Post Irene Buzz

The skies are a painter's blue, not a cloud to mar the vista, there's a crisp note in the gentle breeze coming through my home office window, the birds are chirping, and our neighborhood is abuzz...abuzz with chain saws and leaf blowers cleaning up the debris our not so gracious visitor left behind!

I would have loved to go for a nice long bike ride this morning, but remnants of Irene's visit are strewn across the streets and sidewalks of our town -- terrain Ruby's skinny tires prefer to avoid.

But who am I to complain! We never even lost electricity yesterday! 

Unlike several Moms in the camp drop off line this morning, I don't have to contend with a fridge & freezer full of spoiling food. Nor do we face the clean up or repairs of others along Irene's path. 

And then there are the folks up north, in New York and Vermont, watching streams turned to rivers, raging through their communities, wondering how they'll get anywhere with roads & bridges closed or washed away completely.

So, on this lovely, somewhat tranquil ('cause the Master of Mayhem and the Baron of Boredom are off at camp 'til 2pm today!) morning, I count our blessings and send out prayers to those still cursing Irene.

It was a long Sunday though! All our plans or places were cancelled or closed. So how to survive a day with all four of us home bound?

Step 1 - Mom declared it a "jammer" day!

Step 2 - Whip up a Welcome Irene Waffle Breakfast

Step 3 - Assess arsenal of time killers at Mom & Dad's disposal!

• Spin Art
• Star Wars Trouble
• Card Games - Go Fish & War
• Magic Science experiments
• PBS Kids and Wizard 101 computer games (interspersed between non-electronic amusements as a reward for playing nice)
• OnDemand Movie Rental - Rango!
• And finally, most readily available & plentiful, though frequently more challenging...playing with their toys! 

After lamenting recently over my struggles getting my mini-men to actually play with their toys, a former friend (because I can no longer associate with someone that so far exceeds my reservoir of simple wisdom!) suggested I just plop one of the toy bins in the middle of the floor while they're out of the room, then let them discover it upon their return. She said this technique often buys her an hour or more of uninterrupted, peaceful kiddie playtime. 

At first I thought, yeah, right, that will never work with my guys. But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became.

Like me, this former friend is a tidy Mama -- toys have bins, buckets & cubbies and are organized and put away regularly -- and I wondered if my ADD-compensating OCD need for order was hindering my boys creativity and toy adventures.

So yesterday I gave her suggestion a try...

and, damn her, it worked!!

Now I out right hate said former friend! (Not really, just goin' for a little bloggy drama.) But I sure am thankful for her simple trick!

Bye-bye Irene! Hello toy time!

P.S. Karma, like the spin on a hurricane, came back & bit me on the ass today! No sooner had a I published this post, then a gal pal called from vay-kay - she had heard from neighbors that their street had flooded & was powerless. Would I, could I stop in to check on her house? Of course, what are friends for! Little did I know I would soon be contending with power-outage food mess! But then, what are friends for!!