Last day of the first year of high school

I showed them the picture from the first day of school, and they said, “I don’t think we look different.”

I respectfully disagree.

(and I don’t just mean the hair)

15 years, 5 months

I had a debate with myself on which picture to use. This one, where they’re all smiling a bit and Linus’s eyes are open, or the one I ended up using where Linus is squinting. Big smiles won out.

Oliver has definitely grown in the past month – we were the exact same height when we went for their well visit, and now he’s definitely a bit taller. Or I’ve shrunk some more. One of those.

By the time this month is up, they’ll be done with their freshman year of high school. And maybe Miles will have picked up a brush.

April in review

Okay, seriously, April went by way too fast. What did we doooooo?

Easter! Mom and Larry came over. I made a delicious chocolate cake and other things. And we got a family pic.

I donated blood, and while I ended up with bruising on both arms (my veins aren’t as hearty as you would expect from me) I also got a cool t-shirt.

And then a few days later, I got another flower tattoo. This one was for Kiki. I told her she could pick, and she chose a hibiscus because it reminded her of her mom, as they had them growing at their house when she was growing up.

Artistry by Mecca at Hell or High Water here in New Orleans. I highly recommend her and her shop.

Less fun, the boys kicked a hole in the wall and I covered it with a sheet of whiteboard:

Lots of soccer, but it also ended this month. Yay! There were goals scored by my children, which was nice to see. We went to a tournament in Lafayette. They didn’t totally suck! I made friends with a five year old. It was delightful.

After a real shitshow of a game on the north shore, we had dinner with my cousin Rob and his wife. It was so great to see them! So great.

Ziggy was cute, yet again.

What else? The boys got obsessed with basketball, I made another bunny for a grieving little brother, I got new shoes, I sewed some things, George and I had tacos, I made breakfast pizza for dinner. I started a three month rotation with the tumblr support team, and I’m loving it.

And now it’s May and this month the boys will finish their freshman year, I’m going to Rotterdam, and birthdays will be celebrated. But I won’t have to watch any soccer games!

15 years, 4 months

They don’t look the same size here, but they are all within half an inch and a pound of each other (which you already know from my previous post, of course.)

March recap

March was obviously kind of low-key, because I haven’t felt the need to post anything since the monthly picture.

Today they had their 15 year well visits, and I was excited to see how tall they were. I assumed Oliver and I were the same height, 5’10”.

I was right and wrong. We are the same height, but we are 5’9″.

This has shaken me to my core. I’m actually fine with getting older and shrinking. I am not okay with the idea that I was never 5’10”. So we’re going to go with shrinking. It’s fine.

And Miles and Linus are only half and a quarter inch behind Oliver, and they’re all within a pound in weight, which is wild. I don’t think they’ve ever been this similar since they were born! (I was going to look to see how long they were at birth, and apparently this is not documented anywhere. Not on this blog, not in my medical records, not in any emails. Nowhere. Huh.)

My sister to the rescue: Her nephews were 16.5, 17, and 17 inches long. Which means, yes, they are (relatively) closer in height and weight now than they were at birth. Wild.

And boy, is it true that they just stretch out like taffy at this age. In the past two years, Linus gained almost 9 inches in height but less than a pound in weight. Crazy.

So let’s see, what else happened in May?

Let’s see. Ziggy was cute. No change there.

Oliver and Linus got haircuts. Zzz.

I made a pretty skirt! Oh that’s nice. It’s the Upton skirt by Cashmerette, this floral embroidered mesh came from Joann’s, of all places. I used a pale pink satin for the underlayer. (Thank you Ren for the runway photo from the hotel hallway.)

The most exciting part of the month was going up to Natchitoches for my 30th high school reunion. (Yes, I graduated at the tender age of 7.)

It was so much fun. Really nice to reconnect with friends I haven’t seen in a while. Bittersweet, though, because this is when the boys would be getting their acceptance letters if they’d applied. I mean, obviously I’m glad they’re not leaving me, but it’s hard not to want the same experience I had, when it was so life-changingly wonderful. And the new dorms are very nice.

There was lots of soccer too. A tournament in Baton Rouge where Oliver got the only goal for their team all weekend. Then another game last weekend where Oliver got the only goal. This weekend is another tournament, but I guess you’ll have to wait for the next monthly update to hear about it!

I also made a stuffed bunny for a mom in the neighborhood who lost her baby daughter earlier this year. I felt honored that she trusted me with the task. It came out cute, I think. She was happy, which is the important thing.

The jasmine is blooming, which is the only good thing about spring. Well, and daylight savings time (ending? beginning? I can never remember.) but I need to get a new grill because the one we had fell apart.

I read a good book, I recommend it.

I got to have lunch with a work friend.

The boys ate a lot of saltines.

Stephanie chopped off her hair for St. Baldrick’s. Tragically, I forgot to wear my giant medal.

24 years after graduating from LSU with a friggin general studies degree, I paid off my student loans! Wheeee!

And yeah, that’s about it.

Oh, except starting on April 3, I will be on a new team at work for three months, working on Tumblr support. I’m very excited for the change of scenery!

15 years, 3 months

fifteen times twelve plus three

one hundred eighty-three months!

Not much else to say. Time marches on.

