Skeeter Killings

Apparently our homeowner's association agrees with my plan to destroy them all. We heard the big mosquito sprayer circling our neighborhood last night. Ah, the fresh inhalation of mass quantities of toxic bug killer.

Be gone!

Thanks, TJ

I am certain that TJ is responsible for getting our power back up. If I hadn't have moved whatever sparse cold groceries I had left over to her house, and if she hadn't gone through the trouble to set up MM's room for us to move in, and her neighbor hadn't set up the painfully cumbersome Pack N Play for Anna, I am sure we'd not have gotten power back tonight. On the other hand, it was fun hanging out with them again this evening. Sort of like family. It made me wonder why we don't do it more often, since they're just down the street! Life just takes over.

Back to my smug, comfy, powerful home now. Where I wish Paul would change the channel so I don't have to hear Bush blame "some" others for the current economic crisis. "The Market is not functioning properly..."

I must stop watching. Now. Let's watch Ghost Hunters instead, please?

Powerless

Paul called me to tell me TJ called and said our neighborhood is without power.

My God, not the ice cream birthday cake.

Using JSC's liberal leave policy this week, I rushed home to a reminder that my garage door opener cannot possibly function without power, and Z still has my house key. All windows locked, well that's a good thing. I went two blocks down to TJ's house to get my key from her (I have keys all over Houston, except on my own key ring), and by the time I got two blocks back to my own house, she'd had power but I did not.

I got halfway through eating the good stuff off the cake when I realized I could have brought it to work or shared it with TJ and the kids. Eh. The rest of the cake went down the drain. Thank goodness it wasn't a Ben & Jerry's cake. That would have been a tragic loss.

Why TJ now has power and we don't is beyond my comprehension. TJ said she thought naturally to call the power company to see what the situation was. Hahaha, what could the situation possibly be, Houston?

Damn you, Ike.

Darned skeeters!

Sorry, baby, despite my best efforts, you were silently attacked yesterday by mosquitos who were probably hiding out in the piles of debris all along the roads during our walk yesterday. You just wanted to go "outside, outside" so badly, I couldn't say no. Bug repellent was everywhere but on your face and hands (for the sake of rubbing it into your eyes) and this morning when you woke I up could see that's exactly where they got you. You didn't even tell me about it DURING the attacks. You just were so apparently happy to watch the trees blowing in the breeze while holding my hand going down the street, exclaiming happily over and over, "ousie, ousie", that you didn't even notice they bit you. And if you did notice it, you didn't tell me. Despite my careful watch for them during our walk, you have about 5 bites on your beautiful little face, and a huge whelp on the back of your hand. Plus 2 on your wrist. You were just getting over the bites on your arms from austin.

I hate them. They must all DIE. I must develop a plan.

Day 2 of normalcy

It isn't obvious to me that Ike even really touched JSC. The clean up crew that was out here last week did an outstanding job cleaning things up and making things safe for the NASA workers like me to return this week. Just a few trees with Caution Tape around them. I love this place.

I am so lucky to have the job I've worked for my whole life with NASA. Especially in times like this, when NASA puts family first, we don't have to worry about pay loss when running for our lives, and if anyone should need anything, the NASA family is ready to go to help you. Dont' get me wrong, NASA is still part of the Executive Branch of the US government, and so by nature, has had its blunders and drama. But I think Hurricane Rita was a great dry-run for us (and for all of Houston) and so I feel like Ike went as smooth as possible for my NASA friends and my family.

Even our neighborhood has done its part to show its pride in cleaning up the area starting the day after the storm. Below is a pic I took this morning on my run. It's not the worst house, nor a house with less damage. Just a house with some roof damage and debris. But a snapshot of our neighborhood anyway.

Anna-Marie was not too happy to go back to school today. Surprise! Even before Ike, she was hit or miss with clinging at drop-off, even though her teachers tell me she is happy all day. Her separation anxiety set in when she hit 1 year old and was moved up to the Toddler I room, away from her friends and familiar teachers. Well, change is hard, and then summer hit, when her now newly familiar Toddler I teachers took vacations and staff was shuffled around. Separation anxiety level raised. Now with the start of the new school year, she has moved up to Toddler II with yet new friends and teachers. She was just starting to adjust when Ike threw her for a loop. And apparently the other Toddlers too after their extended absence from routine at school.

