Hurricane Isaac and other things

And I thought a few weeks back was crazy!  Here's a look at this past week:

Sunday: Cora was baptized and we hosted 35 or so friends and family for lunch.  I love our porch!  And I love that we can so easily fill it with great friends.  I love this city...

Monday: It's evident that this city I love is likely in the path of Hurricane Isaac.  Jacob and I spent the day debating whether we should stay or leave.  Schools were closed for the week so he was off work.  Between a hurricane brunch/swim date at one friend's house and a hurricane potluck dinner at another's, we decided to stay.  Jacob boards up the windows.  Then we watched some of the round the clock local news coverage and saw that Isaac is looking to be a Category 2 storm.  We didn't know what the right decision was so we decided to reevaluate in the morning.

Windows boarded.  Can't say I helped much.

Tuesday: We were still debating in the morning, but I really didn't want to leave as I just got back to New Orleans.  We both felt like we would need to stay at some point to know whether it's better to stay or go during a storm (as it's likely we'll be in this situation again).  Since Isaac was now back to a Category 1 storm, this seemed like a safer time to test our hurricane durability.  We spent most of the day waiting for something to happen.  We let Jack out on the porch to burn off some energy.  Power goes out at 7:00 p.m.

Jack helps us clear out our fridge by drinking a PB-banana smoothie

Wednesday:  We went to bed Tuesday night in our downstairs living room.  It seemed like the best choice because 1) it was on the ground floor 2) all the windows were boarded up 3) the half bathroom was there and that's our only room without windows 4) it would fit us all to sleep.  Jacob and I were up from 1:30-5:00 because of the winds. Jack and Cora weren't bothered by the storm.  I'll admit it was a little unnerving when the big wind gusts were rattling the house, but I never was too scared.  The storm moved slowly and we were kept inside all of Wednesday.  Luckily the storm kept it cool outside.  We were able to open windows Wednesday night and the gusts kept us comfortable sans AC.  Jack keeps things interesting by throwing up repeatedly, keeping us up from 1:30-3:00.

When you are stuck inside all day, you do things like draw your neighborhood. Black and red fires added by Jack.

Thursday: The storm is past and we were able to get out and clean up.  We walked around the neighborhood and happened upon bags of ice at Whole Foods (we were in the stroller so we did a brisk walk home).  We knew we would lose what was in our freezer so Jacob cooked a big gumbo and we had friends over for dinner on the porch.  Jack has been having a blast having both Mommy and Daddy around to play. He's also loved all the friends (big and little) that we've hung out with.  He put out several hundred fires around the house. (The best was the one in the backyard during our gumbo dinner when his pants fell down.)

Now everyone is sleeping in our room.

Friday: There was no more breeze so we were really feeling the heat!  We got out of the house very quickly and drove around looking for a place that was open for breakfast.  The business district had power (lines there are buried), so we ate breakfast at the WWII Museum Soda Shop, spent some time in the WWII lobby looking at tanks and airplanes, then headed to the Audubon Aquarium.  Luckily our friends Michael and Morgan got their power back and said we could stay in their house since they are out of town.  It was like a cool oasis in a desert (literally since they are one of the few blocks in all of uptown New Orleans that have power.)  This allowed us a cool place to play and sleep. 

No AC attire.  Won't show you what Jacob and I were wearing!

Saturday: Ahh!  Still no power.  We aren't the only ones crashing at our friend's house so we tried to quietly remove our loud children so everyone else could sleep.  We went on a run, to the market, and to the park.  We showered and then went to the Children's Museum.  Now we wait.

And yet truly I have nothing to complain about and so very much to be thankful for!