January 31, 2010 (031/365)

Corinthians 13: 4-7, 13
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

January 30, 2010 (030/365)

Squeaky Clean

Oh how you love the water. Baths are your favorite, but they always end too soon. "I'm all wrinkly" is a sure indication it is time to wrap you up in a towel and get you all warm and dry. This is you trying to look sad, but I can see you trying to suppress my happy boy who eventually wins the battle and shows his smiling face. Life is sure to bring many sad moments my son and I hope and pray that the happy will far out number the sad. No use using your energy to try and be sad.

January 29, 2010 (029/365)

Black Light Playdate

Some very creative friends hosted a black light playdate today and what a great time was had by all. The playroom was blacked out and they had many great toys that glowed in the light. Most of us had on white shirts and some colored on theirs with highlighter markers. Etienne would have nothing to do with writing on the clothes. I guess that's a good thing. Unfortunately, I only had one of my old cameras in my purse and just couldn't capture the fun in the dark. Doesn't mean I didn't try. I thought this one was pretty interesting.

January 28, 2010 (028/365)

One Tired Boy

This Thursday was a full day. Swim in the morning and then the drive to see Nana. A full afternoon with the best Nana in the whole wide world. As hard as he tries, he can't fight off the sandman on the drive home. The first 5-10 minutes in the car he tries to convince me that he isn't tired and he doesn't want or need a nap. But with movement in the car and the soft music on the radio, it doesn't take long before my sweet boy is dreaming of dinosaurs, trucks, monkeys and trains.

All aboard the sleepy train!

January 27, 2010 (027/365)

Trip to the Library

I had many errands to run this morning and told Etienne if he was good while we had the oil changed, sat still during his haircut, and didn't touch anything while we paid the late fees for a movie that we could visit the library. "Ok mommy" was his reply as he picked up his library book bag and headed for the door. He was true to his word. He was great. His library visits are funny. He finds one, takes it off the shelf, flips through a couple of pages and if it passes the test he says "this is a good one" and puts it in his bag. Once the bag is full, it's time to go. That's the rule. We can't borrow more than the bag can hold. After the library, I had to make a quick stop to Target. Etienne had a meltdown. I tried to calm him and explain that not getting a new car wouldn't be the end of the world and he wasn't having it. I felt horrible when I took away his library books =*( The scream quickly turned to a cry. We are currently explaining and identifying privileges to prepare him for when we break out the privilege chart. When it was time for his nap he asked if he could read a library book and it just broke my heart to have to explain to him again about losing privileges when he does bad things or doesn't listen. "I'm gonna be a good boy, mommy". Oh, my sweet boy, I know you are. It's going to take time, but you'll eventually know how to handle all those emotions your little body is experiencing.

January 26, 2010 (026/365)

Can He Fix It?

Yes he can! Today I had an appointment and had to drop Etienne off at work with daddy. He loves going to his daddy's work. Actually, he loves anything to do with daddy! Today Louis found a great buy on his work bulletin board. Somebody was selling this little tool bench and he snatched it up. Etienne loves spending time in the man cave with daddy, tinkering with the tools and fixing stuff. When I got home he had to show me his new tools and how they all worked. He was one happy boy. This tool bench is sure to get many hours play, but I'm afraid that every time Etienne goes to daddy's work he will think he will be getting a new ga-prize.

January 25, 2010 (025/365)

The Big Blue Static Slide

With such beautiful weather the past few days, it is hard to stay in the house. This morning we ventured to the park with some of our Patootie friends. These plastic play structures are fun because they cause static and Etienne's hair sticks out. I can't tell you how many times I shocked him this morning. He loves the park and running from one thing to the next sometimes so excited he doesn't know which way to go next. He is such a little bundle of energy. Sometimes his energy rubs off and gives mommy a little energy boost. Most of the time he just wears me out!

January 24, 2010 (024/365)

Who Dat?

