The Fun Has Just Begun

Here's a fun little fact:

I am OLDER than Troy by one month and twenty days.

My birthday is on August 5th (every year come wind, rain, snow or hail).

Troy's birthday is on September 25th (like clock work).

I say that I'm his 'old lady'.

He says that I'm 'robbing the cradle'.

Whatever our ages we get along together splendidly...

And since we're on the topic of AGE...

Guess who turned 30 last week? (Hint: It's about time he caught up! ;-0)

You guessed it... Troy P. Majoue is now a full fledged 'adult'!

To celebrate his big day, Troy took off of work Friday to have a day devoted just to him.

We dropped Peyton off at school; went and had breakfast together, saw a movie Troy wanted to see (Chloe was superb throughout the whole movie; a very nice surprise), then we picked up 'Fabious' at school and headed home for a bit before we went to dinner at Red Robin so Troy could claim his free birthday burger. They even sang to him. :-)

As an added bonus he had got to mow the lawn on his birthday; now isn't that special? Actually it was in preparation for his birthday BBQ the next day with some of our friends. By the time we were done weeding, mowing, cleaning and grocery shopping for his big day, we were tuckered out!

All week prior to his birthday the weather had been overcast, cool and drizzley. I was worried that our cook-out would turn into a cook-in, but Friday dawned bright and beautiful. It was even back to being hot and sweltering again! It got so warm on Saturday that we didn't really venture out much more than to throw some hot dogs on the grill and watch some of the kiddos splash on the inflatable water slide.

His birthday theme for the BBQ was 'Over the Hill' with Skull and Cross bones decorations.

His cookie cake reads: Hope you treasured your last 30 years, 'cause now you're over the hill Troy!

I also made him some cupcakes out of his favorite cake mix; funfetti cake with rainbow chip frosting.

Uh oh. Looks like he's going to take off with those 30 balloons whether he's ready or not! :-)

Sayonara balloons.

And now for 30 random facts about Troy:

1. Despite having lived in New Orleans his whole life, he does NOT like crawfish boils. He does however like crawfish pasta (go figure).

2. He loves to cook (but doesn't always love to clean up from the cooking :-0)

3. If he had more time, he'd read more books than I do.

4. Troy actually enjoys mowing the lawn.

5. His great literary joys are Greek Mythology, Philosophy, Science Fiction and Fantasy. The sports page on Yahoo attracts his attention quite frequently too. :-)

6. Troy will ride around with the gas light on (for several miles) without any worries. I think this is a guy thing.

7. He bleeds purple and gold. 'Nuff said.

8. I have never seen him lose a wrestling match. Even up against friends who are (ahem) larger in scale to him.

9. The smell of coffee and broccoli is Troy's kryptonite.

10. He can't have brownies without wanting ice cream with it or ice cream without wanting brownies with it.

11. He thinks having only salad for dinner (or lunch) is silly.

12. Troy loves most comic book movies; his favorite is Superman.

13. If Troy had gotten his way, Peyton's name would be Landon today.

14. Even though he didn't get his wish for Peyton's name, he did however give Chloe her name (and it obviously stuck!).

15. Troy's favorite 'type' of girls growing up were brunnettes with blue eyes. Funny that he married a blonde girl with hazel eyes!

16. He is very good at approximating what time he will get somewhere (and may or may not speed to get there... I plead the fifth!).

17. His favorite color is purple but for clothes that he wears, it's red or blue.

18. When he gets bored at work he calls me. I know it's a slow day when I get a bunch of phone calls! :-0

19. Troy really has a hard time buying things for himself. He will always talk himself out of getting something even if he really needs it (like new socks!)

20. He is really good at giving things to others though. He would give you the shirt off of his back if you really needed it.

21. He is the best gift giver- he really pays attention to what you like/dislike. In seven years I have never received a bad gift from Troy.

22. He is the definition of patience. Bad drivers don't bother him. Our rascally toddler doesn't bug him. A screaming Chloe doesn't phase him. Thank goodness because I am the opposite!

23. Troy really likes to be the center of attention (in plays, sports events, school awards ceremonies, in front of strangers at a restaurant while they sing to him... you get the idea.)

