And the theme is...

I got lots of creative guesses about the theme of Thatcher's 1st birthday. Someone threw out Mardi Gras, and when I looked at the picture I realized that the paper products do look a tad lavender, but rest assured that they are in fact a pale blue. I probably need to find better things to worry about, but I actually ordered 2 shades of blue and sent back the ones that didn't work. You know, because I don't have enough going on with my full-time job.

Danielle (who is actually from Louisiana as well) actually guessed the correct theme: alligators!

Since Thatcher was about 6 weeks old, we have affectionately called him The Thatcher Gator. It all started when the husband and I watched a marathon of one of our favorite shows, Swamp People. We seriously love the show, and we jokingly started calling Thatcher by this silly nickname. It just sort of stuck, though we don't really use it in public or anything. Anyway, I thought it'd be a cute theme for his birthday since I am pretty sure the days of Star Wars, Thomas the Tank Engine and other obnoxious delightful cartoons are coming.

I am asbolutely thrilled with how these came out and highly recommend Sweet Birdie's Nest. We have lots of other cute paper items like return address labels, favor tags and a high chair banner, and they were so patient in working with me, the frustrated talented graphic designer that I am.

Hopefully it won't rain, but the positive news is that if it does, we should have a fabulous back-up plan: our new house! We made it through the inspection period and have negotiated a new purchase price with the sellers. They have been so wonderful to work with, and it's been great not to have to rely on an agent as the middle (wo)man. We are targeting an early February closing, so I guess we need to start packing! And for those of you who are counting, this will be Thatcher's 3rd home in one year and the husband and I's 7th in five years. That's a story for another day but we are looking forward to staying put in one home for the foreseeable future!

A perfect Louisiana Saturday

The skies are a deep blue, it's about 60 degrees outside, and there's very little humidity. Essentially, the perfect crisp day. We have jambalaya on the stove, and friends are coming over this afternoon for mimosas, bloody marys and of course to cheer on the Saints. I really don't think life gets better. Well, eating crawfish during Mardi Gras with a cold beer is a very close second.

The husband's jambalaya
--stalk of celery
--parsley
--green onion
--onion
--2 green bell peppers
--chicken breasts
--sausage
--chicken broth
--Contadina tomato paste
--Uncle Ben's rice
--Tony's
--bay leaves
--minced garlic

1. Chop all vegetables very finely. At the same time, boil the chicken. When the chicken is done, cut/chop/shred into bite sized pieces. We usually saute the sausage on the stove (in a separate pan) at the same time. Basically, multi-task: cut veggies while chicken boils and sausage sautes.
2. Saute the onion, bell pepper and celery in a generous amount of olive oil and minced garlic. When those vegetables are soft, add the green onion and parsley. Let it cook down.
3. Add the chicken and sausage to the vegetables. Also add the tomato paste and combine. We usually throw in Tony's, garlic powder, onion powder, bay leaves and hot sauce. If you want, you can also add cayenne.
4. After all of that is combined, add 2.5 cups of Uncle Ben's and chicken broth. Let it all cook - we honestly don't measure the chicken broth, so use your best judgment. Too much and obviously the rice will get soggy, so start with less and go from there.

His jambalaya is not an exact science, but it is so freaking good. It actually tastes better the next day, too.

These pictures are from last weekend, but we're wearing the exact same clothes. I am superstitious like that. This shirt got us to the Superbowl, but last year I couldn't wear it since I was approximately 8 months pregnant during the playoffs and we all know how that turned out. Who dat!!!

Now we're off to the new house inspection. If the inspection goes well and the Saints win, it will absolutely be a perfect day! If you asked me to choose one - well, I am not sure I would know what to pick!