April 10

I was on my A-game today, and for the most part, so were the kids. It was a good day.

We have a few blankets that Chris' Grandma made tucked away in Daisy's room. Caleb lovingly calls them the "mayonnaise blankets", because we sometimes make "Caleb Sandwiches", and the blankets are the mayonnaise. But today, the mayonnaise blanket was Caleb's wedding veil. I'm not sure if he was pretending to be a bride, or a fairy godmother, or some hybrid of the two. Either way, it was really funny and he was really pleased with the situation.

Daisy grabbed a scrap of fabric (left over from a flower bouquet?) to fashion her own veil.

Success!

After that, a productive, fun day that ended with the kids gobbling up their dinner without fussing or complaint, this strawberry pie (it was delicious!), and a family walk cut short by a sprinkling of rain, and family time on our porch swing.  A pretty perfect evening, in my book.

Then, just as we were putting the kids to bed, the tornado sirens went off. After the Good Friday tornadoes a few years ago, we take tornado sirens pretty seriously. But it was bedtime, so Chris and I were debating what to do.  A quick check of the radar on TV told us that a storm was headed straight toward us. Then, the power went out.

Problem solved. Into the basement we went.

Those head lamps my dad put in Caleb and Daisy's Easter Baskets were a total life saver! Not only did they give us additional lights (we only had one big flashlight), but they made a potentially scary situation into a fun time for the kids.

Plus, the kids love being in the basement, and I don't often let them play down there. Lots of fun, forgotten toys live down there. Chris turned Brown Bear into a rock star, complete with a crimped mullet wig. Brown Bear is quite the performer.

Then Doctor Caleb examined Daddy's teeth and nose and eyes. His diagnosis was that Daddy was "just fine".

The power stayed out until about 3 am, but once the storms had passed we headed back upstairs. One of the things I love about our house is that we have deep eaves overhanging our windows. That means that, even on the stormiest of nights, we can keep the windows open and no rain will get in. It was pretty hot in the house, so we opened the windows and put the kids to sleep. An added bonus? No power = Chris and I were in bed by 9:30. Win!