Discovering Self Reliance - Part 4: Emergencies & Really Being Ready For Them

Another big part of becoming totally self reliant is being able to care for yourself and your family in an emergency, either a large scale natural disaster like we recently saw in Japan or even on a smaller scale, say a small scale power outage that might last for even a few days. There are many things that can happen, and we may never fully be prepared for something like an earthquake, a flood or anything even worse than that, but we can do the best we can to be as prepared as possible just in case.

When I was younger, my sister, just 19 months my younger, fell in love with The Little House on the Prairie books, she read them all the time, and over and over again. She loved them so much that I figured they had to be a good read, well it was about that time when I really learned and understood that everyone has different tastes, likes and dislikes. I tried to read them, but I couldn't really handle them at all! While I couldn't handle the book itself, I did like the idea behind them; living in a simpler time, no modern conveniences.
One day, my sister and I concocted a plan, and presented it to our mother. For three days we would live like the people then! No cooking unless it was over a fire, and while we didn't have a well to draw water from, we would have to go outside with our buckets and use the outside tap from the house to get all our water, for baths preparing meals and everything. WE would also turn off the heater and use our fireplace for heat. If it was hot we would open windows instead of turning on the air conditioner or swamp cooler. The whole nine yards (my sister and I even wanted to dress the part! So we got out old dresses from the dress up pile). I can't remember exactly how much of our plan my mom went for and agreed to do, but I do remember having to fill buckets with water multiple time, building fires in the fireplace. The point of our little experiment was so that we could really appreciate the modern conveniences that we had. I think it worked at the time.

About three days ago, our air conditioner's circuit board died. I'm not sure exactly what happened to it technically speaking (that is my dad's and my husband's department) but it is gone now, and as a result, the heater won't turn on either. So we have been without heat or cool air for the last few days. It forced us to clean out the windows on the first day so we could open them without getting gunk blown in the house that we really didn't want on our floors (a project that wasn't really due for another couple of weeks). The first couple days wasn't bad at all! It was nice warm weather with a wind, outside the wind was pretty bad and actually did some damage, but for us it was perfect because it kept our house the perfect temperature. Today, however, it got really cold! It's been raining since early this morning and is supposed to rain till Friday when we just get a day break on Saturday then back to rain. The house has gotten really cold already, and I know it will just get colder. I'm not too worried, because we have lots of blankets and warm clothing to keep us warm. We still have power so I can make hot meals. And if worse really comes to worse, we live next door to my Mother, so we can always go over their, even overnight if we had to. I bundled up the babies this morning when I got them dressed, they are now all in their warmest clothes, and will be perfectly comfortable all day! I even made sure and put on warm pants and just a t-shirt to make sure I know how they are doing.

This little experience though has made me think about what would happen if the power went out for a few days. What if we didn't have heat in the middle of winter? What if the AC went out in the hottest month of the year? Would we really be OK?

Then I had an idea! (I just love those light bulb moments)

Once each month, it would be a good idea if you went without something for one week to really see what you would need in an emergency situation to survive! I think my family and I will do this. It's a great idea (if I do say so myself) to really get to the point that we have what we need to be able to be totally self reliant in any situation.
That breaks down to only 12 weeks a year that you go without something. Your list will be different than mine, and you'll want to tailor it to what you think you would benefit from most, but this is the first draft of our list:

Month	Go Without	What We Need/To Improve
May	Heat/Air Conditioning	-Clean Fireplace -Wood Stockpile -Warm Sweaters for Kids
June	Electronics: Computer, TV, Video Games etc…
July	Car (except Dad for work ONLY)
August	Stove/Microwave/Toaster etc. (all Meals cooked over fire)
September	Washing Machine And Dryer
October	Lights
November	Grocery Shopping
December	Phones?
January	Waste Free
February	Fridge/Freezer (all food we use this week will Come from pantry etc…)
March	Running Water (just a day or two, excluding the toilet)
April	Diapers

This list is subject to change, and we will fine tune it for what we think we need to learn to go without, but if we can do everything on this list, we will be teaching ourselves how to live without those things, we will know we CAN live without them, and we will also know what we need to do to plan and prepare for a disaster if those things were suddenly gone for a while!

Running water we will only be doing for a couple of days, because it is pointless to use up out entire water storage on an experiment. But two days should be plenty to help us know exactly how much water we would use on a daily basis for our family so we can adjust the amount we would need to store.

Diapers: Going without disposable diapers for a week might sound like over-kill, and we are already using cloth diapers, but it is on this list because I think it is a skill that everyone should know, just in case they need it. Also, I couldn't think of anything else to go without yet, so when I do, I will switch it out.

