The master bath

I started to do some redecorating in my master bath today. Well, truth be told, I started several years ago when the wallpaper started peeling. Each time I took a bath, I would pull another piece of the wallpaper off. It had gotten to the point where the bathroom looked really bad! So this morning I woke up with resolve - get the wallpaper off and paint. Emma and Silas were my helpers. They went with me to Lowe's where we got a wallpaper scorer, empty spray bottles and scrapers. First, we scored the walls (my job), then they each sprayed the wallpaper with a mixture of hot water and fabric softener. After letting that soak in, we scraped the wallpaper right off. It was not really fun, but very rewarding. Good bye 10 year old floral wallpaper. We were able to get one side of the bathroom painted this evening:

The 3rd child

When I only had one child, I used to say things like:

"That is your 30 minutes of TV for this morning, let's do an art project" or "Let's clean up this mess before we get anything else out" or "We need to wipe off your face before we go out for our errands" or "What kind of a mother lets her toddler dig a giant box of candy out of her purse at 9:00 a.m. and eat it as they walk around Wal-Mart?"

Now that I have three, I say things like:

"Has anyone seen Abigail?" and "What is this wet spot in the living room?" and "Whatever your name is..." and "Where is that giant box of candy...Oh, here you go Abby".

The floral solution

I brought the flowers in from the garage this morning (mainly because every time I stepped out to get in the van my eyes started watering). I was just sure I could still enjoy some of the flowers if I were able to endure a few moments of being uncomfortable. With Silas asking 20 questions, I pulled out all the lilies and put them in a separate vase. That vase is sitting out on the front porch, sure to come back in with the housekeeper who will think they were lovingly delivered...

A funny thing happened on the way to the allergist...

Jeff sent me these beautiful flowers for our anniversary. May I say without bragging...aren't they gorgeous?

When we first got married, I got flowers every month on the 23rd. No kidding, I used to have about 50 vases. It went on for several years. Then Emma came and money got tighter and well, you know the rest. So this delivery yesterday was a special treat for me. It reminded me of those monthly deliveries that became so routine. I appreciate the flowers much more now than I did then.

Unfortunately, I am having to appreciate them from a little further off than I used to. When we got home from our date last night, I started having an allergy attack - eyes, nose, skin, throat - the whole bit. I quickly figured out it was the flowers and they were banished to the entry hall. By the time we headed off to bed, I was in search of eye drops and benedryl and Jeff had to put the flowers out in the garage. Not only did I have to give up my beautiful flowers...it also had a negative impact on the rest of our evening (do I need to say more?). What's a girl to do?

Back to Beaumont

My grandparents have gone back to Beaumont. The power is back on at their house and they were anxious to leave this morning. Pray for all those who have lost so much.

Today is my 8th anniversary. Jeff and I are going out tonight for dinner and a movie.

Hurricane Ike

Once again, a hurricane has hit Beaumont and the Texas gulf coast. Three years ago, Hurricane Rita hit Beaumont just 10 days after Katrina hit New Orleans. Not much attention was paid to the damage in Texas but it was substantial. This time, the damage was catastrophic. Galveston was completely wiped off the map...High Island, Bolivar Penninsula and Crystal Beach are all gone! The infrastructure of Beaumont is in shambles - all water must be boiled before consumption, the sewer plant is being run on generators, 50% of residents do not have power. Even when the mandatory evacuation was lifted today, the county judge asked residents to be aware that the town to which they are returning is not the same one they left.

My grandparents have been here for a few days. They came here after spending a week in Arkansas with other relatives. They are anxious to return but cannot go back until they are sure there is adequate food, water and medical care. While it is always hard to be displaced, it is so much worse when you are 85 years old. The kids have been entertaining us while we are all together....Abigail dances, Emma does gymnastics and Silas covers his body in Spider-Man tattoos....

Monday in NYC

On our last day in New York, we slept in and got ready slowly. We wandered a few blocks from our hotel and got a yummy breakfast. We were just 2 blocks from the Lehman Brothers headquarters so there were lots of young, well-dressed professionals who looked a bit confused about what they were supposed to be doing. After breakfast, we walked in front of the L.B. building and saw a crowd gathering. There was an artist who had sketched a picture of the CEO and was allowing people to write messages on it - employees in green ink and anyone else in black ink. He ended up selling that "piece of art" for $10,000.00. WHAT?

Anyway, we checked out of our hotel, checked our bags and headed to Central Park. After a bit of aimless walking...we took a lovely carriage ride through Central Park - past Tavern on the Green, the Carousel, Strawberry Fields, Sheep Meadow - it was beautiful. We grabbed lunch at Micky Mantel's and got back to the hotel just in time to catch our car to the airport. We had a long trip back but made it in around 11:00 p.m. We were glad to be home...