Miss Witch

I went to witches night out this year, and here is what I looked like! :)

I went with a great friend, and we had a blast! I cant wait for next year!
And here was Miss Witchy Poo... haha

Goodbye Fabio! :`(

I now know FOR SURE this is the WORST! Saying goodbye to my host children is so hard!
We had a party for him the night before he left. He had TONS of people show up, and I even forgot to take pictures... this is maybe 1/2 of everyone who came.
The Elder's that taught him...

Maer came as well to say goodbye... they became pretty good friends.


Typical Fabio pulling faces! hahaa

Then the morning that he left we took some pictures. The kids loved him and are going to miss him so much!!!




He and I goofing off...


He and Enrique goofing off. hahaha


Fabio, you will be missed so much! Thanks for staying with us!

What a Beauty! hehe

Missy has really started to get into make-up again. I think I am in trouble! What a cute little girl!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISSY!!!

We had such a fun few days around Missy's birthday. We celebrated the weekend before going to my dad and mom's house.




Then was the official biting of her side.... but this one had no sides, so we improvised... it wasnt too hard! haha

Present time!






We also went out to dinner and Cman ordered a HUGE burrito. haha He only ate half of it. ;)
A couple of days later it was really her birthday, so we celebrated again. :)



Then present time came again, and she was so happy!


She got 2 babies for her birthday, and is in heaven!

Fun Times with Family and New Students

We got to meet up with my dad. mom, and my niece and nephew and we went to Home Depot and did their free Sat project. The kids made these bean bag tosses, and they loved it!

One night Missy got really scared because she said it was too dark. We told her it was ok and we put a night light in her room but evidently that wasnt good enough. We had heard noises and kept telling her to go to sleep, but we found her asleep in a make-shift bed in her doorway when we were going to go to bed ourselves. She even had books by her so that she could read.
Also, during the Challenge I got to go out to eat with some family to celebrate birthdays... here are some pics of my niece and nephew and Missy.




Then we also got some NEW students!!!
We had so much fun with them. Nobuya and Kuze were such great company, and good boys. The language barrier has been the hardest that I have ever dealt with, but we managed.

They had a night at the end of the 10 days that they had a program and dinner for the host families. They were awarded certificates saying that they passed the program.




Then we went up to a place to overlook the whole valley. It was amazing! The pictures arent that great, but still, it was fun!



And Baxter looked so cute, I had to take a picture of him while he was sleeping.

Missy had a cowboy day at school, so we improvised. She was having so much fun posing, and looked adorable, at least I thought so!



Then she and I went out to lunch that day... we had a fun time! (She had cheetos in her mouth! haha)

I WON!

I never win ANYTHING, but with this Challenge I participated in, I won!!!

Prize: Customized Vinyl Labels
WINNER:
Dianne Dance Pabst
Company: Vintage Vinyl Decor
Description: Vinyl lettering to label food storage with. This lettering can be placed on your plastic buckets, other storage containers, shelving, almost anywhere. The award package would include: 2 sugar, 2 white flour, 1 wheat flour, 1 powdered milk, 1 red wheat, 1 white wheat, 1 oats, 1 white rice, + 10 your choice.. *in winners choice of red, brown or pink vinyl lettering.


Any ideas on what to get?

The 7 Day Challenge: DAY 7

One of your family members calls you in a panic and says they need a treat for a party they are going to (they didn’t know about it, so don’t freak out at them!). You are stranded at home with no car, and can’t get to a store.
DEPENDING ON YOUR SCHEDULE… ONCE YOU MAKE THE TREAT YOU ARE OFFICIALLY DONE! IF YOU WANT TO GO TO A RESTAURANT TO CELEBRATE, OR EVEN JUST A STORE TO GRAB SOME STUFF YOU’RE FREE!

For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants (until your treat is made).
You have run out of fresh butter (you can use shelf stable alternatives)
You have run out of eggs milk (you can use powdered)
You have run out of fresh milk (you can use powdered)
Make a delicious dessert
Once the dessert is ready, YOU ARE DONE!
ADVANCED “FOLKS” (for anyone who feels up to it)
Try it with no perishables or pre-made mixes at all!


Facebook Notes:
I am making a Crazy Chocolate Cake using no eggs, no butter, and no milk. ;) It is an amazing recipe I use when we have none of those on hand. I cant wait to get it in the oven, and out, so I can go get some food storage items and stuff from the case lot sale! ;) Thanks girlies!



MY THOUGHTS NOW:
This was an amazing experience. I am amazed at the fact that we did this and pretty much made it through! I am not near as worried about food storage, however, there are a few things that I am going to be trying to work on getting. ;) Hope you all learned something from this! =D

The 7 Day Challenge: DAY 6

It’s time to change those unhealthy eating habits! You have been diagnosed with all sorts of health problems.

For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
You can’t use any pre-packaged or convenience foods
Your breakfast has to be low sugar
Your lunch has to be low fat (if you’re at work already, think about what you could have brought or made)
Your dinner has to be from scratch using whole grains and/or legumes
You have to have 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables today
ADVANCED “FOLKS” (for anyone who feels up to it)
You have to figure out how many calories, grams of sugar, grams of fat, and grams of fiber are in what you are making
Your whole family has to adapt to this healthy living for the day (you can’t just make yourself a healthy sandwich and give the kids hot dogs)
REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions?

