A little laugh

True story…. This morning I noticed my children have been on the computer way too much.  So, I declared it a no computer day for them.  Anyway they are running around the house and I hear Michael say “Hey, I was playing with that!”  And Nicole replies with “We are playing on multiplayer!”  A few minutes later Nicole goes “Michael, your dead now.”  Then he says, “No I’m NOT, I just logged out!”

bowling fun

Last night a bunch of us got together to go bowling right after school.  Well,  for the kids to go bowling and the moms to hang out and chat.  Michael was so funny.  The balls where just o heavy for him.  Every time he swung the ball he would just fall on the floor after he released it.  There was one girl Lily, that was just too cute.  Every time it was her turn to bowl she would roll it but it took forever for it to get half way down the lane and then someone would have to come and get the ball for her.  After awhile we had other kids help her push the ball down the lane so it would at least make it all the way down.

Park Clean up

Wow I had some cute photos from our park clean up that the kids had done yesterday.  Apparently I am out of photo space for my blog.  What to do? What to do? 
Anyway, the kids had some fun out in the cold.  We did a little park clean up before they played on the playground.  There was so many downed trees in the park.  Of course they where climbing all over them.  There was one tree that fell near the playground that also had a garbage can that was anchored into the ground.  It was kind of funny to see the can just hanging in the air.

Food Drive

Yesterday we got together with the boy scouts and the church to collect food between masses.  The boys did a very good job helping out.  After we collected we took the food over to the Parish Center to separate and bag up.  When we were leaving you could see the people lined up down the street waiting for food.  I couldn't help but cry.

Super Storm Sandy…

It is now 12pm on Wed Oct 31, 2012 Halloween.  Halloween is cancelled for now.  We lost power Monday at 1pm.  We have been running the generator on and off trying to save gas.  I have been running Aunt Ginny’s refrigerator as well as ours.   Max our neighbor came over and asked if he could hook up his frig.  Even though I know it is a drain on the generator running a cord that far, I let him because he has gas.  All the stations are closed around here and we don’t know when we are going to be able to pick some more up. 

Rachel and Aiden have been staying with us.  Rachel is at work right now.  Their generators stopped working yesterday and she is cataloging and throwing out all the refrigerated food.  They are open today for cash only non-perishable items only.  We used all our cash up buying gas already.

As of right now, Rachel can’t get to her house.  They said that her town of Silverton has been cut off.  Her neighbor called to tell her that they got 3 feet of water in their house and they aren’t letting anyone back in yet.  I hear there is a forty foot boat in the roadway.   Several houses have burned to the ground a few miles from her because the roads have been blocked and the fire department could not get to the houses on fire.

26% of the cell towers have been knocked down.  The phone use has been sporadic here.  I have no problem calling Ed.  Rachel tried calling her brother Steven in VA and kept getting someone in Texas because the lines have been getting crossed.  We have no internet at this time. 

Rachel drove me around yesterday just to look at what damage has been done in town here.    I saw a lot of damaged and was able to walk down some roads to take pictures.  They shut the whole grid down because of all the wires down.  To me it doesn’t seem to be as bad as the storm we had last time.  As far as our town goes we lost a lot more with the last storm just because most of the weak trees had already come down.

Ed and I had a company out to give us an estimate on solar panels the other day.  We could really use them right about now.  They are definitely something we will look more into in the future. 

Ed’s complex is right on the water and in an area that got hit worse than us.  He has two buildings that have to be gutted because of the water damage.  Their boilers for their heat are in the crawl spaces that have been flooded.  They are sending crews up from Maryland to help them out.  From what he says they are sending a gas truck for them and a dozen generators and pumps. 

I have been listening to the NJ radio station for updates on what is going on.  I have to keep turning it off because of all the asinine people that call in to complain about not having electricity.  Their whining is driving me crazy.  Why do people bitch and complain when they could have done something to be more prepared for this storm.  I have no patience for stupid people that can’t help themselves.  I understand people like Aunt Ginny, that have to rely on others but there are many people here that think they are more important than other people and their selfishness drives me insane.  

