NOLA Born and Proud

You Know You're From NOLA if....

you've never heard of a dry county.

you don't know what a county is.

when you hear gambling is illegal in some other states and are surprised.

you know the 12 Yats of Christmas by heart.

you know what Schwegman's is.

when you know what "LAGNIAPPE" and "LAISSEZ LE BON TEMPS ROULER" mean.

when you go away for college, and when you tell people where you're from they automatically know you can drink more than everyone at the school put together

u tried "cajun" food somewhere else and u thought it tasted like shit

You reinforce your attic to store Mardi Gras beads.


Your sunglasses fog up when you step outside.

When you give directions you use "lakeside and riverside" not north & south.

Your ancestors are buried above the ground.

You get on a green streetcar to go to the park and a red one to the French Quarter.

You take a bite of five-alarm chili and reach for the Tabasco.

You don't learn until high school that Mardi Gras is not a national
holiday.

You push little old ladies out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.

Little old ladies push YOU out of the way to catch Mardi Gras beads.

You leave a parade with footprints on your hands.

You believe that purple, green, and gold look good together.

Your last name isn't pronounced the way it's spelled.

you get aggrevated when 1. people think mardi gras takes place in the french quarter and 2. that people think that no matter what time of the year it is if they go to the french quarter they will get a boob shot!

when you get pissed at people who pronounce it nawlins, norlens, or new or leans.

You know what a nutria is but you still pick it to represent your baseball team.

No matter where else you go in the world, you are always disappointed in the food.

Your town is low on the education chart, high on the obesity chart and you don't care because you're No. 1 on the party chart.

Your house payment is less than your utility bill.

You don't show your "pretties" during Mardi Gras.

You know that Tchoupitoulas is a street and not a disease.

Your grandparents are called "Maw-Maw" and "Paw-Paw."

Your Santa Claus rides an alligator and your favorite Saint is a football player.

You cringe every time you hear an actor with a Southern or Cajun accent in a "New Orleans-based" movie or TV show.

You have to reset your clocks after every thunderstorm.

You're walking in the French Quarter with a plastic cup of beer.

When it starts to rain, you cover your beer instead of your head.

You eat dinner out and spend the entire meal talking about all the other good places you've eaten.

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Louisiana.

Creepy Crawlies

Thank You Mr. Possum, wherever you are, and all your rat buddies, for hiking across my yard and dropping off your ticks. Thanks to you, my dog picked up your ticks and brought them into my house and now we have a little infestation going on. Next time I see you I will show you my gratitude by kindly setting a nice cozy metal trap for you!

AND Thank You Mr. Pest Control Man for coming today and exterminating my house and yard. We hope you killed all those little blood suckers! And we will gladly welcome you back next week for a second spraying. Then hopefully our creepy crawlies will be gone!

To My Husband

Sorry you didn't approve of all the typos in the last blog (lol) -- I don't spell check my work, I just type as I'm thinking!
Keep reading though -- I know how you enjoy reading mine and my friends blogs! :)
Love you!

It's Been A While

WOW - It's been a while since my last blog and there is some much to write about. We've had a packed 2 weeks it feels like. First we have our day of accidents, then Fay rolls ashore and keeps us indoors for WAY TO LONG, then company comes in and finally out new roommate moves in. Like I said alot! And now we have to unpack Christine, who is moving in and get her settled in in time for Granny to visit this weekend. ANDDDDDD Mikey starts school next week -- we're busy, busy bees over here.

So that's my excuse for not blogging - it's not that I haven't had a ton to talk about - it's that I have a million things to talk about and no time to sit down and express it. So I'm just gonna start now..............

Our Day Of Accidents:
Boy oh boy - could I do without days like these!!!!! It seemed like one thing after another.

Mikey & I's day started normal - nothing out of the ordinary except that is was raining all morning. After naptime the rain had stopped so we headed outside to play on the slide for a little while. What was meant to be a fun afternoon turned into a day full of tears.

As Mikey is running around his slide, Drama (aka the beast) decided she wanted to play too. So she dropped her ball right in front of Mikey - which he loves by the way, cause he loves to see her chase it. He innocently picked it up and squeeked it which made Drama so excited she pounced him, knocking him to the ground and scaring the daylights out of him. (I mean she scares me sometimes, so I can only imaginge what my little 26lb man thought when the beast weighing 137lbs jumped at him.) This brought on the waterworks - could I blame him? I calmed him down, scolded Drama and we continued our play time. After a while I put Drama in the house cause I just couldn't deal with her running around him.

