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If you play your cards right during a black out, you can have tons of quality time with your children and possibly break your toddler of their Team Umizoomi habit. But most likely, you will just be fielding incredibly annoying questions like "WHY????" over and over again.

Conversations go something like this:

"Can I watch Team UmiZoomi?"

"Sorry, sweetie, the TV isn't working."

"Why?"

"Because there is no electricity."

"Why?"

"Because the power went out."

"Why?"

"Because of the big storm."

"Why?"

"Because people have taken advantage of the earth in ways that are resulting in a scary amount of climate change and unfortunately natural disasters are only going to become more and more common."

"Oh…"

(pause)

"Can I watch Fresh Beat Band?"

Thankfully, we only spent 24 hours in the dark before we moved to our friends house on the Upper West Side so I really can't complain. But it was enough time to know that a toddler without a television and a microwave (or at least my toddler without a television and a microwave) is something I would not wish on my worst enemy.

If I learned anything about Mazzy during the hurricane, it's that, if given the choice, she would choose her electronic devices over her own mother. Sad but true.

The East Village got power back on Friday evening and we were able to head home. Slowly, life is getting back to normal, except now that we are back in our fully-functioning apartment, it's beginning to sink in how incredibly fortunate Manhattan was compared to the devastation in places like Staten Island, the Rockaways, Coney Island, and Hoboken.

Most of our relatives on Long Island, including my mother, still have no power. My sister who lives in the West Village has her power back but still no heat or hot water. Our cousins came over on Sunday to shower because they are still without power and water in Westchester.

This whole thing is so far from over it's hard to process. And no heat or water is hardly a problem when you compare it with people who have lost their homes.

I don't have anything new to say about the problem. I just began to feel like I was whining about my own situation last week and didn't think nearly enough about the people who are really suffering.

If you haven't already (or even if you have), please make a $10 donation to the Red Cross by texting REDCROSS to 90999. It's stupidly easy. 

On the pregnancy front, we had an ultrasound on Wednesday morning at 8am and was I relieved to find that everyone and everything was completely operational at our hospital. The baby is currently weighing in at 6.5 lbs. which is exactly how much Mazzy weighed when she arrived two weeks early.

I don't feel like I am about to give birth just yet, but I think it might finally be time to pack a hospital bag. What can I say? I'm a procrastinator in denial. 

Before I go, here's a picture from our first night back home. Everything was working but since we had no heat for five days, the apartment was FREEZING. My solution was to put Mazzy in her fleece hooded pig costume from Just Pretend Kids.

It made her almost as happy as unrestricted access to an iPad.

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That night, Mazzy kicked me out of my bed (literally) and I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room.

As I said, things are slowly getting back to normal.