Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Ga-Ga's Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom!

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Does everyone recognize the Williams Famous Apple Cake Recipe...really yummy with Jonathon apples from the market.

Puhsketti! From Melilo's. This a great family Italian place near downtown. Very child-friendly and delicious.
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Thursday, September 18, 2008

"Lectricity's Back"

The first thing Dev said, as she awoke from her 3 hour nap.

(Props to Dev for sleeping GREAT without a/c, no fan, no nightlight and congested)

Thursday 9/18~Sometime around 12 noon

The title says it all...the time our power came back on.

With the endless amounts of suffering going on around the world, I was constantly reminding myself how lucky we are. Even with no power, we have clean water. Hot water. A gas stove and fireplace, a gas grill and eventually...a 2 plug generator.

It was annoying and inconvenient, not the end of the world.

From Sunday around 1pm until 12 noon Thursday, we did without power.

By day 5, it was getting really old. I took a few pictures...

Also, we missed Matt a lot. He was in Peoria attending his Grandfather's funeral & seeing is family. (We hope Ray is feeling better...recovering from a rough foot/leg surgery)

Apparently, the local weather idiots didn't see this coming. I was checking the weather like a maniac, wondering about playing a scheduled tennis match. Although the rain never made it, the winds of Ike were unbelievable. Ike's winds combined with a powerful cold front and voila'!

Sustained winds of 50-60mph, gusts to 85-90.
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Notice Devin in the bottom, right corner for perspective.
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I gigantic tree in neighboring Tom Sawyer State Park.
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On Day 2, we took a trip to get Mums and pumpkins. Who knew Mum's were $9.00 a pop for a gallon?

We left with just pumpkins.
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By Day 3, it was apparent how complex the clean-up process can be. They utilized the State Park parking lot and facilities as an East End base. Workers from all over are living & working to help. 16 hour shifts, until power is 100% restored.

Just after the storm, 75% of Metro Louisville was without power.
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No power, meant very little gas available. Our Thorton's was one of the few open throughout the entire time. At times, lines were 25-30 cars deep. Notice the price. Not cool...
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Our old roof did remarkably well, as neighbors have more damage. Our gazebo was the only casualty & it's fixable!
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Matt's friend David, is my new hero. On Day 3, he brought us this...
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It allowed me to do laundry, vacuum, charge cell phones/computers and WATCH TV!!!

I took this while driving...(Devin wasn't in the car)
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I was very, very thankful our preschool opened today. Devin was in desperate need of seeing some kids and her teachers. Her bond (with Miss Irene in particular) is growing, which was more obvious today. She was eager to go in the morning and very happy at drop-off. (Even with other kids getting upset, which can trigger her)

We had some tears at pick-up...it's like she's d-o-n-e, done. But, her constant chatter today about the morning let me know how much fun she had.

This picture shows the stoplight out at a dangerous intersection, near her preschool. The Army National Guard has deployed to Louisville, to assist with things like this. (Go Army!)

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As I type, there are still more than 100,000 without power.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Ugh

We're on Day 3 without power.

Today's the day we have to completely clean out the refrigerator...

Latest word, we could be without power for 10-14 days. There are simply not enough trucks, as they went to Texas to help.

It's the biggest power outage ever seen in the city.

More later.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Another Day, Another Cold

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One thing she IS getting at preschool, germs!

We've had 2 colds in 3 weeks, but they've been minor. When you spend 99% of your time with someone...I can just look at her face & see when she's a little "off."

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That's one cool thing about a 2 year old...they are troopers. She was insisting we eat in a restaurant tonight. She'll let me know exactly what she wants.

Me: "Dev what do you want to eat for dinner?"
Dev: "Ummmmmmm. Pusketti?"

Me: "You want spaghetti? What about some chicken and rice from Shiraz?"
Dev: "Ok. I go a restaurant and sit down. Inside. Sit."

Me: "Well Dev, you have a runny nose. So, we better pick it up to go home."
Dev: "Uh huh. I go inside and sit down."