Make sure you have:
Recipes printed out for all health types. (I have recipe books for diabetics, nut allergies, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, hypoglycemia... just make sure that you have something for everyone. Especially if you have family members who need a certain diet.) The reason I say printed out, is not necessarily for this Challenge, but for all the other times that you may have no power. Have recipes on hand that incorporate veggies and fruits (any way you can, even if you have to puree it).
Incorporated veggies and fruits into your diets. These are essential!
Also, it is ok to be naughty, but just dont do it every day! ;)


Facebook Notes:
I am liking this one, however we had a very odd morning. My kids ended up having cold cereal for breakfast, but they were low sugar cereals (I dont buy much sugary cereal). I had a yoghurt.

Then for lunch I had a lunch date with family for a birthday party, but even though we went to a restaurant, I ate a salad, fruit, and a vegetarian soup. I tried to be as close to it as possible. I wanted to still stick to it.

Not sure about dinner... we will find out a little later. It might be soup of some sort. And we will add in homemade bread for a side.

I have health problems, so we are really careful with what we eat. We dont eat out much, and I really try to keep healthy things around the home. I will let you know what happens! ;)

We ended up having Chili for dinner, with 100% whole wheat bread, and tangerines for dessert after FHE.


We ended up talking about things that we have learned, and some new routes and safe places in case of different disasters. We agreed on who to call, and talked about how we can be better in the future.

Today was not a good day for the challenge, but that is because I had so many things going on and not much of a chance to really do the challenge 100% today. It made me sad, actually. But, as I mentioned before, I tried to stick as close to it as possible, and the kids had already eaten breakfast before I saw the challenge... oh well! ;) I am putting some wheat into the crockpot tonight in order to have it tomorrow morning for breakfast to make up. If we cant use it for the challenge, then I will save it... it is always nice to have wheat to add into soups and such. ;) And, you can freeze it once you have cooked it, so... We will see, I guess!

The 7 Day Challenge: DAY 5

There has been an earthquake and you have lost some utilities
For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
Your water pipe broke, and you have no water access
The power has been cut off
It’s the 2nd day of the earthquake, your fridge food has gone bad, but the food in your freezer has managed to stay cold enough to use
You’re driving home from checking on a family member and the road is blocked with a bunch of large rocks from the earthquake, did you have a small car shovel (this is a very highly recommended item to store in your car)
During the earthquake a beam fell on your computer(s) and crushed it. Did you have your data backed up in a remote location?
Keep your family entertained all day with no power
ADVANCED “FOLKS” (for anyone who feels up to it)
If you have a generator – it got CRUSHED!
Unfortunately all fridges and freezers in your home ALSO got crushed!
REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions?

What you might need:
WATER BARRELS!!! I can NOT stress this one enough!!
I also think we need a generator! We have thought about it for a couple years now, so maybe this will be what gets us doing it!
Make sure you have a shovel (or two) in the back of your car... I would have NEVER thought of this!! They have fold-up ones on the internet and at some emergency stores.
Batteries as storage items (in ALL sizes) are starting to look pretty nice right now. You forget how much your flashlights, stereo's (if you dont have a hand cranked one), etc use.
Books once again can come in handy along with games.
You might want to invest in a hand saw... just in case trees are downed and need to be cut to get out.
There are these really cool things called a Mobile Washer. It seems to be something that everyone would want in a situation like this. We went and got one right after the Challenge.
Along the same lines, have a good long piece of twine/rope and some clothes pins to hang your clothing to dry.
You are going to want a battery run alarm clock, or the old fashioned wind up ones (unless you are like me and have 3 hyperactive alarm clocks! ;)
This is just not even something I want to even think about, but the whole toilet flushing thing may get old. So, a porta potty might be something to look into. They actually make them with the food storage buckets with a toilet lid that fits onto it, and then you put these special garbage bags into them, and dispose of when needed.
Tarps, plastic, a staple gun, etc. If an earthquake happened and trees came down on the house, we would need a way to patch it up.
Heavy Duty Foil for cooking on the grill, and just to preserve stuff... along with plastic baggies of ALL sizes.


Facebook Notes:
We are SO in trouble! :( hahaha... ok, make the most of this, right?

Ok, so... we did it from midnight last night, but I realized some crucial things that we need in this process.

We have 8:30 church, and because of callings we have to be there at least 15 minutes early. Today, that didnt happen. First thing I realized we needed was a wind-up alarm clock or two. We have one battery run clock in our house, so that will suffice to help aid in the other rooms and plenty of batteries for the clock (and a few other things) but that doesnt help to wake us.

We didnt think about batteries for our flashlights!! This would have helped aid in getting dressed in the morning!! We have a walk-in closet that is dark dark dark. So, we had to be really careful and have my hubby hold candles so that we could see. I am also thinking of getting some kerosene lamps and some oil, and a few hooks to screw into the ceiling so that we can move them from room to room and have light. The candles work, to an extent, but I think I would want something that could be off of the floor/table/kids reach.

