No Power, No Problem: Families Do Their Best To Entertain Kids Without Electricity

SPARROW BUSH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – Juggling a household with kids can be hard enough when the power is on, but imagine doing it without electricity when it's snowing outside.

That's what a lot of families were facing Wednesday – days without power from the last storm and no school.

"We've been playing a lot of board games, playing with anything that has batteries," Kimberley Fountain, of Orange County, said.

It was day five without power for the Fountain family, including 2-year-old Health.

They learned Wednesday their electricity isn't expected to be turned back on until Friday at midnight.

"Haven't showered in a few days, haven't been able to do laundry," she said.

Last Friday's storm brought trees down in their neighborhood, shutting off power to most of the area.

The young mother, though, has a generator that's keeping their refrigerator on and pellet stove running to heat their home. They considered themselves lucky to have some form of heat.

"I know there are a lot of people in Pike and Sullivan that don't have generators right now. So a lot of blankets, a lot of boiling water just to take a bath and warm themselves up," she said.

Fountain invited her friends over, who were dealing with the same thing Wednesday – no power and kids home from school because of the snow.

"A little crazy. Definitely challenging at times," said Keli Faber.

The families tried to make the best of the situation, even though they had to go out of their way just to get daily chores done.

"Cleaning? More like making messes," Jennifer Morgan said. "My mom has power, so I drove to her house and did some laundry."

Being able to do laundry in their own homes was something these moms probably never thought they'd miss.