I'm a Better Photographer Than I Thought

As I walked around with the boys, I decided to take some pictures of something besides them. I think these turned out pretty nicely. Yay me!

I thought these were some really cool-looking trees. Neat shapes with the really blue sky.
I love the shapes of the branches. If I was any good at Photoshop, I'd get rid of the stadium in the background.

More trees. Again...I thought they looked neat against the sky.

This is one of the azalea bushes in front of my dad's house. It looks like a good close-up shot, but if you'll look closely, you'll see a bee/hornet/thing in the bottom left corner. The bush was alive with buzzing and as I tried to get closer, one of those hornets buzzed me! I backed up and used the telephoto instead. I still like the shot.

This is an American Holly tree in front of my dad's house. It's at least 50 years old. I've always loved this tree. Pulling off the berries in winter and smashing them on the ground. (Gee...wonder why I have boys!) I want one of these trees in my front yard. Wonder if I can get mine to grow this tall....

Last Full Day in Texas City

We decided to stay an extra day so that we could visit with my sister and her husband. We needed something to do, so we found another park. Nessler Park. It's been around as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, the cool rocket slide is gone--has been for a while--but the boys fell in love with the merry-go-round thing. They spent most of their time on it. Have they really never been on one? What the heck kind of mom am I? :-)

Remember these ladder-things? Yeah, video games are cool, but they don't really take the place of a good park, do they? Yay for parks!

Spring Break Texas City

We went to the Museum today. Normally the train room upstairs is only open on Saturdays, but a man was there working on them so he turned on some of the sets for the boys and explained a little bit to them. They both seemed to really enjoy it. We also walked around the downstairs. They had a quilt show—quilts hanging everywhere—so it was hard to see some of the displays. I did find a photograph display of 6th Street back in the day. I recognized a bunch of the stores, including Rock’s Five and Dime. I used to love to go in that place. It burned down when I was a kid. Mom and Dad used to play bridge with the Rocks and the Phelps (who had a men’s clothing store downtown) and the Tripletts. After the Rocks lefts, the Merediths took their spot. He had a shoe store with a really cool “automatic” foot measurer. We also looked at some of the things from the Texas City Blast. And saw some pictures from school in the late 40’s and early 50’s. There was one picture of a 3rd grade class at Roosevelt-Wilson Elementary School from 1947, I believe. There were a couple of names that sounded familiar, but the teacher was Mrs. Kelso. She was my kindergarten teacher!

After leaving the Museum, we swung by Hoffman Lumber Company to see Dad, but he’d already left. I stopped by Gus’ Barbeque to pick up some lunch for me, and then we came back to the house to eat lunch. Made sandwiches for the boys and found Dad here too. We sat around for a bit while Dad ran some errands, and then went to the parks on the Dike. The boys had a great time knocking down ant beds with their sword and dagger.

Killing ants--Rahr!

Don't leave us!!!! (Papaw was already in the car--we'd called them several times.)

This is a big anchor in front of the TC Museum. It's not from the Blast ships, but it does give a good idea of how big those pieces were.

Trains at the museum - the ferris wheel and merry-go-rounds move and make sounds.

Spring Break Galveston

Galveston Seawall rocks. (Hee hee--double meaning there.)

Galveston Seawall - this is the seawall that the storm surge overtopped during Hurricane Ike.Moody Gardens Above is the visitors center. In the visitors center is the IMAX theater. We saw the Sharks 3-D movie. It was fantastic--easily the best 3-D movies I've ever seen. There are three pyramids: the Discovery Pyramid (which, honestly, was kinda lame), the Aquarium, and the Rainforest Pyramid. The Rainforest wasn't open yet. It's scheduled to reopen at the end of April. The IMAX had just opened the Saturday before we were there. Their basement had completely flooded and they'd lost all their equipment in Hurricane Ike.

The Colonel Paddlewheel boat. It goes around the back bay area behind Moody Gardens. It's a nice easy ride.

The boys on the boat. They were pretty bored by this time. You can only watch a paddlewheel for so long. And they know better than to feed the sea gulls--unlike many of the other tourists on the boat.

