Black and Gold, SUPERBOWL!!!!

The Saints are going to the Superbowl for the first time in franchise history. On Sunday, January 24th, 2010, the Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings in overtime by a score of 31-28 to join the Colts in Miami.

Christy came over to watch the game with me since Gary was out of town for work. She stated that I should never watch a game like this by myself in case I dislocated my knee from dancing and jumping around or passed out from holding my breath on Booth reviews. Funny. Gary called me the last few minutes of overtime when the Saints would kick the game winning field goal. I cried...a lot.

The Saints mean so much to that city. Growing up there, you can't help but be a Saints fan. That's really all there is!!! Even when the team was affectionately referred to as the "A'ints", people still bought tickets and showed up to the Super Dome with paper bags on their head because there is nothing else to do!!! Sad? Yes, but it's a reality. The Saints became even more of a crutch to the city after Katrina.

As a child, I remember going to the Saints practice facility on David Drive. I remember meeting Bobbie Hebert. I also remember how my friends mom almost passed out when he walked out of the building. I thought she was silly, but now I can totally relate! I heart Drew Brees! There are a few differences between Bobby Hebert and Drew Brees. The most obvious difference is that, well, Drew Brees is a great football player, AKA the surgeon (that's so cheesy). But more than that, he came to a city that was so broken and vowed to fix it on and off the field. He has a charity program that gives millions of dollars to cancer research and helping to rebuild schools, playgrounds and athletic programs in New Orleans. Now, he has lead the Aints to their first Superbowl, ever. And the city rejoiced! I would have given anything to be there, but instead, I kneeled on the floor while on the fun phone with my honey as we watched the unbelievable end to this game. And I cried.

Even if they don't win the Superbowl, I'm so proud of the Saints and what they accomplished this year. Saints in the Superbowl. Who would have thunk it?

Swimming lessons....

Gavin started his first swimming lesson today! He loves being in the water...mostly. There are a few scared faces... But the rest of the time, it was all smiles and high fives!!!
One of my favorite things about these lessons (besides the family bonding and teaching my son how to swim) is the fact that they have to wear two pairs of swimming "pants"-just in case one can't hold the doody. Speaking of doody, they sing a doody check song while in the pool. Thank God Gavin did not poop in the pool! Unfortunately, he did poop on the floor. That's right. I give the boy "naked" time each day to air out a little bit. Just so happens that he waited until that time to poop. A perfect little big boy turd! What a great day! Can't wait till next week! I think I will get in the water next week...

Holidays 2009

It's been a while since I posted and one of the reasons is my new camera...the awesome camera Gary got me for Christmas! It's a Canon Rebel, and it rocks! Only, I didn't know how to download pictures from it. I don't think the computer knows what to think of this new addition. Nevertheless, I downloaded pictures and can proceed with my blog...

So...Christmas was a bit hectic. We had our Christmas here the Tuesday before Christmas (and the night before we left for New Orleans). It was very quite and intimate. Just the way we wanted it. We woke up early the next morning and hit the road for New Orleans. I spent most of the trip in the back seat trying to entertain Gavin. He was such a trooper! The drive was going so well until we hit Baton Rouge. We were stuck in traffic for an hour and a half. I'm not even kidding you. That hour and a half put us in New Orleans for rush hour traffic. Not fun.

Once we were there, the hecticness continued. It's mildly to moderately stressful being at someone else's house with your baby, dog and husband. Not only do you have to deal with everyday issues, you have to deal with it at someone else's house while trying to help with cleaning and cooking for Christmas dinner. It was still a great time. It was great to hang out with my sister, brodder, nephew, niece, mom, Michelle and Leonard on Christmas Eve. It was also so great to hang out with Ellie's family on Christmas Day. Jan (Ellie's sister) has a beautiful house and had a beautiful Christmas dinner! On Saturday, we headed over to the northshore (again) to visit Gary's friends, Brad, Brandie, Emma and Kyle. I can't believe how big those kids are getting!!!

Fantastic matching p.j.'s from yours truly...

Gavin and Jack trying to eat the same sock. I don't get it. Why do they both love to eat socks?My brother-in-law. You have to know him to think this picture is funny. On second thought, no you don't!!! Hahaha!
And...you have to know Ellie to know why this picture is funny...
Gavin's P.J.'s that Gary got him. Gavin opening presents...

Sweet Emma...

And her brother, Kyle. Why is that dinosaur eating a candy cane? Did they have candy canes in prehistoric times? Does that make candy canes prehistoric? Fossils? I digress...



We drove back to Dallas on Sunday. It was a hellacious. Gavin pooped 4 times!!! I know, TMI. But, we had to stop 4 times to change him. And, he was tired of being in the car. We made it home pretty quickly!! Then...back to work.

Wednesday, Beth surprised me with the news that her and Joey were driving up to see us!! Yayayayayay! They drove up Thursday night, we toasted and rang in the new year, and then went to bed. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out, making s'mores, and going to dinner at Tillman's (still one of my favorite places!) It was a great time! They drove back home on Sunday :(

It was a hectic, but great holiday. I can't wait till next year when Gavin is older and "gets" it a little bit more. I think next Thanksgiving, we might try to meet our family in Arkansas. A shorter drive and no Baton Rouge.

