So long dear friend....

We will miss your silent barks.

We will miss how you had to put EVERY toy in your food bowl and then try and eat.

We will miss how you tried to ATTACK every other dog that happen to cross your path.

We will miss that you would try and sneak on the sofa when we weren't home. But you always left your calling card-dog hair.

We will miss you sleeping on the foot of the bed (pre-Tay of course)

We will miss your unwavering love and companionship.

We will miss how you decided that there were certain people that you could not and would not like, no matter what.

We will miss the fact that you were our first dog together.

We will miss that you loved to play outside. (for all of 5 minutes before you wanted to go inside for the AC)

We will miss our grumpy old man!!

We had to say goodbye to our first Baby, Bowden, this morning. He was approximately 12+ years. We actually adopted him when we were living in Orlando from a co-worker of mine. Her son came home from college with a 70lb lab. They were living in a 2 bedroom apartment that did not allow animals. So.....we gladly took a fully potty trained, non-puppy into our lives. He has been by our side ever since. He has moved with us to countless apartments, numerous rental houses, and finally into our own home. He was patiently waiting for us when we brought our first born into our lives. (Honestly- at the beginning when Tay was colicky he would go sleep in another part of the house.-I don't blame him!) We were blessed that he came into our lives when he did, we are just sorry to see him go. Would have loved for our newest one to have met him.

Explaining to my four year old daughter that her puppy would not be there when she woke up the next morning, was not anything either of us wanted to do. I sat her down and explained to her that the angels where going to come while we were sleeping and take Bowden to heaven. There he would be able to run, jump, and play like he use to. (During his last days he could not move any of his legs) She wanted to know if the angels were going to make Bowden better and then bring him back so she could play with him. I had to tell her that "No the angels weren't bring him back but he was going to get his angel wings and stay with them." She wrote a note for the angels telling them how to take care of her puppy! Tears were free flowing from this mama! I think her heart breaking hurt the most out of all of this!

As we woke up this morning the first thing she asked was if the angels came last night. I explained that indeed they had. She got up and had "to go check on something" She went to go and make sure that the angels had not forgotten to take her note about Bowden!

*sigh* Ready for Christmas to get better!!

Thanks for caring,

K

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Happy Birthday to you....

(All of the pics are from her birthday party except for one. Taken on our vacation this summer!)

Today my daughter turns 4! You know how everyone is all like "I can't believe that my child is so big, yada, yada, yada." Well, I can say that some days I can't believe that we made it to four and other days I cannot believe that we are only at four!

I honestly cannot believe that we all have made it to four still intact!! So far I don't think I've screwed her up too much. I guess I'll find out during her teenage years just the amount of damage I have done! Ha.

All kidding aside I am thrilled to death that I have a happy and healthy four year old daughter! She brings so much fun, laughter and of course some frustration into my life. My life would be very dull, boring, and quiet if she had not come into our lives! I am eternally grateful that The Big Man upstairs decided that we were ready to handle parenthood and gave us this ball of energy we call Taylor!

Thanks for caring,

K

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Couple of pics

These pics were taken on a recent (October) trip to the beach. We rented a gigantic house with 5 other families for an entire week. It was fun but a tad too long! The Sunday after we arrived the SAINTS played so we of course had to represent! There were lots of Fleur De Leis in the house that day!!

Love this pic of the family! Next time we go to the beach we will be CARTY PARTY OF FOUR! Yikes!

Thanks for caring,

K

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Hi! Me again.

Not sure if anyone is even still reading what I am writing but thought I'd try again. I am now a SAHM-stay at home mom!! My last day at work (outside the home) was a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't be more delighted! But now I have to figure out how to be a SAHM and not let my toddler watch t.v. all day long.

We are now in BR living with Sissy so Hubby could stop commuting and getting home at midnight! Not sure how long we are going to be here. But she has been so generous by letting us fill every corner of her house with our noise and stuff and invade her perfectly content single life with our married with a toddler STUFF!! Hopefully we will be in our own house before the baby is born. (Feb. 28th due date)

OH!! I TOTALLY FORGOT. WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!!

Don't ask me what in the world I am going to do with a boy, but I guess I'll figure it out like I did with Tay. Tay's diapers were the first ones I had ever changed, so new baby will get to break me in on the boy side!

