An Inauspicious Start to Summer

Wow! Summer has finally arrived. Without a doubt, my absolute favorite thing about substitute teaching is summer. What can I say, summer break was the best thing about going to school. Now it's the best thing about working for a school.

I really expected that Monday, May 18, would be my last day to work this spring. But the district's scheduler called me to work both Monday and Tuesday at the middle school. The first day I subbed for the theater arts teacher. I've subbed for her several times this year. The problem with subbing for her is that she NEVER leaves a lesson plan. I just have to "wing it" to keep the kids busy. I got through the day by showing a movie, which is what most teachers were doing for the last couple of days of school anyway. The second day I subbed in the gymnasium for one of the coaches. Since it was the end of school, there was no equipment and the students didn't dress-out. That day was AWFUL. Imagine two substitutes and 75 to 100 students with nothing to do for an hour. Now imagine that seven times. We let those who were interested organize their own games. The rest of them spent their PE class sitting in the bleachers talking. It was very loud and very dull.

I've been looking forward those first few days of summer. I planned to spend the first day in my pajamas, watching television, reading, mostly doing nothing. Needless to say, when Wednesday morning came, there were other things I had to do. I was out running errands when my husband called to ask me to meet him at the emergency room. His mother had fallen and broken her hip.

Photo credit

She was in the emergency room for 14 hours. I was there 13 of those hours. They finally got her a room at approximately 11 p.m. Wednesday night. We spent the entire day with her on Thursday hoping to catch the surgeon when he made rounds. She was scheduled for partial hip replacement on Friday at 3 p.m.

I stayed home to get a few things done on Friday morning while Patrick went to the hospital. He called around 10 a.m. telling me to come right away because they were going to take her earlier than they planned. The surgery went smoothly and she was in recovery by 3 o'clock. They placed a prosthesis in the top of her femur with a new ball-socket similar to the illustration shown.

They got her out of bed and started her therapy the next morning. She's having a rough time with quite a lot of pain. She gets therapy three times a day which really wears her out. They keep her out of bed around four hours every morning. She's not eating or drinking very much. The doctor said he expects to keep her in the hospital for approximately 10 after surgery so she can continue to receive therapy three times daily.

We've cut back our visits to a couple of hours each day. We are just in the way when they are doing therapy. Patrick will be visiting either at lunch or after work every day. She has not wanted any additional visitors and refuses to answer the phone in her room. She doesn't want to talk to anyone and she certainly doesn't want anyone to see her. Personally, I think it's because her hair isn't done. We're going to check with the hospital and see if there is someone who will come in and do her hair. I think that will make her feel a lot better.

Today was the first day I was really hoping to sleep late and laze around this morning. Unfortunately, a couple of my husband's employees felt that it was necessary to call and text him around 6:30 this morning. So I was up early once again.

Hopefully, summer will get better.

After the Storm

Down here on the Texas coast, we have hot, dry, windy weather most of the time. Our winters are mild and pleasant, but August and September can be brutally hot, especially when we are in a drought, which we have been in for the last couple of years. Generally, the only violent weather we deal with are tropical storms and hurricanes which develop from time to time. Every summer and autumn, all eyes are on the tropics as we watch every tropical weather system that develops. We've been lucky for a lot of years, we haven't had a major storm make a direct hit on Corpus Christi since 1970.

I was 16 years old when Hurricane Celia devastated my hometown. I have never voluntarily chosen to "ride out" a storm since that day. My parents lived about a mile and a half from the bayfront in a wood frame house when they decided to "ride it out." We spend about five hours huddled in the hallway of our house mostly on our knees, praying to be spared. It was the most horrible weather I have ever experienced. It was followed by 21 days with no electricity. No electricity in August in Corpus Christi is not a good thing. It was miserable.


Last Thursday evening a line of thunderstorms moved through South Texas. It was the closest thing to Hurricane Celia that I have ever experienced. The storm had straight-line sustained winds of at least 60 miles per hour and gusts around 75. The national weather service has now confirmed that there were 5-6 tornadoes as part of that system. One of those tornadoes went right through our neighborhood.

