The Picture of Shame

So, late yesterday afternoon I was sweeping around the kitchen table. I found a rather sizable lock of hair on the floor. Nora had been cutting out "little houses" for me earlier in the day. After an initial denial followed by an interrogation in which I was trying to determine if it was her hair or Walt's (found the hair beneath his chair), she finally confessed and showed me where the chunk was missing from her hair. To impress upon her my dismay (that was difficult to keep up as I thought the whole thing pretty funny), she had to pose for "The Picture of Shame." She resisted (but I really wanted the picture for the scrapbook), but then complied. She's holding the lock of hair.

Picture of the Day

Fall Fair 2008

We had a great weekend. Alek has been having a ball playing in the pile of dirt at the end of the street. This is stump-hole-filling-dirt that the whole street has been sharing.

Unbeknownst to me, Alek had set up shop and bargained $6.00 out of our new neighbors. Great.

On Sunday we had the Fall Fair at our Church. Nora can pick up Alek. She's very proud.

Alek was eager to try the rock climing "wall." He did great!

The highlight of the day was Sumo Wrestling. Alek did this twice. It was hysterical. He was clearly outmatched both times, but the first time...

he held his own. The boys watching said he was the winner because his head was on top.
(waiting between matches - looks like a walrus, doesn't he?)
outmatched again....

Not looking so much like the winner this time around!

Paint ball guns!!!!

Nora climbed the wall, too! She had a great time.



Face painting, of course.
And what Fall Fair is complete without a camel ride?

The Great Chili Bean Incident

So, Katie - I promised I could top the feeding of peaches to a baby who doesn't like peaches.

This video is a result of two things:

1 - a child who had been at a park and arboretum all afternoon and was exhausted

2 - three adults (my brother, my husband, and the poor child's mother) who clearly had nothing better to do.

This was in the summer of 2006. Nora was not quite 3. Alek was 5 and a half.

Anyone Who Knows....

knows just how excited EVERYONE is about Baby Lillie! Caroline now can say the phrase, "my daughter" along with, "my son, and my son, and my son, and my son!"

Nora and Kate got to meet Lillie on Friday. They were very interested and excited about the whole event!

A Walter Weekend

Dave took the older monkeys camping. Walt and I stayed home. We've had a nice time - just hanging out and doing things around the house. It's very different to have just one little monkey around the house!

Last week, I finished The Stranger by Albert Camus. (This is one of those books I should have read in college but somehow didn't. If you want to talk about the meaning, I'd seek elsewhere as I don't think I got it exactly.) Anyway, it has become one of Walt's favorite possessions. He carries it around from room to room, flips through it - especially when he is watching TV (clearly, he's not getting adequate intellectual fulfillment from the TV and is looking elsewhere). So, while some of you have babies who love Sandra Boynton, I have a baby who loves Nobel Prize-winning French authors. And don't tell me it's about the cover being all cool and black and white - Walt is so above appearances. (Not at all pretentious, right?)

It Doesn't Matter

So... Friend P and I watched our daughters FIGHT all through ballet tonight. Jockeying for position in the line to do leaps and other "moves" during class. Lots of nasty looks, elbowing, planting of feet. Nora seemed always to be first and unwilling to budge. After class on the way home, I fussed at her about it and suggested she give her friend a chance at being first (keep in mind they were fighting not over spots 1 and 2 but maybe 7 and 8).

Her defense:
"But Mom, it doesn't matter who goes first. Going first isn't important, so she shouldn't worry about it."

Ohhhhh Katie..... I think my kid has learned some logic from Rose.

Forty Dollar Bliss

For $39.84 plus tax, you too can dance around your kitchen with glee. Ike Schmike. Life is good.

Yes, that's Barry White on the iPod. Got something to say about that????? Don't go bashing Barry White.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Walt.

On "Tree Removal Day" the kids had LOTS to say.

Walt got to watch, too!

The top of the tree came down first.

And then the trunk. They couldn't lay it down without cutting it free from the root ball. So, the crane held it while one of the tree guys cut through the trunk with the chainsaw. The trunk slid off the stump, and that was that!

As Carolione said, "firewood and toothpicks."

Ike, Ike, Damage.

So, finally we have ELECTRICITY!!!! INTERNET!!!!! CABLE TV!!!!!! It's delightful, really. So I'm posting the pictures of the damage. We have dear friends who have had MUCH worse damage than we have. Our home is completely and totally liveable. There is no apparent hole in the roof; our ceilings are intact; our plumbing, electricity, and all other amenities work (except the kitchen fridge that appears not to have recovered when the electricity returned... alas! We have our 1 year old fridge from the old house in the laundry room, so not a big deal for now.)

Here is the general view of the tree on the house. The window below it is Nora's. The three windows on the first floor are the dining room. Water came in around the flashing (we assume) above those windows. We have ceiling damage and seem to have some wall damage, too.

The weird carpet of grass over the roots is a common site in the area. Most trees came over this way. Some others either split and snapped in half (very dramatic looking) or appear to have had their tops twisted off.

Alek jumped out of the van and immediately began working on cleaning up the yard. He worked hard for two days and ended up taking a very uncharacteristic 3 hour nap at the end of the second day!