We also had to sponge bath this morning, and I am now seeing why people would get up at 5 in the morning (or earlier in some cases) to get ready for the day. My kids thought it was weird. But, it worked with very little complaints (only because of being cold, really).

We had plenty of food in the freezer (we actually have 2 small ones that are with fridges, and one large chest freezer), and used toaster strudels grilled for breakfast. We are having Ramen for lunch, and for dinner grilling some veggies and some meat from the freezer. We still have bread from yesterday, so we will have that as well.

We have my laptop backed up, but not onto a website. We dont trust things like that. We dont have the desktop backed up, but honestly, that is the kids computer and it is ancient. I do have a few things on it that I need to get backed up onto something. So, I kinda failed in that one.

We do not have a shovel in our car. I had never thought of that! We do have ice melt, and jumper cables, and a few other things, but NOT that... I will be getting one (maybe 2) when this challenge is over.

We have TONS of games in our home. We are game fanatics. I even had a ward member say today that if something were to happen, and there was an emergency, she knew they would be over at our house most of the day playing games with us. hahaha

We also need a clothes washer on a stick so that we can clean clothes when in a desperate situation. It would help a TON!

If we were to have no power/internet, we would have no phones. We have voip, so we would be in big trouble! But, at least we have our cells today! hahaha I need to come up with something else because of this. I also have no phones that arent run by power, so, I really need to rethink that and get back to the basics.

I will report a little later how the rest of the day goes. I really was not looking forward to today after feeling emotionally drained today, but I am doing pretty good. :)

Here it is, 9:00p and I am completely happy with how the day went!!! I am also here to report that we went without AC today too!! It is hot and muggy in my home, but I didnt know how we would do without the AC, and now I know. We did not even THINK about it the other day with no power about how the AC was on... We actually had our real AC break a couple months ago, and we have been living off of one window cooler, but honestly, it does nothing for our home... it helps the room it is in a bit... At night we already have been opening our windows to cool the house down during the day, but it has been hard... ANYWAY... back onto the subject.... we turned it off for the whole day, and we are doing just fine! :)

We changed what we had for dinner. We ended up making Chicken Alfredo with peas, canned chicken, and canned Alfredo sauce helped a bit with garlic powder and pepper. We also had the leftover homemade hot dog buns from last night, and they were great bread sticks.

Yesterday I was at my breaking point. I know what all of you mean about being physically and emotionally drained, and I had a meltdown as well. I think having chocolate could cure me completely of that, but I had none! ;)

I had my daughter ask me tonight if we were not going to have water again tomorrow... because she said she couldnt handle going to the bathroom again with it stinking so bad! hahaha I told her that there were people who had to do this all of the time because they cant afford some things, and she was shocked. She then told me that she was so glad that we didnt have to do this all of the time, and that she knew that if she had to do it again, she COULD do it again. That surprised me so much because it was coming from a 7 year old! I am so grateful for the little things right now... like our siphon and our screen door, and my hubby and kids... life has been put into perspective the last few days, hasnt it?

Hope everyone else did well, and know where they are needing to beef up a bit.


As a Side Note:
You can email the information to yourself to back up your data. Homework, pictures, some programs... this way you never have to worry about some computer with a virus crashing. ;) Or use a pocket drive or two.
We have 6 solar walkway lamps that are pretty big and dont give off a TON of light, but it would work in a worst case scenario.
You can get in some really good talks with your kids while you all work at getting the dishes done by hand. It takes a LOT of time to get this done. Also, another reason to really stock up on paper plates, plastic cutlery, and paper cups.
You might want to think about the barrels of emergency water... they better be someplace outside of the house and garage. They would be useless if the building collapsed! But, you dont want it to freeze either... any suggestions for this?
There is such thing as powdered soy milk for all you lactose intolerant people.
Keeping more than one propane tank for your outdoor grill is a GREAT thing!
One thing to think about is if there is a disaster like this one today, then many medical people may not be able to get to work to help out, and the supplies at any hospital or clinic would most definitely run out. It might take a while to get the new supplies in as well, so being prepared at home could prove to be VERY important!
Much of what we store in the fridge would not actually be bad even if kept at room temp...margarine, butter, juice would be okay after 2 days, and all the fruits and veggies would be fine. Cheese gets greasy if warm but would be perfectly safe. Plus stuff like soy sauce, minced garlic, salsa would be fine. Just make sure NOT to eat any meat, eggs, or stuff with raw eggs in it if in question.
There are some great recipes on the boyscout site for cooking eggs in an orange or muffins.
Try to make a map of your freezer before the possibility of disasters (hurricanes). That way if the power goes out, you know exactly where the frozen food is on which shelf...so if you need to open the door to get stuff, you can get it super quick and then close the freezer.
You do not realize how much water you will use in emergency situations. We have 2 55 gallon barrels, and we are thinking of getting another, and we own 2 5 gallon ones as well, and we are thinking a couple more might be nice as well.

The 7 Day Challenge: DAY 4

Times are tough. You have no income at the time. You have lost some critical utilities and are having to cut back on certain items. It’s also the weekend, you’ve had a rough week and want to do something fun with your family or your friends.

