a perfect day. - I know what Victoria's Secret is. The secret is that nobody older than 30 can fit into their stuff. - If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties? How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a noose around your neck? | |
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Oct. 24, 2006 - Cool Semi-truck pictures
Thought these were pretty cool................
Here are 7 pictures of (European) semi-trucks whose trailers are decorated to look like the sides are missing and the products they are hauling are painted on the sides and back.
The first one is of a bottle of beer and looks so real, like it is coming out the side of the trailer.
The second is of canvas tote bag.
The third is of Pepsi cases and they are all stacked on the ceiling, and the bottom of the trailer is empty.
The fourth is of another truck with the windshield facing the back and there has been a driver painted in the driver's seat looking back over his shoulder to appear like he is driving backwards.
The fifth one is of an aquarium with fish swimming in it.
The sixth one is of a bookshelf with books lined up in it and a post-it-note with an advertisement on it, probably for the company that sells the books. (Again, in a foreign language)
The last one is for Pringles-Hot & Spicy. The "inside" of the trailer has the appearance of having been through a fire.
