Post-Sandy Post

Pass-the-time activity: Coloring. The pink tutu is from an earlier pass-the-time activity: Dance party.

Pass-the-time activity: Pumpkin carving. She also helped make a pumpkin pie.

 

Pass-the-time activity: Getting to take a long, wild bath in Mommy and Daddy's "big tub." This had the extra purpose of getting her very clean and Daddy was able to work on his laptop while watching her.

Warm and cozy as Sandy began to really rage. Watching The Lion King for the billionth time.

A massive leak in the ceiling (and walls) around our office bay window created a lot of damage. Here, Chris carved out a hole in the ceiling to drain the water and keep it from spreading. We filled a 5-gallon bucket.

 

By late Tuesday afternoon, Charlotte simply HAD to get out of the house. Sure, it was still lightly raining. And cold. But we bundled her up and Chris did his best to wear her out.

Lorelei's preferred method of sleep. Whoever is stuck underneath her has a heck of a time managing a stir-crazy Charlotte.

Well, we made it through Sandy. Granted, it wasn't the wind and rain that was the worst part. The worst was being trapped inside with an active toddler and a needy newborn for multiple days. According to our nerdy weather station in the backyard, we got 11.5 inches of rain. That's a LOT of rain.

All in all, everything went just fine and we're lucky and relatively unscathed. We didn't even lose power, though it flickered. Really, our lives revolved around Chris calling into meetings and getting work done, me nursing Lorelei, and both of us keeping Charlotte occupied.

Fact: If I never, ever watch The Lion King again, I'm okay with that.

The only damage that we're aware of is the big fat leak in the office. We had an issue with it prior to our warranty expiring (which they half-assed tried to fix and then fixed the drywall), so we're hopeful that the developer won't act like jerks and force us to make a fuss.

Charlotte, despite driving me bananas, was quite good, all in all. I felt bad for her---we tried our best to keep her occupied, but Chris had actual work to deal with, and Lorelei is a needy newborn who simply MUST nurse at the worst times.

Chris and I managed to just grit our teeth and endure dealing with each kid's needs as they popped up without snapping at each other, which I think deserves a Way To Not Screw Up Your Marriage trophy, considering we're both very sleep-deprived and potentially irritable. We seriously just forced ourselves to get over it and deal, perkily, for the sake of Charlotte. At a couple points, both Charlotte and Lorelei were crying and screaming their heads off---Chris held Charlotte, I held Lorelei---and we both just laughed. Uncontrollably. I mean, it's that or join in the crying yourself! We DID open a really nice wine on Monday night after Charlotte was in bed and Lorelei was conked out on top of one of us. Good wine helps one cope.

Today (Halloween), Charlotte's school is open (yes! yes! yes!), which is good because she has her parade and party this afternoon, which of course I'll attend (and provide juice boxes for it). Tonight, Charlotte will try trick-or-treating for the very first time. I have no clue how she'll do, but we're going to give it a whirl as a one-on-one Charlotte-Mommy activity while Daddy handles Lorelei and the trick-or-treaters. Of course, we'll take pictures.