Texas City Dike

The above picture is taken right at the start of Dike Road--which is just past the Seawall or leavee. Notice the little palm trees. This is facing toward Texas City, not toward the bay--for those that that means anything for. :-)

Curl's was a bit farther down the dike. If you're standing on the levee, it was on the left hand side with the other business--bait shops and such. On the right hand side was where dozens of shrimp boats would dock. At the very end of the dike was a big boat launch place.

The dike today. You can't get past the levee onto Dike Road. Well, you could probably walk out there, but the road itself is blocked and closed to cars.

Looking over this way is where the fishing and shrimp boats would normally be docked. There was also a gazebo and other pretty things this direction.

These pylons are all that is left of any of the businesses that were out here. My dad explained it best. When you look at the devastation on the bay side of the seawall and then look at the lack of devastation in town--the seawall did it's job and saved Texas City. There's literally nothing left of the dike. The waters even tore up the blacktop on the road in many places. But Texas City was relatively spared. There were a lot of downed fences and power was out for a while, but overall...it could've looked like the above pictures.

For those of us who grew up in Texas City, this is really sad. I remember going to the beach on the dike. My parents used to buy shrimp straight off the boats and bring them home to head them and then freeze them. The powers that be aren't sure when or if they'll be able to rebuild. Interestingly, people are still out there. They can't go on the dike itself, but they're fishing off the levee now. Can't use their boats or anything like that, but they're finding ways to use what they have. It's a pretty awesome, meaning "full of awe" not "wow," display of the power of nature. We think we know so much. We think we are in control. Nope. Not always. We still have a lot to learn.

Spring Break 2009

We never do anything for Spring Break, so we broke with tradition this year. The younger boys and I headed to Texas City to visit my dad and see the beach and other fun things. Once I got back, I realized I never got any pictures of the boy with their Papaw. Sheesh! But I got lots of other pictures and I'll be sharing them in separate blog posts--probably by date, but maybe also by subject. Who knows? So, to all three of my readers, get ready for an onslaught of postings!

Spring Break and Other Random Ponderings

Another possible title would be--whatever's flowing out of my brain at the moment. This is a complete and total "free write." I'm crazy to publish it, but I probably will.

As much as I despised last week with all it's rain and cold temperatures, I'm so glad it happened last week. This week is--SPRING BREAK!!!!! And on Monday it's sunny and 63 degrees outside. I've been for a good long walk with Larry. We'll go again this evening. I'm doing 16 bajillion loads of laundry in preparation for tomorrow's trip to Texas City. I'll take lots of pictures.

We'll be staying with my dad--checking out the beach and the dike, maybe SpaceCenter Houston, not sure what else. My sister and her husband are coming in on Friday when we were planning to come home, so we'll play all that by ear. It'll just be me and the younger boys. I'm hoping for a good few days--warm and sunny please.

The only problem is Internet withdrawal. My dad doesn't have internet. And there's not an open connection anywhere near him. I guess I could swing by Starbucks once or twice. Would it be worth spending the money on a hotel just to have the internet? Nah...probably not. Probably. Maybe. I'll think about it.

So, for the rest of today, I need to take the car to the car wash and oil change place and go by the bank. I keep waiting for Richard to get home so he can go with me. I absolutely hate getting the oil changed and the car washed by myself. They always treat me like an idiot--which, granted, when it comes to my car, I am--but that's beside the point. Right now though, I'm afraid that Richard's going to come home with an aquarium and fish and he won't be able to go with me. It's only a 600 mile trip. I don't really need to get the oil changed, do I? And what's the point of washing it right before a trip? Yeah, I'm a chicken. I don't like feeling stupid.

Ok, I think I'm done randomly typing stuff. Maybe. Maybe I'll just pluck up the courage to go do what needs to be done with the car. I don't even know where to pull up! ARGH!!!! Eh...maybe I'll just take a nap instead.

The Meanest Mom

It's true that I'm probably the last person to discover the following blog, but just in case you, my 2 maybe 3 readers, haven't--scroll down the right side of my blog and you'll find a button for "The Meanest Mom." Need a pick-me-up? Ready to scream and slam a few doors? Need some new ideas for teaching your children how to handle the real world? I've spent the last hour reading some of her posts. HILARIOUS! And I swear I'm taking notes and trying out some of her techniques. Maybe it'll keep me from being scary mom again any time soon. (That was for you, Anonymous.)

