How big is the hill?

As much as I would love to regale you with wondrous, hilarious, adventurous tales from this past week, I won't.
Why?
because it was a pretty routine-ish week.

Now, that won't stop me from posting, it'll just stop me from gaining any new readers.

To save time we'll fast forward to Friday, the day on which I embarked on my fourth decade on the planet. (that sounds way older than saying 30)

I started the day exactly like most youngsters do, having blood drawn for tests and making a cardiologist appointment.

If that doesn't scream "youth" I don't know what does.

Which brings me to philosophical ponderings:

When are you over the hill?
30, 40, 50?

And is the hill the same for everyone?
Going back 2 generations, I only have one direct-line ascendant who has made it past 60, so if the hill is a flexible concept, I'm on the downslope.
Joan, on the other hand, has never had a relative die before 80 (i think) and still has some living relatives who went to school with Abe Lincoln (or as they called him, Funny-Hat McBeardface). Thus, though older than me, she is still little-engine-that-could'ing up the grade.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it. (if that's legal in your state)


But, as a birthday present to me, I gave me the day off.

It was borderline warm enough for Jeeping, so Riley and I went topless to Bach Lunch.





The place was crowded for the great weather and Bonsoir Catin.






Riley didn't like the volume level and was kinda embarrassed and style cramped to be there with just his old man, so we didn't stay long.

To punish him for his scorning me, I went and scored myself a burrito from Taco Sisters and made him watch me eat it while drowning in toddler jealousy.





ok, not quite true. Though their burritos are spectacular, he doesn't know it.
And, since I'm actually a nice guy, we stopped and saw Granny at work and he had red velvet cake, while I ate.



Product Plug- Taco Sisters is now open 11-2 on Saturdays and until 6 during the week. Well worth the trip down Johnston to Vermilion. this is high quality food. Find 'em on Facebook. If only Taco Sisters and Johnson's would move to the Southside, I could live my life in a 1 mile wide bubble.

Event Plug- Mark your calendars for the Good Friday Bach Lunch in 2 weeks featuring The Howdies. They're the bomb-diggy-yo. Made with Pure Lighting.
< /crass commercialism>



After much needed haircuts, we headed to Downtown Alive to meet most of our family and friends.





Riley and Gabe battled for Nonnie's affection, though they both suck at climbing.





Jake and Gavin got the obligatory "South Louisiana, Make It Look Like the Baby is Drinking" shot.






and Riley was as cheesy as ever.


literally- he had Cheez-its all over his face.



Saturday we headed to the cess-pool to visit Heather and Trey's newest accessory, Ian.





Riley was a little confused by the fact that there is a baby whose name is not Gavin, but he got over it by doing some gardening with Ian's big sister, Lillian.






Then, since we can't leave BR without being uncomfortably full, we headed over to Nagoya.
Despite dozens of selections of good sushi, traditional Asian buffet items and Pineapple rice......





Riley chose Cheez-its and yogurt. Trailer trash gourmet, but it's in his DNA.





and, like always, the highlight was the fish pond, where Riley identified "fish", "turtles", and "trash," the three necessary elements of a thriving aquatic ecosystem.






our abnormally large lunch (by most human standards) precluded dinner that evening, which I think makes it a great bargain. (forget the future medical expenses it accelerates)


Sunday morning, ready to once again pig out, we headed to Another Broken Egg with my family and Joan's parents.

Gavin eyed the food,





Riley ignored the food,





and I documented the food (specifically my strawberry banana pancake)




and, again, I don't think we'll be eating another meal today.



Now a couple of stories about the wonders of technology.

We were able to find a new home for the squatter dog that showed up last week.

We posted her everywhere that someone looking for a lost pet would try, and after 5 days of no response, we deemed her abandoned.

Fortunately, we were able to find someone looking for a new pet who picked her up Wednesday.

What was cool was how fast the email that i sent to about 30 friends got around. Within a day, people I know in Lafayette were getting the email from people I don't know in other cities.
The person who got the dog received the email with at least three degrees separation from anyone I know.
It was neat to see the 'net work for something other that than pictures of the People of Wal mart, fake vIAgra and ciAli$ ads, and rumor emails about how various companies and the US Mint have, in fact, killed God.


Finally, Joan was very crafty and scored me a pretty cool birthday present, a Canon PowerShot SD960 IS Digital Elph.

Most of the shots on this site are taken with our Nikon D60 digital SLR camera, which takes great photos, but isn't always practical to lug around. Our old point & shoot wasn't pocket size and is starting to age, so we now have this one.
It is tiny, but takes good shots, boots quickly and shoots video in HD.

Here's a few that we played with.

Video documentation of an event that was thought extinct 18 months ago--- Caroline allowing herself to be fed, however briefly, with a spoon, by an adult. (she's usually too independent.)