If I can go a week without using my washer and dryer, I can learn how to do laundry by hand. I will be able to keep clothes clean in a situation where it is necessary to do so.
Going without electronics is something that might seem odd, but it will give a great idea of things we could start investing in to have us entertained if we had to go without power for a while. Also, we will learn to rely on other methods of getting out information other than the internet and refresh our memories son how to do it and this it is possible.

I'm excited to start doing this list, and I really feel it will help our family know a lot better how to take care of ourselves should something tragic happen. Let me know if you have any ideas of other things to go without for a while in emergency preparedness preparation? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to leave a comment.

Discovering Self Reliance - Part 1
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 2: Living on Welfare
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 3: Realizing Your Talents
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 4: Emergencies & Really Being Ready For Them
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 5: Learning New Skills - Maintaining Your Vehicle

Life Isn't Fair... Even When You're Sick

Today I am sick as a dog! (not sure where that phrase even comes from) I don't have much energy to blog a real post, so I'm going to vent my frustrations on here today about life not being fair and then try to tie it into being frugal or fabulous somehow... not fun though, because when you are sick... it is never fun!

I'm not contagious, I don't have a virus or a "bug"... it is simply my body's way of screaming at em to stop and slow down. You see it's mad at me right now for pushing myself too hard, 24/7. Doing everything all the time for everyone even when I should slow down. Problem is, I can't stop and rest either, I have kids to take care of... three of them. And when you have even one child you know that when they need you, they need you! You can't just ignore them till they go away, though sometimes I bet we all wish they would :)

Even If I sat there and let the house fall apart, and just worried about myself and my children, and our basic needs; there is no way I'd actually get any real rest. Tummies need fed, diapers need changed, tempers need time outs, and babies need play time. Add that all together and you have very little (if any) down time. Not to mention the fact that when I'm under the weather, I get absolutely exhausted! When I get sick, if I sit down for even 5 minutes to just "relax" I fall asleep and I am out for at least half an hour. Yes my body needs the rest, so I know why it happens, the problem is, that when your kids are all under the age 5 (3 years, 2 years and 8 months old to be exact) That half hour nap can be a very dangerous thing.

So, I'm home alone with the kid's, I feel absolutely ill and beyond tired, but I have to keep doing little chores and other things around the house just so I can stay awake and make sure the kids don't get hurt... all of which just makes me even more tired and sick. A vicious cycle if ever I saw one. Add on top of all that the emotional angst I get right about now... How life is SO NOT FAIR!

My husband gets sick, he calls in sick at work. He takes a day or two off to get better. While he is home, I cook, clean, take care of the kids (just like I do when he is at work) plus take care of him. Making sure he has everything he needs to get better fast so he doesn't have to miss any more work than necessary. I wait on him hand and foot, let him sleep as much as he needs and take on the extra stress of trying as hard as I can to keep the kids quiet as they play so daddy won't wake up.
Then I get sick, Daddy still goes to work, and I still get to do all the daily routine stuff. No break for mommy to get her feeling better. No time off, no rest for the weary.

Now, I know every single mother has had this happen to them at some point, and I may just be kicking a dead horse.... but again I say... So not fair!

The saddest part is, there is not much to be done. We do what we have to do and push through as best we can.

Here is the part where I try to tie this all in to being frugal and fabulous... I'm not doing very well, but I am going to refer back to a post I did before.... It's OK to be Lazy, Just Plan For It. If you can try to be prepared for days like these, that frozen TV dinner can be a life saver when you are not quite at 100%. That package of Huggies can save you some heartache when you are sick instead of using the cloth diapers that day. Read the full article here.

So that is my venting rant... tears steaming down my face as I type because it is just one of those days. (hopefully there aren't too many typos in this post, that I can't see due to impaired tear vision.)

In conclusion:
To all those Mother's who are stay at home parents (and Father's who are too), to anyone that has ever had to push through the worst day of their lives just to get to the next worst day, to those of us that keep putting our families needs first in spite our own needs that just can't be met at the moment...

You are amazing!

Don't' forget that! I love you and God loves you and you are NOT alone! Hang in there, it may not even get better or easier, but you are (in my book) the true definition of a super hero! You keep chugging through each day, sometimes second to second, but you are doing it! And that is the part that counts!

My prayers go out to all of those who are not well right now, physically, emotionally or spiritually. May your needs be met, and even some of your wants. May the time come when you can have that needed break, and may you have the strength to push through until then.
God bless you all.

Keep up the faith, in God and in yourself!