The storm started around 9:30 p.m. with rain and wind. By 10 o'clock water was coming into the living room under the back door and into our master bedroom through the weep holes. The rain was blowing almost completely horizontally. We could hear hail hitting both the patio and the storm blinds. We have hurricane blinds on all our windows and as soon as we realized how bad the storm was, we closed them down tight. At 10:30 we lost power as the storm raged outside. I had already lit candles and we had found our flashlights and had them ready. By midnight the storm had calmed a little and we decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later the electricity came back on and we had to get up and cut off the lights. Before we got them all off, the power went out again and was not to come back on that night.

We got up early on Friday. I had to be at work at 7:15 so there wasn't really much time to do more than assess the situation. There were mostly small limbs down all over the yard. By the time I got home from work on Friday at 3:30 p.m. our neighbors had cleaned up our yard and the electricity was back on.

We were very lucky! We have very little damage. Since we were at home, we were able to mop up the water as soon as it came in so there was no water damage. Our back fence was blown over, but only the posts were broken. Grandad and our neighbor are replacing them right now. We also lost a good part of our huge, 30 year old oak tree in the front yard. It was a house-warming gift from Grandad's parents when we moved into our house. The limbs at the top of the tree were snapped and blown back into the tree canopy. They did not fall on the house or the car or anything else. They remain in the tree, supported by other limbs. We have some tree specialists coming out tomorrow to look at what needs to be done and give us a bid. We expect to have that cleaned up by the end of the week. Some of my herbs were uprooted and we think we may have some loose shingles on the roof. We'll be having it inspected. But, all-in-all we were extremely lucky to have very little damage.

Almost every house in the neighborhood has major tree damage and almost everyone in the area lost part or all of their fences. There are a few houses with broken windows and trees that fell on roofs or vehicles. We drove around on Friday evening so I could snap some photos to share with you.

These are a few shots of our tree. The part that shades my swing in the front yard is completely gone before the tree is even trimmed.

The entire neighborhood is now lined with stacks and stacks of debris. It will take weeks (at least) for the city to pick it all up.

But let me say it again, we were very lucky. It could have been so much worse.

The Substitute Diaries

Grams has been extremely busy substitute teaching this semester. I've been working mostly at a primary school that has Pre-K through 3rd Grade. I really have come to love substitute teaching. I get the benefit of a teacher who puts together the lesson plan and spells it out in detail for me. I also get hugs and smiles from dozens and dozens of students who call me "Mrs. V" and are almost always happy to see me.

It's so much better than nonprofit fundraising and special event planning ever was. No one asks me how many contacts I made today or how much money I raised today. I don't have to worry about goals and cultivating new givers.

Working with kids who are between four and nine years old can be a lot of fun, but it does have a few drawbacks. One of those drawbacks became painfully clear this morning when I took over a classroom full of kindergarten students.

Kindergarten rug (photo credit)

Each of the kindergarten classrooms has a big colorful rug with squares. Each student is assigned to sit on a specific square. It's their spot all year long. "Carpet time" is used for reading, calendar review, group activities like counting and reciting, reviewing the weather, and a variety of other activities. Each classroom handles it a little bit differently and kindergartners are quick to point out if the substitute deviates from their standard procedure in any little way.

Yesterday all our kindergartners went to the Texas State Aquarium on a field trip. So, at the end of circle time this morning I took a few minutes to ask them about what they had seen and how much they enjoyed their field trip. We were a few minutes ahead of schedule so I allowed a little time for discussion between myself and the kids. During that discussion, one of the kids told me that I reminded him of another substitute that they had earlier this week. Since I had been in the classroom across the hall, I knew exactly who he was talking about. I don't think we look at all alike. For one thing she's completely white-haired and I keep my hair colored. I'm fanatical about it and you will rarely even see my grey roots. I followed up by asking what he thought was the same about us. He answered "You're both really old." I sort of laughed and explained that ladies don't really like to be called old and it's not a very nice thing to say.

Grams in April 2012.

Then a beautiful little girl on the front row said "That's right. You should not say she's old. You should say she's elderly."

I swear, this five year old girl called me "elderly." Seriously?! Elderly?! And I thought my hair coloring was doing the trick.

I just let it go. Although I have had a very good laugh about it several times today. Maybe laughing will keep me from crying.