It now 10:30 pm.  Rachel just made it back to the house.  They got the roads open and let them in her development until dark.  She left her house about 5:30 and just got in now.  She waited over an hour and half in line for gas for the generator.  Any gas station that is open has huge lines.  She said they found a shark in the road by her house.  She took a couple of pictures of the 40 foot boat that is sitting in the street.

It’s Thursday now 1:30 pm.  Sammy is here to entertain the kids.  The kids really needed someone else to play with and I needed the break.  There are only so many times you can play Candy land and Chutes and Ladders.  Rose went out to help Rachel at the house.  She brought home a couple bags of clothes that are soaking wet.  I ran a line through our back yard to hang up some of her stuff to dry. 

 

It’s now Friday Nov 2^nd 10am.  Rachel headed back to her house to do some more cleaning.  I offered to go but she doesn’t think the kids should be in the house.   She had people she doesn’t even know help her clean out the house.  People came by and brought them pizza.  There are some really wonderful people out there helping.  There are some really shitty people out there too.   I haven’t left the house since Tuesday and that was just to drive around town here.    I didn’t go very far because I am the keeper of the generator.  I’m trying to conserve as much gas as I can.  The lines are so long around here and that’s when you can find an open gas station.  Most places are only taking cash and the banks around here are closed.  It is currently costing us about $37-$40 a day to run this thing.

 Last night I was able to finally get the Internet on Rachel’s phone and saw some of the pictures of the shore.  Places that we have been recently are just gone.   It’s just so sad. 

I just beat my sons butt in Stratego. 

It’s about 2:00.  I just got to talk to my nephew Lou.  He made it through the storm OK, but he can’t find his kids and his ex.  Their house is gone.  The last he heard they had gone to a shelter when they had to evacuate.  The shelter had to evacuate also and they had been moved.  He does not know where.  I feel so bad for him.  

Its Saturday 8:43 am I see trucks going past all day and night but yet we still don’t have power.  It really doesn’t bother me.  I miss the Internet more than anything.    I got to check the local news feed this morning while Rachel was here.   She went back to the house today to see if she can get the rest of her stuff out.    Ed went to work today.  Last night he said they have to replace the whole electrical service for a building.  Out of all the properties this company owns his got hit the worse.   The residents don’t understand that they have to lock up the generators at night so they don’t have hot water.  Ed tried to hire an off duty police officer for security at night but they are all busy.   Today starts the gas rationing.  We are only allowed to get gas on odd numbered days.   Most of the gas stations are limiting you to fill two portable tanks only with cash.   As far as I can tell they haven’t stated the rationing in Ocean County.  They have also declared Marshals Law in the worst hit areas.  You now need ID to get into certain areas.  I saw pictures of Sea Girt yesterday.  The place looks like a war zone. 

I saw quite a few military helicopters going by this morning.  I hear they are bringing in help.  There is more going overhead now.  I really don’t like the sound of them it freaks me out.  The kids have been out of school all week.  I am going to try and get them outside today to burn off some steam.  I said that yesterday but I’m so afraid to leave the generator going while I’m gone. 

It’s now noon.  We just got back from playing at the school.   I turned the generator off while we were out.  I just couldn’t leave it on.  Just as we had gotten close to crossing Barkalow Ave there were fire trucks and Police pulling up.  The transformer caught on fire and the pole started to burn in front of Ann Marie’s house.  They had just gotten the power back on the day before yesterday and it’s out again. 

It’s now 2:46 and everything is very quiet.  Well, not the kids but everything outside.    I haven’t heard and military helicopters or sirens in a few hours.  It’s very odd.  We have been hearing sirens nonstop all morning and then silence.  I really do feel like I’m in a war zone and waiting for something to happen. 

I forgot to mention that yesterday Aiden asked if his mommy was in heaven.   He has been talking to her a few times a day at the beginning of the week but her phone stopped working a he hasn’t spoken to her in two days.

