Funny Friday

Grayson loves to make funny faces. I almost caught one on film.... this is him laughing out loud. (ah-goo)




Brayden as a "FIRE-PIE-RICK". He couldn't decide between a fire fighter or a pirate. (Pi-rick as he calls it...aarrgggh)
Wednesday, I was driving him to school, and I turned a corner too fast (according to him) and he said "Mom, you're tipping me over!"......followed by.................."Do that again, and see what happens" while shaking his finger at me.......hhhmmmm wonder where he heard that before?



After the hurricane, we FINALLY got power and water back. Kaylee tells everyone that we have light power, computer power, AND phone power! Wow, what would we do without computer power, or phone power? Now, light power, I could probably live without....

Remodel Progress!

The tile is being laid as I type this. I am SSSOOOOO happy with the progress so far. Here are some updated pictures!

The hurricane put us in a bit of a delay. We didn't have water for 9 days, so no tile could be cut or laid. Now that the work has begun again...the end is finally in sight!

Today the counter top people are coming to draw their template. Then it takes about 2 weeks to make it and then they can install it.

The cabinets were installed this morning, and the tile guy is working so fast, I expect that he should be done with everything except the backsplash by Friday. Then, he is grouting on Saturday. Yay!! The backsplash will wait until the countertops are installed.

So, besides the countertops, all that's really left is small finishing touches!

Helmet Update

I decorated Grayson's helmet last night. I wanted to make sure it matched with almost everything. So, I decided to do a 3 shade camoflauge in blue. I think he looks adorable, but I am partial.... We had to put the (08) on the back because 8 is our lucky number, he was born in the year 2008, he had his surgery on 8/8/08 AND he is wearing his helmet in the year 2008....so it was only fitting......also Chris was always told in high school that he looked like Troy Aikman (and he is a Dallas Cowboys fan) and Troy's jersey # is 8....and 8 was the race car # of Dale Jr, although now, he is 88.....anyways.....8 is a lucky number for us.

Never in a million years would I have told you that I could paint camoflauge. I was pretty proud of myself and Chris even told me he was impressed!

(It's hard to see the difference in the 2 light colors, but it is 3 shades and easier to see in person)

Hurricane Ike ~ Will my kids ever go back to school?

Hurricane Ike tore through the coast of Galveston, TX early in the morning of 9/13/08. It continued North through our town never letting up, turned northeast and continued all the way up to Maine. We live 2.5 hours off the coast. Usually storms coming up the coast line will either die down before hitting us or miss us completely. Unfortunately, this storm did lots of damage! It ripped trees right out of the ground. It snapped 100 yr old oak trees in half! It knocked over light poles. It caused flooding. It totally destroyed houses and restaurants along the beach. It definitely made it's presence known. It was a mean storm!

My kids had no school on Friday so that everyone could prepare for the hurricane. Saturday morning, Hurricane Ike left us with no power and no water. It was BLAZIN' hot that day. Because of our remodel, we are already confined to the upstairs of our house. We were all going batty and were on top of each other....with no power......and no water. We had to get out. We drove to College Station and booked a hotel room. Air condition, a fridge that cools, microwave, running water, toilets that flush, TV......oh the TV! Not since 9/11 have I watched so much news coverage in one day. Plus, they had a pool! We had a good time, but headed back home on Sunday. Still no power. No water. At the few gas stations we passed, they had lines that stretched for miles! People getting gas for their generators...and vehicles. Most gas stations didn't even have the power so they could open, so it left people with no other choice but to wait. We stayed with some relatives who ended up getting their power back at 7pm. Oh, and they had running water too.... We grilled a lot of food from our fridge/freezer before it went bad and had quite an interesting dinner. We had hot dogs, grilled chicken breasts, french fries (cooked in foil) and corn nuggets (cooked in foil). We returned home on Monday when our power came back on. But, we still had no running water. We had filled up our bathtubs with water before the power went out..thankfully! So, we use that for flushing the toilets. School has been cancelled for the entire week! Most every one's lives have been disrupted. Businesses are closed, and power and water are considered a luxury item at this point. Neighbors and friends are all offering up showers to those who have no running water, and others are offering a place to charge laptops and cell phones to those with no electricity. We finally got our land line back on Wednesday. YAY INTERNET! I missed my Internet! My cell phone provider had a down tower in our area, so I had to go into town to use my phone, or wait until my hubs got home from work and use his. (Yep, he had to go back to work because his company had power and water, so it was business as usual for them....sorry bastards) So, for the first few days, I had no communication lines open at home. Not good when you have 3 kids!

