Our 1st Quake!!!!

So, last night was pretty much like any night at the Osborn abode. The girls went to bed. McKenna got up multiple times during the night saying she was either thirsty, scared, or couldn't sleep. The last time she got up was around 3. Kevin got her a drink and I went to the restroom (for the 3rd time since going to bed), a pregnancy side effect that I'll be happy to say goodbye to. We all went back to sleep. The next thing I knew was my bed was shaking, the blinds were moving back and forth and my heart immediately started beating faster. Kevin jumped out of bed and ran into the girls room. Avery was already getting down from the top bunk. McKenna and Presley were still sleeping. Avery came and got in bed with us, while I turned on the TV, my heart still racing and my mind trying to process what just happened. It was such a weird feeling, the earthquake lasted only 5 seconds, max. It was like my brain knew what was going on, but because we were sleeping, it took my body longer to respond. A few minutes after I turned the TV on, the breaking news team appeared. A 4.4 earthquake. At 4:04am. The center of the quake was about 25 miles South and a little east of us. Avery, Kevin and I were all wide awake. At 4:15am. And, then, we all said we were hungry. Kevin caved first and got a bowl of cereal. I was craving pancakes, but waited until 7 to fix them. Avery stayed in our bed, she and Kevin fell back asleep. I found myself out on the couch watching the news coverage. One cool thing about this is that all of the smart people who study this kind of stuff are based out of CalTech, which is in Pasadena, so there was a lot of news coverage from Pas. One comforting fact I learned was that SoCal is not capable of having a large earthquake, like Chile experienced, simply because the fault line isn't as long as the one in Chile. The one that happened this morning is considered normal.

At least for tornadoes, we have some warning. I think that's what caught me/us so off guard. We were sleeping and felt helpless.

Avery's first school assignment this morning was to write in her journal about what happened. If she gives me permission, I'll post her account later. She's such a good writer, especially for a 7 year old.

3 things came to mind this (early) morning-

• We need to have consistent family training for earthquakes. I want to make sure the girls know exactly what to do.
• I need to have an emergency kit available. I don't quite know what will go in it, but the tv people said we all need one, so I'll put one together. I assume batteries, water, flashlight, the usual, etc...
• When I fix a big breakfast on a weekday (like the pancakes I fixed this morning), I also get stuck having to clean the kitchen afterwards, because Kevin had to go to work. There's a big pile of mess calling me name. Sigh.