The Storm.

On my way to pick up Robby from school on Friday afternoon, I decided to surprise my little guy with a trip to Cupcake Heaven. I knew that he was going to be excited that it was Friday and eager to celebrate the start of Halloween weekend! Peeking into his classroom window, I instantly knew that my plans had changed.

Unbeknownst to me, Robby had become sick during the day. I was angry when I learned that the substitute directed him to just "sit quietly and put your head down" when he complained of a headache in the morning. I wish that they would have called me, or at least taken his temperature. By the time the school day was over, he had a fever of 102 and was visibly ill. 

A trip to the doctor revealed that he had a trifecta of illnesses: double ear infections, a sinus infection and strep throat. Antibiotics, lots of water and cuddling on the couch were the doctor's orders for the weekend. Saturday was spent watching Ghostbusters (three times) and the Bearenstein Bear's Halloween DVD twice. Thankfully by Sunday morning his fever broke, and he was feeling better.

Robby recovered just in time to help Scooter and I prepare for the much touted "Frankenstorm." According to the meteorologists, our house lies in the middle of the anticipated path of this monster storm. We are hoping not to lose power but realized it was better to be proactive and to prepare. We bundled up and headed to our new Walmart to buy supplies.

We bought new flashlights (yellow, of course) and bottled water. While I scoured the store to try to find batteries, Scooter and Robby headed over to the food aisles to stock up on provisions. By the time I found them (after nabbing what I suspect were the last eight batteries in the store) the boys had filled the cart. I should have sent them to find the batteries. Left alone to buy hurricane food, they overflowed the cart with soda, potato chips, crackers, summer sausage, a variety of cheeses in a can and assorted cookies. Apparently nutrition has little value during a storm! 

I threw a few cans of soup into the cart, grabbed fresh bread and a new jar of peanut butter before checking out. I ignored Robby's protests as he informed me that we didn't need the soup because during the storm "daddy and me are going to eat man food, not healthy stuff."  Seeing the man in front of us check out with three cases of beer and a box of Honeybuns, I realized that our storm preparations were probably typical. We bought our junk food and flashlights and headed home to batten down the hatches. 

Robby and his Daddy spent the afternoon in bed, quietly watching football and the Weather Channel. I worked in the yard, packing up our Halloween decorations and putting away our outdoor furniture. I noticed the sheer size of the trees that are around our house and immediately felt an ominous sense of vulnerability. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to thwart damage from fallen trees. At this point, all we can do is hunker down and hope for the best!

Wish us luck!