Hello Old Friend

Welcome back into our life!


I love my Baby B'jorn and that relationship has intensified with each of my children. I used it enough with Mary Frances that I was glad to have it, but I certainly could have done without. We primarily used it at the grocery store before she could sit in the buggy. It allowed the buggy to be filled with tasty foods instead of the pumpkin seat and allowed her to be close to me and hear everything I had to say about what we needed, the color of the fruits and veggies, the price of milk, and where we were going next.

With Stephen, I always used it when running errands. Truly, it lived in my car! It allowed for both of my hands to be free to hold Mary Frances' hand and tote any other necessary objects. We would park the car and I would suit up with the baby b'jorn and Stephen before getting Mary Frances out of her seat.

With Walker, I still used it for running errands, but it primarily lived in the bottom of the double stroller. It allowed us to easily get from point A to B on foot! We could walk to the village {bank, grocery, drugstore}, to the park, to the library, to dinner, or to school.

With Betsy, I have been without it for almost the first eight weeks of her life, but that has been okay since she started out so little and it has been pretty wet and/or cold. I tried a borrowed sling but never felt comfortable with her safety so when we have been able to be outside on foot Stephen has needed to walk. This has not been ideal so we were all thrilled to be able to use the baby b'jorn yesterday. Betsy rode on my tummy and the boys in the stroller to pick Mary Frances up from school. We then walked to the drugstore and the grocery store. Mary Frances was on foot and a huge help. She held doors and even toted {without complaining} a bag home from the store.

We are glad to have you back.

They're Leaving...

And yes that is on a jet plane!

My sweet husband has to be in Dallas to meet with some clients this week. You are possibly unaware, but we have family in Dallas. Frank's aunt {and family} and his grandmother live in Dallas so he is taking Stephen with him. Frank will work and meet with clients and Stephen will play with Kydie and Dear. I think he will have a ball.

Stephen is beyond excited! He even thought to wear his flight jacket on the plane. I just hope the flight attendants took notice and made a big deal over it!

Look at that face ~ Frank e-mailed me the picture from his phone before they took off.

I packed this surprise in their bag because he typically shares with his big sister when we travel.

There are more where that one came from if anyone is interested...

Our Krewe's Weekend

Hey Folks ~

First for some more framin' photos ~ Sorry you might get really sick and tired of this project long before we move in.



* Note the head framer {Jim} holding a level and the other two men pushing the braces to square the kitchen wall.

* Now note my head framer {Stephen} with his level. Gotta love his imagination and observance!

Okay, on with the show ~

Do you think she is excited?

Friday evening Mary Frances had the privilege of participating in the Beaux Arts Krewe Ball. We were honored that King Allen asked Mary Frances to be one of his train bearers.

With mommy and daddy ~
With her friend Allen ~
With two of her godparents {Sally and Brad}
With mommy, daddy, and Pops ~ At this point it was just after 10:00 and she just wanted to go home and crawl in bed.
And for the final act, we got up Saturday morning to drive to Mobile for the night. In case you don't know Mardi Gras is upon us. In fact, it has been for weeks. Tuesday is the big day! All but one of my cousins were there and we just don't see each other enough. My mom planned a simple, early dinner so those who wanted could make it to the parade. The weather had different plans, and the parade was cancelled which truly made for a better night in many ways. No one was trying to rush out the door to catch Vernadean so we were able to enjoy conversation with each other while listening to the youngest generation play.

And for the curtain call ~ Upon arriving home, Frank made calzones using Frank Stitt's pizza dough recipe while the children played nicely and I held Betsy and created this post. Yum! Yum! Yum!

Where are they?

Inquiring minds want to know where in the house are they...


I find it appropriate that all of the pictures I took yesterday were in those three rooms because aside from the laundry room and dining room, those rooms are likely where we will spend the majority of our time.

Framin' Part II

Our children have found their new playground of choice...

It is killing Frank not to be in town. He will return tomorrow to what might be the best birthday present he has ever received.

Finally Framin'

Oh what a week! Do I say that every week? If I don't, I certainly could. There has been little to no down time ~ typical things ~ meetings, activities, appointments, husband out of town, and sweet Betsy has hit a rough spot. She has been quite needy and as much as I would like to I can't hold her all day everyday. Sadly, there have been times when she just has to cry because there are other children who need tending to. Lunches must be made, shoes need tying, clothes need washing {and ironing, homework must be attended to ~ just to name a few.
The weather is gorgeous and we are loving spending time outside. It has been wonderful to walk Mary Frances home from school again though Stephen has not enjoyed being booted from his spot in the stroller. Admittedly, it is a lot to ask him to walk to and from the elementary school at that time of day particularly since he does not nap. He's tired, grumpy, and short on patience, tolerance, and self-control. Hey, I get it ~ so am I.

The highlight has been that the framing has begun. Our house is certainly beginning to take shape, and I can better visualize the size and feel of the rooms. I'm dreaming of fabrics, furniture, and functional organization.

Three days into framing, it is amazing the minutia of details that must be made even at this stage.

Will try to post more pictures at the end of the day!

Salad Secrets

Do you ever feel like you enjoy the salads others make more than you enjoy your own?


Over the years of supper clubs, garden club lunches, dinner with friends, friends bringing dinners, etc, I have often encountered these feelings. In reality Frank and I like my original "go to" salad, and I am sure it is quite healthy. It is made with red or green leaf lettuce {not the bagged variety ~ you know I never do it the easy way} packed with chopped vegetables, a bit of cheddar cheese, and drizzled with a homemade vinaigrette.


But because everyone seemed to make a better salad than me, I've been taking notes. I have decided the four ingredients that make a great {and child friendly} salad are fruit, nuts, fun cheese, and a good dressing {preferably homemade}. Oh yeah and use the bagged lettuce ~ it's usually on sale and easy!


Here is the salad I've been making this week ~ I made the dressing and toasted the pecans once and assembled the ingredients three times. Seriously, three times and it is only Wednesday. On Sunday, I took it to supper club. On Monday, I took it to small group, and today I am taking it to a lunch meeting for my Junior League group. I'm not going to print the recipe here for fear of breaking some major copyright laws, but it can be found Table of Content in this cookbook.


My newer go to salad is spinach, sliced strawberries, almonds {or walnuts}, and goat cheese topped with raspberry walnut vinaigrette. This is the salad that got my children eating salad! I use Ken's dressing for this but would love to learn to make something comparable.

We often try to make our salads with spinach because we figure it has to be healthier than lettuce because it has so many more nutrients. The bonus is that my big two love it!