Hot Stuff

No, this post isn't about the Donna Summer song.  Nor is it Amy's nickname for me (or is it).  Nope, instead I am going to tell you about my brief encounter with the Houston Hot Sauce Festival.  With an emphasis on hot and brief.  

Now, I love me some spicy food.  Yum.  So when a Groupon for the Houston Hot Sauce Festival came up this past summer Amy bought it.  Festivals are fun.  We enjoy going to them.  This seemed like a great idea.  Flash forward to yesterday, the day of the festival.    We'd had torrential downpours all Friday during the day and night.  We were wondering if we would even be making it to the festival.  However, the rain stopped, the morning came, and the forecast cleared.  So we ventured out.  It was located at a convention center and when we arrived we thought it might be held inside, score.  But no, it was outside.  But hey, it's in a parking lot.  But no, it wasn't.  It was in the grass, or what was grass before the aforementioned storms, coupled with the setting up of all of the booths and vendors.  Now it was mud.  Lots of it.  With patches of muddy grass sprinkled throughout just for giggles.  No, seriously, it was muddy.  But we decided to brave it, give it a shot.  After all, we'd driven all the way there.  So in we went.

We squelched our way into the festival.  The boys spotted the jumpy houses right away.  Sadly, it was a pay-for-jump arrangement and I couldn't see spending a minimum of $2/per boy to have them jump.  Oh well, we moved on.  The first booth we went to had a sauce called, I kid you not, Death Nectar.

Well, rather than start off slowly (as my dear wife would later suggest that I should have done) with the milder sauces, and then working my way up to hotter ones, I opted for the Death Nectar.  It was hot.  Very hot.  But also very good.  The guy said it was rated 337.  That sounded high, but out of what, 1,000?  After sampling I headed to buy a water.  The fire was dwindling by now and I was doing well.  Then Amy suggested that we get the boys a snow cone, since there wasn't a ton for them to do.  On the way back from the snow cone vendor I started feeling funny.  A little weak.  Shaky.  Amy took one look at me and told me to go find a place to sit down.  Apparently I didn't look too good.  Pale.  Sweaty.  Yeah, I was feeling way worse, like I was going to pass out.  So I found a seat and tried not to pass out.

Well, I didn't pass out.  After about 5 minutes I was better.  However, given then events of our brief encounter with the festival we decided it would be best if we called it a day and headed home.  Thus ended our adventure at the Houston Hot Sauce Festival.  I don't think we will return.

On the way home I did research the sauce I'd tried.  Turns out the 337 the guy was talking about, was 337,000 Scoville units.  If you are not familiar with the Scovile units, I suggest you look it up.  Especially if you are venturing out to a hot sauce festival.  For an understanding of the rating of the Death Nectar, it is about 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce.  A jalapeño rates 3,000 - 8,000 Scoville units.  The ghost pepper, one of the ingredients in the Death Nectar, is one of the world hottest peppers and can reach above 1,000,000 on the Scoville scale.  Had I been better versed in this prior to our visit to the festival, I may have avoided the Death Nectar.  However, it makes for a good story.  Visit here to read more about or to purchase the Death Nectar.  I'm still working on Amy about getting some, it was good.  She just rolls her eyes at me!  :)

Grinder's Death Nectar

All is well, cooling off, in Drosche Land.
       

Recasting

Recasting.

Now, I'm (for once) not talking about TV and the type of recasting that brought us 2 Darrins on Bewitched (Dick York, the original was my favorite), 2 Aunt Vivs on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (the 2nd one?  Seriously?), or the 2 Beckys on Roseanne (3 changes when you count the one back to the first).  Nope, I'm talking about Jackson and his broken arm here.

Now the title makes sense right?  Although you're thinking about the TV shows now too right?  But back to the topic at hand.

Today was Jackson's appointment.  We'd been hoping and praying that the cast could come off.  Hoping and praying too, that both broken arms were healing well.  So, as it turns out one of the bones has fused back together and is looking great.  The other, the one that was completely broken through, is in line but not fully fused.  Amy was faced with the option of a 3-week period in a brace or a recasting.  She very wisely chose, after discussing with me via the phone, to recast.  The thought of keeping a simple brace on a very active 5 (soon to be 6) year old for 3 weeks and hoping and praying that it wouldn't break again was just too daunting.  So we went with the recast.

