My Week at a Glance

Have you seen the cranberry juice commercial with the lady with the dry erase calander that is full EVERY day? That is my life (guess I need that cranberry energy drink!). This week is INSANE!

Tonight, we have literacy night for Bryce from 6-7:30. An hour and a half of hearing stories, crafts and going to the book fair. Thursday night we have literacy night for Isaac - same thing as Bryce.

Caleb has a project due Thursday and now a book report due Tuesday. Isaac has a science project due Thursday (none of which has been started). Not to mention Caleb's normal homework, which he has homework in just about every subject every night AND a Leap packet (to prepare him for the state test) that he has to do two pages of every night to have it turned in on time (due every Friday am). Isaac has reading, writing, spelling homework every night and math twice a week. And then there is Bryce's homework.

I am SO glad they ride the bus now!! It really gives me more time to get house stuff done before they get home. Not to mention I am not living in my car anymore - it is great!!!

Papa

I talked to my Dad this morning. I got off the phone and told Andrew I was talking to Papa. He has been running around saying Papa over and OVER for the past hour or so.

He is proud of his new word!

My Hubby is AWESOME

Paul IMed me earlier and asked if he and Caleb could go check out a hiking trail about 20 minutes from the house this evening. I told him that was fine as long as Caleb was done with his homework and I didn't get left with mad kids (the others who would want to go). He got home and Caleb was still doing homework and the other two were busy at their computer (which just got hooked up last night, so they were really excited about it).

Daddy told Isaac and Bryce they could go since Caleb was doing homework still. Caleb got upset and started rushing. Daddy told him he could go and finish his homework later. That would have upset me (Caleb is bad about procrastinating when it comes to homework), until Daddy said he was taking ALL FOUR BOYS!!!! I told him any other time it would be unacceptable, but since it meant time alone for me - I would allow him to have his way (marriage is based on compromise - right?).

So, I am LOVING my quiet evening alone! AND, kids will come home warn out!

I told Daddy he could do this several times a week if he wants to!

Two Projects Due

Isaac has his first real "project" of his school life. Thursday he has due a project on his favorite planet. He has to find and write five facts about his planet and either draw or print pictures for it. He is really excited about having a project to do! Time for him to learn how to do research on the computer.

Caleb also has a project due Thursday. He has to find 10 different landforms, write the name and definition of each and either draw or print pictures of examples of each.

It is going to be a BUSY homework week!!

Zoo Pictures

Caleb and Andrew petting a goat. This is Andrew's first time in a petting zoo.
He thought the goat was FUNNY!

Does that feel good?
I LOVE his face here!
Andrew - not sure what he is picking out of the brush!?
Caleb in the petting zoo
Isaac brushing the goat
Bryce in the petting zoo
Andrew climbing in the tunnel to stick his head out the top
The new monkey exhibit! And, the cutest monkey ever!!
Bryce talking Nana's ear off
Typical AJ - thumb in his mouth
Andrew on the train
Isaac and Caleb on the train
Bryce on the train
Nana's shirt had flamingos on it. AJ spent quite a bit of the train ride picking at the flamingos

This Weekend

This past weekend Nana came to visit. The boys had so much fun (and I got them to clean their room with minimal complaining!!). Saturday we went to the zoo. We went early and it was pretty comfortable for most of the zoo and not very crowded. We walked all the zoo, then we took a train ride, which we had not done before. It was a pretty good length of a ride - longer than most. The zoo suffered quite a bit of tree damage - lots of huge trees through our ride that had been blown over or just split. We even saw one tree that went THROUGH another tree.

Sunday, after watching a couple of landscaping shows on HGTV, I decided that I was going to get busy taking out some of the flowerbeds in our backyard. We have several flowerbeds that are in the middle of our yard. One of them had nothing but weeds in it. It looked like at some point there may have been a tree in it, but it was just a bed of rocks and weeds with a few buried pots that used to be flowers. Nana helped me pull all the weeds out of the bed, then I picked up the majority of the gravel that was in the bed, all of the boundary bricks and leveled it all out. Hopefully, the grass will fill it in soon! Daddy cleaned out some trash (rotted wood, pavers, etc) that were behind the house and laid the gravel from the removed bed down. That is where we keep the ladders, wheelbarrow, etc. Thank you Nana for playing with and keeping an eye on the boys while we did that!!!