Who dat going to the Super Bowl? The New Orleans Saints! First trip to the Super Bowl for them. Tonight we had some friends over to watch the game. I made gumbo. What else would you serve a bunch of Saints fans? The game was close up to the end. It was 28-28 going into overtime. Saints won the coin toss and the Saints went marching in. Well, they went marching down the field into field goal range for a kick to win 31-28.

Go Saints!

January 23, 2010 (023/365)

Sunset

Today was dreary and overcast all day. It wasn't until sunset that it was enjoyable. Seeing the sun peaking from behind the clouds, one can not help but to stand in awe of the works of God. In the hustle and bustle of my day to day routine I must remember to stop more and appreciate more of the things I pass without a second though.

January 22, 2010 (022/365)

Let's Go Krogering

Tonight we went Krogering to find something for dinner. We visited the new Kroger on 99. That place is huge. Can you believe we purchased our bar stools (which we had spent the better part of the afternoon shopping for at 3 other stores) and a bookshelf for Etienne's room at Kroger? You heard me correctly. The grocery store has an area with home decor and they are very reasonably priced! Anyway, they have these cute little grocery baskets for kiddos there. Of course we had to let Etienne push his own basket. He had the biggest smile on his face when he realized the basket was perfectly his size. He made a bee line to the Valentines candy and started loading up. I think Louis and I were enjoying it just as much as he was. He was all over the place and we kept having to take stuff out of his basket. By the time I remembered I had one of my cameras in my purse, he was taking this shopping business very seriously. It was just crazy trying to shop, keep up with him and returning the stuff he was putting in his cart back on the shelves. It is definitely something I would not try while I was by myself with him, so it might just be the last time for him to push his own grocery cart.

January 21, 2010 (021/365)

Quiet as a Mouse

Every once in awhile the house becomes suspiciously quiet. Not Etienne is napping or he has gone on an adventure with daddy quiet, but Etienne is awake, in the house and I don't hear him quiet. It usually means he up to something. Unrolling the toilet paper roll into the toilet, playing in the sink water, sitting in a corner with my camera pushing on all the buttons. The list could go on and on. Today I was cleaning the kitchen and when I turned off the water I noticed this quiet. When I went to investigate I found Etienne play quietly and content with one of his Mr. Potato Heads and trains. He very rarely plays by himself, but the older he gets I am witness to his imagination flourishing. It's cute to just sit back and watch him play.

January 20, 2010 (020/365)

Righty or Lefty?

It is so hard to determine which is Etienne's dominant hand. He uses both. Whether he is eating, coloring, painting, playing, he will use both and most times change hands in the middle of what he is doing. I'm not sure if I should try to correct him and make him only use one hand, but my mommy intuition tells me to let it go and it will work itself out.

January 19, 2010 (019/365)

That's Not Grandma, That's My Nana

We love visiting Nana. It's quite a drive and makes for a full day away from home, but the time we get to spend with Nana makes it all worth it. Our visits almost always include Starbucks, shopping and lunch. Today it was Target, Mexican food and Michael's. We even got to spend some time with Aunt Denise. Sometimes I slip and refer to mom as Grandma and Etienne is quick to correct me "that's not Grandma, that's my Nana". "Grandma lives in Wheezy-ana" He will tell me. I'm grateful we are close enough to visit on a regular basis and that Etienne and Nana get to be a part of each others lives.

January 18, 2010 (018/365)

He Shoots, He Scores

Today was actually one of the nicer days we have experienced in a quite some time. It was nice enough to actually go outside and play. That's exactly what we did when daddy came home from work. Etienne loves to play ball of any kind. That makes daddy proud. It was sweet watching Louis teach Etienne how to throw overhand. He got the hang of it in no time. It was nice being out and chatting with the neighbors. I love where we live. We are so fortunate to have met some really great neighbors. They are not only neighbors, I also have the pleasure of calling them friends.

January 17, 2010 (017/365)

My Little Computer Geek

This little computer was purchased from JCPenny for a Christmas present. Priced at $10, I couldn't pass it up. I really didn't expect too much, but figured it might just keep Etienne from pounding on my laptop. He really enjoys playing with his computer. It does require a little help from a grown up to get it started, but I'm sure he will be playing solo in no time.