It Sunday November 4th.  We got power back this morning.  All is quiet here except for the helicopters going back and forth over head.  All the houses around us got power back last night but there was something wrong with a ground wire.  They found the problem early this morning.  I am so happy to have Internet and heat.  I could live without everything else.  Samantha stayed the night last night because our house is warmer than most.  She has the kids down in the playroom, entertaining them.  I'm working on cleaning most of Rachel's clothes.  Ed has gone into work today to continue the clean up he said he is only staying until they run out of gas.  Their gas truck won't be arriving until tomorrow.  They had to remove 18 families out of the apartments because of the repairs.  They only have hot water as long at the generators are running and no heat. 
 I'm still trying to find out if the kids have school tomorrow.  Some schools are going back.  Some are expected to be closed the next week as well.

 

 

Waiting for Sandy

Look at my crazy husband on the neighbors roof.  He cleaned out the gutters yesterday and needed to do it again today.  Things are very quiet right now.  It's windy outside but you can't hear anything in our house.  There is nobody on Route 9.

My God son Aiden is here since they had to evacuate their house.  Rachel is over at work feeding the National Guards.

 

 The kids are having fun doing crafts. Since I haven't put any decorations out I asked them to make me a banner.

I finally got it hung up it took awhile since they glued it to the table. :) 

crazy kid

Why oh why would my son be up and dressed for school at 5:30 in the morning?  He must be crazy! 

Girl Scouts bug theme

Our girl Scout troop is off to a great start already.  We have 70 girls in our troop.  Last week we brought in a couple of sewing machines and had the girls practice sewing on them.  They made a basic tube dress. That most of the girls cut the bottoms like on Tinker Bells dress.  They decorated wings. and  today we watched the Secret of the Rings and had pop corn.  The girls really enjoyed it.  I wish I had pictures of them.  I brought my camera last week but was so buzy I didn't have time to take any pictures.  Of course I just forgot to bring it this evening.  I have to learn not to go anywhere with out it. 

Kateri Center

We had a trip to the Kateri Environmental Center today.  They took the kids on a hike through the woods and taught them about plants and trees.  The first one on the stop was my favorite poison ivy. :(  I was itchy the whole hike.

Freehold Spooktacular

Yesterday we went to the Halloween Spooktacular.  They do such a wonderful job.  It's all about the hayride.  They used to go around the streets through downtown and volunteers did little skits in front of their houses.  They now moved it to a park.  It is so much better.  We saw a lot of friends there.  Michael was right up front and he got so scared he jumped in my lap and cried and cried.  I was trying to figure out what scared him the most.  I think it was the headless horseman.  The guy did a really good job but when you asked Michael he said everything was scary.  I'll post pictures when I take them off the camera.

Another Face Painting

Pop Corn Blitz

It was a chilly day today and we got only a few of the kids to come out and sell pop corn.  We didn't sell a lot but we made more in donations.  How can you resist that cute little face?

Quail Hill Catch and Release

We headed out to Quail Hill for the Fishing Derby.  Ed spent most of the time fixing the fishing lines.  We didn't catch any fish.  They family next to us kept pulling fish out like every minute or two. 

Michael and his friend had more fun playing with the worms.

I sat on a bucket and was trying to crochet a blanket fast to keep me warm and towards the end I did go down closer to the water and caught a frog and a couple of tadpoles for the kids to hold that way they didn't feel to bad about not catching a fish.  Then they had to release them pack into the water.

Doing laundry

These are just a few of the things I pulled out of my kids pants pockets today.

The first Wolf Den meeting

Our first den meeting was feat of skills.  The kids had to do a few exercises.  I bought the kids gym mat for them.  I love this picture.  Michael jumped out of the way and fell back into a pile of book bags.

I have a lot of great picture of the kids playing and racing.  I'm trying to use only the pictures without the kids faces in them.

My son who is not athletic at all let his best friend drag him to the finish.  We also taught the kids how to fold the American Flag properly and the parts of our state flag and what they mean.

The kids also made a banner for their den with their hand prints on it.  Here are some moms trying to glue everything on.  The glue would not hold very well.  I had to buy three different types of glue to get it to hold.

Here is the banner with all the hand and letters re glued.  I just have to sew the pocket for the pole on top.  I'll probably take it with me to the pop corn sale so it will give me something to do while I have to sit around for a couple of hours. 

