Thaw before reheating.
{ Monthly Archives }
Me: “Will,” (showing him the cow puzzle piece), “what does the cow say?”
Will: “Moooooooo!”
Me: “That’s right! Cows go ‘Mooo!’ Will,” (now showing the sheep puzzle piece), “what does the sheep say?”
Will: “Baaaaaaa!”
And if that weren’t enough, we can have the same conversation in spanish.
My mom-in-law sent a Valentine’s package to us — including Will’s first crayons and drawing pads! Will and I instantly opened them and went to work. We made our first drawing together! Granted, Will’s primary interest was in taking the crayons in and out of the package (and shaking the package to hear the crayons inside) but he hooted away contently while I showed him each color (“This is GREEN… frogs are green, grass is green, lettuce is green…”) and then gave it to him to press to the paper. Without guidance beyond me giving him the crayon, he made some decent spots and streaks of color on the paper — and had clear preference for purple and orange as the crayon colors of choice.
We’ve had a long and rough transition back to the real world after carnival. The world of New Orleans stops for Mardi Gras — and it happens so swiftly that it is easy to forget that there is life beyond parades and beads.
For us, it meant Paul getting back into super morning routines and me facing piles of assignments… Paul somehow managed to not only get in his hours, but make up extra as well. I faced down two huge biostats and econometrics models this week and have been burning midnight oil and getting to campus extra early to meet with professors and fellow students for help. If nothing else, I can truly say that my classmates (particularly the doctoral crowd) are marvelous. I think we all enjoy each other, are fascinated by each other’s experiences, and are so willing to both help and get help. It makes learning this very difficult material so much easier! It is definitely difficult to juggle being a Mom and a doctoral student… there is a reason why people “wait”. But I have to say that we are working it out, we’re making it work, and coming home to be Mom is the coolest thing.
Pictures from the Park… Playing in the park on Lundi Gras (Feb 7th)
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c
Fat Tuesday — Rex Parade and at Home
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c
Paul, Will and I at the Rex parade! Will was ready for the day… wearing his t-shirt direct from the commedie’france in Paris, France, sent by beloved Aunt Stephanie Lake. We sat at the corner of Napoleon and famous St. Charles Avenue for the morning. We left a little before 8 this morning, thinking we were getting out to see both the Zulu and Rex parades… but had made a mistake in our understanding of the Zulu parade route… we’d have had to walk another 10 blocks and decided to stay put and stake out the premium spot for Rex. (Zulu started at 8, Rex at 10.) We watched Rex and had a blast! Immediately following Rex are tractor trailers with families who have their own (pretty impressive) floats… almost 200 of them!! Will was pretty exhausted from the morning, so we left after only about 20 of those (around 1pm). Truth be told, Paul and I were as exhausted as Will… it’s tough to party all week! 
We’ve survived our first Mardi Gras!
Lessons learned:
– Floats do not throw moon pies (and at least in Uptown, no underwear is thrown either).
– Getting beads ONLY involves showing body parts on Bourbon Street and virtually always involves people who do not live in New Orleans.
– We really like the French Quarter and can’t wait until AFTER Mardi Gras to better explore it.
– It’s tough to party all week. By Mardi Gras Day (Fat Tuesday) we are exhausted.
– No matter how many beads you have on your person, in your bags, or at home, you always will happily and eagerly catch more.
– Clear out FAST after the parade… the street cleaners are merciless.
And our number one lesson… we live in a WONDERFUL city!!!
Some highlights:
– Having fun with visiting friends (Wyatt, Eli, Bela, Deepak, and Madhu)
– Sharing Thoth with our neighborhood
– Meeting great people!! Including “Queen of Thoth 1972” at the Bacchus parade (full of information and connections), a great family originally from Jaipur, India, who teach the vegetarian Indian cooking class at the JCC, and lots of other cool folks!
– Dancing with Will to all the GREAT marching bands
– Changing Will’s diaper (twice) at the corner of St. Charles and Napolean during the Rex parade on Fat Tuesday
– Catching throws signaled out just for you from the floats!
– Sharing throws with the kids running around and watching them get so excited