Check it out. After you read my blog, of course. :-)

Gone Private

After a couple of anonymous and interesting comments on my blog, I've decided I have to go private. I really hate that because I'd like my friends to be able to access it easily, but I don't like thinking that someone I don't even know can "shout" at me through cyber-space--basically telling me that I'm a horrible mother and person. And they don't even sign their name. So...private it is. I'll put the invitation on the board and on my blog--and I realize how silly it is to be blogging about this if I'm taking the blog private--because the only people who will read this are the ones who are already invited! So...if you're reading this...welcome.

Edited to say:
Ok, maybe I spoke too soon. Maybe I'll just moderate the comments and keep anonymous users from commenting. I'm so wishy-washy. It's only the second time in a year that I've even gotten anonymous comments. And the first time I've gotten a negative one. So...we'll go with the comment thing first and see how that goes. FWIW, a friend of mine said she really appreciated the "Scary Mom" posting because it spoke for all mothers everywhere who've ever felt like screaming when it all got to be too much. So there.

Thanks

These items were given to me at open house last night. Thanks, Suzanne. You're a real friend. :-)

Scary Mom

It has been an extremely long week. I figured out today that we had a quadruple whammy this week. First--we had daylight saving time on Sunday, so everyone's still trying to recover from that. Second--this is the week before spring break. 'Nuff said. Third--Tuesday was a full moon. I don't care what the scientists say. Ask any cop or l&d nurse or teacher. The full moon effect is real. Fourth--we had a cold front blow through last night. Temperatures dropped 40 degrees and it's been raining all day. Talk about a confluence of events!

So...it's been a bit of a frustrating week teaching. Nothing terribly bad, just fidgety and talkative kids who can't seem to understand what "look and listen" means.

That brings me to this afternoon. Took James to karate. Went to the library to get a couple of books I've been wanting. On the way home from the library, Chris called for an early pickup from track. Seems they aren't as diligent about running in the rain as they say they are. ;-) Picked him up and went home. It's raining--still. Got everyone inside. Got Larry out of his cage and walked him in the back yard. He wasn't sure he really wanted to go because, of course, it's raining. So I stood out there, under my umbrella, watching him "do his business" - both kinds - then brought him back in the house. Went to the mailbox. :::note to self: put mailbox key on your keyring::: Finally took myself to the bathroom. By this time, it's 5:00 and I need to pick up James. Did that. Came home and decided to get myself a Diet Coke and a spoonful of chocolate icing. Just a little pick-me-up before I tackle dinner. Opened my Coke and set it on the end table. Larry jumped on the couch and knocked it over with his tail. DC goes all over the floor and my pant leg.
It was a much bigger spill than the picture. But I didn't take an actual picture and this was the best I could find. (Can you believe you can find a picture of a spilled Diet Coke on Google? Go figure!) It was all over the floor and under the chair. At least we have laminate.

I yelled. I yelled a not very nice word. Twice. Really loud. James was asking me a question at the time and John was at the table doing his homework. Oops. So (and this is kinda funny now--not so much at the time) I picked up the can and threw it in the sink--really hard. I almost threw the dish remote, but thought better of it and smacked it down on the counter. Then I threw my spoon of icing across the kitchen. Boy...that's anger when you'll actually throw chocolate! Then I stormed into my bedroom and slammed the door. I stormed into my bathroom and slammed that door. Then I slammed the closet door for good measure. (Yeah, I'm a door-slammer. Sue me.)

So I stood in my bedroom fuming. Then I realized that the chocolate was on the floor and the dog would probably eat it and get sick and then I'd really be in a world of hurt. I left the sanctuary of my bathroom to come out and pick up my chocolate spoon. Cleaned up that mess.

But what really bugged me about the whole thing was James sitting on the couch watching TV. Huge puddle of DC on the floor next to him. How many messes of his have I cleaned up? 100,000 at least. My passive/aggressiveness got the better of me. As I got paper towels and such I said, "Thanks so much for all the help in cleaning up the mess." He continued to stare at the TV. I said, a bit more forcefully, "That was sarcasm in case you missed it." James: "Ok." AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!! That was it. I'm done.

I told them they were on their own for the night. They can get their own dinner--I don't care. They can clean up their mess because no one bothered to help me clean up a mess (that I didn't make in the first place but I can't really expect Larry to clean it up--though I guess he could've licked it all up for me. Ew.) So there.