Hubby went to Birmingham for training this past week so we tagged along. He actually worked less at training than he does normally, so we got to enjoy some family time together! We went to the Riverchase Galleria, The Summit, ate at California Pizza Kitchen (YUM), 32 Degrees Yogurt Bar, Tay and I frequented the Chik-fil-a, and spent an hour or so at Vulcan Park.

Thanks for caring,
K

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So....I'm three mos preggers!

Did I get your attention with that title? It is true, I'm 3 mos preggers. I just hit the 12week mark Monday! We got preggers without really trying. The Hubby is not very happy about not being able to "practice!" But as we have learned during these last couple of months HIS timeline is not always our timeline! I am thankful that HE believes that we are ready to take on the challenge of another one. (Even if I am still coming to grips with the realization myself) I have know many women who have a hard time conceiving, so I am feeling very Blessed that it happened without really trying.

Hubby got a promotion with "NOT BROWN" so we are packing up, putting this house on the market and moving to The Capitol City. We are moving from the Northshore of the Crescent City to the Capitol City. Hubby starts his new job September 1st!!! We are very excited about this new career move for Hubby. Oddly enough, the last time I got Preggers he got a promotion. Weird huh?
I am very excited about the move we have lots of friends and family that live in the area. Here we only have a select few that live close so we really don't have much of a social life, but hopefully with a wider circle of peeps in the area maybe we could develop a social life. Plus, I am hoping to stay home for the next year....keep your fingers crossed!

Tay is finally potty trained. Hip Hip Hooray!! One day she woke up and decided that she had had enough with the pull ups and now she's a BIG GIRL. Tay also started a new school this summer. She LOVES it! This is the part that sucks, I finally found a school that she loves and we have to move, *sigh*, if this is the least of my problems than I am a very lucky girl!

Thanks for caring,

K

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Brain Dump

• FYI-Watching several episodes of Criminal Minds before bedtime makes for VERY interesting and kinda alarming dreams.
• The beginning of the last season of LOST is very bittersweet for us. We LOVE this show and want it to end, to answer our questions, but don't want it to end, because what am I going to do without Kate, Sawyer, Jack, and Locke (or not Locke)
• Why does my 3 year old think that it is OK to stay in Pull-ups forever?
• Still don't have "stable" employment. I am currently working at the retail company that I previously worked for, but it is only in a part-time capacity. (AE) Paycheck is not really cutting it.
• A couple of weeks ago, Tay, Hubby, and I went for a walk and I pointed out some birds up ahead to Tay. She looked at me and said, "No, Mommy that's a Hawk!" Well.... I guess all those hours of watching Diego are paying off.
• We stepped outside one afternoon and it was VERY COLD Tay said, "Mommy it's Muy Frio." Thanks again to our little Latina girlfriend Dora.
• Am I the only one that still has Christmas lights up outside their house?
• I bet I am the only one that still has Christmas lights up outside their house with a Mardi Gras wreath!! Ha. I try, really I do.
• This weekend I am going to a Sorority reunion. It should be fun and weird all al the same time. I will be seeing some girls that I haven't seen in almost 10-15 years! Excited but nervous all at the same time!
• THANK YOU TO MY WONDERFUL HUBBY FOR LETTING ME FLY SOLO THIS WEEKEND AND TAKING CARE OF TAYLOR!!! I LOVE YOU!!
  

Thanks for caring,

K

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Dear NFL, *edited*

DISCLAIMER: I am not claiming this as my own. I only wish I could have written this. Take note I am NOT passing this off as an original.

Dear NFL,

OK, now that we have your attention-good game huh?-there's a few things we'd like to clear up. First of all, you may as well get used to seeing us at the Super Bowl. Because about 100 million TV people saw something during the game Sunday night that countless national media "experts" couldn't see before:

We Belong.

We also hate to miss a good party. And you know what? The Super Bowl is one hell of a party. And that was true before the public address announcer cranked up "Iko Iko" on the stadium loudspeakers after the Lombardi Trophy presentation ceremony.

One other thing.

We know what sticklers you are for legal documentation, so please consider this our formal written notice of resignation as the unofficial whipping boys of the National Football League.
You're going to have to find a new whipping boy now. May we suggest the Atlanta Falcons?

We know how hard this is for you. We know that for 43 years, whenever you needed a team to hold up as an example of a perennial loser, whenever you needed some team to make all the other teams and their fans feel better about themselves, we have been your go-to guys.

