Naptimes...

I think there could be a country song written about naptimes with two-year-olds. Seriously.

"It's been a long day waiting
For the carpet man to show
And you've played unceasing
Now to bed you must go

Oh please shut your blue eyes
They are ever so tired
No, it's not a surprise
So please quit acting so wired..."

I never claimed to be a songwriter. Clearly.

As you can tell, it's been a battle over naptime today. Not just with Caleb - with Logan as well. Please forgive me for taking a bit of my frustrations out on this post! I think I just needed to make light of this situation! I know there are many other things out there to worry about and fret over, but today this has really gotten the best of me.

Oh, and the carpet man finally did come to give us an estimate on replacing the carpet pad in Logan's room. It was smelling a bit, shall we say, 'funky' after we finished with the ceiling repairs - and upon pulling up the carpet, a nice wet spot was calling the carpet pad home. Great. So, before we have a fuzzy colony taking residence in his floor, we're getting rid of the wet pad.

I'm sure you wanted to know that. It made your day, didn't it?

Off to calm a crying baby who refuses to take his nap...

I feel weird doing this...

Oh, no - I don't feel weird about my haircut at all. I love it! I love that I have seven (SEVEN!) inches less of my insanely thick hair to dry, style, wrangle and wrestle every day. What I'm not so thrilled about is seeing my own face on here. Maybe it's because there are few pictures of me as the central focus, but I hardly recognize myself in a picture anymore. Like when these were taken today, I had to pause and think to myself, "Is that what I really look like now?" I look so much older and just flat-out different than what I picture myself as in my wee little brain. (I'm sure I'll want to pinch myself for saying that in another 30 years, but oh well) Isn't it funny how you can look at yourself in a mirror, but then see a picture of yourself and think you look so different? Or is that just me?
I really try to not get caught up in how the outward appearance comes across, but I do have to confess that after today's haircut, I felt so, so good - and I hadn't realized the degree to which I wasn't 'feeling good' before that. I felt like the mom at the end of those Suave hair product commercials that tote "90% of moms feel like they've let themselves go...but 100% can get themselves back."

I'm trying to find my way back - new haircut, new workout, new Bible study - back to a better me. The me that my Lord has called me to be. The me that is content in my own skin. All three of my guys deserve that, and maybe I do too.

Gender lines clearly drawn...

Setting: kitchen table, at lunchtime. Eating turkey and cheese sandwiches.

Mom: Caleb, what are you doing?

Caleb: (picking apart his sandwich) I no like turkey. Turkey not for Cabub.

Mom: Why is turkey not for you?

Caleb: (discarding turkey on the table next to his plate) It's icky.

Mom: Why is turkey icky? I think it's yummy.

Caleb: Turkey is for girls. (great emphasis on the word 'girls')

Mom: (swallowing laughter and choking on sandwich) Is that right? I didn't know that. What do you eat, then?

Caleb: (looking at me like "duh, mom...") CHEEEEESE!! Cheese is for kids. Not turkey.

Apparently, girls aren't kids. I'm so glad I'm clear on that now! This also explains why he'll eat ham, but not turkey. What an imagination that one has!

The joys of being the only 'girl' in the house...

At least we learned what Not to do...

Poor Ryan.*

Hurricane Ike left us with a leak in our roof. Well, I say a leak - what happened is the casing around one of the pipes that vents out through our roof was damaged somehow, possibly by something flying through the air in the 70+mph winds that occurred sometime between 4:30 and 9:30am last Saturday, September 13th. Anyhow, that allowed the major rains we received both Saturday and Sunday of last weekend an entry to our home, so the water collected above Logan's ceiling and found it's way through the sheetrock onto his floor.

Which means we had a leak, in my professional opinion.

Last Saturday, Ryan climbed up on the roof to caulk and re-seal that vent pipe, and Sunday and Monday were spent cleaning out the insulation in the attic over Logan's room, cutting a 4'x8' slab of wet sheetrock out of the ceiling, and measuring (and re-measuring, and repeating again just for good measure) before cutting a new piece of sheetrock. The dust that stuff will put out is not my friend. It coats everything!

