Toone Family

I really love the look of the architecture in New Orleans. It always kind of boggles my mind that at the time pioneers were rolling into the Salt Lake Valley, the window pictured at left had already been in existence for 34 years! Considering that European explorers were settling along the Mississippi in the 1500s, this window is actually pretty new... This is very characteristic of the French Quarter; all the streets look a lot like this one. The yellow building is actually one of Emeril Lagasse's restaurants (Nola). My favorite thing about the French Quarter is the courtyards and patios. You never know what beautiful oasis is hiding behind what appears to be a crumbling building! If I had a little place like this, I'd spend my whole life sitting in the shade listening to the water from the fountain.

This sandwich is called a muffuletta, and it was born in the French Quarter at a store called Central Grocery. That's where we went to get the muffuletta Logan's holding in this picture. The sandwich is made between two big pieces of round bread that are spread with olive salad (a defining muffuletta characteristic). Then they pile on salami, ham, cheese and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. When they put it all together and wrap it up, it seriously looks like a wagon wheel or something! One quarter of the sandwich was more than enough to fill me up. This was one of Logan's favorite meals. I recently learned that Jason's Deli, which just opened up a location near our house, serves some classic New Orleans cuisine such as po' boys (another type of sandwich), muffulettas and red beans and rice. We might have to try it out sometime!

My great-Aunt Gerry got this mask for Amanda from the flea market. As you can see, she loves it! The Mardi Gras beads were also from Aunt Gerry. I imagine that Amanda and Lily are the envy of every girl in the neighborhood because of their vast bead necklace collection -- or at least that's how I felt when I was little and beads came back from New Orleans for me. : )

There is a flea market open every day in the French Quarter. Apparently it's quite a sight to see on the weekends. I was there on a weekday, but they still had some fun stuff.

We're back! Actually, we've been back for quite a while; I just haven't gotten around to blogging until now. What do you think of the new layout? Logsn helped me customize things a little bit so the blog would look the way I wanted it to. Thanks, honey! You're the best! So our trip was great! It was really fun to get to spend some time together, eat really good food, relax...but by the time we were due to return, we were definitely missing the kids and ready to be home again. It does make me think that it would be great to be able to go to a different city each year with just the two of us -- just for the food, if for nothing else! I'm a little bit of a food snob, and whenever I know we're going to be eating out (which doesn't happen a lot unless we're traveling), I do major research into restaurants, reviews, menus, prices, etc. It always pays off -- we had some really great food in New Orleans! Makes me want to try some of the great food in New York, B...

You may be wondering about the strange mismatched header on the blog today. I started putting together a more spring-like motif, but halfway through, Blogger informed me that it couldn't complete my request. Bummer! Actually, the new look is sort of representative of the weather we have going on right now: starting to look like spring, but not completely leaving winter behind just yet. Logan and I go to New Orleans tomorrow morning! I think I really will miss the kids, but I'm a firm believer that parents have to take care of their relationship before they can really be good for their children. I hear a lot of people say, "There is nothing more important to me than my children. My children always come first." Well, maybe some people will think I'm a bad mom, but I totally disagree with those statements. There is no Toone family without Logan and Kara; it started with us. WE COME FIRST! Missing the kids while on a little trip is not the same as having gu...

Benson is named after my Granddad, Doyle Benson Rowley. Here they are together when Benson was five days old. Two of the most important men in my life!

So I've survived the first couple of weeks as a mother of three! I'm not going to pretend that this is something I've done on my own; I've had TONS of help and support from family, friends and neighbors. My mom was here Saturday through Wednesday -- not to mention the time she spent with the girls while I was in the hospital and Logan couldn't be around. My sister came up a couple of times (thanks, Lisa!), and I've received lots of visits, gifts and phone calls. Everyone has been so sweet to us! We truly are blessed. The next couple of days will bring two-week check-ups for myself and for Benson. We both seem to be doing great! I wish that this whole trying-to-prevent-my-body-from-producing-milk business would move along a little faster, but mother nature seems to have her own timetable for things. Benson is eating and sleeping like a champ; last night he slept from 12:45 until 8:00! During his wakeful periods, he is calm and sweet. We just love him! T...

