Wordless Wednesday

I am adopting this fun blog idea! Every Wednesday I will just post a picture from my week or a picture that I want to share with my readers. Enjoy!

cardboard box + kid = FUN FUN FUN

be prepared

In light of the recent tragedies all over the world (Japan, New Zealand, etc) I want to share our disaster kit. I believe that every family needs one of these...you don't have to live on a fault line or near fast rising water to be subject to disaster...blackouts, floods, snowstorms, house fire, extreme weather, locust swarms...just kidding, but you get what I mean here.

It took one trip to Walmart, Canadian Tire and a local first aid supply store to completely outfit our family with a skookum disaster kit. The approx. cost of creating this kit was about $50 and that includes the backpack! The best part about creating your own kit instead of buying one off Red Cross, for example, is that you can customize it to fit the needs of your family!

This is what our kit looks like:

Here is what is in it:

• folding camp stove and two fuel cans
• flashlight and batteries
• glow sticks
• foil blankets
• fleece blanket
• work gloves
• dust masks
• fire sticks
• waterproof matches
• wet wipes
• diapers (just a couple for the babe)
• protein bars
• fruit leather
• duct tape
• tissues
• can opener
• small first aid kit
• body warmer packs
• orange garbage bags
• water jug
• water purification tabs
• cans of soup and beans
• ready to eat tuna and salmon
• whistle
• pack of playing cards and small stuffy for the kids
• phone list and health card numbers
• radio
• juice boxes
• family photo
• hand sanitizer
• toiletries (soap, toothbrushes, extra glasses/contacts, feminine hygiene)
• pen/pencil and paper
• $10 cash

I used a combination of list items from the Red Cross kit checklist and the BC Provincial Government emergency preparedness checklist. I have also included a few things from my days in child care. Please feel free to use my list and create your own personalized emergency kit!

Now the next part...where do I store said kit. Well, we like to store ours away from the main living area of the house in either the garage or storage shed. Most importantly I store it near a window so that if we need to access it and the house or shed or garage is not accessible, we can break the window, reach in and grab it.

Also remember to have a date at least once a year to check you kit! Change out the food and water as well as the batteries for radio and flashlights.

If it sounds like I have put a lot of thought into this, I have. Living on a fault line, near the ocean....why wouldn't you be ready!!

An hour for the earth or more?

So.....whadda do for earth hour??

It was last night from 8:30-9:30. The idea is to completely power down your house for one hour. Everything that isn't essential (like your fridge) gets unplugged...not just turned off...unplug it (dang phantom power).

It is a simple and clever idea. Every year we participate and sign up through WWF. And every year I discover these things:

a) all the little things you have forgotten you plugged in and don't really need to be plugged in anymore
b) the amount of unnecessary power you are using
c) how "plugged" in we are as a family.

The last discovery is always a bit of a shock and disappointing to me. Shamefully, I realize that we are always on the computer, watching TV or a movie, playing apps on our iphones, etc.
It is when we are "forced" not to go to these plugged-in activities that I see how much fun we are missing out on! Last night, the kids were in bed for earth hour, so hubby and I lit some candles, started a fire, and just chatted....you thought I was going somewhere else didn't you...tsk tsk naughty. We chatted about the kids, about work, about our new house, about the future. We just connected in a completely uninterrupted way and it was nice.

Before kids, we used to have a day called "TV-less Tuesday". It stemmed from the fact that we didn't like any of the shows playing prime time Tuesday evening and didn't have a PVR! So we just didn't turn it on at all. We talked, played cards, read...whatever.

I am officially reinstating TV-less Tuesday! This also means computer-less Tuesday... so no bloggin on Tuesdays, which means you too can instate TV-less Tuesday in your household too!

Let me know how it goes!

woof woof

Kai's new trick is woofing...at anything with fur. It is one of the cutest little things ever...although I think everything my kids do is cute. The best part about it is how proud he is of himself when he spots something fuzzy and woofs at it. He lights up from within.

Hana's new trick is turning into a werewolf...serious tantrum time. I swear she has spent more than half her day screaming today.
hmmm. not so cute. She is only lighting up with rage.

I have started to read a new book "Honey I Wrecked the Kids" by Alyson Schafer. I am only into it halfway, but it really is making a lot of sense to me so far. It is written like my girlfriend is talking to me. Exactly what a frazzled mama needs - no heady theories etc...just the quick and dirty. I will provide a more comprehensive review once I am done.

Why can't they be cute all the time???
*sigh*

Wish me luck.
woof.

Happy Green Patrick's Day

My daughter woke up this morning, ran out of her room yelling "Happy Green Patrick's Day".
And my littlest little is jiggin it up all afternoon....seeing that they are 1/4 Newfoundlanders they most likely have Irish in them somewhere! So....Happy Green Patrick's Day!

Japan, you are in my thoughts...

The recent devastation and tragedy in Japan has hit home hard.

My dear husband's family resides in Sendai and a small village just south of Sendai. He has four aunts and a brood of cousins who are all there and have been affected somehow by the earthquake and tsunami. Luckily everyone is okay, but a scary time for sure.

Watching the events unfold on tv has been emotionally exhausting. One clip showed the hospital where one of his cousins works as a nurse become engulfed by raging waters.

These days I find myself giving longer hugs and more I love you's to my dear ones. I also find myself incredibly grateful as I sit on my cozy couch in front of a warm fire with a cookie and tea. I think of those huddled in a emergency shelter praying that their loved ones are okay. I feel sad and guilty and want to do more to help!

Below are a few links on organizations providing aid to Japan in this time of need.
Please take the time to help somehow, even if it is only $1... or helping organize a fundraiser...it all helps.

Canadian Red Cross
The Salvation Army
Save the Children
Global Giving

double digits

My baby is now 10 months....10 whole months! Where did the time go. I must admit that I shed a little tear as we entered into double digits. Too quickly did his infancy vanish...no more gummy smiles, newborn coos, loving gazes....

All that has been replaced by a top speed crawler who likes to "sing" aka screech, find anything small and put it immediately in the mouth, and calls out for "maamaa" in the middle of the night.

I do miss those cuddle snuggle newborn days, but my little man is a ball of giggles and delight. He finds joy and fun in anything (a box of kleenex is hours of pure bliss!). He is a good constant reminder of finding joy in all we do.

I love you my little double digit.
now get that leaf out of your mouth.....