Snow in October
We live in New England so we expect a decent amount of snow each winter. Snow in October is not only uncommon, but also extremely inconvenient. Most trees still have leaves, giving the snow a place to collect, weigh down the branches and breaking through the power lines. Why do they still have above ground power lines in Massachusetts? A question there is no logical answer for, so I stopped asking.
Emma woke up early the day of the predicted storm and headed straight to the garage to put on her snow suit, boots, hat and gloves. She had the snow board and the sled pushing around on the green grass. She said she wanted to be ready when it started snowing.
Chad and I took Cameron to his final soccer game of the season. It was too cold out for anyone else to join us. Dunkin Donuts White Hot Chocolate got me through the first half and a jog up the road kept me warm for most of the second. With about 15 minutes left in the game the flakes started to fly. The boys looked miserable out there playing in the snow, but at least they won 4-0.
As predicted the power went out at 5:30 Saturday night. We were in the middle of eating dinner, there was still enough dim light to gather flashlights and lanterns. Preston was highly energized by the power outage providing us all with entertainment. Grandpa and the kids took turns telling ghost stories and riddles. The tales of alien invasion got a little too real for a couple of kiddos when bright green lights started illuminating the night sky as transformers began to explode through out the town. They were too frightened to go up to bed and slept together in the living room.
We woke up to about a foot of snow and still no power. Emma was out at sunrise and stayed out side the entire day making several snowmen, forts, balls, and finding hills to slide down. Occasionally a sibling would come out to play with her but I think the older two spent most of their time shoveling the driveway. The early snow was wet and heavy so it took extra time to clear.
My dad hooked the refrigerators to his generator, thankfully our food was saved. And there was something comforting about opening the door and seeing that little light turn on in the fridge. I found the camp stove and started boiling water to clean the dishes.
The boiled water did double duty the next morning when we were all days past due for bathing. It wasn't the most relaxing bath a person ever took, but it felt great to be clean. And I got the biggest feeling of accomplishment from just looking at the kids and their shiny clean hair all day.
The portable radio actually had active batteries in it, so we were able to listen to the Patriots while eating popcorn cooked on the stove.
Luckily we had plenty to do on Monday to keep us busy and out of the cold house. We went to McDonalds play place for lunch.
Took Emma to her dentist appointment, the older kids hung out at the mall, went to Walmart and the grocery store for additional supplies to get us through the week without power. By this point National Grid was estimating our power wouldn't be back on until late Friday night. Hayley and I went to the laundromat, I was amazed at how quickly we got it all done. We came home to tacos cooked on the campstove by my mom. Eating dinner by lantern light, followed by a game of Monopoly. By now I was starting to see some benefits to no electricity. We weren't using any heating oil, our electric bill would be lower, the kids were getting along better, there was always something to do. Preston was even behaving better, probably because there were so many people with nothing better to do than play with him and keep him happy.
In the middle of the Monopoly game the lights came on. We weren't as excited as you might think. We rushed around turning everything off and continued our game. There was almost a feeling of disappointment. We had done so well preparing for a week without power for nothing. Dad turned a movie on for the little ones so we could finish our game.
They were asleep within minutes. Must be something hypnotic and relaxing about the tv after going for 2 days without it.
Did I mention this was also Halloween night? The town postponed trick-or-treating until Friday and the kids didn't even think to get dressed up. Definitely the strangest of all Halloweens.
Emma woke up early the day of the predicted storm and headed straight to the garage to put on her snow suit, boots, hat and gloves. She had the snow board and the sled pushing around on the green grass. She said she wanted to be ready when it started snowing.
Chad and I took Cameron to his final soccer game of the season. It was too cold out for anyone else to join us. Dunkin Donuts White Hot Chocolate got me through the first half and a jog up the road kept me warm for most of the second. With about 15 minutes left in the game the flakes started to fly. The boys looked miserable out there playing in the snow, but at least they won 4-0.
As predicted the power went out at 5:30 Saturday night. We were in the middle of eating dinner, there was still enough dim light to gather flashlights and lanterns. Preston was highly energized by the power outage providing us all with entertainment. Grandpa and the kids took turns telling ghost stories and riddles. The tales of alien invasion got a little too real for a couple of kiddos when bright green lights started illuminating the night sky as transformers began to explode through out the town. They were too frightened to go up to bed and slept together in the living room.
We woke up to about a foot of snow and still no power. Emma was out at sunrise and stayed out side the entire day making several snowmen, forts, balls, and finding hills to slide down. Occasionally a sibling would come out to play with her but I think the older two spent most of their time shoveling the driveway. The early snow was wet and heavy so it took extra time to clear.
My dad hooked the refrigerators to his generator, thankfully our food was saved. And there was something comforting about opening the door and seeing that little light turn on in the fridge. I found the camp stove and started boiling water to clean the dishes.
The boiled water did double duty the next morning when we were all days past due for bathing. It wasn't the most relaxing bath a person ever took, but it felt great to be clean. And I got the biggest feeling of accomplishment from just looking at the kids and their shiny clean hair all day.
The portable radio actually had active batteries in it, so we were able to listen to the Patriots while eating popcorn cooked on the stove.
Luckily we had plenty to do on Monday to keep us busy and out of the cold house. We went to McDonalds play place for lunch.
Took Emma to her dentist appointment, the older kids hung out at the mall, went to Walmart and the grocery store for additional supplies to get us through the week without power. By this point National Grid was estimating our power wouldn't be back on until late Friday night. Hayley and I went to the laundromat, I was amazed at how quickly we got it all done. We came home to tacos cooked on the campstove by my mom. Eating dinner by lantern light, followed by a game of Monopoly. By now I was starting to see some benefits to no electricity. We weren't using any heating oil, our electric bill would be lower, the kids were getting along better, there was always something to do. Preston was even behaving better, probably because there were so many people with nothing better to do than play with him and keep him happy.
In the middle of the Monopoly game the lights came on. We weren't as excited as you might think. We rushed around turning everything off and continued our game. There was almost a feeling of disappointment. We had done so well preparing for a week without power for nothing. Dad turned a movie on for the little ones so we could finish our game.
They were asleep within minutes. Must be something hypnotic and relaxing about the tv after going for 2 days without it.
Did I mention this was also Halloween night? The town postponed trick-or-treating until Friday and the kids didn't even think to get dressed up. Definitely the strangest of all Halloweens.