You should have seen Ryan, my dad, and I as we wrestled with a big piece of drywall, trying to put it up on the ceiling. After about the fourth time it fell (fortunately, it was caught and saved each time - once by Ryan's head) it became almost comical. One of those situations where you either laugh or you cry...and being that two out of the three of us were male, laughter was the road we took.

Tuesday was spent "mudding and taping" to make sure one can't tell where the new piece of sheetrock is. The construction guys around here who do that for a living really make it look a TON easier than it really is - so don't look too closely at Logan's ceiling whenever you're here!

Since we were in College Station on Wednesday through Friday for a planned recruiting trip for Ryan's office, we got back to business yesterday priming and trying to re-create the texturing on the ceiling. MUCH easier said than done! I guess like many craftsmen, the guys who paint and texture new homes around here have their own 'signature' way of doing things... so after about 4 different trips to two local Home Depots, I think we may have found a winner. Just a couple coats of paint, and it should be all done!

At any rate, my handyman husband and I have learned quite a bit about putting in sheetrock. Mainly, we learned that we don't want to do it again! Also, I don't think I ever would have known that the type of brush used to do the texture is called a "stomp".



*Yeah.... Last night, Ryan came home from his third trip to Home Depot with a bag of texturing powder marked "Popcorn Texture". (Our ceiling is thankfully not the popcorn texture. Hello '70s and '80s!) We had already tried using a spray type of texture on the ceiling with the stomp, but it just didn't look 'texturey' enough to us, so that's what prompted the trip to H.D. It was late when he got back home, so we waited until this afternoon to try it out. When he poured the powder into the tray, I had to wonder if it just wouldn't work - it looked just like cottage cheese, instead of plaster-of-paris. But, knowing that Ryan likes to figure out and learn things on his own, I kept quiet. I couldn't stay silent when it looked like he was ready to start putting it on the ceiling, so I asked him if the "popcorn" could be sifted out. Poor guy - he had to stomp a bit of it on some scrap sheetrock to find out for himself that the bag of texturing he bought wasn't the right kind. Hence, the last and hopefully final trip to H.D. for a while! We had so hoped to be done with this little project long ago - but it's been one learning process after another!

Guess where we've been...

Calm before the storm...

A beautiful sunset before Ike's arrival, last night - Sept. 12, 2008. You can see the bands of the storm that had already made their way inland.

I just loved the colors that God used to paint the sky yesterday evening. To me, it's still His way of saying "I'll never leave you, nor forsake you."

Ike's left town...

And we're all OK. Just a minor leak in the ceiling of Logan's room, which a small sheetrock job can hopefully easily repair. We were without power from about 4am to 2:30 this afternoon. Right now, my folks and Ryan's parents are still without power, and since their electricity isn't run underground like ours it may be quite a while before it's restored to their areas.

It was a long night and morning, but everyone is safe. Praise the Lord for his shield of protection around our area! There was a lot of damage to many places around Houston and Galveston, so please continue to pray for relief, rescue, and rebuilding efforts. The worst has passed...

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!

Pictures soon to come of last night's "Ike Sunset"...

Oh, Ike...

Mr. Ike is knocking at our door. The winds, which have been very calm all morning (and it's been so oppressively hot and humid!) are starting to pick up. The sky is starting to cloud over. We're already getting a bit of cabin fever. :)

I pulled this satellite picture off of NOAA's website just a little while ago. I am so amazed at the girth of this monstrous storm! Even though Ike is one big dude, we still have much to be thankful for:

• He hasn't re-organized to become a higher category storm after stomping over Cuba - in fact, it's now doubtful that Ike will even be a Category 3 before making landfall.
• The projected track has shifted a tiny bit further to the east, which is good for us - we are now on the 'dry' side (we'll still get a ton of rain and winds, but not to the degree that our neighbors to the east will). However, the eye is still projected to go straight over Galveston, the Houston Ship Channel, and downtown Houston. There will be serious damage.
• Evacuation procedures have been carried out very well, exceeding expectations. Most residents in the mandatory evacuation areas have heeded advice to secure their homes and leave, and there have been very few traffic issues with folks leaving town. It was a much different story on that end three years ago with Hurricane Rita!

