Cold Spaghetti

When visiting my parents, they enjoy dressing him after his bath. My Mom gives him a soothing massage while she and my Dad sing to him. He loves it.

Tonight, he laid so still and quiet, listening to them sing (song selections include “Red Red Robin”, “Roses of Success”, “Toot Sweets”, “Be My Echo”, “High Hopes” and many more). When they were done and about to lay him to bed, he quietly said, “Moe”. (Will speak for “more”.)

So they laid him back down and sang another song to his smiling face.

Our neighbor, Walt, was kind enough to flash his doctor-ID and check out our place! His report: no catastrophic damage! In fact, aside from the huge mess we left in our packing haste, no real mess to report. Even our fridge (which he kindly cleaned out) was without rank odor. (A surprise perk of vegetarianism.) He noticed some yard damage (neighbor’s fence down) and other little things, but on the whole, a very, very good report.

It is too unbelieveable to think that we got through this relatively unscathed. There are a few known issues that require additional investigation that we want to check out once we can get back (the slow leak in the back addition roof, water blow into the eaves, wet insulation in the attic, etc.) But the bottom line is: we have a house, it has a solid roof, and there is no obvious damage preventing us from living there, eventually.

Can you hear our huge sigh of relief?

Thanks to everyone again for your thoughts and support.

We arrived back at my parents’ home in Mobile, Alabama Monday night. Will quickly re-adjusted to the familiar environment and his sleep difficulties quickly subsided. We had a good time visiting my brother Skip, sister-in-law Emily, friends Gwen and Mario (with Gwen’s dad, brother, and girlfriend!), and our NOLA neighbors Linda and Walt who were staying in St. Simon’s with Walt wonderful mother. It was nice to re-connect with so many and allowed us some options while Alabama power restored services to the area. Gasoline is still quite scarce, but we’ve been asking around and were able to find a great place yesterday with no lines. The stores are pretty much all open so today I’m going out to re-stock a bit on little things (ie: Will is out of toothpaste.)

Our ears are always tuned to the news from New Orleans. We frequent NOLA.com as well as related weblogs. We are anxious and hopeful for the opportunity to visit the house, collect some belongings (ie: toys and pajamas for Will, clothes for Paul, pillows for me), and assess any damage.

We’ve talked to our insurance agency (USAA) and they were generally good. We have a deductible of about $3000 (ouch) for any damage. The bummer is that if we do NOT have any damage, we will get no assistance in expenses related to the evacuation or in loss of use. In essence this makes sense: insurance is only for when you cannot habit your home due to damage, not because the city says you can’t, or because there is no power and water. Still, in this type of situation, you’d think they’d be a bit more flexible. We’re worried about potential damages from the house sitting empty that insurance may not cover. Hopefully we can get back soon and know exactly with what we are dealing.

Nonetheless, we are incredibly lucky to have a free place to stay that offers some free babysitting.

S.L.U.T.S. : Southern Ladies Under Tremendous Stress 

Will points out Bella-the-dog’s nose. 

Will and Paul at the park, SSI. 

Will at the park, St. Simon’s Island (photo by Aunt Gwen!) 

Strike a pose — there’s nothing to it — VOGUE! 

Will plays in the pool shower as Aunt Gwen pulls the cord, St. Simon’s Island. 

Hot, preggers, and on the town. Gwen and I on St. Simon’s Island.