Where Did Those Ashes Come From?

So we're at Ash Wednesday services at church last night ... picture it if you will: a church filled to overflowing, a time to commune with God and us trying to find seats at the VERY back of the church in case we need to make a quick getaway.

The service starts, Annie's doing great ... a little squirmy but that's most certainly to be expected. All is well, the quiet is deafening and then:

" I NEED TO TEE TEE, MOMMY!!"

Thank the good Lord we were sitting toward the back because lo and behold she did need to tee tee. Successful potty training is so good and so bad ...

We return from our trip to the bathroom and resume sitting with Anthony. Again, Annie's hanging in there and doing really well. Then the time comes to have ashes put on our foreheads. We all move along to the front of the church, Annie still doing great, receive our ashes and take our seats.

Then:

"WHAT'S ON YOUR HEAD, MY DADDY?"

Anthony quietly says: "ashes."

"WHERE'D THEY COME FROM?"

I honestly forgot what he said at this point because I was trying to not laugh, be holy, etc.

Then:

"I NEED TO TEE TEE, DADDY!!"

And so she did.

All in all, it was such a wonderful time together as a family, and Annie (with all the honesty, innocence and curiosity of a child) really did great. And in my little world, I think that's exactly what God wanted.

Live From the Red Carpet

Pictures from our fun weekend of errand-running, haircuts, laundry and generally trying to stay warm here on the tundra ...

Oh and of course I must mention the Oscars, which are going on even as we speak. Although I so want my dear friend Meryl to win, I feel it may be Kate's year ... we shall see ...

The Belle of the Ball

More pictures from the Ball ... all family and family friends as well as one of my mom's best friends, who was also in the Mardi Gras Ball Court ...

Reality Bites

Well, we have returned from the big Mardi Gras Ball weekend and crashed back into reality ... It is worth noting that my aunt was the Queen of the Mardi Gras Ball, a very heavily guarded secret known only to a handful of family and very close friends until the actual night of the ball!! Very exciting and so much fun!! I've posted just a few of the nearly 300 pictures we came home with, and yes, I am the one in the cream-colored sweater to cover up my shingles ... (and yes, those are my beautiful parents!)

Happy Mardi Gras Ball!!

off to Gulfport for the Mardi Gras ball ... shall post pictures when we return ...

The Princess and Her Potty

can breathe sigh of relief (all 4 of you out there in readerdom) ... potential Mardi Gras ball dress catastrophe has been averted ... ball is this weekend so shall post pictures next week ...

in meantime, tiny child has become virtually (brace yourselves) potty-trained ... is miracle of miracles ... notice in picture of Annie in dress-up clothes from Uncle Matt, Aunt Mandi and Anna Lauren her pretty new panties ... after two accidents she suddenly is potty-using fool ... is amazing really ... only wonder why Princess potty now spontaneously plays its you-just-successfully-tee-teed-in-me music even if no one is near bathroom ... bizarre ...

Sister Annie

Mardi Gras Ball dress hunt continues amidst sinus hoopla caused by bizarre weather shifts here in Nashvegas ...

would appear that tiny daughter has first official "boyfriend" in her Moms Day Out program, as evidenced by exchange with boyfriend's grandpa yesterday ... suspect precious hubby wildly making calls to convent even as I write ... Ah, Sister Annie ...

The Little Hermit

is good to start day at church ... is interesting to start day volunteering in church nursery when (simultaneously)one toddler falls asleep drooling away on your shoulder and then one escapes the room when an unsuspecting parent opens the door ...was left with no option but to race after escapee whilst hoisting drooling, hopefully-still-sleeping child higher onto shoulder ... ah, the rigors of the church nursery, especially when had chosen to wear high-heeled boots for the fashion-conscious Jesus ... am downright ashamed of way self thinks sometimes ...

and then there was Stein-Mart, the mecca of hope and endless possibilities for Mardi Gras Ball dress ... not today, though, so search continues ... interesting day continued, though, as child dressed head-to-toe like Harry Potter with flowing black robes stealthily darted in and out of the racks at the Mart ... was actually a tiny bit scary if honest ...

and to conclude: must be getting older as Superbowl parties sound nowhere near as fun as hanging out with family at home ...