Benson Clark Toone has made his grand entrance! I would have posted sooner than this, but the internet connection at the hospital was rather choosey about which sites it would link to and which it would not. Apparently my blog didn't make the cut; I could view it, but I couldn't sign in to make a posting. Anyway, here are the details: We went to the hospital Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m. We got admitted and got me hooked up to all the monitors and stuff. After all the routine questions and paperwork, I was wheeled into the OR. I received an epidural, and the nurses started prepping me for surgery. The doctors and Logan came in a few minutes later, and just a few minutes after that (at 7:47 a.m.), Benson was born! When they held him up for me to see, it was obvious why I felt so big. HE was big! I was later informed that he weighed in at 9 lbs. 7 oz. My other kids were 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 7 lbs. 11 oz. Let me tell you, those extra two pounds make a difference! Anyway, I ...

I allow one pregnancy photo per pregnancy. It is always taken in front of the front door right before we go to the hospital. When you look at this picture, please keep in mind that the child inside of me weighs nine and a half pounds...

I got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Benson in the hospital -- time I will always look back on and treasure.

To be truthful, Logan isn't any more excited about having a boy than he would have been to have a girl. The bottom line is, he's just plain excited! He adores having a son...

It's hard to believe that at 16 months, Lily is now a big sister! She's not quite old enough to understand what having a new baby in the house means, but she does like to say "Baby! Baby!" over and over again while trying to "pat" (read: smack) Benson on the head.

Amanda LOVES being the big sister! She constantly asks if she can hold Benson and really wants to be a good helper (which she is -- most of the time).

Here's Benson right before we left the hospital. I must say that he fills out his "going home" outfit quite well!

I realize that this is a lot of posts for one day, but I have to record the extra-sensory experience I'm having before it fades. Remember how I said the other day that my ears felt like they were full of peanut butter? Well, those days are over. I went back to my doctor yesterday to have my ears flushed out. At first he said that it looked like they were still too plugged up and that I would have to do the drops for another two days. I'm not sure what look came across my face when he said that, but it must have been pretty pitiful. He took one glance at me and said, "Well, you managed to get over here with your kids and everything; that warrants at least an effort." So he went and got this little machine that heats up water and squirts it through this little spinny-brush. As it turned out, he was able to clear both ears. As soon as the second ear was unplugged, I had one of the weirdest experiences of my life. Amanda was sitting on the paper-covered exam tab...

What a sweet Valentine Logan is! He really does dote on all his girls. : ) When we came downstairs this morning, he had set out valentines for each of us. I made a special Valentine's Day breakfast for the girls (I realize that you supermoms do stuff like this on a whim; for mid-level-moms like myself, this took some thought). Tonight we will share a special Valentine's dinner together -- and hopefully Logan and I can get the girls to bed early enough to allow us to watch a movie or something. It has been my opinion for some time that if you can adjust your idea of love and romance to fit your reality, you will be very happy -- as we are!

Logan got me this FANTASTIC footbath for Valentine's Day. Incidentally, both girls got to try it out before I did (isn't that just the way it goes?). Anyway, this is Lily enjoying the heated, jetted, effervescent deliciousness.

I realize that it's more fun to see pictures and videos on blogs rather than to be subjected to senseless blather. However, it takes a lot of effort to get decent photos in the first place; edit them; download them; condense them, if necessary; and then come up with captions and explanations for everything. Video is even more of an ordeal. I pledge that while I am sitting in the hospital after the baby is born, I will catch up on these tasks! However, the days I have left before he arrives can't be spent on editing photos and stuff. I'm already a naughty pet for devoting this precious time (both children are napping) to blogging instead of dish-washing, laundry-folding, bed-making, thank-you-card-writing, or any of the other million things that need to be done! I think I am officially in the nesting stage. I had a burst of energy yesterday to wash all the baby's clothes and blankets, set up his bassinet and organize all his acoutrements (diapers, lotions, wipes, e...

Why is it that when you get to the stage of pregnancy I'm at, people make comments about you popping? Is everyone aware that pregnant women don't pop? On Christmas Eve, Logan and I stopped at a gas station before going to a family Christmas party. While there, I decided to get a bottle of water. There was a lady standing right in front of the refrigerated case of bottled water. As I tried to edge around her to get my water, she exclaimed (not using her "indoor voice"), "Whoa, you're just about ready to pop!" (Please imagine the way it sounds when somebody with no teeth utters this phrase. This woman definitely had no teeth.) This was on December 24th -- a full two months from my due date of February 25th. The inevitable next question came: "When are you due? Any day now?" The response that I wasn't due for another two months pretty much sent her into orbit (not quiet orbit). "You're going to explode!" PREGNANT PE...