Hurricane Debby Downer

We were supposed to have a hurricane day today, so we were all “hunkered down” at home ready and waiting, since all the schools & offices were closed. But when we woke up, the storm had shifted slightly east, sparing us in Tally the worst of it. We still had a day at home, and the girls were actually really good about keeping themselves entertained… Like this “theater” they made to watch a movie with their snacks in Addie’s bed.

And it was a good thing too, because Jeff and I both had to work from home today, dealing with emergencies, since my section of DOC is considered “essential,” and he’s the IT support for his staff all over the state, so he’s pretty essential too. Pennie girl was just glad we were all home together!

We started the day in the living room watching constant weather updates, until things seemed like we were in the clear.

We also opened the sliding glass door for a while and had the screen door closed, and Pennie loved watching the wind and rain. It did eventually get way too muggy & stuffy in the house though, and we had to kick the a/c on and close the back door.

Made some quick grilled cheese sandwiches for everyone on my lunch break, and the girls had chips and Jeff and I finished off the corn dip that I made over the weekend.

Addie fell asleep for her nap on the couch, and I moved her to her bedroom. She ended up sleeping from 1pm until around 4:45pm, when I actually went in and had to wake her up. I think she’s been having a tough, slow recovery from her surgery last week, and still needs some extra time and rest to get fully back to her usual self.

This was where I spent the majority of my day, working from home. I spent the morning catching up on things that I had been monitoring, but hadn’t had time to check on lately. And then I spent the afternoon actually getting some real work done, and I was able to accomplish quite a bit, since I had such very few of my regular-work-day interruptions.

It was nice to just close the laptop a few minutes after 5pm, and immediately have the whole family home and ready to spend the evening together! Jeff grilled some hamburgers on the George Foreman grill outside (I can’t stand the smell and the grease inside, even on the GF grill), and I just readied the accoutrements – garlic mayo, caramelized onion, bacon, lettuce & tomato, plus cheese. Then we did chips & watermelon, and everything was good to go!

And look who went home today – my super adorable baby newphew, Hayden!! He was born last Wednesday, and after an unexpected visit to the NICU for a few days (including hunkering down for his first hurricane, in true Floridian fashion!), but today he finally got to go home!! And would you just look at this tiny, perfect, little boy face?! I haven’t even gotten to hold him yet (since he was in the NICU and they have very strict rules and a short visitor list), but I’m dying for my turn to meet him in real life! Hopefully one day this week!! I’m just so stinking excited for them, and happy everyone is home together now.

My progress on the citrus puzzle has slowed to a creeping halt, now that I’m working on the greenery. I can only place a handful of pieces in about 30 minutes time, which is verrryy slowww… Gonna see if I can get Grammy to choose me over Hayden again one day soon, to get her back over for her expert assistance 😉

We did a video call with Aunt Meggie and baby Hayden after dinner time, and got to see him all wrapped up, sleeping on her chest. Then we watched an episode of “Bluey,” and even then everyone was tired and ready for bed. I took Emmie to her room and although she was wired at first, she settled down quickly. And then I came back up front and found Addie super cuddly with Daddy and Pennie.

Jeff actually just sent me this photo while I’ve been writing this post. I’ve mentioned a few times the instant, strong bond between Pennie and Emmie, but clearly Addie and Pennie love each other very much too!

I washed up a lot of dishes earlier this evening while Jeff was doing the burgers, so even though there are more dirty dishes now, that stuff is gonna wait for another day. For now, I’m gonna see if I can recruit Jeff to work on my puzzle a little bit again, and then we’ll get ready for what feels like the start of the week, even though tomorrow will be Tuesday already.

Honestly, I was very afraid that Hurricane Debby was going to be a major Debby Downer for us today. But we got super lucky here in Tally, and I’m so thankful for that! We ended up with a chill day at home, with little girls who played together sweetly, and we never even lost power or internet, and THAT is the huge blessing, since so many others all over the city and the state are without power now. So thank the Lord for that blessing!