Our power went out at 7 last night, when the temps were in the 90's, and stayed out until almost 3AM. Now, my house doesn't have the most efficient air conditioning, and during weather like we've had lately, we may as well seal off the upstairs and not use it, because the air never seems to cool up there. Plus, we keep the thermostat at 75 degrees in summer. So when the power goes out, my upstairs gets hot enough to bake cookies.
That being said, here's a quick run-down of how our night went:
7:00 PM - Power goes off, right before I can hit "complete order" on a much-needed parachute for Handsome Boy's birthday party plans.
7:15 PM - Call to Mom, "PLEASE log in to my account and finish my order??" Phew! Crisis averted.
7:30 PM - The hard-wired fire alarm starts chirping to let me know the power has gone out... Thanks. I hadn't noticed...
7:45 PM - "Mommy, what's that loud chirping noise?" "Try to ignore it, honey. I'm sure the power will be on soon."
8:00 PM - Bedtime for the kiddos. Pretty stuffy up there, but so far no complaints. And so far, no power, either.
8:20 PM - Remembering (not fondly) the disaster from early in our marriage, where a power spike destroyed every electronic item we owned (which was exactly four back then), I went around the house unplugging things.
8:30 PM - C calls from his comfy, air-conditioned office to see why I tried to call him 478 times at 7:00 PM (see above). "Hey," he says, "What's that chirping?" I explain. "Man, I would not be able to sleep with that noise." Yeah.
9:00 PM - Still no power. Lovely Girl tip-toes in to find me. She can't sleep. It's too hot. I make her a bed on the couch, since the main floor is still relatively cool.
9:15 PM - I check on Handsome Boy, who is still asleep, but whose hair feels like he just took a shower. I jog back downstairs, make him a bed out of a chair and ottoman, jog back upstairs, nearly throw my back out hauling his nearly 60 pound self out of the race car bed, carefully make my way back downstairs, and deposit him on the makeshift bed.
10:00 PM - Still no power, and no light left, so I make myself a bed on the couch in my office.
10:15 PM - CHIRP........eyelids close.......CHIRP..........pillow over head.....CHIRP.......
10:20 PM - Check on kids. Chirping seems to have no effect on them. They sleep like babies (older babies, mind you... the ones who actually sleep through the night).
10:25 PM - Back to my couch. Eyelids close.....CHIRP........block it out, I just need to block it out......CHIRP.....oh, man, is this gonna be a long night....
11:00 PM - CHIRP.....errrrrrgggghhhhh!!!.....CHIRP......check on kids again.......CHIRP.... Still no power......CHIRP
Sometime after midnight - I think I actually fell asleep...
2:47 AM - Lights come on. I get up and flick them off, smiling as I hear the A/C kick on. I smile more broadly at the blissful emptiness that is a night no longer filled with CHIRPing!
2:52 AM - A motorcycle seems to be roaring through my kitchen. What now? It's the fridge. Great. I stumble to the basement to find the manual, and Lovely Girl shows up. "Mommy, something's really wrong with the-" "I know! I know! I'm trying to fix it!" " 'kay. Should I go back to the couch?" "Yes."
2:57 AM - Unplug fridge. Wait two minutes. Plug back in. (Hey, it works for routers. Why not large kitchen appliances??) WHHHHHAAAAAAAHHHHHH. Well. That didn't work. Unplug. Take out ice maker, break up ice, put ice maker back in. Plug in. WHHHHHAAAAAAAHHHHH. 0 for 2. Fantastic. Unplug. Give up. Write note to self to call repairman. Mentally prepare self for shelling out $$$ for a new fridge. (I am a true pessimist at heart.)
5:30 AM - BUZZZZZZZ-Shut off alarm. Reset for 6:45. My shower will have to wait 'til after the bus leaves. The kiddos will just have to deal.
6:45 AM - Drag myself from the couch. Wake the kids - who had a blast, by the way, camping out in the living room. Stare at the fridge. Cross my fingers. Please! Please! Please! Let this be working...
6:50 AM - Plug in the fridge..... Hummmmmmm....
Hallelujah! Power, a cool house, no chirps, and a working refrigerator!
...And God bless the electric company workers, 'cause I'm sure their night was much longer than mine...
