We Are The Littles

Gabe left today to go make us money.  We are so sad. Even one of our neighbors was sad for us today when she watched Gabe say bye to the boys at the bus stop.  We were so busy this time off, but as always, we had a great time. I am especially happy that we had a family weekend and sendoff before he left. Papa and Weezer and Aunt Omega came into town. We all went to see Savannah perform in The Little Mermaid. It was funny and she did great! Yesterday, she was even singled out to pose for a journalism student’s project. We were honored to sit out in the Explorer and wait for her as she had her photo shoot outside on the hood of a car. Okay, you are probably wondering as we did, What is a mermaid doing on a car? Well, that was the photographer’s vision. And in case you were wondering, the photographer was a girl. Hope that does NOT add more fuel to the fire (haha).  My other thought was, if they were going to pick a car, why a Honda Civic? I digress. Anyway, we had a great weekend with the family filled with a lot of food, as only we can do it.  I was especially happy to take Weezer to the mecca of grocery stores, HEB.  For those of you unfamiliar with the store, one day I will take you on a photo tour and show you why it is all that.  Sunday we had a HUGE breakfast that included Omega’s famous home styled potatoes and signature pancakes (big and thick!).  Sunday, Savannah left us to go act and we went to the park, while the Cowboys were getting it handed to them. Gabe and the boys pretended to be MLB stars and Gabby and I were the cheerleaders.

Anyway, that is a glimpse of our days. Now, my best friend is gone, and once again, the house is not the same.  It is going to be a LONG six weeks, but Gabe and I are having a running contest, so that should help time fly. It will also help our waistlines, especially since we ate Tres Leches all weekend like there was no tomorrow. I want to try to lose enough weight so he notices a difference when he returns and has to buy me a new wardrobe. He now has his new home gym in Nigeria already assembled and waiting for him. I have my new treadmill (thanks again, baby!). It is going to be ironic when I beat him using the gift he bought me. And I am bringing it!

Gabe will put up pics and video from the play as soon as he is settled, but don’t tell Savannah or she will kill us! I will also be keeping everyone updated with pictures, stories, and videos, while I keep Gabe in the know when he is away.

Okay, so many of you know that I almost did not leave my wonderful H-town during the hurricane warning.  I was like, yeah, yeah, been there, done that, own the Rita t-shirt. BUT, after much persuasion from my in laws, I decided it was the thing to do. Besides, electricity is worth the drive.

My friends and neighbors chose to stay behind. If is was not for them, I would not have had so much foresight on what to expect and do before we came back home.  My wonderful friend and neighbor,Susan, kept me updated on the whole situation, plus watched over our home. My friend, Laura, cleaned out my refrigerator for me! It was sparkling clean when I came back home. Everyone informed me what was for real on the news and what to do for sure before coming back home. Weezer and Papa took great care of all us while we took refuge in their home. All in all, we were very lucky. Others, weren’t.

Coming back home, I was not sure what to expect other than to be sure to fill up hours outside of Houston, because gas is scarce here. Also, to buy groceries, because most stores are stilled closed, and if they are not, then they sell out quickly.  I guess Weezer said it best when she said how it was hard to believe how such a big city could be made immobile. Then, my friend, Linda E, said another best, that next to electricty, gas and groceries were a hot commodity.

Here are some videos that Savannah took while we came in. Video One is of two lines (North Bound and South Bound) of utility workers in a caravan on the Sam Houston Tollway. Video Two is some of what we encountered driving near our subdivision; gas lines (Chevron), packed restaurants (Johnny Carino’s) and closures (McDonald’s). While our area did not suffer as greatly as Galveston, it sure took a beating. Trees were uprooted. Roofs torn off. Fences blown into other yards (our back fence fell and some shingles stripped from our roof). I went running today and saw pile after pile of debris lined up  around the neighborhood yards. I have never seen anything like it. Like with Rita, I will never forget the grid lock on the highway and the chaos and mad panic at the grocery stores.  Ike will hold new memories.  Like encountering signs on I-45S saying that the town had no gas or food, move on. This time, I came in and saw areas pitch dark spotted with areas of light, just to hit more areas stretched out into the darkness. Normally when I drive into Houston, all I see are bright lights. I will also remember seeing lines of cars stretched out for a mile into the streets  just waiting to gas up.  I will also remember seeing giants closed, like McDonald’s and Wal-Mart, and unusually packed restaurants that reopened, like Burger King and Denny’s, with lines and jammed parking lots, people just waiting to get some food, any food.  I saw all of this driving in on a Tuesday night.

I will also remember that the people of Houston once again all pulled together to help each other out and that today on my run, people were going out of their way to say hi to everyone.

So tomorrow, I will venture out with my hubby to see if we can buy some food at a recently opened HEB. We are working on slim pickings at the house. We have no meat! Slowly, but surely, businesses are reopening. People are starting to trickle into work. Most ISDs are out until next week. My kids see this as an adventure, as many others do.  As I write this, 1.3 million people are still without electricity, with no assurances of having it turned on any time soon. Gas is at a reasonable price, considering.  The Dallas Cowboys are 2-0. And my hubby is on his way home!

God Bless Texas!

It has been a long few days! So much going on here. Most of our energy has been spent on baby sitting and traveling to Wichita Falls to pick up James from his summer vacation. We are now a full house, minus Dad. This was Gabby’s first road trip. She did really well. We only added an extra 30 minutes to our trip’s normal time. She must love being on the open road, even if that road leads to Wichita Falls. True to her nature, Gabby loved being around new people and was very calm and slept very well. It was not until we got home that she erupted like Mount Vesuvius! I can hardly wait for her teen years, she says sarcastically.

The kids are trying to make the most of their last week of freedom and I am trying to keep up with the house, take the kids shopping and to their intended destinations, and answer Gabby’s non stop summoning. All this madness and it will not stop raining, which makes us feel a little cabin feverish.

Here is a slide show of all of us during the trip. We made it in for my grandma’s 77th birthday celebration with some of our family. Her birthday is the same day as mine. However, she is respectfully older so it was all about her! We also had time to visit with my friends,Linda and Angie, who finally got to see the baby!
Notice in the family pictures all the dark headed people. Gabby never had a chance Also notice how many times Gabby changed hands. She was quite the hit!

Since Gabe has been gone, I have been only on one gear,”Go”. That has been the only gear. With the kids registrations,never ending errands, and kids’ here and there’s, I have not had any time to myself. No life of leisure in sight. When Gabe goes back to work, my vacation ends. I have no one to talk me into sleeping late or deferring items on my always insane and infamous To-Do-List. So here I am, very sleep deprived and still needing to do 101 more things before I can catch a little shut eye before Ms. Diva wakes me up to attend to her needs. Yes, I will attempt to go grocery shopping-again!-at Wally World-again!-by myself for the first time. Wish me luck!
A quick note before I go. I finally got to do some bargain shopping yesterday. I went to Hobby Lobby (my equivalent to Gabe’s Best Buy) and went only to buy Wilton Products which were on sale with my 40% off coupon. I walked to a section I never knew about until Weezer (a.k.a my M-I-L) introduced me to it several months ago, the 66% off section. Well, yesterday it was all 80% off. I picked up a few items (and could have bought more if I had had a cart and did not run out of time). The decorative items alone would have originally cost over $50, if I had bought them before the sale. The Wilton products would have cost about $25 as well. But, I walked away with everything for only $25! What a victory. I walked out of the store beaming as I talked to Gabby about my victory. I know she understood and appreciated my glory. I have included a picture of my buys in the slide show.
Hope you all enjoy the pictures, especially my hubby.