Movie Review: Baby Mama

After YW on Tuesday, Dixie and Rebecca and I went to see Baby Mamma with a few other girls from church.

It was really funny! I laughed A LOT!

Tina Fey is very talented. And I got a big kick out of Steve Martin in long, gray hair (he kinda looked like the character Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter). Martin's character was so over-the-top and he's great at those kinds of characters. Angie's character was a total crack up, too, and just as much over-the-top as Steve Martin's. But, I don't watch movies to see normal, boring people, so I enjoy the crazy, unbelievable characters in movies like this. Sometimes I could relate to Angie (like when she's the one in the room who whoops and holars in favor of drugs during childbirth) and other times I could kill her (like when she sticks gum under the table and then pretends she doesn't know what Kate is talking about).

I always enjoy a happy ending and a good love story that conquers an hour and a half of crazy trials and misunderstandings and this movie offers those, with a nice unpredictable twist at the end (at least I didn't see it coming, but I'm not always the most intelligent person in the theater, so take it for what it's worth).

Probably not a movie I'll purchase, but definitely worth a rental when it comes out on DVD.

BABY MAMA Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey), a thirty seven year old professional who is determined to have her own child and who drafts a South Philly working girl Angie Ostrowski (Amy Poehler) to be a surrogate mother. When Angie is pregnant, Kate realizes that families aren't always biological, but occasionally formed through friendship as well.

I heart Spring!

Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons. I love the mild temperatures. In the Fall, I love the smell of the air and the sound of the crisp leaves on the ground, the rich colors in the trees, and wearing jeans and sweaters or sweatshirts. In the Spring, I love the feeling of new life--the buds of green where things once appeared dead, the beautiful colors and fragrance of flowers popping up everywhere. It's been so much fun to work on our yard and try to get a variety of colors all year round. I couldn't help but take some close-up photos of what we've planted in our little piece of land... the Spring flowers don't last but a couple weeks, so I had to capture it so I'd remember what it looked like... the large photo above is my baby peach tree and the smaller photos below are flowers, a tree and bush from all over my yard:



P.S. Thank you "Attack of the Mouse" for teaching me how to group my photos like this! I love it!

Never a dull moment

I've finished my rounds of tests... contrast image MRI on my brain was on Thursday afternoon, ultrasound on my thyroid was Friday morning, and today I spent more than 4 hours in the lab doing blood-work to check for insulin resistance and some other stuff. I won't know more until my follow-up appointment, which isn't scheduled until May 14th. I'll post as soon as I know more.

In case you see Bridget wearing her hospital bracelets and wonder what is going on... she doesn't want to take them off. She wants everyone to see she was in the hospital. I think she's proud of those bracelets and enjoys the attention of people asking what happened.


So, after my ultrasound on my neck, I went to Tricia's to pick up my girls AND her kids--we'd arranged a swap for the day. We'd all been home for maybe 15 minutes when Bridget slipped on a piece of paper on the stairs and fell about 4 steps down the stairs. She slid down on her bum & back and hit her head on the side wall on the way down. I heard the fall and immediately knew what had happened. Bridget was screaming, so I knew she was hurt--it was much more than a "crap, that really scared me" scream, so I ran as fast as I could. I picked her up and sat down on the couch with her and asked "where do you hurt Bridget? What did you hit?" She didn't answer me. This is kind of typical of her--when she is angry or embarrassed, she refuses to talk, refuses to answer questions. It's infuriating. But, that's not what was happening this time... She had suddenly stopped crying and her head fell into my chest... her right arm went rigid... I felt in my stomach something wasn't right... I picked up her head with both hands and saw her eyes rolling into the back of her head... she was out.

