Best of Three Falls

"Hey Dad! Wanna Wrestle?"



"Hey no fair zerberting my neck!!!"



"Gotta be quicker than that to hold on to me Daddy!"

Why I'm a Chrissie Hynde Fan

I love music. I quote it all the time here on my blog and I listen to it almost constantly. I have songs I love and have always loved and artists who have consistantly moved me. Chrissie Hynde is one of those artists. She's not my favourite performer, but she is one I have admired and enjoyed for over 2 decades. I liked her when I was 16 and she was singing about Brass in Pocket and Tattooed Love Boys...but as I mother my child...her words resonate in a way I never thought they could. Also a mother, Chrissie heard her heart about her child and was able to put her heart into words. I lack that skill...but I do know exactly how she feels. And I wish to share her words which mirror my feelings with you.

MY BABY

I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME
THAT'S ALL I WANT FROM YOU
I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME
ONE DAY

I KNOW I'M A PEASANT
DRESSED AS A PRINCESS
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE
TO TAKE MY CLOTHES AWAY

IF I COULD SHOW YOU
SOME HAPPINESS
THEN I WOULD FEEL
LIKE A REAL PRINCESS
THAT TO ME WOULD BE SUCCESS
MY BABY

I SEEN YOU DANCIN'
A NATURAL BEAUTY
YOU MAKE THIS DIVE
SEEM SUBLIME
YOU REALLY GET
TO THE HEART OF THE MUSIC
YOU'RE THE POETRY OF TIME

IF THERE'S A METHOD
TO WRITING A SONG
HOW COME I'M GETTING IT WRONG
YOU WRITE THE BEAUTIFUL SONGS
BABY

C'MON, C'MON, C'MON BABY
TAKE MY HAND
C'MON, C'MON, C'MON SHOW ME
TO THE LOVE LAND

CAN THIS REALLY HAPPEN
IN THIS DAY AND AGE
SUDDENLY
TO JUST TURN THE PAGE
LIKE WALKING ON STAGE
MY BABY

--and--

SHOW ME

SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
'CAUSE I'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT IT
THEY SAY YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT


WELCOME TO THE HUMAN RACE
WITH ITS WARS, DISEASE AND BRUTALITY
YOU WITH YOUR INNOCENCE AND GRACE
RESTORE SOME PRIDE AND DIGNITY
TO A WORLD IN DECLINE


WELCOME TO A SPECIAL PLACE
IN A HEART OF STONE THAT'S COLD AND GREY
YOU WITH YOUR ANGEL FACE
KEEP THE DESPAIR AT BAY
SEND IT AWAY, AND


SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
'CAUSE I'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT IT
I DON'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT IT
I DON'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT IT
OH, I WANT LOVE, I WANT LOVE, I WANT LOVE


WELCOME HERE FROM OUTER SPACE
THE MILKY WAY STILL IN YOUR EYES
YOU FOUND YOURSELF A HOPELESS CASE
ONE SEEKING PERFECTION ON EARTH
THAT'S SOME KIND OF REBIRTH, SO


SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
'CAUSE I'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT IT
DON'T MAKE ME LIVE WITHOUT IT
DON'T MAKE ME LIVE WITHOUT IT
OH, LOVE, I WANT LOVE, I WANT LOVE, I WANT LOVE

Less than 100%

Shots do it to her everytime. Lydia has been down for the count most of the day. I'm really glad we don't have to give her shots again until she's four...because each time she's had her shots she's reacted badly the next day. Most of today was spent holding and hydrating. She ate some, but mostly all Lydia wanted today was her woobie and to be held.

No more til four

Lydia got her last series of shots today that she needs to have to be all caught up until her fourth birthday. She is cranky and sore, but otherwise doing well. She has grown. She is 31 inches long 22 and pounds 11 ounces heavy...this puts her in between the 25-50 percentile in height and the 25 percentile in weight. Her head is 44 centimeters placing her in th 10 percentile for head circumfrunces. This i up from being at the 3 at referal and the 5 at 15 months. She is healthy and well and developmentally on target or ahead in all areas except spoken language where she is making leaps daily as well.

Creating more art

Okay, it's not art, I'm just playing with my new camera's bells and whistles...but the beauty of the subject is undeniable.

6 strange things about me

I have been tagged. So here we go...

1) I am very very shy. I tend to avoid social gatherings, but when forced to attend I am usually the one holding up the wall. Most people think I would be the exact opposite as I get up in front of people to lecture and can be pretty lively at rehearsals, but get me in a social situation and I become a clam.

2) I am afraid of ice. Not like ice in a drink...but on the ground. I have a phobia about falling and ice makes people go boom.

3) I have a zombie contingency plan. I know exactly what I will do when and if the zombies attack. Often times Russell and I will be out and I will look at him and suddenly yell..."zombie drill". At which point we must outline what we would do if we saw a zombie at that exact time and place with the resources at hand. Then we compare notes and see who came up with the better plan. I ALWAYS win!!

4)Some people have kidney stones. I have salivary stones. I have passed them twice in my life. They hurt like the dickens and the two times I've passed them, it's taken about a week. (Horrible pain--I hate them!!)

5) I very rarely see theatre. Again this sounds wrong since theatre is what I do for a living. But the fact of the matter is I do theatre for a living so I have no time to SEE theatre as I'm usually DOING theatre. Also because I do theatre for a living I rarely have money enough to see shows. Theatre people aren't paid squat.

6) I'm very pro strict gun control...but I'm a great shot. Boyfriend previous to Russell used to belong to a gun club and he'd take me shooting with him and our mutual friends. The first time I went with them I'd never shot anything but arrows at bullseye targets previous. When we went to the range I shot and when they looked at my silhoutte my friend Carl told me I'd done pretty well for the first time, but that I was shooting too high as I kept hitting the head instead of the center of mass. To which I responded "Oh...I wasn't suppossed to be aiming for the head?" Carl told me he was glad I was on his side. In my defense...one of the few ways to kill a zombie is to destroy the brain...and the only thing I'd ever shoot, besides a piece of paper, is a zombie...hence my misunderstanding about what my target should be!! :-)

Eccentricities

1) Helicopters are COOL!

2) Dinners over? Dinners on the floor! (Or in my hair!)

3) I must wear shoes...I know I'm off to bed, but I must have my shoes on even with my PJ's!

4) Let me suck on this cracker and then I will try to feed it to you mom. It's better when it's moist!

5) I know you SAY we're eating the exact some thing mom, but I have a sneaking suspicion your's tastes better, so give it here!

6) But food tastes better when I stand and eat it!

7) Why is mommy trying to put me to sleep? That's daddy's job!

8) Sing it again mom...and again..and again...and again...and again...and again...and again...and again.

9) I know I'm not gonna play with it, but it gets lonely being in the toy box!

10) Hey, look what the cat does when I pull it's tail!! Why's he running away???? WAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Fun with Juice Boxes!

I was at a faculty retreat this weekend, so Russell took care of the baby. That meant lots of fast food for meals. (I've given up in this area...K-Sarah Sarah as my sister would jokingly say.) So here's Liddy in her first rehearsal for how to react to an exploding champagne bottle. :-)

What it's really all about!

A letter from the president

Nope, not the President of the United States, the president of the University. While I don't have the official "rubber stamped" approval of the Board of Regents I have jumped what many people consider to be the real final hurdle of the process; the president's office. I passed every committee with flying colours and now await final approval from the BOR. In the history of my university the board has never turned down approval if they have received the green light from the president's office...so I am feeling pretty confident. I think it's actually gonna happen.

When I started in higher ed as an adjunct in 1994--it became my goal to be an assistant professor and have tenure. It was a dream really. An achievable dream--but a dream none the less. I was thrilled when I became a full time lecturer in 1996 and even more thrilled when I was promoted to an Assistant Prof in 2000. I was thrilled, but also terrified. It was time to "prove myself". A woman director in the south who, yes does do children's theatre, but not primarily is an uncommon entity. Women are often subjugated to the role of director of children while seemingly "more substantial" and serious work is given to men. I did children's theatre and still do children's theatre not as a consolation, but because it IS substantial and it hasa very important place in my heart...but I also do Shakespeare, Euripides, Shepard, Friel, Opera, Musical Theatre, Experimental Theatre, etc. Because it too is in my heart. I do more than what many women are allowed, because I don't want to be limited. I do it because I don't have to be limited. I do it because I WON'T be limited. I have been very fortunate to have a Chair who believes in me. A chair who wanted me to succeed and who gave me opportunities to prove myself. And now with tenure...comes a word I have longed to hear for a long time. Freedom.

For those of you still waiting

Waiting for a Star to Fall


I hear your name whispered on the wind
It's a sound that makes me cry
I hear a song blow again and again
Through my mind and I don't know why
I wish I didn't feel so strong about you
Like happiness and love revolve around you

Trying to catch your heart
Is like trying to catch a star
So many people love you baby
That must be what you are

Waiting for a star to fall
And carry your heart into my arms
That's where you belong
In my arms baby, yeah

I've learned to feel what I cannot see
But with you I lose that vision
I don't know how to dream your dream
So I'm all caught up in superstition
I want to reach out and pull you to me
Who says I should let a wild one go free

Trying to catch your heart
Is like trying to catch a star
But I can't love you this much baby
And love you from this far

Waiting for a star to fall
And carry your heart into my arms
That's where you belong
In my arms baby, yeah

Waiting (however long...)
I don't like waiting (I'll wait for you...)
It's so hard waiting (don't be too long...)
Seems like waiting (makes me love you even more...)

Waiting for a star to fall
And carry your heart into my arms
That's where you belong
In my arms baby, yeah

Double Bagged for Your Safety

I assure you I wasn't so tired I got confused and diapered the baby AFTER I clothed her. This was all of Lydia's own doing. She has figured out how to diaper herself! While I was putting away her bath stuff this is what happened. I thought it was so cute, I let her wear it around for awhile. (Besides...this is great blackmail material for once she gets older! "Lydia do the dishes or mommy will pull out the double diaper picture and show your friends!!" Muuuuuuuhahahaha!!!)

Getting "Artsy Fartsy"

Q: What do you do when you have a great pose, but it's overexposed cause you left the flash on by accident?

A: MAKE ART!! :-)

News from China April 2006

Almost 24 Million Still Without by Michael Zhao
According to the midterm result released by the Office of Poverty Prevention of the State Council on its "Rural Poverly PreventionDevelopment Plan 2001-2010," there arestill 23.7 million Chinesewho don't have enough to eat and wear, a decrease of 5.6 million in five years. The number of low-income population, earning 683-944RMBa yea year ($85-$118 a year American) is 40.7 million, or 20 million less than five years ago.


8 out ot 10 women feel discrimination from potential employers by Michael Zhao
Eight oout of ten graduation college females said they were discriminated against in therjob-hunting, accordingto the survey by the Ministyof Labor and Social Security on students in Beijing and Nanjing. Ninely percent of the surveyed students said they had heard about the recruiting discrimination.
A draft of a new law, aiming to promote employment and address issues of discrimination,has already gone to the Legal Office of the State Council, China's cabinet for deliberation.

The Stones Rock China, but hold the Brown Sugar by Mo Ming
After nearly 30 years of trying, the world's most famous rock band finally made it to the world's largest country, as the Rolling Stones brought thei show to a small stage in China's biggest city.
The Concert, a late addition to the band's Biggest Bang world tour, was the productof long negotiations adnumerous compromises: from thevenue, a diminutive 8,000-seat indoor arena, the the songs allowed by Chinese censors.
The five songs reported to have been banned were "Brown Sugar," "Beast of Burden," "Lets Spend the Night Together," "Honkey Tonk Women" and "Rough Justice," a song from their new album. All the songs listed were removed from the Chinese version of the band's greatest hits album in 2003.

The AVERAGE income of a Chinese citizen in US dollars

Finance, Insurance--1440
Real estate--1288
Transportation, Telecom--1171
Social service--1157
Research, Technology--1091
Education, Entertainment--1086
Government--1046
Utility--1044
Construction--1003
Health, Sports, Charity--942
Lumber--933
Retail, Restaurant--926
Steel--916
Manufacturing--910
Textile--909
Machinery, Manufacturing--908
Mining--908
Farming--801
Others--920

(Data collected by the State Statistical Bureau of China.)

Not black and white

60 minutes did a report tonight about the growing gender imbalance in China. In the report they focused on China's one child policy. They stated the policy was draconian and they implied that it's only purpose was to further China's economic growth in order to secure thier position as a world superpower. They discussed the fact that women were having abortions as late as the 9th month of preganacy to weed out female children in order to try again to have a male child. They discussed how girls were being kidnapped or bought (for approximately $8 American) to be raised as slave brides. The painted a grim picture of an unfeeling nation.

They neglected to mention the average income for a family in China is approximately $1500 American...and that many famlies in the west will only make about $100 American a year. They forgot to mention the desperation of a people who live in a country where just over half of the land is inhabitable. They failed to mention the millions of citizens who do not have enough food to feed themselves and their families. They didn't share with us how many lives were saved by the one child policy--a number that exceeds hundreds of millions of people.

Tonight they painted a picture of a country who let foreigners come wisk away 12,000 of their girls a year without discussing the fact that almost half of those children would die before they were 12 years old if they hadn't found homes.

60 minutes presented a very black situation tonight. But the world is very rarely black and white.

Easter Sunday

"Oh Wow! Lot's of cool stuff in here!"




"Are you sure that's it? I thought I saw some more candy!"




"I told ya there was some more candy in here!"




"The Easter Bunny sure was good to me!"




"MMMMMM MMMMMM GOOOD! Candy for Breakfast!!"

Easter is on it's way!!

Here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hoppin' down the bunny trail,
Hippity, hoppity,
Easter's on its way.

Bringin' every girl and boy Baskets full of Easter joy,
Things to make your Easter bright and gay.
He's got jelly beans for Tommy,
Colored eggs for sister Sue,
There's an orchid for your Mommy
And an Easter bonnet, too.

Oh! here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hoppin' down the bunny trail,
Hippity hoppity,
Happy Easter day.

Here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hoppin' down the bunny trail,
Look at him stop,
and listen to him say:
"Try to do the things you should."
Maybe if you're extra good,
He'll roll lots of Easter eggs your way.

You'll wake up on Easter morning
And you'll know that he was there
When you find those choc'late bunnies
That he's hiding ev'rywhere.

Oh! here comes Peter Cottontail,
Hoppin' down the bunny trail,
Hippity hoppity,
Happy Easter day.


(I know a little girl who is in for a BIG surprise!)

Girls Global Education Fund

I am a teacher. I believe that all people can benefit from learning. An education can help a person have a better life. It is why I teach. My life was made better through my education, and I hope to help others have a better life as well. That is why I sponsor a girl from Desheng.
Wei Jing is my foster daughter. She lives in Desheng. Her mother ran away and left her and her sister several months ago. Without the help of Girls Global Education Fund, Wei Jing would be forced to leave school. But through this organization and our financial help she is going to school. I hope for her a good life. She deserves it.

For more information and to sponsor a girl please visit, http://www.ggef.org

On the mend and feelin' poorly

First, the good news. Lydia is starting to feel better. Her fever was practically non-existant today and she is still cautious about taking food, but is eating solids. She still has a coat on her tongue, but all the blisters seem to be fading.
Now the bad news. Russell and I both called our parents to see if we ever had Coxsachie and both sets of folks said no. So far, I'm okay. But Russell is out for the count. It's gonna be a long weekend!!

Sunset Blvd.

Forever

Today is our 6th month anniversary. For half a year we've been a family. For a third of her life she has been our daughter.

There are so many conflicting feelings about 6 months. It seems like it just happened yesterday and we're still just trying to figure it all out. It also seems like she's always been here and I can't really remember what life was like without her.

She is so different in so many ways, and yet she is still that same sweet little girl who likes to laugh and play and be entertained. I wonder if she remembers the two thirds of her life before mommy and daddy. Most of the triggers are now gone. Bells no longer cause hysterics, standing up doesn't mean your are leaving her behind. She no longer hesitates and wonders if we will love her. It's just a given. Mommy and Daddy love her and that is the way it is--she knows we are forever.

The first of many I'm sure

Lydia is sick. Oh, I know, she's been sick before, but this is her first commonly caught by childrens disease that can be checked off a list. She has Coxsackievirus, commonly known as Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. We caught it pretty early...our doctor was actually pretty impressed with how quickly we noticed that "not all was right" in the world of Lydia.
For those of you unfamiliar with the disease...it's kinda like Strep Throat except it is untreatable. FUN. That means we just gotta ride it out. She is so tired and so hungry. But she won't eat because her throat is mad raw and sleeping is only something she does at the point of utter exhaustion for the same reason.
It kills me to see her crying. I hold her...and I try to soothe her. But she's just misreable. Then suddenly she's totally okay...then she's misreable again. Suffice it to say, it's gonna be a looooooong 5 days for her. I just hope I can make her as comfortable as possible.

BTW:The picture in not of Lydia. It's just coincidental the child in the picture is Asian. Those blisters are found in the mouth and on the hands and feet of the patient. Lydia has some on her throat and is beginning to show them on her tongue. She only has one on her hand so far--but this morning she had none on her tongue...so who knows what it will look like by tonight. My poor baby!!

Nature sucks, but here are some pictures of it anyway.

I am not "outdoorsy". Not even a little. I like it inside. I am not into tanning, or sweating or insects. I am not into gardening, picnics, camping or any other outdoor activity. I like the theatre. It's dark, it's cold and weird people like me hang out there. But...I got this bitchin' cool new camera see and I wanted to take pictures and Lydia gets cranky about being the "subject" constantly. Plus...well, she moves. And well...I'm not as good with moving as I am with still. And nature...while it sucks, does pose. :-)

Hold me closer "Tiny Dancer"

Lydia loves music. She loves to dance. Lydia loves to move. She isn't a big talker yet...still less than 10 words...she prefers to communicate with her body. She has signs that mean all sorts of different things...and these are all signs she taught us. We didn't do the baby sign language thing...but I really wish we had, because I think she'd be "talking" up a storm if we had.

Here she is outside requesting something. This sign means "Mommy please sing to me". She really likes "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and that's where this particular sign came from. She knows all the movements and does them all as I sing. But Itsy Bitsy is usually just where I get started! We move on to other songs with movement quickly, so she can dance and play.




"Twinkle twinkle little star..."




"His name is my name too..."




"Can you point your fingers and do the twist?"




Our "Tiny Dancer" doing what she does best!

Playing with my new camera

Momma got a new camera forher birthday and her favourite subject is named Lydia!
Still have a lot to learn, but I definately think my picture quaility has improved!

Unsafe at any speed

Lydia has learned how to drive! Well...not exactly...but she's definatley having fun with her mermaid truck. I do worry though...I mean seriously, not only is she backwards she's talking on her cell phone!! I think we may be putting off that learners permit for as loooooooong as possible.



HONK! HONK!




She's definately not gonna get any insurance driving this way!




The cats wisely "hide out"while Lydia is on the road.

Perfection

The Wealth Gap (The rural perspective as reported by the BBC) 4/4/06

Mrs Jin, Ningxia Province
"We don't understand matters of the state - we have to concentrate on making a living, on finding enough money to eat. We don't have time to pay any attention to politics."

Qin Guiying, Ningxia Province
"My husband died a long time ago so I brought up my children myself. My son died in a car accident. I have two grandchildren and I live in an old sun-dried mud house.
I have no money. The government gave us aid once three years ago, but never again. We cannot compare our lives to those who live in the city. I have no choices."

Wang Ran, Guizhou Province
"The agricultural tax is high. Government officials say they are going to reduce the rural taxes, but they haven't and we don't know when they will.
If they did reduce our taxes, that would really change our lives. We are so poor because there is no development here.
The government does give aid but for some reason there is hardly any allocated to this area. I have no way to buy fertilizer. We need economic help."

Tan Huijue, Guizhou Province
"We have a huge burden: we are really poor. If I could choose a place to live, I would choose Guiyang [the provincial capital].
I certainly hope our place could develop faster. But the government has no ability to help us. We are so poor here."

Yao Min, Guizhou Province
"Both our children have left the village to work in the cities. The central government leaders just care about themselves - not about the masses, not about the people.
The local officials only pay attention to the one child policy, so that they can collect fines from those who have more than one child.
If families don't have enough money to pay, they take things from their houses. If we become sick this will be a disaster for the family."

News from China April 4, 2006

"Not One Less" -- China offers free compulsory education to rural children
Wu Bingbing, a poor rural middle school student in east China's Jiangxi Province, was overjoyed at the good news that he wouldn't need to worry about tuition any more.

He heard the news from the principal of his school, as he is ill-informed about events at the ongoing annual parliamentary session in Beijing.

The central government has decided to scrap charges for rural students during their nine-year compulsory education by the end of 2007. The decision makes it possible for Wu's poverty-stricken family to save 250 yuan (31 U.S. dollars), equivalent to 10 percent of its annual income.

The 14-year-old is one of the 160 million rural students to benefit from the new policy. They make up 80 percent of the country's 200 million primary and junior high school students.

"After 20 years of teaching in the countryside, I am sure that this will put an end to our bitterness," said Zhang Zhou'ai, principal of the village-run Chengmen Junior High School in Jiujiang County of Jiangxi Province.

Chengmen Village is one of the poorest in Jiangxi Province, with the locals' per capita annual income averaging less than 2,000 yuan (250 U.S. dollars).

Zhang's school has 450 students. They sit at shabby desks in ramshackle classrooms that do little to protect them from the wind and rain, read coarsely printed textbooks that are beyond the imagination of their urban peers, and play at the small playground that is often too muddy for exercise.

Even such a school is not affordable for every family.

"We've got only 91 third-year students left this spring semester," said Zhang. "More than 10 students dropped out to find temporary jobs. Their parents are often too poor to finance any further schooling."

The Ministry of Education said the dropout rate was zero among primary and junior middle school students in Chinese cities in 2004. In the countryside, however, the ratios were 2.45 percent among primary school pupils and 3.91 percent among junior middle school students.

In the more impoverished regions in central and western China, the percentage topped 5 percent.

"Our ultimate goal is help all school-age children finish at least nine years of education, but it's a tough job," said Zhang.

In the award-winning film "Not One Less" in 1999, Chinese director Zhang Yimou portrayed a temporary school teacher who exerted her utmost to keep each of her students at school. "Not One Less" has since been China's long-term goal in providing rural children equal access to education.

But the task has proved arduous in China's vast countryside, which has traditionally been in a disadvantaged position in terms of education facilities, spending and other resources available to its rural population of 900 million.

Education Minister Zhou Ji said the irrational distribution of educational resources has widened the gap between the rural and urban areas in recent years.

Government spending on the educational sector in Shanghai, China's largest metropolitan, was 50 times as much as what was reported in the central agricultural province of Henan last year, according to the Ministry of Education.

In 1998, however, the gap was 10 times, it said.

"Lack of spending is a major hindrance to the development of rural education," said Zhang Zhou'ai, the junior high school principle in Jiangxi.

"The central government's commitment to providing free compulsory education to rural kids and increasing education spending in rural areas is undoubtedly a boon," said Zhang. "We plan to build a new campus this year with spacious, brightly-lit classrooms."

The draft amendment to China's Law on Compulsory Education, aiming to ensure a stable investment system for rural education, has been tabled to lawmakers at the ongoing annual parliament session.

The draft amendment, which outlines the responsibilities of central and local governments in financing rural schools, is expected to lift the educational burden of poverty-stricken rural families and to give rural children equal opportunities as their peers in cities.

China enacted the law on compulsory education in 1986, freeing students from tuition fees in six-year primary school and three-year junior high school studies.

But families in some rural areas were burdened with heavy "educational expenses," including the costs of textbooks, heating and transportation, as local governments could not set aside enough budget for education.

Source: Xinhua

"You say it's your birthday!"

"Well, it's my birthday too!!"
(Gotta love The Beatles!)

Mamma got a new camera.



The fruits of playing with my new present.



But this was my favourite present by far!

Random acts of violence

It's hard work to be the mommy!

Red skies at night...

...sailors delight. Red skies in morning, sailors take warning. Well, this is a night shot, but we still took warning. We were lucky. No tornados. (Have I mentioned recently how I hate living in tornado country??) We did get big electrical storm though, and some hail. No major damage though, and Lydia slept through the whole thing.