Now...did I really get to stay in my self-imposed exile. Of course not. I tried. I really tried. But Chris had to go to mutual. John needed help with his homework. Unfortunately, I wasn't a very good example tonight. I'll do better tomorrow. I think they'll be going to bed early tonight. Wish I could.

Larry's Home!

Yay! Larry's home! The boys are ecstatic. Larry spent the first few hours peeing on floor a lot, but he seems better today. I think it was just stress. The stress of being incarcerated. The stress of coming home. We've been for a walk yesterday and today. It's a little stressful for me--walking through the neighborhood. But I'm sure I'll feel better about it as time goes on.

The whole thing seems to be working out okay. The husband and I have spoken and have settled on what they would like us to do. I don't know yet if we'll have to involve insurance. We'll wait and see what the hospital bill is like. He's being calm about it all. The woman went by the animal shelter. She wanted Larry deemed "dangerous." They told her that they don't do that on the first offense. According to animal control, she wasn't very happy about it. Oh well. We'll keep him on a leash when we walk (which we always have) and we'll keep the front windows closed no matter how warm it gets.

But Larry's home and all is right with the world again. Yippee!!

Daylight Saving Time

I hate daylight saving time. Really and truly hate it. But I especially hate that it starts in early March now. It was one thing when, back in the day, it began the last Sunday in April. Then the-powers-that-be moved it to the first Sunday in April. That was always "fun" for General Conference. Actually, it was a great weekend for it when we could watch Conference at home! Didn't have to worry about getting anyone dressed and out the door. Then, I think they moved it to the last Sunday in March. And now...the second Sunday in March. And it ends the first of November, I think? So what's the point? Why not just stay in this particular time frame? Why? Because it's stinking dark at 7:00 in the morning when many of us are trying to get kids dressed and off to school--and gets ourselves dressed and off to school as well. Kids WILL be walking to school in the dark tomorrow morning.

Everyone talks about "getting an extra hour of daylight." No you don't. It's not an extra hour--it's just in a different place on our clocks. Yes, I'm a morning person. I really don't like getting up too late. 8:00 is really late for me. I'd rather be up and, well...maybe not exactly going, but at least available to go. I don't like being out in the evening. I'm not an evening person. I want to be home--watching TV, playing on the computer, watching a movie, playing Guitar Hero, taking a bath...whatever.

So...it's DST today. It's almost 9:00 in the morning and church is in two hours. And I'm still in my pj's, on the computer, not having said a single thing to the boys yet. But it doesn't *feel* like 9:00--it feels like 8:00. It's gonna be a LONG week. DST and the week before spring break. NOT a good combination. I'll survive it--but I don't have to be happy about it.

10 Honest Things

Thanks, Missty! I got an award! Wow! I don't even know what to say. Oh yeah...I'm supposed to come up with 10 honest things about myself. Ok...I'll try. I'm not sure I can come up with 10 things.

1. I'm really a shy person. I talk a good game, but in an awkward situation or a new situation, I disappear.

2. I'm a boring person.

3. I'm basically lazy.

4. I never dreamed I'd be a mother of three boys--and I LOVE it. (Except the Pinewood Derby.)

5. I love teaching music, but I would give it up very easily if I could stay home.

6. I wish I could be more like my dad.

7. I've been to East Germany--back when there was an East Germany and even came back with East German Marks. (Kinda like having Confederate money, huh?)

8. I come from a family of country folk, but I'm completely town folk.

9. I want to go on a vacation--right now.

10. I need a housekeeper.

Okay...that wasn't that great. It's entirely possible that I'll come back and edit that list. We'll see.

Pinewood Derby

We survived the Pinewood Derby. No big winners or anything, but the cars looked cool. And the boys had fun. And that's the most important part, right? Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. But anyway...here are the cars. Both were completely the boys' ideas. Making them? Well...not all them. But the original ideas--all boys.

This is John's pencil car.

James's sword car - patterned after a sword in some video game. Shoulda put some red paint on the tip! :-)

Key to Success

The question: how to keep James focused to do note cards and other things that are "in the box" in class. The answer: a timer! In his LEAP class last Tuesday, his teacher set a timer. The night before, he'd done two note cards in an hour. In class--with the timer--he did six in 15 minutes. He finished all his note cards and did the rest of his work that day. He's completely caught up on this research project. A timer! Amazing!