Luckily this time we could go with the waterproof cast!  Hallelujah!  4 weeks of bathing a  very active 5 (soon to be 6) year old boy with a cast has been exhausting.  Lately Jackson has been wanting us to smell the cast, insisting that it stinks.  We took his word for it.  He found it hilarious.  We found it ewwww!  

So, here we sit, facing 3 more weeks in a cast.  Thank goodness it is waterproof!  When all is said and done (hopefully this will be the final casting) we will have had 1 week in a splint and 7 weeks in a cast.  The idea of a brace is not off the table though once the casting comes off.  Just for added support and strengthening since the break was at the growth plate.  But we will cross that bridge when we get to it and I of course will keep you updated.  So, thanks for the thoughts and prayers.  They are much appreciated and needed.  I'll leave you with a picture of Jackson and his new cast, he chose red this time.  Also one of the cast he had removed!  I'm off to see if Bewitched is on Netflix or Hulu and practice my nose twitch.

All is well, roles recast, in Drosche Land.  

He was bummed at first but pleased with the waterproof status of the new cast!

Ewww.  Just that.  Ewww!

    

Quack

So, I know that I am late getting on this bandwagon.  I know.  But I have become totally addicted to Duck Dynasty.

Now, you know I love me some reality television.  However, with our decision a while ago (maybe a year now?) to get rid of cable I don't get to see as much of it as possible.  I mean the good trashy stuff that's on cable.  Sure I love Big Brother and we sort of follow the craziness of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, and I am stoked about the upcoming season of Survivor.  But I miss the Housewives.  OC, Atlanta, New York, New Jersey.  See, cable reality shows aren't really on Hulu or Netflix and those are our primary ways of watching TV now.  Being busy we don't always get to watch it live.  So Hulu and Netflix team up to be our DVR.

So, I've gotten off on a tangent.  Big surprise right?  But I'm back now.  I have been hearing all about Duck Dynasty.  Seeing it on Facebook.  It seemed awesome.  It seemed like something I'd love.  However, patiently as I might wait, it just never is going to make it to Hulu or Netflix.  Come on cable channels, unclench!

This past holiday weekend we were at my sister-in-law Amanda's house and she has cable.  So I was bound and determined to watch some.  Lo and behold it was everything I could ever hope for.  Ahhhhhh.  Thus began a love affair with yet another TV show.  This time though, Amy fell for it with me.  We are full-fledged addicts now.

But we can't stay at Amanda's.  Nor can we trek the 8 miles over there to watch TV.  What ever is a TV addict to do?  Enter my wonderful wife.  Turns out Duck Dynasty is available on iTunes and you know we are Apple people, having already bought our second Apple TV.  So she surprised me and bought Season 1.  We spent the remainder of the weekend relaxing on the couch and marathoning our way halfway through the season.  

What joy!  What bliss!  What fun redneck comedy!  Sure, maybe some of it is staged.  What reality show isn't.  But I still think the core of the show is true and awesome.  The best part about it is that it is something we can all watch.  The boys love it as well.  I can't say the same thing about all of my other reality TV shows (sorry housewives).

Do you watch Duck Dynasty?  What do you think?  Do you love it?  Which is your favorite? Phil?  Miss Kay?  Willie?  Jase?  Jep?  Uncle Si?  I can't choose, although Uncle Si gets Amy and I laughing all the time!  If you, like I was, are one of the last remaining people to see this, I highly suggest you watch!  Trust me.

Oh, and just to give you an extra laugh, there's an app too.  It's called Beard Booth.  I love it.  See the picture of the boys I made below!  AWESOME!

All is well, happy happy happy, in Drosche Land.

HA!

One More

Ahhhh, a title with a double meaning.  Deep.

One more day left in August.

One more post to catch us up with the events of this past summer.  

This post will get us caught up for the month of August, but don't worry, it won't seem like a month while you're reading.  Sure, August was crazy busy, but it was mainly busy with one event - back to school.

Change was the theme for summer.  And lots of it.  As you know Amy is now teaching 2nd Grade.  She is loving it.  To her it is the best of both worlds.  The kids are still young and fun and innocent.  Yet, they're mature enough so one doesn't have to deal with bathroom accidents and shoe tying.  She has a large class, 21 students, so things are always busy and this first week and a half of school has tired her out.  But she, and her kids I'm sure, are having a blast.  Jackson is also now attending her school.  You'll remember that we made the decision to split the kids up between our respective schools.  It was not an easy decision and one that we thought, prayed, and talk about at length.  However, we are certain that we made the best decision.  Jackson loves his school and especially his teacher.  He is adjusting well and it is going to be a great Kindergarten year for him.