And, in case you're wondering ... I'll be 58 in June. Old yes, but elderly. I think not! I've added a recent photo so you can judge for yourself.

Surviving Your Children

Our children were both baptized into the Catholic church within the first few weeks of their lives. As part of that process we were required to attend a class that was just a couple of hours long. No big deal, but kind of a pain in the butt when you have first one baby, then two.

I don't remember very much about those sessions, but I do remember one thing which turned out to be some of the best advice I ever got. The priest who taught the class told us something like this.

You are parents now and your relationship with this child is just beginning. For the next few years being a parent will seem all consuming and will rightfully be a top priority. But this relationship, as it will exist for the next eighteen years or so, is a temporary one. You will always be parents, but they will not always be children. As hard as it may be to believe, these children will grow up and leave home. That's what is supposed to happen. Your relationship with them will grow and change as they grow and change.

While you are rearing and nurturing these children, don't forget that before you were their mom or their dad, you were a wife or a husband. You made promises to each other that come first and supersede the fact that you are parents. You must work to make sure that the relationship between husband and wife survives.

Some day, in some form or fashion, you will make a long drive home from helping your youngest child move into a dorm room or apartment. On that day, the two of you will walk into your home together and that home will feel empty. On that day you will realize that it's just the two of you again. When that happens, you need to be ready. So, take care of these children and raise them well. And ... take care of your marriage. Your marriage needs to survive your children.

(Read about my own experience with our chicks flying the nest here I Love My Empty Nest. I think it's one of the best posts I've ever written.

Playgrounds, Pictures, and Comments

We spent last weekend in San Antonio with Katy, Travis, and the granddaughters. Since they were hosting a birthday party for Her Highness on Saturday, they asked if we would take the girls out of the house on Friday while they tidied up.

We started out with a stop at Starbucks for coffee for us and applesauce for the girls. Of course, Our Little Princess had to have one of their little pink donuts.

It was early and the weather was still nice and cool so we decided to take them to a playground. We drove to a neighborhood park where we spent the next hour or so playing. As usual, I had my camera with me and snapped quite a few pictures.

We had to keep a very close eye on Her Highness. She still puts anything and everything in her mouth, and she has no fear so she'll climb on anything. But we all survived and had fun.

Here is my favorite photo from the weekend.

I cropped and enhanced it using PicMonkey. I've used Picasa and Picnik to edit photos since I started blogging. With Picnik going away, I've been looking for a new service to use. I think PicMonkey may be the one.

I'm heading back to San Antonio for a girls weekend with one of my best girlfriends. We have theater tickets for Saturday night and I'm pretty sure I can squeeze in a visit with these little angels on Sunday afternoon before I head back to Corpus Christi.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. - Those of you who are regular readers will notice that I have turned on comment moderation. Please don't let that deter you from commenting. Some perverted person had begun posting incredibly offensive content on my blog. I have reported them, removed those comments, and will be moderating comments for the foreseeable future. My apologies for the inconvenience.

Happy Birthday to Her Highness

Her Highness is one year old today. It's been quite a year with a lot of changes.

We celebrated her birthday on Saturday with friends and family. The tablescape was beautiful and the menu was delicious. There were brisket sliders, macaroni and cheese, fruit skewers, candy coated marshmallows, lemon chiffon cupcakes with seven-minute icing, and strawberry cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

For party favors, Katy made individual Easter s'mores. We found them on Pinterest and they were the perfect little party favor for all ages.

 

Source: confetti.typepad.com via Vicki on Pinterest

The party was fun. It was good to see Travis' family and catch up with them. She got lots of lovely gifts of clothes and toys. Unlike her big sister, no one had to show her what to do with the cupcake. As you can see, she dove into it head first.

Her Highness has quite a personality and is so different from her sister. We sometimes refer to her as "full throttle baby." I promise you that she will always be the center of attention and will always come out on top of anything. She may be the little sister, but that is in age only.

Happy First Birthday to Her Highness!

Girls Weekend

Last weekend was the annual family turkey hunt all the way out near Sonora. Katy and I took advantage of the missing men to have a girls weekend with Our Little Princess and Her Highness.

