This doesn't mean that my area wasn't prepared...we were. Everyone closed shop last Monday and Tuesday and all stores sold out of: flashlights, D batteries, water, paper towels, and toilet paper (because apparently paper products are very important for storms). And Brian and I were locked in the house with two active and bored children... well, I was locked in the house Monday morning with them (Brian went to work... I know) and we actually weren't locked in the house Tuesday since the storm had abated by then.
And my kids were actually really good. Since I had very little else to do (I had actually cleaned the house really well the day/night before for some reason and laundry was all caught up) the kids had my undivided attention as a playmate and this makes them happy. I wish I could do it all the time but then who would cook/clean/do laundry/pay bills/blog/etc? And if I did do it all the time who would pay for my therapy bills?
Anywho... I wanted to share with you some of the ways my kids entertained themselves through the storm.
Monday:
I know it's a surprise for you all but there was music in our house during the storm (I was even prepared with a battery powered CD player in case we lost electricity... I know my priorities).
His stage is his bed. You'll notice there are no sheets on it. The one thing I did accomplish during the storm was changing sheets (Evan got a fancy new flannel set because his room is like a meat locker). Of course since we had to stop for musical interludes, dancing, and just random tomfoolery it took me almost an hour to make his bed on Monday. But who cares... what else was I going to do?
Later that day we went down to the playroom and... surprise... we played more music. I know that by now you are aware of Evan's skill with music... but check out how well Chloe can hang with her brother:
And then by the end of the day I had lost all control. Clearly, at some point, Evan decided not to put his underwear and pants back on so he was running around the house in just his pajama shirt. And at some point Chloe found an inflatable beach ball. Then, as only makes sense when you are half-naked and there is a beach ball around, the two chased each other up and down the hallway. And like any responsible parent I decided to tape the event and then shared it all with you.
Tuesday:
When we woke up Tuesday and Brian and I realized that if we didn't leave the house someone was going to get hurt. And since the height of the storm occurred for us the previous night we were free to leave the house. Since it was still raining we decided to go hang out at the mall... with every other parent who had a child within a 10 mile radius.
Our prevailing ideology for the mall was to do whatever it took to keep everyone happy. This immediately translated into renting a $7 mall stroller:
Some of the best dollars I've ever spent... even if 15 minutes later everyone wanted to walk instead of ride in the stroller. And so we walked around the mall. We came to a photo booth and somehow Brian convinced them to sit for pictures:
Chloe had no idea what was going and and I'm not sure Evan truly grasped the concept. Here is a close-up of my favorite one:
Chloe looks confused and Evan looks like he's in a horror movie. For some reason this combination cracks me up... I'm sick like that.
After this we had lunch at the mall and then on the way home the kids fells asleep so we drove around for a bit. After that it was life as usual... dinner, play, bed. It was like Sandy never even showed up.
But I feel awful for the people who did get hit and I can't even imagine what they are doing with kids without electricity for this long. I'm thinking that we need to donate to fix the Jersey shore and donate to a therapy fund for these people... or just long vacations without their kids... or maybe at this point even without their spouses.
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