Storm Stories 2006

Tree after the storm.



Tree after Rob pulled it up and staked it down. Fingers crossed that it will hang tough!

Sailing, Takes Me Away...

We went sailing for the first time Wednesday afternoon. Rob's sister happened to get an early flight in that day so we twisted her arm to come with us. Our sailor, Dave, said the winds were almost too strong for sailing, but since we don't know any better we had fun anyway.



E1 was a little nervous, but both she and E2 think we should go again sometime.

Tall, dark, and handsome.

We're home, and we have air, and safe water!

Many thanks to Rob's parents for taking the five of us in for four nights, and then inviting us back for dinner last night. B & C will be the first to say that they're nomadic sleepers - but I think they're the only two of us that slept in the same place for each of those four nights.

No phone, no lights, no motorcars...

Well, no lights anyway, at our humble, air-conditionerless abode. We're refugees at my in-laws. This afternoon we're celebrating the return of CABLE and it's lovely cousin CABLE INTERNET!

A storm ripped through the area Friday around lunch time and we've been without power since then. Bleh.

Break out the socks, people.

Airconditioner-palooza!

It BEGINS!

Finally!

Tomorrow!

7-freakin-am!

We will have vents in the basement!



It's always been my sister Amy's advice to dress in layers when you come to visit me. I'm warmer than the average mom, and like to keep my cave chilly.

Tour Guide Barbie goes rural.

We took my nephew F with us to Mom and Dad's today for lunch. About a third of the way there, the toddler chatter in the row behind me changed...

E3, elated: It's a pwaygwound!

F, unimpressed: No. It's a wailwoad cwossing.

E3, still excited: No. It's a PWAYGWOUND!

F, patient, yet stern: No, E3. It's a wailwoad cwossing.

E3, sure of what she'd seen: It's not a wailwoad cwossing.

And on it went...

For the record, we'd passed a playground just before we crossed the railroad crossing. I briefly flashed forward in time, imagining these two cousins college-aged and having lively discussions and debates over coffee or a shared bottle of wine. Each enjoying the interesting mind of the other.

Snapping back to reality and the concern that they might just keep this up until we arrived at our destination, I resorted to the universal parenting trick of, "LOOK! Something SHINY!"

Only for those two it was, "WOW! Look at that big truck! And look! A camper! And cows! And hay bales! Look at all the hay bales!"



"Look kids! Big Ben, Parliament!"

We're walking...

We'll be hooking up with family and friends for the
Walk to D'Feat ALS on September 16th.

More information to follow as I receive it. Until then, we're looking for a team name!

Coolin' the squirrely bits

Birds, as promised.

One Year

One year ago today... well, yesterday now that it's so late, my younger sister (A.K.A. Beloved Aunt Amy to my cyberfriends of 8 years), was diagnosed with ALS. I didn't really know what Lou Gehrig's disease was, but I vividly remember looking it up online and being startled to learn that Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis begins with 'A.M.Y.'.

Please keep her in your thoughts, prayers, good karma fumes, or whatever positive forces you have at your disposal because I love her very much and there's like a kajillion people who feel the same way.

Talking with BIC

I was on the phone with BIC last night, and she and I were taking turns lamenting the fact that we need new bathing suits.

I commented that I've had mine at least since before E3 was born, so that's around three years, maybe four years (and it shows!).

She started pondering how long she's had hers...since she moved to TX?...since our family trip to HI?...

What does it look like? I asked.

Red on top, blue on the bottom (or vice versa, I don't remember).

Oh...I think you've had that since Kansas City.

Wow.

Yeah, I said, bathing suits are like kids...they age faster than you realize.

She Yanked It Out Herself

E2 lost her first tooth yesterday! The girls spent the night at Grandma's, but the tooth fairy still found her.

E1 is a Grandma!

Earlier this year, Rob and the girls used some recycled wood to build bird houses. E2 built a home for Eastern Bluebirds, and E1 built a home for Carolina Wrens (birds chosen for their diet of insects, including mosquitoes!). Not long after, we noticed some bluebirds near the houses. Closer inspection showed that there were many sticks in E2's house...But there was a NEST in E1's house! A few weeks later I saw the bluebirds chasing off other birds that would land on E2's house, and when I relayed this to my Father-in-law, he mentioned that bluebirds could be territorial. So, we moved the Bluebird house with no nesting bluebirds to give the bluebirds in the Carolina Wren house some space. I can't help but wonder if the bluebirds were sneaky enough to stuff this house with sticks to keep other birds from nesting.

SO! Last week, a peek into the bluebird's wren house revealed FOUR eggs! AND! This week, there are four baby birds!

Maybe I'll slap some pictures up later.

Weekend of the 4th Recap

Sunday we held our annual party celebrating our move into this house. The guest list is mostly immediate family, with a few friends thrown in. Every year we discuss inviting more - this year E1 asked to invite a friend - but we usually fall back to the standard list. It gets bigger every year all on it's own anyway, what with our siblings and friends having babies.

Ten years ago (!), we moved in on a hot, hot, sweltering hot weekend. We kept the air conditioner off since we'd have the doors wide open most of the day. It was still 87 degrees in the house when I was ready to go to sleep. We ended up sleeping on the sofa bed in the basement to keep cool. We had been married almost a year and a half, we'd been trying to get pregnant for six months, and I was starting a new job that Monday.

In honor of the ten year anniversary, our air conditioner decided to fizzle out on us and eventually it was warmer in the house than it was outside. The basement wasn't much cooler. I slept in the basement with a fan directly on me, Rob and the girls were upstairs all with fans blowing of their own.

As I was getting the girls ready for bed, E1 expressed concern about not having air conditioning. She'd seen a commercial on TV that stated that no air conditioning can be deadly for the elderly and young children and she was afraid we might die. E2 began crying that she was going to be cold with a fan blowing on them all night - even if it was on E1's side of the bed. Assurances and blankets (GAH! HOT!) were doled out, and they were asleep.

We did have some water fun, a slip-n-slide, some buckets of water with cups for playing, a sprinkler, and the kids played with bikes and scooters...But the usual grown-up games of washers and wiffel ball were nowhere to be seen. I think a good time was had by all, despite the wilt-inducing weather, and once the sun went down it was quite nice out there. We got to enjoy the late, late company of Eric and Janet - another annual event.

On the 4th, we spent some time at the farm, where there was more water fun to beat the heat. Rob's cousin brought a giant inflatable water slide that kept the kids busy the entire time we were there. They stopped to eat, and make a trip or two to the bathroom, but otherwise they were up, down, up, down, all day. Rob thinks we should borrow it for our party next year.

Unfortunately, the quick-fix to our AC didn't hold and we're looking into other options. Today is all about laying low and keeping cool - which is just as well, because with the holiday thrown in there I'm not sure what day it is anyway.