Now, I know we parents love an unconscious kid at nap-time or bedtime... but we never want to see that mid-day and especially right after a fall like that. I thought she was having a seizure. I'd grabbed her head by the hair and was yelling her name. I called Aaron and told him to come home right away. It was 12:41. Bridget woke up and acted totally fine, just sleepy and a little disoriented. She said her back hurt and that was it. She seemed to have forgotten the fall. She had a red mark on her back, like a rug burn. I called Tricia. I called the pediatrician, who told me not to move her and call 911. So, I did. Bridget was struggling to stay awake.

Within minutes, the fire truck was here and firemen poured into my house. Then the ambulance. There were I think about a dozen people in uniforms in my living room and within minutes they had Bridget in a neck-brace and on a flat board and rolled her out to the ambulance.

By the time we got her in the ambulance, she seemed totally fine. She giggled and talked to the EMTs. She thought the ambulance ride in a "bed" was great fun. We told her not to make a habit of it. Hospital personnel were quick and friendly. We'd gone to Methodist Hospital.
As things calmed down, I began to feel like a horrible mother and housekeeper since it was my fault there were papers on the stairs. I'd made piles of things that needed to go upstairs when I cleaned up the living room the day before. If only people would clean up after themselves... Teaching moment? I took it. Did it work? No, everyone still leaves their crap laying around the house. I'm sure FDA, or CPS, or Oprah, or whoever is in charge of home safety would shut us down if they could.
Anyway, within a few minutes, they had Bridget in for a CT scan on her head. Four hours later we finally got the results of the scan and she got a clean bill of health! Not a mark on her--even the red mark on her back had disappeared.

But, she got some cool "bracelets", a neck-brace, rubber gloves, and some x-ray stickers for the trouble. So, she's happy and I'm just grateful she's okay. It's amazing how quickly life can change. I'm so glad I got another chance on this one.

Got Rice?

I've always believed the prophets when they told us to prepare, save for a rainy day, store enough food to feed your family for a year... but I could never imagine how the prophecies would come to pass, always wondered how our prosperous country would get to the point of a second economic depression and these "signs of the times" that I've heard the warnings of for the last 13 years...

And so it begins:

Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World
By JOSH GERSTEIN, Staff Reporter of the Sun | April 21, 2008

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing.

Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.

At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, Calif., yesterday, shoppers grew frustrated and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy.

“Where’s the rice?” an engineer from Palo Alto, Calif., Yajun Liu, said. “You should be able to buy something like rice. This is ridiculous.”

The bustling store in the heart of Silicon Valley usually sells four or five varieties of rice to a clientele largely of Asian immigrants, but only about half a pallet of Indian-grown Basmati rice was left in stock. A 20-pound bag was selling for $15.99.

“You can’t eat this every day. It’s too heavy,” a health care executive from Palo Alto, Sharad Patel, grumbled as his son loaded two sacks of the Basmati into a shopping cart. “We only need one bag but I’m getting two in case a neighbor or a friend needs it,” the elder man said.

The Patels seemed headed for disappointment, as most Costco members were being allowed to buy only one bag. Moments earlier, a clerk dropped two sacks back on the stack after taking them from another customer who tried to exceed the one-bag cap.

“Due to the limited availability of rice, we are limiting rice purchases based on your prior purchasing history,” a sign above the dwindling supply said.

Shoppers said the limits had been in place for a few days, and that rice supplies had been spotty for a few weeks. A store manager referred questions to officials at Costco headquarters near Seattle, who did not return calls or e-mail messages yesterday.

An employee at the Costco store in Queens said there were no restrictions on rice buying, but limits were being imposed on purchases of oil and flour. Internet postings attributed some of the shortage at the retail level to bakery owners who flocked to warehouse stores when the price of flour from commercial suppliers doubled.

The curbs and shortages are being tracked with concern by survivalists who view the phenomenon as a harbinger of more serious trouble to come.

“It’s sporadic. It’s not every store, but it’s becoming more commonplace,” the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, James Rawles, said. “The number of reports I’ve been getting from readers who have seen signs posted with limits has increased almost exponentially, I’d say in the last three to five weeks.”