And somehow, from some story book, Riley has concluded that anytime you smell a flower, you have to sneeze. We didn't know this but it worked out to be quite humorous on our Saturday afternoon trip to the nursery.





and finally, the ABC's.
I told him he had to know the alphabet before he turned 2, or he was going to boarding school in Kazakhstan.
But given the current exchange rate between the US dollar and the Kazakh Tenge, I'll call this substantially correct enough to keep him around.





Next weekend he gets his birthday bike. and I can post that here, because he doesn't like this site, so he'll never see it.
He probably won't like the bike, but it'll make me feel cool, and that's why we have kids anyway, right?
no, seriously, you agree, huh?

Feeling The Models

Still having internet trouble, but I'll try to knock this out while I seem to be getting through.

If you're just stopping by for the first time this week, please see the post below regarding a stray dog that has taken up residence in our front yard.

We can't keep her but we don't want her to die. If you know of a friendly home, please let us know.

The dog is really cramping Riley's style. Earlier in the week, we had resumed the garage breakfast picnic which actually gets Riley to eat and helps him learn lots of words like "Slow down jacka$$" and "Look it's Tweedle Dumb and Tweedler Dumb."


(though the dog is friendly, we're trying to keep her out of the garage, mostly because she doesn't want to leave once she's in.)


Making signs, calling shelters and trying to get the dog to find its old home took up most of our Saturday. But we did have a chance to go and test drive a van that we'll likely be buying in the next 6-8 months or so.

After realizing that we would have to buy a $300 ticket for Riley to fly to Orlando, we decided it would be better to drive, but that driving would require a new vehicle.

So, to save $300, we're going to spend $XX,000.
Makes sense doesn't it?

We got Riley to consent to the test drive by telling him it was a "Disney World van"


For at least a year, we have know that a mini-van is the most practical choice for Joan's next car, but she refused to relinquish her self identification as being "young" and "cool." That is until the 2011 Toyota Siennas came out.
Saturday, we headed down to Musson Patout so see the color we want in person.
We know know exactly what we want and are just waiting until the timing is right financially to pull the trigger.
Behold the 2011 Toyota Sienna in Pre-Dawn Gray.




But if the 2011 Odysseys look good when they come out, then we're back to square one. Unfortunately though, their preview pics are pretty bad, so it seems like our decision is made for us.


Now, for your entertainment purposes, that leaves just Sunday.


In honor of Dr. Uncle Paul's birthday and in order to give Riley some face time with his long lost Nanny, we headed down to NO to check out the last weekend of the Disney animation exhibit at the Museum of Art.





I can tell you it was a certifiably great idea, judging by the fact that EVERYONE else in Louisiana was there except for you. (yes, I do mean you, my Everyman-ish reader.)
The exhibit looked pretty cool, but was really crowded and Riley needed a nap after traffic had stretched our drive an extra 45 minutes.


After the museum we ate at Theo's Pizza near the corner of Carrolton and Canal.
Riley wasn't in a pizza mood, but proudly demonstrated his ever evolving yogurt eating skills.





The place seems pretty hip and instead of a number identifying your table, you sport a placard with a cool-cat cult figure. We happened to be Christopher Walken.





The food was pretty good, but Riley was much more impressed by the beautiful day outside and the sights of New Orleans.






He took special delight in his massacre of, literally, micrograms of ants who dared to scurry about his sidewalk domain.




(while brandishing a 2 inch long pointed stick as an ant smasher, his kill accuracy was on par with Bobby Hebert's pronunciation accuracy after a Saints win)



He also found it hilarious to tell me that he had ants in his mouth.


(his new trick is talking with his tongue out like the Melissa Stevenson song Love To Move)


Our plan was to then head to the Audubon zoo.
This weekend was Soul Fest and we were hoping to catch Rebirth and maybe a little soul food.

Unfortunately, it looked like everyone in Louisiana (except you) was at the zoo too.(though you were "axt" for by the monkeys, tigers and elephants)

We were still a half mile from the zoo and people were parking on the side of the road and walking. Definite no go with two nap deficient 2 year olds.


Instead we made the oh so undesirable compromise of going to Creole Creamery and contributing to the local economy, and the general decline of our own health.






As I've posted before, this place does mini scoop samplers and with a menu like this, it is hard to choose just a few.




The hit of the day, for the women folk, was the Lavender and Honey, while the mens were all hopped up by the Guinness Cherry Stout, (get it?) which actually tasted like cherry and beer ice cream. Quite cool.

Riley showed us how it looks to live life like no one is looking at you, while Caroline, knowing that people were looking, tried to camouflage herself with ice cream.






That's about it aside from these shots of Riley's new Buzz Lightyear pajamas in honor of the re-release of the first two Toy Story movies.

To Infinity and Beyond







PS- In addition to recommendations on where to send the stray dog, we're also taking pro and con advice on Toyota salesmen/dealerships. Thanks.