My headache is currently telling me that the atmospheric pressure is starting to drop...I think I have a barometer for a brain! It should be a very interesting next 24 hours!

Oh - thought this was funny... Ike is here this weekend, and Tina Turner concert tickets go on sale Monday.

Batton down the hatches...

Or is it "batten"? Somebody please help me. I probably should have looked that up before typing it for the whole world, or the five of you who read this, to see!

(Edited to add - It is "batten"!! Thanks, Dennis!)

Ike looks like he is headed straight for us. At the 10 o'clock news, the eye of the storm is (currently) predicted to pass almost overhead once he comes onto land.

Three years ago, we went through this same exact scenario with Hurricane Rita. At this same exact point in time before the storm made landfall, she was predicted to pass directly over us - as a Category 5 hurricane. However, we woke up the next morning to find the storm prediction powers-that-be had shifted her landfall to our east, which put us on the "dry" or "clean" side of the storm.

(Note to folks who don't have to worry about hurricanes: if you are located on the east side of a hurricane's eye, you are on the "wet" or "dirty" side because that is characteristically where all the nastiest storms are located. The opposite is true if you are located to the west side of the storm - you generally get a bunch of wind, and a good rainshower here and there, but usually not the flooding and general chaos that accompanies the dirty side.)

The part of me that used to want to become a meteorologist (that lasted for all of a year in college) actually wants to be in the eye of a hurricane. Could you imagine the calm? The pictures? Yes, I would go outside and view it all through my Nikon. I still find storms fascinating, usually from a distance. Just ask my folks (and Ryan too) - I'm the biggest wimp when it comes to thunder and the threat of tornados!

However, when it comes right down to it, I'd be OK if Ike left us on his dry side, like Rita kindly did. Or, even more selfishly, if he would just simmer down to a Category 1 or Tropical Storm (yeah right...but it could happen, I guess!).

At any rate, our cars both have full gas tanks and tomorrow morning as soon as the boys have breakfast we're going to brave Wal-Mart for a few more little necessities that could take us through the weekend and into next week, if need be. You know, like formula, bananas, batteries, and chocolate chips. The necessities.

I guess with hurricanes, the best part is having the ability ahead of time to prepare, and the knowledge that the track the storm is taking could always shift away from you until it hits. But, the worst part is knowing that someone, somewhere, will have to deal with this furious storm.

Morning light...

The Brio Train that Ryan and his brother, Eric, had as children has been put to excellent use for the second generation of train enthusiasts. It's occupied our dining room floor for several weeks now, and Caleb regularly plays with the cars and tracks.

On any given morning, I might wake up (around 6:45) to the sounds of a faint "choo-choo" and the clink of little boxcar wheels. Such was the case this morning. I love that Caleb can entertain himself for a while in the mornings so that I can get dressed, put in my contacts, brush my teeth...you know, become a 'human'. I am not a morning person, so those sweet little sounds are a great way for me to start the day.

Even after breakfast today, Caleb wanted to drive his trains. Little brother Logan had to get in on the action, too - much to Big Brother's frustration. He doesn't take too kindly to Logan messing with his tracks...because it's a guarantee that the bridge Caleb carefully crafted is soon to tumble with Lo-lo on the loose!
But this morning, Logan was much more entertained by the bright sunlight coming through our front door. So was I.Is that my child? The one with the cheeks that go on for days?? My gracious.

This past weekend probably marked the end of the swimming season for us. Fortunately, we were able to go just this once with Dad/Ryan. Caleb is becoming more and more at ease in the pool, especially with his water wings on! I look forward to summers ahead where we can spend all morning at the pool - me with a book or three, the boys playing Marco Polo or Sharks and Minnows, and Ryan joining us more than once in a swim season.