Then we went to lunch and decided to show Nana some of the plantations just north of us. We saw a sign for a campground (which earlier that morning Paul asked if I wanted to go camping next weekend). We went to check it out and detoured AGAIN when we saw a sign for a plantation that was a museum. We did not have time to do the tour before we had to get Nana to the airport, but we did go walk the grounds. We met Gus, a VERY friendly turkey (and very BIG) that likes to show off and try to follow you inside. We saw a peacock, cows, geese, lots of pretty flowers, etc. Luckily, we did not meet up with the resident cottonmouth snake!! Since this was an unplanned adventure, I was wearing flipflops (one reason I was glad we did not meet the resident snake) and I did not have my camera. :( We plan on going back this weekend and doing the tour and TAKING THE CAMERA!! It was really beautiful though.

After we took Nana to the airport, Daddy came home and did some more work outside. We had cleared out about 5 bunches of cannas that the hurricane had destroyed, but since there were still bulbs in the ground, they were coming back. Daddy took a pick ax out there and cleaned out two of the areas. I am not liking the magnitude of our landscaping, not to mention the lack of color. Especially since so many of the plants go shredded during the hurricane. It all looks really sloppy right now. We are going to spend some time cleaning out some of the large landscaping (elephant ears, cannas, etc), trimming bushes, etc so that we can tone down everything against the house (kinda reminds me of a jungle) and get some FLOWERS with COLOR!!!

Thank you Nana for visiting. We enjoyed it and had fun! Enjoy catching up on your sleep now!!

Andrew

Andrew slept in our room this weekend. Friday night he was going crazy, so I just made our room really dark and put him in our bed. Here is the king sleeping on his throne.
AJ playing in his playhouse

AJ's Stations

Last Thursday I was trying to get some stuff done around the house. As normal, AJ was making it difficult! I decided to set up some stations for him in our dining room (which has no furniture yet). I thought maybe having toys out where I was at, instead of him having to go to his room would help.

It was GREAT! He stayed in the dining room playing all day Thursday and Friday. I got SO much done. I put up his playhouse, his tunnel and set up all the Little People stuff (with fresh batteries). I also brought his LeapFrog music table and his box that has different activities on top and every side. I pull up the blinds (in the morning when the sun is on the back of the house) and he has a HUGE window in there.

Every now and then he would come running to show me a toy, but for the most part he played quietly in there. I never thought of making "stations" for him already. But it has been amazing. Unfortunately, this does not mean I will not get dining room furniture. He can have the room until then though. After that we will just have to set up stations every morning.

Orange Moon

Paul was working outside a couple of weeks ago and came in and told me to come see the moon. I had to get pictures! But, honestly, I did not think any came out well. I just got them on my computer this morning, and I got a few that looked good! The color was just awesome

PEE PEE IN THE POTTY!!!

Andrew peepeed in the potty last night! I have to admit with everything going on the last couple of months, we have not spent much time working on the potty (since we were only half-heartedly doing before anyway). He is so funny though, when we go to start his bath, lately he ALWAYS sits down on the potty. That is what happened last night. I went and started his bath and he sat down on the potty. He immediately peed, grunted, stood up and pointed. We yelled for Daddy, did the peepee dance and song and went on and on clapping. He was very proud!!

At this point, any time he pees in the potty is a pretty big deal since he is not even 18 months old yet!!

Praises for Caleb

This morning, before school started, I got an email from Caleb's teacher. It started out with "I just wanted to touch base with you about Caleb."

Nothing good usually comes from a comment like that.

Except this time!! She told me how great it was to have him in her class and how much he offers to the class. And, that we should be very proud of him.

I sent her an email back thanking her. I also took the oppurtunity (I have never met this teacher yet) to ask if she felt that Caleb would benefit from the Gifted and Talented program. I talked to the school about it at the beginning of the year and they said they would test him and place him when they get the results if he passed. She said as much as she hated to say it, because she hated to lose Caleb, she definently thought he would benefit from being in GT. I asked her who I needed to talk to about that. I am kind of frustrated that he has not been tested yet since I asked about this before school started.

