Hurricane Irene

Well it's blog worthy because there hasn't been a hurricane in CT in 20 years.  I don't remember the last one...and I'm sure the girls won't remember this one.  This is a touchy age for them.  They take things SO LITERALLY so we have to watch what we say.  (Case in point...Pete said something about throwing one of them out the window and Emily burst into tears saying "I don't want you to throw me out a window!").  *disclaimer - he was JUST KIDDING*  So I wanted to be very careful how I approached the hurricane with them. 

1st - they aren't terribly afraid of thunderstorms.  I do my best to take them outside when it's thundering and make a big deal out of how cool it is.  So I didn't want to make a big deal out of the hurricane...but let's face it - I was scared! 

2nd - how do you tape up windows, make an emergency kit, move cars and tie things down...all without raising some concerns to a few preschoolers?  It's not easy.  But it can be done! 

We started by telling them we were going to get A LOT of rain.  We kept it simple - just rain.  They don't understand wind yet.  Next - I told them 'guess what?  Today is the day we make a spiderweb on the windows!"  So I let them watch me tape up the big window in the living room and then the windows in our bedroom.  Then - as we explained the lights going out and how we would have to use flashlights and candles...we talked about how cool it would be for their beds to be in our room so Pete and I didn't get scared when the lights went out.  So we moved our bed, made room for their beds, and let them sleep in our room.  Just for the night though - we don't wanna make a habit out that!  They thought it was great that they got to sleep in our room so WE didn't get scared.  :)

This morning - we still had power so I jumped out of bed, made coffee, bagels, Eggo's and boiled some water (don't ask why...I have no idea).  All just in case we lost power.  But we only lost power for a brief moment - then it came back on.  No damage to the house here but some trees and power lines were down in the neighborhood.  I guess we managed to get through this hurricane unscathed.  Thank God!