:: NatureFest ::

Yesterday afternoon, Mimi and I took Trey and Emery out to a new development near our house...The Bridgelands. They were having a free event called NatureFest. I needed to get out of the house between loads of laundry to keep my sanity! :) Anyway, they had a few fun things for Trey to see. Emery really didn't care too much about it....she slept in the Bjorn the whole time. Trey got to see and pet armadillos, chase the animals in the petting zoo, and ride a pony for the first time. He loved it, to say the least. There are a few pics below. Emery got a few pics once we got home! Have a good week!





P.S. This coming Saturday, Lone Star College is having their annual Cy-Fest, which is a totally free event. Should be a great thing to check out! I've never been, but looking forward to it!

Beaux and Dixie

Well, I don't think our poor dogs have made their appearance on this blog, so I thought it was time. We have 2 shelties, Beaux and Dixie...Beaux, the boy, is a merle, and he looks more like an Australian shepherd...Dixie, the princess, is about half the size of Beaux but has twice the bite! They've had 3 litters, and they make very pretty puppies. (www.jkshelties.com) We don't plan on having any more litters with Dixie (the keyword there is plan...Beaux usually gets to her before we even realize she is in heat!). The last week or so I've gotten compliments on their fur and how they stay so clean. I had to laugh...if you only knew the last time they got a bath, b/c I don't! Joe does an awesome job of making sure they get taken care of, b/c honestly with 2 kiddos they rarely catch my attention. Sad, but true. I decided to take a few pictures this morning....ENJOY.

BeauxDixie
OOOOHHHH...
Like father, like son...Poor Beaux. (He's a trooper)
The Aftermath of the Brush...yuck.
Sweetness

Goin' for a ride

Great Game!

Well, the show down was last night and it proved to be a good one. Ridge edged out Woods 43-41 in a game that ended at 10:45...it was a long one! Both teams played hard and I was proud of all the guys. I was wearing my neutral white and sittin on the Woods side. It was hard to be in a sea of red and wanting to cheer on some of my students. I have several football players in class...one of them made a crucial stop on defense to keep Woods out of the end zone. Talk about inner-turmoil! I wanted Woods to score, but was proud of my student for doing his job! grr.

Anyway, just wanted to update y'all b/c I know you were sitting on pins and needles. Just kidding! Hope everyone has a good weekend!

:: Back to Normal ::

Well, it seems things are getting back to normal in our neck of the woods! We are back to school and the kids are actually glad to be back, or so I think! On Tuesday I made my students write a long warm up journal and tell me about their Ike experience. For the msot part, the kids all had the same thing to say..."I didn't think it would be that bad.", "I want my electricity back!", "Too much time/or good times with the family"...However, there were a few of my students that are not going to be back to normal for a while. Poor things. Luckily Cy-Ridge is a great place to be, and we have teachers hosting food drives, clothing drives, etc. to get these kids what they need. I LOVE WHERE I WORK.

I know the football coaches are soooo ready to get on the field. It's going to be an interesting next couple of days. It's the first district game, and it is Woods vs. Ridge (aka...Joe's school vs. Kristy's school!)...add to it, that it is Ridge's homecoming. I think I will be sitting on the Woods side, with my neutral white on. Only to stay off of the couch....yes, my wonderful/handsome husband has threatened me with the couch if he finds me in blue or on the Ridge side.

Emery Update: The girl has grown 5 inches in 2 months! CRAZY! Even the Dr. was shocked at how tall she was. She is also 13 pounds now...She is not going to be little for much longer. *tear* However, Monday night she SLEPT THRU THE NIGHT. Hallelujah!

