<Au Pair, huh? Swanky. Reminds me of my childhood. Ms. Kukyendall was German, though. Lol.>

Believe it or not, bringing an au pair over to live with our family is the least expensive (legal) childcare option we could find. Sure, we could pay someone cash under the table for less (and many of our friends do) but since I pay my taxes, I feel my employees should too.

Our au pair is coming from Finland, and seems quite nice and excited with good experience.

Staying put for a hurricane is not an option. I have read the emergency planning documents and scenarios, and the forcast is for 20 feet of water over our house. I'm not putting my two kids into that kind of risk.

I don't think a well is an option, as the island is just a big sand bar, but who knows. I think a generator is definately in our future, however, as is some stored gasoline.

Thanks for the ideas. We don't have any acreage to speak of, but we will have a small yard and a garage, and that seems good to me!