Ice storm and updates.

School was closed today due to an ice storm. Usually teachers love snow days, but honestly, I really need my students in class right now. So many were out sick last week, we are behind schedule. Honestly I won't be surprised if we are off again tomorrow--there are still thousands without power in our county and it's still snowing and very windy. Many of the roads still have a thick layer of ice.

We lost power for a few hours in the middle of the night. It came back on about 5:30 this morning. We didn't have to do anything special to deal with our loss of power other than use my husband's Blackberry to check for school closings. My back-up plan would have been to use the Red Cross emergency weather radio. My mother in law got it for me for Christmas. It is crank-powered and has am/fm and weather bands as well as flashlight and cell phone charger.

I have really worked on emergency preparedness over the last year. We were prepared for a longer power outage, fortunately we were one of those whose power was restored early. We have firewood for the fireplace and 2 back-up generators as well as a supply of gasoline. We have a well stocked pantry and plenty of blankets, warm clothes, candles, flashlights and an oil lamp. It's good to know we'll be ok if the power were to be out for a long time.

I have been making a lot more foods from scratch and eating less processed foods. I am not totally organic and homemade because I work full-time and it's just not reasonable for us. I have packed my lunch every day this school year and all with real food, no Lean Cuisines! The kids have taken lunch from home much more frequently this year than ever before also. We haven't made it everyday, but we've definitely improved! I am really proud of that! It takes organization and planning and if I don't plan ahead, the kids end up with school lunch.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, even though I've been terrible about updating!