My Hair-Bear

Pumpkin Carving, Part 2

So, remember how the children and I carved pumpkins last week. (Feel free to scroll down for a refresher.) Apparently, if you are going to carve pumpkins a week and a half before Halloween, it's not a good idea to let them sit on a wrought iron bench, in the afternoon sun, in 80 degree temps. They don't fare well. After 3 days of baking in the Houston sun, we had pumpkin pie or a version of it. They went straight to the curb for the trash pickup. I will say it's the closest I have ever come to baking.
Anyway, we carved some new pumpkins, and when I say "we", I mean the children picked out the design, wished me good luck, and sat down on the sofa to watch a Disney Halloween movie. I liked when Grey said, "Oh, I like yours, Mom." Hmmm..... I believe they are technically all mine. Not that I'm keeping score or anything.

Holland's cat

All aglow.

Grey's pirate ship

All aglow

My trick or treat pumpkin

I lost a crucial portion of the letter "c", so you are going to have to use your imagination.

Halloween Preview 2008

She had a Birthday/Halloween Party to attend, so she was able to give the costume a dry run.

Not Your Mama's P.E.

Grey's PE teachers have been coming up with creative ways to get the kids interested in physical activities and also getting the parents involved. This fall they taught the 3rd grade the dance from Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Then they had the "Boogie Ball" where they all performed that dance and a couple of other dances. It was fun to watch.
I don't know about you, but when I took P.E., it was nothing I got excited about. Of course, our PE teachers weren't young, in shape, creative, and motivational (in a positive way not a fear-invoking way.) Generally, they wore tight shorts, a whistle and wielded a clipboard. And later in the day, they taught Health class and Driver's Ed in the summer. Many a donut run we made for Coach Hendrix the summer I took driver's ed. As we took our permit test, we watched him flirt with Marie Osmond (she was a dead ringer for her) at the DMV. We learned so much.

We filmed the event, but during the basketball dance, Grey accidentally pegged a girl in the head when he was trying to pass the ball. To avoid a personal injury lawsuit, said footage will not be posted. Alright, alright, I haven't figured out how to download from the video camera to the computer, but I'm working on it.

Pumpkin Carving Skillz

While Mac was gone to North Carolina for market, the kids and I drowned our sorrows in some pumpkin-carving.

Grey did a great job carving his pumpkin with very little assistance from me. Naturally, he chose one of my least favorite things of all, a spider.

Let me just say when it comes to pumpkin-carving, Holland has got management written all over her. She gets what she wants without ever getting her hands dirty.

The Boo Crew

Booing has become an annual tradition for us. (If we do anything for more than 2 years in a row, it is considered a tradition for us.) The kids always like this one. Anyway, let me refresh you on how we "do the boo".
1. Tape "you've been boo'd sign on door".
2. Leave bag of candy and goodies at door.
3. Ring door bell.
4. Run Away!
Now a couple of weeks ago, we did our 1st 2008 boo run. Mac and Grey tag teamed it while Holland and I laid low in the getaway car. Let me say that the execution was shear perfection. Clearly we had brought our A game.

So, a couple of weeks later when we planned our next boos, I thought they would go just as smoothly. At our first stop, we let Grey work this one by himself. So, off we send him while we wait in the car a couple of houses down. As he's running to hide behind the neighbor's truck, I happen to notice something. I said, "Um, Mac, he's still holding the bag of candy." To which Mac says, "well, he's clearly not cut out for a life of crime." Here's the problem with skipping the all important rule #2. By ringing the doorbell and running away with no chocolate left at the door, you've only managed to irritate the booee. Not good. So we had to send him back with the candy. However, they caught us driving away from the scene. I peeled out in hopes that they wouldn't get our tag number or make and model of the car, plus I just wanted to peel out.

Our second boo was very successful until I felt the need to drive by the house to make sure they got the bag. Unfortunately, they were still at the door, and as I drove through the cul-de-sac with the headlights off, they waved. Nothing worse than them waving at you. We cut our losses and went home. Hopefully if we spend the rest of the year working on our boo skillz, we'll do better next season.

The Boo Crew


Oh yes, this is much more gangsta.

I'm so proud.

Date With Daddy

Holland loves to spend time with Mac, preferably with Grey and I as far away as possible. She likes to have her Daddy's undivided attention. So they took in the movie, Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

I love this picture, because this one shows just how much she looks up to and loves her daddy.

The Ripstick

A boy and his "much desired" birthday gift.

An emergency room visit waiting to happen.

If you listen closely, you can almost hear the ambulance sirens.

Sticking to something more his speed.

Happy 9th Birthday, Grey Coleman Davis!

I'm #1!

2nd Birthday
(Already working on basketball)


Too cool to just be 3

4th Birthday. It was a bowling party. What gave it away?