***IMPORTANT NOTE FOR SUNDAY’S CHALLENGE: We want you to get the full effect of Sunday’s challenge so make sure to check your email Saturday night after 8 pm MST***

For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
Your water got shut off because you couldn’t pay your bill last month (remember toilets use 1 1/2-3 gallons of your stored water PER FLUSH)
You no longer have cable, internet (except for the challenge), or cell phones due to lack of money
You ran out of bread, need some, and can’t afford store bought -YES today is the day you have to actually try making bread
You can’t participate in activities that are paid for
Do a fun activity with your family, or with your friends that costs no money outside of the home)
ADVANCED “FOLKS” (for anyone who feels up to it)
You can’t afford gas for your car, and you’re on empty
Your power gets shut off too!
REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions?

Facebook Notes:
This has been an emotionally draining on me. I didnt think it would take a toll this way, but it could just be because I am already emotional because of my hormones. Here is how we have worked out our day. We woke and checked the site. We turned off all the water in the house (except for our new students bathroom because we cant just throw this on them and they are gone for most of the day anyway), and are solely relying on our water storage. We had LOTS of dishes left over from last nights big dinner (and we even got part of them done, but with so many people here, and new students, we werent able to get them all completed). We opened up one barrel and started to get water out of it. We are keeping watering cans in the bathrooms and by sinks full so we can wash our hands. We have a tracker in the bathroom and after every 5 people using the bathroom, we will go in and fill the tank, and flush, and start over. We brought water up to put in the fridge for cold water as well. We filled a pot with water and boiled it to do dishes with... one sink with soapy water, and one with rinsing water.

We turned off our cell phones, and I started making bread for tonights dinner. I already made bread a few days ago, however, we had something planned for tonight that wouldnt cost any money that we are doing outside of the home. We are having a block party! haha Someone else is providing the grill, and we were going to take steak for just our family, but decided on hot dogs instead because if we were in a tight situation, we wouldnt use steak (it might already be gone anyway), and we have a surplus of hot dogs in the freezer. So, the bread I am making is hot dog buns!

It has been a busy day too, because we have been making lists in order to get more organized here in the house, and working on some of those things as well, letting the kids play with friends, and taking a nap. ;)

As far as cable, we dont have that anyway, and havent had it for 6 years... hubby lost his job, and we had to cut things out, and that was one of them. I never went back to it, because honestly, as much as I would love to watch The Food Network, or let my kids watch The Disney Channel, we got along without them, and I didnt want the temptation back.

I will let you know how the rest of the day goes. :)

Ok, so we ended up doing a sponge bath... not as bad as I thought, and I feel clean! That is a plus, however, we didnt have our cell phones on, and we forgot to pick our students up tonight, and no one could get a hold of us!!!!!!! OOOOPS!

The hot dog buns were fantastic, and I think that the recipe would be great for bread too, however, it was white bread... so, I need to mess with it to make wheat hot dog buns with it! ;) We used the water from our reserves to flush, but I like the idea that someone mentioned about storing water in milk containers somewhere to use for flushing. GREAT idea since I dont know where I would store another water barrel...

I am looking into solar ovens and generators... I know I need those, but have been worried about the cost... I think the benefit might outweigh the cost after the last couple of days.

As a Side Note:
Make sure you have water stored in barrels. You want to make sure that it isnt in a place where it can freeze, and also if you are storing on cement, make sure you have 2x4's of wood underneath them as a barrier. Over time, the chemicals in the cement can get into the water supply, and you dont want that.
Having a portable camping toilet with a storage of plastic bags, baby wipes, Lysol, and TP are nice to have. But, this is where the flushing toilets with the stored water in the old milk conatiners can come in too. Kinda gross to talk about, but if you are using this way, once you have wiped, DO NOT PUT THE USED TP INTO THE TOILET!!! Throw it away in the garbage. Same with tampons. Those will only make it harder for the toilet to flush, and believe me, the stench will become repulsing that comes from the toilet if you do. I would just make sure you have a good sealing garbage can to use for this reason. ;) We also just decided that there were going to be potty times. EVERYONE went potty at the same time (well, one after the other) so that we only had to flush once, saving us on the water used to flush. Believe me, it wasnt the prettiest thing, BUT it truly helped. You need to know the technique of flushing with a bucket. You have to poor the water in all at once and quickly or it just drains, doesn't flush, an alternative is to pour it into the tank, then flush normally with the handle.
We also filled up a watering can to use to wash our hands. One person slowly poured the water over our hands to help us wash... only to initially get our hands wet, and then a little more to help get the suds going, and then to rinse off the soap after we sang the ABC's all the way through. That helped save on the water as well.
Library has free internet, and you can rent books, movies, and music from there. (And they have a bathroom you can use for FREE! haha)
Kerosene lamps would be amazing, however with little ones a little scary. I decided that I would hook in the screws that go into ceilings for plants and use them to hold the lamps. It may not be pretty, but if it came down to it, it isnt a bad idea.
Farmer's Markets can be relatively inexpensive. So, check out your local one for fresh produce.
You can bake anything on a gas grill! (Even bread!!!)
Something to check out is Solar Oven Bakers. They are so interesting, but most require a bit more work to get it to cook properly, not to mention that it is even harder on cloudy and stormy days.
A Generator would be quite nice too! haha
Games are always a fun thing to do when there is no electricity. ;)
Red Wheat and White Wheat are VERY different. Red Wheat does NOT make good bread!
Learning how to limit TV use has come in handy for us. That was an easy thing for us.
I need to learn to read more books, because that might be all I can do. hahaha
If you need to have some water for flushing your toilet and there is rain, hail, or snow, put out several buckets to catch the water as it falls. You could put it under a rain gutter drain, or just in the middle of an open area. You could also get snow and melt it over heat to create more water if needed.
When storing water, dont forget about your pets either! They need to drink too.
Another great way to cut back on using water, instead of washing dishes, use paper plates!!
Check out this PDF on Emergency Breads! I printed off a copy! ;)