"It could be worse. We could be the Saints." That has been out role, and we have filled it well.
Not anymore. We are the champions, my friends. And as such, we expect to be granted all the rights and privileges afforded to fans of other championship teams.


So starting today, whenever you refer to the Saints, you're going to have to start referring to- and I quote-"New Orleans' winning tradition."

We've been waiting a long time to hear someone use that particular phase to describe us. The term fits. We'll expect you to use it often.

It means that you'll have to permanently retire the term "Aints" as a nickname for this (ahem) proud, storied franchise.

If you mention the "bagheads," it should be only in the context of ancient history. It has been 30 years since anyone in this town wore a bag to a Saints game. So we will henceforth insist that you stop talking about that like it was last year, and start talking instead about the Finish Strong T-shirts donned by seemingly millions of Saints fans in the run-up to the Super Bowl.


The bottom line is that you're going to have to stop referring to the Saints and their fans as a "great story," and start referring to us as what we are:



A great football team.

We know that this will take some getting used to-for you as well as for us.

After all, for the 43 years we have defined ourselves by the 1-15 seasons.

And the Hail Mary passes.

And the quarterbacks named Billy Joe.

And the holes in the Superdome roof.

Starting tonight we define ourselves by a different set of memories.

By a recovered onside kick.

By a 74-yard interception return.

By an MVP quarterback holding the Lombardi Trophy in his hand and pumping it skyward.
After 43 years of being treated as America's experts on losing, we're ready to become the new national role models for passion and perseverance.

Just to show there are no hard feelings for all the years you made fun of us, we're going to open up membership in the Who Dat Nation to you, our counterparts in all 31 other NFL cities.

Consider this your formal invitation to the Saints parade Tuesday, which will make every previous Super Bowl victory parade look like a long line at the supermarket checkout counter. You can stick around for the unofficial victory parades: Tom Benson in Endymion, Drew Brees in Bacchus , Sean Payton in Orpheus.

Think of it as one of the perks of membership. In New Orleans, football season never ends. It just changes venues.
So, come on down, hit the parade route and do the new dance craze that's sweeping New Orleans.
It's called The Championship Swagger. The steps are easy:
Hold your head up high. Get crunk. And whenever the spirit moves you-which will be often-dig deep down into your soul and say the thee words on this glorious night in Miami became synonymous with success:

Who Dat, baby.
Proudly, passionately, winningly yours,
THE WHO DAT NATION

by Mark Lorando-Features editor-The Times Picayune

Thanks for caring,
K

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Dear Miami,

DISCLAIMER: I am not claiming this as my own. I only wish I could have written this. Take note I am NOT passing this off as an original.

Dear Miami,
The Saints are coming. And so are we, their loyal, long-suffering and slightly discombobulated Super Bowl-bound fans.
While there's still time to prepare -- although a few hard-core Who Dats will begin trickling in Monday, most of us won't arrive until Thursday or Friday -- we thought we'd give you a heads-up about what you should expect....

First things first: You need more beer. Yeah, we know. You ordered extra. You think you have more than any group of humans could possibly consume in one week. Trust us. You don't.

New Orleans was a drinking town long before the Saints drove us to drink. But it turns out beer tastes better when you're winning. (Who knew?) So let's just say we're thirsty for more than a championship; adjust your stockpiles accordingly.

And look. When we ask you for a go-cup, be nice to us. We don't even know what "open container law" means. Is that anything like "last call"?

It's Carnival season in New Orleans (that's Mardi Gras to you), and we'll be taking the celebration on the road. So don't be startled if you walk past us and we throw stuff at you; that's just our way of saying hello.

Oh, and sorry in advance about those beads we leave dangling from your palm trees. We just can't help ourselves.

February is also crawfish season, and you can be sure that more than one enterprising tailgater will figure out a way to transport a couple sacks of live mudbugs and a boiling pot to Miami.

When the dude in the 'Who Dat' T-shirt asks if you want to suck da head and pinch da tail, resist the urge to punch him. He's not propositioning you. He's inviting you to dinner.

And if you see a big Cajun guy who looks exactly like an old Saints quarterback walking around town in a dress ... don't ask. It's a long story.

We know that crowd control is a major concern for any Super Bowl host city. Our advice? Put away the riot gear.

