Obsessed with Emergency Preparedness / Food Storage

Just ask anyone in my family and they will tell you that when it comes to Emergency Preparedness or Food Storage - I'm obsessed. Like everything else in my life, I can't just do things half way. I guess that comes from being a perfectionist.

Recently, a friend of ours sent us a link to a food storage blog (thanks Thelissa!) and ever since then I have been looking at different sites on the web trying to find some ideas and suggestions on emergency preparedness and food storage. Since everyone's tastes and situation are different, I like to see the different ways people like to do food storage. While I've been searching, I have found some really great sites that I thought I'd share with everyone. Here are just a few:

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net
This website has a lot of great ideas. It's done by 2 stay-at-home mom's trying to do their food storage a little bit at a time. It's great because they break things down into what they call "babysteps" so it helps you do things a little at a time.

http://thecrazyshopper.blogspot.com
This is a lady after my own heart. In fact, I got my inspiration for this post title from her blog. Looks like I'm not the only one who's obsessed about this stuff. She has some great ideas and even lists some deals that she shares.

http://grocerysmarts.com/utah/lists/splashg84cso.php
This is by far my favorite. Have you ever looked at the weekly ads and asked yourself - is that a good deal for that? Well, this site does all the hard work for you and it's free! They take each of the ads and break them down into excellent, good, and ok deals. That way you know right off the bat whether something is a good deal or not. They also have linked the deals with coupons that you can get out of the paper or online. They have listings for all of the stores I know of in Utah. I'm sure for those of you out of state, they might have a section for your state - you may have to go to their home page to find it. The crazy/obsessive shopper site above also shows you how to sort these lists - for example, if you're like me and only want to see the 4 or 5 star deals. This is my new favorite shopping website!

http://www.myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com
This site also has great ideas for food storage. There are a bunch of recipes and ways to store things. They have another site entitled http://www.myfoodstoragedeals.com where they do the sorting of the ads (like the grocery smart site above), but they charge a monthly fee. However, they do offer more services like a meal planner - which takes the items on sale each week and comes with a list of weekly meals - so if you're pressed for time, that can be a great benefit. They also have some free downloads that are great, so it's worth taking a look on their blog.

So for you emergency preparedness/food storage gurus out there, here are some sites you might be interested in. If any of you have others you have seen or use, please leave me a comment - I would love to have more.

I'm also leaving these on my right sidebar for my own reference, so if you aren't into food storage yet, but find you are later, you can always find the links there or feel free to email me and I'll send them to you. Good luck!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Today was Nana's Birthday. If you know the grandkids in our family, then you know how much they love birthdays. Doesn't matter if it's theirs or someone elses. They love doing party hats and favors and spend all day playing with them. Today was fun because almost everyone had on a party hat, so we had to take a picture of the birthday girl with her grandkids - all with their hats on.



Even more exciting than party hats or favors is the cake. Honestly, I don't think you get to blow out your own candles in our family if it's your birthday unless you're one of the grandkids. As you can see, there wasn't any room for Nana to blow out her candles today. Usually we do the "blowing out of the candles" multiple times.



Of course, Nana didn't care one bit. She had so much fun with the kids, she told me that was the best birthday present ever.

So, you're probably asking yourself, just how old is she? Well, if you ask the experts, here are their responses:

Ashton - 15
Zach - 8
Hailey - 4
Branson - 2
Papa - almost as old as dirt (as old as mud he said a second time - I think Papa's in deep mud if you ask me - just kidding).

No matter how old you are Nana, we love you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Extreme Makeover - Hailey Edition

Ever have one of those days when you should be angry and punish your little one for something they've just done, but instead you find yourself trying to hold back the laughs because the scene is so funny you can barely stand it? Well, let's just say that tonight was one of those nights. I had run to the store to pick up a few things right after putting the kids down for the night. Hailey has been a bit stubborn about going to bed lately and has invented all sorts of excuses to get up, including having to go to the bathroom 3 times in 10 minutes, if need be. Well, tonight as I was coming in, we heard a noise upstairs. Since I was busy putting away groceries, I sent Jeremiah up to check on which child it was and get them back to bed. Not more than a minute later, he came back downstairs and told me that he needed my help with one of the kids upstairs. He had kind of a strange look on his face (which I now realize was his "holding back the laughter" face), so I headed upstairs to see which one had gone potty in their pants or threw up all over or whatever. In the upstairs bathroom, I found this scene:

Yes, that would be make-up all over her face and pj's - including foundation, eyeliner, and mascara. Apparently she realized she was going to get in trouble, because when Jeremiah found her, she was trying to wash her hands with soap. The bottle of lotion was also on the floor, so apparently she was trying to moisturize as well. Have I taught her well or what? The funniest part about this whole thing was her answer when I asked her what she was doing. Her response: "I'm putting on my make-up Mommy!" With a look that said "Duh, what you do think I'm doing?" I stood there for about 10 seconds, trying to keep myself from bursting out laughing at what I was looking at. After I regained my composure, I was able to get things cleaned up (including her) and give her a little bit of a talking to about getting into Mommy's make-up. Luckily, she decided to do this little self makeover in her bathroom (which has a vinyl floor) instead of our master bathroom (which has carpeting) where the make-up was actually located. Other than a few little drops of foundation on the carpet (which happens to almost be the exact same color) so there are no noticeable stains, we came away with little effect other than a good laugh and a great story for the blog.

