New Orleans - Part 2

Just wanted to summarize the tail end of our trip with a few photos.

Here are the baby cousins...Brooks (left) and Briggs (right) playing in our makeshift play area at the hotel...so cute :)


And here we are at Cafe du Monde as a family. This place has the best beignets you have every had! So this is our first trip there (it's kind of hard to see Briggs because he fell asleep on our walk there)...


Here is a picture of beignets...if some of you are wondering what exactly that is...basically like a fried donut, just not in the shape of a donut, with powdered sugar on top. And of course, you get coffee to go with it...


For those of you who have never been to New Orleans...thought I would include a few pics of the scenery that my rock star of a husband with a camera..took...



If you locate the tall hotel in the background of this picture...the Sheraton, that's where we stayed while we were there. Right in the middle of all the fun.



You might recognize the scenery of this next picture. Yes...that's us back at Cafe du Monde and yes, that's us eating there for the SECOND time in one day. What can we say...it was yummy and we most probably won't be back in New Orleans anytime in the near future :)

These are our sweet friends...Boyd, Tara and their little girl Sara. We go WAY BACK...I was maid of honor in their wedding and she was a bridesmaid in our wedding. They are precious friends to us and we had such a fun time getting to hang out and catch up.



And finally I wanted to post a picture of our souvenirs from our trip. When we were walking one night in the French Quarter, we found this really cool painting. There are a lot of artists who sell artwork and most of it has to do with New Orleans. Justin and I thought this would be a fun thing to hang up at home.


Then, of course, we had to get an ornament to hang on our Christmas tree for memories of our trip there. The blue glass one is from the aquarium. The other little one has a few New Orleans native things...street sign, crawfish...


Overall it was a great trip. Justin had a successful race, we got to spend time with family and friends and make some great memories.

Rebellious

I wanted to share my rebellious moment from our weekend with all of you. When us girls (Emily, Abby, myself) and the babies came upon the finish line...we were on the wrong side and we had three of us, two strollers and babies. When I say wrong side..I mean we could see a mob of people running but we couldn't make out their faces and we definitely couldn't see the finish line from where we were standing.

So my bad influence dear friend, Emily, had the bright idea to... jump the fence. The funny part...she didn't even give it any thought...hints why we don't have any pictures of her. She was already gone and over both fences when I finally decided I was going to try to get over the first one.

Here I am...trying to figure out how to get myself over this thing...and wait for it, wait for it...


Oh yeah...GREAT BOOTY SHOT ABS...here I am trying to get myself over the top of it...I promise it was much more graceful in action...she just caught me in an awkward pose :)



And GUESS WHO GETS STOPPED BY THE SECURITY GIRL!...as I mentioned before...Emily was long gone and over the second gate. So I have Emily on one side of me saying..."COME ON!..." Abby on the other side of me saying "JUST RUN IRIS!..." and I have this chick saying...you can't do that...we have these gates up for a reason.

I'm trying to explain to her my husband just ran 13.1 miles and I WON'T be missing him finishing. And right about that time..I just took off running, cleared the other fence (she just turned to my sister, shrugged her shoulders and walked away). I was literally laughing for the next 5 minutes b/c I couldn't believe I just did that.


But because I did it...I got this shot...

That's Justin in the red shirt and black shorts...with his finishing time over his head...OH YEAH!...WHO'S THE WOMAN!?!?!?


And here is the picture of my rebellious self with my rebellious friend and my rambunctious child.


And our family shot after the race...yep..that's Briggs squealing his little head off b/c he is so excited.

New Orleans Trip - Part 1

Even though Justin grew up 1 hour from New Orleans, he hasn't spent much time there, so this race was a good opportunity for us to spend a weekend there and make some good memories.

Here is Briggs and Daddy by the Marathon sign when we went to pick up Justin's race packet.



First night there we met up with our good friends the Raney's, who took us to a little hole in the wall restaurant, The Old Coffee Pot. One word...YUM! It was seriously some of the BEST seafood gumbo I have ever put in my mouth...highly recommend it. We had a great time visiting!


Here we are waiting in the bitter cold for Daddy to run by. I promise I had him wrapped up, but you can tell Briggs is thinking...You people are crazy getting up this early in the morning to run..FOR FUN!