Raising, Molding & Influencing Our Children

I was at the store last night grabbing a few last minute things that I totally spaced I needed... and I was just looking at all the parents there with their kids. I saw kids from just a few months old to preteens. And it hit me, just how much we mold our children.

When you think about it awe are all born into this world, with the exception of genes and looks, identical to one another. We all have a mother, even if it is just for a short time, we all breathe, we all see for the first time. And we are pretty much a blank slate. IF left entirely to ourselves we would inevitable become our own individuals and develop our own personalities, but everything we become is a result of our experiences. As parents, we have the biggest influence to our children's experiences, for better or worse.

As I was looking at these kids in the store, walking with their parents, being pushed in a hopping cart, being scolded for running off or whatever they were doing, it hit me just how much each child looked like their parents! I'm not just talking about "he has your eyes" or "she has the same smile", I mean they acted like their parents. Everything from their little personalities to their clothes were influenced by their parents, because that's how their parents act, dress, laugh, and the list goes on. We learn by example, and we teach by example. Kids notice everything! They pick up on the smallest facial expressions and eventually learn to know and interpret exactly what they mean.
A child watches his mother's face as she comes into a room when he knows he has done something wrong to see her reaction. He knows the second you see what happened exactly how much trouble he is in.
They see how we eat, and follow suit. My son insists that I help him "spin" his spaghetti every time we eat it because that's how I do it.

The same goes with how we live our lives. If we can push ourselves to be better stewards over what we have, to better spend our money and time, our children will pick up on that, follow suit and have that part of their life as adults so much easier to handle.

"Breaking the mold" is the hard part. We learned from our parent show to live. How to cook, how not to cook. How to spend money, how to waste money. How to even spend our free time. If you grew up in a family where the budget was always tight, but your parents stuck to it, and made the most out of what they had. If they saved every penny they could and lived without, and were happy that way, then you likely will do the same thing as an adult and pass that to your children. If you grew up in a family with the exact same circumstances but your parents accepted that fate grudgingly and complaining all the time, then when you are older, you won't think that that is a great way to live. You may live in within your means as an adult, but you still may spend more than necessary and probably not ever build up a savings because you were taught buy example that living that way wouldn't make you happy.

Step back, look at your life, then look at your children. If you are content with what you have, if you are truly happy to live the way you are, and if you and your family are in need of nothing, keep it up!
But if you look at your situation, and see some small area that could use improvement, try to change that for the better!

We teach by example, and out children learn to live the way we do. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree", if the tree is bad, the apple can't fall very far from it, and if the tree is good, the apple won't want to.

I haven;t changed much from what I was taught by my parents, and there is a lot of good I learned from them. But, they are human, and made mistakes (just like I know I will) and I can see there is room for improvement. Breaking that mold is hard! But I know that if my children can benefit from it, then it will be well worth it.

Smith's Shopping Trip 5/13/11 & This Week In Review

Went to Smith's today to grab a few things for the weekend. We are going to the Zoo for my daughters birthday, as well as celebrating my sister's birthday. Lots to do, and I needed things for the day trip. I also grabbed a few other things as well that we needed, and other wants :)

$60.61 worth of stuff
I paid only $21.78
That's a 66% savings!!!

Not bad at all for lunch meat, hair color, and stylers, not to mention everything else on there! By the way, I finally got my free boulder canyon potato chips! YAY FOR FREE!


Also, this week I got my Procter & Gamble sampler pack! I got a $1/1 Cheer product as well as a bunch of different samples of things too! I love free, and even though these are just samples, they are things I use, so it adds up!



A while ago, Suave was having a promotion on there site for their professionals line. I finally got my coupons from them this week for my free product! I was very excited to get those from the store today. Can't wait to see how they actually work now!

Chicken Enchilada Recipe - Another Origional From My Kitchen

I made these for Cinco de Mayo this month, and was planning on posting the recipe the next day, but spaced it. These were super easy to make and amazingly tasty! I'm planning on making them again this weekend sometime! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did, I pulled this recipe from my own little brain as I went, and it turned out wicked awesome! So here it is, another of my originals!
Pardon the picture I forgot to take a picture when they were fresh, so this is actually a pic of the leftovers the next day, and I added a little extra cheese to it before I microwaved it. I'm a cheese addict... and I'm OK with that :)



5-6 Corn Tortillas
2 Chicken Breasts Boiled and shredded
1 Medium Sized Onion Chopped
1 Chili Pepper Seeded and Chopped
1-2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 Can Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Cream Cheese (softened)
Pepper Jack Cheese & Cheddar Cheese, Grated (as much as you like, I used a little more than 1 cup of each)

Boil the chicken until cooked through, remove from water and let cool before shredding it to avoid burns. You can prepare the chicken well before hand and refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.

