Tornados, Earthquakes, & Hurricanes! Oh My!

I could have sworn that I lived in New England.  You know, the place of pleasantly warm Springs, hot, sunny Summers, cool Falls, and blustery Winters.  I thought I knew what to expect for the worst, weather-wise.  A blizzard a few times a year, some thunderstorms in the summer, but that was about it.  Apparently that has all changed.  This year we have experienced a tornado, an earthquake, and now we are all on Hurricane Irene watch.

Of course, I am a wreck.  That's me.  I panic.  And the fact that the hubs is off partying it up with his buddies for the weekend does. not. help.

So, how do I protect my kids in this kind of weather?  Do we all go hide in our cedar closet...literally the one room in our house without windows?  Or more realistically, how am I supposed to keep them entertained for 4 days if the electricity goes out?!  And what should I feed them if everything in our fridge goes bad?  (This is just my publishable list of worries - trust me, I'm crazy and have all kinds of things going through my head!)

NBC New York posted this article on how to be prepared should Irene grace us with her presence, but seriously, that just made me even more nervous!  I have some serious preparing to do...starting with finding a flashlight in this house!  (And then filling the tub so we can flush the toilet!  I am NOT cool with the whole "let it mellow" thing.)

How are you preparing?  Do you think the meteorologist actually know what's going on yet or are we likely to see a little rain and nothing more?  Either way, this ought to be a fun weekend.  :/  Start charging your electronics, people!