So, here we are, almost a week after the event, and still have no running water. We have electricity, but our street is one of the few in our neighborhood who have been restored. I'm not asking why, I am just thankful for the power at our house! We have been going over to the in-laws house every night to take showers, and to wash dishes, and fill up "toilet flushin'" buckets. Thankfully, they just finished their bathroom remodel, and have a "family" shower, so we are in and out quickly and back home to our waterless house.

Most of the town, Houston, and the coast still are without power! We are thankful we have it, and a home...with a roof. We suffered no house or car damage. Others weren't so lucky. People are waiting in long lines every day for ice, bottled water, and MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) offered by FEMA. Oh, speaking of FEMA.....those retarded bastards have a 1-800 hotline for those in need of filing a claim and it actually says "We're sorry, our operators are experiencing an overwhelming amount of calls right now" (YA THINK????? We were just declared an area of natural disaster by a wonderful public speaker we call "The President") and then they refer you to their website to file your claim and then they disconnect you! INTERNET....really? Most people who need to file a claim have no computer, no power to access the computer even if they had one, or no phone line to get on the internet. Really, is this the intelligence level of our federal government? To refer people to the internet after a hurricane rips through their town, destroying their homes, and leaving them with nothing?....not even a computer. Most of these towns that were hit hard don't even have a library open in order to access a public computer. Then you also have the news reporters and radio DJ's referring people to the internet to check on school closings or POD locations where they can go get their MRE's, ice and water.......again...if they need those items...they most likely don't have a computer anymore or electricity to access the internet.....Duh!!! Just a rant and ramble about things that made no sense to me.

Every day I drive by Kaylee's school, they have updated the marquee sign with the date of when school is back in session. First, Monday..then Tuesday..then closed all week....now, closed next Monday too! Holy cow! Will the kids ever get to go back to school? Our town wasn't even close to being the hardest hit city.....but yet, here we are....going on day 7 of no school! At this rate, there will be no summer break, because they will have make up days till August!

Oh, and make note....there will probably be a baby boom 9 months from now! (not from us! We had 3 kids to keep us entertained!)

Here are some pictures of the damage left by Hurricane Ike.
http://www.chron.com/news/photogallery/Editors_Top_Pictures.html
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Hurricane-Ike/ss/events/us/091208hurricaneike#photoViewer=/080918/480/108026dafabd40b4a0dc8d61e8319a40

~Grayson's New Hardware~

Grayson FINALLY got his protective helmet today. It's been quite the process getting this thing! Between all the appointments, lack of information in setting up the appts, then having the helmet made, and getting it delivered....it's been quite a trying few weeks for us. He was supposed to have it last Wednesday, they called and re-scheduled because they were having problems making it for a patient as small as him. Thursday, they rescheduled again, because it still hadn't come in. Friday, we got re-scheduled due to Hurricane Ike coming. Monday, WE had to reschedule due to Hurricane Ike damage (loss of power, phones, water, etc)...so today, he finally got it! I love this first picture...I HAD to post it, because his facial expression is so darn cute!



(The brown spot is where it was heated and adjusted, it's not a bruise)



I'll post more pictures once we get it decorated! I'm still hunting for some Dallas Cowboys stickers that will fit......
He has to wear it for 23 hours per day. 1 hour break for washing his hair, and cleaning the inside of it. He SWEATS so bad in it!

1 Month since Surgery!

It has been a little over 1 month since Grayson had his surgery. (5 weeks today) Here are some before and after pictures. He is healing up so well! His scab has almost completely come off, and his stitches are falling out as they dissolve. He makes me proud! I am so amazed at how tough he is. It took me that long to recover from my C-section, and that was (in my opinion) not as invasive of a surgery as his was. You'd never guess he even had surgery, if it weren't for the scar on his head!

