My 72 hour kit

So my 72 hour kit has mostly what Kira's has, with a few of Ella's things in as well.
Food:
1 2 liter bottle of water
2 16.9oz bottles of water (Mine and Ella's)
assorted crystal light flavoring packets
1 sterno cooking fuel
Breakfast:
2 cans fruit cocktail
1 can mandarin oranges (I would like to add a can of mandarin oranges for each person in our family but when I went to the store I couldn't find any with the pop tops.)
Lunch/snacks:
9 snack crackers (Ella's and Mine.)
4 applesauce squeeze tubes (2 for me and 2 for Ella.)
2 breadsticks with cheese (Again, one for me and one for Ella.)
2 granola bars
2 packages of peanuts
1 monster slim jim
2 packets fruit snacks
Dinner:
1 can corn
1 can green beans (Again, I would like to get a couple more cans of green beans but I could only find the corn when I went shopping this week.)
1 can spaghettio's
1 soup at hand (vegetable beef flavor)
1 top ramen
Time to go off on a bit of a tangent. I know that we have some food for Ella, but not everything. In a year I will need to get her the same amount of food as everyone else, until then breastmilk will be her main staple and even if I don't get as many calories as I need to, my body will put her first. This has been proven time and time again by women who were all but starving and yet they were still able to feed their child. I have prayed about this and know that is true for me. I would recommend praying about it and letting the Lord guide you on what is right for your infant.
Clothing:
underclothes for me (not pictured)
long sleeve shirt
sweatpants
long socks
1 receiving blanket (Obviously for Ella.)
5 diapers (Diapers are size 2. You can always make a larger diaper fit, but can't get a smaller one on a larger baby.)

Miscellaneous:
Book of Mormon
Container of mints
Toothbrush & toothpaste
chapstick
deodorant
comb & hair thing (I just added this tonight when I was thinking about it. I also added a comb and hair thing to each of the girls packs.)
Money - 1 $20 bill, 1 $10 bill, 2 $5 bills, 10 $1 bills and a roll of quarters (not pictured.)
poncho (I'm not sure why we don't have these in the girls packs but I will be getting one for each child and adding them.)
3 emergency candles
tissues
emergency blanket
large package of wipes
bandaids (with the antibacterial ointment already on them)
pocket knife
insect repellent
flashlight & batteries
hand sanitizer
disinfecting spray
sunscreen
matches
2 lighter's
soap
infants tylenol
pacifier

Not pictured:
Copy of my Patriarchal Blessing
Copy of insurance cards & drivers license
Contact information for family out of state (Including a list of family members who have a ham radio, their call signs and where they are located.)
Family picture


Congrats! You made it through another 72 hour post! Just one more to go and we're done. And yes, I saved the largest post for last. I am sure I am not being as clear as I could be so if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I can explain the why.

What Kira Carries

It's time for Kira's 72 hour kit! I know, you have been checking my blog every 5 minutes...the anticipation is killing you, right?
This is Kira's first year with a 'big' backpack. She has all of her items in her pack. Needless to say, she was/is really excited about it. The little things in childhood that make you happy are so fun to see!
Before I give a list of the food items that she carries, I want to go off on a little tangent. To me, if we were to ever have to use our 72 hour kits, I would be stressed up to the max. Yet I don't want that to affect my kids. I want them to see it as a big adventure, which was how they saw the tornado's/power outage last April. To a kid, trekking along and eating out of a backpack can be an adventure. That is the way I want them to see it. Which is why we have the food that we have in our packs. I remember being a teenager and changing out the food in our kits(I bet it had been well over 5 years since we had done that...) and no one would touch the food. I remember thinking that yes, this food would keep me alive, but would I be able to swallow it? Would my super picky little brother throw it up like he threw up 1/2 his food if my Mom made him take a bite? That thought stuck with me and prompted the way I do my kits now. If you like the food then it will be less of a hardship to stay alive and especially for kids, can make it more of an adventure. Also, the food is designed to keep you alive, not full.
Back to the food. This is what Kira has in her pack.
For breakfast everyday: 1 can of fruit cocktail - it has a pop top so we don't have to worry about the extra weight/space of a can opener.
For lunch/snacks: 1 monster slim jim, 2 squeezable apple sauce, 2 granola bars, 2 packages peanuts, 2 fruit snacks, 1 biscuits and cheese, 6 cracker packages - oreos, rits bits, nilla wafers, etc. - and one juicy drop pop for her treat.
For dinners: 1 can spaghettio's, 1 stars and chicken soup at hand and 1 pkg top ramen. *For the top ramen please note that we do not have a bowl to cook it in, it will be eaten raw and need water to drink down with it.
For an extra one night we also have 1 can of corn.