Otherwise, Anna was very cheerful and sweet this morning. She's still sleeping in till a little after 8, even with a 7:30-8:00pm bedtime. I am not sure what to think of this yet. On one hand, it gives me more time to get dressed in the morning while she's sleeping. On the other, we're rushed to get out the door in time for me to be to work at a decent hour! I would love it on the weekends. But I guess we'll see how long it lasts and how it all goes.

Back to work

Going back today. I miss JSC!

Thanks, Ommom...

For the outstanding coverage of our clinic damage and the post-Ike occurrences from our shared point of view. Click here to read about it.

Wow, open for separation anxiety!

We got a call that Anna's glorious day care is open for business, starting tomorrow. That is amazing, since they just got power back this weekend! But it is a relief for us, providing another path to normalcy. But I can't help but wonder how many of Anna's little peers are going to give their parents and teachers grief with separation anxiety, which peaks at 18 months, because of the "new normal" these toddlers have had over the past week. No doubt they love their classes, with all the outdoor play and music and art and toys beyond what we have here at home. But I can't help but think it will be especially hard for Anna to let go of us at the door when we arrive at her classroom.
I think this because I think it will be tough for most of us. Although we are looking for normalcy here again, momentum is powerful when you have fogotten the stress and routine of everyday, predictable life that was pre-hurrication. I am looking forward to jumping back into my work, but I will miss my friends, my toddler, and my husband. It's week-long get-togethers like this that make you realize how mundane-and yes, routine- your pre-Ike life was. Granted the predictability has its bonuses (like a more cooperative toddler who also sleeps more peacefully at night), but after veering off into a week of unpredictablility and no schedules, normalcy can seem a little boring. But then, once we jump back into it, momentum will set in and I will once again be comfortable with the feeling of control over my life on some level.

So I think Anna won't be the only one having a hard time saying good-bye at the door to her classroom. We are keeping her with us till Tues. Separation anxiety on both sides here, I guess.

They're just paper towels

I want to clean my house. I have one roll of paper towels here. I want to clean my windows with it. Should I use them on such a silly thing, or save them, not knowing when the grocery stores that are open will stock them again? And whoe cares, it's not like you can live off paper towels if it were the last thing on Earth. They're just paper towels.

This is all silly, and way too dramatic. Ofcourse, use the paper towels. I have a feeling things aren't as doom and gloom around Clear Lake City as the media makes it out to be. I haven't had time yet to venture out to the grocery stores to see what's available but it looks like our neighborhood Kroger is up again so maybe tonight after we put Anna to bed according to her usual routine and time, I'll mosey on over to see what they're selling.

I am sure they'll have paper towels....and even if they didn't, Paul said Lowes's has pallets and pallets of them.

Still, with the little vacuum we've lived in that has been hurricane IKE for the last week, I find myself pouring just the amount of milk I think Anna may drink so as not to waste any that we may regret when we can't find a grocer with cold milk nearby. Who cares, I bought plenty from Austin plus some milk that doesn't even need refrigeration and has an expiration date past next year's hurricane season. Still, it's a little voice that tells me to use things sparingly. Whether it's too dramatic and unrealistic, I'll determine when I arrive at Kroger tonight. I am sure it's just me being way too dramatic. It's really not the end of the world here, seriously folks.

Am I wrong? I don't know, I haven't really been out much. In the short trips I have gone out, I have noticed some power still not on (the clinic got power back today!) and some fallen trees and blue tarps over some roofs. But nothing like dead cows in trees or overturned cars. It so far looks just like a really bad storm.

But the people in the other end of our cul de sac has so much damage, they can't live in the house.

On the other hand, lots of businesses are open and functioning as usual. So I guess it's situational. Paul and CM are cleaning up the clinic right now so he can open doors on Monday.

Anna is napping. And my baseboards are clean.

There's no place like home

We made it safely back to Houston last night, to find the guys had cleaned up the yards and not too much seemed out of place for us. TJ pointed out the fact that Houston looked weird at night without lights. The groceries we brought from Austin survived the trip. We just didn't know when we'd get cold grocery supplies here in Houston (and still don't) so we stocked up and brought it back with us.