The 7 Day Challenge: DAY 3

Your spouse calls and announces their boss is coming over for dinner (or your boss invites themselves over for dinner TONIGHT!). You have no WAY to go to the store, and you have to come up with an impressive meal from what you already have in your home.
THESE LIMITATIONS AND TASKS ARE ALL NEW, THE FIRST 2 DAYS LIMITATIONS DO NOT APPLY!
For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
You can use whatever food you have in your house (includes fridge, freezer)
The meal has to have an appetizer
The main course can’t use meat because the boss is a vegetarian (your meal CAN use milk, and dairy)
You have to have at least 2 side dishes for the dinner
The meal has to have a dessert
You have to get other family members to help you make the meal and or set the table “NICELY” (share your pictures on facebook)
Your house probably should be clean (even though that’s not a “food storage” thing)
Brainstorm what other types of “everyday” emergencies you may have, and how you could better prepare for them
ADVANCED “FOLKS” (for anyone who feels up to it)
You only have 1 hour from when you start to finish making the meal
REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions?

Facebook Notes:
After literally spending most of the day trying figure out what to make (we have what seems like nothing here at the house because of not getting to the store), I settled on an appy of Artichoke Hearts Dip with saltines, Spinach and Mozzarella Cheese Ravioli with Garlic Cheese Points and Fried Cheese Sticks as the meal. It was a VERY rich meal. We ended dinner with Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies to celebrate Fall coming, and the boss was pleased! I do have to say that we had 2 new foreign exchange students come in today, so this was a meal to set the precedence for them... I am in for a LONG 10 days! hahaha










My house was clean and my kids set the table nicely! I told them they could use the nice table cloth and nice glasses (which doesnt happen often because I worry about the table cloth getting stains, or the kids dropping the glasses) and they were so good at helping clean the house and setting the table.

My hubby and I talked in the car for 45 minutes about different everyday disasters and consequences and everyday emergencies and what we would do. Our emergencies probably werent hard emergencies, but I tend to really go crazy if things dont go how I think they should (I am a perfectionist), so this is a great thing for me to be doing, and I am liking it!

As a side note, even my kids have loved this challenge, and have woken everyday and asked me, "Hey mom! What is the emergency for today??" They love it as much as I am! Is it ok to love a disaster??? hahaha!


An idea to pass on:
You can can your beans from dry to cooked in 75min for pints and 90 min for quarts in jars in the pressure cooker. Then you can leave them on your shelf and when you need them in a pinch all you have to do is open the jar and warm and you have beans for chili, bean burritos, soups, and more.

The 7 Day Challenge: DAY 2

There has been an outbreak of the swine flu (or something like it) in your city, and you are ordered into quarantine in your home. (YESTERDAY’S LIMITATIONS DON’T APPLY, THESE ARE ALL NEW)
For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants. Today is more of a “THINKING” day then “DOING” day
You can’t leave your house at all (if you have a prior commitment we understand, we both have something Thursday evening we committed to months ago!)
Some of your family members have been infected and have fevers/ stomach flus and need proper medication
You need to provide comfort foods to infected family members to make them feel better
You have used up ALL the toilet paper and paper towels in your bathroom and kitchen, you can only use what you have stored extra (wherever that may be)
The family members that have not been infected will stay healthy so long as they follow proper recommendations, meaning proper hand washing and sanitizing, and even wear face masks
ADVANCED “FOLKS” (for anyone who feels up to it)
This is the 7th day or your quarantine, so ALL your fridge food is gone
You actually REALLY have to stay home – NO CHEATING!
REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions, would you be able to stay in your house for an extended amount of time?

Facebook notes:
GREAT! I love this one, I have everything I need BUT the masks... we will make our own with handkerchiefs. ;) I will let you know how the day went at the end of it! ;)

This Day turned out to not be so bad either! Since we could not go shopping this whole week, I decided to be domestic as I once was and make bread. I was supposed to go earlier this week, but was not able to because of being sick, and then it started on Wed, the day I was supposed to go! AGH! AND, without my power working, I couldnt make bread!!! SO, I got to today. I am also planning on making some tortillas tonight to tide us over as well, and we broke open our powdered eggs, so we are good. Kids had Spaghettios for lunch, and I had a yogurt drink. Then we had pancakes for dinner, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for dessert. The day went smoothly, and we had everything that we needed except for a few things! With all the stomach flu here, I had to wash 3 sets of sheets, and that was a pain, But, I sat here and enjoyed the day with my baby (the other two had to brave it and go to school). We liked today, and are anticipating tomorrow...


