We're Home

We got home safely from California yesterday. The cats are very happy to see us. Petey woke me up early this morning because he was hungry.

The kitchen refrigerator isn't working. I learned this last night. Great timing. We have home warranty. They're searching for someone who can fix a SubZero. This should end well.

Matt has speech today. I also have to go to the cleaners, the store, the p.o. box, drop off mail that was delivered to us on accident and take Matt to lunch. Matt got to pick the lunch spot and he chose Long John Silver's. Ahoy matey!

Happy Early Christmas

Today is Early Christmas, a family holiday that came about in Tallahassee. We had this bike we wanted to give Matthew, but we would be in California on December 25. So the night before we left, we went out to dinner. When we came back, there were suddenly presents in the house! Matthew really liked that, so we've kept it up.

Tonight we'll go to Asian City for dinner. Then we'll drive around and look at lights on the way home. Then we will open presents.

Matthew has 2 parties today at school. They get one in reading because they made a goal or something. Then there is a special party for his grade in the Cafeteria.

After school, I am going to drive an unsuspecting Matthew to the hair cut place. He will not be happy. Asian City should fix that attitude.

Not My Kind of Town

Kevin sent these pictures from his phone last night:

My global isn't warming

Me at 8:00 am: Matt, wear your jacket to school. It's supposed to get cold.

Matt at 8:00 am: No, it's too heavy.

[Intermission where the temperature drops 20 degrees.]

Matt at 12:15 pm: Mom, can you bring my jacket to school?

He's lucky he called, because I would have let him freeze to prove a point. Mean mom.

Yesterday we were enjoying a nice 74-degree day. Today it was about 45 at afternoon pick-up time. Tomorrow isn't supposed to be any better.

Kevin is less than sympathetic because it's -8,000F where he is.

More snow pics

The snow is long gone, but I did have few more blogworthy pictures in my camera, so here they are:California boy started to make a snow angel, then deemed it too cold on the ground. This is all I got.

Our back deck.

Front yard and neighbor's lights.

I spotted this little snowman on our mailbox. He didn't survive long, but he'll live forever here.

Snow!!

Weather Report

We have a 70% chance of snow/sleet/rain all day. Matthew wanted to call somebody (anybody) before school and tell them, but it was too early.

I suspect it will just be cold and rainy all day, but Matthew is really hopeful for a snowflake.

Christmas Shopping

Let's just get this out of the way. Everyone asks me the same question and they think they're the only one that does. I don't know what Matthew wants for Christmas. He won't make a list. Feel free to get him Barbies or nothing at all.

Also, Matthew informed me that he knows his dad is Santa Claus. Um, no. If being Santa Claus meant you sat on your couch all weekend and played with your new Blackberry Storm, then yes, Kevin is Santa Claus. However the gift thought, purchase and wrapping is done by someone else who gets no credit.

On that note, I'm almost done with the delicate orchestration of buying and shipping presents all over the country. It's harder than it looks, which is why I have to do it right after Thanksgiving to make sure everything gets to the right places in time.

As for the next few days, Kevin is in Chicago. He sent me pictures of the snow. Matthew is starting his rollerblading unit in P.E. I expect a wrist cast by next week.

The Reluctant Patriot

Monday was Patriots' Day at Matt's school. It's a whole day of Revolutionary-era activities. There was a program in the morning that including dancing and songs. Matthew danced the minuet with a GIRL.
Unfortunately, Kevin had the camera in Pittsburgh, so we don't have any video of the dance. We do have way too many videos of Steelers football, though.

Matthew was less interested in dancing than making faces at me and asking me to leave. He was upset because I was staring at him. I told him I was watching his 8-person group dance, but he won't buy that. He's complex in the spotlight.

Yes, that's a pirate hat. I almost got away with it, but some kid pointed it out to Matt. I had already shelled out $$ for the costume, I didn't want to hunt down a REAL tri hat as well.

Busted

Ok, who blabbed about my injured hand? I just got a call from Dr. Surfer. Somebody told him that I was complaining of pain and he got right on the case. I had to read to him over the phone all the medicines I was taking and convince him that the infection is getting better and I am following all the rules. Think an IRS audit is bad? Try a medical audit from Dr. Surfer.