Trey Update: As I'm writing this, (at midnight), I just put him back to bed after rubbing some vick's on him b/c he suddenly has a wheezy cough. No fever as of yet. I did notice a runny nose during bath time, but nothing major. Hopefully just allergies. Say a little prayer please, because I really wanted him to have fun this weekend. Other than that, he has been going 90 to nothing lately, and he is always making me laugh...even when he is making me want to pull my hair out! Something funny lately is his choice of songs to sing. If you know Joe and I, then you know we are huge fans of Texas Country music. Even though lately we have been big fans of Christian worship. Anyway, one of my old cd's in the car starts off with one of our favorite college songs. The song is '$50 and a Flask of Crown' by Bleu Edmonson. Great beat, just not the best message for a 2 year old. I know, I know...bad mommy. However, I die laughing everytime Trey gets in the car and wants to hear the 'Crown' song...you really have to see him clapping and singing, it's a riot...note to self, get it on tape. My remedy: just tell Trey its a crown that you wear on your head. :)

Well, I have to go to sleep so I can get a couple of hours in before Em wakes up....HOPEFULLY.

:: Random Shots! ::

Okay, these are random...but worth sharing!

This was daddy's shot, with mommy's photoshopping.

This is where we 'hunkered' in our make-shift bunker.

Nope, Ike didn't phase Trey...
This is when we finally got out of the house...

I think delirium had set in...

Jana, our refugee...who still doesn't have power!

Jana's 'shallow water retriever'...Gino

Jay...the Queen > P.S. Don't mess with her bone!

Sorry Jana, have to tell Gino's story real quick...Gino looks like a chocolate lab, right? Until he stands up! Gino is a lab/basset hound mix. Therefore, he looks like a lab...with really, really short legs! Trey really took to our new 4-legged friends. Even today he has been asking, "Where's Gino/Jay?" Hope everyone has a good weekend!

:: Surfside *tear* ::

Today I stumbled across some photos that a firefighter from Surfside (near Freeport) took of the aftermath of Ike. He decided to take pictures to help those that cannot get back in see what their place looks like. I've only stayed in one beach house on Surfside, even though I grew up going to the beach. Basically, according to my dad, it was sin to go to Galveston. He grew up in Freeport, therefore Surfside is where we went. And we went A LOT. Seriously, I don't remember going to Galveston growing up. You know you say that you're not going to turn into your parents when you get older, but you do. I felt it only appropriate that Trey's first trips to the beach were to Surfside/Bryan/Quintana beach. So, as I sat glued to the TV last week, I was getting really nervous for Freeport. Our last trip to Surfside was in June before I was summoned to bed rest for 3 weeks. We went with our dear friends, The Brewer's, and stayed in a family friends' beach house. As many times as I had been to the beach down there, we had only stayed in that particular beach house a couple of times. We always had family down there, so we never had the luxury of renting a fun house. While we were there in June, I had randomly snapped a picture of the beach house from the beach side. Well, lo and behold the firefighter took a picture from the road after the storm. It is two sides of the house, but you can definitely tell the storm wreaked some havoc in that area. I hope everything is structurally sound, but not sure. There was a storage shed down stairs in the stilts, and unless I'm going blind, I don't see it!

Here are the pics:

Pre - Ike (June '08)

Post - Ike

:: I Dislike Ike ::

Finally! Actually, I think the saying is "Houston, we have Internet!" I have been climbing the walls to get access to some Internet! You take the 'necessities' for granted these days! Well, we just wanted to update everyone on our storm experience. Can I just say that God is Goooooood. We rode out the storm at home and came out on the other side with all of our shingles and power within 7 hours. I'd say that is the minority here in Houston/Cypress. My Aunt and Uncle also dodged a huge bullet with that last Eastern turn that Ike decided to take. They live in Jones Creek (Freeport), and when they evacuated they fully expected to be homeless when they returned. However, other than some debris and maybe a leak in the roof, their house and they are okay! Hallelujah! My grandmother, Nana, was evacuated to Hearne, Texas...that is another post in itself, but she is OK! Whew!

Joe has my camera to take some pictures of work that he is helping people do, but when I get it back I will be posting pics of our fun times. You might laugh at our sleeping arrangements Friday night. Here was our evening in a nut shell....