Spiking food prices have led to riots in recent weeks in Haiti, Indonesia, and several African nations. India recently banned export of all but the highest quality rice, and Vietnam blocked the signing of a new contract for foreign rice sales.

“I’m surprised the Bush administration hasn’t slapped export controls on wheat,” Mr. Rawles said. “The Asian countries are here buying every kind of wheat.”

Mr. Rawles said it is hard to know how much of the shortages are due to lagging supply and how much is caused by consumers hedging against future price hikes or a total lack of product.

“There have been so many stories about worldwide shortages that it encourages people to stock up. What most people don’t realize is that supply chains have changed, so inventories are very short,” Mr. Rawles, a former Army intelligence officer, said. “Even if people increased their purchasing by 20%, all the store shelves would be wiped out.”

At the moment, large chain retailers seem more prone to shortages and limits than do smaller chains and mom-and-pop stores, perhaps because store managers at the larger companies have less discretion to increase prices locally.

Mr. Rawles said the spot shortages seemed to be most frequent in the Northeast and all the way along the West Coast. He said he had heard reports of buying limits at Sam’s Club warehouses, which are owned by Wal-Mart Stores, but a spokesman for the company, Kory Lundberg, said he was not aware of any shortages or limits.

An anonymous high-tech professional writing on an investment Web site, Seeking Alpha, said he recently bought 10 50-pound bags of rice at Costco. “I am concerned that when the news of rice shortage spreads, there will be panic buying and the shelves will be empty in no time. I do not intend to cause a panic, and I am not speculating on rice to make profit. I am just hoarding some for my own consumption,” he wrote.

For now, rice is available at Asian markets in California, though consumers have fewer choices when buying the largest bags. “At our neighborhood store, it’s very expensive, more than $30” for a 25-pound bag, a housewife from Mountain View, Theresa Esquerra, said. “I’m not going to pay $30. Maybe we’ll just eat bread.”

Rice is stored at a National Food Authority warehouse at Manila, the Philippines, on April 17.

Sam's Club, Costco limit rice sales
Star and AP report
Posted: April 24, 2008

The two biggest warehouse retail chains, Sam’s Club and Costco Wholesale, are limiting how much rice customers can buy. That restriction includes Indianapolis.
American rice futures are hitting record highs amid global food inflation, although one rice expert said the warehouse chains might be reacting less to any shortages than to stockpiling by restaurants and small stores.

In Indianapolis, Costco is actually sold out of its biggest bags of rice at the Castleton store but has the big bulk package in restricted quantities at its Michigan Road-Northwestside store.

And the eight Sam’s Clubs in Central Indiana are limiting customers to four bags at a time of imported jasmine, basmati and long-grain white rice.

Sam’s Club declined to say if this was first time it had restricted sales of bulk foods.

The limits affect 20-pound bags, not retail-size portions. Costco could not immediately be reached for comment on its limits, which affect bulk purchases in some stores.

A Sam’s Club spokeswoman, Kristy Reed, said she could not comment on whether the problem had been caused by short supplies or by customers stocking up in anticipation of higher prices.

A USA Rice Federation spokesman, David Coia, said there was no rice shortage in the United States. A smaller chain, BJ’s Wholesale Club, said it was not imposing limits for now.

Two major US retailers ration rice amid global food crisis
Apr 24 03:10 PM US/Eastern

Two major US bulk retailers are rationing the sale of large bags of rice to consumers amid a growing global food crisis marked by skyrocketing prices and heavy pressure on demand.
Sam's Club, a chain owned by retail giant Wal-Mart, announced Wednesday it was placing a limit of four 20-pound (nine-kilogram) bags per person for imported jasmine, basmati and long grain white rices as a "precautionary step."

"This temporary cap is intended to ensure there is plenty of rice for all our members," said Sam's Club, which has 600 stores across the United States, adding that the measure did not apply to smaller bags of rice.

The move follows similar steps taken by its main rival, Costco, which has also limited the sale of rice in its stores.