OM will now never, ever forget his ABC's and Anna now knows them all by heart.

Anna mercifully slept until 8:45AM this morning, and thus did we. She's become quite the night owl with this trip, which is very opposite her usual schedule, which finds her sleeping in bed by 7:30-8:00pm (apparently out of boredome). There has been too much fun every evening for such early nonsense. Last night she even made it till 10PM. She has been crying in her sleep during the trip, and last night, even in her own bed, same story. She cried out for her "PACI, PACI" at 1:32am and I went up to help her find it. It dawned on me at that point what a real security object her paci is. I think there's been so much lack of routine and structure lately, although she doesn't get the paci during the day, she knows that at night she can count on it. Anyway, I am looking forward to getting some kind of routine back, at least for her sake. It won't start tonight, though, since it's Z's 30th birthday and dinner starts at 8pm!

For MY 30th birthday, our same evacuee crew evacuated to Louisiana for Rita, which ultimately turned and hit Louisiana (incuding us). But it was still a pretty fun 30th birthday because I was with friends and family. HAPPY HURRICANE RECOVERY BIRTHDAY, Z!

I am going nowhere near the scale based on the personal knowledge of sheer junk I ate during the hurrication.

Anna's bacterial cesspool that is her sinuses is improving. In fact, after over 2 weeks, no runny nose today. I know the use of antibiotics is controversial, but it was overcome by the necrotic-smelling mess that was our daughter. It was obvious the infection was just stewing in her sinuses and it was more than she or I could stand. In trying to at least be responsible antibiotic users on some level, we will run the full course of antibiotics (if you haven't heard, antibiotic resistance is the hot topic). We are greatful that she thinks taking medicine is yummy, which means no fight. Whew.

But she hasn't really been herself in the past few days. Again, not sure if it's due to the lack of structure, or if it's because the terrible month 18 is upon us. We are expecting with this milestone that all of the bull-headed independence is coming, so we are bracing for it. We have seen it more in the last few days than ever. We are trying to lay boundaries while still letting her "learn". By nature, she is cautious and even seems to have an inherent understanding of right and wrong. Mostly, she is obedient without a fight. But lately we have noticed that our baby is now actually a little person, who likes to talk to us, push our buttons, do her own stunts, and let us know what she is thinking. She plays with the older kids like she's one of them. She has run through the house happily screeching at something hilarious to her. At what? Is this a glimpse of what's coming, or is this a result of the past week of vacation? It's not a bad thing, per se. Just another level I need to get ready for!

No, you can't stay up past 8.
No, you can't run around the house with your food. Eat at the table.
No, you can't stay in your poopy diaper. Come here. Now.
No, you must hold my hand while walking on the sidewalk.
NO!
NO!
NO!

I have to figure out ways to ease up.

No drama in my yard

Paul, CM, and LW made it home. LW had no damage and no power. CM had some yard damage, and a fence down, and our only damage was to some of the trees in our yard. CM and our house got power this morning at 2am. Not sure about LW yet, or Z and C for that matter! TJ and I will be headed back to Houston tomorrow afternoon with the kids after a full week's stay here with my mom. It was a very nice and comfortable stay, and felt quick! But I will be looking forward to getting back into a familiar routine...of some sort. JSC doesn't open again till Monday. We haven't heard when Anna's day care will open. Paul's clinic is still without power. There was some damage, strangely, to an inside wall that looked like something banged up against it somehow. Also strangely, some inside ceiling tiles came down, but no water inside. All equipment is good, and no flood damage, so WHEW! We will have to figure out what route to go to fix that wall, though. At least it won't stop the clinic from re-opening when power is back. People are already calling Paul for appointments! In the meantime, we wonder if we have any insurance that might help recover the week of lost income? Hmmm...

Southwest actually called to cancel my flight to DC, as if to validate the decision I made to not go.

