'Ikes!

Hello? How do use this type-y thingy??? This is Laura Ingalls reporting from the little house on the bayou.

Well, actually, I'll be located back there tomorrow. For now, I'm reporting from the Dallas, where we've spent a few days:

• not using the bathroom in the dark
• praising and stroking the dishwasher
• proving I can still use a debit card, single-handedly keeping the Target here afloat with Simon's birthday items, since there are no opportunities for leasurely consumerism in H-town
• brushing our teeth with sink water
• washing laundry from the Vomitous Day One post-Ike
• mostly REALLY REALLY enjoying these Weed people. God bless them every one.

Back home, I'll look forward to . . . um . . . okay, well:

Having a relationship with ALL of my neighbors. Because of the first 5 post-Ike days, I now know 6 new households; we are on first name basis, we have shared things back and forth several times, and when we get back, we'll still have time to talk. Thursday is when power might return and hopefully we won't slunk back into our isolated lives too much. It's been nice standing in our driveway together and dragging tree limbs about and just slowing down and thinking, hmm, how can I be helpful? We have really nice neighbors.
You know, I'm out of practice at this writing thing. Ma' brain's getting all muddled. But I'm glad to be back in the blogisphere briefly. This hurricane has been a neat add-to-the-CV experience.

Enjoy your cyberspace while I'm scrubbing laundry in my tub--I'm actually hoping I get to!

While we still have power . . .

Mark and Mary Tessa gauging this afternoon's wind with their hair.
Sunset sky, waiting for what lurks beyond . . .
Alli's calm, cool and collected . . .
. . . with her brother in the hallway, safe from any windows.

We put them there after they were asleep, we're not as fun as the Mangums.

Aiwa!!! A petrol queue!

Today's a day for remembering 2001.

Besides the obvious remembrance associated with today's date, I'm reminded of my summer that year in Zimbabwe. I often would see huge lines of cars queueing up at the petrol stations--after following tankers through town to see where they would stop. I saw that today three blocks from my house! It wasn't really scary, more just a live flashback.

We've been ordered not to evacuate. If we end up losing power for a while, we can go then. I prefer to not join our 5 to the throngs on the freeway--I prefer a memorable adventure here. We already had our 72 hour kit ready, but as I walked through the grocery store today to get some more water the phrase "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" kept coming to me.

I don't think I'm making this up, but as we ate dinner tonight, it seemed eerily calm. I thought, is this it, is this The CALM Before the Storm?? It was kind of neat.

Well, it feels like kind of an adventure. Hopefully we don't spend too many hours with all five of us watching portable dvds in our bathtub. Chances are we'll be totally fine.

This is stream-of-thought post, so I'm ending with a note of longing for Zimbabwe. Things are not well there. Makadii? Hakuna wakaita sa Jesu.

Get along lil dogies

Here we are showing off some of our equestrian skills while reunioning in NM.

Some of our skills, I say, because you won't see me riding in flipflops (I did) or galloping to near-death (like I did on our honeymoon).

Really, Tess is the most impressive horsewoman among us.

Speaking of blue skies and "geeettin along," it looks like we'll be getting some pretty dark skies around here this weekend, but we're likely staying put.

"It's your misfortune and none a' myoooown!!"

Hopefully.

IKE

Dear Charlie . . .

Simon misses you.

I remember being pregnant with my first (mystery gender) baby in 2003 and talking to Aimee who was pregnant with Charlie at the same time. We were due exactly four months apart and were wondering about our babes and hoping they'd be close cousin friends. It was neat that they were both born on the same number day (6days late, you stinkers!) and were both boys. When we got together last month for a week of family reunioning, we'd see them occasionally at meals and the rest of the time they were running around in the woods together--practically feral by the end of it.

Simon has asked me if they can still be friends when they grow up. I assured him that they could--even better friends, possibly!

That top picture makes me tear up.

*** If my words are looking all scrambly, it's not my fault. Grrr, blogger, you're irking me! Try enlarging your window, dear reader, and it may help.

Zazel's got rhythm

I'm superproud to present my niece Zazel in her first performance at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She's my kids' only Taye cousin (until December!) ;)

"Binkle binkle little dar."

"I love you."

Allianna can't believe they have the same favorite song.

Now, I confess I don't always watch the blog videos of kiddos I come across--but these ones are good, I promise you! Plus, my kids always make sure to watch the blog videos I've skipped over, so there's still a strong audience.

da brudders

Mark's bros--all six together, captured in nature, a rare shot.

*if you are one of those pictured, Mark is planning on sending you a hard copy soon. Mom gets one too.

