If you've ever had the pleasure of unexpectedly losing power to your home, you know how frustrating it can be.

With three kids 11 and under, it's a major inconvenience.

This has happened to us twice in less than a week, so when it went off last night we knew exactly where most of the flashlights were.

Over the weekend, we were lucky and the power returned shortly after the sun went down.

Last night, we weren't so lucky. Around 6 p.m., we were all suddenly sitting in the dark.

After being rescued from upstairs (no flashlights were there), we headed down to the family room.

We grabbed the flameless candles purchased after Christmas, a battery-operated lantern, and we lit several candles.

Thankfully, my husband bought a cool flashlight at a silent auction that has multiple bulbs. He sat it on the table in its stand and pointed it up at the ceiling. It was amazing how much light it projected. (Remind me to stop making fun of him for purchases which at the time make zero sense.)

After a couple drawing challenges, one of the girls sat the flashlight on the floor. It just so happened to catch a corner of the coffee table in its beam. We laughed at "Pac Man" and a new game was born.

We made all kinds of shadows in that beam. The multiple bulbs produced unexpected results as we put different toys, kitchen utensils, and whatever else we could find over it.

As the game dwindled, I looked at my watch. It was almost 9 p.m. and time to go to bed.

Forty-five minutes later, we had power again.

Game over.