You never know...so let's be safe!

So, I'm kind of a safety girl. I have always been the cautious type--I usually have an umbrella on me, "just in case," I make sure the gas tank never gets lower than a quarter tank, I carry one of those life hammer things in the car (velcroed on so if I needed it, it wouldn't have been flung around the car) and I'm big on helmets for just about anything (fun). One year, my husband gave me The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and it was one of my favorite books--I mean, who wouldn't love something that tells you how to escape from your car if it goes over a bridge or survive an alligator attack. You never know when that information might be useful!

So, tonight is our first major Texas storm and I have to admit, I'm a little concerned. I've been through evacuations for hurricanes on the East Coast, been through major nor'easters and several feet of snow, but something definitely freaks me out about tornados. Probably because its path is so capricious and its force so malevolent.

People who are from here are either completely calm, in a "Oh, this is nothing, I'm not even sure I've ever heard the tornado sirens," kind of way, or showing their stress in a "You don't have food and water in your safe place at home?! Get it now!" kind of way. But, everyone has been talking about it all day, so we raced home from school to batten down the hatches and get things organized in case we have to huddle in the closet tonight (blankets, pillows, baby books, goldfish crackers, capri suns--will clearly need to get some water for next time!).

Hopefully, it will just be some rain and strong winds (we did manage to get both cars in the garage in case it hails) and NO tornadoes.

In any case, safety girl has just informed her husband that we are getting a NOAA weather radio after this, "just to be on the safe side."