Week 1 of the remodel is over!

So, we are done with week 1! The guys took today off due to Hurricane Ike approaching. They'll be back Monday, weather permitting, to finish working. Here are a few pictures of my new bar. It's just waiting on countertops now.








Cabinets didn't come in yet, so they haven't moved the fridge yet.
I guess Monday they will work on moving the fridge since the cabinets and tile won't come in till Thursday.
1 week down......
just a few to go!

Remodel- Day 2 of demolition

So, my downstairs is totally destroyed, but seeing the progress, I am starting to see some improvements already, and I like what I see. I love the open-ness of the kitchen and the dining room now!

(the bar from the left side of my dining room)

(see how it's squared off now? It used to be "C" shaped with arches)

(Our new post replacing the 3 arches and center posts)

(Our bar from the old breakfast area)

(Looking in from the pantry in my kitchen)

(more of the kitchen from the breakfast area)

(The floor in my dining room, no carpet!)

(The floor in my old breakfast area, no linoleum!)

(The bar, kitchen and old breakfast area, photo taken from the dining room)

(My entry way)

Thursday, the cabinets are coming and the fridge is moving.
Friday, the sink is coming, cabinets installed, and countertop decking is put on.
Monday, countertop people are coming to draw the template (depending I guess on hurricane Ike's status then)
Tuesday and Wednesday more construction, floor prep, etc..
Thursday- tile is coming!!!!
Friday-?? Tile installed on floor throughout the bottom floor, fireplace, and kitchen backsplash.

Brayden Turns 3 !!!!!!

Brayden turned 3 last week!

We had his birthday party on Labor Day Weekend. We threw him a "Thomas the Train" themed party. He had sooo much fun. So did all the kids actually.

I bought all my kids matching train conductor outfits for the day. This was Brayden's, Grayson's picture is on his "10 Weeks old" post, and Kaylee had capri's with a white tee. (and a gangster cap??)

I rented a pint size version of Thomas the Train, and the kids all had fun riding for an hour! I gave each child a train whistle, and a conductor hat upon boarding the train. Even some Mommy's and Daddy's rode the train!

(Aunt Kay and her girls, Kate and Karis)

(Brayden's "girlfriend" Hadley from Pre-School sat next to him on this ride)

(Daddy rode with Brayden in the front car)

(Cousins on both sides~ Madison and Kate)

(Brayden had SOO much fun riding the train, he smiled the entire time)

(how many kids can fit in each car?)

(Stephanie and Preston rode together and so did Enzo, Fransesca and their Daddy, Hiurick)

(Uncle Shannon rode with his kids Madison and Bryce, and Kaylee and Heston hopped on too)

(Colleen kept the kids in the caboose safe!)

(Brayden waves HI from the middle car)

(Kate looks relaxed, huh?)

(Jeff even took a turn with his boys and a couple of girls hitched a ride too)

I made the adults tuna and chicken salad sandwiches, and the kids had PBJ sandwiches made into the shapes of trains

We also had pretzels, chips, veggies and fruit, and some yummy dips.

Chris made some awesome labels for the food in the shape of trains to let everyone know which dip was which.

The Train cake

Brayden blows out his candle

Karis enjoyed the cake a LOT!!!

Kaylee put icing on her nose!

Fransesca enjoys some cake and ice cream.

Brayden knows how to eat cake the right way!!!

Then, we had the family out after this party was over for cake and ice cream. I made his cake for this gathering.

Not quite as fancy as the store bought cake, but it tasted yummy none the less!

He blew out the candle, and then he opened all his gifts from both parties. It was soo cute when he would finish opening a gift, he would hold his hands up and say..."Who's nother one from?" and get the next present...too adorable!

(This was a gift from Grams, and we wrapped it to make it look like Percy, Brayden's favorite train)






And, as if this post didn't have quite enough pics on it here are a few more of his birthday pics taken at JC Penney.


And finally, his picture taken by the back door, compared to last years...to see how much he has grown up!!!! (He's taller than the lock now)