Gustav GO AWAY! and take IKE with you!

Its 11:00 and Matt is still working on his homework. I kid you not.

Every week on Monday they get a packet of 4 or 5 pages for language arts that they have to do and turn in on Thursday, and then they have to do math and anything else they decide to send home.

This is fine. Except when you dont go to school ALL week because of a freakin huricanne, go in on Thursday and all of this is due on Friday.

The kids have to get up at 5:30 every morning. They catch the bus a little before 6:20. Then they dont get home till pert near 5:00. God forbid I have anything I have to do in the evening, or they want to do something other than eat and do work.

So, they came home at 5:00. Were starving to death, I let them eat a little bit, We tried to find Matts belt. The rules state each child must wear a belt and tuck in their shirt. Well, Matts belt went missing the week before school started. And we havent been able to find it since.

After a little while, of me looking and them holding and loving on Bow, we had to stop. I knew they had homework. Brett had a project that is one that they would send home at the begining of the week and turn in on Friday. Plus he had to read like 20 pages our of a text book. I think he had laungage arts too. But honestly, it wasnt worth it.

His project was to draw a map from the school to his house. And color it.

We worked on that, Matt worked on his and Brett went to bed at 10:45. Matt is still working and crying at 11:25. (I keep having to stop wrighting to help him and keep him awake).

I know they are exhausted. I am. ANd tomorrow they will get in trouble cause they are not minding, or are irratible. I like for them to be in bed by 8. I am pretty strict about this. even on a good night that only leaves us 3 hours to visit, eat, bath and for them to see Bow and I.

I really dont get the point of homework for a 3rd or 4th grader. They have spent all day at school. Why torture them when they get home too? And why torture the parents? Seriously. I end up being the bad guy, because I have to keep on them. Make them redo it, scream, holler and threaten. They end up crying, being miserable and hating the whole concept of school. so honestly, what good does it do?

In the real world I am not expected to bring home work with out compensation. Why should they be? I cant fiqure out if its trying to force us to spend time with our kids, or what. But if the time spent is spent having to ride them to get something done, what good has it done?

Bow woke up a few days ago with a stuffy nose. And he is steady getting worse. He has been a good baby today. But you can tell he doesnt feel good.

He is really growing. He is standing on his own, and I expect him to walk any day now. He will say a few things. Although dada is still his favorite. He will hit the bedroom door and holler it when he knows BR is in there asleep.
He said "sugar' the other day when I was asking him for some sugar.
He will say "ice cream" if he sees the bluebell tub or an ice cream cone.

This last week has been awful. It started with the realization that Gustav was headed our way. well last week ended that way. I knew what I needed, and my grocery shopping day fell right on the day that everyone else decided to go and pillage and plunder the stores. There was NO water at walmart, Bread was runnign short and I almost never found crackers. there was no veinna sausages, hot dogs or other stuff I needed.

I had to drive BACK to a differnt store to get water. BR was out for work. I came home, filled up my truck, then gathered up all the gas cans I could find and filled them up. of course right as I pulled into the gas station to fill them I was lucky enough to feel the first drops of rain. The huricanne was still days out. But we had quite a few rain showers last week. Well when this one hit it REALLY hit. I was standing out there, trying to fill up gas cans. The wind was whipping so hard that I could barely stand up. And the rain was coming down in SHEETS. I was under a canopy and it was coming in strait across. I was soaking wet before I could even get the first can filled up. I just went ahead and finished. When I finally got home I was so wet that I was wiping water OFF me. I literly wrung out my bra and panties. I was able to wash my hair with out getting under the water when I got in the shower to wet it. I kid you not.

Then the next day I decided that there was no sense in waiting until we ran out of gas around here and the lights got knocked out and you couldnt get gas, that I should fill up the 55 gallon drum. This meant getting the pump out. IT was NOT coming out easy. I ended up having to call my brother i law and asking him to drive over here and help me unscrew the cap. It was too hard for me to do it. Then we put in a little gas, cleaned it out and got it all loaded. Then I was off to fill er up. NOT fun. It cost me a fortune! But if the lights go out and you have to run a generator you need it. IT takes about 10-12 gallons a day to run one. And last time we were with out electric for over a month.

that was on Friday. BR was trying his hardest to pull some oil, but with all the people evacuating he couldnt drive on the roads. People litelry were bumper to bumper and wouldnt let him out. He came on home not long after I finished getting the barrel all squared away. I reckon he got home about 11 that night.

