357 Hula Hoops, Warnings, and Palpitations

All pics are off my phone this round.

On Thursday we got a call from the school. Katie had been smacked in the head with a hula hoop. Just above her right eye. She was crying and wanted us to come get her. I am sure the teacher said "does it hurt bad enough to go home?" and all Katie heard was "This could get you out of school" and she is all about getting to come home early. I walked into the front office and she was sitting in a chair, her head leaned against the wall with a bag of ice. SO PITIFUL! Right?! We walk out the doors and she perks right up "Can we go to Fox & Hound?" She wanted hot wings! Such a little conniver!! So, she really was hurt, and she has complained abou tit for days. The bruise turned into a rub/scab thing. Apparently she got too close to a boy singing a bunch of hula hoops on his arm. One day she will learn to pay attention. She is still adorable though!Friday night the storms started. They weren't so bad the first night, but Saturday saw them escalate. Tornado watches led to warnings. The closet under the stairs was cleaned out for emergency purposes. Of course Katie and Connor treat the empty closet as a play house, but considering that they couldn't go outside it was okay. As usual the sirens only went off when I tried to get the kids in bed. Well, apparently they went off Friday night about 4am ... Saturday morning, whatever ... but we didn't hear them. I am sure we wouldn't have slept through a tornado. So, the kids were exhausted and I had to stuff us in that tiny coat closet. The kids were making so much noise that I would have never heard a tornado. Also, they were using up oxygen and creating heat. It was not the most pleasant experience. I am not sure what will happen if Chip is ever home during tornado warnings. The closet is cramped enough as it is, but we could squeeze if we had to. Sunday, the in-laws came up for a visit. Chip and I had to cancel our anniversary dinner the week before, so we took advantage of the grandparents to babysit the heathens. I made some reservations (though you don't need them) at Texas de Brazil. It is one of those places where they come around with the huge skewers of meat. Chip LOVES it ... he didn't eat most of the day to save room. Chip picked out a bottle of wine to share. I am not a wine drinker. Quite honestly I drink it so rarely that it all tastes the same to me. I know, some of you are gasping for breath right now. I am sure if I had three glasses in front of me I could taste the difference, but when you might have a glass every couple of months you lose the nuances of each wine. My favorite part though is the salad bar. IT IS AMAZING! Salad, lobster bisque, smoked salmon, prosciutto, grilled portobella, french bread, and several different types of olives ... ohh, and CHEESE. So super yummy. I could eat just the salad bar and be perfectly happy (and you can do that). This is my plate after the salad bar.
After two bowls of lobster bisque I turned my little meat indicator from red to green and the parade of dead animals began. Don't get me wrong. I love meat. Super yummy, though I try to eat less than I used to. Hubby had already gotten several different types of meat. Filet mignon wrapped in bacon, parmesan pork, and flank steak. I had eaten a little medallion of filet mignon, and gotten a little lamb (oh lord, now that nursery rhyme is running through my head) ... Chip and I are talking ... well, he is laughing at the way I cut meat actually. Apparently it is ADORABLE. After eight years of marriage I surprised him with my meat cutting. Yeah, we are that boring. My heart FREAKS OUT! It starts to race, which it does periodically (it is something that first happened when I was prego with Katie, that time I hit 240bpm). Usually it is just a flutter. I take a deep breath and force myself to relax and it stops. This time, it kept going. Gaining speed. And the faster it went the harder it felt like it was beating. Sure, probably just all that extra blood it couldn't figure out how to move, but it felt like my whole rib cage was beating. It takes a LOT to freak me out, but I was starting to worry ... and starting to get lightheaded. And then, THUNK ... it stopped. Back to normal. Weirdest thing ever. Yes, I am going to get it checked out. I haven't seen a cardiologist in at least 7 years. Last EKG was 4 years ago but everything looked normal.
But ... you know the cure for everything that ails you is .... PIE!

Pecan PIE! It was not nearly as good as my mother-in-laws, or even as good as mine, but it was delicious all the same. It was PECAN PIE ... you have to try to screw that up.

And nothing follows up a good round of heart palpitations like a walk down Beale Street :) I insisted. We so rarely get out alone that I wanted to at least spend a few more moments.
So, hopefully those were our three bad things ... it is time for a little good to head our way.