All Dressed Up and Ready To Go!

Today I was working and after hearing what was a bunch of noise behind me, I turned around and found Hailey looking like this:


Apparently she was "getting ready to go" as she explained when I asked her why she was all dressed up. She told me she had to go to the store to get some "groceys" (or groceries for the rest of us). She was all dressed up complete with two purses, her bear backpack, a tool belt, and her tigger slippers. She kept walking around the family room telling everyone goodbye and that she was going to the store and going to be back in a little bit. It was the cutest thing, I just had to take a picture!

July 24th - Pioneer Day

This year's Pioneer Day Celebration was really fun. Every year Uncle Bubby does a firework extravaganza affectionately entitled "The Big Show." This year we decided to do it at our house and the kids had a blast! Even though the older "kids" though they were too old for fireworks, they really got into it. Although if you ask them, they were just getting the sparklers ready for the kids.

Our kids had the most fun with the sparklers. Hailey was a bit hesitant at first, but once we got her to hold one, she was having a blast moving it around in the air. She kept saying, "Look Mom, I'm making circles" as she twirled it in the air. Zach loved it too and was running around swirling and twirling his sparkler.














After the pops and the sparklers were gone, Uncle Bubby put on his firework show. The kids were happy that there was really only 1 really loud one - our kids are not big on loud noises. Zach had a fun time picking out the next one with Aunt Afton for Uncle Bubby to light.

Meanwhile, Hailey spent the whole time on Papa's lap, nice and wrapped up in a blanket.

Thanks Uncle Bubby and Aunt Afton for all the time and money in putting on The Big Show - the kids are still talking about it today and they can't wait for next year.

Explanations of Spreadsheets and Drawings

Ok, since Genny asked I'll explain my references in my last posting. You see, I have this spreadsheet. Actually, just calling it a spreadsheet seems like less than adequate, although that's really all it is - a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. But, it contains all of my finances - not only that but has a list of all of the gifts we've given people since we've been married (birthdays, anniversaries, chrismas', etc.) and a whole lot more. My brother likes to tease me about having my whole life programmed into that spreadsheet. I usually take offense, but to be honest, he's probably right. I have lists of things I want to do, things I have to pay, even a schedule of the family christmas lists for the past 5 years in that one file! It's sad to be honest, but it's a handy place for me to keep track of everything I need to. There are few things that would really put me into a panic if I lost and I have to say that this spreadsheet ranks in the top 10.

As far as the drawing in CT goes. Jeremiah and I were walking through the mall one day not long after we were married and we were flagged down by one of those guys with the clipboard - you know the ones I'm talking about. They wander around the center section of the mall where they get your attention (if you're stupid enough to make eye contact) and then beckon you over to have you listen to the latest spiel about some new, fancy product. Well, we fell into the trap and found ourselves being talked into entering a drawing for a free home security system. Thinking that we never win anything, we entered just to get the guy to let us go and get on with our shopping. We didn't think anything about it, but low and behold, 2 months later we got a phone call out of the blue stating that we had won a complete security system with service paid for like 6 months or something. That was fine and dandy, except that we were renting and had a clause in our rental contract stating we could not make any structural changes to the condo we were renting. After explaining to the person on the phone that we couldn't use it, she was completely surprised and asked us why we even entered the drawing in the first place. We explained that we were being polite and that their sales person would basically not take no for an answer. We told her to go ahead and give the prize to the next drawn person. She was less than enthusiastic, but agreed to pass it to the next person. So basically, that's the only thing we have ever won and of course, we couldn't even use it!

Tagged ...

I am: Jerilyn Downs Hawks
I think: the best sound in the world is the sound of my children laughing
I know: I am blessed far more than I deserve
I want: to organize and keep track of everything (ask me about my spreadsheet sometime)
I have: a wonderful husband and two beautiful children
I wish: my husband was home with us all the time (he's off of school for the summer and we're getting spoiled)
I hate: not having my house clean, especially when we have company
I miss: having time to sit and read
I fear: I won't be good at things I do (especially at being a wife and mother)
I feel: blessed to have everything we do
I hear: Little Einsteins and Barney (my kids like to watch different things)
I smell: Goldfish (which are sitting right next to me as Hailey is snacking)
I crave: cheese and fruit
I search: for easier ways to do things
I wonder: when my kids will quit fighting with each other
I regret: yelling at my kids (I obviously do this a little too often)
I love: spending time with my family, organizing anything, and blogging
I care: about my family
I always: worry about being prepared for the future
I believe: that with a little hard work you can accomplish anything
I dance: never - I hate too left feet!
I sing: only to the kids and when no one else is around
I don't always: clean my oven as often as I should (this is on my mind because I just did it after going forever with it dirty)
I fight: with myself about letting things go (I'm a perfectionist and always want to do everything perfectly, even when it's not physically possible)
I write: on my blog more than anything else
I lose: hardly anything - my motto is everything has a place and everything in it's place
I win: only things I can't use (ask me sometime about the drawing we entered in CT)
I never: leave my house messy, even if I'm just going to the store
I listen: to country music (when I get a chance)
I am scared of: snakes and not living up to my full potential
I need: enough time in the day to get everything done
I am happy about: the fact that my family is healthy and happy
I tag: Holli Downs, Afton Downs, and Kylie Downs (soon to be Cherry)