Luckily, we're still in Kansas - er, Illinois!

Few of you will remember this post from a few years back when "the baby" (now Marin) survived its first tornado.

Well, yesterday Marin survived her second. I was on the Metra train on my way home from work. NOT the place you want to be when you have a baby in the basement at her daycare, a husband (and brother and sister-in-law) at the airport, a dad working at an outdoor festival and the tornado sirens are going off. We sat on the tracks for over an hour, while the conductor filled us in on the storm touching down basically all around us. There were 75mph winds, crazy rain, firetrucks everywhere and the sky was the color of an avocado.

Everyone is okay. My mom was able to rescue Marin for Kathy's basement and took shelter in their house, and everyone we love got where they needed to be without harm. But whew. That's a moment for us moms. There's a tornado and you aren't with your baby. Thank God for Grandparents!

12 1/2 Week Belly

Well, time is flying by. Tomorrow is the start of my 13th week and I guess that means the end of my first trimester. Bring on the energy. Bring on the settled stomach. Please. Everyone says that should come by the end of the 14th week. Hallelujah!

Although I am not gaining weight very quickly due to the extent of my "morning" sickness, the baby is growing well. I will have to make up for those pounds in the second trimester, and with the return of my appetite and the addition of cravings, I'm not anticipating that being a problem. :) Here is a belly pic taken at about 12 1/2 weeks.

The biggest news for the baby at 12 1/2 weeks was that it survived it's first tornado! We had a crazy storm here a few nights ago that left 200,000 people without power ,(luckily we were not one of them), and sent us seeking shelter after the sirens went off and the emergency broadcast system warned that the tornado would be in our neighborhood in 10 minutes! Since we live in a condo, and don't have a basement, we go to the bathroom where there are inside walls and no windows. Our neighbors were over and we had to laugh at ourselves-the bathroom is not exactly the most conventional place to congregate with your neighbors. But, we brought in some grapes, and beers, (iced tea for me), and we had a tornado party! 4 adults and 1 dog in the master bath- sounds like a party to me! I quickly grabbed a stack of some reading materials, including my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book. Although, what to expect when you're expecting in a tornado?- it's not in the book! :)

One thing is for sure, pregnancy is a journey!