Daddy and I have been kind of mixed about him being in GT because here they combine fourth and fifth grade GT students together. I do want him to be tested and then us get to make an informed decision though!

So, after these conversations back and forth, Caleb brought home a note. It said:
Dear Caleb,
Thank you for all you add to my class. I certainly enjoy having you here. Love, Mrs. H

I am SO proud of Caleb!!

Beware of the Stripper

Andrew likes to try to undress people. He will pull your shirt up or down, either way - he isn't picky.

He isn't really try to strip our clothes off. He is obsessed with giving belly raspberries now. Over and over.

It is cute though and makes him quite giggly when he gets a good raspberry!

No Stinky Pits

Caleb has been known to carry his deoderant in his pocket to school to keep his brothers from using it. When I found out he was doing that, I told him to stop (I mean really - carrying your deoderant in your pocket all day JUST so your brothers don't use it....). So, he started HIDING the deoderant.

This morning I walk into the bathroom to find Bryce putting on deoderant. I told him he has not taken a shower yet. He says "I don't care, I don't want my pits to stink for my shower."

Now, THERE'S something to be concerned about!

When Did This Happen?

I remember I was so excited at the idea of having one kid at home, still young and taking good long naps. The thought of being able to get SO much done during the day and still having time to play with Andrew, and be prepared when the kids got home from school to sit down and talk with them about their day and work on homework with them.

It was a great plan I had!!

But, we all know what happens when I plan!

Andrew did good with those GREAT four hour naps...for about a week and a half. It is over now. Now, it takes forever to get him to take a nap (or go to bed at night for that matter). He beats his headboard against the wall. He beats his feet against the wall. He beats his HEAD against the wall. I hear him turn into Mozart on his LeapFrog piano. He gets up and beats his ENTIRE body against his door. I tried to go tuck him back in, I tried to lay down with him. Really, the only thing that works is to let him beat the wall with everything, practice his piano and beat the door until he finally gives up and goes to his bed and falls asleep.

I am now really lucky if he sleeps for two hours. I SHOULD sleep or relax during that time, but OH the state of my house!!! I try and try to get this house clean and settled, but I feel like for every one step forward I take two steps back. I spend the day taking the phone from Andrew over and over. Getting him out of drawers - ALL THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE. He pulls everything out of the kitchen cabinets, drawers, the coffee table (he loves remotes), the bookshelves. He climbs on the couch and jumps up and down. He climbs on the table and jumps up and down. He chases the cat until the cat turns on him! Then he goes for the dogfood. Then it is back to the phone.

When did my SEVENTEEN month old turn into a toddler starting his terrible twos?

Just typing my typical day with him is exhausting.

Now I know why my house STAYS in its current state! :)

But, he is SO CUTE and sweet.

Oh...The Joys of School

Isaac and Bryce's bus aide got off the bus before them today. I knew there was trouble! She asked me to talk to the boys because they were both saying bad words and handed me an index card. On one side it said "Isaac shit" on the other side "Bryce SOB"

Isaac was in tears, Bryce could not even repeat what he said. He said "I said stupid, but I apologized!" I asked if that was all he said and he said "no, I can't remember what Dax told me to say" If any of the kids would actually repeat what they said, bad or not, it would be Bryce! The fact that he can't remember is a good sign that they did actually repeat something they were told to repeat.

Isaac said that Dax whispered to him to yell the word across the bus. The aide said that they both shouted it so loud that even the bus driver heard them.

I know they did not learn these words here. I am not the type of parent to say my kids are perfect or don't get in trouble - because I know the truth. I can HONESTLY say that they had to have been told to say those words by someone else. Since they both, at the same time, said Dax told them to say it - I am thinking Dax is a troublemaker!!!

I will be talking to the bus driver tomorrow morning.

Hurricane Vacuum

I just saw an advertisement for an Oreck vacuum that says it has the equivalent cleaning ability as a category 2 hurricane. I recently sat through a category 2 hurricane, and I saw absolutely NOTHING clean about it!