Yes, having her food in cans does add more weight. To me the upsides of having cans outweighs the weight that would be dropped within the first day or two. The cans have extra liquid which can be drunk adding water and vitamins to your body. The cans also will be easily heated and you don't have to pack extra water to reconstitute the food. Again, I can't help but reiterate that my kids will eat the foods that I have packed. That is very important to me!
For water Kira has one 16.9oz water bottle and one 2 liter water bottle. *In Josh's and my pack's we have crystal light flavor packets to mix in with the water. We didn't put any in Kira's pack because she tends to spill 1/2 the package when she opens it.*

Clothing: Kira also has one pair of pants, a long sleeved shirt, underwear and a pair of knee socks. If Rora had any knee socks I would have put some in her pack instead of the ankle socks, but I'm to cheap to go buy knee socks for her.

Miscellaneous items in Kira's pack:
1 first aid kit containing bandaids, gauze, disinfecting wipes and burn ointment.
1 bar of soap
1 bottle hand sanitizer
1 toothbrush & 1 tube toothpaste
1 package tissues
1 emergency blanket
chap stick
1 lighter (We made sure that she knows how to light it and have gone over fire safety.)
1 pocket knife (Again, we have gone over safety and know that she can safely use it.)
1 emergency whistle
1 package wipes
2 emergency candles.
Not pictured:
1 flashlight (with batteries) - we have to buy a new one and the store was out of the inexpensive ones when I went so I have to go back.
2 glow sticks - The store was out when we went so I still have to get some fresh ones. (These do not need to be replaced every year, it's just been over 4 years since we got them so it is time to replace them.)
family picture (we're waiting for Ella to update it)
immunization records (I will get the updated ones from the Dr next week.)
And lastly contact information for family members. With Kira the information on there differs only slightly from Rora's. We don't have to put on it 'My name is Akira Babb, I am 5 years old.' because she can say that, where Rora probably can't/won't for a stranger.

I forgot to pull her toys out of the bag but she also has a little barbie with a few accessories as her toy.

That's it for Kira's pack. You made it through another post on our 72 hour kits. I hope that you've gotten a couple ideas to help you improve yours. I know whenever I talk to anyone about theirs versus mine I usually end up with a different something to change or add. Up next. My pack. DUN DUN DUUNNN!

Rora's 72 hour kit

**Disclaimer before you even read/look at this post. I hate trying to mess with pictures so they are what they are...i'm not even going to try to mess with it.**












This is the first in a series of post's on whats in our 72 hour kits and why. I'm starting with Rora's. This is her first year getting her own kit and please note that she is not carrying everything that we have for her. Only as much as she can do.

The carrying case is important. We use backpacks that have wheels. My thought on this is you can easily carry them on your back if the terrain is hard. (Of course, this would be after you have traveled as far as possible by vehicle.) The wheels/rolling capabilities can give your back a rest if you are able to be on smoother ground.

In Rora's 72 hour kit she has her snack foods. Mini oreos, chips ahoy, nutter butters, 2 ritz bits crackers, nilla wafers, breadsticks and cheese, two packages of peanuts, 2 squeezable applesauce, 2 granola bars, 2 fruit snacks and her treat, a juicy drop pop. She also has one 16.9oz water bottle.

She has her toothbrush and toothpaste. Her chapstick, emergency whistle, hand sanitizer, spoon, flashlight and batteries, tissues, emergency blanket and wet wipes.
She also has her clothes (don't forget the socks and underwear!). Sized large so she can still fit in them for the next year. We only put in long sleeved clothes. If something happened in the summer it's much easier to cut the sleeves and legs off clothes than carry an extra outfit.