No more medical updates on my hand. I'm closing the vault!

Fashion Boy and Christmas

Matthew came out of his room this morning wearing black shorts, an orange Dynamo jersey, and a bright red long-sleeve shirt under the orange jersey. I tried to explain this wardrobe was in violation of the color wheel, but he said, "I do not care about fashion!"

Five people have asked me what Matthew wants for Christmas. I do not know. I know what I want, though.

Also, XM Radio has their Holly 24/7 Christmas music station going. Matthew listens to it in the morning, afternoon and evening. He listen to it year-round if he could.

Powerless

The power keeps going on and off. Our phone doesn't work when this happens (not even the land line). So if you keep getting a busy signal or nothing at all, that's why.

Follow Us

I added a "Follower" feature at the right of this blog. The audience is growing bigger than our little family. I wanted to give everyone an easy way to stay informed, so follow along if you wish.

Playing Ketchup

Pay attention because the recap of this week's events will go fast.

Mom left the hospital, stayed at my house for a few days, then went back home. She's ok now, but will still need surgery in the future.

Kevin and Matt went to Pasadena to see the UCLA game. Meh.

I took Petey the cat to the vet. He bit me on the left and it got infected. I have lots of meds. I type one-handed. I no longer have a left hand, it's just a claw.

The power went out last night. I was ok until the neighbors' generators went on. Then it was like Hurricane Ike all over again, PTSD-wise. Matt went to bed early. I read a book with a flashlight in my claw hand.

Matthew got his school pictures. Long hair is "in," so I let him look shaggy for this picture. He loves it. Just giving you all a heads up when you receive a photo of what looks like Matt straight out of bed. Kids these days...

Promotion

My mom got promoted to the "Bland Diet" for hospital dinner last night. It sounds worse than it is, and the solid food is the last hurdle she has to cross before getting released. Hopefully she'll get sprung today. Then she'll lay low at my house and see if the oral antibiotics are ok in her system. Then she can fly home.

She will definitely have to have surgery in California, so get your Hallmark cards ready.

We Didn't Go to the Quilt Show

On Saturday we were supposed to go to the mother of all quilt shows, but that didn't happen. My mom decided to bring her cranky colon with her to Houston and now she's seeing all the local color one can view from a hosptial bed.

Since pre-dawn Saturday, she's had a ton of IV-admininstered antibiotics. The plan is for more of that. At some point she will graduate to oral antibiotics. Then she and my dad will fly home, where cranky-colon surgery will have to be performed.

She's doing better. Don't expect lots of updates, because it's just two different antibiotics six times a day and not much else to report. Sometimes we talk. Sometimes we watch her sleep. Sometimes we unplug the IV pole from the wall so she can get out of bed. These are not the stirring details on which great blogs are built.

Where did October go?

The weather was wonderful this weekend. Those that think Houston is humid 24/7/365 really need to come see the place on days like these.

We have a busy week. Kevin will be in Chicago, where there's a chance of snow tomorrow. My parents come for a visit on Wednesday. Matthew has half-days on Thursday and Friday for parent conferences.

Friday night is Halloween. We're having friends over for hamburgers and beer. Matthew didn't really like any of the costumes out there, so we sort of invented one. He has a scary devil mask, a black robe and a pitchfork.

Saturday, we (as in not Kevin and Matthew) are going to the International Quilt Festival at the GRB. This place and this show are massive. Last year I went and walked 5 miles between marketplace rows and exhibits.

Worst Week of P.E. Ever

Mattew is learning about revolutionary times. In November, the school has a day where all the kids in his grade dress up and party like it was 1776. Boys and girls are separated and taught by teachers who also play the part.

Part of this event involves dancing. Matthew has been practicing the minuet in p.e. He is not happy about it, nor dancing with a girl. He has declared this the "worst week of p.e. ever."

Baby's First Orthodontist Visit

Matthew had his orthodontist consultation today. He got all the hideous "before" pictures taken and some x-rays.