HMMMM, not sure that is a good selling point to me!

A Mousey Situation

I posted previously about our "country living". I was leary of Daddy putting down glue traps before he went out of town for the week, because I did not want to have to pick up dead (or not quite dead) mice while he was gone.

He put out six traps. As of last night, there have been two casualties. I am NOT going to look for the other four (I don't know exactly where they are, just know there are two more in the garage and two in the storage room attached to the garage).

I made him check the traps before he left (at 4:30 this morning). He will be home Friday morning. His first job when he gets home will be throwing away the used traps and putting new ones out!

Lecture From Caleb

Caleb was lecturing me on how important it is NOT to have lights on (let me add here that EVERY morning I have to go through bedrooms after the boys leave and turn their lights off), because it "burns too much fossil fuel." While I am glad he cares about the environment and all, he MISSED HIS BUS while lecturing me!

Oh, and for the record, this weekend we changed out 24 of the lights in the house to compact flourescent light bulbs. The rest will be done soon - but they are EXPENSIVE!!

After I confirmed that he HAD missed the bus, I explained what it means to have compact flourescent bulbs compared to regular bulbs. Maybe I won't get anymore lectures.

I am off to take Caleb to school now!

Update @ 9:25 am: Just went to put some clothes away in Caleb and Isaac's room. Guess who left THEIR light on this morning!! I know he was the last one out because he came out after I put the other two on their bus!!

Maybe NOT So Country Girl

I have always wanted to live in the country. As long as I can remember. Now, that I am kinda in the country, I am rethinking it.

We live in a subdivision, but we are as "in the country" as you can be while still being in a city. We are on the "outskirts" of town. We have a pasture behind us with horses. The couple of neighborhoods right here all have large lots.

We have mice. Luckily they are OUTSIDE (so far). They are in our garage (which is a finished carport that is WIRED for garage doors, but do not have them yet). We have seen them in trashbags that were not in the trashcan, we have seen them running along the wall by the door into the house.

We have snakes. Paul found a garter snake by our trashcan (maybe cause of the mice, but I don't know if garter snakes eat mice).

We have LOTS of bugs and spiders.

I want the country MINUS the mice, snakes and bugs!!! Is that too much to ask for?

Caleb got upset today while we were at the store getting mice traps. He asked if he could keep the first mouse we caught as a pet. I told him no, the mouse would be dead. He did not like that. He said lots of people have mice as pets and that you can buy them. I explained that WE will NEVER own a mouse and that wild mice carry disease. He still wanted them freed, but he was not AS upset.

This girl is not into these things. As far as I am concerned ALL snakes are poisonous, all mice bite and have diseases and bugs....well they are annoying and nasty!!!

So, maybe I am NOT a country girl after all!!

NO TRAINING WHEELS

Thursday evening, Isaac and Bryce both became very adament about having their training wheels taken off. We told them they had to wait until this weekend. We figured since Isaac was older, we would remove his first. Daddy prepared himself for what we thought would be a long challenge.

We were wrong.

Daddy held the back of the bike up and down the driveway for probably less than 30 minutes. After that, he was on his own. Today, he looks like he has been riding without them forever!

Bryce's have not been taken off, yet. Probably tonight. He is REALLY nagging us about it!

Takes So Little!!

We just got our first electric bill. This will give you a glimpse in my life - I am SO excited about our electric bill. In Arkansas, our electric bill usually ranged from $100-$300 a month (we had gas for cooking and heating). Our bill for one month here (yes, our electricity was out for almost a week)....DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....

$67!!!!!!

So, figure about $20 a week.

Just as in Arkansas, our cooking and heating, including water are gas. If anything we use more electricity because it is hotter here, so we use more ac.

I told you, it takes very little to make me excited - especially when it is about SAVING MONEY!!

Growth Spurt?

Andrew was awakened this morning about 30 minutes early, about 7am (his brothers woke up early - wired and LOUD). He went to bed on time last night. Before 9 this morning, I found him ASLEEP!

