No electricity = No bunny pasta

Being a parent, a good parent, requires some serious self-sacrificing (I know, duh). My brothers and their wives are *incredible* parents. I knew that before this weekend, but I had no idea just how tough it is. I am humbled.

"Amy, we get to have bunny pasta!" Avery proclaimed pointing at the box of Annie's mac & cheese, as we hung out in the kitchen soon after I arrived. That was all she could talk about, so excited about the bunny pasta. Who doesn't love Annie's? I was just as excited as Avery was about our menu for supper.

After going through the schedule as they were getting ready to head to the wedding, Jen and Marc kindly let me off the hook by saying that it didn't matter if the girls had their baths - thank God - because I honestly couldn't figure out how I was going to juggle both for bath time.

With the 'rents on their way to the wedding, the girls and I headed outside for some swinging, some popsicle eating under a tree and some swimming in the kiddie pool. Eventually it was nap time and Avery and Nora went to sleep like champs. Phew, I thought, I can clean up the kitchen from lunch. Not too soon after I was done cleaning up, I sat down on the couch and they started.

Thunder that sounded like it was right next door and hail, yikes, I have never seen hail like this before. The storms were intense, so intense that poof - they took the electricity with them as they passed through. No worries, I thought to myself, we'll get power back in a jiff. Not so.

Avery woke up not too long after the power went out. And we played inside while waiting for Nora to wake up.

Still no power.

Eventually Nora woke up and it was supper time.

No power.

"Is it time for bunny pasta, Amy? Avery asked.

Dang it, I thought to myself.

"We're going to have to come up with something else, Avery, we don't have power to cook the pasta."

Nora, who isn't quite able to express what she wants to say verbally yet, had this to say about no bunny pasta for supper:

Although we were all disappointed about not being able to have some Annie's, we improvised..."Avery, what do you feel like having for supper?" I asked. "Turkey? Do you like turkey? How about cottage cheese? Does Nora like cottage cheese?" Bingo - yep she sure does. So, our supper was deli turkey meat (which Nora did not like, at least not that day), cold pasta and sauce I found in the fridge (which Nora does like!), cottage cheese, grapes and some milk (of course!).

With the thunderstorms behind us, we headed back outside and played until the bugs drove us inside & it was time for bed anyway. At one point, I looked at Avery, and she had a mosquito on the corner of one of her eyes, which I *gently* swiped away...Loni, don't come after me.

The next morning, Avery woke up looking like she went three rounds with George Foreman:

We spent Sunday hanging out by the pool and enjoying the beautiful day with the entire Maine Rowe family. I left exhausted and happy that I got to spend so much time with my nieces, with a new appreciation for what Marc, Jen, Scott and Loni are going through right now. The life that I lead is so different from theirs. I'm glad that I get to spend some time in theirs now and then. Both of my brothers and their wives have created beautiful, loving, happy families.

As Marc said to Avery when she asked why Adam and I were still in the pool messing around, seeing who could make the biggest splash...while everyone else was out getting ready for lunch, "Avery, they're still kids - they'll get out eventually."

I'm happy being in the pool, atleast for now.