Lastly pictured she has her toys. The items that aren't pictured are a family picture (I am waiting to update it when Ella is born.) her immunization records, a contact sheet with family information - Daddy and Mommy's cell phone number, Daddy's call sign for his ham radio and contact information for family in 3 states. Grandpa in UT, Grandparents in AZ and Great Aunt and Uncle in MN. The idea behind this is that if something happens to Josh and I and a major disaster happened here, something just as easily could have happened elsewhere so we have information for family in multiple places, just in case.

You can never be to prepared and hopefully we are prepared and never have a chance to see if we are prepared enough. Up next, What's in Kira's kit?

Our Adventure Today

Thanks so much Felicity for letting us come over and ride Chester! Kira had a blast and I bet that if I let her she would practically LIVE on him! She loves horses and today was a wonderful treat for her.



Rora got on Chester for the first time today! She was to scared last time we went over to ride him. It was nice as a Mom to see her get over that fear and then to love it and want to ride again and again. She did great and i'm so proud of her!



As for me, I LOVE horses (or ponies as in Chester's case.) There is just something so therapeutic about being around such majestic animals. They can send the blues away and leave my spirits lifted. Today was definitely a wonderful day!

Another brag...

I am so impressed with Kira today. Her math focused on fact families (the picture is 1 of 4 pages she did.) I thought for sure we would be spending a few days learning this concept but she picked it up and had all 4 pages done in less than 30 minutes! That was while eating and driving (which is why her handwriting isn't the best. The book was on her lap.) I just love to see her confidence soar when she is able to quickly understand the concept. She excels in math and I love that she loves it so much!
*The fact families are at the bottom of the page and of course, i'm not very good at photography so the picture isn't the greatest for showing her work.
***Oh, and did I mention it's a first grade math book and she isn't even in Kindergarten yet! :) ***

Just like Mommy...

Lately my back has caused a lot of problems. When I went to bed a couple nights ago this is how Rora was sleeping, with the wheat bag I use for my back under hers. It was a powerfully simple reminder that my children emulate everything I do. I just hope and pray that they pick up more good habits than bad!

Honestly!?!

I'm laying here on the couch keeping heat on my back while the family is at church. To pass the time I was reading through the comments on the pregnancy blog I read and I am completely disgusted.
For the past week or so the talk has all been about baby showers. For the most part I've skimmed through those comments because I really don't care about baby showers. I had one with Kira, it was fun, but not something that I made a big deal about. It was held at my Aunt's house and I can't tell you what we ate, what the theme was, if we played any games, or even what I received. I can tell you that I enjoyed it.
So back to the forum. Today the comments were mostly post shower and I am disgusted and physically sick at the tone of the comments. Here are a few excerpts.

"When I had my baby shower for my first I was furious because nobody bought anything off my registry. I got several of the larger items I wanted (travel system and swing) but people thought it was okay to just buy one that THEY liked. I ended up with a collection of Winnie the Pooh everything that I hate! It was almost a blessing that I knew I wasn't having a shower this time because I've just been getting what I need for myself."

"So I will have to pay out of pocket for everything I put on my registry that I needed: bassinet, diaper pail, bouncy swing, swaddle me blankets, bottle sterilizer and warmer, bottle cleaner, drying rack, and sling (i don't understand because everything On my List was under $50 except for the swing bouncy chair which to be honest i really wasn't expecting anyone to get me.) I have my shower and get TONS (don't get me wrong) but POINTLESS gifts. So now I have 4 weeks until she could come at any time and 7 weeks until my due date and then she WILL be here and now I feel like I am being rushed and I don't have enough time to get all the NECESSARY things I actually NEEDED. it's like where am I going to pull $400-500 of disposable income out of no where? I now feel stressed and unprepared and I can totally feel a spur of nesting and restlessness coming on."

" It just really sucks people don't take the time to look at your registry. A lot of the stuff I didn't want nor did i need. Very grateful and I really appreciate it but still just a little itty teensy bit sort kinda annoying."