My big change was of course moving to a new school.  But not just any school!  Nope, I am teaching at the school where I attended 2nd - 8th grades.  Where I met Amy.  The church where I was baptized and confirmed.  So that has been a ton of fun.  My principal was my 8th Grade teacher way back when.  It is pretty surreal to be back after so long.  My classroom now was my 5th Grade classroom so long ago.  (Ironically my 5th Grade teacher is now the 8th Grade teacher at Amy's school!  Small world!)  But it has been an incredible new year!  I have 18 great students and a wonderful group of coworkers.  Everyone in the church and school has been so welcoming and excited; I couldn't be happier.  Braeden and Stella attend my school and both are doing very well also.  I think I am slowly adapting to the idea that Braeden is in 2nd Grade.  Wow!  It still feels weird to say it.  He has had a blast!  Making new friends and is totally in awe of his teacher.  Stella is being the social butterfly and winning people over left and right.  Teachers, students, other parents.  No one is safe from her charm.  She knows just how to win them over.  

The first couple of weeks were busy and a little stressful as we dealt with conflicting yet very similar schedules and learning new curriculums, schools, rules, procedures, and so much more.  But we survived and things are starting to slowly settle down as the year begins.  

Of course Jackson breaking his arm was a highlight of August.  Again, we could not be happier that surgery is not needed.  He only has about 2 weeks left in his cast.  After that he will just need to wear a brace for a while to strengthen it all back up since one of the breaks was at the growth plate in his wrist.

Is that it?  Dare I say we are caught up?  I'm sure there is at least one thing that I have forgotten, likely more.  But I'm growing tired of catching up, although I hope you're not.  So, we'll call is caught up.  Thanks for bearing with me through these past few posts, as scatterbrained and jumpy as they may have been.

Oh, one more thing.  Today ended up being a surprise day off for Braeden, Stella, and I.  Late last night we found out that the city shut off the water at school due to a problem with the waterlines.  Boom!  Day off!  So thus began our now 4-day weekend since Monday is Labor Day!  Oh, now we're caught up! :)

I'll close with this picture of the kids on their first day of school!  2nd Grade, Kindergarten, and Waddlers.  They are adorable!  Here's to a great new school year!

All is well, caught up finally, in Drosche Land.

          

Back At It

So, here I am.

Back.

I believe that last year there is a similarly titled post around this time.  

So, August was supposed to catch us up on July and the summer.  Then August began.  August is to teachers, what April is to accountants.  Needless to say, things have been ridiculously busy here in Drosche Land.  So much change going around, our heads are still spinning.

So I'll try and cram as much into this post as possible to catch us up and bring us current. But it may get long so if you need to pause for a snack or beverage, that's cool.  

So, where were we?  July.  We bought a camper.

We stayed at home for July 4th and, as usual, celebrated with some small time fireworks.  We enjoyed it and no one lost an eye or finger!  Although there was a close call with a rogue firework that didn't go as "aerial" as it should have.  But the kids enjoyed it and I got to blow stuff up.  A win-win.

Jack's favorite are the sparklers!

Braeden's first time with a Roman candle!

  

Then we were getting ready to head to Arkansas for our big family vacation with Amy's family.  We do it every year and Arkansas has become a favorite spot of ours.  Well, a few days prior to leaving, 2 I believe.  We took the van in to get inspected.  It failed.  Crap.  So we took it to our mechanic to figure out what the issue was.  Turns out she was in worse condition than we'd anticipated.  I mean, she was well loved, a true workhorse.  But her time, with us at least, had come to an end.  The needed repairs were expensive and there was no guarantee that she would even last a year.  So, we decided to get a new car.  Shut up!  Yes, we did.  Although we'd enjoyed being car payment free for about a year, we couldn't avoid it any longer.  So we headed to Carmax (where we bought the van) and looked for something to meet our many needs.  We'd researched online and ended up just happening across a Toyota Sequoia.  It had what we needed and wanted.  It was big, with a 3rd row to hold everyone and everything.  It could tow our new camper.  It has a sunroof.  Ok, not a need but still a perk!  Best of all, the price was great and we got a fair deal on the van as a trade in.  So, we bought a new car, just about a week and a half after the camper.  Seriously.  It's never a dull moment here.

The new car in all her ginormous glory!

We are totally in love.

