Packed like a mini-van

I know what you're thinking... Could my girls BEE any cuter?
No. No, they cannot.
They are simply the cutest little Bees ever.


They also shared their cutest with my parents during our infamous visit to Albuquerque this October. Brad and I packed up the mini-van and brought our girls on our first big Family Vacation. We drove to Midland/Odessa for a night with my sister Diane. After one night with Auntie Didi and her ridiculously cuddly dog Murphy, we packed up the car again to head to Albuquerque.

*Note: When I say, "packed up the car... I mean it. We packed 2 pack-n-plays, sheets and blankets for the girls, girl clothes, our clothes, coats, baby backpacks (quite large), a box of toys and coloring books, a bag of fun car activities (water color things and the like), diaper bags, movies for the car, food and drinks. How people survive without a mini-van is astonishing to me. I'm simply baffled by the anti-mini-van sentiment... oh... I'm off track. Back to our regular blog...

We packed quite a few activities into our visit to Albuquerque. We went to Children's Museums, Fall Festivals, parks... the girls had a great time. They also enjoyed just playing in my parent's beautiful courtyard. They're pictured above sitting on a bear named... I can't remember the name... but my parents have a few "named" bears in the garden. I'm pretty sure that they name the hummingbirds, too...

It was our last day in Albuquerque when I fell and broke my arm. It seems like ages ago, and yet... only a few months. The picture above was taken about 5 minutes before the Big Fall.


The girls had a great Halloween this year. Grandma Gail sent Bee costumes, which fit the girls perfectly. My good friends came over for dinner with their baby boy and a few in-laws.
The girls really, really didn't understand the Trick-or-Treat process. They were completely confused as to why Melissa wouldn't let them in her house. (This is where we go to play, right? Why won't she open the door?). The confusion intensified when Mel handed the girls each 2 pieces of candy. They have NEVER seen a package of candy before, but Ana's instincts kicked in. She held onto her treasure until the next house. When she was offered 2 MORE pieces of candy at the next house, she quickly trusted Daddy with her candy stash.

Keira's favorite part of Halloween was giving candy to the kids visiting our house later in the evening. "MORE KIDS?!" she would shout (*pronounced "Moah kids"). She is extremely social and thought that a zillion kids coming to her door was the best night ever. The next morning she woke up asking for "MORE KIDS?!"

Oh... I almost forgot... we also had a BAMOM Fall Festival. Good thing I didn't forget that. It is like forgetting to pack the 7 hours of Curious George episodes on your iPod before you leave on a Family Vacation. That... would be a cross-country tragedy.
*For some, knowing the words to at least 14 episodes of Curious George IS the tragedy. At least Brad and I can say "Thank you window mon-khey!" to each other.

Yes. October, like the mini-van, was packed to the brim.
It was a full month... and worth the ride.

Order now and get your free seizure

I fell off the blog-wagon for a little bit. I'm afraid life caught up with me for a few months. It caught up to me, tackled me and then spat in my face for good measure.

After breaking my arm, I thought to myself, "2008 really sucked."
The afternoon of the DAY that I had that thought Ana had a seizure.
3 Doctor's appointments, 1 EEG and 20,000 tums later - we find out that the Doctors can't find anything wrong.
That is a good thing.
My pediatrician said something that I've hung my hat on these last few months - "Everyone gets a free seizure." With that, as long as Ana goes a year without a seizure, we're probably home free.

2 days after Ana's seizure, my dad had a stroke. I told him that he was a copy-cat and shouldn't try to take Ana's thunder, but he wanted to go to the hospital, have tests and a good chunk of stress, too! (He kept asking about Ana while he was going through all of this - silly man).
During the same week, my sister broke a few toes and my mom missed her 3rd root-canal.

Now that everyone has recovered from Oct-Nov, I can safely say that we're all okay.
We're lucky.
I feel like the H family has dodged a few bullets this year... and I'm so, so glad that we're all still okay. (I'm not leaving the house until 2009, but whatever).
Ana is great, Dad is great, I'm going to physical therapy a few times a week, Brad is starting to play again, Diane hasn't broken any additional toes and Mom's mouth is almost worth as much as my car.

I'll update the blog with actual FUN stuff that has happened the past few months.
Not all of 2008 sucked.
Not all, indeed.

The Underrated Non-Dominant Arm

So, I broke my arm in two places during our "Let's Relax" vacation.
There is a story, but that is not important right now.
What IS important is the fact that - my arm is broken.
Awesome pink cast.
Not awesome lack of finger movement.

Considering that I have 2- 2 year olds, this is not good at all. I remember an episode of one of the super-twins shows where "Kate" says that her biggest fear is being injured and not being able to take care of her family. I now understand that statement. I am so fortunate to have a husband who has embraced fatherhood and who can pick up where my duties fail me, a sister who comes over just to make sure that I can lift my girls out of their cribs and countless friends who offer help.