Both companies insist that they have plenty of rice but say the steps were necessary to ensure there was enough for all of their clients.

The measure appears aimed at preventing over-stocking among customers concerned by the surging prices of commodities worldwide.

Small restaurants and businesses fill their freezers and pantries with products from big-box retailers such as Sam's Club and Costco.

"There is no rice shortage in the US," said David Coia, a spokesman for the industry's USA Rice Federation.

"What happened is because of perception of problems in the world market, a few people try to buy more rice than they usually do, and these two companies have decided they want all their customers to be able to purchase rice."

"What happened was one person bought a three-month supply instead of a two-week supply that they normally buy," Coia told AFP.

He predicted that pressure on the price of rice would ease by the end of next year, noting that more and more fields are being used to grow rice.

US rice production provides 88 percent of the domestic consumption while imports from countries such as Thailand and Vietnam make up the rest.

The rationing steps came as the price of rice has surged worldwide due to the rising costs of energy and fertilizers, droughts in some rice producing countries and higher demand.

Some countries have taken drastic steps such as limiting or suspending rice exports to ensure they meet domestic demand.

The price of certain types of rice rose by 50 percent in recent months, causing tension in the poorest parts of the world.

The high price of rice sparked violent protests in Haiti earlier this month, forcing the government to issue an order to lower prices. In the Philippines, the army distributed rice in impoverished neighborhoods to prevent tension.

The World Bank warned this month that the higher food prices could push 100 million people in poorer developing countries further into poverty.

Birth Order of Children

Here's another cute forward email I got yesterday--and SO true!! I only have two kids, but I think in many cases I'd skipped straight to level 3 (maybe because enough time had passed in between to have one or two more!). Of course, I'll add my comments below in italics. I am even going to add some observations of my own. If you think of any to add, submit them in the comments!

BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

Pregnancy:

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.

And we told everyone right away! I don't think I actually wore the maternity clothes right away, but I do remember being very anxious to wear them and did as soon as I started showing!

2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.

3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

No, but I HAVE been asked if I'm pregnant even though I'm not. I look 3 months along all the time now.
___________________________________________
Preparing for the Birth:

1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.

I didn't believe in breathing to relieve pain (stress, maybe, but nothing but drugs relieves physical pain for me). But, we did take a childbirth class and took a tour of the hospital.

2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.

No classes and even though we went to a different hospital, we knew how to drive there and that was good enough.

3rd baby : You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

Yeah, that's right!
___________________________________________
The Layette

1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.

2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.

3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Oh my gosh, these are SO true! I even bought the special kid hangers and had the closet organized by size and season before Vicki was ever even born! This time I'm just pulling things out of plastic tubs from the garage and hoping for the best!

___________________________________________
Worries:

1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.

2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.

3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

LOL, I think this is my favorite one!

___________________________________________
Pacifier:

1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.

2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.

3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

My girls never took pacifiers or bottles, but the same concept applies to toys and clothes...

__________________________________________
Diapering:

1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.

2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.

3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Correction: I waited until people DID complain about the smell and/or it sagged to their knees--man, those diapers can hold a lot! They're so dang expensive, you gotta get your money's worth!

__________________________________________
Activities:

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.

2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.

3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Vicki was in ballet and tap. Poor Bridget--her extracurricular is the Children's Museum or jumping on the $5 one-person trampoline I got at a garage sale.

___________________________________________
Going Out:

1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.

2nd baby : Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.

3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

__________________________________________
At Home:

1st baby : You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.

2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.

3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

I think this is funny, but actually for me, I enjoyed mothering much more the second time around and tried to slow it down as much as possible. With my first, I was so busy anticipating the next stage and it went so fast, I didn't know what had hit me. The second time around, I could stay home all day holding my baby and be happy if she never grew up.

___________________________________________
Swallowing Coins:

1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.

2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.

3rd child: When third child swallows a coin, you deduct it from his allowance!