No teeth have to be pulled, which makes me happy. He has 5 baby teeth left to lose. Two of those are mere shells with no roots, and should fall out anytime. If everyting falls out in six months, he'll begin the process of more pictures, a discussion of the finance plan, and then braces. He should have braces by the start of school next year.

This office is pretty slick. There are 3 computers with Internet you can use in the waiting room. The magazine rack (more like a wall) is a thing of beauty. There are video game consoles at each chair. There's a prize wheel you get to spin for your birthday, and slushy machine by the exit. I ate Matthew's white cherry slushy. Darn good.

I figure I ought to enjoy all these things, since we'll be paying for them. The consultation was free, but the good stuff starts in six months.

Matthew is playing it cool, but I know he's excited to be going to the orthodontist like other kids.

After the appointment, we went to the store and did a little window shopping. I timed it so we could get McDonalds and he could take it back to school, eat in the cafeteria and be all cool with his fast food while the other kids had school lunch.

Pictures

Yesterday was picture day. Yesterday was also the science lab where they put Mentos candy in Diet Coke 2-liter bottles and watch the whole thing explode. Who planned the school calendar this way? I blame the hurricane.

Also, I did not make Matthew cut his hair for pictures. It was a battle I didn't want to pick.

So if you get a picture of shaggy Matthew with Diet Coke in his hair, you know why.

Seattle, Part 2

The area surrounding Qwest Field is fun for football games. Parking sucks, so people walk to the games from other places. There are lots of restaurants and bars open and it feels like a party.

This picture looks planned, but it's not. Kevin was chewing gum and was caught mid chew. Matthew refuses to take a serious picture anymore. Their simultaneous Popeye immitations are purely coincidental.


I had to show you the garlic fries. Nothing more than minced garlic and french fries. So good you stink like garlic for days.

I don't think you realize how much garlic is in these suckers so I took a close up for emphasis.

Matthew showing us his new hat. The Seahawks didn't do very well so we had to make our own entertainment.

The view from the left of my seat:

The view from the right:

Seattle, Part 1

Matthew had Monday off, so we went to Seattle for a long weekend. Coincidentally, there just happened to be a Seahawks home game during that time.

We took a boat ride so Matthew could see how the locks work. It was windy and chilly. Matthew went inside the boat and ate popcorn while we were going through the locks. So much for that educational opportunity. I saw three jumping salmon.




This was the view as we rounded the bend. The guy said this was the last sunny day in Seattle for a while.

We went shopping at Kevin's favorite sports store. Because the Green Bay was in town, there was a special Packers display. Who came up with the idea to wear yellow foam triangles on your head as a sign of team loyalty? The cheese cowboy hat looks better.

Before the game, there was a little event in the convention center next to the stadium. Matthew got to kick field goals....

...and play quarterback.

This was the view from our hotel room. I enjoyed watching the ferries come and go.

Bury Me Not

Matthew informed me that when he dies, he wants to be part of Bodyworlds.

He says they can also have his skin, bones and blood. Generous boy.

New Week

Matthew returned to school today for the first "real" week of school since the hurricane. Last week, they didn't have homework or tests. Last week they had free lunch.

Our weekend was pretty quiet. We went to the Woodlands Mall so Kevin could get some work shirts. The rest of the time involved watching various sports teams win or lose.

More storm pics

Here's what the front street post storm. If you look carefully, you can see my neighbor already cleaning his yard. There wasn't a ton of big damage, just a bunch of random small branches from other people's yards. Lots of fences fell down.

Back street. There were trees down along the whole main boulevard. Residents with chainsaws went out and cleared the roads for emergency vehicles could get in and we could get out.

The pool doesn't loook that bad, but was impossible to get all the leaves out. Picture this without power for 13 days. It got funky.

Here's the fence. I've been trying to describe it to everyone on the phone, but it's easier to look at it.

Are you wondering why it didn't fall completely to the ground? It's because the air conditioner stopped it.

Back to Back to School

Matthew went back to school today. The kids have missed 11 days: one before the hurricane and 10 after. It's worse than it sounds. The kids had just gotten over their summer coma and were starting to get to work. Now that whole process has to begin again.

