Derecho!

Shawn woke up at an unreasonably early hour (4:00 am) and it was all I could do to get him to go back to bed, but sleep just didn't come for him. He was up. I certainly wasn't ready to be. Yet, he wouldn't let me sleep either with "Mom, can I get up NOOOW?" what felt like every few minutes. He tried getting Raj's attention, but that didn't work either. Even when he tried playing in his room, he wasn't quiet at all and I was still awake. Arg. Lilly didn't seem disrupted by the morning's excitement though.

I finally gave in and got up. (Lilly did too.)  He asked for strawberries and an omelet from the eggs we gathered at Primrose for breakfast.  We also read more of his The Lego Movie novel. It's funny to catch parts that we missed when we watched it.

Around noon, I got a message:
"Weather for Kane... ...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A FLOOD ADVISORY FOR THE FOX RIVER... FOX RIVER AT MONTGOMERY AFFECTING KANE AND KENDALL COUNTIES .WATER LEVELS REMAIN HIGH ON THE FOX RIVER AT MONTGOMERY FROM RECENT RAINFALL. ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT MAY RESULT IN RENEWED RISES ABOVE BANKFULL. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A * FLOOD ADVISORY FOR THE FOX RIVER AT MONTGOMERY. * UNTIL MONDAY JULY 07. * AT 1145 AM MONDAY THE STAGE WAS 12.4 FEET. * ACTION STAGE IS 12.5 FEET. * FLOOD STAGE IS 13.0 FEET. * FORECAST...THE RIVER WILL RISE TO NEAR 12.6 FEET BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON."

Not a surprise at all. Last night's storm was a doozy. I'm glad the mudroom door and the sump pump / backup are installed!

This afternoon, Lilly decided to accessorize and make herself a new hair bow.

She used materials she could reach.

This evening, Shawn fell asleep during the couple minute commute to karate. With the uber-early morning and the gloomy skies, he didn't stand a chance. I considered taking him home and tucking him in for the night, but I was able to rouse him and he barely uttered, "can I still got to karate?" So, we stayed and he woke up.

Again, Shawn was the only green belt in his green/purple combo class. They worked on round kicks (these look hard!) and some cris-cross punches. He even got to demonstrate hook-hook punches with his monstrous yell. (He needs to work on his speed, but he still almost knocked over Mr. Drescher with his too slow punches!) They also worked on upper cuts, which should be 1-2, not 1...............2. Next, they did thrust kicks, that Shawn got to demo again! Then, run-jump-side kicks (how they didn't fall over in the process - it amazes me!)

It was a small class tonight (the impending nasty weather probably scared off some people), but a few of the older boys were really struggling to focus. Mr. Drescher had to stop more than once to get their attention, to stop them from goofing off, to redirect, and to repeat what he had just explained. That did NOT go over well with him at all. (Naturally.) Unfortunately, that all took time, so they didn't have a chance to do obstacle courses or games at the end of class. On the other hand, Shawn was so on the ball in class (quite the opposite of how he had been with me at home this afternoon!), that Mr. Drescher didn't make him test for his first stripe! (I thought he still had a class or two before testing, but I've been wrong about that a few times.) Shawn earned his stripe from his work during class and didn't need to prove anything more. Awesome!

Glad I didn't turn back home to tuck him into bed after all!

At the end of class:
"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
WESTERN COOK COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...
EASTERN DE KALB COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...
DUPAGE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...
KANE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...
NORTHERN KENDALL COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...
NORTHWESTERN WILL COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...

* UNTIL 715 PM CDT

* AT 612 PM CDT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED ALONG A LINE
EXTENDING FROM HUNTLEY TO SOMONAUK...AND MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.
HAZARD...70 MPH WIND GUSTS.
SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED.
IMPACT...EXPECT CONSIDERABLE TREE DAMAGE. DAMAGE IS LIKELY TO
MOBILE HOMES...ROOFS AND OUTBUILDINGS.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
SANDWICH AND GILBERTS AROUND 620 PM CDT.
LITTLE ROCK AND SLEEPY HOLLOW AROUND 625 PM CDT.
WEST DUNDEE AND SUGAR GROVE AROUND 630 PM CDT.
YORKVILLE AND ST. CHARLES AROUND 635 PM CDT.
WAYNE AND STREAMWOOD AROUND 640 PM CDT.
WEST CHICAGO AND OSWEGO AROUND 645 PM CDT.
THIS INCLUDES NORTHWESTERN PORTIONS OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO.
...<.75IN
WIND...70MPH"

From Accuweather:
5:30 p.m. CDT Monday: Derecho moving eastward towards Chicago, expected to arrive in the city within the next 90 minutes. Current radar:

When we got into our seats in the car, I could see the kids in the rear mirror, but the gray skies blackened almost instantly and when I turned around to help Shawn buckle in, I could barely see him! Though it was about 6:15 pm, it looked like it was the middle of the night! We got home just in time for the worst of this part of the storm to hit. Shawn seemed a bit concerned about it being more than just a thunderstorm, but it passed fairly quickly and he was distracted by some reading practice, writing practice, and dinner.

From Accuweather:
7:33 p.m. CDT Monday:

Nick Ulivieri @ChiPhotoGuy
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Here's the storm front passing over the #Chicago skyline #ILwx #CHIwx. Wow! >
7:25 PM - 30 Jun 2014
(That's what our sky looked like when it suddenly turned to midnight as I buckled the kids in!)
Another wave of the storm hit just as we were turning off Shawn's lights and saying good night. The lightning was often enough and bright enough, I think I could've read his bedtime story without a light on! A few minutes later, there was a particularly dazzling flash of lightning and boom of thunder that shook the house, I nervously looked at Shawn and Lilly, expecting to see the whites of their eyes staring back at me for reassurance, but they were both fast asleep. Phew! So, I simply moved Lilly to her bed and tucked her in. I'm so grateful they aren't fearful of thunderstorms! This was another doozy of a storm and for the second night in a row. (I learned a new meteorological term: derecho!)

From Accuweather:
9:39 p.m. CDT Monday: Another line of storms is about to blast through the Chicago area. (We're just west enough to get the weather slightly before the 'Chicago area' does.)

10:15 p.m. CDT Monday: Wind gusts up to 82 mph in Bolingbrook, Illinois, reports NWS spotter.

Hoping this derecho doesn't cause us to have any run ins with Dorothy, Toto, or any of their friends!