Storm Closets and Herding Cats

Nasty weather here today. Lots of storms. We are in a "High Risk" area for tornadoes and it seems the storms are coming through in waves. Just as one passes by, we start watching the news to find out where the next line of thunderstorms are and how long we have in between. Thankfully they will all end later this evening, before bedtime, however the most severe will not hit us until this evening.

So as a precaution, I did my annual spring clean out of the "storm closet" as N calls it. It is the closet under the stairs. That is our safest interior space since we do not have a basement. Normally it holds all of our extra paper supplies, like toilet paper and paper towels. As well as our art supplies, crafts, puzzles and games. Not a huge closet, but the whole family can fit in there comfortably if necessary. So when I get it ready for storm season, I remove all the arts and crafts, puzzles, and games, and (I forgot to mention before), my containers of batteries and light bulbs. Then I add some pillows, blankets, flashlight, and portable radio to the shelves, as well as a container of bottled water that I usually don't add until we are actually under a tornado advisory. And voila...our "storm closet".

The boys get all excited about it. Of course, N is all business about it. He made sure there were helmets in there to protect their heads. He is not however, responsible for G wearing his helmet backwards.

Not sure if I have mentioned in the blog that N is obsessed with tornadoes. He checks out storm books from the library all the time. He has a thing about disaster movies, his favorites being Twister and Titanic (and he fast forwards through most of the story and just watches from the time the ship hits the iceberg until it sinks...oops, hope I didn't spoil the ending for anyone, bahahaha) but he will watch documentaries on tornadoes, hurricanes, Tsunamis, and volcanoes whenever we let him. Honestly, I think he is secretly hoping to see a tornado close up today, me...not so much. And he says when he grows up he wants to move to Oklahoma and be a storm chaser. And a doctor. And a roller coaster operator. And a policeman. I am hoping all but the Doctor aspirations are just a phase.

Back to the "storm closet". The boys get all jacked up about it and I let them hang out in there throughout the day if they want. I moved N's TV from his room in there (it has a built in DVD player) and let them watch his Tornado and Hurricane video in there. As you can see from the pics, they had a blast and as I went about doing the laundry or whatever house work I could manage, I would hear "Mommy, we need a snack in here" or "Mommy, we need something to drink so we don't drink our emergency water". I finally gave up on the cleaning and just sat in there with them. That is until I had to get them a new snack.

And yes, G changed shirts "all by myself", so it was not only on backwards but inside out as well. He loves to change clothes "all by myself", he goes through at least 4-5 shirts and 2-3 shorts a day, and rarely do they match. He is responsible for 3/4 of my laundry.

OK, the next round of storms is coming through, so I need to put a new DVD in and herd up the cats children.