Monday, August 28, 2017

Hurricane Harvey

Now that Hurricane Harvey has downgraded to Tropical Storm Harvey, I was just thinking earlier that I should just blog about this experience because, in a way, it's kinda funny.  

Tornado warnings. I slept through the first night when Harvey made landfall in my area. The next morning I saw too many alerts on my phone which I left it in my office. Then my husband said, "My phone kept beeping last night." We had no idea. And more warnings that day and that night. Yes, I had my phone with me the next night.

Eating off whatever that was in the fridge and freezer... just in case of power outage. No foods should go to waste. I have to say, we've saved a lot of money in the last 4 days.
Just wanted to eat carbs... chips, pita crackers, ice cream. My kids wanted to eat the same too. Wonder if it was stress eating.

Kids could still play with their friends... online. Thank you for no power outage. Then I heard my teen told his little brother that they needed to get up and do jumping jacks, saying "We can't sit around too long."

Heard my teen continually telling his friends, "The world is coming to an end." Then his little brother said, "I'm scared." And the first time he told his friend this, his little brother decided to take his iPad to the shelter and stayed there. His mommy was checking the radar and tornado warning status. Then his daddy said, "Camden, why are you sitting in the bathroom?" Bet you never said that to your kids.
As soon as the rainwater was halfway up the driveway, we did what was called "haul ass!!!" We didn't expect to flood. But we prepared for the floods within 2 hours. Talk about teamwork!!! (But I found my purse on the floor near the front door the next morning. How that get there?)

My mom messaged me via LINE app that there was a flood in Thailand a few weeks ago and now it was our turn. The world was coming to an end, and she didn't understand any of it. (Hmm... sounds familiar...)

Current situation? It's Monday, August 28th, 4:00pm.
The street in front of my house is still flooded... a tiny river. Wonder if I can make a hefty profit for my house now that it is a waterfront property.

See the pic... my neighbors took advantage of the new river.

Still rainy and very windy and feeling like it's Autumn. So cool outside. I kinda want to put up Fall decorations. Just last week, I was telling my friend who lives on the east coast that I wish I have Fall temperature sooner. But in Texas, Fall temp is around November. See, my wish came true. Camden was super happy when he felt the cool breeze.
You know that song "It starts to feel a lot like Christmas." Well, it starts to feel a lot like Autumn. (sigh) I need to have something pumpkinee which mean... more carbs? Hmm... pumpkin scones for dinner?
Update: As of Tuesday, August 29th, 2pm, streets are all dried up. Sunny a bit too. Feeling the Autumn wind.
We enjoyed pumpkin scones, boiled eggs, and chocolate milk with mini marshmallows for dinner last night, taking in our waterfront view. My teen also spotted our outdoor pet bunny. I noticed that he ate a slice of bread I left out for him. And our outdoor pet dove enjoyed leftover for breakfast.

From this experience, I would say my family and I tried to keep our sense of humor. But it is still stressful to watch the devastations on the news. So I am sending kick-ass energy to all people who are still under a lot of stress.


Update: As of Wednesday, August 30th, 2pm, streets outside my neighborhood were now passable. I was able to take my kids out and volunteered for pet rescue. Brek, Camden, and their friend, Winnie, organized and bagged blankets, cleaned dog crates, unloaded donations out of the cars. Camden and Winnie wished he was able to walk one of the dogs. When I asked, the dogs were being dropped off to take to the center or foster care. Those poor dogs looked so scared. Overall, my kids felt good that they did something great for the community.