What I did with my four day weekend

I guess I could have used my four days to rest and rejuvenate. Or even straight up resuscitate, given the craziness around here lately.


But of course, that's not how I roll. I was all homesick for Louisiana seeing the Facebook  posts of my childhood friends' fun-having, so I said. "Fine, then. Massive Mardi Gras party it is." And I threw one.


My mother-in-law made the cutest glittery Mardi Gras cards for me (and I'm an idiot for not taking a picture before mailing them all out). Then we delivered invitations to all the neighbors with kids on our cul-de-sac to join us (because 1. they're nice and 2. they're less annoyed about parades they're invited to) in a mini-Mardi Gras parade. Three rules: can't spend more than $10, must be powered by a kid, must be a bike/scooter/wagon/stroller/etc.


Then I did a bunch of other non-Mardi Gras stuff. And then two days before the party, I really buckled down. We started making paper chains and ordering a king cake for overnight delivery from New Orleans and I cooked a gumbo and then on the day of I cooked a jambalaya. We hung the paper chains and balloons and put out all of our other swag. We decorated our float. My oldest son put his magnifying glass to work and made a sign that said "Laissez les bon temps rouler" (the party cry that means "let the good times roll" that you hear and see everywhere in Louisiana). My husband put together a play list of zydeco music and New Orleans jazz. 


And then we greeted people. 


And here's the outcome. First up, our classy float.

Then the "before" party pictures:

And the "after" party pictures:

So that went well.


And then because all of that wasn't enough, we spent a whole holiday disemboweling our SMALL toy closet under the stairs to reorganize it:

And that's how I spent my four day weekend.