Getting prepared

A certain friend and I have been researching emergency preparedness for quite sometime. I am sure you can guess that is it Lisa:) Emergency preparedness is something she and both very passionate about it. However we usually put getting started at the end of our long list of things to do. We have needed something to get us motivated to actually start making the purchases. I think the swine flu is it. Am I really scared of the swine flu? Not so much! But I think there could be many reasons to be prepared in the future. If not a swine flu pandemic perhaps something... I was going to say something negative about the choices of our Commander in Chief, but decided against it:)

The researching of emergency preparedness has been very interesting. There are people on every inch of a very long spectrum. You have your "normal" preparer, who just wants an extra case of water and some canned food to the people who are learning to live off the grid and become totally self sufficient. My goal is to fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. I think I need more than water to keep my family safe and healthy in the event of an emergency. I also am not dedicated enough to give up electricity, air conditioning or indoor pluming. Although for a short time last summer I wanted to sell my house in suburbia and buy a farm to grow a large garden and raise animals. One field trip to a farm with pigs and I changed my mind really fast:) Anyway- I would like to have a nice supply of food and water on hand in case we are unable to leave the house for an extended period of time or the grocery store shelves are bare. I want to make sure that my children are fed and have a water supply to keep them healthy for an extended period of time. I would also like to have a small stock pile of medications, cleaners like bleach and lots of soap and purell.

Here is where I plan to start:
Food storage: I want to have at least a 3 month supply of food my family will actually eat. I have been learning a lot about food storage from the LDS (Mormon) ladies. These ladies have got it together. Although I do not share many of the religious beliefs they have, I do think they are the go to girls for food storage. They are so knowledgeable and seem so willing to share tips and recipes on their blogs.

To assist in becoming prepared as well as become more healthy eaters Lisa and I learned many new things last year. We learned to grow and can vegetable and fruit. We also made pasta sauce, apple sauce, jams and grape juice. We learned to grind wheat and make homemade bread and yummy pizza dough. In the next month or so our favorite blogger will be teaching us the ins and outs of sour dough starters and we are so excited!

Water storage: I am buying cases of bottled water to store for drinking water. I am also looking onto 55 gallon barrels to store water for cleaning and washing. I also plan to invest in a rain barrel this spring to water my garden with.

Medications: Lisa and I talked about having medications on hand this afternoon. I had really never though about it. I guess I just assumed that over the counter medications would be available. I have really been thinking about it for the last few hours and I sure having a supply of OTC meds on hand will not be a bad idea. I am thinking fever reducers and pain medications for head aches and such are going to be necessary. I am going to look for a list of meds to stock up on.

Books: I am waiting on a preparedness book to come in at the library. The fact that there was a waiting list for such a book was surprising to me. I guess we are not the only ones with this on our minds. I think I may go ahead and buy a few good solid homemaking books as well. Books on how women did things in the past. Before you could go the store and buy a box of anything you needed. If anyone has any suggestions I am all ears. I will keep you posted if I find some good ones as well.

Please do not think I am a doom and gloom crazy fanatical. I have honestly been concerned since the election last year. Who knows if I will ever need any of these things for survival. However we will use them on a daily basis so nothing goes to waste. I am also just using this as a way to live a more simple life. I know Lisa and I are not the only ones who feel this way. Feel free to leave a comment on how you are preparing.

Thankful on Friday

I have had a very rough week this week with things breaking down and tons of errands. I know it could be much worse. I could have sick children, or ailing parents, no house or food.... you get the idea. Non the less this week has just seemed to drag on and on with no end in site.

So far this week (and the end of last week) my kitchen aid mixer broke and they have been less than helpful in assisting me with having it repaired, my slicer/shredder is broke, my camera will not recognize it's very expensive memory card, my computer got a virus and I had to take the kids to the eye doctor, Leanne to the pediatrician and Cameron to the orthodontist. We have then had all of our normal happenings such as school, homeschool group, the grocery store (twice) and fundraising for cheerleading. We did manage to squeeze in 2 tumbling classes for Leanne, a skating party on Monday night, 4-H on Tuesday and a trip the skate park on Thursday. It is never a dull moment around here!

