How to Weather a Hurricane

 How to Weather a Hurricane:

1.  Run away to your Brother's house.

2. Invite your cousins to play in the hotel pool.

 I may mention that we evacuated right into the path of the hurricane, and the clouds were rolling in and the wind was getting blustery.

 The kids did not swim long, but they had a good time while they did!

3. Watch movies together.

 I definitely covet Kera's large family room.  The kids enjoyed hanging out and having movie time.

4.  Hang out in the hotel room watching cartoons.

 We had one hotel room and some of us stayed in it and others stayed with Andy's family.The dog stayed at Andy's house since all the hotels that take dogs were booked solid. Actually, most of the hotels were fairly booked, so we will be staying at our third one tonight.  Packing up each morning and unpacking every night is getting old.  But not for the kids!  The LOVE staying at hotels.

The girls dubbed this "The Party Bus" and wanted to ride it all over the hotel.  Simple pleasures are the best!

 5. Play with Legos.

 Kera has lots and lots and lots of legos.  All the kids were playing with them, but none of them wanted to cooperate with a picture.

6.  Have super-cool-awesome friends who own a movie theater and invite you to come to special showings for free and give you free popcorn and drinks.  

 Can you say AWESOME?!

We divided forces.  Kera took the littlies to a dreadful movie called "Oogie Love" and I sat through "Whimpy Kid" with Marian and her cousin here. I'm not sure who had the better movie.  Ug.  The kids enjoyed their movies and were quite happy.  It was a great afternoon.

7.  Find out that your roads home are flooded and you still have no power. Stress over the orders your sweetie has to return to base through those closed roads.  Discover that evacuation leave has been extended and he does not have to go back yet and you don't need to worry about it a little longer.  And continue to party!

Our Hurrication

 How to take a Hurrication
1 Dog
2 Drivers
3 DSs
4 dvd players
5 children

Pack up the van and run with all of the above!


Okay, so here is the rest of the story.  We dithered and debated. I was incredibly indecisive.  Dan didn't want to go until the base gave the mandatory evacuation notice.  We hung out, we planned to stay.  Then Dan's work gave the voluntary evacuation call and granted per diem.  We dithered some more and spent more time discussing the pros and cons than actually packing.  Of course, packing up was easy- I'd had a suitcase packed for weeks, and Levi's doggie evac kit had been ready for about as long.  So we tossed the bare minimum in the van and headed out.

 Levi rode between the 2 front seats and did a great job.

 The kids had a really great attitude and were quite patient and good during the drive.

 We made it through New Orleans with traffic like this- AMAZING!

 An hour into the trip we hit this- slow going and a beautiful sunset.  The slower traffic didn't last long and soon we were zipping along at 70 mph for the rest of the drive.  Wheeeee!

We made it to Vicksburg, MS in decent time, but late late late.  We settled in to my brother's house and Levi made himself at home.

Hanging out with cousins is so fun!

 Letting Aunt Kera cook dinner is wonderful.  Well, wonderful for me!  She's a great cook.  And the kids are having a good time.  I love that they have cousins the same ages.

Yep, they are having loads of fun on the trampoline.  How many kids do you think we can fit on there?!

So, we ran from Hurricane Isaac, who is heading this way.  Right now work and school are suppose to be back on for Thursday, which means we need to be back in time for that.  That, of course, means we'll get to drive back through the storm to get home.  Whoo-hoo!  In the meantime, we're going to hang out and play with our family.  Happy Hurrication!

Kids, school, dog

Callie has wanted to grow her bangs long.  Callie noticed that a young lady that Callie thinks is wonderful had long bangs, and Callie wanted to be just like her.  I detest hair in the face. I hate hair that falls into the eyes, so this was really hard for me to accept.  She finally asked for a haircut.  I asked if I could take her to the hair salon, but she said no.  I reminded her how her last haircut went.  She wanted it cut, I cut it and she screamed that I cut it too short and she hated it and she hated me and she was never going back to school and she carried on about how ugly she was for 3 days.  True story. Callie assured me that she wanted me to cut it.   

This is how long her bangs were.   

This is her silly face, and this is how she was suppose to wear her too-long bangs so they were not in her eyes.

I did not get an after picture.  History has a way of repeating itself and after I trimmed her bangs there was screaming and crying and drama.  So I didn't cut the rest of her hair and I did not get a picture!

However, school started this week!  Whoo-hoo!  The kids were up and ready early on their first day and I was able to get pictures.  Yay! 

Here they are, all ready to go.  So exciting!  This year Joshua is in 6th grade-and that's middle school here.  Marian is in 4th and Callie is in 2nd. 