We made the executive decision that it wouldn't be our smartest move to sleep upstairs. However, we decide to put the kiddos down in their own beds until it is time to 'hunker down'. (SERIOUSLY, who coined that phrase...let me know, I want to hurt them) Joe had fallen asleep as well, so around 2 a.m. I woke him up to help me move us downstairs. By the way, my mom was with us because we didn't want her sleeping by herself at home with big trees around the house. We decided to move our full size guest mattress downstairs, along with Trey's twin trundle mattress, in hopes to be comfortable enough to get some sleep. (Sure thing, NOT!) You have to see this picture, because then we took our couches and surrounded the mattresses to create our own little bunker....we 'hunkered in the bunker'...lol. Once we got situated with candles, flash lights, battery operated tv we brought the kids down and turned out the lights. I closed my eyes some that night, but I don't think I ever fell asleep. Note to self, next time I'm leaving town in hopes to at least sleep. That was the most unnerving night I can remember in a long time. The wind was way scary and I kept thinking to my self that if the wind sounded like this in Cypress....what the heck does it sound like for those 'not so smart' people that ride it out on the coast??? Anyway, the important thing is that Trey and Emery slept thru the whole thing.

Long story short, my mom didn't have any damage...praise GOD. Didi and Brew have a neighbor's tree on their house...ANNOYING, especially when you've asked them repeatedly to cut it down. Other than that, our friends fared quite well and some are just waiting on power at this point. I wish I could wiggle my nose and make it happen. We have Jana, our refugee, hanging out with us until the Meyerland area gets power back. Jana's babies, Jay and Gino, have made themselves at home...and surprisingly enough get along with Beaux and Dixie (our pups). Well, stay tuned for pics and I'm glad to see everybody came out okay for the most part. Please pray for those less fortunate and that have months and months of clean up to go thru.

P.S. Something to lighten the mood...Saturday when I finally got out of the house to drive around a bit, I took Trey with me. Since Trey had seen so many pictures of the beach on TV, he had been saying, "Mommy, I want to go to the beach." Awww, how do I tell a 2 year old that his beach isn't going to be the same for a while, to say the least! My response, "Trey, buddy, we can't go to the beach. The hurricane gave it a boo boo." I thought that was easy enough to understand. Mission accomplished. That is all Trey is saying now. "We can't go to the beach. Hurricane gave it a boo boo." Didn't you know that? :)

:: Take a Hike Ike ::

*sigh* Well, I was looking forward to my weekend plans of returning to Nacogdoches. Thanks a lot Ike. Now I get to stress out about having enough supplies. I guess I'm not really stressing, because seriously, what are we going to do to stop Mr. Ike? Let's see if we're is ready:



Supplies

gas...check
cash...check
wood for windows...sorry, too much trouble. no check
bread...check
pb & j...check
chips/salsa...check
cold 'beverages'...workin' on it. semi-check.
oh yeah, water (2 - 12 packs)...check
generator...no check, heading to the Vining's if need be.



I contemplated going to Dallas instead, and then talked my self out of it. It really looks like the whole state is going to get slammed...and I don't feel like being in a car all weekend. By the time we got there, we'd have to come back......can we say NO FUN!



I am curious what everyone else is doing...staying or going? Worried...not worried?



We're praying that everyone stays safe! Try and enjoy some of the weekend!

Yummy

I think this is my first recipe post! I always use Missy's recipes, so I thought I would start sharing!

*Easy Enchilada Casserole*

2 lbs. ground meat
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup picante sauce
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 can corn
1 can refried beans
1 package of Fiesta shredded cheese (2 cups)
tortillas

Brown meat, drain grease. Add tomato sauce, picante sauce, taco seasoning, and corn and simmer for a few minutes.

In the casserole dish, layer in the following order:

1. Tortillas
2. heaping spoonfull of refried beans, spread thin
3. meat mixture
4. cheese
REPEAT

*generally makes 2-3 layers...

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. I serve with sour cream and chips, and a salad. Mmmm...

A Day in the Life...

Just in case you were curious, I thought I'd let you in on how our day goes...

4:30 A.M.
*whaa whaa* coming from the monitor...me trying to be very strong and not lose my cool, because I don't have to get up for another 3o minutes. Emery wins the battle and I get a bottle ready, and just pray that she can suck it down so I can close my eyes for at least 10 more minutes! :) Oh yeah, lets not mention that she was up 3 hours ago...