So we headed to Arkansas in our new (to us) car and loved every minute of it.  The vacation was awesome!  Stella did very well considering it was her first ever vacation away from home.  Our family was luckily understanding of the fact that she wakes up early and only teased us a little.  The boys found a new love of riding on a boat and being pulled in the tube.  I found that I can hold my own against Amy's brother and cousins, all around 10 years younger than me, on a rough and wild ride on the aforementioned tube!  Still got it!  It was great to get away and we enjoyed the much-needed vacation.  Possibly the best part of all was when we went fishing and Jack caught his first ever, and second, and third fish!  Amy learned how to unhook them so we will be prepared for our next big catch.  I caught a catfish that was just slightly too small to keep, much to Jackson's and my dismay as we love us some catfish.

I have a habit of taking "Road Trip" pictures.  Amy kindly obliges!

Jack the fisherman!

I love this shot of Amy and I.

Stella enjoyed the lake and didn't fuss too much over her lifejacket!

My girls!

Catch of the day!

Braeden enjoying the boat!

The last bit of July was spent at home, relaxing and bemoaning the fact that summer was all too quickly drawing to a close.  You know the drill.  But, before we all got back into the swing of things, we did make some time for a trip to the beach.  Now, I know people, even my fellow native Houstonians, hate on Galveston.  Yes, the water isn't crystal clear.  Yes, there is seaweed.  I get it.  But I still love me some Galveston.  We had a blast.  The boys have always loved the beach but we weren't so sure about Stella.  Turns out we needn't worry at all.  She is a little beach bum herself. She took right to it and didn't fuss all day.  She enjoyed herself splashing and running around, every now and then stopping to try and eat some sand.  It was the perfect goodbye to summer and left Amy and I wondering why we don't make it to the beach more often.  So we make plans to camp there over Labor Day!  However, with the latest development of Jackson's broken arm, we have had to cancel that since casts and water don't exactly miss.  Another camper trip foiled!  But there are plenty of other times coming up.

My girls at the beach! 

My favorite shot of the day!

My boys playing around!

Stella and I building sand castles!

So, that brings us through the busy month of July and into August.  True, August is nearly over but we're nearly caught up.  I promise.  This post has gotten lengthy, although I hope I've won you over with the many pictures!  :)  I'll do one more catch up post to fill you in on the joys that have been August 2013 here in Drosche Land.  Then we'll be squared away and ready to move forward.  And yes, that post will come before the end of the month.  I have a week!  

All is well, nearly caught up, in Drosche Land.

  

Crowns, Casts, and Vomit

We interrupt the regularly scheduled July catch-up post for this one which details the latest adventure in Drosche Land.

Well, if the title of this post didn't hook you, surely that first line did!  On with the post.

So, yesterday Amy and the boys went to the dentist for their cleanings.  I lucked out couldn't make it for mine because I had a faculty meeting.  Despite the fact that our dentist is a family friend, I am just not a fan of going to the dentist.  Any doctor for that matter.  But that's a topic for a different post.

At the dentist Amy found out that Braeden needed some crowns on a few baby teeth due to cavities.  Ugh!  So she made the appointment for today.  In his defense, Braeden seems to have inherited the problematic teeth that run in Amy's family directly from his mother.  Jack seems to take after me as he had no issues whatsoever.

So the plan was set for today.  Amy would take Jack with her to school and I would take Braeden and Stella with me, as is our routine.  We would meet for lunch, trade boys, and she would take Braeden to the dentist while I took Jack back to my classroom.  All seemed fine.  Until I got a phone call from Amy during my meeting.  I didn't answer and got another, followed by the text you don't want to get - "Emergency.  Call me.".  So I slipped out and made the phone call.  Jack had fallen off of the monkey bars at school and broken his arm.  Yep.  That's right.  They were on their way to the ER.

Change of plans.  While Amy dealt with that issue, I took Braeden to the dentist where he was a trooper and handled it so well.  Afterward I went and picked Stella up where I found out that she had thrown up all over her teacher shortly beforehand.  Not to be outdone by her brothers, she must have wanted in on the day's action.  So I headed home to Amy and Jackson.  

Despite the craziness, stress, and drama of the day's adventures we are so proud of the boys.  Jackson is dealing very well with his arm.  He's in a temporary cast until next week when he will get his hard cast.  He is managing his pain well and getting used to being one-armed.  Braeden is also doing very well with his crowns and swollen face.  He was happy that, at bedtime, the swelling had gone down and the discomfort was lessened by the medicine Amy gave him.  Stella is doing just fine as well.