And there is Daddy in the red shirt/ black shorts. We were jumping up and down yelling for him...he is looking strong and right here was mile 6....only 7.1 more miles to go :)


Since we were only an hour away...Abby refused to be that close and not come see us. So she loaded up Brooks and headed down to New Orleans.

When we were meeting up, she had to wait for me and my friend to get there. I told her...don't get out of your car and keep you doors locked...Abby's response...oh don't worry, I have my pistol and I'll put a cap in anybody who tries to get us....and trust me folks, she would :)

Here she is kissing on the boys. Briggs thinks Aunt Abs is funny


Group shot...

Below is another group shot and to the right is my dear friend Emily. I love this girl, she is seriously one of the most positive people in my life. Her sweet spirit is contagious and I absolutely LOVE every minute we get to spend together! I honestly would have never made it during the race without her.

We both used to live in Baton Rouge and that's where we became good friends. I was tickled I got to spend the morning hanging out with her (b/c we never get to do that anymore), and she helped me navigate through the ghetto and not get shot....haha, joking...it seriously wasn't bad. I never felt unsafe the whole time we were in NO.




And here we are with Daddy. Briggs liked his metal and Justin was just glad to be finished.

Traveling with a baby

We just took a really fun trip to New Orleans for Justin to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) ...more pics to come. Thought I would share a few things that made traveling with a baby a little easier.

I pack all Briggs' food in one bag so we aren't hunting all over the place for stuff...so we had bottles, liners, disposable bibs, formula, baby food, spoons, and plastic grocery bags for dirty diapers.




When I pulled out the Clorox wipes, Lysol spray and and liquid soap, I could visibly see Justin rolling his eyes...I just told him to turn his head if he didn't want to watch but I was totally gonna pull a Rhonda (my mom).

I WAS NOT putting my clean little baby in that nasty bathtub without cleaning it first. Just for the record...you should have seen what that wash cloth looked like when I got done wiping out the "clean" shower...GROSS!

Then I wiped down a few things like the door knobs, light switches, remote control...no biggy :)

And as you can see pictured here..I had a bottle cleaning station set up. I used the bathroom sink to wash bottles, spoons...and had a drying station set up on the counter.


Then I had a diaper changing station. Justin got us a room with two queen beds which worked out great! I had a towel down so we didn't get poo all over their white bed linens....they can thank me later. I kept diapers and wipes out so we could get to them easily.


And last but not least...I had a play area set up. You think the bathroom was dirty...I don't even want to know what the floor was like. So, I put down a sheet and then our picnic blanket with his toys and he loved it...


Just thought I would add a couple of other pictures...Briggs looking out over New Orleans. We were on floor #27 so it was a great view.


And here is our little man on race day. He was all bundled up and ready to see daddy run. It was very cold that morning but that didn't stop my little man from showing off his pretty little smile.

I will say...our B.O.B. stroller was AMAZING during this trip. We could roll over anything, it has good storage space and made navigating the city so much easier.


It might seem a little excessive...but I feel like if you take a few minutes to set up areas with things you will be needing during the trip, it makes it that much more enjoyable for everybody.

9 months

We are 9 months old now! Just went to the doctor yesterday and got a great report.

Weight: 22 pounds (85th %ile)
Height: 29 inches (75th %ile)

Things we can do now:

• sit up completely by himself with no assistance
• jibber jabber
• dadadadada...working on mamamamama, yayaya (not sure what that is)
• got our first tooth...FINALLY!
• rolling
• crawling...army crawling
  
• pulling up
• claps, waves hi and bye
• waves bye bye when he wants to go outside
• can go from sitting to crawling
• is a great eater
• great sleeper
  
• super happy baby...which I'm sure you can tell from all the pics I post of him smiling...he really is that happy
• loves to play with...phone, tv remote, wrappers, boxes...you know all the things you don't really spend a lot of money on
  

And here is Briggs sitting on the scale like a big boy. Me and the nurse were both snapping at him to look at the camera and he decided it would be fun to look up instead...still a cute picture.


And here is Briggs with Dr. Lytle. Daddy had to take Briggs last week to get his ears rechecked and reported Briggs was screaming when he saw the Doc...but today he decided they were buddies again. We LOVE Dr. Lytle and are so thankful for a doctor we can trust and who takes such good care of our little man.