Still no word on how or if the days will be made up. The decision is on the state level.

Below are pictures taken on the playground. Our power came on about the same time this mess was fixed. Thank you, Georgia Power. They were the ones assigned to the task. The school's principal opened the building so they could use restrooms and gave them chairs and tables to use under the pavilion. A parent made them hot dogs.

Matthew's Hurricane Trauma

[I found the camera. It was in Kevin's car.]

Here's Matthew sleeping through the hurricane.

He did have a bathroom break during the height of the storm, but went back to sleep.

The eye came through in the early morning. There was no mistaking that it was the eye, because the wind stopped and it was quiet. The leaves moved a teeny bit. It was cloudy. I stared out the window for a while, but decided to take advantage of the quiet to get some sleep. I woke up about 7:00 am when the wind got bad again. Hurricanes are less scary when it's light out.

The day after the storm was our anniversary. We were supposed to go to Brennan's like we do every year, but it had the audacity to burn down in the middle of the storm. Instead, we had ramen cooked on the grill and apples.

Let There Be Light

We lost power on September 13, at 12:16 am. We got it back this afternoon.

During the storm the fence fell on the air conditioner, pushed the case off the base and dented it a bit. We propped the fence back up, but didn't know if the A/C unit was damaged because there was no power until today. So far it seems to be working fine. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Also, the satellite seems to be ok, which wasn't the case during Rita. I'm happy for Matt to get tv back, and glad I don't have to call and wait in line for another repair.

So now we're in line for tree removal and fence repair. It could have been so much worse. I thought the kitchen skylights were toast.

No pictures yet. The camera is hopefully in Kevin's car, which is at the airport. Not much to look at anyway.

Now it's time to do laundry. Tomorrow I will try to refill my completely empty refrigerator.

Where's My FEMA Trailer?

Still no power. Maybe Thursday. Matt's school is supposed to start Monday. There are multiple power lines down on the playground. Always fun for kids.

Matt and I in Austin tonight, but will go back to the dark tomorrow.

No pictures because I can't find my camera. I think it's in Kevin's car.

Last call

Matthew is asleep. He's sleeping on the air mattress in our room.

Still no rain but lots of gusts.

I'm going to shut down the blog now. I've been going, going, going all day and now I'm just tired.

It won't be long until we see the green glow of transformers. During Rita, we sat in bed and watched out the window because it was too noisy to sleep. Finally there was a massive green glow bigger than all the others, better than fireworks. Then our power was gone.

I expect the power to be out much longer this time. Don't worry if you don't hear from us. We'll just be sitting here, waiting our turn for Center Point to flick the switch.

So I guess that's it. I hope you learned something about surge and how we don't have it. I hope you learned Houston geography. I hope you've been entertained.

Now I am going to bed and spend the 12 longest hours of my life just listening to wind.

Tomorrow we break open the baked goods. Thawed hot dogs are planned for dinner.

See you on the flip side.

Flickr

Here's a list of photos tagged "Ike" on Flickr. Some will be junk but many will be valid. These are pictures that people are posting to the Internet. Often, their experiences aren't being captured on the news.

It will give you something to look at when this blog goes dark.

Pun

My fortune cookie from dinner says "You will be showered with good luck."

Showered. Heh.

I'm getting tired.

Still here

Nothing to report. It's dark and there's wind. No rain.

Power update

Lights are flickering.

Cats

Petey knows. He won't come out from under the bed. I can't even get him to eat. And you know how much Petey loves to eat.

Bob would go out and sniff the storm if we'd let him.

Refrigerate if necessary

Kevin turned the air conditioner down. We're going to make it cold so were comfortable longer.

Cities have started to issue curfews. I can assure you we won't be out between the hours of 8 and 8.

We didn't get our mail today. Or trash service. We did get the inserts for our Sunday paper. Guess that means no Sunday paper. I get to read Parade magazine before you do.

The wind is getting gusty. No rain. It's starting to get dark here, so the good news footage will be going down with the sun.