It starts to rain again so we hurry under the patio and get ready to go inside. We have to prepare ourselves for when we open the door - like I said before, the beast can take you out in a blink of an eye. We move to let Drama run out and then proceed to go in. And it happens before I can blink - Mikey takes one step up inside and her she comes like a bat out of hell, pushed me over and slams into the back of Mikey - just to get inside. At this point I could kill her - because all I see is my little boy go flying in the door landing on his knees and face planting the kitchen chair -- which again brings on the silent scream and instant tears. I try to scold the dog, but am so worried about Mikey, I'm on the verge of tears myself. I immediately get the dog back outside and lay Mikey on the couch to check the damage - that's when I see it - BLOOD! My worst nightmare - I hate seeming blood on my child. Anyone else I can handle, but not him. It turns out not to be so bad, his "vampire" tooth cut his upper lip, but not deep. ahhhhhh - relief.

After the rain stops we head out front to play in our toy car - which then results in 2 falls, skinning the same knee -- again with the waterworks. Mommy has had enough - back inside where it's cushioned. Hahahahaa - right! Next accident -- I'm on the computer checking emails and he is desperately trying to get into the office which is blocked off with a gate - so what does any 1 an a half year old do -- trys to stick his leg thru the slot, cause after all that will get part of him on the other side - right? I think you know where I'm going with this one - yep, leg stuck. This has happened before, so I walk over calmly and try and help him free his leg. Doesn't budge. I try again - doesn't budge. Now he's in hysterics crying - which throws me into panic mode - I leap the gate to get on the other side and try and console him while trying to get his little leg out - the whole time thinking, don't break his little leg, don't break his little leg. After a few minutes (it was more like seconds, but felt like YEARS) I free my little man - and I can hug him again. At this point we decide to put on a movie and lay on the couch - we've had enough accidents today.

Or so we thought --- Daddy comes home to have an accident too. He decides to try and cut some plastic gutter extender with a utility knife while sitting in a lawn chair and using his leg for leverage. Mommy calls it - I say "Mikey, watch Daddy as he slices his leg open" - 2 seconds later he does it and once again it's Mommy to the rescue. It could have used stitches but we butterflied it close and it has healed nicely. arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh - please God, no more accident filled days. I may just have to go on bed rest if I get too many more of these!

Rain Rain Go Away

We've had a busy last few days that's why I haven't taken the time to blog much. I do promise though to take the time in the next day or two to fill everyone in. As for now, I'm just letting everyone know that Fay didn't blow us away. We are still here, enjoying the beautiful sunny skies - NOT! We haven't seen the sun in probably a week. Rain, Rain, Rain is all we have gotten. We have no damage, no flooding and nothing really to complain about except for the fact that we are going stir crazy in the house. Hopefully the rain will stop and we can play outside again!!

Getting Excited

We are getting so excited over here in the Davis household. We are preparing to have a houseful of guests for the last 2 weeks of August.

Nan Steph comes Thursday night to play with Mikey & I while daddy flies to Auntie Christine to help her move. Move where you may be thinking -- in with us! :) She decided to leave Memphis and move to Jacksonville!! YAY - finally an immediate family member in the same city! She's going to live with us until she gets settled into a new job and decides where she wants to buy a house.

So we will have Nan Steph for the whole weekend that Auntie moves in. Then Nan leaves and the following Friday Granny comes to visit!!

All this company will do Mikey good and keep him busy these last 2 weeks before school starts!!

Sniff Sniff

It seems like just yesterday we were bringing home this new little person, so small and so helpless. My 1st baby, whom I didn't want out of my site for fear that something would happen to him, or worse, that he would feel like his mommy left him. Needless to say it took me a LONG time to be comfortable leaving him in the loving arms of family.

Tonight we crossed a new bridge. Leaving him in the caring arms of complete strangers. Complete stranger to us and to him. All we knew is that these were responsible adults who have positions at his new school. It was Parents Night and we decided to take advantage of it. We also thought it would be good for him to experience his new school and other children since he will be starting there on Sept. 2nd.