24. He walks very fast. Very. He may even be faster than my Dad (who is 6'9)!

25. It will be a sad day when the doctor tells Troy that he can't eat as much meat anymore. That man could live on bacon, lamb and cheeseburgers.

26. He goes through ketchup faster than anyone I know. Seriously. It's nearly a bottle every month and a half!

27. He eats pancakes without syrup- just butter.

28. Sometimes he'll read what's going on on other friends' blogs before I do!

29. He's a wonderful father who takes time to play, tickle, read to, sing and color with his kids.

30. He is the sweetest most loving husband ever. And he's pretty cute too.

Happy 30th Troy! We love you!

An Apple a Day

Our oldest has been learning about colors this month.

Colors and apples.

On Friday's, we get a folder sent home containing some of his artwork and every week it's a new apple, a new color.

The first week he brought home a coloring sheet of an apple which he had dutifully colored orange.

'Orange?' I thought musing over the coloring sheet. 'That's not right. Apples aren't orange.'

But why not? In art, we can color things whatever way we want; purple elephants, green suns, red bananas even orange apples.

His next two apples were 'normal'; a Macintosh red and a Granny Smith green.

Then he came home with the apple above- little red paper squares clinging to the body of the apple in the appropriate place, apple leaf and stem colored with a waxy green crayon.

'Too perfect.' I thought looking at how none of the squares strayed far from 'inside the lines'.

Even so, I love it because it was made by my little boy; his miniature hands pressed the squares to the dots of glue and he grasped the crayon and wielded it to the paper to add vibrancy and color to the top.

Too bad this apple can't really keep the doctor away like that old adage says...

Peyton was sick at the beginning of the month over Labor day weekend. I thought we had dodged it too until last Thursday when I came down with the worst sore throat (that wasn't strep) ever.

Then came the horrible headaches that couldn't be relieved even by Tylenol.

The loss of taste and smell...

Sneezes that started from the tips of my toes and were blasted out my nose.

And lots and lots of tissue balled up and used; in my robe, on my bedside table, a square tucked into my jeans pocket and some in the cup holder of the truck for good measure.

Yesterday Chloe started getting it too. Her eyes were watering unceasingly and have remained puffy and swollen. Her delicate voice today is scratchy and deep.

So we've been hunkering down the last few days just trying to feel and get better.

Thankfully, I'm on the upswing now. I'm just watching and waiting for Chloe to get well soon too.

Meanwhile, maybe Peyton and I will go color some paper apples. I'm thinking turquoise might be a fun color to start with...

P.S. Colors according to Peyton:

Red: Fred

Orange: Oh-ranch

Yellow: Yeh-yoh

Green: Gween

Blue: Boo

Purple: Pur-pur

Donut Worry...Be Happy!

Sometimes we lounge around the house until the ripe old time of nine o' clock on a Saturday morning even when the outdoors beckon us with a sky that is a perfect robin's egg blue and the sun a bright round lemon drop floating amongst cotton candy clouds.

Sometimes by Saturday we are sick of cereal because we eat it every day during the week, sometimes out of a duty to eat; not really enjoying it as much as we are just rushing through the motions of it to get out the door.

So by the weekend, the Lucky Charms and the Crispex and the Kashi have lost their luster and appeal despite their bright packaging and their promises of nutrition and vitamins.

We usually wait until nine mulling over breakfast possiblities before one of us will chime in with what the other has been silently been wishing for...

Donuts.

Then one {or all} of us will pile into the car (or the truck depending on who is going) and take a turn down Highway 66 to visit a little nook of a store that has the sweetest lady imaginable behind a glass case full of Saturday morning delectables.

Quite simply, she is one of those people with the endearing quality of seeing a face once and remembering it. She asks how so-and-so is, tells you the kids are getting bigger, asks if the job is going well, etc. She is just delightful.

So are her donuts.

It only took us three tries to find 'our' donut shop and although they aren't quite as soft and airy as the donuts were at our old haunt in Richardson, they are tasty all the same.

Our favorites as represented in the box: One apple fritter, one chocolate eclair, one cinnamon twist, one blueberry donut, one chocolate crueller, and the added bonus of a handful of donut holes that our pastry angel throws in as a free treat.