So, here it is, the end of a wild ride of a day and all has slowed down.  Hopefully everyone will get a much-needed rest and will awaken bright and shiny in the morning.  I have to share with you how grateful I am for my awesome wife.  She handled the day's events very well despite everything that was thrown at her.  I know for a fact that I would not have done so well.  She is an incredible wife and mother and today just proved to me more evidence of that.

So, as with many of the adventures we seem to have here in Drosche Land, today's events were the opposite of planned.  But in the end all has turned out for the best and HE has kept us safe and sound through it all.  

All is well, casted, crowned, and stomachs settled, in Drosche Land.

Jackson waking up after having  his arm set!

Braeden powering through his dental work!

    

Campy

We bought a camper!

Shut up!

Yes, we did!

So, that's pretty much how July began.  But I'll back up a bit and run you through the whole story.

Picture it, late June.  We made plans to take the kids and dogs out to Lake Livingston for 2 nights and 3 days of camping fun.  Amy and I love camping.  Needless to say, it's been a while since we've been.  What with having a baby and all in the last year.  But we decided it was high time we went.  Stella had obviously never been and the boys hadn't been but a scant amount of times.  So we booked it.

The weather, up until then of course, had been quite nice.  Warm, yes, it is Texas after all; but not too bad.  All that changed the week we headed out.  As the end of June neared the temperatures began to rise.  Crap.  But we proceeded out anyway.  The Lake is not too far away, about an hour and a half, pretty much one movie (yes, that's how we measure car trip times here).  We got there and got everything set up.

Then we realized just how hot it was.  The dogs were unhappy.  Rex had never been camping and he is so timid and scared of everything the entire event was enough to send him into a panting, shedding frenzy.

Stella got fussy.  And red.  And sweaty.  Did I mention she was fussy?  But we proceeded with our day.  However, as the time passed Amy and I began to question our decision to camp.  Was it wise?  Would we survive?  What have we done?!

A campfire was made and hot dogs were roasted.  We were all hot and exhausted.  Stella was a mess and the boys were getting a little whiny.  Things started going downhill.  Fast.   So we surrendered.  We packed up and headed home, cutting our trip short.  Very short.

We still love camping, but not the heat.  I mean, who does?  On the ride home Amy and I joked with the idea of getting a camper.  That would allow us the ability to camp, but with some temperature control.  It wasn't long before it wasn't a joke anymore.  The next day was spent researching campers on the Internet.  Long story short (too late), we bought a camper.

Not a huge one.  A small pop-up.  But we love it and the boys do as well.  The best thing? We have an air conditioner.  Ahhhh.  The hardest part was backing it up into our garage. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the ridiculously steep incline of our driveway' but we finally managed to get it in.

However, since our purchase our attempts to camp have been slightly unsuccessful.  A week after purchase we headed out on the camper's inaugural run.  However, the first night was beyond peaceful for Amy and I as Stella fussed the entire night.  She was running fever and was not a happy camper (pun intended).  The next day Amy took her into town to the doctor (we were again near home luckily) and she had some crazy throat infection.  So, Amy took her home while the boys and I remained at the campsite for the next night.  Then, this past week we intended to head out to Galveston to camp at the beach, something we were all excited about.  But on the morning before our trip both boys awoke complaining of stomach aches and spent the entire day down and out.  We cancelled the trip thinking the heat of the beach would not be a great way to follow a day of sickness.  So that trip was rescheduled for October, although we did make it to the beach for a day trip by the week's end.

So, there you have it. A somewhat long story about the purchase of our first RV.  In true Drosche style it was an adventure from start to finish.  We haven't gotten to use it as much as we'd originally intended but we have big plans for our little pop-up.  2 upcoming trips are scheduled, a Spring Break trip, and we will be taking it to Disney next summer (post forthcoming).  So we are sure to become experienced RV campers sooner or later.  Despite the initial craziness surrounding the camper we are still super excited and very pleased with it.  It's a lot of fun thinking about all of the great family times we will share in it and the memories we will make with the kids that they will be able to share with their families when they grow up.  

All is well, happy campers in fact, in Drosche Land.

A picture of the one time the entire family was able to enjoy the camper together!

The boys hanging out on the first camper trip!

Amy and I, fireside, on the first camper trip.

The boys sleeping in.  They love their side of the camper!

The 2nd time backing in went much smoother, hopefully this will be the trend and I'll be a pro!