I thought I would include this picture. Little buddy decided he was just too tired to grocery shop after his doctor visit so he slept like this the entire grocery trip and then didn't wake up on his transfer back to the car...little stinker :)


And here is a picture of my little man at the park doing what he loves to do best...swing. I swear if this kid could talk...he would be saying..."I'M HAVING SO MUCH FUN!!!"

Trendy Hangers

Whatever you do...DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

Thus far...this has been the longest, most drug out, frustrating, complicated, needing the most assistance, but CUTEST project to date...I think :)

The reason this was the never-ending project, was because I completely misjudged what would go into it...I thought once we drilled the holes in the board, we stick the knobs in there and move on...WRONG!

You have to paint the board, drill the holes (small one in the front and bigger one in the back so the nut will screw on the back of the knob, put in the knobs, screw the nut thing on the end with tweezers so it will fit inside the back of the board, cut the ends off the knobs, file the ends down so they aren't sharp, put hangers on the back (that's still to come) and hang on the wall! Whew...I'm tired just typing all that.

In order to accomplish this task, you will need the following...

• board
• glaze
• paint brush
• heavy duty cutter
• power drill
• cute knobs...(whatever style you want)
  
• hunk of a husband
• lots of skill and patience :)

After you glaze the board to your liking (go here to see the technique on a previous project), your hunky hubby to drill the holes in the board and cut the ends off all the knobs.


This picture makes it look easy..but don't be deceived. You will have to use two hands, bare down and put ya back into it...FOR REAL YALL! (hints why Justin got this job...hehe)



Next step..try to get the little hangers on the back. This was my shining moment...Justin got the hangers on one of the boards but kept hitting his fingers with the hammer b/c the nails are so small.

I tried the next day but had the same problem...so I had the brilliant idea to use needle-nose plyers to hold the nail and hammer it that way...worked like a charm...and he already thinks I'm the most brilliant woman in the world...but... I totally impressed my hubby, which is always a plus :)



Finished project...minus, hanging them on the wall, looks like this...


Now...for all you home schooling moms out there...use this as one of your math projects and you will blow your kids minds! (or at least it blew mine) It will definitely incorporate some great math, problem solving skills and practical application.

You need a level, pencil, ruler and hammer...I could have stopped at level and most of you would have walked out of the room already.


You can use your imagination on how I finally got these things on the wall, but...by golly...I DID IT with only one extra hole in the wall than needed and probably a much longer prep time than should be allowed for a project like this :)

Below is the one I used for a necklace hanger...



...and the scarf hanger


So this officially only took about 4 MONTHS. I know...I know...completely unacceptable. Most of you know, when I have a project...I'm going to get it done quickly. BUT... unfortunately, this project required much more assistance from my significantly less motivated to finish this project very talented husband. So I was at his mercy...but thankfully I can make this post now and show off my latest and most successful project.

I'm very pleased with the outcome, but my new criteria for a project is to make sure I can start and FINISH it on my own (or with minimal assistance).

On the Move

Somebody is on the move at the Poland house. We have done a lot of baby-proofing already...but there was still one project I have yet to tackle UNTIL...this weekend.

We have a double sided fireplace...Briggs has decided it's fun to climb up on the hearth and see what's inside...which happens to be filled with little rocks and logs...can we say CHOKING HAZARD!

So...this weekend...mommy fixed that problem....



I went to Lowe's and got a sheet of plywood. I've mentioned before...if you buy wood from there..they cut it for free, you just have to tell them the dimensions. So here are the helpful Lowe's workers who cut the boards for me and even helped me out to the car with them.

The supplies I used...

• plywood boards (pre-cut from Lowe's)
• batting
• dryer sheets
• staple gun
• extra staples
  
• dryer sheets
• burlap

If you have ever used burlap...you know, it has a distinct smell. I thought it might help to use dryer sheets and make it smell better...so I taped dryer sheets to the plywood.

I would have put the dryer sheets directly under the burlap, but you can see through burlap and I didn't want them to show from underneath.


I stapled the batting to the plywood first and then I put on the burlap.

Tip..in order to keep from getting wrinkles in the fabric...I stapled opposite sides first...pulling them tight, then I moved to the other sides.



Here is what the finished product looks like from the back...

And remember we have a double sided fireplace, so I did two of these boards. That's why I didn't worry too much about covering the entire back of the board...just needed it to look good from the front.


And here is that little rascal sitting in front of the finished product.