the galley

This whole giant belly thing gets a little old at month 7. Don't get me wrong-- I love that I'm creating life and everything and I love this little boy to the moon and back, but last night I dreamt I had super fit abs (and obvs a tan... clearly this was a dream)

...and then I reached down, grabbed my belly and pulled my body over to the other side because my leg hurt.

Selfish thought.

But I bet our dinner last night didn't quite help either, what with the pounds and pounds of crawfish and shrimp...

because it's crawfish season! RJ loves it and I don't so much. Anything that involves popping off something's head and sucking out meat?! What! Needless to say I had red beans and rice. But I'm so proud of my cultured husband. He grew up on this stuff.

Tonight is the Endymion parade, and tomorrow is Bacchus where Will Ferrell will be the king! The only prob is the terrible weather. It's raining and the weather service has issued tornado warnings.

Will we stay home and watch Yo Gabba Gabba? Or will we be brave and face the storm and get more beads to add to our collection?

throw me somethin' mistah!

Oh my gosh, I only have 8 weeks left until the little mister comes. And I still have so much to do. What do you mean, you've been in your house for 3 months now... what else do you have to do? A LOT.

...

Can I tell you the best thing we've started with our friends... date night. There are basically no teenagers here and no I am not visiting care.com, not that desperate yet, so we switch off watching the kids on Fridays.

It's genius-- watch all the kids one night in exchange for 5 free date nights (because 6 of us are doing it). Five date nights! You single and childless people have no idea how good you have it. If I were you, I'd be going all over the place just because I could!

...

It's Mardi Gras season! Mardi Gras day isn't actually until the 21st (it's always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday right before Lent-- New Orleans is a very Catholic city)-- but the two weeks leading up to Mardi Gras day is Mardi Gras season. And there's a parade every. night. Multiple parades, actually. All over the city.

Our family, plus Dave the lumberjack.

We kicked off the season right and hit up the first parade in Metairie with a bunch of our friends and all our kids.

RJ and Jack waiting for the parade to begin. It was 40 degrees.

Every family in Utah has food storage, every family in Alabama has a gun, and every family in New Orleans has a ladder seat. For your kids to sit and catch stuff at the parades, duh.

Jack and his friend Benson got hit in the face by wads of beads.
They didn't last very long up there.

People literally run right up to the floats and yell "Throw me somethin', mistah!" And I heard you get better loot if you've got a kid. So I ran right up and shoved Jack in their faces-- and we did get more crap than just beads! I mean, a blinking rubber ring? A stuffed animal? Cups with gold pictures of Greek Gods on them? This stuff is genuine crap!

I can't wait for some of the other parades in Uptown so I can stalk celebrities.

can't resist

In case my post about Phoenix didn't get this point across already, let me say again how much I love a good deal.

Email from Megan: Madi,

How much did you pay for these $200 shoes? 

(Which were actually originally $275.)

And my elated heart wrote back: NINETEEN DOLLARS!

And I'm wearing them now!

Maybe it's not so chic to write about all the steals and deals I come across (because I want you all to think I sit on the patio furniture all day eating bonbons in stilettos and watching Jack play in the dirt) but I couldn't resist. 

You know stuff like this is exciting.

look who's huge

This guy right here. He even brushes his own teeth now. And asks me about the baby in my tummy.

So weird.

I love him.

girls' trip!

Who doesn't love a little Phoenix in January? Okay, it was probably hotter at home but the SUN definitely didn't disappoint. And I don't have a pool. So Phoenix wins!

L-R: Megan, Kelley, Lindsay, me, Sarah and Jamie at Hillstone Restaurant

Every year we try to do a girls' trip (I can't take any credit for the planning) with the ladies in the Rice family. Seriously... best idea and tradition ever. The first year I went, RJ and I had been married only a few months and it was the best way to just break in and get to know the fam. I absolutely adore these girls.

The six of us at White Chocolate Restaurant, our last night

We ate, shopped at LAST CHANCE (Cheers to everyone who loves to hunt and find a great deal! I got a hot pink Hobo wallet for $29!) and sat by the pool reading US Weekly, Elle Mag, People, important books that smart people read.

Seriously, people! This used to be $108!

And of course Jamie and I had to pose in our new bright jeans.

Note to self: Never agree to take a pic next to that. You won't win.
Also: Oversized white tees don't work on pregnant women.

Can't wait for next year, ladies!

this week

When my boy wakes up in the morning, he usually hands me his shoes and says, "Go?"

This is just a sampling of what we've been up to this week. I hope I can keep it up when his little brother comes along. Jack is one busy little man.

taken like a true loser

It's been a while! We're all moved in, loving New Orleans and getting ready for little boy to make his appearance in April. He seems to be growing at the rate of a small elephant. And so do I, cankles and all.

Everyone that asked me to post, this one's for you. You got a little more than you expected, didn't you? Yes-- I was home alone and had to take my own picture. Taken like a true loser.

I mentioned our bathroom renovation project in my last post. Well, it's done! This is the first time RJ and I have taken on something like this (besides our backyard in Birmingham). This is what we started with:

Doesn't look too bad? Well, these photos are misleading. The cabinets might have been the perfect height for Frodo Baggins, but we are a proud 2 inches taller than him. So we nixed those and the linen closet to the right, as well as the wall separating the sinks and the shower. (The shower that no one should ever have showered in. Trust me.)

I wasn't too great at taking pictures of the process. When it was completely gutted, my stomach turned and I wondered if I had made a mistake. But don't you think the room really opened up? And here is the completed bathroom...

We are so grateful that we were able to do a project like this. It's really fun to see what you can make of a space. I already want to save up for another renovation! But I think for now I'll have to stick with DIY via Michael's and Hobby Lobby. Oh wait, I forgot. I don't craft.