January 16, 2010 (016/365)

Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggety Dog

This morning while Daddy slept in, Etienne and I caught many episodes of Micky Mouse Clubhouse. He has never shown a huge interest in it, but he wall all about Mickey Mouse today. He insisted on putting together a Micky Mouse puzzle. He is getting really good at putting together puzzles. He is starting to do them just as Daddy has taught him...all the edge pieces first. It's funny how every time we celebrate prematurely by saying "good job, woo-hoo!" He says "not yet". Then if we don't say it when he completes the puzzle he say "mommy" or "daddy", points to the puzzle and waits for his accolades. My favorite part of the morning was doing the hot dog dance with Etienne at the end of each episode. Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog. Now we got ears, it's time for cheers!

January 15, 2010 (015/365)

Power Outage

We lost power today at about 5pm. We were all napping, but I was woken up by the monitor beeping. Once up, I can't go back to sleep so I got up. We were rapidly losing daylight so I grabbed a flashlight and found some candles then I lit a fire. Etienne came down from his nap and was happy to see all the candles lit. He noticed two of them together on a side table and said "there's the mommy and daddy candle...where's the Etienne candle". So I grabbed a little tea light candle and nestled it right next to the "mommy and daddy" candles. This pleased him and me too. When power was restored about and hour and a half later and he was allowed to blow out all the candles.

♥ ♥ ♥

You little man are the flame that will always warm my heart.

♥ ♥ ♥

January 14, 2010 (014/365)

The Power of the Mighty Vacuum Cleaner
The playroom just gets to a point where I can't even look at it. I used to just clean it myself, but about 2 months ago while vacuuming the living room, Etienne got so worked up about his toys on the floor and begged me to not vacuum them up. A light bulb went off. I didn't try it that day. I waited only a day or two when I told him I needed to vacuum the floor in his playroom and any toys left on the floor would be swept up and thrown away. Oh my gosh! He moved at lightening speed. Now I just have to bring the vacuum out of the closet and he knows what needs to be done. Sometimes he fights me just a bit and tries to convince me that his playroom doesn't need to be cleaned. I'm probably jinxing myself, but it has worked every time. I know it wont last forever, but I'm going to enjoy it while it does.

January 13, 2010 (013/365)

Buzzzzzzzzzzzz

There has been a buzzing sound filling the house today. Etienne found this silly bee hat in his closet this morning. It has to be a year old and it's been just as long since he's shown any interest in it. But today he is all about being a bee. It took bribery to get him to sit down and eat breakfast and more to shower without it. As soon as he was out of the shower he was running around the house again. This time with only the hat on. Of course I snapped a few photos of that, but they're not appropriate to post here. I'll save those for when he brings his first girlfriend home. He wanted to take the hat with us when we went out to run some errands, but I really needed the break from all the buzzing. More bribery. Once home it was back to the buzzing. All is quiet now as he's napping, but if it continues into tonight I might have to find the fly swatter.

January 12, 2010 (012/365)

The Shack

It's been well over a year since I've heard of this book. There is so much controversy surrounding it and the only way to really know is to read it myself. Anybody who knows me knows that I really don't read. Not only is it difficult to find time, but more times than not it gives me a headache or makes me sleepy. Most attempts end by putting the book down after one or two tries. Since I have new glasses and finally purchased the book, I decided to start reading it. Well, I opened it up and began reading last night and had to force myself to put it down and go to bed. Today, I was excited after laundry was folded and able to get in another 30 minutes of reading before Etienne woke from his nap. Now I'm waiting for bedtime so I can continue reading. I think I might finish this one.