4 Greats in 24 hours--and all the namesakes, too!

During our grand western tour, Mary Tessa Joyce was presented to:

her great-grandma Mary Elizabeth

(from whom I got my sense of humor and my hips)

(my grandpa, a man of few words, presented me with the medal I'm wearing, which was enscribed "Super Mom, Emily 2008." A treasure--he fashioned it from one of his biathalon medals [yes, he is an 80something biathelete] and is known for his handcrafted valentines--I was stunned and flattered to receive something just for me.)

her great-grandma Zelda

(who adores all my babies and is beautiful in her 90s)

her other two namesakes: great-aunt Terry Joyce and Nanna/Joyce (Mark's mom)

and the next day for the grand finale:

her great-grandma Marine (who's name Tess' cousins got to first) ;)

*watch out great-grandma Audrey in MO--we've got to come for you next!*

Thanks ladies!!!

where my mind and heart are today . . .

Hope he has a good day--even sleep-deprived and drug out of bed to be uniformed and sent on his way.

Slacker (AKA on the grand Western tour.)

I read Kelsey's "Slacker" title and thought I ought to send a shout-out to those readers who are wondering what's become of us.  We're out West through the end of the month.  Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure.   

Lots more for you to see when we get back.  Even though I'm not writing, I'm still reading yours occasionally. :)

Melodious multi-tasking

I found out the bottom hand in the Children's Songbook is simple enough that you can prop up a baby and still keep playing. She was fussing until I sat down to play and sing.

I guess those Primary kids who got to have me "sing" each week actually had it pretty good.

You should know that the big kids didn't hang around to be tenderly lulled to sleep. They went in the back room and turned on tom petty.

And, please forgive the wrestling singlet she's wearing. Simon was good enough to get me clothes for her--I just didn't know we were going to have so many photo ops that afternoon.

Things you wish you could always catch your kids doing #1

Look at that rapt four-month-old attention--delicious.

Biking at its best

Simon got a real bike last month and learned to and loves to ride (finally--the trike and his long legs never quite connected). Now he's giving tips to serious pros. ;)

I love the little bike bell ding at the video's end.

it's all here

weight:

95th percentile

height:

>95th percentile

Happy 4 month* Mary Tessa! . . .

. . . in all your 16 and a half pound glory ;)

*way to reach that age without any surgery!

He walked and walked . . . AND walked

Here are all the church shoes of Simon's young life. Gaaaah!

In the spirit of pioneer day (?) I was going through/organizing all the boxes of kids' clothes and came upon these in the process. But let me tell you, it was the girl clothes that were the treacherous endeavor--I found another box of 0-6mos (for the next one, I guess???!)--and I cannot for the life of me decide whether to organize by size or season; season being a complete joke here and size being subjective. Just let it be said that there will be clothes left unworn and forgotten, but at least many of them started out as hand-me-downs. Very pioneery.

Well, I've got kids in the bath and a baby protesting tummy time--maybe I'll sign off!

the accidental buzz

As far as boys go, I prefer a little hair to comb on top. Today was the day that I decided Simon's bedhead rooster had gone a bit beyond that call of duty. I decided beforehand that, no, even though I have three kids, I will not be giving him a buzz. I lined up my #3,#4, and #5 and went to work with our new 35% stronger clippers. I think my fatal error was reading the included instructions

because they were for a crew cut after all. Oh well,

easy, breezy, beautiful . . .

Mark's next.

Come out back and see our girls!

the grand finale . . .

And one more for good times' sake:

Happy Sunday!

at the pianoforte . . .

JOY

RAPTURE

AFTER 10 YEARS . . . I LIVE WITH A PIANO AGAIN!




It's so easy to practice every day, twice a day, when you're a grownup--loving it!


Though I play other instruments, I have a unique love for the piano because it's always ready; there's no unpacking it, tuning it, accompanying it--just wander by and play for thirty seconds or thirty minutes.

By the way, she's a Yamaha clavinova 115 that likes:

changing climates
sounding grand
sitting by trees and windows
Bach
kids
seeming Jane Austen-era-esque (is that grammatically allowed?)
the octave below middle C
being played

So I'm accommodating her.

We like Dancing

It's worth it to go to youtube and see this in high quality (Mark says it's *really* worth it!).

I found it here.

Oh what do you SEE in the summertime?!

If you're in Texas, you see big things

No, I'm not going to post pictures of those occasional gross, brown, long-antennae-d things.

But this (it's still out there as I type--wanna come over?):

You should have heard Simon rave: "Mom!!!! There's a bird from the zoo outside!!!!! Oh, look at that bird. Now THAT's a beautiful bird!"