5th Birthday

6th Birthday. No more cakes. From here on, it's all about the Big Cookie.

7th Birthday

8th Birthday

I can't believe he's 9!

Next year: double digits. That's when you know you've arrived.

Don't Be A Generator Hater

Day 7 was a really good day. It was the day the generator came into our lives. I know they are deafening, put out toxic fumes, and really irritate neighbors who don't have one, but from the moment we cranked our borrowed one up, we haven't been the same.

Our friends, The Pools, got their power back several days before we did and called and offered to let us borrow their generator. In return, for their kindness we offered to give them our firstborn and Mac's left kidney. They politely declined.

Not only did we get the generator, but on Day 7, I also was able to get my highlights and hair done, (my roots looked like an airport runway running down the center of my head). I found out that my hair salon had power since Day 3, but I'm trying not to dwell on that. It will only breed bitterness. Rebecca, my hair tamer, first beat back the beast of hair with a whip and a chair and then she got down to business and worked her magic. It was so good to be reunited with a hairstyle. Best part: She said as long as I didn't sweat, my 'do would last 3-4 days, hopefully just in time for our power restoration. I cried just a little.

Grey embraces his new best friend, the friend that brought the Wii back into his life.

The Real Natural Disaster

The first 2 days after the storm were pretty awful. It was hot, humid, muggy, and raining off and on. We tried to sleep that first night with the windows open, but it didn't help. Then the second storm rolled in and we had to close the windows because rain was blowing in on the carpet pretty heavily. So then we all felt sticky. Mac felt sticky, I felt sticky, the kids felt sticky, even the cat felt sticky. Nobody was allowed to touch anybody else with their stickiness. So as you can imagine, the next morning, the humidity was at an all time high. And I needed to wash my hair....
Now, 99% of people can wash their hair and let it air dry, and it look good or at the very least resemble human hair. Holland is in that 99%. Wash and go is pretty standard for her even with electricity. I am not one of those people...not even close. My hair needs boundaries, boundaries that only a hairdryer and flat iron can provide. Simply put; a hairdryer and flat iron are not wants in the Davis household, they are needs. Desperate needs.
That first day I washed my hair, with all the humidity, it took my hair 4 hours to completely dry. And the mess it dried into...well, it would have been better to have stayed wet. No barrette, rubber band, superglue, or hat could contain it. It became its own being, and a scary one at that. We had to open the sunroof in the truck just to give it breathing room.



Perhaps I'm overreacting a little bit. Why don't I let you judge for yourself.

Maybe a headband would have helped.

Debris Everywhere....

Hurricane Ike scattered debris all over Holland's room. Wait, no...sorry..that's how her room always looks.

The POD People

POD -Point Of Distribution for food and supplies

Our friends, 77345, aka Lance and Shannon opened up their home and fed us and 3 other generator-less families for 6 nights. They cooked up everything in their freezer. I have had every variation of deer meat. They put it in fajitas, spaghetti, chili, hamburgers, and I think there might have even been some in the ice cream. It was sooo good. I'm thinking about having Mac doing some deer hunting in his car. (That's how he likes to hunt deer, hit them with his car as they run out in front of him. It's been a very successful technique in the past.)

POD 77345 was truly a blessing to us. If they hadn't fed us, I figure by day 5, we probably would have had to eat one of the children. Also, we really enjoyed the time with friends. We laughed, played the Wii, (courtesy of the generator), got "ett up" by mosquitos, and laughed some more. The kids really enjoyed that time, too. For a week after we got our power back, Grey and Holland asked me when we are going back to their house. I had to tell them that the POD had closed for the season. They were more than a little disappointed.

The POD 77345 Coordinators, Shannon and Lance




Boyz in the POD



20 P's in a POD



(For you detailed, people, 3 of the p's are not pictured. I can't believe you counted.)

Eat And Get Gas

That was basically our schedule for Day 5. We waited in line for 3 hours to get gas. I know what you're thinking, 3 hours for gas? But honestly, we had 3 hours to kill so it was no big deal. I sat and worked a find-a-word puzzle while listening to the radio. People would call in and tell you where to get gas with little to no line, obviously nowhere near us. The kids sat with my friend, Liz and her kids, who were about 8 cars back and watched a movie in her van. Mac worked the crowd, making friends up and down the car line.

There was even a woman in line behind us that sat in a chair, reading the paper, with only a gas can. She didn't even have a vehicle. (Man, I wish I had taken a picture of that.)
We found out as the 411 worked its way down the line that the gas station had plenty of gas, but had sold all of its diesel fuel which it needed to run the generators. So we were waiting for the diesel truck to arrive and when it did, we cheered it on like it was the presidential motorcade.

Here's a picture of the gas line behind me.


Mac rode the running board as we moved up 3 feet in line.