Photo recap of the last several days

I've been crazy busy at work, trying to pull together a publication for a client. And Superstorm Sandy threw a monkey wrench in everything. So I haven't had time to blog.

But I wanted to make sure I'm keeping good record of what's going on in the life of the Davises. With no time to write, what's a girl to do? Post photos of course!

First of all, during Superstorm Sandy, when it rained -- HARD -- for three days straight, I tried to find lots of things to do to keep the kiddos busy.  You know how I was worried about storm preparation? Turns out this is the only storm prep anyone ever really needs.

Oh yeah!

And lest you think that we spent the three days singing songs and playing Play-Doh and baking stuff like the Partridge Family, please know that by the end of the three days inside with the Crazies, I was ready to ship them in a box to Sri Lanka. (My friend Angel's family is from there, so at least I know someone would feed them.)

Doesn't this photo look like it's from the 70s? Cary even has an Afro.

 Sara decided that she is a baby and constantly tries to wiggle in between the actual babies when we're all piled up together on the couch or on the floor. Here she is in Clair's highchair, which is her new favorite place to sit, hang out or nap.

Do you want some rice cereal and sweet potatoes, little Baby Sara?

 On Halloween, the kids did not go trick-or-treating because I am lazy (I am answering a question from Beth) and also because they still think it is really fun to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters who come to our door. And we get a fair amount, actually, which is surprising since I am one of only two houses on the whole block that even decorates for Halloween. And by "decorate," I mean put some pumpkins on the porch.

Clair is hanging right along with them! Look at her!

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Dean ADORES handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. He yells "Trick or Treat!" and slams candy in their bags, and then waves, "Hiiii!' Even the kids think he is adorable. Cary, on the other hand, who now knows that every piece of candy going out the door is one less piece of candy for him, sulks, pouts and scowls at the trick-or-treaters, refusing to hand over the candy he's clutching in his little hand. He still likes for them to come to the door -- nearly falls over himself running to see them -- but he is no fan of sharing the Halloween bounty. Unh-unh.

Look Mommy! We have BIG muscles!

Fun with PicFrame! (Bet you thought I forgot about that!) Kids in PJs on Halloween night, hopped up on lollipops and other goodies (well, not Clair) making Mommy and Daddy sooooo ready for them to go to bed.

The lines in Baltimore for early voting have been crazy long, but I managed to sneak out in between two work assignments and do my civic duty. It's impolite to discuss politics, I know, so I'll just say that if my vote has anything to do with it, everyone will be able to get a college education, regardless of where they came from, and all my friends will be able to marry the people they love.

Because of the storm, the kids' Fall Festival and Halloween party got pushed to Thursday and Friday. Lester took Thursday (fall fest) and I took Friday (party). At the fall fest, Lester said the boys were incorrigible and refused to do all the fun crafts. They melted down when it was time to build a scarecrow and they were so hard to deal with the whole time, he was ready for a drink by 10 a.m.

In a text message to me, when he sent this picture, he said, "While the other children were all doing crafts, YOUR children were doing this."

On Friday, at the Halloween party, as soon as Cary saw me, he wanted to go home. So he whined and cried just about the whole time. And because the party got rescheduled, only two other parents and I were able to come help out. So it was a little bit chaotic. But we managed to make a bunch of crafts (more on that later) and eat a bunch of snacks and I was the hit of the party with the kids because I sang them the "Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee" song, which includes vomiting sounds. Kids LOVE that.

I even wore a costume! See -- here I am: Lt. Uhura reporting for duty! I don't think anyone got my costume though. Do people not do Star Trek?

And about those crafts we made ....

Are my children trying to tell me something? Is this a cry for help? Do they need therapy -- at 2 and a half? Arts and Crafts always leaves me with so many questions.

:-)

The Upside to Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy is headed our way.

It is being called the Frankenstorm, because of its projected strength, predicted damage and the fact that it is likely to collide with a winter storm coming this way at about the same time.

Forecasters and Baltimore residents are losing their ish over this storm.

"The pre-Halloween hybrid weather monster that federal forecasters call "Frankenstorm" is looking more ominous by the hour for the East Coast, and utilities and local governments are getting ready," said one news article.

The ingredients awaiting Hurricane Sandy appear to be coming together to create what forecasters are calling a monster combination of high wind, heavy rain, extreme tides and maybe snow that could cause havoc along the East Coast just before Halloween next week.
"We're looking at one of the worst storms on record that we've seen in this region," said a hurricane specialist for The Weather Channel.
 
 "It's going to be a long-lasting event of two to three days for a lot of people,'' another forecaster warned.

I have to admit to be panicking a little bit, too. Three kids under age 3 -- and a crazy cat -- stuck in a house without power for any length of time = NO FUN. What will we eat?

And my husband is totally opposed to preparing for storms. He thinks it makes zero sense to stock the house with things you might need, because - no matter what -- somewhere there will be a store with stuff to buy, and we can also go to a hotel, if necessary. I would rather have the stuff at our house, but I'm overruled in this area. Therefore, I really hope we don't get hit too hard. Really.

But there is one upside to this whole storm.

That darn fall festival that I had to buy overalls and stuff for? Postponed! Yippeee!

It's only postponed by two days, but still. Now I have more time to try to find the things they need, without having to spend too much money.

So at least in this case, hooray for Sandy!

Crazy heat wave; crazy summer storms

This weekend, we had crazy, crazy storms, that left a ton of people without power (still!) and downed trees, closed roads and generally made everything a wholesale mess.

Friday night, it rained so furiously, water was finding its way underneath our roof shingles, allowing rain to drip into our attic. The rain was coming in sideways so forcefully, it even pushed water into our basement -- through tiny, imperceptible cracks in a high wall.

We never lost power for long, and thank God we didn't, because this series of storms coincided with an unrelenting heat wave. It's been 100+ degrees here for the past several days. Since our AC still isn't fixed, we made do with borrowed window units that whirred loudly and cooled the air just enough for us to not be entirely miserable.

Other folks have not been so lucky. Stores have been closed for days because of lost power. Roads are closed. Some people are being told they won't get power back for a week or more! My boss said he and his wife were so desperate to get out of their dark, hot house yesterday, they actually went to see "Magic Mike" at the movies. If you knew my boss and his wife, you'd know how incredible that is -- and you'd understand, then, that we have surely come to the Apocalypse.

Last night, another thunderous storm barreled down on us, waking me from a semi-good sleep. I was worried about the roof, and the cracks in the basement wall. And I worried the children would be awakened by the racket. But my three slept through it all, peacefully, and aside from needing lots of water all day long, and sweating through their clothes at naptime, they seem completely unaware of the craziness going on around them.

What a tremendous gift, youth. Oblivious to the ramifications of leaky roofs, broken air conditioners, downed trees, oppressive heat waves and noisy storms, their lives are unaffected by the wrath of Mother Nature and the fallibility of modern technology. 

Shirtless, they played all weekend, read, laughed and loved -- and reminded Lester and me that none of what was going on was really all that bad.

We were safe. We were hot, but not miserable. We had all the things we really needed (food, water, a million books to read). And, most of all, we were together.