And the Rains Came Down While the Floods Came Up...

Whew! What a night of weather it was!

This evening, Mark took the two young ones to the church. The two oldest went to the school for the Read In. We had to carry in blankets, pillows, books, etc for the adventure. As we were leaving, we noticed a storm moving into the area. There were some big lightning strikes near our house. On the way to the school, the heavens opened up and the rains came down. Really hard I might add.

By the time I got to the school (which is about three minutes from our house), it was pouring sheets of water. We grabbed umbrellas and ran as fast as we could inside. Unfortunately the water was standing in the parking lot, so I was soaked up to my knees. And when I went back to the van, it was raining even harder.

As I drove to the restaurant to meet up with Mark, I listened to the weatherman on the radio explaining where possible tornadoes were...such as just a few miles from where I was. As I drove, the weather calmed down just as the weatherman said, "It is always calm before the storm moves in. Stay away from windows." Our restaurant has pretty much wall to wall windows on one side. However, date nights are a rare treat...we pressed on.

Mark later told me that when he was dropping the kids off at the church, the tornado sirens were going off. The kids were in the hallway. Boy, was Child 4 happy to be dropped off in that environment. :) I asked Mark if he felt the slightest bit guilty leaving the kids in that situation. He reminded me he was from Mississippi and that the sirens don't really faze him at all.

When we met up at the restaurant, there was a lull in the rain. We ran inside and were seated immediately. We ate at Shogun's, so it wasn't an intimate dinner really. We ended up with two young couples at our "island". It was kind of fun listening to them. They were either finishing up high school or early in college. All I know is that they made me feel old. :) Mark was amused that the girls hardly ate anything (even though I think they really wanted to) while me, much older, ate everything I wanted plus some.

The food was delicious. Mark got some sushi (tempura shrimp) to start with. I have had it before and not really cared for it though it is everything I love. So I told him I would just have one. For some reason it tasted really good to me. I had two but apparently Mark took me at my word and ate the rest. I ended up ordering another order before we left. Our cook/entertainer seemed to be a bit new but was still fun. Even more entertaining than the smoking onion or the flying eggs was the party that sat the island adjoining us...a bunch of junior high (if that) boys and girls. Just watching them try to figure out where to sit was amusing.

When we were ready to leave, the rains started pouring. And I was just drying out from the last bout. We were in separate cars, so I jumped in mine and went shopping (Teacher's Appreciation next week) while Mark went to pick up the little ones.

So I didn't say it was going to be a LONG date. :)

When I got to Target, I went running in and enjoyed some browsing time. At one point, I looked down at my cell phone to see the time. I thought, "Oh, I better hurry. I wonder what time they are closing." A few minutes later, I got that wide-eyed panic. I looked at my phone again and realized I needed to pick up the big kids in about twenty minutes. I threw a few extra items in the cart and went to the checkout. For some reason, I tend to choose the slower checkouts. I glanced outside and thought, "It isn't too bad out there." By the time I had all my bags and had paid, it was pouring. I ran to the car and made the trek back to school. A few times I could barely see the road because of the rain. I called in to check on e-mail messages. I couldn't hear them because the rain was so loud on the windows. Thankfully by the time I got to the school, it had slowed down a bit.

Now it is a few hours later. The rains keep coming down. I am sure there is a river in our garage. So much for any fun stuff outside tomorrow.

So that is our date night. I know, I know, more excitement than you can imagine. :) It was quite a night! Not exactly what I planned but it is the joys of life during storm season.

On another note, Child 4 is feeling better. He is still congested but has been happy and go-lucky. On another note, Child 2 came home complaining about a headache which is rare for her. I questioned her on what she ate. She had visited a friend's house after school. She had some food that may (probably) had MSG in it. When I looked up MSG sensitivity, the main symptom was a throbbing headache. Something else to add to her list of possible sensitivities. She keeps life interesting.

I better get to bed. I will want to sleep in but I am almost positive nobody else will!

Reba