5 A.M.
My turn to get ready...

5:30 A.M.
Daddy rolls out of bed *he only works 5 minutes from the house* versus my 30 minute (10 mile) commute on the fantastic 290.

5:45 A.M.
Go get the monkey man out of bed, and hope he gets out on the right side. Who am I kidding? Trey never gets out of bed on the wrong side....hmm, no sarcasm there! :) Emery gets loaded up and we're almost ready to go....now all that's left to do is bottles and lunches, Daddy helps (Thank goodness!)

6 A.M.
Off we go! DVD playing, check. Juice Cup, check. Diaper bag, check. Both kids, check. OK, we can go!

6:30 A.M.
Drop 'em off! Trey is hilarious when I leave him with Grammy. This is about how it goes:
*Bye Trey, I love you*
*BYE MOM, I WUV OO TOOO!* (yes, needs to be in all caps!)
*Have a good Trey*
*HAVE A GOOD DAY MOM"
I drive away every morning with a smile on my face, how many moms can say that? THANK YOU GRAMMY!

7:25 A.M. - 2:30 P.M.
This is where I mold the minds of today's youth. lol. That, or they fry mine. The jury is still out on that one! Some of the things I hear...whoa. This is also where I laugh off the fact that I have 29 computers in my room now, and 3 of them have the blue screen of death. Just an FYI, that leaves me with 26 working computers and 28 kids in half of my classes. NICE. Oh well, I am at my best when I wing it. I've been wingin' it for the last 3 weeks. Sweet.

2:32 P.M.
Out the door to get the kiddos....JUST KIDDING. Ok, Ok only some days I leave that early. :) Ok, so those days outweigh those that I stay until I'm supposed to. lol.

I'm not going to put a time on anything else and just let you know that it all goes downhill from there. Hopefully Trey takes a nap when we get home...I cook dinner, wash bottles, try and keep Trey from jumping from the couch to the ottoman that is halfway across the room....and basically count down the hours until daddy gets home! :)

I must say that tonight I was on my A-Game! I took Trey to get a hair cut with Emery in tow. We went to Walmart after that. I cooked dinner when I got home (recipe to follow), all dishes in the dishwasher, and I washed bottles....AND we took a walk. YES, I'M EXHAUSTED, so...off to bed I go. Hope everyone has a good week.

P.S. Ike...go away. I have plans this weekend.

T.G.I.F.!

It's Friday!!!! *Hallelujah* I am finally posting a couple of pictures ... I've been reluctant, only because they cannot live up to Sheila's pics! :) The first pic is of Trey playing with Emery, or at least playing with her toys. This pic doesn't show what he reallylikes to do with that play mat. When Emery is not on it, he likes to take his dump truck that he can ride on and pretend that is his car wash. Innovative, right? The second pic is to show how big the 'lil diva is getting, in case you were wondering she is 7 weeks today.

---

So tell me...should a 2 year old be this vocal? Yesterday, I am trying to keep Trey out of something (pretty much a 24/7 job), and he looks at me and says, "Come on Mom, please!" Now don't leave out the tone in his voice, because he knows how to inflect it to where it sounds like whining, but I pretty much thought it was hilarious.

On top of that, last night Mimi was trying to leave (which Trey wasn't approving)...Let me set the scene: I'm washing bottles in the kitchen sink, Mimi is trying to escape out the back door, and here sprints Trey thru the kitchen saying, "MIMI, GET BACK HERE, DAD-GUMMIT!" Where might he get the dad-gummit from? (please excuse me from not knowing how to spell that word!) Daddy, where does he get it? lol. I guess its better than some other options. Well, that's all for today. Happy Friday and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

P.S. I HAVE A BABYSITTER TOMORROW NIGHT. Granted its only for Trey, but that makes a HUGE difference! I get to go watch Joe's football game, key word: watch...that doesn't happen with Trey in tow (God love him). After that, it's off to a coach's party...woo hoo! I might actually get to consume an adult beverage, WATCH OUT! :) Oh yeah, and don't pay attention to the fact that I am at school right now. HA!