Before I get to my Thankful Thursday on Friday ramblings I must share the story of our trip to the pedi on Tuesday:

On Monday night went to a skating party for our homeschool group. We got home kind of late and the kids bathed and went straight to bed. When Leanne woke up in the morning she was covered in a red sand paper looking rash. I thought she had strep throat, although she had no other symptoms and was feeling fine. I felt terrible since on Monday she had been to homeschool group, tumbling class and a skating party. I thought she may have exposed all of those kids to strep or some other mysterious illness. I gave her benedryl and watched her for a few hours and the rash continued to spread (from scratching I now know), so I called the pedi and got her in that afternoon. Of course when you homeschool every outing is a family event so all the kids and I filed in to the office to see what the mystery rash was. The doctor agreed that it looked just like the strep rash so he tested her and it of course came back negative. He said it was an allergic reaction and began to try to help us find the source. Here is the conversation that helped us figure out what Leanne is allergic to:

Dr.: "Have you changed detergent, shampoo or anything like that lately?"

Me: "No everything is the same as it always is."

Dr.: "Has she eaten anything she doesn't normally have?"

Me: "we were at a pot-luck last night, but all she ate was a few sun chips and a sugar cookie..."

Dr.: "Leanne have you done anything new you do not normally do?"

Leanne: "Hey?! Do you think it could be from my Oil of Olay ANTI-AGING cream?"

That's right. My 11 year old is using anti-aging cream. The doctor about busted a gut he was laughing so hard. He asked her "are you trying not to look 12?" It was the funniest thing ever! I am sure we were the talk of the office after we left. He was still laughing as we were leaving the room. For the record, Leanne got her anti-aging cream from my mother. Grandmas!!!! You gotta love them:)

Now onto Thankful Thursday on Friday...

I am thankful for so many things that it is even hard for me to pin point a few of them every week. I always want to post that I am thankful for very profound type things and I am. However, I am also thankful for all of the little things too.

I am thankful for a refrigerator full of good food for my kids to eat whenever they are hungry.

I am thankful that when I flip a switch on my wall the lights come on.

I am thankful I have running water and it is hot when I need it to be.

I am thankful I have a washing machine and a dryer and I do not have to drag countless loads of clothes to the laundry mat.

I am thankful I have heat in the winter and a/c in the summer.

There are so many small things in life that we take for granted each and everyday. My plan this weekend it so slow down and enjoy myself. There will be no worrying about how clean my house is or how much work needs to be done. I will be spending time with my friend Lisa G. and our girls. We plan to enjoying the simple things in life like garage sales with a friend, strolling the outlet mall and lunch with the girls. What fun!

Since Blog posts are no fun without pictures and my camera is not working I thought I would take little stroll down memory lane and post some cute photos from the past.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Chad and Justin. Isn't it funny how the Lord can make adopted children look so much like their parents?

Baby Katie at just a few weeks old. She was so sweet. I really miss those days!

Leanne at our old house ready to go to the father/daughter dance for Brownies. She is looking as youthful as ever:) Notice the corsage from her daddy. They went to three dances over the years and loved everyone of them. These are such cherished memories.


I am looking for some pictures of poor Cameron. My picture disks are such a mess. getting them organized is on my summer to do list. Pictures of Cameron are to come. I promise I have them. However most of the older pictured of the kids are on film. Remember the days of film? Life was so simple then!

I NEED Chickens!

Really... I need a minimum of 3 chickens. The kids joined 4-H and wanted to do a poultry project. So being the over achieving mother that I am I obliged and signed them up. Knowing absolutely nothing about chickens I made a few calls first:) I called a chicken man I found close to our town who has chicks for sale. I asked him if we bought chicks if they would be ready to show before the fair in July. He assured me that they would. However, he was assuming I was talking broilers. I being a chicken novice had no idea that there were so many different breeds of chickens. So I didn't know the right questions to ask. Here is where my problems get started...

