Hurricane Gustav-last ditch effort preparations

We have taped, sand-bagged, charged, iced, moved, hauled, secured, stored, decided, prepared, bathed, washed, gased, and bought everything that we can think of...now 12 hours, $500.00, countless decisions, blisters, sweat, and tears later...we are exhausted mentally and physically. It is now 9:30pm Sunday night--the wind and rain have begun and our parish is currently under a TORNADO WATCH. Here we go......

Jack secured the swings on the swingset


Generator is in place by the living room window where we will place the window unit A/C when the time comes

I taped all the windows across the front of the house; I believe this is more for peace of mind that actual benefit, but we'll see

As I taped the windows, Harley taped his bicycle in preparation for "Hurricame Gustop"


Please keep us in your prayers in the upcoming hours and days to come...

Geaux LSU Tigers, Geaux away Hurricane Gustav

Today was the day that LSU fans have waited for since January 07, 2008--today was the opener for the 2008 football season. In typical south Louisiana fashion, it was 90+ degrees, 75+% humidity, and 80,000+ people, despite the fact that our entire state is "staring down the gun barrel" of a category 4 hurricane (more on that later). The fightin' T-I-G-E-R-S won!!

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Now, about the hurricane brewing in the carribean and headed for the Gulf of Mexico and eventually somewhere on the LA coast...it has to be an ominous sign when, at least 36+ hours before the hurricane makes landfall, you glance at your digital cable box and instead of the time it reads "EAS" (Emergency Alert System) or you glance at your NOAA weather radio and notice the orange light is lit and the display reads "Warning". I'm thinking to myself, this isn't gonna be good...we'll keep you updated as long as we have electricity and internet service! We believe we are as prepared as possible...charcoal, propane, gasoline, non-perishable food items, dog food, water, batteries, flashlights, candles, and ROSARIES!!!

Harley's Motor-Scooter / Cody's new "frim"

The motor-scooter is the result of Harley's engineering. He calls it "tricky"; I call it dangerous ingenius.




YES, that is Cody's finger and YES, that is a super-crazy, two-bodied, two-headed bug that Cody was calling his "frim" (a.k.a. friend) up-until the moment that I accidentally stepped on it squished it with my shoe. And, NO, I am not that close to it--that is the use of some super-duper mega zoom (you think I would be that close to that thing??)!! What the HE** is it??

Friday Night Arcade

Jack is working late tonight and all of our neighborhood friends have gone out of town dodging Hurricane Gustav for the long Labor Day weekend, so I decided I would brave the pizza place/arcade for Friday night entertainment. The boys were good and had a terrific time; Harley most enjoyed the motorcycle ride and Cody was somewhat obsessed with the basketball toss. We left with 25+ trinkets, including a dozen Tootsie Rolls, that I purchased they won with their "tickets".

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FYI: The game WILL go on...

T.S. Gustav Update: Opener Moved to 10 a.m. on ESPN Classic
08/292008 by www.LSUsports.net
Updated 2 p.m. CDT, Friday
BATON ROUGE – LSU’s football game against Appalachian State on Saturday has been moved to 10 a.m. CDT on ESPN Classic, director of athletics Joe Alleva announced Friday.
The move was made in consultation with state officials in anticipation of an evacuation of New Orleans and an anticipated traffic contraflow order by the governor of Louisiana in preparation for the impact of Tropical Storm Gustav.
“Public safety was the overriding concern expressed by all parties when we met with the governor and his staff today,” Alleva said. “10 a.m. is obviously not the optimal time for a football game, but when one of the options was to not play the game at all, this is a matter of making the best of an unfortunate situation.”
The gates of Tiger Stadium will open at 8 a.m.
Alleva met with reporters at 2:30 p.m. at the LSU Athletic Administration Building to discuss the move. Watch on-demand here on LSUsports.net (Free).
Refresh this page for the latest details.

out of the mouths...

Let me preface this comment with the fact that Jack bought Harley and Cody new watches a couple days ago:
Me: "Harley, what time is it?"
Harley: (as he opens the flip-face to his hot wheels watch and replies with such certainty) "9 dollars!!"