Saturday we cleaned up the yard. stuffed all the possible projectiles under the house or under a low tree. And he built up some water dams on the road. Our driveway is VERY steep and the water runs off our hill and cuts HUGE ruts in it. So he was trying to save what little bit of driveway we have left. Its almost to the point that to come and see me you either have to put it in 4 wheel drive or walk.

Of course BR didnt work that night either. They were evacuating Jasper and between the people out of Beaumont, the people in Jasper and the people from Lousianna you coulnt drive out there to save your life.

They had gustav headed to New Orleans by then, but we were supposed to get hit by a cat one. And its hard to tell if the news media just wants it to hit NO o bad that they are trying to wishful thinking it over there, or if its gona hit there. But folks from south of us were takin it serious.

Most folks I talked to here at home were staying put. Noone could afford to go far, and unless you have ever evacuated with 2 million other people at the same time, driving 30 hours strait, you just dont realize how taxing it is. Plus with the horses, and BR's job, plus the high gas prices, staying here and finding a place to hunker down was just much more feasable.

On Sunday they decided that we didnt have to leave. But they had shut down all the wells and BR couldnt haul oil. Of course they had cancled school for Tuesday and Wend. With Monday being a holiday anyway I was already dreading the long weekend. We went ahead and continued to prepare for no electric, and that also means no water, so we moved extra stock tanks to the horses, filled up bathtubs and tried to make sure that everything was as prepared as we could get it.

BR and I just sat here and watched TV with the kids. We got lucky this time. Gustav barely even gave us any rain. it turned and we didnt even get the 10 plus inches of rain they told us we would get.

And the lights never blinked. I am sure we will end up getting one this year. There are just too many out there for one to not hit us.

Tuesday when BR tried to go back to work he couldnt even cross the intersection. The cars were just bumper to bumper.And the love bugs were so thick you couldnt breathe. So again we sat around watching TV. The kids have been watching the RNC with us, and are starting to really grasp the conecpt. I hope they continue to be interested. I have always tried to be informed. and always vote. but this year I am watching everything I can about it.

BR finally tried to go to work on Wend. unfortunatly there still wasnt any oil to haul, and there were still thousands of people on the road, Not to mention the love bugs. so he was home by 7:45. which worked out well for me. He cut the boys hair. Well, technically, he shaved their heads. They have a little on top, but he shaves the rest with a razor. They were excited to go back to school today. And I was excited for them. belive me. I was so excited for school to start and then this happened and they were out for a week.


Tonight BR went back to work, and there is still not much out there. When they turn back those wells they really turn them back. They cant afford an oil spill.

of course there are a few downsides to NOT getting a huricanne. We ended up with ALL of lousianna's Love bugs. if you have never had the privledge of seeing a love bug your life is sorely lacking. AND you get triple the skeeters.

The skeeters are a health hazard, they are agervating and miserable. But they are NOTHING compared to love bugs. Or telephone bugs, there is another name for them, but its not socially acceptable.

At least with skeeters you can get a repelant. Love bugs are about the size of a fly. they have no purpose in life except to breed. The minute they find a member of the opposite sex they 'hook up' and fly around like that. unfortunatly unlike flies they are NOT scared of you. They land ALL over you. in your hair, on your face, your clothes, your arms. They stink. They eat the paint off your car. They get in your house, in your fridge, your cabinets, your nose, your front seat. your back seat, you cant put your hand on the banister to walk up the steps with out killing them, open a door with out smushing them, Bow eats them, heck, everyone eats them, you cant help it, they fly in your mouth. But Bow picks them up off the floor to eat them. And they STINK. I dont know why they smell, but they do. on bad days you cant drive more than 10 minutes with out having to stop and clean off your windshield.




I reckon I should quit whining and go to bed. 5:30 comes early and I cant seem to get enough sleep here lately.