The distribution:

Troy: Apple fritter and chocolate eclair

Lexi: Cinnamon twist and chocolate crueller

Peyton: Blueberry donut and donut holes

Chloe: Warm milk

This one is too little to feel like she is missing out yet. For now, warm milk is all she needs for a full tummy and a happy heart. I wonder what her favorite treat will be in the (all too soon) future.

All you have to do is say the word 'donuts' and this one perks right up!

What are your weekend traditions?

Two Sundry Sunday Tales

Bright morning sunlight was shining through the slats of our bay window and warming our King sized bed. The whole family was there; Troy and I were snuggled under the covers, Chloe was nestled in between us two while Peyton burrowed and tunneled in and out of the sheets and scrambled up and down the bed.

He abruptly stopped in the middle of his play and grabbed Troy's hand saying, "Come here!" {or more like C'mere}. He pulled and pulled at Troy until he finally relented and followed Peyton's eager little body into the master bathroom.

"Oh-pea! Oh-pea!" {Meaning 'Open' in Peyton speak} he cried pointing at one of our bathroom drawers.

"What do you want Peyton?"

"Oh-pea!"

Troy tugged at the drawer and it rolled smoothly open to display all of the 'magical treasures' that an ordinary bathroom drawer contains, e.g., floss, hairbrush, contact solution, nail clippers, etc.

"What are you looking for Peyton?"

Peyton stood on tippie toes and peered over the drawer for a moment before selecting his prize, a tube of toothpaste. Without hesitation, he places the tube in Troy's willing hands and cranes his neck to look his Daddy full on in the face.

"Do you want to brush your teeth?"

"No! All gone!" Peyton pushes the toothpaste insistently into the palm of Troy's hand. "Brush!" he chirps and looks expectantly at Troy.

"Do you want me to brush my teeth?"

"Brush!" Peyton says once again.

Troy and I start laughing instantaneously.

"It's like he's saying, "Seriously Dad, you need some Pro-Health toothpaste. Your mouth reeks." Troy manages to say while catching his breath.

There's nothing like morning breath and your two year old calling you on it!

Later that afternoon, Peyton discovered the broom that Troy had left in the bathroom to clean up loose hair from his hair cut.

"Troy, will you grab that before he destroys the wall with it?" I anxiously ask while watching Peyton wield the broom like a saber.

Troy gently grabs the broom much to Peyton's dismay and leans it against the counter. Peyton, seeing that the broom is 'free' once more goes towards it with a gleam of mischeviousness in his eye.

Troy was one step ahead of him and confiscated the broom and held it over his head.

"Peyton, you can have this broom if you can say 'Accio broom!'"

[See Harry Potter for info on what 'Accio' means]

"Accio Boom!" Peyton parrots.

Troy just shaking with laughter hands the broom over to Peyton.

"Peyton, say "Up Broom!" I say giggling.

"Up boom!" He repeats. [Remember that scene from the first Harry Potter movie?]

Pretty soon we were all laughing.

Maybe one day Peyton will learn to disapperate when we want him to!

Kitchen Shenanigans

"Push the button!"

I hear from one giant boy to his mini-me beside him.

They are both chuckling and conspiring together as I'm cooking up their dinner.

"There's Mama!"

They both start laughing again, one feeding off of the other like echoes in a canyon.

"What are you two doing?" I ask while flipping the chicken over to brown on the other side.

More giggles.

I whip around, and see the two of them manning my digital camera.

Peyton is chirping, "Picture!" over and over again, his face lit up with unrestrained glee.

"Now look here you two!"

*FLASH!*


"Don't mess with Mama while she's cooking!"

More laughs.

Oh the joys of boys!

I'm Feeling Much Better Today

Thanks for your words of kindness and support!

I ♥ you guys.

Melancholy Morning Ramble {or Friends and the Lack Thereof}

Thursday evening, I received an email from my Dad saying that his brother had died.

I felt physically ill for a moment thinking it was my Uncle Bruce whom I haven't emailed or heard from in several weeks. As I scrolled down to the rest of the email which was forwarded to my Dad {and then to me} from my Aunt Tari, I realized that it was my Uncle Gary who had died.