These are things that you need to make sure you have extra on hand:
Masks (you want N95 in different sizes, and a normal mask), plastic gloves (different sizes), cleaning and disinfecting liquid and spray and wipes, pain meds and everyday meds, popsicles, paper plates, and plastic utensils, sanitizer, antibacterial soaps, toilet paper, paper towels, toiletries, juices, pedialyte, Gatorade, canned chicken noodle soup (homemade that is canned is probably better, but does anyone know if that is possible??), jello (not red, because you might be asked if there is blood in the stools, and you wont be able to tell if you had the red dye in your system... and you may not want any color really, because if they are throwing up, then it might stain whatever it is), laundry detergent, dryer sheets, heating pads, vicks vapo-rub, working thermometers, diapers, wipes, diaper rash ointment, batteries.

As a side note:
Check out this website, BirdFluManual.com, and print out the "Good Home Treatment of Influenza"
Constantly check expiration dates on all meds.
Check out this link about powdered and instant milk
If you run out of tissue paper, you can cut up old Tshirts and wash cloths and use them.
The medical profession uses two types of masks in general. A regluar mask is good for keeping out bacteria & pollen. The other is called N-95 which is used by staff entering a respirtory isolation room such as patients with TB virus. It is good when properly applied, fitted & kept dry. It must make a good seal. If you can smell smoke through it you do not have it on right or it is the wrong size for you. You should have two types stored. The general surgical style, as well as the N-95. The first you should have on the person who is coughing or feverish, especially when they are outside their 'quarrantine' area, and the second (N-95 because they protect you from 95% of the bugs, if properly fitted and worn) when you are giving care to the person, especially if body fluids are involved. The caregiver needs to stay well.

The 7 Day Challenge: DAY 1

WOW... What an experience I had! It was quite interesting, and I think I could publish a book for all that I learned throughout this challenge. This is partly the reason why I havent updated my blog! *SO SORRY* It is going to take a while, so I figured I better get going now before I just totally give up.

Here is what I learned and went through.


There has been a flood and everyone in your city has been told to evacuate their homes for part of the day.
DAILY LIMITATIONS AND TASKS:
For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
You have no power for the whole day (except to fill out the questionnaire, or chat on facebook about what you are learning!)
You have to “leave” your house within an hour for at least 5 hours (but you don’t know if your house is going to be there when you get back).
You can only grab what is in your disasters kit and ALREADY on your grab list when you leave. *remember your house may be destroyed when you get back
You have to eat the food from your 72 hour kit while you are gone
Your family gets soaking wet during evacuation, and one of your family members cuts their toe open
Your spouse is at work. You have to meet at your pre-determined meeting location when he or she is done work
Once your whole family reunites you can return to your house
When you get home, your fridge food is ruined, your basement food is flooded, and you need to make dinner with no power
Keep your family entertained with no power (remember, after dark the lights, tv, appliances etc wont work!)
ADVANCED “FOLKS” (for anyone who feels up to it)
You have to stay out of your house until it’s bed time
You can only eat your 72 hour kit food the whole day
You forgot your cell phone at home when you evacuated.

REMEMBER, TOMORROW’S LIMITATIONS AND TASKS WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. How long would you have lasted under these conditions?

They then had us talk about it on Facebook, and also fill out a questionnaire.
Here is what I wrote on FB and the things that I learned...
I just got home, and here is how the day has panned out so far.
Got the email at 8:15, as my kids were getting ready to go to school. So, I had to get them ready, and myself (as I had an appt at 9:15) and had to get everything in the car... I got my pictures, my 72 hour kits, some photo albums, my puter, some lemonade mix, shoes, medicine, and a few other things and headed out. I got done with the appt at 11:30, and went and picked one child up, and went to the park. Lucky her, she already had a PB&J made for her lunch, and an apple so she didnt suffer much, but after 3 and a half hours at the park, she wasnt too thrilled. Then we went and picked the other kids up (if it was a real emergency, I would have to go get them, right?), and then picked my hubby up at our designated place. We then all came back home, and here I am.
Things I noticed while gone are
1) My 72 hr kit has NO SOAP OR SANITIZER!!! BLECH!!!
2) There are no pain meds... not a good thing with my Fibromyalgia.
3) We need different food than what we have in our kit. It is a brick of who knows what that we are supposed to eat. You are supposed to have 2 pieces a day and it gives you 3600 calories and vitamins and minerals. Hmmmm... luckily my daughter didnt have to eat it, and I didnt open it because I figured I will save it for when I really need it, and I dove into the beef jerky and cookies (horrible lunch!)
4) I need girly things in my 72-hr kit... of ALL days, today would be the day that I would have that happen!
5) I need to remember to grab the bag that has toilet paper and a radio and other odds and ends in it next time!
All in all, it hasnt been all that bad! I am excited about dinner... but I am curious... you mentioned that we have no power to make dinner, but my stove I can light with a match and it will work because it is a gas stove... Can I use it or not? I am assuming no, but I want to know... hahhaa

Also, I wanted to mention that our house is completely out of bread, tortillas, eggs, milk... today was my shopping day, so now I am not even sure what to do... and, did you see the case lot sales?!?!?!?! I rely on getting stuff during this time of the year... it is when we stock up! My hubby said to go ahead and buy, just not use ANY of it for this next week. haha and I think I might just do that! I also had meat that I was supposed to use today (it was taken out of the freezer) and for the next couple of days, so I am worried about waste... but, I am going to just play along and suck it up! hahaha

I also forgot to mention that we took care of the foot, we have a first aide kit in our 72-hr kits, and we were able to change our clothes.

