Take Cover!

I can't remember a storm season as crazy as the one we've had this year. For the past month or so we have been under some kind of severe thunder storm warning or tornado watch at least once a week! A couple of weeks ago the weather forcasters on all the stations made a huge deal out of how the weather conditions were falling together in a pattern eerily similar to a terrible tornado that struck our town thirty some years ago. Everyone kind of went into panic mode and kept their eyes to the sky. That night we got some heavy rain and strong winds, but nothing to get overly excited about.

After those storms I decided that it would be a good idea to put together a little "emergency kit" to keep in the cabinet in our basement guest bath, which is where we would go in the event of a real weather emergency. I put diapers, wipes, a few days' supply of Avery's meds that we import from Canada, some granola bars, a flashlight, candles, matches, and a case of bottled water in the cabinet underneath the sink. I assumed that once I did this, we probably wouldn't go back in the basement for a storm until next spring, but boy, was I wrong! Last Thursday night the tornado sirens went off, and we heard on the news that a tornado was on the ground just south and west of our house! We were directly in its path!! Things looked and sounded pretty scary, so we headed to the basement and waited for the storm to hit. We waited . . . and we waited. . . and we watched the radar on t.v. which seemed to show that were directly in the line of the tornado. Fortunately the funnel cloud stayed in the sky and never touched down.

When we go to the basement, we try to make it fun, and stay calm so that we don't completely freak out Kaylen. Right now, she thinks its kind of cool to "take cover," so we will have to teach that storms aren't a game. I don't think Avery has a clue one way or another. We explain that the storms could be very dangerous, but that we are fortunate to have a safe place to go, and that she doesn't have to worry about it. You can tell from the pictures below that she doesn't seem too concerned!

The seizure helmet and daddy's football helmet come in handy!

Here's everything we need in case we get stranded in our basement for a while!

O.k. well not, everything. . . we had plenty of warning about this storm, so I did what any good mommy would do, I gathered up the new Gymboree clothes that Avery hasn't worn yet, and brought those down too! (Some people would gather pictures and valuables, ours are mostly all in the basement to begin with, but my/ I mean Avery's Gymbo were sitting ducks!)

Here's another little Gymbo outfit that she has worn, but it seemed like it deserved to be rescued as well. The backpack contains jammies, shoes, and a couple of days' worth of outfits just in case! It was still packed from last week!

As long as we have our ba ba and each other, we'll be o.k.!