Hurricane stock-up or not--No stock left!!

It's Thursday, August 28 @ 1030...hurricane forecast to make landfall at the earliest Tuesday, September 02 around 0200...according to my calculations, that is appriximately 4 1/2 days from now...think you are beating everyone to the bullet if you go to Wal-Mart this morning before the weekend crowd....THINK AGAIN!!



Water Aisle

Canned Tuna/Chicken Shelves

Canned Soup Display

Peanut Butter Shelves

Bagged Sugar Shelves


Pop-Tart Shelves (I thought I was the only person that would think of Pop-Tarts as a hurricane necessity, guess not!)



And, batteries, flashlights, candles........hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Pics for pondering...

(This is an actual picture that I took from my car right here in good 'ole Denham Springs, Louisiana.)
What's wrong with the wordage in the Walgreen's sign?? Really!?! Not good....


Pediatric critical care nurse hard-at-work...anything for the kiddos!!

Wordless Wednesday

Put me in Coach (Les),
I'm ready to play...
today!

Like Father, Like Son...

(this morning as Jack is getting dressed for work...)

Harley: "Daddy, when I grow up and my hair gets white and gray like yours, I'm gonna shave my head just like you do, OK?"

Gotta love the brutal honesty of a 3 year old!!

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Let the Hurricane Gustav preparations begin...

I was notified today at work that I have been assigned to the hurricane recovery team, which is the team of medical pediatric first responders assigned to the 24-48 hour post hurricane landfall hospital response. GREAT!! They also make it a point to threaten you remind you that your job and ultimately your license is on the line should you not respond when called upon. SIGH!! GREAT!! Apparently the hospital has been notified by "the notifiers" (not sure which governing body of people this might be) of a possible "direct hit" on New Orleans of hurricane 3+ early next week.

Jack spent the afternoon re-fueling the generator that we purchased in the days following Hurricane Katrina and guaranteed that it would start. I will stock up on non-perishable supplies this weekend just in case. I suppose you can never be TOO prepared.

What will I do if we have no electricity and I can't blog!?!

Mr. Big Stuff...Who do you think you are???

YES, that is my coffee table that Cody has perched himself on to watch TV...seriously, you have GOT to be kidding me??

Me: "Cody, what are you doing?"
Cody: "Watchin' TV...Dora on"
Me: "Why are you sitting on the coffee table?"
Cody: "Cuz, I see"
RIGHT!!! Crazy me...

Me: "Cody, you need to get down off the table and you are sitting too close to the TV"

Why get down when you can simply "scootch" back a little and still be on the table...best seat in the house!!

Macho, even when he sleeps...I swear he's not faking it, he is sound asleep with his leg crossed over his knee!!

Fay, Fay go away...it's Sunday and we want to go outside and play!!

Cody has been singing, "Rain, Rain Go Away"!! all day today and boy has it been coming down. Steady downpours since mid-night with no signs of stopping anytime soon!!

We went to Mass this morning, took Jack's mother to lunch for her birthday along with his sister's family, visited Bass Pro Shop (Cody says, "Look Mommy, an 'allergader' constantly) and now we would like to do our typical Sunday afternoon outside playing and grilling with the neighbors. Instead, the boys are taking a much-needed late afternoon nap and we will settle for grilling in the garage later this evening.

Wait...as I type, it seems the rain has momentarily stopped and the sun is trying to peak through the clouds. We'll see...

Have a great week!!

BTW~check it out at the bottom of the page...I hit 1000+ unique ISP hits on my blog!! WOOHOO!! That's either really exciting, assuming it's family and friends or really creepy, if it is freaks from afar perusing the internet???

Out of the mouths....

Harley: "Mommy, where is God and Jesus?"

Me: "In heaven"

Harley: "No, Mommy, that's not right!"

Me: "Really, where are they then?"

Harley: "God is in heaven and Jesus is on the cross because that's where he died...that's right Mommy!!"

Kids (in all their glory)

Stinky, sweaty, runny-nosed, food-covered faces, bruised bodies, filthy-clothed neighborhood friends;but, oh so blue-eyed, smling, laughing, running, jumping, and having a blast!!