I love these silly faces.  Callie and Joshua are making faces and Marian is cracking up at them.  What a great way to start the year! 

As a random aside, Callie decided the dog needed a bath.  So she gave him one.  Somehow, I ended up doing most of the work and getting extremely wet!  How is that, do you think?

Hosing down the dog. 

While not thrilled, Levi puts up with is unless he thinks there is an option. 

Drying the now-clean puppy!  I didn't realize that his grown up coat would be so thick and heavy.  The poor dog looks so scrawny when he's wet, and he was still damp hours later. 

Such a sweet doggie.  Rylee loves Levi!

I Gripe

Some things have been really annoying me.  I realized that it should not be annoying to me; I need to view it as blog fodder, mock it severely and move on.  So, I am going to do that.  I release my anger and frustration at all the following situations and and I am going to move on with my life, feeling lighter, freer and happier.  So let it be written, so let it be done!

5 Things that Irk Me

1.  Today I was at my allergy appointment 45 minutes early.  I checked in at the desk and said, "I am 45 minutes early.  Can you squeeze me in early, or should I run over to Krispy Kreme and be back in 45 minutes."  She said she would check me in and I could be seen early.  I sat there, with my 2 lovely children for an hour.  Yes, and hour.  I waited the 45 minutes till my appointment, plus an extra 10 before they called me.  For an allergy shot that took 2 minutes.  Then I had to wait for another 30 minutes to make sure I didn't die of an extreme allergic reaction.  And then we went to Krispy Kreme.

2. The school misplaced my child on the first day of school.  I looked all over for her at the end of the school day and walked home in case that's where she was.  She wasn't.  So I called the school and told them I was missing a 7 year old.  They said, "We can page her to the office.  Would you like us to call you if she shows up?"   Now I don't mind so much that she was misplaced, and in reality, it turned out that she had just been taken to the car rider line, rather than the walker line.  It was the first day of school, and things are crazy.  No problem, but to tell me you'll page her and call me later?!  I don't think so!  I entrusted my child to you and I expect her back, and if you don't know where she is, I darn well expect you to tell me you are on it and will do your best to find her right away.  And you better sound like you care!

3.  The school held a Kindergarten Summit for parents of new kindergartners.  It was "Parents Only Please" at 10am.  Do you see anything wrong with that?  Every single parent who might attend has at least one child they are suppose to find babysitting for? I asked about it and they did not care and would not provide child care options.  I did not attend the summit.

4. My van had the air bag light in it come on.  The manual says to take it to the dealer "immediately" should that happen.  After a grouchy discussion over the $90 diagnostic they would do for it, they guy agreed to run the diagnostic for free.  I'm so relieved to find out that have NO IDEA why the light is on.  Hmmm.... that's the same answer we got as to why the transmission died.

5. Shoot. I don't have a 5th problem!  I guess that is good! Now I will choose to be happy and I will be done being annoyed!

Best part of Summer!

School starts this week.  While it is an exciting thing, it is also sad.  No more hanging out with the kids all day, every day.  No more getting up and going to do fun stuff just because we can.  No more lazy mornings, afternoons and evenings.  Sigh.  Farewell, summer!  

In preparation for the sad goodbye, we went to Krispy Kreme for breakfast.  Yum!  We will definitely be back during report card season, when they kids get free donuts for "A"s earned.

Tasty donuts! 

Marian did not want her picture taken, but Rylee wanted to be in it. 

"Don't touch my donut!" 

This is what I like to do in the afternoons, but not on the floor, and not in so many fun positions!

Naps, the greatest thing ever invented! 

Sometimes its okay to gloat

Delaney has finally gotten a chance to outdo her bigger sister!  Callie is going into second grade with all of her original teeth.  Delaney is going to start kindergarten in 10 days with one less tooth than Callie!

Photobombing at the Aquarium

I finally made it to the Aquarium this summer.  Yay me!  The kids were excited and we brought Delaney's very best friend James with us.  A good time was had by all. 

Here we are, just arriving.  The children are cooperating because I promised them pennies to toss into the fountain.  Joshua's "cooperation" had a different interpretation for him. 

The girls wanted to pose in the giant shark mouth, but they couldn't coordinate their poses at the same time.  This was as good as it got. 

Callie wanted to pose at this tank, but someone kept getting in the way.

Yep, there he is again! 

And again.... 

Okay, now I'm getting a little grumpy! 

"But it's so fun, I just can't help it!" He said. 

Whew, finally!  I waited till he'd finished his leap through the frame before actually taking the picture. 