Monkey's New Treat

I had some bananas that were getting overly ripe, so decided to throw together some banana bread. My oven has three racks in it and it has never really been a problem until the bread. I rose into the top rack. When I pulled it out, it was not cooking right and I thought I had ruined it. So, it was not my best batch ever! But, it was Monkey's first time to have banana bread (wow - it HAS been a long time since I made it!!).

He LOVES it as much or more than bananas. I think he ate the majority of the loaf of bread!

I LOVE This Neighborhood!!

When we look for houses (whether it was in AR or here) schools and neighborhoods are our first concern. We narrow down the city we want to live in (based on the school district) and then work hard to find what we think will be a good neighborhood for the kids. In AR, we found a good neighborhood. The problem, which we did not take into account, was the road. WE figured that the fact there was a huge 90 degree turn in front of our house, traffic would be slow through there. Well, Paul was hit head on on this curve. It did not slow people down. It just made me nervous about the boys playing outside. I felt like I had to stand over them at all times.

As hard as it is, I try to give them a little space. They need to learn that I will not always be standing over them and they need to learn to make the right decisions, even if I am not there to tell them the right choice. This is not always easy in today's world, but I still feel as though they need the chance to be boys.

That is why I LOVE our new neighborhood. Both sides of the street are lined with sidewalks, all around the neighborhood. There are kids EVERYWHERE, of all ages. I feel comfortable letting them go outside and play with me staying inside cooking, cleaning, or whatever. I have let Caleb ride around the neighborhood (the neighborhood is basically a circle) with friends. It is not just that their are sidewalks and lots of kids, but people drive slowly through the neighborhood. They just about all have kids and they WATCH for other kids. There is not any traffic other than the people that live in the neighborhood. There is only one entrance/exit, so there are not people cutting through the neighborhood.

Don't get me wrong, I am ALWAYS watching the boys. THEY just don't know it. When they get a little too "brave" and decide to ride their bikes in the street or go further than they are supposed to, I go out and "remind" them of their boundaries. The boys are LOVING their new freedom though, and so am I. I don't feel like they have to stay inside all the time anymore and their bikes have been used more in the last month than they have since they got them at Christmas!

Everyone is very friendly too. The kids all play together, no matter the age. We have kids that come over and ask if the kids can come out ranging from Caleb's age up to eighth graders. They don't mind playing here or close to here. They understand that our kids are not as old and do not have as big of boundaries as they do. And these kids don't JUST play with Caleb. They play with ALL of the boys.

Best of all, all the neighbors watch out for each other. That is one of the FIRST things we were told when we moved in, and from what I have seen, seems true. After the hurricane we had several people come and check on us.

I am glad we tried SO hard to get a place in this neighborhood. We just had such a peaceful feeling when we came through here looking.

Favorite Vacation Spot....Gone

Paul and my favorite vacation ever was when we went to Port Bolivar/Crystal Beach many many years ago. We went with my parents, grandmother, uncle and my cousin, LeAn and her family. It was the first time we met LeAn, Shaw and Dalton, and it was one of the last times I saw my Uncle before he passed away.

We stayed in a beach house and although we were there with a huge part of family, we spent a lot of time just Paul and I and Caleb (he was the only one we had at the time!!). We had a blast. It was Caleb's first trip to the beach.

If you haven't heard, it all but got wiped off the map from Ike. This picture might give you an idea of what it looks like now:


Mom says that Gilchrist is the end of the peninsula with the newer houses.

It apparently took a direct hit from Ike's 110mph winds. It amazes me that you can see that COMPLETE devestation, yet there is one house standing (which LOOKS unharmed but I am sure there is water damage, among other damage). This picture is Gilchrist on Bolivar Penninsula. The article I read said Crystal Beach was an even grimmer sight.

This is a video taken by the Coast Guard of Crystal Beach after Ike:


And another video of Crystal Beach by 129th Rescue Wing:

The Never-Ending Move

I feel like we have been moving for four months....

Oh wait...we have!

We went back to AR this weekend to move the rest of our stuff out of the house there. It was sad to move the rest of our stuff out and know someone else was moving in, but it is also nice to know that there will be no more trips to Arkansas for moving.