Chop the onion and the pepper; saute in oil or butter until tender.

Combine soups, sour cream and cream cheese. Mix until well blended. Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of soup mixture, then stir in the onions, peppers and chicken into the larger portion of the soup mix.

Heat a corn tortilla in a frying pan to soften it, then put a generous amount of the chicken mix on it. Sprinkle a line of cheddar and a line of pepper jack cheese in top of the chicken mix, then roll the tortilla, and place it in a greased 9x9 baking pan. Repeat until chicken mix is gone and pan is filled.

Spread the remaining soup mixture evenly over the top of the enchiladas. Then sprinkle the rest of the cheeses on top. You can use as much or as little cheese as you want.

Bake for about 20 minutes (or until heated through and cheese is all melted) at 350 degrees.

Serves 5-6

Cloth Diapering - T-Shirt Diapers

I mentioned before that I was going to do a post on my cloth diapering attempt, so here it is! If you don't want to cloth diaper I still suggest you read how to do this. It's great to know just in case there is a natural disaster or even if you don't have another option down the road. It's good knowledge to have.

OK, this is my third... or fourth... attempt at cloth diapering and I think I've finally figured it out. Now I know there are a LOT of different ways to cloth diaper from what you use to how you do it, but this is what we finally figured out works for us! I'll admit that a LOT (if not most) of these ideas cam from Cloth Diapers by Cotton Babies If I'm remembering right, the only original idea I use is the fleece insert.

Here is what you will need:

• A T-Shirt (Medium is fine for smaller babies, but for toddlers or really big babies, I'd suggest large)
• A piece of fleece (no sewing needed, just cut a rectangle that will fit inside the diaper)
• Safety Pins OR a Snappi
• A waterproof diaper cover (I'm using the cheap ones you can find Wal-Mart until my Bummis come in the mail)
• Wet Wipes
• Optional: Non-Chlorine bleach.

Below is what the Snappi looks like.
They are SO easy to use, I will never mess with pins again!

Your fleece can be any color, it doesn't matter. Just whatever scraps you have laying around. BUT, if you stay away from brow or green colors, it is a LOT easier to tell if your child is poopy before you open up the diaper for a change.

The first thing you'll need to do is take your t-shirt and lay it out flat as shown below, smoothing it out as best you can. Make sure you do it on a flat hard surface, it will save you time rather than trying to keep it flat and smooth on the couch or bed or even the carpet.

Once you have it flattened, hold the top and bottom of the shirt about one third of the way over, (about at the edge of the collar and straight across to the bottom edge) and fold it into thirds. It should look something like this when you are done:

Then take the top and fold it down so the sleeve folds in half. If your t-shirt's sleeves arent straight across (like mine aren't) they wont be exactly in half. That's OK, you can just fold the top shoulder seam down to meet the arm-pit seam.

Then fold the bottom of the t-shirt up to meet the collar:

If your child is bigger, you don't have to fold the bottom all the way up, it just depends on how big your baby is. You may need to play with the finished length a bit your first time to see where is best for you.

This is that part that is ingenious (if I do say so myself). Take your fleece scrap and lay it flat in the diaper. Fleece isn't really a really absorbent fabric, so it allows wet to pass through and be absorbed by the t-shirt diaper while pulling a lot of the moisture away from baby, but the best part is that it also catch solids so all you need to rinse out in the toilet is that little piece of fabric, not the whole t-shirt! I'm so SMART! :) The best part about this, is the fleece doesn't fray so you don't have to sew the edges.

Once you've done all that, simply fold the bottom of the diaper up to meet the top, and fold te sleeves over like so:

I fold all my diapers fresh as soon as they come out of the dryer. So I just have a stack of ready-to-use diapers:

When you are ready to use the diaper, just grab one and open it like you would a store bought diaper, and lay it under your child:

Wrap the bottom up and over, then hold

Pull the sleeves up and around your child's waist like so:

The you are ready to pin the sleeves in place, or just stretch your snappi like this! Once you've done that, you just need to put the diaper cover on your little one and they are ready to go!

MY favorite thing about the t-shirt diapers is that they get so much cleaner in the wash than other diapers I've used or seen because they open up completely! Also, because they are pretty much in the shape of a diaper already, they keep their shape once on the child much better, and they are a lot easier to fold in the first place. Not to mention you can use just about any t-shirt you want. If you have a bunch of old t-shirts just laying around, you've already got what you need! If not, just go to the yard sales around pick up a bunch for wicked cheap. You can always wash them a few times before you put them on your baby's bum. These are great for emergencies, as well as the fact that they really take so little skill and time to use!

