Hurricane Sandy, Day 2

We were lucky. Very lucky. We woke up this morning to some minor damage - a few fallen trees, a few broken parts of barn fencing, minor damage to the barn, and the trampoline flew across our property. There was no damage to our house. And our generator is working beautifully. But even though the majority of the storm was over, it still rained most of the day. So, we stayed inside.

I gave the kids another pajama day. And I wore sweatpants (yes, I wore sweatpants) all day. This morning, we played in the playroom while H cleared a tree blocking the road and then got his work done. The kids had fun playing by themselves for a bit and then we had a ball party. We took out all the balls (we have a lot) and played various games for an hour.

Eli in his new favorite spot - on top of the bench to look out the window. He has to climb into his wagon and then onto the rail to get up on the bench. He's quite good at it now.

Tali playing dress-up.

Inside the toy cabinet.

Tali playing dress-up.

The rest of the day was more of the same. The kids had fun playing around the house. We tried to entertain them when we could. They each got a new toy today from our secret toy stash (various birthday/Hanukkah gifts that we've put aside and give them throughout the year when we need to). They took naps. We ate a hot lunch (grilled cheese with apples) and dinner (cauliflower macaroni and cheese) and I regularly, quietly thanked H and everyone involved for the generator. It really makes such a difference. I can't imagine how we'd be doing without it.

Now if only someone would come and entertain the kids for a bit. I have no idea when Tali will actually go back to school (it's estimated that it'll be 10 days - 2 weeks, at least, until we get power back and right now only emergency personnel are allowed to drive on the roads) and I need a bit of a break. We're all going to go stir crazy before this is over. I can see it now.

Fallen trees and a bit of the barn.

Some broken fence in the lower paddock.

Some of the damage to the barn. The door is off it's track due to the winds from the storm.

This is ONE tree that fell. It was all the way in the street but H spent a lot of time this morning clearing it from the road.

Another view of the fallen trees in the back near the barn. Cool to see the whole tree, roots and all, simply knocked over.

Tali's trampoline. All the way down at the bottom of our property. She was a little upset when she saw this.