It was a VERY quick trip. We got there Friday night, wasted two hours Saturday morning with Uhaul, and got everything loaded and we were gone before noon. We were trying to beat Ike.

We did pretty good (although there was definently lots of wind) until about 40 minutes from the LA border. As soon as we got to Lake Village, AR, the winds got REALLY strong. The lake there made you feel as though you should be on it surfing. From there on, we had very strong winds the rest of the way. We tried to stay behind trucks as much as possible (helped with the wind and the gas mileage).

I feel like everytime I get the house about settled we bring MORE in. Everything that came back with us went straight to the garage storage and the attic. The mess is all about gone now, but still stuff to do!!

I am ready for life to CALM DOWN!!!

September 11, 2001

The boys came home yesterday discussing the happenings of September 11, 2001. While I VIVIDLY remember this day, remember being paralyzed at work watching this happen on tv, with a child at daycare and 7 months pregnant with another, and a husband that was on an airplane headed for South Dakota (me having NO idea where his layovers were, what plane he was on and at that point they were not saying which planes were hijacked, and being VERY new to the traveling husband game at this point). BELIEVE ME - I REMEMBER!!! I was very careful NOT to let Caleb watch the tv and they have not really watched anything since. It is replayed over and over this time of year.

Caleb came home and said that his teacher said that she did not want to hear anyone talking about WHAT happened to the Twin Towers. That if the students had questions, to ask their parents. She wanted the parents to choose what the students learn about it. They discussed it some, Caleb knew that two planes hit the Twin Towers, that one plane hit the Pentegon and that one plane was headed to the White House, but "crashed in a meadow." He knew that it was "stupid, bad guys from Iraq" that did this.

Isaac comes home and says "On September 11, 2001, two airplanes flew into the Twin Towers and they collapsed and killed lots of people." It sounded like a well-rehearsed speech.

I am SO mixed on this. On whether or not a first grade teacher should be telling her students about this. I DO appreciate the way Caleb's teacher handled it, leaving it up to the parents. BUT, whether we want to accept the fact or not, it is history. It will be (if not already) in History books. The kids WILL be taught about it. I DOUBT they will be taught in first grade, doesn't even sound like in fourth grade, but it wil be taught.

I took the oppurtunity to discuss what happened with Caleb and Isaac last night. Bryce obviously had not heard about it, so I did not want to bring it up to him. Caleb said he had heard about the Twin Towers, but thought they were fake. I explained that the Twin Towers are used in lots of stories and movies that ARE NOT real, but that the towers themselves WERE real. I explained about the men that hi-jacked the planes, about the heroes that took over the hijackers and kept them from being able to wreck into the White House, by crashing into the "meadow."

Isaac just listened. I don't know exactly how much he got from it. It was obviously past time for it to be explained to Caleb. He knows there is a war going on. He actually just earlier this week asked what a suicide bomber was. I was able to use that when explaining the hijackers. Now that he knows about the Twin Towers, he knows WHY we are at war. He appreciates the fact that there are men and women fighting to save our country and keep people like the suicide bombers and hijackers from hurting more people.

My babies are growing up too fast. I know I am just wanting to protect them forever, that is why I don't want them seeing things like that, but realistically this is the world they are growing up, and I guess they need to understand and learn how to live in this world and cope with things like this.

Sometimes being a parent SUCKS!!!

Hurricane Ike

This morning, as I put the kids on the bus, the bus driver informed me that school may be cancelled. As of when she was picking up Bryce and Isaac, the schools were NOT letting the busses unload.

Louisiana is under Hurricane and Tropical Storm warnings. We woke up to high winds and rain. What do you expect when the storm takes up the entire Gulf of Mexico. It is going to be felt by LOTS of people.

We will be on the road this weekend, going to get the rest of the stuff from our other house. We just have some stuff in the attic and garage, but we are leasing the house to some friends, so we are trying to get all of our stuff out. Let's hope we can stay out of most of the bad weather!!

Let's also hope our electricity stays on and we don't come home tomorrow to a nasty refrigerator. The power has been going off and flickering since about 5 this morning. Power is still a sticky situation from Gustav - our area is not yet fully recovered from it.

