Same Kind of Different as Me

My Sunday school class has elected to read this book together over the next 3 or 4 weeks, then attend a fund raiser together where the authors will discuss the book.

I haven't started it yet. I've ordered it from Amazon (used) and expect it maybe this week.

I'm not much for contrivances or activities that are *supposed* to solicit some sort of emotional response or call to action from me. I find these things galling.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I became "that" parent yesterday

(Warning...VERY LONG READING.)

So far, this school year, I've done my duty to pick up my children on time after school. Zac usually rides the bus home, but after school practice keeps him there until 3:45. Jake gets out at 3:35, and I pick him up since we only live 2 miles from the school. His bus ride is an hour. I have no intention of having him on the bus for an hour to go 2 miles.

The deal is that EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. this school year that I've waited the line to pick up Jake, I'm in line until 3:55 and receiving a call from Zac's coach wondering if I intend to pick up the boy, to which I reply that I'm still waiting in the elementary school line after 20 or more minutes. So...yesterday, I picked up Zac first at 3:45 and then went to get Jake at 3:50.

Jake was back inside the building in after-care.

I thought the top of my head might explode.

I hunted him down in the building asking everyone where the after-care was located. I was directed all the way down the hall to a breeze-way between 2 buildings where another quasi-teacher-type of person with a mouthful of Cheetos said, "They's down the hall in Mrs. So and So's computer lab." Thank you, Louisiana for teaching proper grammar and speech so that our state can continue its tradition of ignorance. I digress...

I found Jake in the lab where the teacher was just checking him in. I got there and he met me in the hall where we began to walk to the front entrance of the building. Mrs. So and So followed me into the hall to inform me that there was a $5 charge for after-care. I don't think there is a prima ballerina on the planet who can spin around faster than I did at that moment. I told her that I had no intention whatsoever of paying the fee for after-care. She tried to push the issue with me, so I repeated myself. She said that was fine, I would have to speak with Mrs. D, the principal.

I went up to the reception desk, sent Jake out to the car with George and Zac, and the receptionist proceeded, then to whip out her copy of the school handbook with the after-care policy highlighted, and then remind me that I signed the receipt that I had read and accepted the school policy at the beginning of the year. Well of course, I read the policy and signed the receipt, but tell me how from their bully pulpit am I supposed to do anything but accept the policy? I digress...

Mrs. D made it out to discuss the issue with me. I told her I had absolutely no intention of paying the $5 for after-care. She said that was fine, it could just go on our school tab. I said no. There will be no tab, you will not withhold my child's report card, yearbook, spirit clothes, or field trip over this. I will not pay the $5.

I could feel the gray-matter boiling.

I asked her several questions about how this situation should be handled. How for the previous 40 or 50 days of school I've waited in the pick up line until 3:55 or later, but the ONE DAY I'm here at 3:50, my child is gone to after-care? She attempted to show me the highlighted portion of the handbook. I told her I KNOW the policy. She informed me that the school district provides bus service for all its students. I repeated my sentiment about the bus I mentioned at the beginning of this post. She sympathized.

At any rate, I reminded her that I am not a repeat late offender and I'd be happy to pay if this was a continuing problem. She stopped me with "that's how we'll resolve this. We'll waive the fee this time, but if it happens again, there will be a fee." In Mrs. D's defense, she was the absolute picture of professionalism, she used her condescending "I'm talking to a crazy mother" professional voice.

So, today, I was in line at 3:30 to pick up Jake. I didn't get to the front of the line to pick up Jake until 3:45 (when the policy manual says all children will be taken to after-care). There were still at least 20 cars behind me and when I went back by the school at 4:00, the left-over students were just then headed in for after-care.

I think Mrs. D let the kids out early yesterday.

ABC, What are you trying to do to me??

Between Ron Jaworski's ridiculous lisp and Tony Kornheiser's ridiculous hair, how can I watch Monday Night Football?

Baxter and Buster have made it home

This morning while we were getting dressed for work, school, etc., the phone rang. It was the vet. Seems they had a customer come in this morning with their dog and asked, "By the way, have you seen Baxter and Buster?" The receptionist pulled her head out of her butt and put the customer together with the dogs I had only yesterday asked her about. George dropped them off on his way to work this morning. Buddy is much happier. Me too, for that matter. The dogs were VERY sweet, but Buddy is too crazy to stand another pet, much less two.

I am out of my ever-lovin' mind

These 2 dogs were running around in the highway in front of my office yesterday.




I couldn't live with myself if they messed around and got run over, so...I brought them home. I've been to all of local vet offices and noone knows them. I've posted a bunch of "FOUND" posters all around our neighborhood. And now we wait. Meanwhile Buddy is going crazy. I think that even if noone claims them, we'll have to find them a new home. I barely like the silly dog we have now.

Hurricane Gustav Pictures

This is the kids before the electricity went out. Jake had just seen Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel sporting his super cool goggles.




During the storm...




After the storm. Zachary experienced massive flooding in areas that have NEVER flooded.





Cleaning up afterward.






And now for the out door living area and our very special hurricane supplies.







And the most special of all...



Hurricanes are the real reason "Why Mom Drinks Rum."

Gas line for the corner station. For perspective, the corner station is a little more than a mile up.



Okay. Good night, internet. Hopefully I won't have anything interesting after Hurricane Ike.

"If I'm going to get arrested, at least I'm wearing clean underwear."

These were the last words George said to me Thursday morning when he broke curfew to wait in line for gas at the only open station here in Zachary. East Baton Rouge parish has been under a 8pm-6am curfew since Hurricane Gustav blew through. (Curfew was extended yesterday to 10pm-6am.)We weren't sure when our power would be back on and were running low on gas. We thought maybe the station would open at 6am with the curfew, but it didn't open until 8am. George was 2nd in line at 4:45am! He got home shortly after 8.

The last week has been something.

We took the kids out of school Thursday and Friday, Aug. 28 and 29, to go visit George's family in Roswell. We left Wednesday right after school and drove to San Antonio to stay overnight with my mom, then left Thursday morning from there to Roswell. We made it in around 5:00 Thursday evening.

Roswell was fantastic. We stayed with George's brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Cindy, at their new house. Their new house is on 5 acres with a couple of barns and general fun outdoor stuff. They have a John Deere tractor and lawn tractor that the kids got to drive on Friday. That was really fun for them. We had lunches and dinner over at Mary's (George's mom) house and had a steak-out Friday night. Paul's boys and their wives came over and visited at dinner-time. Saturday George, Paul, Mary and the boys went to the mountains to check out the family home they have up there. I went to work with Cindy at her wine store, Pecos Flavors Winery.

That was about when we realized our trip was going to change. Hurricane Gustav was barreling down in the gulf and was projected to definitely come to Louisiana, particularly, New Orleans. We were going to leave Roswell on Monday and drive all the way home that day, but we decided to cut our trip short and left on Sunday.

(I started this on the 6th of Sept. and am just now finishing it on the 11th. I don't have the energy for this blog thing--too much pressure)

The rest is history. Hurricane Gustav made landfall on Monday morning, by 2:30 we'd lost our electricity and didn't get it back until Friday evening. It was all good. We had a generator and by the end of the week we had a small window a/c unit for the bedroom.

I'll let the pictures tell you how Baton Rouge and Zachary fared. We have Hurricane Ike possibly bearing down on us now, so I'm going to sleep in my house with electricity and a/c for what could be the last night for a while.