*Repeat this basic conversation 10-15x*

She got the plan and was telling me about how runny-nosed people can't sit in restaurants.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Preschool Days 5 & 6

This has been a busy week!

We're thrilled (and honestly surprised) how well Dev has adjusted to preschool. I want to nurture her sensitivity and awareness, not stifle and fight it. In many ways, those attributes are what I love most about her Daddy...

I'm thinking her strong need to have things "just so"may come from me. She notices if anything is out of place in her room. A tiny plastic golf ball was near the dresser and she cried for us to come move it. *sigh*

The preschool teachers report she is engaging in all activities, with a special fondness for music time with Miss Cindy. We had no tears at drop-off this week and attempted a full day today. (8:50-11:30) I went in at 11:15, assuming she was tired.

I was right. They said at about 11:00 she started asking for me and getting anxious. She cried for a few minutes at pick-up, but asked in the car if we could, "go to preschool again soon." Today alone they:

-Painted
-Glued pom-poms on paper and added glitter
-Sorted M&M's by color and ate them
-Music time
-Playground

We went to our favorite Sushi place for lunch. Seriously, I've never seen her eat like this. She devoured anything set in front of her.

-An entire plate of edamame (aka "Sushi Beans)
-Every bite of a 6 piece California Roll (minus the seaweed)
-She insisted on sipping her bites in Soy sauce like I was
-2 cups of ice water
-sips of my Diet Coke

She was so wound up, it took her 2 hours to fall asleep at nap time. I was treated to a 2-hour concert consisting mainly of Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Old MacDonald, Twinkle Twinkle and the "Goodbye Song" from preschool. Oh, and a bunch of stuff about Gymboree.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

We've gotten our money's worth from the zoo pass

I was so excited to try my Telephoto lens, but I had a terrible time figuring out how to make it work with my camera. It was an overcast, but bright/glary day.

Keep in mind, I'm attempting the "impossible." At least, that's what the camera store people keep telling me.

I'm using my Mom's old Nikkon lens on my Canon eos camera. Her lens is very nice and I bought an $8.00 adapter from eBay. It works perfectly, but the camera and lens do not communicate, so I actually have to know the settings...

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We've never gone on the weekend, but we got there early & saw plenty!

Scotty (about 1.5 yrs) the elephant is always a hit.
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Matt got a few shots with the Canon Lens back on the camera. Much easier!
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Friday, September 5, 2008

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Baxter and the Beanstalk/Preschool Day 4

Just as the package said! My Blue Lakes went from this...
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...to this, in 55 Days!
Beans
They were super-easy to grow, with almost no maintenance. I put seeds in some topsoil and kept them watered. And, not a lot of water...just a bit to get through our mini-drought. They are so, so good. Such a clean, simple taste.

Here's Baxter with all his eye whiskers singed off from a candle. This isn't the first or second time he's put our candle out with his face.
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After just 3 days at preschool, Day #4 was our first day with no tears!!



We are thrilled at the idea of Devin being able to enjoy some time away from us. When I dropped her off today, they had some foam/water stations ready to go. Dev was very interested and shrugged off my goodbye. They said she was happy and engaged the rest of the time. We extended her day to 10:40 today...so she's almost to the full time.



I had a rare dinner out for work. We went to 4th Street Live in Downtown Louisville.
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A good chance to take my first night pictures.
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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Preschool. Day 3

We're very encouraged...Devin seems to be adjusting to the preschool routine. It's going to take a while at just 2 days a week. (The Thursday to Tuesday gap is like a lifetime for her)

Today I dropped her off early with some tears, but she seemed less scared. One new thing we tried today, was sending her with her favorite snack.

"Cheese Crackers." Which means this:


Miss Noel said it really helped to give her something familiar to eat..

Also, the turkey and cheese gives her some protein to carry her to lunch. The child is an eating machine!

Today, she really enjoyed music time and did not start crying again until she saw me! We did another early pick-up, even though she was not upset.

If she could stay 15-30 more minutes, they head out to the playground. That would get her close to 11:00 and the full time. The playground is shaded with a huge sandbox.