Above are some pics Paul sent us from home. Fortunately they're not dramatic. If you want dramatic, try:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1088&tstamp=200809

More details here: http://www.ommom.blogspot.com/

In the meantime, our little snot-maker has a sinus infection. I thought I'd better get it checked out here in Austin before we go back to Houston, when who knows when she could see her doc. The doc here was super nice. It was a walk-in clinic, where the only other patients were all evacuees like us. Except they all lost some significant property in the flood, as well as pets. It wasn't as fun as the children's museum would have been.

Thanks Sprogblog

Taken from my friend's Blog: Sprogblog, this is a neat little essay:

http://blogs.chron.com/hurricanes/2008/09/essay_houston_after_dark.html

Wish you were here...

Another day in Austin. Z and C checked on our houses and all is well! They also cleaned out our freezers, thanks Z and C!! No power back yet, and a loss of all of the goodies in the freezers but the houses are good. Yay! Paul, C, and LW are going back to Houston tomorrow to check things out, along with TJ's cats. TJ is staying with me and all our kids here in Austin till the guys tell us it's more civilized to come home. Don't know when that will be. I had to cancel my trip to the Council for the Opportunity in Education conference in DC. My flight is scheduled for Wed. We were going to also meet up with ER and her family while there, but it looks like it won't happen. Bummer. LW has to work at Mission Control on Thurs. She's also still without power.

At least Anna and I are getting some fun family and friends time. TJ and I took the kids to the Austin zoo today for a few hours. The weather was nice and cool and it was a good trip!

Again, it sucks it takes a hurricane evacuation to pull us all together again.

This year's evacuation has been about Mac vs PC, hurricanes in people's bellies, Guitar Hero, and just catching up overall with friends and family. We'll miss the crew that will leave tomorrow but Tami and I will continue to enjoy our time here at my mom's.

Hurrication:Thanks Mom!

Not sure yet when we're going home but so far everyone seems to be in good spirits still. We're still in Austin and will likely go home in the next few days, or as soon as the power comes back on. Still not sure when people are returning to work/school. Z and C stayed behind in their boarded up house and Z called us last night. She said it was pretty horrible to go through: SCARY and she'd never be doing THAT again. She and C checked on our house and omom's house and we had little visible damage. In fact all we had was a few limbs down, luckily. Paul is calling the house daily to see if the answering machine picks up, which would mean we have power :) In the meantime we are keeping up with the Centerpoint Energy restoration website.

We may check out some locall stuff to do in Austin while we're here. We may as well make it a vacation with our friends, who once we're in Houston, we're all too busy to match up schedules with!

Better than Soap Operas

Don't use my tax dollars

If you didn't leave when they told you to, and you could have, you should be charged for your own evacuation drama. Don't charge my tax dollars or risk someone else's life trying to save yours.

Already 160 rescue calls and the storm isn't even ashore yet.

Fox News: "Galveston residents MAY Face Certain Death" Maybe certainly.

She just couldn't sleep in the car...

We decided to go to Austin, mostly because we were thinking about the potential downed roadways on the return back to Houston from Lafayette, which could see more damage than the route coming home from Austin. So here we are at my mom's! We have the same crew of evacuees from Rita: TJ/CM and their kids and LW. Good crew! :) It took us almost 8 hours to get to Austin, when it otherwise takes us about 3. There was lots of traffic from Katy to Columbus. We saw that coming, even though Houston Transtar said it was pretty much all "green" (we knew better). We stopped at a Whataburger to eat at around 11pm, and they were handling the evacuee in-rush really well. We left Houston at around 6:45pm and arrived at my mom's at almost 2am. THANKS MOM!

Anna didn't sleep much in the car because she just couldn't get comfy in the car seat. Once here she had a tough time sleeping because she was so spun up. She got overall about 6hrs of sleep as opposed to her usual 12, and Paul and I are on about 4 hours of sleep. Whew!

We are very comfy here. Though I am regretful I forgot to remove the yogart and biscuits and stuff I left in my frigde. That won't be fun to come home to! Maybe that's all the damage we'll get :)

We are evacuating (mandatory) but not sure where to yet...

Our family and friends will meet up at 2pm this afternoon to discuss plans and make a group decision.

OK, so maybe it's not so rediculous

http://www.stormpulse.com/ is also an excellent site.

Really, Houston? All boarded up.

A house in our neighborhood.