Weather Channel has Nothin' on Us

We went for a drive and I uploaded some pictures.

The first I took yesterday. This is what a line for gas looks like in suburbia.


Not many businesses are boarded up, but Kinko's did. I'd say 1 in 25 houses has some half-assed effort at boarding.

Here's the view from the lake. You can see the doom coming.

All the businesses are closed except for chinese food. That's what we had for dinner. It's the most popular spot in town.

The wind is picking up noticably. I'll be here as long as there's power.

Village Idiot

This is the man of the house:

We pumped up the air bed. Matthew will sleep on that in our bathroom.

Hurricane Bake Sale

Here's what I made. Cookie bars under foil, 2 batches of rice krispies, cookies, crumb cake and brownies. Matthew cut himself a brownie, as you can see.

Our pantry has so much food in it. It's like a 7-11 without smokes and lottery tickets. We're good.

Bob says, "Run from the water. Hide from the wind."

Checking in

We're still here. Wind is picking up. Let me eat my Chinese food and then I'll tell you about it.

Rain

Here comes the first feeder band.

Still here

It's getting darker and the clouds are moving by very quickly.

Things must be pretty bad on Galveston because there aren't any live reports from there anymore.

And I want to welcome Erin to the show. She just now realized that we were having a storm. News travels slowly there at the surfer compound.

I heard some birds.

Local TV

Here are the local TV stations. Most should have live feeds.

ABC

CBS

NBC

FOX

Also, XM channel 247 is broadcasting one station. I think its CBS.

Oh So Quiet

The birds are gone. I've been out twice now and can't hear them. They don't even care about the seed on the driveway.

Also...

I'll try to update at least hourly until the power goes out. Sometimes the power goes out for no reason. I can't guarantee anything.

So....if you don't hear from me for a while, that's what happened and we'll see you on the flip side.

Worthless update

Nothing new to report. Storm track is the same.

I did make brownies and a crumb cake. My counter looks like a church bake sale. Yay for sweet provisions.

DirecTV

We're on DirecTV now. Channel 361.

Weather report

We still have brief bouts of sun. Just a few teeny gusts.

Galveston is a mess. They're taking names and SSNs of people that are standing around watching the waves. I'm just floored by the people that are staying.

The Coast Guard is rescuing people off of Bolivar Peninsula right now. Bad deal.

To answer Laurie's comment from a few posts back...we will get this hurricane. The expected center of the storm is really close to us. The winds should be a category lower than the landfall category. Our house can sustain this. We're not boarding windows. The biggest issue is falling trees. Our backyard trees would fall away from the house. Our front yard trees are coastal pines that made it through Alicia. If they fall, they fall.

Most everybody in our neighborhood is here. It's just a wind thing for us.

I need to get back to baking.

More links

Here are some more links.

What you can expect. Look for my city on that list. Matthew thinks Tim Heller lookes like Harry Truman, so that's what we call him.

Interactive tracking program. Zoom in and push the map up a bit. Remember we live at the top of Lake Houston. According to this map, the eye rolls right through Porter.

I tried to get the live streaming video link, but it keeps freezing. Maybe you'll have more success.

Surfside is toast. I'd be sorry to see that place go. It was like El Morro on stilts.

Are you guys seeing these pictures of Galveston? Amazing.

Beautiful morning

The sun is out. The air is cool and dry. There's a slight breeze. I can't imagine having a day like this in 1900, and have no idea a hurricane is coming your way.

Things are supposed to fall apart later today. We probably won't get much sleep tonight. Matthew will be in our room. That's how we did it for Rita. He slept through most of that storm.

The shape of Harris County looks kind of like a crooked cat face with two pointy ears on the map. If you can visualize that, then we live in the north east side of the county in the right point.

The track of Ike has the center going right over our house. That could change. It always changes. Rita was supposed to be closer to us but it turned to the state line at the last minute.

There's going to be tornadoes, too. Kevin's hoping our fence falls so we can get a new one.

The waves are already splashing up over the seawall in Galveston.