Reason No. 1: Indianapolis is going to lose, and their fans are way too dull to start a riot.
Reason No. 2: New Orleans showed the world on Sunday that we know how to throw a victory party. We don't burn cars. We dance on them.
Reason No. 3: Even if we did lose, which we won't, leaving the stadium would be like leaving a funeral, and our typical response to that is to have a parade. Speaking of which: If you happen to see a brass band roll by, followed by a line of folks waving their handkerchiefs, you're not supposed to just stand there and watch. As our own Irma Thomas would say, get your backfield in motion.

And hey, Mister DJ! Yes, we know you've already played that stupid Ying Yang Twins song 10 times tonight, but indulge us just one more time. To us, "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" isn't just a song; it's 576 points of good memories. It's the sound of a Drew Brees touchdown pass to Devery Henderson, a Pierre Thomas dive for first down on 4th-and-1, a Garrett Hartley field goal sailing through the uprights in overtime. It's what a championship sounds like. You may get sick of hearing it. We won't. Encore, dammit.

Inside Sun Life Stadium, you may find your ears ringing more than usual. We're louder than other fans. Seven thousand of ours sound like 70,000 of theirs. Don't believe us? Ask the 12th man in the Vikings huddle. Some people think it's just the Dome that heightens our volume. But you're about to discover a little secret: We can scream loud enough to make your head explode, indoors or out. It's not the roof. It's the heart. Well, OK, and the beer.

Don't be surprised if there are more Saints fans outside the stadium than inside. A lot of us are coming just to say we were part of history, even if we can't witness it up close. The Saints are family to us, and you know how it is with family: We want to be there for them, whether they really need us or not. Because we know our presence will mean something to them, whether they can see us or not.

Come to think of it, seeing as how you're taking us in for the week, we pretty much regard you as family, too. So we're warning you now: If you're within hugging distance, you're fair game.Hugging strangers is a proud Who Dat tradition, right up there with crying when we win.

Most sports fans cry when their teams lose. Not us. We've been losing gracefully and with good humor for 43 years. Tragedy and disappointment don't faze us. It's success that makes us go to pieces.

Hurricane Katrina? We got that under control. The Saints in the Super Bowl? SOMEBODY CALL A PARAMEDIC!!!

So anyway, don't let the tears of joy freak you out. We're just ... disoriented. OK. Let's review: Order more beer. Throw me something, mister. Suck da heads. Wear da dress. Stand up. Get crunk. Hug it out. Protect your eardrums. Pass the Kleenex. Hoist the trophy. See you at the victory party.

Faithfully yours, The Who Dat Nation

Thanks for caring,
K

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10 things I learned being a Mom.

10 things I have learned being a Mom

1. Poop is no longer scary.
2. I have much more patience for the woman with the screaming kid in the store.
3. I can handle so much more than I thought I could.
4. My husband is the BEST FATHER in the world.
5. I will do absolutely ANYTHING to give my daughter a happy life.
6. If I do not take care of myself I cannot take care of anyone else.
7. The guilt will never go away!
8. I WASTED so much time before I had kids doing absolutely nothing!
9. Watching your friends become Moms is such a rewarding experience. (seeing as I went first.)
10. The crying will eventually stop!
BONUS:
11. COLIC EASE IS THE BEST PRODUCT ON THE MARKET FOR COLIC!!!

There are much more that I could add to the list but these are the top 10 things that came off the top of my head!

Thanks for caring,
K

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WHO DAT!!!

Hell has frozen over and pigs are flying outside my window as I am typing.....it will be a BLACK AND GOLD SUPERBOWL!!! The SAINTS are marching to MIA. Too excited to type much more!!

Thanks for caring,

K

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Happy 2010!!

I have never been one to make resolutions so why start now!? There are however several things in my life that I would LOVE to improve upon in the coming year.

I want to get my house in order! If you have ever had the misfortune of visiting my house you know that I could be on an episode of "Hoarders." Nah-I am not THAT bad but I really could stand to throw some stuff away!

I have vowed to put the smokes away for good! I do not want my daughter to have to watch her mother die gasping for breath.

I am also going to try and appreciate what I have, versus being sad or upset over the things that I do not have or wish I had. I am really not an envious person, but it is fairly easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everything would be so much easier/better "if only we had......." you fill in the blank.

Thanks for caring,

K

P.S. I will definitely be around here more often in 2010!

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