What a Weekend!

This weekend was kind of a strange one. Well, I guess it was mostly an abnormal one. A giant storm hit us Saturday evening, and it is still going. All day Saturday the weather was the only thing you could find on all the local channels. All evening Saturday and all day Sunday we had numerous Thunder Storm warnings and watches, Flash Flood warnings and watches, and a tornado warning. The tornado warning came at a time when you would think it would come: the most inconvenient one.

I had been at a gym up the street, about 2 minutes away from our apartment, at another Zumba training. I went with my good friend Becki. During the last hour, the tornado siren went off, and the employees sent everyone in the gym to the basement. Before we went down, I made a call to Pete and told him what was happening. (Right now, as I am typing, another tornado watch has been issued)He was home with the kids, so we both decided it would be best if he took everyone in the basement. Of course, Cooper was asleep with nothing but a diaper on, and Noah and Annie were in the tub. So he quickly gathered everyone, including the neighbors, and spent an hour in the basement, waiting it out.

In the meantime, I am stuck in a basement, away from my family, not knowing what was going on. Being with Becki made me feel a lot better. I think I experienced the worst feeling of my life, calling Pete and telling him to take our kids in the basement in case of a tornado, while I was in another basement, 1/2 a mile away, not able to be with them. My heart was pounding, and I just wanted to leave.

Now, I make this sound so serious, and in reality, it wasn't. The basement was a just-in-case move, and it turned out to be nothing. The storm was horrendous, but it just passed over us. It just made me realize that I need to be a little more prepared. I don't even think Pete knows where our 72 hour kits are!


This isn't a great shot, just the rain coming off the roof.

There were reports of cars FLOATING through intersections in Milwaukee. There were comfirmed reports of golf ball sized hail nearby. Oh, and I left the windows in Pete's car cracked open while I was at the gym, so the seats are soaked, and we haven't been able to dry them out because it won't stop raining!


This was the lake in our backyard.

All this rain made for good splashing on Sunday.


An array of boots...

I am not sure what was going on here...

Noah and his friend, Weston, splashing away...

Annie had so much fun! Notice the wild hair...

Wading through the lake in the backyard.

Cooper just liked being outside.

Saturday night I had another small scare, and now that I look back, and I'm not in the moment, it's kind of funny. Pete was tickling Noah, and Noah has one of those deep laughs; you know, it really comes from way down. It's great. He was laughing pretty hard, and it was time for him to take a breath, but he wouldn't. Now, imagine a kid laughing or crying really hard, and you have to remind them to breath. So we did: "Breath, Noah. Breath. Breath!" He sat up, looked at us, and passed out! His head dropped back, his eyes closed and his body went limp. I, of course, start freaking out and shaking him, yelling his name. Pete was worried but not for long. He was out for about three seconds, and when he woke up he just said, "I was dizzy." I had to hold him for a while,just for my own comfort, and I was reminded of a time when he was 6 months old, and he stopped breathing. He slept in our bed that night because I was so terrified. Man, a mom shouldn't have to go through that!

For more amazing "flood pictures" check out Jenni's blog.