We found out later that he had shot himself in the head. It took the police 6-8 days to find his body. I can't even imagine what a sight that must have been.

This has been affecting me a lot more than I thought it would.

For one, I don't remember my Uncle Gary. I can't recall the features of his face, the sound of his voice or his unique quirks that we as human beings inevitably have.

Nada, zip, zilch.

I think I met him when I was very young but as I said before, I don't recall.

For reasons that would take too long to write about and which are deeply personal, I won't go into our family dynamics. Suffice it to say that my Dad is estranged from his side of the family for past history between them and my Mom has a similar situation with her family as well.

What this has resulted in is a loss of extended family. Uncles and Aunts just become strangers. Grandparents and Cousins remain faceless and void.

Today at church, we talked about friendship and a comment was made that family should be some of your very best friends- the people you turn to when you are in your darkest hour; who can understand where you are coming from and help you stay on track to where you are going.

I have a hard time at church sometimes because I didn't grow up the way others at church have; many of them seem to have strong relationships with their extended families. I think a lot of time, people {especially at my church where family is everything} assume that your family is wonderful and good, kind and supportive.

I'm not saying that my parents weren't this way- they were. I'm saying that the situations that they grew up in weren't warm and fuzzy environments. They did the best they could with me considering their own upbringing {and I have to state they did a good job. I don't think I turned out half bad at all}.

As the topic of friendship was bandied about, I just thought of my Uncle, sitting in his apartment completely and utterly alone. I thought of him picking up the gun and resting it on his temple. I imagined him pulling at the trigger- one instant there, the next gone. I wonder if he reached out to a friend in the moments before or if he left this world thinking that no one cared, so why should he?

Today we were talking about how important friendship is; in good times and bad. How God wants us to know that he is our friend in all seasons and he just wants us to talk to him, be closer to him, draw strength from him.

I wish Gary had known that.

Going back to the lesson, I felt really sad while listening to what was being said because I'm in a friendship limbo here in Texas. I'm meeting lots of people, but I have no real close personal friends here yet.

I am envious of my friends back in Baton Rouge who have been there for years and who are now mostly related through marriage or from years of shared experiences. They have wonderful get togethers and have this solid foundation as friends and family.

I told Troy that it's not the same when you grow up. Suddenly when you get married and have children, you don't have the same connections with people anymore. You don't call people 'just because' anymore or do spur of the moment things any longer. I'm having a hard time adjusting to that.

I was never one to have a ton of friends growing up but I usually always had one really close friend to talk to. I still have yet to find that really good friend that I could call up anytime, that wouldn't be buggered when I was down in the dumps, that would want to have a girl's night in of junk food and movie rentals.

All I really want is a good friend.

I think Gary needed one too.

"Awww, Baby GIRT!"

Yes, you read that correctly. Peyton has been calling Chloe a 'Baby Girt' which is 'Baby Girl' only with a 'T' replacing the 'L' in the word 'Girl'.

Baby Girt is doing great- she now rolls over to her stomach with ease but gets mad when she can't figure out how to roll back again. She blows raspberries with delight, giggles and coos and uses her long lashes that she inherited from Daddy to flirt with abandon.

She sleeps all night in her own bed and in the morning, she likes to dance with Mommy while the boys are away.

Her Cockatoo hair doesn't stick up nearly as much as it used to {which is bittersweet} and it's long enough to use all of the bows she has in her endless stash. Meanwhile, she's rubbed herself a bald patch at the back of her head. So long hair on top, no hair at back!

She is definitely a girly girl- she is the house princess and lets everyone know it. She can summon anyone in the house {including Peyton who is always the first to tell you that she needs something by proclaiming 'Chloe!' or 'Baby Girt!'}.

She makes small dainty whimpers like a newborn puppy and loud siren wails like a clanging fire engine.

She is both adorable and cute; and way more of a 'squish' than Peyton was {who was and still is our little ball of muscle}.

Baby Girt is here to stay.

Oh, how we love her.

The picture above is of Chloe's blessing day last Sunday. We tried to get pictures with Daddy too while Peyton was taking a siesta, but no dice. 'No camera's please!' the little princess cried; so this was our best attempt before the little miss had had it.