We'd love to go again - maybe postponing the 'one last time' declaration - this weekend, but our eye is on the weather as Hurricane Ike just might pay us a visit. We've been spared from Edouard (Eddie) and Gustav (Gus-gus), so maybe Ike will take a hike in another direction as well. The downside to that thought is that someone else will have to bear the brunt of that storm - and I do hope it's not our neighbors in Louisiana again.

But, we've got water wings just in case! And we're not afraid to use them (anymore).

Rejoicing...

Congratulations are in order for our friends, Jordan and Drew Remke, on today's birth of their new daughter! Way to go, y'all - she's an absolute gorgeous addition to an amazing family!! Sayla joins her sister Keadryn in a house full of love and laughter, and abounding in the joy of the Lord!

Many blessings to you all as you adjust to life with a family of four!

Thankful Thursday...Caleb's edition

I've been a bit lax lately in posting Thankful Thursdays, and so here is one for today. It's a bit different than normal - instead of listing 'things' I'm thankful for, I've decided to spill a bunch of thoughts on why I'm thankful for our oldest boy, Caleb.

Dear Cabee...

Your dad and I are so blessed to have you in our lives. I'm sure one day you will hear the story, but we had a bit of trouble even getting to the point of having you! You were certainly covered in prayer from a time way before you even existed in me. Our Lord is good - He knows the perfect time for all things to happen, and He allowed us to find out you were on your way the week before Father's Day, 2005...and blessed us with your arrival on February 13, 2006.

From your very first days, you have made Dad and I smile, laugh, and shake our heads at the things you do. From sticking your paci out the side of your mouth and grinning, to naming the same paci "Ta", to being very particular about where your belongings have to go, to having almost an obsession about clean hands, to your enormously long eyelashes (which I'm a bit jealous of!), to your infectious giggle, to the way you used to wear a ballcap way back on your head and now you wear it over your eyebrows, to the way you line up your matchbox cars, to your love of music and sports, to your attachment to Bear and Cloud Blanket...you are one amazing kiddo.

You're so smart, too. It doesn't take more than once or twice for you to pick up on something, whether it's a new word or action. You have the memory of an elephant, and can remember where every train track is in town (among other things). You remember people and places, and you especially remember dogs! You figure out how to work items like the DVD player, VCR, iPOD, and your alarm clock all on your own - much to our combined amusement and frustration. You have such an inquisitive mind, and you use it well.

Caleb, you've been an incredible source of joy for me. Thank you for making me laugh on a daily basis. Thank you for your love and trust. Thank you for your sweet smile and playfulness. Thanks for being "you", because that's all that you know to be. I hope and pray that doesn't ever change.

I love you, Bug.

Mom

Nine...

Logan turned nine months old on August 28th, right before we left for Kansas. Today I took him to the pediatrician for his nine month well-baby checkup, and here are some stats and other tidbits of info on this sweet boy:

• 19 pounds, 5 ounces
• 28 inches tall
• Starting to outgrow 9-month clothing but not quite big enough for 12 month items
• Crawling like crazy - still with his right leg tucked up under him, and pushing off on his left foot. I haven't figured out how to get a video to upload on this blog, because each time I try something doesn't quite work out right. Hopefully soon I'll get it - because it's a cute sight to see!
• Loves to be wherever Caleb is playing, much to Caleb's frustration!
• Loves to point, clap, click his tongue (really, do all sorts of tricks with his tongue), be held, rock and sway side-to-side, and take baths.
• Still an easy, sweet baby boy! I am amazed that he's been here for nine months already...

There's no place like home...

Our weekend in Kansas was a blast! We had such a good time just getting away...and having a great time with family. Here are just a few pictures from our weekend...

Caleb driving a tractor just his size

Getting lots of time to play outdoors (and swinging)

Visiting the old farm and feeding bucket calves with Grandpa

Climbing gates at the old farm

Participating in the Cowpatty Shootout '08

It was my first time to ever shoot a shotgun, and it showed. I scored 4/25...

Caleb helped give out Cowpatty Awards

Ryan with Logan, me, Pop with Caleb, Gram

Logan getting lots of lovin' from cousins Anne and Katie