{6 in 9}: Earthquakes and Hurricanes

I need to do a little weather update here before life slips by! Last week, we experienced our first earthquake around 1 pm. I was laying down in my bed and the kids were having some quiet time. Ellen was sleeping in her crib and the other kids were just playing and lying on their beds in their rooms.

I started to hear a loud noise that sounded like our attic fan rumbling but it was a much stronger vibration. Many things went though my mind like

- is this the attic fan going crazy?

- are the kids moving Ellen's crib across her room (she was briefly screaming)?

- where are the kids? in the basement messing with the AC unit?

- why am I shaking? Am I panicking? my hands won't stop!

- is this just my house that is shaking?

I got out of bed slowly and walked down my hallway. I immediately walked towards the furthest bedroom and was yelling, "where are you?" Next thing I knew (all in slow motion like a car accident) one of my kids was screaming at the top of her lungs, "stop it!" while standing in her doorway. She was petrified and I grabbed her and asked what is wrong. I thought that a tradegy of some sort had happened - I won't go down that thought process but I was scared and trying to sort through what was happening. My oldest three all came in the hallway and I told them to get in my bed immediately.

I still didn't know an earthquake had occurred as everything was a blur, we were scared, my hands were shaking and I was panicked. It lasted about 40-50 seconds, we were all shaken up. Ellen briefly screamed but seemed okay sleeping in her crib.

I told one child to go to the laundry room to see if the dryer had moved. I told another child to go to one of the bedrooms where we heard a crash. I told the last child to get my purse. They all moved quickly, came back and I tried to call Nate - cell phones dead. Then Grace heard someone outside and I told them all to follow me outside and we ran down the street to my neighbor. She said, "I think we had an earthquake." I was in shock. I turned on the TV, nothing was on, but I thought it was weird the cell phones were working.

Well sure enough we had an earthquake and we are fine! My kids adjust well to change but we have been edgy around here, very clingy, and not sleeping too well since. The one big aftershock woke me up at night but I was the only one that felt it and went back to sleep.

Nate was fine at work - that is a whole different story but basically he wasn't freaked out at all and NO he did not think it was a bomb in DC!

Hurricane Irene wasn't much of anything - more of a rain storm.

This is what fell in Ellen's room... one toy and a pack of diapers.