The boys spent the morning argueing if the weather was from a hurricane. I explained it should not affect us quite like the last one because it won't be a direct hit, but it was in fact caused by another hurricane.

Ike

I am sitting here reading about Ike. It is not going to hit us, but doesn't mean it won't affect us. But, I do have friends and family (not on the coast) that could be strongly affected.

One thing I have learned in the week and a half following Gustav, though it has stopped being shown on the national news, our area is far from over it. We still have like 40+% of the state without electricity. If you drive around there is blue tarps on roofs ALL OVER. There are trees lining roads (that have been cut up and are awaiting trucks to pick them up). All week last week, there was no "normal" television. It was news 24 hours a day ALL week. Hurricane news.

Katrina was such a different devestation from the flooding that it is STILL being shown/talked about. I read today that there were 25 deaths from Gustav in Louisiana. From what I have heard on the news, few of those are from the hurricane itself. There was a death DURING the hurricane that was a person who was at a "hurricane party" that decided to leave. They were drunk. You should not drive drunk EVER, but really, in the MIDDLE of a hurricane? The majority of the deaths, though, were from AFTER the storm. From clean-up. People cutting down trees and not knowing what they are doing. Trees fall on people. Trees also don't always fall DURING the storm. But the wind blows them and they lean. They only lean so long before they fall. Not really something you would think of!

This has been such a learning experience, and all I can say is that we are blessed!! My prayers are with all in Ike's line of fire - from the coast and beyond!

Hurricane Season Shoes

Thanks Emily, this is great.

Emily seems to think that I should buy these, just in case. I can walk in the before the hurricane and swim in them after?

Homeschooling is Sounding VERY Good Today!!!

I finally got to talk to someone with the school bus company. They said that the sub yesterday was from out of town. I told her I did not care where the driver was from, but they are responsible for the driver as long as said driver is driving THEIR bus. Caleb said the driver was saying that if the kids talked or got up she would call the police. The bus super. said that threatening was unacceptable (well, DUH) and that yelling was even MORE unacceptable (again, DUH!!!). She said that she would call the ladies boss and that she would not be driving the bus again. She also gave me HER cell # and said if there were any more problems to call her directly.

If I EVER find out that lady drives Caleb's bus again, the kids will be pulled from the bus, no matter how bad the schools need the kids on the bus. And then I will go to the schools superintendent!

Then, I get a call from the school nurse saying Isaac is running a fever and complaining of a headache and that he is sluggish. She said I needed to pick him up and he could not return to school until he is fever-free for 24 hours. I wake up Andrew (took me an hour and a half to get him to go to sleep) and go get Isaac. He barely felt warm and was acting fine.

When we got home I took his temperature. 98.5. I called the school. Of course, the nurse has left. I ask if I can find out what his temperature was. She came back on and said it was 99.1 but that Isaac's "skin was flush and it was obvious he just did not feel well. He was very sluggish for his teacher."

Seriously? I woke up Andrew after all that to get him to sleep because he had a 99.1 temperature? Isaac is VERY hot-natured. It does not take much for him to get hot, flush and sweaty. He said his head was hurting, but he is acting FINE. I told him he could not play outside tonight and he says "I will be fine tonight." HMMMMM! Amazing how he KNOWS that!

I asked if he seriously had to miss a day of school for a 99.1 temp. The secretary said he could return tomorrow if he never ran a fever and was feeling okay.

Isaac just came out to me from laying in his bed for 10 minutes or so, to tell me that his head feels "great" now and he doesn't need to lay down he needs to play. WOW!!! Miracle fast recovery!

Bus Drama

Ever since the first week or two that Caleb rode the school he has yet to be dropped off the way he is supposed to be after school. He had a new driver and the guy always passed the house. Then he would have to circle the neighborhood a second time to drop Caleb off. Caleb should be the first in our subdivision to be dropped off, and is always last and has to tell the bus driver that he missed his house.

Today, Mama had her breaking point (so did Caleb). When I saw the bus driving by, I stepped out on the porch to see if they would stop just past the house. The driver stopped about three houses down and opened the doors. I heard yelling, but was not sure where it was coming from. Caleb never got off the bus.