And so on and so on. (All 3 comments are from different people and there were more than a dozen people that said basically the same thing...) Is our world really so selfish that people are no longer grateful for the energy and love that is put into giving them a shower? I just don't understand the mentality. Personally, I have had a couple offers from people to have a shower that I have declined because I don't really need anything (3rd girl and all) and I don't like the idea that on baby #3 people should feel obligated to help out with anything. Even with your first baby anything you get at a shower is above and beyond what is expected. When did our society turn from gratitude to one of expectations?
I guess it's just the shallowness of ordinary people that has me flabbergasted. I would almost expect it from a "celebrity," but ordinary people are supposed to have their heads on their shoulders. I just hope and pray that my children don't grow up to act anywhere near that way...

I just have to brag...

As a Mom I want to shout from the rooftops when my child does something extraordinary, and by extraordinary I of course, mean for them. Today for her reading Kira read 30 pages in an Amelia Bedelia book(level 2). She only needed help with a few words and was able to tell me the story a couple hours later without rereading it. Her comprehension has blossomed and I love that she is now enjoying reading stories as much as listening to them.
Then as we were reading stories I had to stop to catch my breath and yawn and she picked up the story where I had been without skipping a beat. She is so amazing! Oh how I love her! And then if that wasn't enough, as I was telling her the plan for tomorrow you would think it was Christmas because of how busy our day will be (babysitting, playing with friends, trip to the library, out to dinner and dance.) I love that such simple things give her so much pleasure :)

Just Keep Swimming...

Rora loves Finding Nemo! She gets to watch it each Thursday for about 40 minutes while Kira is dancing. We just sit in the car and I read while she watches it. Her favorite part is the 'Just Keep Swimming' and will sing it over and over and over again. It's so cute and a great weekly reminder for me to keep going.
The last 6 weeks or so have been really rough for me. I just can't seem to shake this little black rain cloud that has taken up residence above my head.
I feel so disconnected from the world. My family is far away, everyone has their own problems and their own life to live and they all have each other. Me? I have my little bubble. My hubby and a couple close friends. I'm sure it's just the pregnancy. The extra hormones coursing through my body and the fact that no one cares the same way that my Mom would. It makes me become more introverted. Who else besides your Mom cares about each detail at your Dr. appt? Who else wants to hear all the details of your day? Not even a husband understands the details of pregnancy the way a Mother can. I guess it's just harder because I have the memory of my last two pregnancies to compare it to.
If I were to have Ella today I most likely wouldn't tell anyone for a few days. I tried to explain to my Dad that we may take a few days for me to get my head on straight before I am ready to face the loss and not necessarily lack of joy, but the loss of the exuberance that my Mom would show. He flipped out and got really offended telling me that I have no right to keep that from family. Telling me my emotions didn't matter and what mattered was that I am part of a larger group and sometimes we have to focus on the needs of the many. Yet if they don't bother to call and see if I have had the baby, does it really matter if they get a picture a few days later? If I don't focus on my emotional well being, who will? I don't know. I guess I just needed to type it all out. I still feel the same and I doubt that my opinion will change, I know I am being selfish. I know every reason that I should worry about every one else's feelings, but I just can't right now. All I can do is just keep swimming. One day, one hour and sometimes even just one minute at a time is all I can do.

Just an update...

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted so I figured that I probably should do a post. Our last couple weeks have been busy without being busy. We've spent a lot of time outside soaking up the sun. I'm loving having the weather in the 80's now, but it sure is making me dread this summer!
We've gotten our garden planted. This year we have added a square foot garden just for our tomatoes. I am excited for the 16 tomato plants to ripen. The yield should be amazing and hopefully will last us through the winter.
