I need fancy chickens. Specifically, fancy hens which are grown, that my kids can train and get ready to show by July. You see, if we got the broilers the fate of the chicken was not so good. It would have ended up being sold at the end of the fair and turned into dinner. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy a nice chicken dinner. However, our chicken dinners usually do not have names. Nor are they birds we raised from chicks that my kids bathed, handled and came to love. So we need fancy chickens that get to come home with us from the fair, ALIVE! As of now we have no chickens, baby chicks ready for us to pick up who will not be ready to show by summer and we can not change our 4-H projects at this point.

I really do not know what to do. I have joined chicken message boards (there is a secret world of chicken loving people we suburbanites don't know about). Posted ad's on Craig*s list and asked everyone I know who may know someone who knows someone with chickens. I have received a couple of emails from people on CL. So far we were offered 4 silky roosters who are hostile and 2 peacocks. That's right, I asked for fancy chickens and someone offered me peacocks. I emailed back and said "this may be a silly questions, but are you talking about the peacocks like the ones at the zoo with the pretty tail feathers or is there a special breed of peacock chicken?" I know he thought I was nuts, but who offer peacocks to someone needing chickens, seriously!?

So if any of my Ohio bloggy friends have any connections to the chicken industry... Please help a mother out. I really need these crazy chickens. I am desperate!!!

Thankful Thursday

Does it seem like the weeks are passing by so fast? I can not believe we are midway through April already. Before we know it the holidays will be here again. I know I am rushing things but this is how my years go:

January- back to normal from hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Justin's birthday. Cheer comps in full swing with two day nationals.

February- Cabin fever sets in. Katie's birthday. More cheer.

March- More cheerleading. Annual mother/daughter Florida trip.

April- Start thinking about finishing the school year and planning for next year. Finish cheer season. Baseball starts.

May- Spring fever hits. Try to keep plugging ahead with the school year. Plan assessment. Start worrying about said assessment. Try outs for new Cheer season. New cheer season practices start. Baseball.

June- Finish school. Baseball in full swing. Cheer. Cheer camp. Cameron's birthday. Baseball. Baseball camp.

July- Homeschool assessment. Football practice starts. Football camp. Summer activities. Cheer.

August- Busy summer continues. Football. Cheer.

September- Start new school year. New competition season begins. Football games start. Leanne's birthday.

October- Football. Cheer. Halloween. Chad's birthday.

November- Thanksgiving. Cheer. Run, run, run.

December- Christmas. My birthday.

My year just runs together from one event to the next.

There are days I wish we lived out in the middle of nowhere on a farm. Where time seemed to stand still. We would spend lazy summer days together and snuggle in front of the fire in the winter.

In the mean time I am thankful for all of the things we are able to do together as a family. The Lord has blessed us beyond anything we deserve. We are able to do so many wonderful things with and for our children and I am thankful for that every day. I am thankful they are able to try anything they want. I am thankful they have the opportunity to follow their dreams.




I am so thankful that I am the one who gets to see them smile when the bat hits the ball. That I am the one who sees them run into the end zone or tumble across a spring floor. I am thankful I am the one who hears their laughter when their team wins. I am also thankful I get to wipe their tears when they don't. I am thankful I'm the one they call for when they are hurt. I am thankful to be the one who tucks them in at night and gets the that last sweet good night kiss. I also thankful I get the first hug in the morning. It really can't get much better than this. I am just thankful!

A sad day in the kichen

Today was a sad day in my kitchen. My mixer has mixed it's last loaf of bread. I know it sounds crazy to be upset over a kitchen appliance, but I am so sad. Chad and the kids went and picked this out for me for our first Christmas as a family. They were all so excited to give it to me. I was really excited to get is as well. I had mentioned a few times over the years that I wanted one, but didn't think anyone remembered. When I opened that box I was as happy as if I received a beautiful piece of fine jewelry. Over the years I have used this mixer to make my kids birthday cakes, taught Leanne to make cheese cake, let Katie dump hundreds of ingredients, helped the boys make play dough and much, much more.

