Girly Hair

I've really enjoyed doing the girls hair! It seems like it would take forever to do some of them but it takes only like 10-20 minutes. The funniest thing is when people ask me, "How do you get them to sit still for that long?" That really hasn't been a problem for me. My sister in law would put them in the bathroom sink to sit but Avery is a little big for that! I think she did that when they were little. My girls like to play with the combs and bows. They used to drink out of the waterbottle by spraying it into their mouths but that started to bug me so that stopped. The TV is a good distraction or also while they are eating. It really is fun for me and it takes my mind off other things. It's time with just my daughter and gives me bonding time. Anyways I couldn't do any of these styles if it weren't for the fun hair blogs. This is where I got the idea for Avery's hair http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/2008/08/braid-flower.html. This is for Emily's http://cute2tryhairdos.blogspot.com/2008/08/double-criss-crossies.html This was the girls hair for church; so fun! It really is a stress reliever for me- that may sound really strange.

The ultrasound

In a previous post I had mentioned that I would be calling three times a day- which I did until I talked to one of the nurses. She said all of the calls are being routed to her home and the power and phones were still out at the office. The call came Monday about 1:45 pm to reschedule the ultrasound. I was thrilled and couldn't turn it down. I frantically called to find a sitter- school was still out so I had all three kiddos but I had my YW too for babysitting! Luckily I was able to get the kids taken care of and called Spencer- they only gave me until 2:30 to call back and my appointment was at 3:15 and it was at least a 25 minute drive with the power out at some intersections. I took some clean clothes to pick up Spencer- he was working on rebuilding a fence with friends, he was dirty and stinky, and raced to the doctors office. We were both so excited to find out what it was! It was strange walking up to the office door, the power was still out but they were using a generator for a few lights, fans, and the ultrasound machine. We had the typical wait for Dr. Hulme but the circumstances were different, there was no air conditioning- I'm so spoiled! Our turn came and we were the last appointment and it was a normal visit just minus the electricity. I went to the ultrasound room and he came in and got started. We got a good look at the baby and he said everything looks good and that the due date is January 24 according to the measurements of the baby. He asked if we wanted to know the sex and of course we were both really excited. The anticipation was killing us for the past few weeks! He got a good look and said there is no doubt that's a boy! He jiggled my tummy with the ultrasound mouse, or whatever it's called, and said, "Oh yeah, there's no doubting that. That's pretty clear!" I started laughing and we were both really excited! I took Spencer back to his fence building and went home. The kids were both really excited and we look forward to welcoming this baby into our family. Avery is just as excited as I am I think. She talks about holding the baby all the time and always talks to my tummy. She says," Love you baby!" before getting on the bus and before going to bed. She's so funny! She's going to be a great helper with this new one. Jake and Emily can just play together and come visit Mom and Avery with the new baby when they get bored with what they are doing.

More pictures of Ike

My sister-in-law takes pictures all the time and took tons of pictures of before Ike hit, getting ready for the hurricane, and the devistation that Ike left in its path. There are still people out here that do not have power! It's been two weeks! I don't know what I would do besides complain and cry. It is heartbreaking about all the homes that have been completely destroyed though. I am greatful that we were protected by a higher power! Thanks Heidi for the pictures!

So what is it?

So the big question for me is what is it a boy or girl? And I really want to know! I actually had a doctor's appointment Tuesday, yesterday, to find out what exactly is moving and kicking around in my tummy. I am already 22 weeks and I still don't know and with my anal personality that likes to be prepared, I'm already irritated. So the fact that my doctor's office has no power and the phone lines are still down only adds to my irritation. Spencer and I tried to go to Peekababy, a 3D ultrasound place and another imaging place and they both require a doctor's note- which of course I do not have. Aggghhh!!! I was reminded that I'm not really sick and there are some women who get sick and really need that appointment which should make me more grateful. Their phones are still not working as I continue to attempt to call morning, noon, and night. I'm hoping that I can get in by next week! He'll have a lot of catching up to do!

Hurricane Ike

Well the pictures on the news are all true! It is breathtaking to see the devastation. We were blessed to have come out with a ripped tarp from the play equipment and a missing shingle or two. Many of our neighbors have trees and fences that were blown down in the 75 mph winds that we had. We were as ready as we could have been though with food storage, water, gas, propane, flashlights, and the best of all the generator. Life would have been miserable without that! The winds lasted for about 12 hours some stronger than others and when the eye of the hurricane was passing it was official; the winds were so strong and the power was out, it was 4:30 am- yeah, I was awake. The path of Ike went up almost right along I-45 which is about 10-15 minutes from our home. We were really close but luckily not on the dirty side- the strongest side. So Saturday was our hunkering down and trying to celebrate Jake's birthday without power and listening to the wind and rain. The worst part of the hurricane was over by the afternoon and then followed the thunderstorm for another 24 hours. That was when we really got some rain. It was miserable to be inside with no air circulating and all the humidity that's when the generator was wonderful- we were able to plug in a box fan and get the air moving. Church was cancelled for Sunday so we decided to head over to Grandma and Grandpa Allreds home when we were getting cabin fever at our house and the weather had cleared up a bit. We were all amazed at the trees that had fallen and all the debris that covered the streets. Every street light was out and so it took a bit longer to get there but it was great to get out of the house and visit with family. When we got home later that afternoon our power was back on and we were SO happy! We invited the rest of the family over for a BBQ and to relax and enjoy the air conditioning. It was fun and so much more enjoyable with A/C!!

Things have gone back to normal for us but a lot of the Houston is still without power and the lines for gas are ridiculous! There is very limited refrigerated and frozen food available at the grocery stores. There again our generator saved our four gallons of milk I had bought Thursday before the storm. We won't need more for about five more days. My in-laws are going on day number five with no power. They also have a generator and filled up their gas cans after staying in line for hours and were charges $4.79 a gallon- can you say price gouging? It's really sad. The news also had people selling no name generators out of the back of a big van for $1400. That's insane and so sad; they had storm relief T-shirts on. Nice business to be in- taking advantage of people who need help.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Jake turned 5 on Saturday September 13th- the day that Hurricane Ike was making it's way through Galveston and past the city of Houston. We tried to make the best of it by making brownies the night before and planning on celebrating later. We had lunch and then sang to Jake and ate brownies and then let him open his presents. He loved all of them! It was a great distraction- it can get pretty intense without power, in 90 degree weather with of course high humidity, and wondering how everything is surviving. Emily really broke any tension with her humorous idea of where Jake's new Batman underwear should go (see pictures!). Late Sunday morning we decided to go visit Grandma and Grandpa Allred and they had a few gifts too so Jake had more presents to open with cousins that were staying with Grandma and Grandpa during the hurricane. Happy Birthday Jake we love you buddy!!