____________________________________________

And here are a few of my own:

The Journey:

Baby 1: You buy one of those pregnancy journals and know what day you are "growing" eyelashes or toenails, keep track of your mood & weight gain & what you crave.

Baby 2: Been there, "grown" that, crave it all.

The Diapers:

Baby 1: You buy the expensive name brand, specially curved, cute printed diapers because nothing is too good for your child.

Baby 2: You buy the cheapest diapers you can find because you know they're just gonna be full of crap anyway.

The Grooming:

Baby 1: You get the special toothbrush for babies and brush their gums, you swear your kids' clothes will always match and their hair will always look perfect.

Baby 2: You don't buy a toothbrush until they have a full set of teeth, you don't care if their clothes match because you're just glad they're not running around naked in public like they did at home, and you're just lucky you got everyone to the destination in one piece so who cares what their hair looks like.

Discipline:

Pre-baby: You know everything there is to know about child-rearing because you've read all the parenting books and have watched people make errors you have learned from.

Reality with kids: You do what works (and what worked for one doesn't work for the next one) and some days you just feel like you deserve a medal because the kids are still alive by the time dad gets home.

Potty Training:

Toddler 1: You buy a fancy potty seat, make sticker charts that hang on the bathroom wall, buy cute underwear...

Toddler 2: You teach them how to hold themselves up on a "big people" toilet, give them a "high five" if they go, and they get generic and/or hand-me-down panties.

Changing clothes:

Baby 1: You're so excited to try on all the new outfits, you change their clothes at the slightest milk spill or wetness and have separate clothes for daytime, playtime, naptime, bedtime. (AND you take a picture in each outfit)

Baby 2: Sometimes they sleep in the same outfit two days in a row, all day and night... and poop has to run up their back before you consider the clothing too soiled to keep on for the next meal.

Nursing:

Baby 1: You might be afraid to leave the house if it's close to feeding time because you don't want to nurse in public.

Baby 2: You've nursed in every public bathroom of the local mall and maybe even in the isle at Wal-Mart.

Baby 1: While nursing, you have a water bottle filled and sitting next to you, an uplifting magazine/book, and you are immobilized until they are done nursing.

Baby 2: You can nurse while talking on the phone, cooking dinner, folding laundry and tending to your first child all at once.

Helping at School:

Child 1: You sign up for the PTA and every opportunity to volunteer there possibly is.

Child 2: You got burned out within a month the first time around, so you're playing it cool... only the child's classroom teacher knows you exist and you help her and go on field trips, but that's about it.

Education:

Baby 1: You read "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and have it highlighted and could teach a class on the subject.

Baby 2: You only use your parenting books as a REFERENCE library when your kid is sick or you're ready to bang your head against the wall because they're throwing another temper tantrum you can't figure out.

Taking Pictures:

Baby 1: You go through a roll of film in a week.

Baby 2: You're lucky if you get enough pictures to fill an album in a year!

Diaper Bags:

Baby 1: You buy the cutest baby bag you can find. (Like I need an excuse to buy a new bag anyway, LOL)

Baby 2: You buy the most functional baby bag you can find, in a color hubby won't mind carrying, and one big enough to hold entertainment for the older sibling, too.

Baby 3: You don't carry a diaper bag, just a diaper and a travel box of wipes and call it good.

Packing the Diaper Bag:

Baby 1: You have three changes of clothes, a whole case of diapers, brand new toys, enough wipes to last a week...

Baby 2: You have an extra onesie from the last overnight packing, but that's it... you have one or two diapers, or you forgot to pack them at all... you have half a wipe left... and random household items are what hold their interest best, so why buy the baby toys?

What the H@$# was that??!!??!!

Today was a first!
We felt the earthquake that originated in southern Illinois early this morning!
I woke up to the house shaking... now, we have our laundry room upstairs, so it's not unusual to feel a little shaking upstairs during the spin cycle, so that was my first thought, that I was feeling my load I put in before going to bed (I didn't realize what time it was). But, then it got pretty strong and I realized the whole entire house was shaking, not just the floor upstairs. It lasted about 30-45 seconds (which seemed like forever when I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on!) Bridget freaked out and was crying. Aaron and I just looked at each other, neither of us really sure what had just happened. We looked outside to see if there were any indications others had felt what we had. We did see a few lights on across the street, so likely the kids had a similar reaction as Bridget. It's times like these we find out just how many bodies we can fit in our queen size bed!
When we got up about an hour later to start getting ready for school, I came straight to the Internet to see if it was in fact an earthquake we'd experienced. Here are a few of news reports that I found:

IndyStar.com

Earthquake rattles Indiana awake
Star and wire service report
Posted: April 18, 2008

An earthquake shook homes and rattled nerves across parts of Indiana and the Midwest this morning.
The magnitude 5.4 quake was centered southwest of Vincennes, about six miles east-southeast of West Salem, Ill., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Police dispatchers and the National Weather Service said they received numerous calls from people who felt their homes moving at 5:37 a.m.

No major damage was immediately reported, though part of a building's facade fell in Louisville.

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle says there are no immediate reports of damage. Ringle says he was shaken out of his bed in the Evansville area by the earthquake.

The earthquake shook tall buildings in downtown Indianapolis.

Professor Michael Hamburger of Indiana University’s Department of Geological Sciences, said it was the strongest quake in the area since one of a similar magnitude near Carbondale, Ill., in 1968.

“What we’re seeing today is fairly typical in this area. It seems like we get earthquakes about this size every 15 years,” Hamburger told WTHR-TV (Channel 13), the Star’s newsgathering partner.

WISHTV8.com

We felt it: earthquake rocks Central Indiana
Posted: April 18, 2008 06:00 AM

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH/AP) -- The U.S. Geologic Survey reports that an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 has struck the Midwest. It happened at 5:36 a.m.

The USGS Web site said the quake was centered near West Salem, Illinois, or about 40 miles northwest of Evansville, Indiana.

The earthquake was felt as far north as Kokomo, Rochester and Warsaw in Indiana, as well as in Evansville, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. It shook tall buildings in downtown Indianapolis.

"I was awake when I started feeling the house shake. My husband was leaving for work and said he felt it too. We do not have any damage that I have found, but we do live in Brown County at Sweetwater Lake, and we have many trees that I will have to check," said Shannon on the 24-Hour News 8 comment forums.

"Very exciting! It woke us up! You could hear rumbling outside and the mirror attached to the dresser shake. No damage at this point," said a Fishers resident.

"I felt it too. At first I thought it was wind, but thought how does a house shake that long without falling down? It seemed to last at least a minute. I though I was dreaming. My cat had waken me up about 20 minutes before it happened meowing weirdly and is still freaking out. A few things fell off shelves but we all are okay. Good to know I am not crazy, the house really did move," said Amanda Smith from Illinois.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but 24-Hour News 8 has received phone calls reporting some damage. Residents in Princeton, Indiana have reported damage inside their homes. 911 services were reportedly knocked out for an hour and were restored around 6:45 a.m. in Gibson County.

"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."

The quake shook skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop, 240 miles north of the epicenter, and even in Milwaukee, Wis., 350 miles north of the epicenter. Residents of Cincinnati, St. Louis and in Michigan also reported feeling the earth shake.

The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle says there are also no immediate reports of damage. Ringle says he was shaken out of his bed in the Evansville area by the earthquake.

The Great 1906 San Francisco earthquake happened 102 years ago today at 5:12 a.m.

Michigan News

Earthquake centered on Illinois/Indiana border felt in Michigan
by The Grand Rapids Press staff and wire reports
Friday April 18, 2008, 6:12 AM

A strong earthquake that rattled parts of southern Illinois and Indiana early this morning was felt in the Grand Rapids area, about 320 miles away.