As sad as it is one must move on...

And move on I did:) I am going to order a Bosch. It is not nearly as pretty as my kitchen aid, but it is a work horse. This thing could mix a kitchen aid under the table! Lisa and I have spent many days ohhing and ahhing over the Bosch. We will look at the specs of the machine while talking on the phone. One of us will say "it has an 800 watt motor" or "it has a transmission and a drive shaft..." It is almost like two guys looking at a brand new corvette. So, I am going to have to take the plunge and buy one. It is really expensive and not really in the budget right now, but it would be so hard to live without a mixer. I think I convinced Chad by explaining to him that I would not expect him to pour concrete without the proper tools. Homemaking is my job, how can I do it without the proper tools? I hope it is here sometime next week. In the mean time I did email kitchen aid and hopefully I can have my little mixer fixed. After all it looks so pretty on my counter!

Easter Cookies and coloring eggs

Lisa told me about these really cool cookies to make the night before Easter. We did this tonight with our kids after we colored eggs. Chad read the Bible verses, I told the kids the meaning and they added the ingredients and followed the instructions. It was a really great Easter tradition we plan to continue each year. I pray as they get older they can see more of the symbolism. I hope that this is a tradition they will carry on with our grandchildren.

Our cookies are in the oven (tomb) for the night. Here are the kids watching them as Chad tells them about putting Jesus body in the tomb and rolling the stone in front of it. They can not wait to see what happens to the cookies in the morning.

Here are the kids watching the cookies after we put them in the oven and taped it closed:


You can find a link to the Easter Cookies with Bible lesson here.

Lisa- Ok, ok, ok... you were right!!! There was no way I could look into my babies eyes and tell them what The Lord did for us without crying. You know me so well!

We also colored eggs this evening. This is not my favorite Easter activity, but I did it as a kid and do not want to rob my kids of the same joy I had. We colored a little over 3 dozen eggs. We will take these to my in-laws tomorrow to hunt after we enjoy a delicious meal.

Leanne and Justin cutie pies:


Katie stained her favorite color pink. Pink hands should look cute with her beautiful Easter dress:


Brothers:


Katie was so excited to color eggs. This is the first time she really understood what she was doing. We could not keep her off the table.

Easter Egg hunt

On Friday we were invited to a Easter Egg hunt by Katie's friend Jennie. Jennie's mom Brandy and I have been friend since were were teenagers so it is always fun to get our kids together. Katie was really excited to go even though I don't think she really understood what we were going to do. We looked for a few eggs in the yard last year, but have never taken her to an egg hunt. She had been asking a lot of questions and needless to say she was ready to go on Thursday when she went to bed. When we woke up on Friday morning a normal spring day in the buckeye state it was of course raining. Our local weather guy was calling for cold rain all day. I called Brandy and she said they were still on and were just hoping for a pocket of about an hour to play a few games, hunt eggs and have lunch. I decided to go ahead and go. I packed a lunch threw my kids and the van and picked up Katie's friend Sarah (Sarah and Jennie are cousins). We got to the park a few minutes late as usual.

When we arrived they were playing with a parachute. Then we had an egg race. The kids raced with eggs (don't worry they were boiled) on spoons across the basketball court and back. Brandy wanted them to crawl and push them with their noses, but it was really wet. While the kids were playing a few people hid eggs. Cameron decided he was to old to hunt eggs and helped hide them instead. After the games we let the kids loose to hunt the eggs. Katie was freezing and refused to hunt for even one egg. Cameron was so sweet, he found her 4 eggs with candy in them. They were probably easy to find since he knew where they were. It is always nice to have an insider:)
Justin found a lot of eggs:

This is how Katie hunted eggs:

Cameron helping sweet Sarah find eggs:

Sweet Sarah hunting eggs in a winter coat! Is she not the cutest???

After the hunt the kids were ready to go. It was so cold they didn't even want to eat outside. All in all they had a great day. Katie can't stop talking baout hunting eggs on Sunday afternoon at grandma's. I wonder if she will cry then too?
A very sleepy girl: