FLA mama update

[brigmaman]

Just spoke with Jamie who is safe at home with Kayla. But...they're keeping the plywood on the windows for a while until Ivan becomes more predictable.
I'm sure she'll be posting later. In the beginning of our phone conversation she had power, but midway her power cut out. So and Kayla are ok, I just hope the power will come back on soon!

[rrosen]

Trish,
Thanks for the update. Glad to hear they are OK. I hope Florida gets a break from these terrible storms.

Thinking of you Jamie!

[brigmaman]

I forgot to add that I'm wondering about Laurelsmom. I remember reading that she had just given birth and then Jamie her as well. I hope all other FLA moms are doing well!

[jamsmu]

So glad to hear that Jamie is okay--I've been thinking about them all weekend. I hope we hear more good news from other Fla. moms soon :)

[McQ]

Glad to hear she & Kayla are safe. DH has had TWC on all day and I've been thinking of them. Enough already!

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03 and Meghan 8.26.04

[jerseygirl07067]

I am glad to hear that Jamie and Kayla are okay too. She lives pretty close to my mom in Kissimee. We live in southeast Orlando and didn't get it too bad. Just 30-50 mph wind gusts here and there that have been going on for over 12 hours! It was nothing compared to Charley in our area though, where we had sustained 90-100 mph winds for 90 minutes!! It was really scary, I thought the roof was going to blow off! Thank goodness there are more stringent building codes since hurricane Andrew.....

We are keeping our house boarded up until Ivan comes though.

Marcy

[jd11365]

Yahoo! We are safe and the power is on! I had the house like a meat locker all day preparing for the power to go off and suffer the heat of Florida sun without a/c, but fortunately it came back on after a few hours. The storm lasted here from around 8-3, but nothing like Charley. This time there wasn't a moment where I actually feared for my life, thank goodness.

There isn't near as much damage inland as Charley. The coast on the other hand was pummled hard. They can't even get home as the bridges are said to be closed for at least a few days. The Lake Worth/Ft. Lauderdale area was hit really hard too they say...a sinkhole even opened up on I-95 and it is closed. This storm was so big it covered every inch of Florida at one point. Thankfully it slowed down or it could have been truly awful for many, many people. It's amazing...almost a miracle...how it slowed down at the end.

My mom said not to worry because we have insurance, but there is already a 6-9 month...yes month...wait for roof repair already from Charley, and it would have been forever if we sustained structural damage. For the record, we haven't had a hurricane in like 60 years, and now two in a row...and another on the way! This new one is another really strong one...already a category 4...and again heading our way. They've actually told us to leave the plywood on our windows...which we are definitely doing.

As for Colleen (Laurelsmom2002), last I heard she was in the Florida Panhandle (I think Pensacola)...she left after she was discharged after having baby Alexander. She missed the hurricane here, but none of us thought it was going to exit the west coast into the Gulf of Mexico...where it's gaining strength again and is heading for the Florida Panhandle. Fortunately it's not going to be terribly strong, but a hurricane none the less. She should have given "Frances" as Alexander's middle name.

Now, on to Ivan...keep your fingers crossed yet again for all of us. (Your thoughts, prayers and wishes were really helpful with this one as it amazingly dissapated right before it hit!) We don't know where Ivan is going, but we certainly don't want it here!

Jamie
Mommy to Kayla
May '03

Thanks for the update Trish. I hope all the other FL moms are doing OK too. I've been thinking about them all weekend. And now Ivan... he just needs to stay out in the ocean.

Lisa
Mom to Kyleigh 7/19/03

I've been following what's been going on with you and the other FL families and I'm so glad to hear that you're doing okay. I'm also waiting to hear how my cousin and her family are doing. They live in West Palm Beach and I've not heard word from them yet.

Definitely keeping my fingers crossed and hoping you guys get a break from the hurricanes,

Yeah...I'm out of the hospital (our temporary shelter) and back home! DH is annoyed to have spent the entire weekend in hospital and be back on call tomorrow...and he is also on call on Friday...just in time for Ivan. As a resident he must come for work rain or shine, hurricane or no. Hopefully Ivan will spare FL.

The damage in Miami was minimal. Three small trees have fallen...they were tall but had small trunks. My parents house in Orlando did not have much additional damage...just more shingles gone. They are leaving the wooden fence on the windows (They used their wooden fence damaged by Charley to board up the windows for Frances). My BIL house in Orlando had a window blown out, but everyone is okay.

We are waiting to hear the damage of my in-laws house near the coast in Cape Canaveral....hopefully its not too bad.

For those of you who had damge...I read in paper today that the hurricane deductible is tax deductible. Any little bit helps I guess.

Christina
Mommy to baby girl 5.8.04