Kids are bored....no school until Wednesday!

Well Rita has gone bye bye.  A few trees down, that's about it.  Glad we only got the tail of the storm.  We were left without power until last night....and boy did it get hot.  Most family tried to make it here 3 times, but the traffic and gas situation would not allow them to get here, so they stayed with another sister of mine who lives about an hour away.  My brother in law made it.  He passed a kidney stone while he was here....poor guy.

What a sight to see with the traffic and abandoned cars all over.  Our town became a ghost town and trash was everywhere from people throwing stuff out of their cars.  If anything good has come out of this it's probably the bonuses grocery store managers are going to get for exceeding their quarterly quota.  *joking....but true*.

I have family in Beaumont, Nederland, China TX, Port Arthur, Lake Charles, LA.  Some stayed, most didn't.  Haven't heard from everyone yet, but those that left are not allowed back until further notice.  We don't know the extent of the damage yet.  A cousin of mine is on the City Counsel and works with one of the energy companies.  He said it isn't safe and the town is a mess.  My cousin in Lake Charles stayed at the hospital where she worked.  We're not sure where her son and husband are.  She had two trees fall into her house but not sure of other damage yet.  We're trying to get her to come down here, that is if she can get out.  My Dad's going to have a house full for a while since the family has no place to live right now.

Things I'm going to do/get to be better prepared for a hurricane:

1. get a generator

2. clean out my craft closet and turn it into an area for emergency retreat and items....for quicker access (don't know what I'm going to do with the craft stuff yet)

3. buy more rechargeable batteries, and battery operated fans

4. Get push lights

5. possible window box unit

THE CRAZINESS.......THE PANICK.......

Well this has been one crazy week.  My youngest came down with strep, then my daughter came down with it.  School was canceled for Thursday and Friday due to the hurricane coming in.  (of course the kids are happy about it) I went to the store to pick up my kids prescriptions and the shoppers were really panicked.  They were rushing around grabbing whatever they could get their hands on.  

For a second there I felt like I was in supermarket sweeps.  I was shocked.  When I left the store I noticed the gas lines were extremely long, people were loading up their horses, boats etc.  The gas station guy was freaking out.  Lots of craziness going on.  Today I had to stop by Walmart.  It was worse.  People were grabbing, and pushing their shopping carts down each isle as if it were a race.  Dodging shopping carts was a big deal, but I came out of it without a scratch......can't say that for others. 

As for me I'm staying here.  The winds are expected to reach about 100 mph since we are 82 miles inland.  We're up on a hill so we don't have to worry about the water.  Of course if we feel at anytime we need to leave, then we will.  My dad, a sister and her family and their animals are coming to stay with us since the town they live in has a mandatory evacuation.  The news was saying a trip from Galveston to Huntsville was taking 14 hours....the trip would usually take 1 hr and 40 minutes.  We are watching a couple of cats for my sons friend so they can leave for Austin.  Now my pup keeps getting sick...hmm, not sure why.  If everyone's able to get here then not only will we have a house full, but we will have 6 dogs, 4 cats, 2 rats, a turtle, and some fish to deal with.  Well, I always did say my house was a zoo.

NEVER MIND THE COFFEE...I'm awake now

So I woke up early this morning (5:45 am on a Saturday morning....now that's early), I had to take my daughter to a District School event, then I came home and left 30 minutes later to take my oldest son to his practice.  I thought to myself I can't believe I'm still doing this after all these years, and appreciating how my teenagers will soon have their license and be able to take themselves places.  Now I know the chauffeur thing isn't going to stop anytime soon with my youngest involved in activities.....just having a lighter load seems refreshing at the moment. 

When I got home I made myself a green tea and sat in front of the TV.  While flipping through channels I stopped on CNN which caught my attention as they were picturing missing children.  I noticed they have names of children some with pictures, some with out-dated pictures, and some with no picture at all.  Some pictures shown but the age was unknown.  Now how can someone not know the age of the child missing?????   This really got me to thinking, *sometimes this could be a scary thing*, as I can rant and ramble on about this and probably still never be satisfied.  I guess those school pictures, *as hideous as they usually are* are worth getting.  Seeing as I don't carry around all the pictures I take of my kids....but the school ones are always with me.  I listen to the stories being told by the survivors.  It just breaks my heart, but I can't stop watching and listening to their stories.  I see people at the grocery store, gas station, church, mall and I feel compelled and drawn to them willing to listen if they want to tell their story....they deserve that.  Words are powerful, but I still can't imagine what some of the families are going through......I just don't think it has really caught up with some. 

You know I worry if my kids get home late, forget their cell phone, play sports, take a walk, jog, ride a bike, or if they're on the bus traveling with school stuff.  So I guess everything has been put into perspective for me today....I am so glad and thankful that I had to get up at 5:30 am this morning (Saturday) to take my kids to their activities.

Rae`

Well it's Wednesday already.  I missed writing in my log yesterday cuz I didn't know what to say.  By the time I was ready to write something my kids were on the computer, so I went to my room and laid on my bed to watch tv, before I knew it I was asleep.  I was feeling yuk due to allergies.  Kids made fun of me saying I was sawing a log (snoring)....I figured they're just picking on me cuz I know when I saw logs I wake myself up......come to think of it, I did wake up a few times. 

So this morning the drama all began with my youngest.....he says he's going to starve because the only peanut butter we have is crunchy and not smooth.........so I told him to pick out the nuts.  *he didn't think that was funny*.  I made him a bacon sandwich....he griped a little, so I told him to get glad where he got mad from.  He gave me the look.  I gave him the look.  I told him to make a ham or turkey sandwich, he said he'll just eat the bacon even though it will be cold.  GEEZ!  I felt like giving him the be thankful for what you have talk .......then wouldn't you know it, the dog (puppy) came into the house all covered in mud, you would of thought she was digging a hole for a pool or something.  She ran toward me, *I jumped out of the way*, she ran into the wall, ran over the cat, into the trash can, and toward my son to give him a big slimy kiss.  So much chaos.  To make a long story short, my son forgot about being grouchy.....but then had to go change clothes before the bus came.