January 11, 2010 (011/365)

Colored Cheerios

Last year when Louis and I were able to get away for a long weekend, Etienne was able to spend some time with my sister and my niece. While there, he was allowed to do everything, eat everything and get away with everything he isn't allowed to at home. But isn't that what aunts and cousins are for? Well I have been battling the colored cheerios since. Etienne has always snacked on regular Cheerios. He loved them. Serve them up in a bowl and they were one of his favorite snacks. That is now a thing of the past. The first time I tried to give them to him after that weekend I heard. I want colored Cheerios like Aunt Denise's. I just groaned. I've never given him sugar cereal. I tried to pass off Honey Nut Cheerios (less sugar), but I guess they look too much like the no sugar Cheerios and he won't have it. I'm embarrassed to admit how many Cheerios I have thrown away since. Well, today while at the store picking up some groceries, we were on the cereal aisle. I reached for regular Cheerios and Etienne asked so nicely "please can I have some colored Cheerios?" I finally gave in and bought my boy some Fruit Loops.

January 10, 2010 (010/365)

Sick Day

I have been trying to ward off a cold for the past two days and today I finally had to give in to it. I woke up coughing, stuffy and sneezy. In addition to feeling horrible I sounded bad too. I decided to stay in bed. I was sad to have to miss church, but really didn't want to share my cold with anybody else. I said goodbye to Louis and Etienne and crawled back into bed. While they were gone I moved to the couch with pillows and blankets and fell asleep watching Cheaper By the Dozen. I was woken up with my little man running in the house saying "Mommy I have something for you!" Holding out a his hand with a card in it he said "Feel better Mommy". He opened the envelope then opened the card and said "Look, it says Love Etienne". It also says Love Louis and I certainly do! I'm feeling better already.

♥ ♥ ♥

January 09, 2010 (009/365)

The Spectacular Ice Sculpture

We all woke up with the excitement of what it would look like. When I went to bed the icicles where just beginning to form. Louis fell asleep on the couch and I think the water ran longer than he originally planned and really didn't get a good look at it last night. Take a look at what we were able to enjoy this morning. Etienne was one happy boy to be able to crunch through the grass, pluck off an icicle and eat it. Louis was quite proud that his little project was a success and I was overjoyed to see them both so excited.

January 08, 2010 (008/365)

What is THAT?!?

I asked myself the exact question when I caught a glimpse of this structure in the back yard. "A spectacular ice sculpture" Louis stated as proud as could be. Can you see the hose coiled near the bottom right of the image and the sprinkler in the background? Hose and sprinkler + "spectacular sculpture" + below freezing temps...can you do the math? I can't help but think that our future days with Etienne will be one big "spectacular" roller coaster ride. I already see the signs of mischievousness and experimentation. He's bound to never out grow it...his daddy sure hasn't =)

You'll have to check back tomorrow to see the finished masterpiece.

January 07, 2010 (007/365)

Global Warming My ...
"That arctic front you’ve been hearing about all week is finally here, but the Houston area has dodged the bullet of icy roads, according to 11 News Meteorologist David Paul.
The rain came through before the temperatures began dropping and the dew point is low enough that the moisture is drying quickly. Thursday night the temperatures will be below the freezing mark and stay there all day Friday. Friday’s high is only expected to reach 32 in Houston, with a bone-chilling low of 24."

We were out and about this morning through mid afternoon. On our way home the temperature was 36 degrees and very windy. This is the sign that greeted us when we drove into our subdivision. Sad to say the only thing we have done to prepare is bring the plants in. You can't find supplies anywhere. It's kinda like trying to find plywood the day before a hurricane is heading our way. As night falls I feel it getting colder, time to light the fire, put the fuzzy socks on, grab a blanket and cuddle up on the couch with the best boy in the whole wide world and the best hubby in the whole wide world.