This is a view of the back yard. The entire back fence was a loss as is the side fence on the left side of the yard. There is only a small amount of fence on the right of the yard as the garage is on that side. That fencing is new and appears to be largely undamaged.

Ike, Ike.... Ohhhhhhhhhhh Baby!

Hello all! We are alive and well. We are hot and humid, but thankfully have an escape this weekend in CS. Laundry, A/C, Internet, CABLE TELEVISION... life is grand.

When we arrived home on Sunday, we had a lot to take in. Limbs down, fence down, tree on house. I'll post pictures soon.

We have no power, and no prospects of power until at least late next week. We do have a borrowed generator, so we have a refrigerator, some lights and fans at night, and chargers for the all important cell phones and my beloved iPod. We've even had the TV and DVD player hooked up a couple of times! I've learned to start and stop the generator and can even put gas in it if the "smaller" gas can is available. Also, I can cook a mean pasta dish on the burner of the gas grill! Good grief, I am so glad the new grill has the burner!

The tree did not go through the roof, but there was fairly significant structural damage due to impact. It is HUGE. It is resting on the second story roof and extends about 15 feet beyond the top of the roof - so it's over the other half of the house. Removal of the tree will require a crane, and after some bad experiences with non local guys, we are having a well-respected and well-used-by-our-neighbors local guy do the removal on Monday (for a fraction of the cost of the other guys). There is damage to a truss and rafter in the attic, but we're not sure exactly how much. Repair will require removal of roof and then replacement after repairs - at the least. The dining room ceiling will have to come down. Nora's window will have to be replaced/rehung. Her walls and ceiling will be examined for water damage. The dining room windows may have shifted, so they may have to be rehung, too. Lovely. Lovely. Lovely. Fence will have to be replaced, etc. And, with all the demand, I don't know how long it will be before we can get contractors in for bids much less actual work.

So, while all are welcome at our home, I can't promise it will be lovely, cool, quiet, or even intact!

Ike, Ike, Baby

So, we weathered the storm in Arlington. We've been called wimps, but I think chicken about no A/C is more like it. We left Thursday afternoon. So far, all of our friends are well and safe, and we are thankful. Caroline's house took a nasty hit. We've heard of friends who have lost cars to downed trees, have whole trees in their yards, driveways, and swimming pools; we have friends with trees that have fallen onto their homes, and friends who have water damage in their homes. We are very fortunate. By all accounts, our house was largely spared. We have lost the back fence, but this was expected and is a relatively inexpensive fix. We've also lost a couple of trees, one of which has apparently come to rest against the house. Three have inspected this for us, and all have reported that they believe the damage is minor and external only. We were thrilled with this news. Things could have been much, much worse.

Tim and his family are fine. Tim stayed behind with the nursing home. All is well there - they lost a tree and a shutter. All else is intact. His real home is fine also. Apparently, they lost the above-ground pool and the trampoline, but nothing else.

Of course there is no power anywhere, and the water is questionable. We will head home tomorrow to check things out, but will likely go back to CS once that is done. Dave may stay in Spring if his office opens, and I'll stay if the schools open.

Thanks to everyone for their concern and phone calls. We'll try to keep everyone posted.

Current Post

Today, I have nothing to post. Someday, I will have something to post. It will probably be soon, but it's not today. So, here is a post for those of you (and you know who you are) who are waiting for a post. I will post some pics of David's birthday cake and some of the backyard soon. Again, my apologies to those of you who have become irritated that I haven't posted in recent days. I live to please you.

St. Louis in August

Finally, I'm getting these photos posted! We had a WONDERFUL time in St. Louis with my side of the family. We did TONS of sight-seeing with the kids, and though it was hot, we enjoyed every minute! (It's a LONG post, and as friend Katie said, "Nothing like looking at other people's vacation photos." Too bad. So sad. Tough it out.)

Genie took us to the St. Louis Botanical Garden to see the Niki exhibit.

Note Nora looking in!

Nora dressed as a cardinal !

We also took the kids to the St. Louis Arch. I hadn't been in almost 20 years! I think Walter clearly enjoyed it the most, but all three kids had a great time!

I know this looks weird and superimposed, but this is a photo of the kids at the Arch! My camera was on the ground!

We visited the City Museum as well. This place is about as neat as it gets. My understanding is that most, if not all, of the materials used here are from the city. There are all sorts of interactive things to do and see. LOTS of crawling and climbing.

Alek and Nathan (middle and last) climbing above the museum.

I love this picture. Alek is on the left in the orange shirt. Nora is on the right in a pale lavendar outfit with her back to us. They were three stories up! Completely fearless. Can you imagine?

Nathan can!

Alek just starting down in a three story slide!

Clearly Ella and Walter LOVED the train ride. Poor Alek!

Actually, both "little kids" enjoyed it once it got going, but the crying pictures are more fun.

Let me be clear. 95% of the fun had by Alek and Nora was due to the fact that their selfless and fabulous cousins, Gloria, Nathan, and Alex, were willing to crawl, climb and run around with them! Alex should be in this picture, too!

We visited the St. Louis Zoo with Uncle Connie and Aunt Margaret!

Everyone on the train!

Penguin house was TOO COOL! Loved it.

Thanks to all for such a great time!!!!!!!!!!