Two Delightful little boys.

This week I had the pleasure of taking care of Mark and Asher in West Monroe. I was excited about the two days I was going to get spoiling them. I wasn't needed until Thursday but I arrived Wednesday afternoon and started my "work". I got to wake them from their nap. Asher is very cuddly after his nap and I was able to partake in that. He has grown up so much from being a toddler to a little boy. He is a little fella and fit right into this little bucket that his mom keeps blocks in. He was sitting in it and yelling "WHA ME, WHA ME!" At first I thought he wanted me to rock him but when I watched him he rocked himself over and giggled. I told him to do it again so I could take his picture.

Mark was watching all of this from his perch. I asked him if his mom wants him sit up there and he said "No but I can do it when you are here." He was quite proud of himself and told me to take his picture and of course I obliged.

Friday night all was quiet at their house and I was feeling quite content and reading my book. Mom and dad were out and I thought I had gotten them down for the night when a sudden thump was heard. I waited thinking it was mom and dad coming home but then I heard little feet running. I came out of my room which is on the other side of the play room from the boys' room. Mark is standing there looking very guilty and he said "Asher is downstairs". (They have a 2 story house). I yelled for Asher and he started yelling "YAMP BWOKE! YAMP BWOKE! YAMP BWOKE!" as he walked upstairs. I said "How did that happen?" He threw up his hands and shrugged "I dunno!" So I go into their room and notice that the nightstand between their beds had toppled over and sure enough the lamp is broke and lying on the floor. Again I ask "How did that happen" in my sternest voice and both of them said "I dunno!" Guess it was a ghost. So I fuss at them and tell them they had better get in bed or I was going to spank them and they quickly crawl under the covers and lay there waiting for punshment. I tuck them in and try my best to look mean and angry and tell them to not get out of bed again and to go to sleep. They both nod with wide eyed fear. I had to quickly get out of there cuz I couldn't keep a straight face. I took the lamp downstairs and put it on the counter so their parents could see their offspring's work first thing when they got home. Mom finally got to the bottom of the story and I am not sure what actually happened but no one got in trouble and dad said he probably could fix the lamp.

I came home Saturday night and am ready for a kid free week.

Speaking of modern technology......................

On the left is a picture of a street in my neighborhood that was littered with branches. Gustav blew in Monday and left much devastation in Baton Rouge. Our electricity went out at around 11:00 a.m. that morning and stayed off for 3 days. It was very hot and sticky in this house. We tried playing cards and the cards were hard to shuffle because of the humidity. If you have never lived in the south I am not sure you can comprehend the humidity down here. I have a gas stove and water heater so thankfully we were able to cook and take hot showers. As I watched the trees being whipped around I wondered how many were going to be able to stand the pressure without breaking. I have lived in Baton Rouge for over 30 years and have seen many hurricanes but that is the worst one I have ever seen. It was scarey. I was afraid that a branch would come thru my window at any moment during the storm. After the storm we walked around the neighborhood and realized how lucky we were, there were many trees on top of houses, well I should say laying inside of houses, many utility poles laying on the road and wires everywhere. Here is a picture of one of the trees uprooted by Gustav. Charlie and I are standing by the bottom that was pulled out of the ground. They gave everyone a curfew and of course it was broken and people were arrested. You could not find a bag of ice if your life depended on it. There were long lines to get gas because not very many gas stations were able to open. Forget about going to a restaurant. No one had electricity. They would tell us that we shouldn't even go anywhere since the street lights were not working. This was the case for a couple of days. It was like living in a third world country. Standing line to get into a grocery store, waiting hours to get gas. Scarey driving. All traffic lights had turned into 4 way stops. People don't know how to do that anymore. You creep out into the intersection and pray no one will come barreling thru on their cell phone and plow into you.

We got power 3 days after the storm but not everyone on our street were not that lucky. At one point you feel guilty cuz you are living in the lap of luxury while your neighbor is miserable in the heat and humidity.

Baton Rouge is slowing healing from Gustav but it will take a while. I have heard that this is the worst BR has been hit since Betsy in 1968. Hopefully it won't happen again.