Mardi Gras in Houma, LA

I never had a desire to attend Mardi Gras - it always looked a little too out of control to me. I'm all for having a good time, but I'm not into wall-to-wall people, and I've watched too many Cops-Mardi Gras episodes to ever be comfortable putting myself in that situation. So, when Hubby's boss invited us to join him in Houma for Mardi Gras, I had my reservations. But, new boss, first invite, it would have been rude and probably not too wise to decline. So, off we went.

I'm happy to report that Houma's Mardi Gras celebration (which I'm told is the 2nd largest one in the nation; New Orleans being the 1st, of course) was a very pleasant surprise. No crazy, drunk, screaming crowds; it was just as we'd been told - very family-oriented and loads of fun. I would gladly attend this one again. Oh, and it's true - it is a whole other world over there in Louisiana. I liked it. And I could sit and listen to those Cajuns talk all day long.

First Haircut

From adorable baby to handsome little boy in one fell swoop - all with the magic (?) of a haircut.

Can somebody help me?

Going, going, gone. And he's down for the count. Isaiah Charles - more fun than you can have with any other baby.

Seriously, is she not the cutest kid you ever saw? I really thought she'd like that princess hat a lot more than she did. It's kind of like the time I came home from a trip to West Texas. She and her mom picked me up at the airport. I was so excited about the nifty coloring book and markers all in a neat little case that I had picked up for her. I gave it to her and she looked it over, layed it down on the seat and said, "What else you got?"

The kid knows her own mind, that's for sure. Olivia Monet - granddaughter extraordinaire.

FACEinHOLE

I found this picture of me and Shari when we were kids. My hair looks better, I think.





Create your own FACEinHOLE

My name buddy from another site, Special Kay, wrote a blog a couple of days ago about her grandmother catching a chipmunk in a Doritos bag. If you haven't read it, well you need to skedaddle on over there and read it because it's hilarious. (Go to my blog links, click on my other blog Pearls of Wisdom and Foolish Mutterings and when you get there, you'll find her blog listed on the left side under blog links.)

The other reason I mention it is because it reminded me of something that happened at our house once that I still laugh about. So, of course I have to tell you about it. It was summer time, and all of the kids were home. This was when they were all much younger. We had a gorgeous Russian Blue cat name Skitty who was the most laid-back cat you ever saw. When anyone sat down for any length of time, Skitty would jump up in your lap and before long, he would literally drape himself around your neck. He would sit right on your chest and curl his back and front legs (I almost said legs and arms!) around your neck. I always said he made himself into a fur cat. Get it? A fur CAT. Well, I thought it was hilarious. Anyway, since he was so laid back, I decided to have a little fun with him. I got a WalMart bag (those things have a million uses, believe me. Just wait, you'll see,) and I put him in the bag and he just layed in there all calm and let me carry him around in there. It was really cool. No, really, it was.

My youngest daughter, Kristen, was in the bathroom during all this fun and frivolity so she hadn't seen Skitty in the bag. My boys and my oldest daughter and I were yucking it up and all of a sudden, I heard Kristen coming out of the bathroom. So I speedy-quick shushed everyone up and whispered to them, "Watch this." When Kristen came out of the bathroom, I walked over to her and gave her the bag, saying, "Kristen, I got you something at WalMart." She took the bag and somehow in the exchange, Skitty got a little riled up and started squirming around in the bag just about the time that Kristen got a good grip on it. Her eyes got huge and she held that bag out from her body like she wasn't sure if she had seen (or felt) what she thought she did. She was just staring at it, when all of a sudden, Skitty decided he'd had enough of the bag. He started squirming around for real, Kristen screamed like a wet cat (kind of appropriate, I thought) and dropped the bag. Did you know that even when cats are in a WalMart bag, if you drop them, they still land on their feet? Well, they do. I was laughing hysterically,along with the other three kids. In fact, I was so caught up in laughing that I almost didn't see Kristen coming after me with murder in her eyes. Luckily, I snapped before she got to me and made good with my escape. I kind of had to hide out the rest of the day from Kristen, but she eventually forgave me, even if she never found it as freakin' funny as I did. It's still a favorite family story to tell at family gatherings.

That brings me to one more cat story. We had a part Siamese, part I-don't-even-know-what-but-he-was-very-fluffy cat named Solomon for many years. We got him when the kids were all little, so he was ...err...uh...he was used to being a prank cat. Unfortunately, I wasn't home for this caper, but I can still tell it like I was there. I don't know who got the idea, but someone decided it would be a good idea to put a strapless bra on the cat. Obviously, they had to wrap it around a couple of times to hook it. I mean, he was fluffy, but he wasn't that fluffy. Needless to say, Solomon did not like wearing a strapless bra. He went tearing around the house trying to get that thing off of him. The kids were chasing him, trying to catch him and get the bra off, but he was pretty wily. Someone opened the front door - I can't say why. Maybe they were afraid of getting clawed or something. But Solomon shot out that door for all he was worth and he didn't come back until much later that day. Without the bra. Maybe his cat friends helped him get it off or maybe he rolled around in the field until it came off, but he escaped from it somehow. It was my oldest daughter's bra and I can tell you she was not happy that Solomon lost her bra.

We don't have any cats now. The cat union probably put the word out about us or something. But man, cats can be a lot of fun.

Holding On

Every time I scroll through my email address book, I run across my dad's name. He has been deceased now since February 16, 2005 - four years. And I still can't bring myself to delete his name from my address book. His name is still in my phone, too, even though I've had several new phones since he passed away. I sync my phone with my computer, so even when I get a new phone, his name goes right in there with all the other names and numbers. Call me weird, but I just like seeing it there.

There have been times when I scrolled to his name, clicked on it and sat there looking at it, telling myself it is silly to keep it, just hit the delete button and it will be gone. But I can never do it. It feels disloyal, somehow. I can't even explain it. It's just a little reminder for me when I see his name and I like that.

My mother died a year after my dad, almost to the day. I kept her name in my address book for a while, but I did delete hers, finally. The difference, I think, is that I was with my mother when she died. I was in the room with her and was there when she took her last breath. I grieved for her, I still miss her; but I came to terms with her death in a way that I never have for my dad.

Daddy was alone when he died. No one was there to hold his hand or kiss his brow when he took those last breaths. I tell myself that he probably preferred it that way, he was a very private man; but I don't believe it. It haunts me that he died alone. And in some unexplainable way, I believe that is why I've never been able to completely say goodbye to him. That's why I keep his name in my email address book, I guess. It's my last connection to him and to delete it would mean letting go of his hand. The hand I never got to hold as he took his final breath.

So, I guess his name will stay. How long it will be there, I don't know. I guess until I figure out how to let go of his hand.