Baking time again

I love this weather.  I love the cool morning and baking to warm up the house.  I know I can just turn the heat on.  But what fun is that!  I love when the kids climb into bed with us to warm up and I get shoved out of the bed.  I head to the kitchen and start baking.  Look at these yummy chocolate chip donuts.

Festival of Horses

Today they had a festival of horses and a parade of horses that rode down Main St.  We had to go because Nicole loves horses so much.  Medieval Times was there.  I keep saying I have to take the kids.  Maybe I can get our girl scout leader to work her magic.  That woman is a amazing with the deals she can get.

 
 
 

 Yes I took my kids to the track.  They had some fake races going.   The kids favorite part was the little petting farm.

 

 
 

Picture Day

I let the kids pick out what they wanted to wear for picture day.  They like dressing up every once in a while.

Visiting the Beach

We found ourselves with nothing on our schedule today so we headed to the beach to do some metal detecting.  Michael pack a lunch for us.  I should have looked in the bag before we left.  I saw him grabbing water and juice but for food he packed Twizzlers and Cheetos. 

We didn't find any treasures but the kids had fun.  Well, Nicole was upset that she couldn't go in the water.  The water was really cold but apparently that doesn't bother her.

Face paiting

Nicole is into face painting now.  The kids went through their band aid faze and their washable tattoo faze.  Now we are on to face painting.  Michael doesn't like it on his face but he likes them on his legs.  Here are a few from the last couple of days.

She wanted to be an angel.  The picture doesn't show it but it is very glittery.

For some reason Michael wanted both a rocket and a comet attacking Saturn.

Keeping it Real

OK this is something I actually said....
My best friend calls as asks me what I have planned for the day.
"I think I'm going to see if I can get the sweat stains out of my work shirts." 


I have a lot of things I could be doing but this is the first thing that popped into my head.

Ranting some more

So I did get to do laundry but I had to go to the laundromat the other day.  I hate washing clothes in the laundromat.  I swear everything comes out stained and dirtier than they went in.
Ed tried to put everything back together for me today and the cement weight whipped around and clocked him in the head.  He, of course is blaming it all on me because he wanted to have it done for me that he didn't wait until I got home from work to help him.  Now he has a bump on his noggin and a cut on his nose.

Ranting

Who gets excited about doing laundry.  I do.  I am hoping that I actually get to wash some tonight.  I have been without a washing machine for about two weeks now.  We have be looking for the part for our machine and we just couldn't get it in the US without buying half the machine. Ed had tried to get just the piece we need but for some reason you have to buy the whole drum with it.  We finally tracked down just the part we need in Canada.  I paid extra for faster shipping and when I got the package I was so excited but they only sent us part of what we ordered.  I called and they were very nice and agreed to send the other piece out right away.  Then when Ed got home he opened it up and it was the wrong size.  So a little delay but everything should work out. 
I am so glad that Ed is able to do the repairs for us.  I can't imagine what we would have to do if we had to pay someone to fix things around the house.  Seriously it was cheaper to buy a new washing machine than buy the parts from Sears even with Ed doing the work. 
At the same time the washer went the radiator blew on the car.  I was without a car for about a week but at least Ed was able to fix that as well.  I don't know what I would do without him.
It's about 10:30 and I have to wake up the kids.  Michael started bothering us about 1 in the morning asking if it was almost morning.  He continued to ask every half hour or so if it was almost morning, apparently he wanted to watch the sun rise.  He finally fell asleep about 5:30 this morning and missed it.

National Night Out 2012

Yesterday was National Night Out.  We have gone to a couple in the past.  From an adults point of view I think the one they do in Howell is much better.  From a kids point of view you can't beat free candy and rides.  We were the first ones there this year.  Last year the kids wanted to go on all the rides first and then when Nicole finally decided she wanted her face painted it was too late.  So I told her if she wanted it done this year she had to get her face painted first and then go on all the rides.  But of course the pony rides always win over face painting.  The kids got to ride the ponies three times. 

While Nicole was getting her face painted Michael went through the alligator bouncy thing, like 20 times.  At this point I think there was only about 6 kids there.

The kids had a ball.  It wasn't as crowded as it has been in the past so they got to go on everything over and over again.

They even got a tour of the ambulance and they showed them how some of the things are used.