Dinner update

Kevin is home. His phone is with a cab driver in Chicago. He should be able to pick it up Monday, hopefully. Right now he's putting everything in the garage that's usually in the backyard.

I'm going to quit looking at the hurricane track. It just gets more depressing each update.

I made cookie bars, which won't last until the storm. I made rice krispie treats which should. I'm trying to use all the butter and eggs, hence all the sweets.

Tonight's dinner is whatever you want out of the freezer. Chicken, french fries, pizza, shrimp...take your pick. Everything must go!

Here's another web site. houstonhidfromthewind.org . It keeps crashing, so be patient. You'll have to look up our zip code on your own, because I'm not posting it here.

Mid day Update

Matthew has no school tomorrow. I'm going to cancel speech this afternoon simply because it's one less thing I have to do today.

Kevin lost his phone in the cab in Chicago. I called it many times. I've talked to three different people, all with incredibly heavy accents. I have a name and address and there's a distinct possibility he may get this lost phone back (as opposed to the last lost one).

Oh, here's a Houston TranStar map so you can see the traffic. I haven't been watching much local tv, so I don't know how bad the back up is, or if there is any at all. You get kind of crazy if you watch the all-disaster all the time news casts, which are on every local channel now.

Galveston is looking choppy. Everybody was ordered off the island, which is good because I think that sucker's going under. It's not the seawall, it's the flat north coast of the island between the bay and the mainland that's the problem.

Also, I believe there are mandatory evacs for certain parts of Houston/Harris County. That's not us. It's Kemah and north of there. Remember not to freak out every time you hear Houston on tv. There are parts that are really screwed. That's not us.

Thursday morning update

Matthew has school today. I expect that won't be the case tomorrow. The weather is supposed to start falling apart Friday evening/Saturday morning.

Kevin will be home by 2pm today.

We will definitely have hurricane winds. If the storm burps and wiggles, it could be worse, or better. Each update is different. That's all I know.

This Just In

Harris County has waived all fees on their toll roads This means evacuees won't have to throw a bunch of quarters in the basket as they are fleeing the storm. Texans are nice that way.

Galveston has ordered mandatory evacs in the west end. That's the part that doesn't have a seawall.

The local tv stations have started to run a crawl across their "regularly scheduled programming," reminding everyone about the cone of doom. As if we didn't know. Tomorrow they'll start using the ominous music when talking about the storm. On Friday, they'll have Ike continuously spinning on a small screen in the corner of all channels. That constant reminder should keep people calm.

Matthew still has school all week, but I bet they close on Friday, based on parental feedback/pressure.

Storm map

Some of you may be interested in the storm surge map for the Houston area. The map is divided into evacuation zones based on location and storm strength. A's are supposed to leave before B's and C's, I think.

We live above Lake Houston, so we are not in an evacuation zone. We have absolutely no risk of storm surge.

As you can see from the map, parts of Houston are in the zone. That's mostly because of the ship channel. Storms can push water from the bay up through the channel and into the bayous. So when CNN is flipping out and mentioning Houston's vulnerability, that's the part of the city that has a problem, not us.

At this moment we are on the dirty side of Ike (the north east quadrant), in line for tropical storm-force winds and a ton of rain. Matthew is praying for school closures. No such luck yet, though they are moving football games because of the rain.

Love is in the Air

It's lovebug season. The first few years, I was amazed by the phenomenon, but now I am so over it. You have no idea how hard it is to get these things off of a car bumper.

You can tell when someone has driven here from a long distance because the whole front of the car is a black lovebug graveyard.

Driving locally, it's not so bad. Lovebugs just kind of fly around and land on the windshield at a red light.

Some seasons are heavier than others. This one seems to have produced a bumper crop of lovebugs.

Texas Justice

I had jury duty this week. As the process goes, it runs pretty smoothly 'round these parts. I have experiences here, in Los Angeles and Riverside counties. Harris is by far the best, in my opinion.

I got picked for a case, which was surprising, since it was a quickie and I was juror 25 of 36. The whole trial was about 5 hours, but it went over 2 days so I got $50 for the second day.

