We survived Mardi Gras 2015! Barely. The boys did a great job keeping up with Mommy and Daddy, and I'm happy to say, there were no major meltdowns. From Barkus in the French Quarter to brunch at the Hilton, we only stopped moving when we were sleeping. In fact, with all the parade-hopping we did, my poor house may never be the same. There are beads everywhere, costume pieces covering all flat surfaces, dirty and clean clothes in piles all over the place, and the kitchen smells a little bit like Bourbon Street. I only recently found my debit card and drivers license, which were both missing for several days. Aimee and John went home after basically living with us for a week. I'm already having withdrawals. I had to call Aimee on Ash Wednesday to begin planning St. Patty's Day so that I'd feel better about Mardi Gras being over. St. Patty's Day can't get here fast enough.
Some highlights from the fun... Joy and Mike were maid and duke in Iris this year. Mike wore a dress, along with a lot of fake facial hair. We got to spend time with our good friends, the Gegenheimer's. We dressed up as snoballs for the Krewe of Barkus parade. That's right folks. I made 11 snoball costumes, and if I may say so myself, we looked good enough to eat! Speaking of eating, this was Jeremy's first Mardi Gras without king cake after having to go gluten free. I tried making one, but it was nowhere near as good as Haydel's. I'll keep trying.
Jasper now knows the words to "Mardi Gras Mambo," "Iko Iko" and "Who Shot the Lala." Sammy is now walking, thanks to Aunt Aimee practicing with him in between parades. Jeremy got totally wasted the day of his parade, but managed to stay on the float and hand off plenty of toys to Jasper and me. (I'm glad he was able to let loose for a day.) I dressed up like a Zombie with the Nawlins Nymphs and scared little children (and some adults). Aunt Carol, Aunt Debbie and Mom pitched in and got an apartment at our spot (Napoleon and Prytania) so that we had a place to pee, and store our ladders and loot. We didn't fight with a single person (well, kinda). Jasper not only yelled, "Throw Me Something Mister," but followed it with "Throw me some toys!!" He'd get upset every now and then when the floats didn't throw to him, but that didn't stop him from having a good time overall. I took my eyes off of him for about 30 seconds and in that time, he climbed up the ladder and into his seat all by himself. I suppose he was ready for the parade to start. And Sammy! Technically, Sammy was climbing more rungs on the ladder than he was taking steps! Although tonight, he took about 25 steps...
Aunt Carol bought Jasper his own box of moon pies, which I'm doing my best to stay away from. It's not going well. Jasper, Sam and I split one as a before-dinner-snack tonight. Sammy eats every chance he gets. Whether it was king cake for breakfast or fried chicken at lunch, we were constantly feeding him. And when he wasn't eating he was enjoying the parades. From clapping along as the bands paraded, to wildly waving and yelling out a faint "hey" as the floats drove past, I can tell, he has purple, green and gold in his blood. He's in absolute awe of Mardi Gras. The morning after Daddy's parade, I was changing him and I asked him, "Sammy, did you have fun at the Mardi Gras?" He smiled and clapped his hands, then said, "MAR MAR."
We skipped Endymion for the first time in a very long time, but the boys needed a break, and Jeremy and I still enjoyed watching it on TV. We lived vicariously thru our friends Jessica & Trey and Lauren & Chris as they partied it up at both the Extravaganza and Bacchus Ball. I was a little sad not being there with them this year, but it was nice to rest up for those long parade days. The rain held out just enough for us to see both Proteus and Orpheus Monday night. In fact, the weather was pretty awesome the entire Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday was cold, but Sammy and I relaxed at the bar in the Hilton while the others caught Rex and froze their tails off.
I don't know how the rest of the world lives without Mardi Gras. It's a time to be with family and good friends, to celebrate life and being free to "do whatcha wanna." To pull random pieces from your costume closet and wear them all at once. To eat king cake for breakfast... and dinner. To enjoy good music and dance as each band and dance group marches by. To become friends with everyone on the street and share prize beads and trinkets with your neighbors. And to appreciate the culture filled, soul-full city we have the luxury of living in. I'm sad it's over.
Back to regular Tuesdays...