When the bus finally circled back around and Caleb was dropped off, he came in in tears. He said the bus driver yelled at him and told him he was a trouble maker because he did not tellher where his stop was. I asked if she was yelling when she stopped three houses down from the house and he said yes. I listened to the bus driver yelling at Caleb from three houses away!

I was not happy when I found out it was for sure the bus driver yelling. Caleb said he was not allowed to talk on the bus at all and was not allowed to get up. He sits in the back of the bus. How is he supposed to tell her it is her stop. AND, he offered to walk home from the house she stopped at, she would not let him off.

WHY is he supposed to tell the bus drivers everyday which stop is his? Shouldn't they know that by now? They have papers on the bus with all the addresses, why aren't they using that?

I called the bus company when he got home. I am waiting on a call back. I guess I will be calling again at 8 am!!

The one kid we had that was nervous about bullies on the school bus, who knew the bully would be the bus driver?

When Will Things Calm Down?

We finally get electricity back and start trying to get things back on track and we get sick. Sunday night, Paul and I both started feeling bad. We both started feeling stuffy, throat hurting, etc.

It has only gotten worse. We are going through tissues like crazy. Paul took all kinds of meds yesterday, with little relieve.

Caleb said he could not sleep last night. Hope he isn't getting sick.

Bryce woke up this morning with asthma problems.

I think all the rain and weather change, etc. is messing with us all!!

I just want to finish getting my house in order!

Thirsty Lizard

This lizard was not a lucky one. He died before we moved in, the boys found him, a "little" stiff. Of course, Daddy had to bring him in to gross me out and then play with him. Maybe he was trying to re-hydrate him.

Andrew's First Toad Experience

We have toads and lizards everywhere here. Even the occasional mouse in our trash outside, since we have a pasture behind us. If you go outside at night especially you are bound to find several lizards on our house. Last week, Daddy found a toad in the garage and put it in the driveway for Andrew to see.

laughing at the toad jumping over his feet
Trying to grab him

This weekend while we were working on our landscaping, Daddy was pulling cannas out of the ground and found a lizard. It jumped on his arm. All the boys were watching it and wanting to hold it. The lizard had a mind of his own and jumped on Isaac's nose. Isaac jumped and the lizard fell off his face, but jumped on his leg and ran up it. Everyone was getting a good laugh, including (especially) Isaac.

Sometimes when I am outside and see all the lizards on the house, I feel like I should pull up a chair and discuss car insurance. HAHA

Last week while we were on generator, our alarm system got to where it was continuously beeping because the battery was dying. It finally died, but late that night we heard a beeping sound again. We went out to investigate and right outside our bedroom door, in the hall, was a toad. We have NO idea how he got in the house, but he did. (The beeping noise was the smoke detector dying).

Hurricane Photos

Here are some pictures of the hurricane damage. This is just a small sampling and some of the lighter damage. We did not venture out this day to the worst hit spots (we were actually out looking for gas). We have seen some of the worse hit spots and it is bad, still. Clean-up, as far as trees being cut up and debris being cleaned is going pretty quick, but since noone has electricity and most everything was closed last week, not really much else to do!
This is what happens when older brothers get bored sitting in the house so long!!
This is the same plant as the two pictures below, taken the day before the hurricane hit.
After the storm - they are broken and shredded
We lost some completely, these are the elephant ears the boys are holding onto in the above picture
One of our rose bushes blew over
The wind shredded our plants

Before the hurricane, you could not see those white pipes
These concrete blocks were stacked, the wind blew them over
Our new best friend, during a storm anyway (VERY loud, annoying best friend). This is our generator that gives at least a little electricity.

Damage around town:
Our subdivision beginnig to flood. Notice the sign behind the tree and how it is leaning over.
THIS is why they don't bury underground (this is a local cemetary)
Too close for comfort for this house!
Debris on road
Highway flooded
The road outside our subdivision
Trees down over railroad tracks
Tree down across street
This lake used to be a baseball field
One of the MANY houses that flooded (with many the water was MUCH higher)
Uprooted tree at our library
Fallen tree
Flooding on the road outside our subdivision
Red sky at night....sailors delight