Come On, Irene

On Saturday, August 24, we prepared for what Hurricane Irene might look like in our area. [And Shawn & I kept singing "Come On, Irene" to the tune of "Come On, Eileen."] We knew the hurricane was to hit the coast hard, and we were just going to get some residual effects. But, that included lots of rain (with flash flood warnings), lots of wind (so the potential of fallen tree branches and debris), and the possibility of losing electricity. I told Shawn that we needed a few things like more bottled water anyway, so we went out that morning to get a couple things from the store. We also had a coupon for Dunkin Donuts and grabbed coffee along the way.

Later that afternoon, as the rain had already started, I told the boys I was going to bake some chocolate chip cookies and looked for helpers. Joshua declined because he was playing Wii, but Caleb was all about it! He helped get out our aprons as I was getting out the ingredients. We only had one bag of chocolate chips, so I cut the recipe in half. I figured if our power did go out, we could survive on cookies! They turned out amazingly well - probably the best we've ever had! So, they didn't last too long.

That evening after the boys went to bed, I sat curled up with my little Schnook and watched all the news coverage on Irene pounding the coast and about New York City being completely shut down. It all looked surreal. All night we heard the fierce wind tear up the outside of our home and the rain pound our house. I thought about how blessed we are to have a house that shields us during storms like this. The kids were up throughout the night - all three of them. Joshua woke up and had to go potty, Caleb woke up and wondered what the noise was, and Ryan woke up to eat and eat. We'd also wake up hearing the wind howling, etc. But, at least we were safe. While we heard many stories of folks without power, including our church that next morning, the worst damage we had was that we had to re-set all of our clocks since the electricity had blinked. And we didn't have cable TV the next day, which I didn't realize until I went to watch the news late that night. We also had lots of leaves that covered our yard from our neighbors' trees, and even our cars were plastered even though it had rained. Since then, it has truly felt like fall to us. The next evening as I took the kids for a walk, Joshua proclaimed, "I see all these leaves down! That means it's fall and time for my birthday!"

Shawn had his fantasy football draft that next night (Sunday), so I had all three boys on my own for bedtime. It went amazingly well. The kids got right into their PJs for me, I got them their bedtime snack, then I brushed the older boys' teeth and got Ryan into his jammies. Then we went into the boys' bedroom and Ryan laid on Joshua's bed in the middle while the older boys & I read a couple books together, including a Thomas easy reader and the "Animal Strike at the Zoo." All three enjoyed story time, I'd say. Then we sang our songs, said our prayers, and I took the baby out to feed him. By the time I went back to check on the boys, they were already asleep! It was a new record of 8:30 pm. I think they were especially tired from not getting much sleep the night before.

In blogging about putting the boys to bed, it made me chuckle as I remembered another story (can't remember if I shared it already or not, so if this is a repeat, forgive me!). The week before or there abouts, Shawn went out with his brother Brian to Scooters for wings and to hang out and possibly watch sports - but I'm unsure of what game, etc. Anyway, I was also getting the boys ready for bed that night. My timing was off on Ryan's eating schedule, though, so I allowed the boys to have their snack in the office. That was my first mistake. Joshua asked me to take the lid off his cup that he keeps water in in his room. Typically he has 'big boy' cups but in his bedroom, in case he's thirsty in the middle of the night, we keep a cup with a lid on it, for obvious reasons. I took the lid off and he filled it with water. But, I didn't realize he couldn't get the lid back on. And he didn't either. Caleb took the bag (why is it that all kids want to hold the bag that their crackers or snacks are coming out of?) and Joshua was FURIOUS! He went to throw himself down, but he didn't realize that the lid wasn't secure. Based on his positioning, he DUMPED an entire cup full of ice cold water on me and Ryan. The baby screamed. So did I! We were drenched. Joshua looked almost as surprised as we were. He saw the water all over my rocking chair, my PJs, poor little Ryan, the wall, and his bookshelf and he ran and got right in bed. That was good. I told Caleb that snack time was over and to get in bed as well. He did. After I changed Ryan and my outfits, I put the baby in his crib for a few minutes to talk to Joshua. I told him that I realized it was an accident and that he can try better next time. He said he was sorry for making us wet and didn't mean to spill his water everywhere. I knew it was the truth, and once I was dry, I realized how funny the scene must have looked. I couldn't keep a straight face about it telling Shawn the following day (since I was in bed long before he got home). Poor Bean! Poor Ryan! But, that was another night that the kids went right to sleep shortly after their heads hit the pillow. And I'm always thankful for those nights in these sleepless months!