Gratefulness out of the way - this blows.
My current nemisis' are ziplock bags, sippy cups, the button on my jean capris and deoderant on my right underarm.
My coworkers are working on writing on my cast. I've told them that I will only accept haiku and limericks about broken arms. I've received quite a few so far... some are even rated "G".

Answers to questions: Sandia Peak, Yes it hurts, 6-8 weeks and Yes - it sucks.

Family 0, Ike 2... if you're keeping score, that is...

On the Tuesday before Ike, Brad and I found ourselves on the Kemah Boardwalk with the girls. We live so incredibly close, but we've never taken the girls there to run around.

It was a beautiful night. The boardwalk was almost empty.
Ana made her mosquito bite bleed and the wonderful girl at the Kemah Inn gave her a band-aid. So nice.
We went to the Candy Store to buy another Monkey (to replace Ana's precious Monkey should anything happen to him). No monkies that matched, but we managed to sort through all of the kitty stuffed animals.


I made a mental note to go back and get a kitty for Ana.
I ran to a store to check for another possible Monkey and when I came back, Brad was feeding the girls fudge. Big hit.


We watched a little girl play in the fountain.
We walked on the boardwalk and felt the evening breeze.
We watched a pelican eat a few fish.

The family had a great time. We vowed to try to make it down to the boardwalk every other Tuesday or so. Maybe every Tuesday? Sure!


Less than a week later the boardwalk is in shambles. (photo credit: Daniel Kramer)

So... if you're keeping score... I went to Galveston... 7 days later - GONE.
I went to Kemah... 4 days later - GONE.

I'm now in fear for Austin... we went there during the hurricane...
And by the way... I never made it to the store to buy that kitty for Ana...

Landscaping by Ike

This is the extent of our tree damage. Our fence will be repaired by Brad shortly.
We're going to wait to have someone look at our roof. There are other people who need contractors more desperately than we do!

Stacia and I walked around our neighborhoods yesterday and today. We saw that people have their sense of humor more intact than their fences.

During our walk today we were offered hotdogs and a drink by a family without power. I am always tempted by a good hot-dog (who isn't), but we thanked them and made our way back home. There are so many families in this small community who lost everything. Their belongings are out on the curb waiting for the trash pickup. Devastating. Again, it reminds us that we should be thankful for so much.

I miss the girls terribly. I'm just about over my cold and am ready to have our house full of squealing and giggles. It is too quiet in here... even with Fergus meowing at me every five minutes.

Happy, Thankful and Listening to the Sounds of Recovery

As I type this I hear helicopters fly overhead. This is a constant sound as news crews and rescue workers travel. Fire truck and police sirens now. Ike left his mark.

When we evacuated from Rita (pre-children), I packed photos and momentos, computers, cats, nick-nacks, whatever would fit in two cars. While surveying my house before the Ike evacuation, I just saw “stuff”. It is cliché, but everything is just stuff now. My main priority was packing enough food, clothes and entertainment for my kids. Getting my cats into 2 cages was also high on my stress list.

I am now at home. We don’t have water, our roof needs to be replaced and our pool is a funky shade of teal with shingles and whatnot at the bottom… and I couldn’t be more relieved. I am so lucky. I’m so surprised that my house is still here and so sick that some of my friends are going through so much.

My goal this week is to work and stay out of the way of rescue and relief workers. I have gas in my car and food in the pantry. I have enough water in the bathtubs and in containers to last for awhile. I’ll go to a friend’s house in a bit to upload this post.

*hammering sounds… more tarps going on roofs*

It is good to see the best come out in people. The worst is visible, too… but thankfully it isn’t rampant. I’ve seen the kindness of strangers and neighbors. I’ve seen coworkers show up at work to feed people. I’ve also seen the bad – the streets are dangerous. Emotionally charged drivers are distracted and upset. They run through intersections whose lights were taken by Ike.

*neighbor at the front door… he left replacement slats for our fence… salvaged from someone else’s fence… so nice!*

I miss the girls – They’re safe in Austin. Ana and Keira will play with their cousin until there is enough gas, water and safety to come home. Meanwhile, I’m boiling water to clean out the fridge.

I’m lucky to have my home and my “stuff”… but not for the reasons I would have wished for before kids. Now, I’m thankful that my girls have a home to come back to. I’m thankful that I don’t need to find temporary housing for my family. In fact, I’m just thankful for my family. They’re safe and sound. And that is all that matters.

Quick thoughts... and body functions.

Updates:
Looks like the house might not be flooded.
We don't know about wind damage
It's the girl's 2nd Birthday
Let me state that last one again... It is ANA AND KEIRA'S 2nd BDAY! WHOOHOOO
We can't get back to our house for 48 hours
The cats are FREAKING OUT
Fergus peed on Tracy's guest bed
Ana threw up in the middle of the night
Fergus peed on ME as I slept on the floor in the middle of the night.
All of the cats tried to get into the closet
Cats were awake all night.
Many of my friends lost their homes, etc.

I'm lucky - I'm in Austin with power and A/C. I am drinking hot coffee. The family is safe.

Please keep Will, Dom, Vanessa, Tibonne and everyone in your thoughts.