A Weekend Without Power...and an Unexpected Revelation

The weekend started out as awesome as they get. Paul and I took the kids to the pool when he got home from work, and we stayed until closing. The kids were having a BLAST. We came home, had ice cream sundaes,  and let the kids go outside and catch lightning bugs (which you FB followers know is my favorite thing;). Crazy monkeys didn't get to bed until 10:00 (which has something to do with the title's revelation - I'll get to that). Thankfully, Paul and I have a habit of putting the kids down, and coming into our home office to check our emails/FB/blog/Pinterest - ok, that last one's solely me;), so we read about some huge storm heading our way...like in minutes.

HUH?!

We had just spent the entire evening outside - it was a delightfully hot, sunny summer evening. Didn't hear anything about a storm! Oh well, typical summer storm; I wasn't thinking anything of it.

Then at 11pm it happened. Sounded crazier and wilder than the hurricane that ripped through our state (and others) last year. I mean, the sounds outside were outrageous. I was wondering if I should wake the kids and head down to the basement - that's how crazy it got. Then the power went out. Ok, come back on, come back on, PLEEEEASE come back on. Nothing. Paul headed downstairs to keep an eye on the sump pump all night, while I watched the lightning show of the century light up our house so much you could practically read a book. Somehow my kids slept through the craziness - (thank you, late night at the pool!), and I fell back asleep...only to wake up to a quiet house - and not a good quiet. Power was out and could be out for DAYS, 'they' say. DAYS. Not what someone wants to hear, when the heat is breaking records outside, and I've got 3 small kids. Oh, and my nearby parents' house had lost theirs too. Awesome.

After downing some coffee and donuts (one bright spot to no power!), we headed to a freakishly large outlet mall - there's a Lego store, Disney store, Crocs store (new jibbets anyone?!), and only about a million places to grab some lunch. Holy cow, did we spend some time there. And so did the rest of Maryland, I'm pretty sure. Place was MADNESS. But it had air conditioning, and food, so I was game.

We stopped in a restaurant to grab some burgers, and that's when it hit me.

So excited to have a chocolate milk treat;)

Holy cow. My kids are getting big.

Ok, I know, at almost 3 (bday boy next week!), 4, and 5, they're hardly grown kids. But you see, it's all relative. Since we've had kids, it's been one after another - so the minute one got easier, I was pregnant. And when that one got easier, I got pregnant AGAIN. There has always, always been a schelpping of bottles, diapers, wipes, sippy cups, strollers, change of clothes in case of an accident, books and crayons and paper to keep them occupied in case we're stuck somewhere - for the past 5+ years.

But this weekend, I realized how things have changed. We asked anyone if they had to potty before we left, and I grabbed my purse. That was the extent to our "leaving the house schlep." And when I knew we'd be leaving the house for pretty much the entire day, I didn't panic. Oh no! Where will they nap? How many bottles will I need?!  Those days are now gone. We can actually be out the door in minutes. We don't need to pack diapers anymore. No bottles, heck, not even a sippy cup. And at the restaurant, we didn't even use a freaking booster seat?!! Who is this family?! Certainly not mine! I glanced over at my husband - and we both had that look, like, WOW. So this is what it's going to be like now. And the weird part is, I loved  it. I'm a baby person, through and through. I could snuggle them every minute of the day, and take in their yummy smell and smooshy cheeks till the cows came home and never get enough. But this new world of ours...of kids becoming more and more independent...it's pretty great. Who knew?!

So we eventually left the mall, and headed over to Paul's sister's house (who did NOT lose power!). All the kids played and had fun, and we left, crossing every finger and toe that our power had been restored.

Nothing worse than pulling up to your house only to hear the hums of generators all around the neighborhood.

So we headed down to the basement, which stayed cool, and for that I am SO thankful. We made a bed on the floor for Paul and me, and grabbed the bed rails to keep the kids on the sectional. They couldn't have been more excited. {Excitement translates into taking forever to fall asleep by the way.}

Again, I was in awe at how no-biggie this was. They all are old enough to understand what was going on, and why we couldn't sleep in our beds. Paul and I had that look once again. Wow.

We woke to another hot day without power. Fortunately, our pool had power again, so we headed over there and hung out for a while. And we didn't bat an eye at the fact that we were spending another day, not napping, out and about, away from home. Our kids have mastered this whole thang, and handled it a heckuva lot better than their parents;)

While at the pool, in the early evening, word was spreading that neighbors of ours had gotten power back! We dried off, and headed home, to see clocks blinking, air conditioner humming, lights on - sights I didn't think I'd see until late this week. Oh happy day! Much to my kids' disappointment though - they wanted to camp out again in the basement;)

While this was quite a hot, uncomfortable weekend, it was an eye-opening one too. I usually get all sappy and kind of sad at the thought of my baby days being over, but now I'm really not. Don't get me wrong, at the time I wouldn't have traded it for the WORLD. All the schlepping, the packing, the planning - I didn't mind it a bit. But this new era, this get-up-and-go stage - it's got advantages all its own. And if we need to leave for the day, we do. If we need to sleep in the basement, we do. If we need to eat every meal on the run, and walk around from place to place ALL. DAY. LONG, we do.

As I write this, I just realized all of my kids - even the oldest - is napping. This crazy weekend has caught up with them big time, and they're snuggled with their favorite blankies, fast asleep. And I'm reminded that maybe they're not quite as big as I thought.

And that's just fine with me too;)