Kira is loving reading and on top of the story she has to read each day she reads for 30+ minutes to Rora. It's so sweet. She is also loving her math. I got her a first grade math book and she is flying through it. I'm not sure which impresses me most, her doing the math or her reading and comprehending the directions on her own. Kira has also become obsessed with calories and bad versus good sugars. This morning I had my glucose tolerance test and had to eat a candy bar and drink a soda. I overheard Kira explaining to Rora how "Mommy is eating bad sugar to see if her body will get rid of it. It's ok to eat bad sugar every once in a while, but not all the time because our body can't process it." She is such a smarty pants! I'm not sure where she got the calories thing since I don't and have never counted calories, I'm guessing it was mentioned in passing during a phone call and she picked up on it. I'm hopeful that she will get past asking about calories and focus just on health factor soon.
Rora has gone almost 2 weeks without an accident so I can officially say she is potty trained. WOOHOO! I don't even have to remind her to go anymore. It's wonderful! She is loving puzzles and is quite adept at completing them. I don't recall Kira's motor skills to be quite as defined at this age. She is just starting to recognize shapes and can draw a pretty good circle. I'm sure it helps that she likes to do her schoolwork whenever Kira is. A few days ago I was heating up leftover sloppy joe's for lunch. I placed the amount that I wanted to warm in one bowl and Rora got really upset. "What about sissy? Where's her bowl?" I explained to her that I was just warming it and then I would put it in a bun and that both girls would each have one. Her eyes flew open and she got really nervous as she exclaimed, "NOT IN MY BUM!" HAHA! I'm still cracking up at it. It took her seeing me place the the food in the bun and putting the plates on the table before she understood. Silly girl!
As for me, I had a Dr. appt this morning. My belly is measuring at 27 weeks with a growth of 3cm's in the last 3 weeks so everything is looking good. I always measure small (I'm almost 32 weeks now.) I now weigh 136, having lost one pound in the last 3 weeks. I'm sure the weight loss is due to the fact that I have cut out most sugars and have been eating really healthy. I have my last ultrasound in two weeks and am so excited! I just love being able to see the baby. It's the best thing about being pregnant. I just can't wait until Ella arrives!




















Josh is still going to school, working, being super dad and has started exercising. (woohoo!) He is incredibly busy and I cherish the days that we get just to be together. Right now he and the girls are off on a Daddy-Daughter date. Fishing! They just love spending time with Daddy and I love that he makes his kiddo's a priority. He is amazing!


Kira showing me how delicious her smoothie is.












Rora LOVING her smoothie.

Feeling blue...

So I am feeling a bit blue today and need to get it off my chest.

Last night I read Tea for Ruby (I think) to the girls. It was a really cute book about manners and the things that Ruby needed to remember before she had tea with the Queen. At the end of the book you find out who the queen is, yep, it's Grandma. Of course, I had to read it just before bedtime when I was already exhausted. I just sat there after putting the girls down and had a good 'missing my Mom' moment. She had a little table and chairs outside that she had fancy tea with Ashleigh (my niece) when she was little. It's hard knowing that my girls are never going to get special invitations to tea with grandma, that they aren't going to know her as anything more than a memory.

I'm sure it doesn't help that it has slowly sunk in that we will be all alone here (in Al) after Ella comes. It will be less chaotic to have Josh's family and my Dad wait until August to come out, so we can handle the company and since everyone is only going to be able to come out once for her blessing thats the best time for it. Still, knowing that the excitement of her birth will be contained to my home (clarify: meaning I wont have anyone((my mom)) anxiously awaiting the news of her birth, my Dad most likely wont even know for a few days after she is born because in May he is working 12 hour days and rarely remembers to turn on his phone when he does that...) is so hard. Aside from a telling a couple of special friends here and texting family it just wont hold the same excitement level (the sharing part, not her birth.)

And lastly, I think I am mostly feeling really down because I should be gearing up, or already had that sweet baby that I miscarried. They would be due in 10 days and I am still mourning the loss. It's hard when everyone who was due around the same time is having babies. I am so happy for them, yet I still feel this loss so strongly. It truly makes me wonder how someone could abort a baby. I am pregnant and yet I still feel the loss so strongly. I guess it's because I have a mother's heart.

Now that i've gotten all the negative off my chest, I really am grateful for the blessings I have. I'm grateful that Kira excels at math and loves learning new concepts.
I'm grateful that both my girls choose cuddling with Mommy over playing.
I'm grateful for books. For the chance to immerse myself in someone else's fantasy.
I'm grateful for Josh. That he is willing to put up with me and somehow he loves me.
I'm grateful for my friend Jenny, our Wednesday night dinners and the chance to visit.
I'm grateful that Rora is my cuddle bug. That she loves to climb on my lap and asks me to play with her hair.
There are so many blessings I have that others don't have and i'm grateful the Lord has allowed it all.

Alright, you made it to the end. Congrats! You should win a medal...it's a pretend one, my favorite kind :) Now that i've gotten past all those blues i'm looking forward with a positive attitude. Have a great week!