The quake, given a preliminary magnitude of 5.4, occurred about 6 miles from Mount Carmel, Ill., and about 131 miles east of St. Louis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It took place about 2 miles underground and struck about 5:36 a.m., USGS said.

"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, Ill., 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."

The quake also shook skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop and tall buildings in downtown Indianapolis. It was felt in Milwaukee and Cincinnati as well.

Irvetta McMurtry of Cincinnati said she felt the rattling for up to 20 seconds.

"All of a sudden, I was awakened by this rumbling shaking," said McMurtry, 43. "My bed is an older wood frame bed, so the bed started to creak and shake, and it was almost like somebody was taking my mattress and moving it back and forth."

Lucas Griswold, a dispatcher in West Salem, said the Edwards County sheriff's department received reports of minor damage and no injuries.

"Oh, yeah, I felt it. It was interesting," Griswold said. "A lot of shaking."

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville, about 38 miles from the epicenter, said there were no immediate reports of damage.

A 5.4 quake can cause considerable damage.

Grand Rapids police dispatchers felt the building shake around 5:30.

Lt. Larry Frye said a couple of dispatchers who work on the fourth floor of Grand Rapids headquarters called him to find out if he felt anything in his lower floor office. He did not notice any tremors.

The USGS received reports from all over West Michigan, including Grand Rapids, Ada, Caledonia, Holland, Wayland and Trufant

The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the USGS.

The organization's Web site said earthquakes occur irregularly in the area, and that the largest historical earthquake in the region -- also a magnitude 5.4 -- caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968.

Three of the most powerful quakes felt in North America struck in the region.

In 1811-12, a series of quakes along the New Madrid Fault in Missouri, near the border with Tennessee, measured 7.8, 8.0 and 8.1, which is 10 times more intense than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. They devastated the sparsely populated area, and reportedly caused the Mississippi River to flow backward for a time.

The quakes, occurring from from Dec. 16 to Feb. 7, were felt as far away as Boston. Damage was reported as far away as Charleston, S.C., and Washington, D.C.
The earthquake is being monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey.

-- Press writers Dan Hawkins, Dave Odette and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Louisville, Kentucky News

5.2 magnitude earthquake felt across Louisville
THE COURIER-JOURNAL • APRIL 18, 2008

The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting that a 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck the region this morning. The geological survey reported earlier this morning that it was a 5.4 magnitude earthquake but has downgraded that as of 8 a.m.

The quake was centered six miles southeast of West Salem, Ill., about 45 miles northwest of Henderson, Ky., according to the geologic survey.

Lousville city officials planned to hold a press conference at 9 a.m. to address the city's response to the incident.

In Louisville people were shaken out of bed at about 5:40 a.m. and shaking was felt in the Highlands, Eastern Jefferson County, Oldham County and downtown.

While lots of people felt the earthquake, the incident does not seem to have caused any major damage, injuries, disruption of utility service or similar problems, said Doug Hamilton, executive director of Louisville Metro Emergency Management.

MetroSafe Communications dispatchers handled a large volume of calls from residents who wanted to know if what they felt had been an earthquake, Hamilton said.

"Everyone just wanted to confirm what they had felt," he said.

The only damage call received was that some of the bricks on the outside of a building at 309 W. Kentucky St. were shaken loose, but no one was injured, a dispatch supervisor said.

The quake was also felt elsewhere.

"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, Ill., 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."

Kentucky State Police dispatcher Natalie Alsip at the post in Hendersonville, just across the Ohio River from Evansville, Ind., said telephone calls poured in to the post following the quake early Friday and one man reported cracked plaster at his home.

A dispatcher at the KSP post in Mayfield said there were many phone calls from Western Kentucky locations, but no indication of injury or serious damage.

The quake also shook tall buildings in downtown Indianapolis, about 160 miles northeast of the epicenter.

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville said there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The organization's Web site said earthquakes occur irregularly in the area, and that the largest historical earthquake in the region _ also a magnitude 5.4 _ caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968.

Indiana Earthquake Information