We started out on Friday afternoon with a trip to Jo-Ann Fabric. I've been wanting Katy to help me with some fabric choices and designs for quite a while. She has a designer's eye that I just don't have. I can't wait to get them made and show them to you. We were also working on ideas for Her Highness' first birthday party. Can you believe she'll be a year old on April 11th. The year went by so fast.

As usual, we stayed way too long at the fabric store. This is a long-standing problem for me. When our kids were little, there was a huge fabric store in Corpus Christi called Cloth World. Nick would cry any time he had to go with me to Cloth World. To this day, he considers fabric stores to be a horrible punishment. By the time we left the fabric store, everyone was hungry and the baby was cranky. We decided it was time for dinner.

For quite a while now, Katy has been telling me about a place where the gourmet food trucks all park in the evenings and serve dinner. We decided to give it a try. It's called The Boardwalk on Bulverde and is a really fun place. They have a play area for the kids and a big screen television which was showing a Spurs game on Friday night. Picnic tables are surrounded by about about a dozen food trucks. We ordered two different items and split them so we both got to try a couple of different things. The burger from Toastie Buns was awesome. If you go, it's BYOB. Non-alcoholic beverages are available on site.

While the girls played, we discussed our ideas for what we should do on Saturday. We decided to drive to Austin and do a little antique and junk shopping.

We drove up IH 35 from San Antonio to Austin without too much traffic and chose to start on Congress Avenue in the SoCo shopping district, an area that has several interesting shops. Katy wanted to take me to a store called Uncommon Objects. This store is jam packed with interesting objects and is a junk and antique shoppers dream. It's kind of a nightmare if you are shopping with a one-year-old and a three-year-old. You also have to leave your strollers outside because it's just too tight a fit.

As luck would have it, there is also a gourmet food truck park right across the street. So we took a break for lunch. Katy and I both had six inch subs from The Short Bus. I had "The Bully" which has Genoa salami, pepperoni, capocolla, mozzarella, provolone, lettuce, tomato, pepperoncini, and oil & vinegar. It was awesome. The bread is fresh baked. I ate a little bit of bread and then ate the inside of the sandwich. Delicious! I'm not sure, but I think Katy had "The Teacher's Pet" which has turkey, swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and ranch dressing. She also thought it was good. The Short Bus has a large selection of sandwiches available including quite a few vegan and vegetarian options. Our Little Princess had fried macaroni and cheese which she was not crazy about. I think she's a food purist when it comes to mac and cheese. She only likes it the usual way.

Then we couldn't resist dessert. Actually, Our Little Princess couldn't resist the giant cupcake on top of the Hey Cupcake! trailer. And, since it was right next door, Katy and I decided to try some pie. I don't remember the name of the pie trailer, but oh my goodness, the pie was good GREAT. Instead of slices of pie, you actually get a little pie of your own. I guess they are technically tarts. We had a buttermilk pie and a bumbleberry pie. If you're not southern, you may not be familiar with buttermilk pie. It's a baked custard pie and is almost always my first choice for pie. It's cheap and easy to make and this one did not disappoint. It was almost as good as my mother-in-law's buttermilk pie. This was my first taste of bumbleberry pie which is a mixed berry pie with blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries. It was only a little bit sweet and still had the tartness that berries should have. Both Her Highness and Grams LOVED IT!

There were a couple of downsides to eating at the South Congress Food Trailers. First of all, it was hot and there was not enough shade. We ate in the glaring sun and all of us were a little bit pink by the time we finished.  The second has to do with having the kids along. There is no play area and no seating for kids and it is right on the side of the street. We had to keep a tight hold on both kids, but it was so worth it.

After we did a little more shopping, it was nap time. We buckled both girls in their car seats and headed toward Zilker Park. Since both girls were sleeping long before we got to the park, we didn't stop but instead drove North to Round Rock and Ikea. We both love Ikea and had such a good time there. On the way out, we passed a young man whose wife was calling him to help put furniture on a cart. He looked at us and said "Nine hours!" Katy posted on Facebook "Ikea, where relationships go to die." It was good for a laugh.

We finished they day with dinner at Chuy's in Round Rock and the drive back to San Antonio. We tucked both girls in and went to bed ourselves. We were worn out, in a good way.