Mikey walked right in and stared at the other children for a minute or two, then jumped right in playing with a kitchen. He didn't once turn around to see if Michael or I were still standing there. It wasn't until we asked him for a kiss bye that he actually looked at us. Then he went back to playing and we left. And by the time we got to the car I was crying. Partly because I was leaving my baby, partly because he acted like he didn't need me and partly because I thought he would be sad when he realized I wasn't there. Basically all the "mommy" emotions.

I dried my eyes and Michael & I went to dinner. We enjoyed the food - Japenese - YUM! And when it was all done we got back in the car to go pick up our doodle-bug. I didn't think about it much at dinner, but once back in the car I started to wonder: Does he miss me? Has he looked for me? Did he cry? Is he getting along with the other children? Has he fallen and hurt himself? I could go on and on....

We arrived back at the school almost 2 hours after leaving him. We walked in and asked the teacher how he was - she said just fine. He played really hard she said. We stood by the observation window and just watched him. He was by the TV, they had just put The Incredibles on. He was being Mikey! Had the dvd case in hand and just like he does to me, brought the case to the teacher. Then he spotted us and walked out the classroom to greet us and then headed back in. He was showing us around like he had been going there for years. It was so cute! I could tell he really enjoyed himself, which really set me at ease.

Now don't get me wrong, I will go thru all these emotions again on Sept. 2nd when I bring him to his 1st day of school. After all it is a huge step in our lives and he is still my little baby boy that I feel just came home from the hospital! I guess it will always feel like this, no matter how old he is!

To You My Angel Baby

I received this email this morning and it really made me so thankful for the healthy baby boy in our lives. We love you so much Doodle-bug!

~ Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.

~ Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.

~ Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.

~ Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by.

~ Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

~ Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.

~ Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

~ Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.

~ Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.

~ Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.

~ Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.

~ Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.

~ I will think about the mothers And fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore.

~ And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask Him for nothing, exc ept one more day.............

Color Me Happy

Today has been a MUCH BETTER day than yesterday. And as incentive for him to be a good boy, I have pulled out all the colors and have made my coffee table his easel. He loves it - he's an artist at heart like his momma!! He's been working on his masterpiece all day long. It started this morning about 9:30. He leaves it for little breaks and I pick up the colors - God knows I don't want the walls colored when I'm not looking - then he goes back to it and asks for the colors back. Well he doesn't ask as much as he points and says - Deeesss.

Here are some shots of my little artist at work!






And last but not least - the masterpiece!! I'm thinking about saving pieces of it, writing his name and age on it and framing them to hang in my office. After all - what mother wouldn't love to look at her child's artwork everyday!!! :)

Good-Bye to Today

Thank God today is over with - well almost over with. It has just been on of those days and a very long one at that. It always seems to be like this on days that Michael is out of town. It's almost as if Mikey wakes up knowing he will not see his daddy at all that day.

Our morning started off with pouring rain which put me in a grumpy mood because I knew I would have to deal with the beast and the boy. (the beast being our 137 pound mastiff). Mikey also woke up grumpy cause he is cutting his 2 year molars. Not a good combo. The day seemed to drag on with each of us getting grumpier and grumpier. It didn't help that we both took naps either.

Finally at around 6pm when I couldn't take anymore and was ready to put him to bed early, the rain stopped. AMEN. I immediately asked him if he wanted to go for a walk - of course he did, he loves walks. So into the stroller he went and outside we headed. It was nice and breezie, so we went for a walk around the block and enjoyed the fresh air. We saw some of our neighbor friends and stayed outside chatting. By the time we came in it was really bathtime - he put up no fuss, went straight up the stairs to his bedroom and then followed me into the bathroom. He was an angel during bath and walked right to his rocker in his room after bath for me to rock him.

Obviously the fresh air did us both good. I rocked my little angel to sleep and am enjoying the silence. Good night my baby boy, mommy loves you and I hope we have a better day tomorrow!

A Phase I Can Do Without!

We are totally in a phase that I can do without! And my God - when does it end??? It's been going on forever!!

Mikey is in the "I don't eat anything" phase. No matter what I put in front of him, he won't eat it. Unless of course it is from the dessert menu, then he laps it up. I've even tried to smother things in BBQ sauce, but he just sucks the sauce off and puts the food back on his plate. I am at the end of my rope and am running out of new inventions for him to try - I wish I knew how to solve this.

It's making my life even harder since he starts school in 3 weeks and I need to pack him a lunch. ARGGHHHHHHH - what am I going to do!?!?!?!?!?