February

Well, it’s the last day of February and I did vow to write a recap post every month, so here I am. February was mostly Mardi Gras, but some other stuff too.

George and I went to lunch for my birthday.

I started physical therapy for my back (that will continue through March.)

I made a puffy vest.

Mardi Gras happened.

I redid this shirt from sequins to fringe.

I made a big obnoxious hat and a tiny obnoxious hat.

We watched the varsity team lose the state final. 😦

Club soccer started up again.

March will be my 30th high school reunion (!) and more soccer.

15 +2

Well, at least Miles got a haircut.

(Yes, Mom, I took it on time, I just don’t usually feel like using my computer on weekends.)

January in review

How on earth is it still January? I feel like this has been the longest month ever.

Started out flying home from the Dominican Republic, and finally getting Ziggy back home. We missed him a lot. He…did not seem to miss us very much at all. I guess he had fun. He was hoarse from all the barking (or something, maybe a mild case of kennel cough, the vet said, he’s all better now in any case.)

“You could have left me there.”

Soccer started right back up, and then on Sunday the 8th, we took the boys to their very first Saints game ever. It was also the first time they’d ever been inside the Superdome. It was a not-great game, but we had fun anyway. Except we walked to the dome from the ferry and it was sprinkling so by the time we actually got to the game, we were all kind of wet and cold. No big deal.

Later that evening, I flew to Austin for a work meetup. Got in close to midnight, just a few minutes before my birthday!

Woke up the next morning, said hello to my colleagues, picked up a chocolate croissant from the Whole Foods down the road, worked, was surprised (sort of, I mean, I kind of demanded it) by a beautiful cake, had a nice lunch and later a nice dinner. This was my fourth work meetup on a birthday!

The rest of the week was more working, yummy food, bonding with coworkers, getting a spur-of-the-moment tattoo with Vanessa, bowling, puzzle assembling, scooter riding, renting a Tesla with Beckett and Karen, driving a Tesla, visiting our friend Elizabeth and finally meeting her daughter. I gave her a quilt I made her with bees and she seemed to like it.

IYKYK

Back home, more soccer, then another tattoo the next week (that I had originally scheduled for my birthday, but the had to push back a week because of the work trip) and more soccer and more soccer.

pink hydrangea

This past weekend was the end of school soccer, and the very last game was between the freshmen and sophomores. Under Miles’s coaching, the freshmen won! And I got some great pics of Coach Miles.

maybe my favorite picture ever.

I did some sewing. Made some shorts, bought more fabric I don’t need, but that’s okay. We had a bit of an issue with mice, but I think we resolved it. I don’t ever need to see tiny mouse bodies stuck in traps ever again.

Also I have someone cleaning the house again and it’s wonderful and it really is good for my stress levels because, let’s face it, it’s not exactly my forte.

I wrapped up the month by making a king cake yesterday. On to February!

2022 in review

Better late than never, I suppose. I barely posted at all last year, a mere 28 times! And 12 of those were monthly pics, so only 16 other posts? Actually that is more than I would have thought. Anyhoo, I’m going to try to post more in 2023. (For context, in 2014 I posted 342 times.)

January

We were in the middle of that Omicron wave so my birthday was low key. Obviously that’s the only important day in January. But it was a lovely day anyway, sitting outside with friends and drinking margaritas and eating king cake.

Also I got a new sewing machine. Love.

February

I took an amazing jeans making class from the inimitable Lladybird. It wasn’t just the sewing tips but also the camaraderie from other sewists and just being around happy people that was so lovely.

Mardi Gras. Parades came back!

March

Technically Mardi Gras Day was in March.

I found a really cute video of Miles that I could watch one million times in a row.

I visited Kiki after her mom passed away. I was happy to see her, but not happy why.

April

I went to visit Kiki again to help with her mom’s memorial celebration. We cooked a lot of fancy food.

The boys went to a dance.

May

The boys finished 8th grade, and had their last day at Lycee Francais. The end of an era!

Oh, and they all got Covid, one by one. George and I did not, somehow.

June

We got a new oven.

July

We went to Virginia! I stayed with Kiki, the boys went to Camp Aunt Jenny, and we all had a great time. (Kiki and I also went to NYC.)

August

The boys started high school. And competitive soccer again.

I got a tattoo.

September

My brother and Ellie came to town.

I made a coat, it’s beautiful.

October

I gave out candy on Halloween for the first time. (with Steph)

November

Went to Denver for my first work trip since January 2020.

Got another tattoo.

December

Took another sewing workshop with Lauren.

My babies turned 15.

We went to the Dominican Republic.

I did sew a lot this year, but I didn’t always blog about it. Here are some more things I made:

It was a bigger year for quilts than I would have thought!

15 years, 1 month

Who are these shaggy haired ragamuffins? All I know is they smell after their team won 3-1. Hooray!

Punta Cana 2022 (and a little bit of 2023)

At 6am on Christmas morning, we got on a flight to the Dominican Republic and met up with 12 other family members for a vacation.

I could go through what we did every day, but really it was “put on bathing suit, go to breakfast, sit by pool, get a mojito, go to lunch, go in ocean, get a pina colada, go back to pool, go to dinner, go to bed” with a few random activities sprinkled in.

The view upon arrival.
click here for tons more pics