Goodbye Typhoon Glenda!

Oh my goodness, Typhoon Glenda whipped through Manila only a few hours last July 16 but left behind so much destruction. I honestly have never felt so scared that our house would get destroyed because of the strong winds! I woke up at 3am that Wednesday to feed Skyler and for some reason I couldn't go back to sleep because of the rain. I could already feel the electricity fluctuating because the aircon and the lamp would keep shutting on and off for just a few seconds. I turned off the aircon in our room and the kids' room since it was cool anyways and just decided to go online just to check what was happening. Good thing we had also charged all of our phones and gadgets the night before since we were anticipating that there would be a brownout.

I was still awake at 4:30am when we lost electricity. Good thing all the kids were still asleep so we just held on to our flashlights. It was about 5:30 when Miley and Sabe woke up because they were also scared of the rain. They were asking to open the TV and the aircon, so I had to explain it was brownout and just gave them the iPad so they could play with their apps. We all just huddled in the room and waited for the storm to pass.

The winds were so strong that we could see the trees on the street falling down. One of our cars was parked outside the house so we were just praying nothing would fall on it. Our bamboo wall on one side of the house was slowly falling apart too. We also had some water come in the attic.

Good thing everything was pretty much okay after that. Hubby and our neighbor went outside when the winds died down to clear some of the trees that were blocking the road. Hubby also went around after and he told me so many trees had fallen everywhere, especially in the park. Some of the slides and swings were also destroyed.

We were thankful that the storm had passed and now we were just praying for the electricity to come back on. Our phone line was down too, but good thing our water supply was ok. The weather was pretty cool when it was still raining, but after a while it was just hot again. I just hated seeing my kids so uncomfortable, especially baby Skyler. He was so fussy even if I was fanning him like crazy. I could see beads of sweat on his little head and batok all the time. Miley and Sabe kept asking for cold water and to turn the electric fan on. They were all so sweaty even if I kept fanning them since they couldn't sit still too. Haaay may muscles na ako sa kakapaypay I swear haha! ;p

ang init!!!

We found out the next day that there was already electricity in my Mom's place. So we all headed there Thursday afternoon. And let me tell you, I have never been so happy to have a glass of cold water! And also to go online haha! The little things you take for granted right?

I was asking my friends if they had light already and one of them said it was only brownout in their area for 2 hours! Swerte!!! However, we were hit with the rotating brownout Friday afternoon from about 4:30pm to 8:30pm. We decided to wait it out by having dinner in the mall. Finally, we got the news Saturday early morning that we light in our area already! Yahoo! I almost wanted to comment on other people's statuses on FB when they were complaining of the brownout for only a few hours or just 1 day. Heller, kami 3 days! But honestly, I kept reminding myself that losing electricity is nothing compared to other people who have lost their homes or even their lives...

So we finally went home yesterday morning and would you believe that in the late afternoon (about 4:30pm) our lights go off again??? We find out from our neighbors that only a couple of streets in our village lost electricity this time since there was an explosion near the guardhouse. It was weird (and annoying) since the house at the end of our street had lights! Kapag minalas ka nga naman! Good thing my in-laws (who live in the same village) had electricity so off we went again to stay there. And I'm sure you know how much stuff you bring when you have kids right? Akala mo lilipat na kami ng bahay sa dami ng dala namin every time haha!

Thankfully, the lights came back this morning already. But honestly, I'm traumatized already by all this brownout. We're all sick na naman nga probably from all the pawis and change in weather. It's so stressful for me as a parent seeing my kids scared and confused about what's happening. And also worrying about the stuff in the ref and freezer too! Good thing I don't have an enormous amount of frozen breastmilk (just about 10 bags since I direct feed most of the time anyway) otherwise I think I would have gone crazy!

I just pray we won't have to experience any more storms like this (fingers crossed!). It's just so scary and makes you appreciate the little things in life more. I also hope that everyone affected by this storm is ok and doing good now. And please, no more brownout! ;p