Happy diapering!

Past Posts you might find interesting:
It's OK to be Lazy... Just Plan For It
Rewards vs. Value
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 1
Menu Planning & Planning "Alternative"
Smith's Shopping Trip 5/4/11

Discovering Self Reliance - Part 3: Realizing Your Talents

So, at church in my ward I am one of the teachers in Relief Society. I teach only once a month (the third Sunday) which means that I am teaching this coming Sunday! Can anyone guess what my lesson is? Anyone? Talents you say? Exactly right! As such, I've got talents on the brain and, in my opinion, it takes a lot of that to become Self Reliant.

When you truly can get to the point where you are self reliant, self sufficient and self sustaining, you are no longer relying on anyone else other than yourself. You meet all of your basic needs with what you have and what you can get on your own. You have an income from a job of some sort (whether self employed, or employed by someone else). But being self reliant doesn't mean your income has to be 6 figures. When you are truly self reliant, it is because you can live within your means, spending less than you are making and that will be different for everyone.

Getting to that point, especially if you make a minimal amount of money, can be very challenging. When I see the word challenge, I just see a synonym for creativity, or a reason to get creative. Whenever you see something that you need, it may cost money. You may have the money to spend, or you may not. Even if you do have the money on hand, it may be better spent in your savings account rather than on the need at hand. So you can look at your (here comes the T word) talents and see how you can meet that need while spending the least amount of money.

When you think of the word talent, you might think of the things that most often come to mind:

Singing
Dancing
Sports
Acting
Sewing
Painting
Photography
other Arts and Crafts

This list can go on and on (and it does) But you have to remember that there are other talents out there as well, things that are just as important and even more so than the list "obvious" talents listed above. These talents may not even be recognized as talents. But I can assure you that they are:

Patience
Being good with Kids
Creativity
"Looking Outside the Box"
Communication Skills
Entertaining Others (besides artistically)
Being a Good Friend
Good Listener

God has given every single one of us talents. Some may have many, others may just have 1 or 2. But they were given to us to help better ourselves and others. Our families and our personal lives can be greatly enriched when we can search for these talents and learn to exercise them and use them to enrich our lives and others.

So when it comes to being self reliant, you might wonder how your talents can help achieve that. Here is an example.
When I was growing My mother would sew things from patterns and one time she made all of us kids brand new swimming suits! that was so cool, that I wanted to learn how to sew. She tried to teach me but I just couldn't get it. Later, my Aunt tried to teach me, and I still couldn't figure it out. I got the basics of how to use the sewing machine and got pretty good at working it, but following a pattern to actually make something? Forget it, I couldn't do it to save my life. Later on, when we were expecting our first baby, I realized we were in serious need of crib sheets. We went to the store to get some, but they were so expensive that I just couldn't see spending $8 or more per sheet when we needed other things so much more. I collected a bunch of old Queen sized Flat sheets from my mother-in-law who was cleaning out her storage room and with some experimenting, and a few mistakes, I was able to successfully make half a dozen crib sheets for just the cost of thread and elastic. I spent about $3 and saved at least $40. I still can't follow a pattern for the life of me. But I can figure out simple patterns on my own.

If you have a talent for cooking, or figuring gout your own recipes you can save a lot money by not having to buy as many pre-made ingredients or frozen foods. If you are not great at cooking, you can always practice and learn that new skill.

Being good with kids can be an incredible asset. If you are a stay at home parent, and your family needs a little extra income but you really want to stay home with your kids, that talent of being great with kids could make a few extra bucks a month. You could look into getting licensed to run a day-care out of your home, or even just check the local laws and see what you can legally charge for without a license at all. you may be able to charge a small fee to just watch a couple of the neighbor kids a few times a week.

The talent of being entertained easily, or even entertaining others as well as being social (believe it or not is a skill and talent not everyone has) can come in handy when you want to save a few bucks each month. Rather than having a date night out, you can host a monthly game night with friends. Have everyone bring a snack and their favorite game, and all you have to do is play host/hostess, helping you save at least $30 a month.

Get creative in filling the needs of your family by using your talents, or learning new ones, and you'll be surprised at how far that can take you on your path to self reliance!


Discovering Self Reliance - Part 1
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 2: Living on Welfare
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 3: Realizing Your Talents
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 4: Emergencies & Really Being Ready For Them
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 5: Learning New Skills - Maintaining Your Vehicle