Back to School - Year 10

The beginning of each school year is always a little hard on me.  I go into a bit of a funk.  It is just a big adjustment to go from the sweet, lazy days of summer to the hustle and bustle and stress of the school year. I think this year will be a little better, though.  I have a lighter class load and more time to do my dyslexia paperwork and screenings.  So, yay.

Ellie and Jack officially survived their first week of school.  Both of them are in the GT class this year.  For Ellie, it means she has class with two of her best friends.  Both kids like their teachers and are doing well.  Jack had a rough start, though.  He was sobbing uncontrollably the morning of his first day.  I know it was just nerves and worries over not knowing where his class was or what to expect.  He has one of his best friends in class with him, too, so that helps.

Soccer season started the week before school, but we have had so much rain that the majority of their practices have been rained out.  They both were supposed to have games tomorrow, but they have been cancelled.  I can't say I feel too sad about it because this first week has worn me (and them) out!

Summer Wrap-Up

Summer is over and I am officially back at work this week. Tears. Here are a few things I meant to blog about, but never got around to doing.

1. Rats - One of Ellie's rats, Koki, passed away.  She got so sweet and cuddly toward the end.  I actually took this pic less than an hour before she died.
   
   A week or so later, I took her to the pet store so she could pick out a new friend for her remaining rat.  Meet Lil' Bandit.
   
2. Sisters - My two older sisters came for a short visit!  One lives in Arizona and the other lives in Idaho so it was awesome to see them.  We went to dinner one night and followed it up with a long walk.
   
3. Dogs - My sister and I took our kids to the Houston World Series of Dog Show.  I love going to the dog show and seeing all the dogs.  We really like Meet the Breed and the Flyball/Agility, but the BEST part is walking in the back area where all the dogs are waiting to be shown.  Every breed you can imagine is back there.
   
4. Cousins - I watched my sister's kids for a few days.  The boys were driving me crazy with all their running and yelling so I decided to show them a movie that would capture their attention.  I picked Jurassic World.  It captured their attention, all right.  I might have also given them nightmares.  One of the mornings, I loaded all 6 kids into my van to make it to the 9am $1 movie.  I was really proud of myself.  It was fun having cousin time, but after a few days I was feeling pretty good about my decision to stop at 3 kids.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Date Night - Tom and I went to a Guns N Roses concert.  It was awesome.  I was so interested in the Slash/Axl dynamic and what caused their riff all those years so I downloaded Slash's book as soon as I got home.  I plan on reading Duff's next (Axl hasn't written one).  It is all so interesting...the world of a rock star.
   
6. Baseball - While Tom and I were in New Orleans, my sister took Ellie and Jack to this free clinic at Minute Maid field where the Houston Astros play.  Professional ball players worked with the kids on the fielding and hitting.  It was really neat.  Tom decided to follow it up by taking the kids to a game last weekend.  They loved it.
   
   
   
   

NOLA!

So, I am really behind on documenting it, but Tom and I took our annual kid-free trip to New Orleans a few weeks ago. We dropped the kids off at my parents' house and the dog off at my brother's and then hit the road.

One of my favorite parts of the trip to New Orleans is the drive.  It is 6 hours and not pretty, but it gives Tom and I hours of uninterrupted conversation.

This year we stayed right in the French Quarter at the Omni Royal Orleans. The location could not have been more perfect; close to everything without the noise. Plus, there was a little treat waiting in our room for Tom's birthday.  He was nice enough to share with me. We also had our choice of beverages delivered to our room each morning, free of charge. So, yeah, new favorite place to stay.

That night we went to a late dinner at Oceana's.  We shared the alligator tail bites for an appetizer and they were good, but I think anything tastes good fried.  When the waiter brought our entrees, he somehow flipped the tray and sent Tom's entree all over the family sitting next to us. They were not pleased. Even though it wasn't my fault, I felt somehow responsible. Other than that, we enjoyed our meal.

 We walked around a bit after dinner, but we were back in our hotel room by 10:30 because we are old.

The next morning we slept in and then walked across the street to Napoleon House for an early lunch.  Napoleon House is our favorite lunch place in NOLA so the fact that our hotel was right across the street was a big plus.

We then walked over to the French Market to explore and followed it up with a walk along the Mississippi River. I love just walking around in New Orleans.  There are so many interesting characters and the buildings are unique and beautiful.

When Tom and I are on vacation, we take long naps every, single day.  That's just how we roll. So, we took a long nap and then headed out for a walking tour of the French Quarter.  I am kind of nerdy and always book some sort of tour each time we go.  This year, our tour guide was really funny and knowledgeable.

By the time the tour was over, it was pretty late so we headed over to Bourbon House for dinner.  We got the chargrilled oysters, but they were no where near as good as Acme Oyster House.  I think I said the same thing last year and yet we still ordered them!  For the appetizer, we got the alligator boudin balls and they were AMAZING. So good.

The next day, we slept in and then went to Acme Oyster House for brunch.  Yep, we started off our day with oysters.  They were good, though.

After the oyster breakfast, we walked over to the fancy movie theater and went to the movies.  It might seem weird to go to an over-priced movie theater when in New Orleans, but we like movies and we didn't need to worry about arranging for a babysitter or anything like that.  So movies, beignets at Cafe du Monde, and a nap were our plans for the day.

That night we had reservations at Mr. B's Bistro and this was the most disappointing meal of the entire trip.  The garlic truffle fries were as incredible as I remembered, but both our entrees were AWFUL.  I ordered the filet mignon and made the mistake of saying medium rare.  It was bloody and chewy and didn't have much of a flavor.  I might even have sent it back considering the price, but I didn't because I was so focused on Tom and his big meal disappointment.  He ordered the BBQ shrimp.  When the waiter came out and put a bib on him, we started to realize his meal might not be what he expected.  When his plate arrived, it had a few giant full shrimp soaking in the sauce.  The shrimp were whole...like with the head and tails and legs and everything.  Tom had to rip each piece apart and it was arduous and messy and if you know Tom, you know he was NOT HAPPY.  I didn't want to add to his meal-stress by sending my own back so I just chewed away.  It ended up being the most expensive meal of the entire trip and the worst one.

The next morning we slept in and then headed over to Napolean House for muffalettas before we had to check out of our hotel.  We got there right when they opened at 11:00 (check out was at noon), but their bread order had not arrived and so we ended up waiting quite a bit.  Because they rushed to get the sandwich out, it wasn't heated enough. My meat was cold and the cheese not melted.  It still tasted ok, but just not as good as it normally does.  The manager stopped by our table mid-meal and asked how it was. Normally I would NEVER say anything, but after the previous night's meal disappointment, I couldn't hold it in and showed him my cold sandwich.  He offered to make me a new one, but we had to go check out so I assured him that it still tasted okay and that Napolean House was still my favorite place.  He went ahead and gave it to us for free anyway.  Best place ever.  I left a huge tip and then we checked out of our hotel and made the long drive home.

Ok, so Tom and I love New Orleans, but we decided that we need to find a new place to take our little kid-free summer trip.  We have done all the tours, eaten all the food, and, frankly, we were a little bored this time around.  I mean, we aren't quitting it for good, but I think we are ready for a break for a few years.  Later, NOLA.