Ice, ice, baby...

Gary and I both had this Friday off, and we had a babysitter, so we went on a date! First, we went to the Gaylord Texan for the Ice exhibit. The theme of the ice exhibit was "The Grinch" by Dr. Seuss. They gave us these fantastic parkas at the entrance, which REALLY came in handy! I mean...they told us it would be 9 degrees, but I think that's hard to wrap your head around when you grow up in the South! The parkas kept us really warm...gloves would have come in handy.

The ice sculptures were really amazing.

Gary's alter ego...

We had fun hanging out together, but we were ready to get the heck out of this icy tent! We finished the day with some yummy sushi at Kona Grill and a little bit of shopping. It was a great day! I enjoyed being able to reconnect with my hubby and eating/shopping without rushing!

S'mores

Gary and I decided that it would be romantic, and yummy, to make s'mores the other night. So, we lit up the chiminea, gathered our goodies, bundled up in our least attractive yet warmest attire and headed to our deck to make s'mores. It was REALLY cold outside, so I made some hot chocolate, too. We took a couple of the metal chairs that are normally outside and put them in front of the fire. We also had a cardboard box sitting around that we thought would be a great table (in hindsight, not so smart...but nothing caught on fire...except several marshmallows!)

It was a great time! We had time to chill out, literally, and talk without any distractions. Well, without any big distractions. Well, Jack was there. Anyway, Gary taught me the fine art of roasting a marshmallow. I'm a pretty inpatient person. I want instant gratification, so I torched my marshmallow and didn't put it out until it was resting on top of my chocolate, gently nuzzled by my Graham cracker. Gary has tons more patience. He let the marshmallow warm up and get a delightful golden brown.

I realized that we looked like homeless people that night. Neither one of us wanted to wear anything nice, since it would probably smell like smoke, but it was cold outside and we needed to bundle up. Add a random cardboard box and fire, and there you go. The only thing missing was the bridge.

After several s'mores, a sick tummy from eating too many s'mores, smokey clothes and numb fingers, we decided to go inside. It was a lot of fun! I look forward to doing it again. I can't wait until Gavin is old enough to enjoy doing stuff like that, too!

Thanksgiving 2009

This Thanksgiving, I cooked a turkey all by myself! I got some brining bags and brine from William Sonoma. For those of you cooking novices who don't know, brining is soaking your poultry or pork in a salt water concoction for about 24 hours in the refrigerator (that really makes me sound like I know what I'm talking about). It promised my turkey would be moist and succulent. It was both of those things. And it looked really pretty, too! I also made gravy from scratch. I made a homemade caramel apple pecan pie, too, but it tasted better than it looked!

This is the brine in a giant zip lock bag (or brining bag...William Sonoma can charge more for calling it something fancy). I added 2 gallons of water and a 15 pound turkey to this bag.

This is one pretty bird, if I do say so myself!!

It was also Gavin's first Thanksgiving. He was dressed to the 9's in his Thanksgiving outfit, complete with his "Baby's First Thanksgiving" bib. He really enjoyed all of the food we had. I think his favorites were the mashed potatoes that I made and the sweet potatoes that Erica made. She was sweet enough to make half of her sweet potato casserole without nuts so the babies could have some.

We are so thankful this holiday season for our Dallas "family". It's hard not being around our family, and we are so happy to have such great friends to share good times with...including Gavin's future wife, Saylor .
Our sweet friends...

Raising puppies, rearing people!

Having a puppy before having a baby was great practice! But, sometimes I wonder (and worry) that there are too many similarities in raising our boys. For example, we learned that when Jack did something he wasn't supposed to, you make a noise (ah-ah) and then distract him. Now that Gavin is more mobile, he gets into everything! When he reaches for the outlets or the fireplace, I make the same noise!!! I've tried to start saying "no-no" to Gavin and "ah-ah" to Jack, but I get them mixed up and reversed. On the other hand, when Jack is behaving well, we were taught to praise him and really make a fuss over him. So....you guessed it....when Gavin listens, gives kisses or high fives, or anything else, we follow it with an enthusiastic "good boy-you did it!!!"

They respond to similar things, too. They both get excited and run to the door when you say "outside" or "W-A-L-K". We play the same games with Gavin that we played with Jack when we first brought him home. Those include "hide and seek", "peek a boo" and a little game we play called "where's momma/daddy".

And, sometimes they act the same. They will both put anything in their mouths and try to eat it (leaves being a favorite), they both carry socks around in there mouths, and they both like to "fetch" balls, just to name a few things.

Some things are different. Jack is potty trained, Gavin is not. Gavin likes to take a bath. Jack licks his own butt.

I think Jack turned out really well...best dog we EVER had! So, if Gavin turns out like Jack, I think we'll be ok...unless Gavin starts to lick his butt. Then, we have a problem!