So, dinner went really well! We had nachos, and we usually have ours with sour cream and salsa, but tonight we didnt. We had canned refried beans, canned nacho cheese sauce, canned rotel tomatoes, and canned chicken with a taco seasoning packet and a tbs of water. We did it on our grill, and I was thrilled that my kids loved it and gobbled it down! I will post pictures on the wall.



I will be posting pictures of our 72-hr kits a little later. Hubby had to take the car to go to meetings tonight, so they are still in the back of the car.
I also am completely exhausted and in pain, but I am glad I did this, and am worried about how long I would be able to do this for real, but I am thinking this is the best thing for me because I will know where I stand with my Food Storage and my kits and emergency needs. ;) I will be calling it quits on some things in about an hour, so I am excited to do a few things without feeling guilty... like going into a bathroom with the light on without carrying a candle (read earlier comment if you want to know why)... but, I will keep my lights off for the night (with that exception ;). I am glad I did this! What a great day, and honestly, it wasnt bad at all.
And, the park I went to actually is an emergency meeting area for my neighborhood, so I felt ok about going there. haha
We have also decided that the Monday after the LDS General Conference, that we would use that day as the start of our "Days of Replenishing" (our 72-hr kit days... 3 days of eating what is in the backpacks so that we can have fresh food in them. ;)



~ First things first! Make a list of all that you need to take in case of an emergency. This is your Grab List. You will want documentation (like birth records, social security cards, marriage certificates, drivers license, etc... placing them in a binder or a little box will help a lot. Also, keep copies of these documents in a few different places... you never know!), contact numbers, computer back-ups (or just the hard drive), laptop, pictures, albums, camping stove (and extra fuel for it), 72 hr kits, purse, wallet, cash, valuables, sleeping bags, radio, flashlights (if not in your 72 hr kit), batteries (once again, if not in the kit), matches (yes, if not in the 72 hr kit), Make sure you have all of these items printed out on a piece of paper and in a place where you can get to quickly... I had the idea to put the location of the items (ie in the bottom drawer of the night stand), so that you arent running up and downstairs, or back and forth... just grab what you can from the areas, and then move to the next. It will help in saving time.
~ Also make a family plan as to what you would do if there were an emergency (make one for each type of emergency you can think of) and what you would do, and where you would meet if you were apart. Go over this with your family! This is SO important! We have a fire drill with the kids every once in a while to make sure that they remember where our meeting place is.
~ 72 hr kits are a big deal. Make sure they are all labeled with names (we put our in permanent marker on the top of the backpack). You may want some kits in the house, and then some in the car, and also some at work, but you dont have to. Sometimes you might get stuck in a car on a trip, or be in the middle of some sort of storm, or from an accident, or at your office when a emergency happens, and you might need them. Make sure you have GOOD food to eat, and snacks/candy as well. You dont just want the bars that you eat 2 sections a day. In our house kits we had the bars, and now have decided on spaghettios for the kids because we know they will eat it. You can also get some beanie wienies, individual packs of tuna, chicken salad packs, oatmeal packs, lipton soup mixes, pasta, cereal bars, hot cocoa or tea packets, pb&j, crackers (use your imagination). Make sure you have a mess kit to eat with as well. Go get some inexpensive clothes to put in the kits. If you dont have some of other sizes, buy or get a few from a family member or friend. You will need to switch everything out, because food goes bad, and clothes get out grown. I suggest if you have a child in diapers, to make sure you put in different sizes of diapers, or even put in cloth ones. Dont forget about wipes, rash ointment, powder, formula (if you are nursing and get stressed, you may lose your milk) and bottles. This is what I suggest. Every 1/2 year (we are going to do it on Conference Weekend), pull the food out of the kits and eat it for 3 days. (I suggest NO canned foods or foods that will go bad in heat exposure, for the car 72 hr kits because of the heat in the summer.) Keep the kits for the house in a cool dry place if you have canned items. If you dont want to eat the food you have in your bags right away, and know you will use it sometime soon, just take it out and put it in your pantry, but make sure that you use it before ANYTHING else (always check expiration dates on your food)! Then, repack with new foods. Also, go through the clothes and see if you think they might work for the next 6 months. If so, keep them in there, if not, get some new ones. If you have animals, be sure to not forget about their needs! DONT FORGET WATER, A CAN OPENER, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, AND MEDICINES, SOAP (HAND SANITIZER)!!!! Some people, like me, also need contact solution and a case, plus some glasses... and I also decided that I wanted a hairbrush so that I could at least keep myself groomed! hehe We keep a 24 pack of water in the car at all times, just in case. We also thought of making a fun kit that had coloring books, crayons, games, books to read... just to keep us busy.
~You want lots of candles! I learned of a fantastic way to make a fire warmer, called a coffee can heater. It is amazing! Put it into your car emergency kit. You take a hot cocoa can, or large veggie can (any can that can fit a roll of toilet paper in it). Wash out the can, pull out the cardboard inside the roll without losing the rolls shape (this is very hard) and then put it inside the can. Take a bottle of normal rubbing alcohol, and pour it over the toilet paper, getting the toilet paper saturated with no extra alcohol at the bottom of the can, get a match and light it! VOILA! Use this as a hand warmer, or a light source, or a heater for the car. If you dont use it up all the way, or you want to conserve the heat source, you just smother the fire out, put the lid back on (this is to help to the alcohol doesnt seep out), and you can reuse it again! Keep extra toilet paper and rubbing alcohol in a tote in your car, so that you can have some extra just in case!
~ We have first aid kits in each one, plus burn gel as well. You might get separated from your family, so this is a must to have in each one.
~ You might want an ER tub in the car that has blankets,and toiletries in it.
~ As a few side notes: Keep your car gassed up! When it hits half a tank, get it filled... you just never know.
Keep your cars clean at all times. You never know when an emergency will hit, and you will need to be able to load your car fast.
You might even want to go as far as making sure that every morning you get dressed first thing (even with shoes). Emergencies can strike at any given moment!
If you have charcoal, keep it in 5 gallon buckets to keep it dry.
Always have boxes on hand to use to pack the heirlooms that are on your Grab List.
Back up your computer regularly... once a week, every couple weeks, once a month... whatever makes you comfortable.
Store water in your empty milk containers. You dont want to drink it, but it will help with the flushing of your toilet! And, I guess if worse came to worse, you could drink it. Keep it stored in a place that is easy to get to, and if it is a place that it could freeze, leave room in the top of the container for expansion.
Keep candles everywhere in your house and remember where you have them. This will aid in a power outtage.