Guess no one ever said being a mom would be easy - I just wish sometimes it wasn't so hard!

Jacksonville Zoo

On August 1st Daddy took the day off and we all went to the zoo. It was Mikey & I's first trip to the Jax zoo - and boy was it hot. Mikey enjoyed seeing the animals, especially the giraffe's - we got to watch them being fed. I wish I would have gotten pictures of them, but my damn camera's battery died. Note to self - make sure all electronics are charged before leaving the house!!!!!

All in all it was a nice day - I only wish there would have been more animals to see!!! I look forward to the day I get to take him to Audobon Zoo!

Here are some pics from our day:

Doctor Visit

Today was my doctor visit -- and all checks out great. I measured right on target - 16 weeks. The baby's heartbeat is 156 beats per minute, same as Mikey's. And I've gained weight - blah!!! He didn't comment on my weight, so I guess I'm not gaining too fast, but since the beginning of this pregnancy I've gained 12 pounds. I really hate seeing those numbers rise on the scale - but I guess it's all for a good cause.

Next visit we get to see the little bambino -- and for those of you wondering, NO, we are not finding out what the baby is. We didn't find out with Mikey, so we don't plan to find out with this one either. It was so exciting not knowing - and let's face it, this is the only true suprise left in the world!

Random Thoughts

Random thoughts regularly go thru my mind at various times of the day - I thank my dad for this trait, it's something he often does too. Here are a few of my random thoughts:

I have these things in common with Mikey that I will not have with any of my other children:
~ we are both 1st born
~ we are both the 1st grandchild on one side of the family
~ we are both the 4th grandchild on the other side of the family
How many moms will have that in common with their baby??

My sister now that she is married has the same initials (SLG) as my best friend before she got married - weird!

Michael & Mikey also share the fact that they are both 1st borns.

Stay tuned for more Random Thoughts! :)

Deam A Little Dream

This pregnancy has proven to be quite entertaining - at night that is. (Get your minds out of the gutter!!!!!) I've always read that during the 2nd trimester women can experience quite vivid dreams, however with Mikey I never had any of these. Well this time around is different. For about the past week, every morning I have woken up going "what did I eat yesterday, that dream was really weird!" Random friends are showing up in them, friends from as long ago as grammar school and the content ranges from baking peanut butter cookies, to trying on dresses for a wedding we are going to next month. There is always one person I know in each dream, however the places, houses or cars I'm in are all ones that I have never seen before. For example, one dream I was learning to bake peanut butter cookies with a friend from grammar school in this huge castle-like-mansion.
COMPLETELY BIZARRE, I tell you!!!

Little Bit of Pee - Lots of YIPEE!

By no means do I think my child is ready for the adventure we moms call potty training, however I did think that he was ready to be introduced to that thing we call the potty. So 3 nights ago I dug the potty chair out of the closet, had Michael put it together and sat it in the bathroom. When Mikey came in for bathtime we introduced the new toy and let him sit on it for a few minutes. We did not put the batteries in it, so for now it is a silent toy. :)

I decided this would be a new routine that we introduced before bathtime - a few minutes on the potty, with mommy & daddy saying "this is where we make our pee-pee & poo-poo." And Mikey just laughing and getting up to lift and lower & lift and lower & lift and lower the lid. But tonight something different occured - he came in, had me take off his diaper, sat on the potty, played with the flusher while he sat there a few minutes and then decided it was time to get up. Low and behold what did we see in the potty - PEE PEE! He got cheers and hugs and high fives.

I know he doesn't comprehend what he did - but he was sure excited about whatever it was that made mommy & daddy so happy. He got in the tub and clapped for himself over and over.

Stretchy Waistbands

It is official. I had to go out yesterday and buy some new maternity clothes. Why? Only because the maternity clothes I had for Mikey are still too big. I was much heavier during my 1st pregnancy. And hopefully they will remain too big - I do not plan to get as heavy as I was at 9 months prego the 1st time.
For the past week I've been squeezing myself into my normal clothes and just wearing a big shirt and I saw what I really looked like for the first time yesterday. I thought, "This looks ridiculous!" :) I am now the proud new owner of one pair of stretchy waistband shorts, capris and 2 new tops.
Thanks honey for letting me go out and buy new clothes!! Love You!