I'd be more excited about pictures without Joshua if they were any good.  Sigh.  I need slower subject matter.  They don't hold the cute poses very long. 

Rylee loved this frog and had to be bribed away from it.  

And then we took the ferry back across the river and headed home.  It was a good trip and a good outing for everyone.  And shocking enough, Joshua never once complained he was bored.  Score!

Summer Daze

We're down to the final weeks of summer.  Well, summer before school starts.  Its pretty much always summer weather here.  Since the kids go back to school in a few weeks, we've been trying to squeeze every last drop of fun before that happens.

Levi is ready for the pool.  Or a hurricane.  Whichever comes first. 

 Rylee had an unfortunate incident with a fire-ant hill.  She lost.  This was her leg the next day.  Poor kid had a hot swollen leg for a bit.  It gave her quite the grumpy disposition as well.

Callie and Delaney had a blast exploring the deep end of the pool.  Marian is below the water.  She just learned she can touch the 12 foot bottom.  Quite an accomplishment, and she now spends all her time working on that.  We usually get a couple hours a week in at the pool, until the thunderstorms close it down for the day. 

Joshua developed his own "Golden Armor".  He's very proud of it.  He later made some golden leggings as well. 10 cool points if you know where the Golden Armor comes from.

And Karate.  How I love Karate!  The kids have a great time running around, burning off vast quantities of energy. And they are getting pretty good at it.  

5k Fail: Sweat Your Thorns Off 5k Race Report

I wanted to be part of the Boring Runner's  semi Annual Virtual 5K race.  It was held yesterday and this is my race report.  Mainly, I report that I suck.  And yet, I am going to bore you with the many details that make up my FAIL.

I should mention my excuses.  I live in the pit of humanity and running when it is miserably hot and the humidity is in the 90% area really stinks.  The heat gives me headaches and my doctor told me I'd just have to stop running all summer.  I did not listen. I found a complicated regime that seems to keep the really bad migraines at bay, but I am definitely slower and I am not increasing mileage like I would really like to.

My other big excuse is that we got a dog.  Since I need to run and he needs to run, we've been doing it together.  This means that during our typical 3.3 mile runs we stop at 3 different water stations for him to get a drink, and depending on his morning, we may stop another time or 2, wherein I may get the additional pleasure if trotting down the trail with a baggie of warm doggie poo in my hand.

This is the adorable culprit right here.  I confess I was excited to see how running without him would go.  Since he is a herding dog, he tends to run right behind me (with the occasional goose from his nose on my leg), and I don't know how much it effects my time. I was hoping to find out that I was faster without him.  I do occasionally take the Garmin with me when I run with the dog, but I stop it when we're not actually running.  I go a solid 10 minute mile that way, so I was sure I'd be faster alone, despite no breaks.

I was up early, because is southern Louisiana, you really need to run before the sun comes up.  I was ready to go and quite excited about it.

See, look at me, all ready to run.   I really was prepared to get  pictures of the after as well. Unfortunately, I stepped outside to this:

That 90% humidity had become 100%.  I don't mind running in a drizzle, but a downpour wasn't on my agenda.  I sucked it up and drove to the gym.  I would have loved to get pictures, but I was waaay to self conscious to take pictures in a military gym of buff military men with scary faces.  I just hopped on the treadmill and got down to business.

Sadly, this would be only the second time I have ever run in the gym on a treadmill there. I detest the treadmill.  I ended up running 5k in 33:14 and am mortified to admit it.  I only share it so I can have something to thoroughly trounce next time!  I was too discouraged to take any pictures to post.

I know, if I had any pride, I'd have scrapped the day and done it again another time.  

Why I Pay Library Fines

While it is not really OUR library, there is a mighty fine library close enough for me to drive over there regularly.  This week they had the Bugmobile stop by and the guy from the Insectarium in New Orleans came to show off some of his bugs.  We went to see what he had.

Callie was excited to be there. 

You can't see what's in his hand, but it is a large grasshopper. 

While they were pretty cool to look at, they didn't hold the Black Widows or let us pet them.  Thank goodness! 

He did show us this tarantula, but no petting allowed.  He said they have little spiny hairs on their legs that they can fling at you (aiming for the eyes, of course) and these things hurt and really itch.  Petting the spider might cause it distress or fear, and that could lead to little hairs in kids' eyes and that would be bad.  So no petting.  Very cool to look at still. 

We did not pet the scorpion either! 

But the ginormous millipede was quite the popular fellow.

The kids really got a kick out of it.  I even pet it! 

Then Rylee got grumpy.   

Then she got silly. 

And she spread the silliness. 

I love my kids!