Needing to Share a Good Thing! ;)

I have come across this amazing blog! The ladies are from Provo Utah, and have put together tons of things to help with Food Storage! The website addy is FoodStorageMadeEasy.NET and they are doing a 7 day challenge to see how prepared I am for a disaster that could happen. I figure, it wont hurt, and I will see where I am lacking, right?
ANYWAY...
The one thing I am working on right now is our 3 month food storage... and wouldnt you know, they have a spread sheet for it! Here is the direct link to the page. 3MonthFoodStorage I highly suggest to watch the tutorial... it is well worth your time, and you will be amazed at how easy that made it for us!! It calculates it and everything!
I hope this helps you all, and I encourage you to really read through the site. They have some GREAT things on there that are amazing helps for us! :)

First Day of School!!

It is that time of year again! I cant believe how fast this summer went by! Here are the kids first day of school pictures. I am also very excited because this is our first year with a traditional school year schedule, rather than a year round schedule... it should prove to be interesting.
Cman is in 4th... he is getting to be such a handsome young man. I cant believe how fast he is growing in front of me!!! I keep telling him to stop, but he tells me he cant. Booo!

Sister is starting 2nd grade!!! I still think she should only be in kindergarten, but she isnt... Dang it!!

Missy starts preschool this year! I cant believe it! I will miss her, but she is only gone a few mornings a week. ;)

Hope the first of your school year is a good one!

Hike in the Mountains (and a Little Bit of Pride)

We had a camp day with our church, and it was so much fun.

Jumping back... Last year we did the same thing, and went hiking on a trail that was very difficult for me. When I reached the top after feeling like I had just walked at least 1.5 miles straight up, I was petrified to see the last bit of the trail because you had to climb down rocks to get to the place we were going. I have a bad ankle, and bad knees, at the time I had pain in my legs from the FM, and being overweight didnt help at all either... I had been walking at that time last year about 2 miles a day, and we would go up into the mountains to go hiking throughout the summer, so I didnt think it would be that difficult. To make a long story short, I swallowed my pride and turned around and walked back down the trail to the car, passing many people on the way, many asking questions as to why I was heading back. I was humiliated, but I couldnt do anything about it, so I gave up.

On to this year... I am happy to report that this year I made it up!!!!!!!!! I was still a little worried about my ankle and my knees, but it is amazing what one year can do for you and your confidence. I have been walking 4-8 miles a day (mostly closer to the 8), and have lost 50 lbs!! I hit that point last week. I also have been free of pain for almost a year (really I have had it off and on, but mostly it has been off... maybe only a few weeks in this year has the pain been there, rather than 24/7), and it is incredible the difference that not having pain has made in my life. Without the pain it enabled me to walk, which enabled me to lose weight, which enabled me to finish out the hike! YAY ME! Ok, so, now after bragging... I will get back to this post. ;)

It was a great hike! I was so sad that Cman and Sister decided to stay behind at the campsite, but here are a few pictures of the beautiful place and surroundings, and people who went! :)

This was as high as I was going... but, Enrique and Missy kept on going!


Fabio enjoyed it up there too!

On the log is a cute little chipmunk... he kept playing peek-a-boo with me.

Isnt it gorgeous?!

Can you tell how happy I was to be there?

Enrique and Missy on their way down the rocks. Enrique is in the maroon shirt.

I cant wait to go next year! :)