Confession Time

Confession: I took off three days during Spring Break last week to hang with my little fam and have some springtime fun. However, I actually spent most of that time looking a bit like this...

No, I am not kidding.

In hindsight, perhaps I should have seen the laziness and lack of productivity coming when I was prescribed steroids a little less than a week before my impending mini-vacation. Unfortunately, I did not realize how much time it takes for those evil medications to get out of one's system. Or how much they raise your body temp, which became obvious when I almost passed out after working out on Wednesday morning.

It wasn't pretty. But, after chilling out (read taking a nap) during the afternoon, I rallied enough to have dinner at George's. I know, we live on the edge.

That was also the night Rambo decided to de-bill his new toy, Senor Quackers. No, I did not name him. Taylor did. Needless to say, he has gone on to a better place.

This was also the evening Tay went to spend the night with a friend, which didn't really excite Miss Priss.

Rambo, however, seemed unphased by the news.

The girl ended up staying with her friend for an extra night as well so it was like we were totally free with nowhere to go. Except that Dave did finally get his knee injection on Thursday morning. I have video but it's not all that exciting except for the major grimace on my man's face.

All I have to say is that injecting silly putty through a 14-gauge needle must be painful. It will be about two weeks before we know if it will work. We are praying hard it will be INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL.

While the girl was gone we really just hung out, did a few things around the house and took pics of the dogs.

May I present "The Many Faces of Rambo, Part Deaux?"

For our final (and perhaps most impressive) act, we actually got a good picture of Perkie as well. What you can't see is the poor girl was literally shaking while I Dave held her and I took the picture. Bless her heart - someone was really horrible to her in another life.

On Friday my girl finally came back home and three of us watched basketball. All. Day. Long.

And made low fat brownies. I know, y'all, the excitement is almost overwhelming.

Honestly, though, the rest was needed and I've actually decided to take a bit of a hiatus from working out as well so I can get well. I've been sick for over a month and I'm ready to fully feel like myself again.

Before you go feeling too sorry for my girl, though, just know that another post is coming that details the big Girls' Day Out we had on Saturday when the man went back to work. Yes, she's spoiled. :-)

What We Did Last Tuesday...

Just like every good Louisiana girl, I made sure our little family celebrated Fat Tuesday last week. Only this year my mom saved me the torture of making a King Cake from scratch by buying one at a bakery in Temple. She took pity on my crazy steroid self and I am incredibly grateful.

But lest you think my man, who has Texas roots deeper than most 100-year-old oak trees, has had no effect on me, I need to admit that our actual entree was - GULP - tacos.

Yes, I realize my Cajun card may be revoked but jambalaya is much more time consuming than tacos and, honestly, it took several more days for the steroids leave my system so it just wasn't a good idea for me to spend much time with sharp objects chopping the necessary trilogy that goes into all Cajun meals.

For what it's worth, I did make it on Saturday and we'll be dining on my Paw Paw's jambalaya for the next two days. You see, it's always better after sitting for a bit. I can't wait to dig in but, first, I do have one more confession...

I made it with turkey sausage. 

I know, I know...my current prayers include that I won't be disowned.... :-)

Sometimes...

...it's just best to recognize your need for rest and cuddle up with sweet toy...

...and if that toys happens to be a plastic chicken, so be it.

Purple Haze

My calendar says it's Monday so I've been at the office just working away. I'm having to rely heavily on outside forces telling me what day, time, decade it is lately, it seems...

That really sounds dramatic but all is well, I promise. You see I had to begin taking steroids last week due to an ugly case of allergies (like, really ugly) and it would seem that I don't have the typical reaction to said medication. While most people feel hot, hungry, have a short fuse, etc. I - on the other hand - experience a sort of "out of body" state in which nothing seems real.

Sounds fun, right? Sort of but it's also kind of scary/alarming/weird as well.

Anyway, I took my last dose last night so now I'm just waiting for the meds to get out of my system. And praying I never, ever have to take them again. Ever!

Needless to say, we didn't have a very busy weekend. My man took the girl to the skating rink where she enjoyed several fun-filled hours with a friend while I took an afternoon nap on Saturday. He headed back to work yesterday but I did manage to get the girl and I to church before meeting up with my parents since Tay is spending a couple of days of Spring Break at their house.

She'll head back to Waco tomorrow and our little family of three will be off for three whole days together. I'm super excited about this but, honestly, have no idea what we're going to do with the time. We're thinking of taking in a Baylor baseball game (hello, game-winning grand slam!), maybe going to the zoo and who knows what else...

Clearly this is riveting information but I didn't even take the camera out this weekend (not that I could have figured out how to use it anyway due to my mental state) so all I'm left with is words today.

My sincere apologies, y'all.

For real.

There is one exciting thing looming tomorrow, though, and that is Fat Tuesday! As most people know, I'm from Louisiana and we always celebrate this day with a homemade King Cake and my Paw Paw's jambalaya. Because I'm feeling super guilty about the lack of excitement (or coherent thought) contained in this post, may I offer up this recipe as a peace offering?

Happy Monday, friends!

The Many Faces of Rambo

Someone is growing up WAY too fast...

...and is really displaying his sweet and spicy personality...

...one might say he's even a bit defiant at times...

...but he's just so darn cute...

...and knows exactly when to turn on the charm, which means he gets away with a lot. :-)

On another note, our puppy had a sweet Valentine's Day exchange with his friends at daycare...

...even though he was sick with allergies and was unable to actually attend...

And I just want to document forever that his bag was not girly. Not even a little bit. Which was a requirement passed down by his dad. :-)

Happy Thursday, y'all!

Uncle Gilbert

Uncle Gilbert came to visit last weekend while Nana and Boppy attended a birthday party in the Dallas area. He was, as usual, calm and collected. In fact, we hardly ever know he's there because he hangs out with Tay in her room and even sleeps with her at night.

We did take the opportunity to capture some puppy portraits (of everyone except Perkie but, by now, that's not really a surprise, is it?) with Carl, our new camera.

We have, however, found the one thing that riles Uncle Gilbert up just a wee bit. That thing's name is Rambo. The first time I ever heard G growl was during his first visit after we'd gotten Rambo. Now that R is bigger each and every time (by leaps and bounds, quite frankly) the elder statesman comes to visit.

And he wants to - gasp! - PLAY with Uncle Gilbert. In a wild and rambunctious manner, of course.

And while I can't say that G is uber excited about that turn of events, he's a good sport about it and gives it all he's got. Of course, Rambo is much younger so he sort of totally doesn't know when to stop. Got to say, though, that said play does put an extra spring in Uncle G's step.

And apparently results in a really good nap once he escapes the insane asylum our home and gets back to his regular digs. But we do love the fella.

Come back soon, Uncle Gilbert!

The Momma

It's tough being the mom. Always making sure the kids aren't tearing something up. Or digging through the trash. Or swallowing their rawhide bones.

But Priss does it with such ease. Always patient (until R pushes her to the limit) and willing to sit with in a muddy puddle with Perkie when I forget to watch the weather and have to dash home to let them inside at lunch.

She is the sweet one. The one who hardly ever does anything wrong. The matriarch, if you will, of the Puppy Posse. 

And, unfortunately, the one who I've come to realize will just never be quite the same again after losing her big brother, Bo.

We do love our biggest girl something fierce, though.