One of the positives of serving on a jury in the Harris County civil court system is this view:


Another plus is a Blue Bell vending machine in the courthouse cafeteria.

As for the case, let's just say it's important to follow directions. And if you're back is truly hurt, don't hop on the hospital bed to be examined.

Gustav

Some of you are probably wondering about Hurricane Gustav. We got about three sprinkles. Matthew was secretly hoping school would be cancelled, but it was not to be.

Matthew-isms

Matthew informed me that he's growing "a little bit of a mustache."

He also called his reading teacher Judge Judy and said she was the meanest ever.

First Day of School

Today was Matthew's first day of school, so I took the obligatory picture:



Then he came home after school and said he needed a head shot for the Wall of Fame. It's like student of the month, only displayed weekly in the school's entry hall.

I told Matthew to smile and he did this:

Like that doesn't get old every single time he does it. I threatened to make him take that picture to school. He smiled for real and I got a few good shots. We picked this one:

But this was my favorite:

Meet the Teacher

We met Matthew's teacher and saw his classroom yesterday. This grade is different because they are getting kids ready for middle school. The kids switch teachers depending on the subject and ability level. This means there's a good possibility he'll get "The Yeller" for some time during the day.

I met all the teachers in his grade. The Yeller is quite nice. One of the other teachers even joked about her loud voice.

Matthew seems happy with the hand he was dealt. I also bought him a new school shirt and put $$$ in his cafeteria account. He saw his class list.

Now all that's left is getting up early and getting back in the homework routine. Last year was brutal. Hopefully, this year he'll buy in to the fact that the sooner he quits whining, the sooner the homework will get done and he can go back to playing.

Yeah, right.

The Yeller

Since before school was out, Matthew was worried about who his teacher would be for the coming year. He was so afraid he'd get "the yeller," as he refers to a certain teacher.

All summer we heard, "I hope I don't get the yeller. What if I get the yeller?" We turned this into a math lesson. There are five teachers in that grade. You have a 20% chance of getting the yeller and an 80% chance of getting someone else, at least one of whom would be new. From this, Matthew would reply, "What if the new teacher is a yeller?"

Well, today was bribe day at school. If parents turn all the forms in now, then the kids can learn who their teachers are a day early. So I spent 90 minutes last night filling out all the forms and writing checks totaling $82 (!) dollars, all for the joy of learning Matt's fate a day sooner.

In the cafeteria there's a big long line with lots of stations. You drop off forms at each station and you get a stamp on your checklist. When all your boxes are filled with stamps, you get in line for teacher reveal.

We passed the forms stations with flying colors and got in line for the big secret reveal. It's very funny, too, because the staff with the class lists will not let anyone look at the folders. They give you your teacher's name and send you on your way. We do not find out the whole class list until tomorrow.

After more waiting, we got to the front of the line. The staff member opens the class list folder just a peek and tells Matthew the name of his teacher.

It's not the yeller.

In fact, it's the best teacher in the grade in my opinion. Last year, Matthew went up to her and said he hoped to be in her class. Maybe that little bit of lobbying helped. Maybe it's a coincidence. Who knows.

At least she's not a yeller.

Our Week So Far

Mom 1, Matt 0

Matthew got a haircut today. It's always a battle. He wants it long, because that's the way all the brats around here wear it. However, he doesn't want to take care of said long hair. It's always a challenge to get him presentable so we can leave the house.

I'm not morally opposed to long hair. I'm just anti-helmet head.

Here's a before shot:


And after:

It's shorter than he wanted. Shorter than I expected, too. At least shampoo will reach his scalp now and we won't need the extra 10 minutes to comb the mess or look for a hat.

Surfin' U.S.A.

My dad sent more pictures of Matthew surfing. There's one of him standing, a shot I couldn't ever get on my own camera:

This Just In

Matthew has accused me of "caring about him too much."

Call the authorities.

Surf City, Here We Come

We spent Matthew's birthday in San Diego. Guess what he got as a present?

The board came with free lessons from Uncle Surfer.

He caught some waves.

And even got to his knees.

But he couldn't get a hold on step 3.

Birthday boy, age 10.