Temporary Solution

Thanks to all who helped spread the word, we found the dog a new home, so disregard this post but for memory's sake.


Got in late last night and having crappy internet this morning.
hopefully a real post will come this evening.

But in the meantime:

Friday evening an adult female, fat dog, looking to be a yellow lab mix took up residence on our doorstep and will not leave.
She has no tags and no microchip implant.
i've walked her all around the neighborhood and she hasn't gone toward any home. I have signs up in our 'hood and those around us.
The local no kill options seem to all be full.

Anyone have any suggestions or want a dog?
She's very friendly and soft, and was clean.
If we dont hear something in the next few days, we may have to do what we don't want to do and take her to the parish pound which is a pretty bad place to be a stray adult dog.

Plugging Away

Week 101 of Riley's life is in the books and we can call it a success (but not quite as successful as 101 spotted dogs may be)

and fyi, by successful, I mean no future ward of the state randomly kicked my kid in the face. We aim high.

But I'm going to stay away from the anger this week. There's a couple of products/sites I want to point out and don't want them associated with my violent wishes.

Not much to report from the weekdays, so I won't.


Saturday though, we, well... did what we normally do.

Since the weather was pretty nice, we dusted off the Jeep and headed to Johnson's, where we were joined by Shane, Tara and Eli.

They too have suffered a tragic, unexpected loss this year, so it was nice to get to see them and just hang out in a normal (read: non-hospital or funeral) setting. And, of course, we talked Disney, since I just booked our December trip this week.

Riley and Eli stayed occupied for a while because Eli's parents, unlike Riley's, have the foresight to bring toys.





But they eventually found their way to Riley's favorite area, the gravel.

If Johnson's would just fence in that area so that we don't have to pay attention to our kid, the place would be perfect. :)





Finally, in a "game" designed to get Riley closer to a state of nap-readiness, I tested how far he was willing to run to fetch a ball.
Considering his short inseam, I'd say, to scale, he did close to a half marathon.






To live up to our promise that he would get to feed ducks, we headed over to Girard Park where there was not a parking spot to be found.
We then, being the spontaneous, flexible, random people that we are famous for being, headed to Veterans Park where the ducks are pitiful and gross (ok, the live ducks are pitiful. the dead ducks are gross.)

But ONE was hungry, so we partially lived up to the representation that he would feed duckS







Post duck letdown, Mommy and Daddy tried to get the yard/flower bed at least half a chance at looking good this year.
We also broke out the Cozy Coupe that we bought before Christmas.

I'm pretty handy but that thing was such a huge pain to put together. They put 4 inch screws in spaces only 6 inches wide and just generally make things way harder than they need to be.

Then after at least an hour of fighting this chunk of plastic, Riley climbed in, and he's almost too tall for it. He's middle of the pack height-wise for a kid who is almost 2, and his legs are too long for it. He can barely move it without hitting wheels or pinning his feet.





But he really likes the siren sounds that came with the fire & rescue package.



and the fact that it is hard to use will hopefully push him toward his birthday present, a Strider Bike.


We finished off the evening with Wall-E on Blu-ray on our "new" Tv in our new entertainment center from Cajun Closets. Visually stunning.




Long time readers may remember that Cajun Closets put in the closet in Riley's room, which has been incredibly practical, and I think we're going to love the entertainment center just as much.

It turned out looking really nice. It's actually almost too nice for the rest of our house.





We've got nice lighting across the top shelf





But, best of all, we have tons of storage.





And, like everything you read here, this thing is deep. (24 inches to be exact)
That has allowed us to have decorations toward the front, with baskets full of DVD's, cd's, and accessories partially hidden toward the back.





Then, because we custom designed the system, we've got enough space to later accommodate a 70 inch TV. Werd up!


I really can't stress how happy we've been with their products. A few of our friends have also used them and have been really happy.

Look to your right for the link to the Cajun Closets website when you need a closet, entertainment center or any other organizational solution.
My cousin Erin does their sales, so tell her you heard about them here.
It probably wont get you anything, but maybe it will get me something (kickbacks rock, I would expect)



The second product to plug is this cool hard plastic popcorn tub they are selling at Target for $1 right now. Nothing special, but a neat idea for that cheap.




and finally, I would direct your attention to the links on the right and a new blog on the list, The Tanory Tantrum.

The blog is actually written by someone I went to school with 15+ years ago. I was directed to it recently, by a mutual friend, and liked it immediately.

If you like CajunBabyWallace, you should really like The Tanory Tantrum.
Same basic theme- cute kid with a smart-ass dad, but Bobby is consistently funny.
Check it out.

(when I reach my self imposed contractual obligation of keeping this up until Riley's second birthday, which is only a few weeks away, I don't want to leave you out in the cold.)