On Tuesday we had a 5.9 earthquake.

This weekend a category 2 hurricane is expected.

Oh yeah, & I live in Washington D.C. These things are not supposed to happen here! Much less in the SAME WEEK!!

I took this as a nice little warning to get my butt in gear & finally put together that ‘go bag’ P & I have been talking about doing for ages.

What you ask is a ‘go bag’? Well dearest, for an entire family it’s actually more likely to be a ‘go bin’ & it’s a container that has everything you need in a ‘oh sh@t!’ situation, all packed & ready to go. You grab it, throw it in the back of your car & hit the road. It’s also a good contained place that you know all of your ‘in case of emergency’ supplies will be while you’re still at home.
Here’s mine…

• First Aid Supplies: Red Cross First Aid Kit, thermometer, infant, children & adult Tylenol, hydrocortisone cream, antibiotic cream, aspirin, children & adult Benedryl, prescription meds (an epi pen for Sam & imitrex for my migraines) CHECK MEDS FOR EXPIRATION DATES, they lose their strength when they expire!
• Food for 3 days: you’re supposed to get non-perishable, low sodium, cooked items. I found that I could save room with vacuum sealed bagged items like rice, tuna & beans & also opted for the individual plastic tubs of cooked pastas since they’re lighter than doing just all cans. Although I did end up with a bunch of canned veggies & soups. Pouch baby food is also easier to pack than jars.
• Can opener
• Weather Radio (ours takes batteries & also has a crank for after they die)
• Utility Knife Multitool- several lists I read recomended a pocket knife in addition to a screwdriver, pliers & a wrench. (for turning off gas) With this tool it’s all in one
• Large Knife- I bought a large, pointed tip, chef knife that came in it’s own plastic case at Target for $13. Let’s just say I didn’t buy it for chopping tomatoes
• Blanket- my red cross kit also had the small foil emergency blankets in it
• ponchos
• flashlights/batteries
• water-proof matches (camping section at Target, or you could put regular ones in a ziploc baggie)
• write out all your emergency phone numbers & put the list in a ziploc baggie
• coloring books/crayons/stickers
• glo sticks (I bought the ones with string necklaces on them so I could hang one on each kid if need be)
• cash in small increments in a baggie
• spare clothes for each family member
• local map
• permanent marker/paper/duct tape
• copy of important paperwork like id’s, insurance info, house deed, birth certificates all in a baggie
• spare house key
• tupperware container for leftover food
• string
• Make sure if your first aid kit doesn’t have CPR instructions in it you print some out
• toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, contact solution, lady supplies, TP)
• Pets- pet food, water for pet, leashes, make sure ID tags are on collars & if you can put an additional ph number for an out of town relative that has a different area code on the ID. Chances are phone service in your area might be out.

Another thing I did today is I bought a few landline phones. After the earthquake on Tuesday cell service was out for a good 30 minutes which was pretty scary. We only have one landline phone that I was able to call out on & it’s a cordless so after that battery died I would’ve been out of luck. I’m plugging in one corded phone on each level of the house.

So with all that I say bring it Hurricane Irene. Ok, not really, I’m just showing off. Please don’t take my power away. Pleeeeassse!

By the way, in case you missed my classy earthquake story on twitter…

I was on the pot.

Yep. I had just sat down & had Sophie with me (of course, because peeing alone would be silly) when I heard this weird rumble. I actually thought it was a large military plane flying overhead but it just kept growing, & then the glass shower walls started to shake. That’s when instinct kicked in. I grabbed Soph & ran to Sam’s room, scooped her out of bed (she was napping) & crouched in Sam’s doorway with both girls until it was over. All of this sans pants. Lovely. When it seemed to be over I quickly threw on some nearby pajama pants and may or may not have decided to postpone wiping until I was sure we were out of immediate danger. These are the instincts that keep mankind going people. Survival of the fittest, not cleanest. You don’t need to know any more details of what exactly happened, just know that I’m quite sanitary most of the time, just not necessarily during life or death moments. Oh, & be sure to throw some TP in your go bag.

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