January 06, 2010 (006/365)

Everything Tastes Better With Tabasco

Tonight I got the chance to meet with a couple of friends and have a mommy's night out and meet them for dinner and drinks. My husband is great and encourages such activity. He is such a trooper on nights like these and any night that dinner is not so desirable. No negative comments. He is always so gracious and will tell me it's good even when I know the opposite is true. He gives little telltale signs. Depending on his mood, he will spice it up. Tiger Dust (LSU Cajun Seasoning), Tony's, A1, Barbecue Sauce...His favorite lately is Green Tabasco. I snapped this on the way out the door tonight. Green Tabasco with a bowl of Hamburger Helper served up in a disposable Sesame Street bowl. Thanks for giving me the night off Honey. You're the best! I love you!

January 05, 2010 (005/365)

Back in the Pull-Ups Again
Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin' to and fro
Back in the Pull-Up again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the Pull-Up again

What a stubborn boy we have when it comes to potty training. We were on a roll a couple of months ago and it came to a screeching halt. We decided to not push the issue in fear that it would make matters worse and tonight out of no where..."I think I have to use the potty". We were so happy and couldn't praise him more. He was so proud and smiling from ear to ear. "I'm a big boy now!" He stated excitedly. He refused to put on diaper and insisted on a Pull-Up. He was able to pick a truck out of the potty basket and I even gave him 2 pieces of candy. The above photo is the result of a very proud boy with a slight sugar high at 9:45 tonight.

January 04, 2010 (004/365)

Lean, Mean, Green Eating Machine!

Etienne loves his veggies. He was a happy boy to have brussel sprouts on his dinner plate tonight and even asked for seconds. He loves broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, pea pods. He will even eat edamame.

"Butter please." A small price to pay to get him to eat them if you ask me.

January 03, 2010 (003/365)

"And a Child Shall Lead the Way"

These words were spoken by Deacon Corney almost 3 years ago when Etienne was baptized in the very same baptismal font pictured above where Etienne and Daddy are making the sign of the cross with holy water. Little did I know then, how much meaning those words would have and that it was the start of my journey and relationship with God. In today's homily Fr. Paul spoke of messengers and what a blessing it is that God knows just the right messenger to send to each of us. I can't begin to think of how many times in my past I missed the Messenger. But the birth and baptism of our very own gift from God was my Epiphany. "And a child shall lead the way". He certainly did. Now it is our turn to show a child the way.

January 02, 2010 (002/365)

Mommy I See the Babies!

A couple of days ago we noticed 2 baby fish in our fish tank. Since then they have been hiding in the shipwreck. Today we went to play in the playroom and Etienne went right to the aquarium to see if he could get a peek at the little ones. They are very hard to see because they are the exact same color as the rocks, but in a instant with much enthusiasm he stated "Mommy I see the babies! I see three of them!" What? I thought there were only two. Upon further counting we found six of them. What a joy it is to watch these six little fish grow with my little fish.

January 01, 2010 (001/365)

Pork Pie

Ever since I was a little girl I always remember the making of pork pie on New Year's Day. I always thought it was something my dad originally started making and mom took over in later years, but a phone conversation today cleared that up for me. It was a recipe my grandfather Cartier made every year. Nobody had any interest in the recipe because each year they would gather at the Cartier's house and have it on New Years Day. Years later my mother requested the recipe. Mom along with one of my uncles were the only ones to make it after my Grandfather passed away. My uncle has since passed away and mom is the only one with the recipe. Since dad passed away, she doesn't make it much anymore. I don't remember eating it when I was younger. Not even sure if I ever tried it, but it was always on the table every January 1st. I don't know why, but this year I felt the need to make it. Maybe it's because I am now eating meat after being a vegetarian for about 20 years. I called mom and she gave me the recipe over the phone. She was sure to give me all the details, tips and side notes of years of making the pie. Five phone calls later, about an hour and a half in the kitchen and the Daviet's now have the Cartier's pork pie for New Year's dinner. Now I know what I've been missing all these years and it is sure to be a tradition for us for many years to come. No worries mom. Your piece is already wrapped up and in the freezer.

Project 365

Who: That would be me, Monique.

What: Pick up your camera every day and take at least one photograph.

When: January 01, 2010 through December 31, 2010

Where: Anywhere. Where will each day of 2010 take me?

Why: To document this year.