Outside.

Isabella loves being outside. I know, what kid doesn't?

This post was inspired by a conversation I was trying to have with Crisa today. We have the hardest time starting and finishing a conversation with 12+ kiddos under the age of 4 running around.

When I was growing up going to grandmas house meant:

10+ acres (excluding the neighbors land)of forest to roam through
wild strawberries and fresh blue corn
visits from dozens of different birds all easily viewed from the breakfast table
pretend houses/forts/schools made from trees
life threatening ice skating
snow covered hills
deer and rabbit tracks with the occasional siting
what seemed like endless trails and tire swings
cows, horses and chickens within walking distance

Since this wont be available to Isabella through her grandparents I feel like it is very important for me to introduce her to nature and a more natural kind of living.

The longer I live in the city the farther away I feel from my "roots." Roots as in where I belong. I hope to seek out new skills this year. I really want to learn to grow my own food (someday care for my own animals) and finally cross over to buying more directly from local farmers and less from grocery stores importing from all over the world. I guess I'm trying to make a new years resolution.

I am always more refreshed mentally at the start of autumn. The middle of winter is really a horrible time to make a year long resolution. Anyone else? A new autumn resolution?

[more Ike]
I have to add there has been a highlight to Ike. We have gotten to know our neighbors a little bit more and even spent a couple hours laying on a blanket in the front lawn visiting. I look forward to seeing them next time our power goes out!


We check out of the hotel tomorrow. It has been nice to have a large room to our selves with free already made breakfast, but i definitely will not miss eating out of a microwave. Back to Mirna's we go. Yey for stoves and home cooked meals! delicious flour tortillas! and home made beans!

6 Days After Ike

I decided I NEED something fresh. Anything. I'm not picky, just something not from a can, a box or a bag. And this is what I find in the produce section of Super Target, a block from the hotel:



I ended up buying a veggie tray with what some people might call fresh veggies. bleh! Everyday the stores get more and more full and restaurants are slowly opening. It depends on what part of town they are in. Montrose is still closed for the most part and without power.

The power came back on at our apartment and we have been informed that the owner will be repairing the damages and has already started! They say its OK to live in the apartment while they are repairing but I don't think we will move back in until after the repairs. It is just too wet and too moldy for anyone let alone a baby with allergies. So we are going to stay in the hotel until Tuesday and probably go back to Mirna's apartment (because she makes the best food mmmmmmmmmm) until they finish.

Time for a mental break from Ike

I am dieing for a creative outlet! I sculpted David's muffin and banana breakfast into a lily this morning while thinking why did I leave my sewing machine in Austin?!? No creative outlet and a unliveable apartment equals a nesting itch I just can't scratch. I decided to further torture myself by buying a Martha Stewart's Fall magazine and drool at all the adorable do it your self projects. It made me yearn for fall that much more. I can't wait for pumpkin carving, costume making, fall colors, and layer wearing!

ALSO

Bailey and Scott are headed back to the states! yey! yey! yey! They might even be back by Christmas! We might see them in a couple months! Who can think about hurricanes and moldy apartments when Bailey and Fall are on their way?

Apartment PIctures. Yuck!

Our First Glances

Upon our arrival we discovered the bedroom and closet were very damp(as we expected.) My clothes along with everything else in the closet were wet and sitting in the heat with no ventilation for 3 days. Needless to say this did not smell pleasant. The bedroom was under 2+ inches of water for a day or so. The floors will definitely have to be replaced. Our upstairs neighbor's ceiling is in his bed. They have patched up the roof with a tarp to keep more moisture from coming in, but mold has already started to form where the water was sitting. We don't have it nearly as bad as he does.
The clothes and shoes are washable, along with my curtains and other cloth things that were damages. We do have insurance so hopefully that will cover everything that isn't washable. Our bed frame, dressers, laptop(recently reformatted so we have everything on another hard drive), a few pieces of artwork, a stroller, two printers, a antique spice dresser, mattress and something else I can't remember will hopefully be covered by our renters insurance. As of now we do not know where we will be living but have more than enough friends to mooch off of until we settle.

Our cats are in Austin with David's mother so they don't have to worry about being moved around so much. Everyone who has offered to house us has a big dog. We decided it will be easier for them, us, and the people who house us.

It will probably be at least a week before we know if they are going to repair the apartment or not. either way when things get settled our property management will be finding us a place to stay. We are already looking into new apartments as a last resort. We really really have it good at our place. Great baby-friendly neighbors, great location, quiet, and no cockroaches!

More pictures coming soon of the upstairs neighbor's apartment. The camera was left at a friends house.

Isabella is taking more and more steps. Check out this video and stop thinking about that stupid hurricane!

Video of Ike's trail

Here is a look at our drive way and parking lot:

Neighborhood:

Ike update

Our neighbor called us late last night to let us know the roof is caving in and the stairwell to the apartments above us is collapsing. We are headed back now (8am Sept. 15th)to salvage what we can. Isabella is going to stay with Mirna(Jacob's speech therapist who specializes in children infant to 3 years) for a few hours while we go look at the apartment. Mirna has power and water so Isabella wont be in any danger. We plan on taking a lot of pictures for insurance purposes and will be posting them as soon as possible. There is no gas shortage in Houston and we have places to stay with power. My dad has found us a hotel near home for 4 nights Thursday-Sunday with internet so I'll be updating Thursday at the latest.

Wish us luck!

Yikes it's Ike!

I'll be using this blog for the time being to update family and friends on our hurricane situation.

We left early Thursday to avoid evacuation traffic and made it to Austin painlessly. No traffic and no gas shortages at the time we left. We have stocked up here in Austin on water and nonperisable foods for when we do return. We are going to wait in Austin until we know there will be no problem obtaining gas and the road ways are clear.
As of now our apartment is not liveable. Our neighbors who stayed behind have checked out our apartment and informed us that there is a few inches of water in our bedroom due to structural damage to the apartment above us. We do have a place to stay in Houston when we do go back until our apartment is put back together.
We can't get a hold of our insurance company until atleast Monday and even then are not sure flooding is covered in our renters insuance package. I will continue to post here to keep everyone updated to save airwaves for people who need it for emergency.

Garden Update

Its only been two weeks and I've almost completely lost motivations for this new garden of mine. How sad. Jenny gave us some organic bush bean seeds and I am desperate for them to sprout and motivate me. Again. I've promised myself I will water those little seeds everyday until they sprout! I've also planted a small 4in basil plant in there and boy was he happy for his watering today. I guess I was thinking the amount of rain we had two weeks ago would hold him over. Obviously, I have a lot to learn about gardening.

Isabella and I were getting stir crazy today so we walked over to the Children's Museum. We spent 3 hours! yes 3! in the tot spot and definitely got our 5 dollars worth! I can't believe how much has changed in the last month with her. She is so independent and social! This picture is of her doing my favorite thing:

Exploring.

weekend fun

What a crazy weekend!



It started with a birthday bash! Quickly followed by a drive to Austin. We spent the weekend with my in laws. Well, I brought my sewing machine and spent most of the time with it. Finally ended with no hurricane in site and a nice drive home in the middle of the night. Thank you husband for being such a great driver so I could be such a great sleeper.

I made a couple more tops and am strongly considering opening an etsy.com sellers account for simple baby dresses and reusable produce bags and whatever other simple projects I happen to fall upon. My (borrowed) working machine and I are getting along swimmingly and i am feeling like I need to treat it to a good professional cleaning.