Just Him

I love my husband, style a all. Nate is a great guy and works sooo hard to help us get to where we want to be in life. He helps me tame the crazy in our lives and keep me sane with the long days we tend to have. He puts up with me wanting to watch a movie and then falling asleep not even half way through. He doesn't complain much when I clean every section of the house but skip the dishes and toilet. He changes laundry, cleans up toys and isn't afraid to help cook meals.

He may not realize it but I feel spoiled to have such a great guy who is willing to help and take part of the tasks even after working a long day. I love watching him read with each of the boys at night (this can be a task when they want long books), do devotional studies with the boys (when we remember to start early enough) and say prayer. His devotion to teaching them is endless. 

now if i can just convince him to keep that shirt home and not in public.... ok ok ok he can wear it to work. 

Snow Before the Storm

The day before the Polar Vortex came in we hand an amazing snow fall. the kids loved throwing the snow and watching it re-fall again. While they played Nate started to shovel out the driveway and our amazing neighbor called over and offered to plow us out with his tractor! Did I mention he's amazing! He helped us cut  our tree back in the fall so it would look better and stop drooping so much this summer. 

 Boys digging a tunnel in the snow. If you have never done this with fresh powder like snow it doesn't work to well and will fall in with every scoop out. 

 All warmed up and falling asleep in their chairs while watching a movie. Playing in the snow is exhausting. 

Making Room for 1 More

call me crazy but I am that mom that wants to be on the same floor as my kids at night. At least for now while we have a couple that sleep in our room from like 4:30 am till 7. Anyway with having the 3 boys in one room and the crib set up still in there we needed to move the train table out. To move the train table out it had to be put down stairs... only room available is the living room and you can ask Nate how much it drives me nuts to have toys all over the floor in the living room. (Lots of  clean up parties and competitions) I like to be able to walk and not step on a million dinosaurs and Legos. 

Anyway, with all that I had to compromise and give up the room off the living room that we had been using as a office/craft room/studio. It is now in the works of becoming a full play room for the kids. this was a big task because we also had the guest bed set up in there for when Nate's sister came to visit back in November. (Talk about convenient napping place)

Here are some of the progress pictures:

 Everything is now on a shelf and and half in the back room till we finish sorting and moving things around in there. It's nice to know I can fit it all on several shelves but I can't wait to have it all spread out again and a table for working. 

While Nate and I worked on the rooms the boys enjoyed having the train table in the living room and watching a movie or 2. And when someone was tired of big kid movies daddy cuddled with him for one of his own. 

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman

Do you wanna build a snowman! Another fun snow filled day. This time we built a Snowman and his friend at Grandma and Grandpa's (Oma and Opa) Grandpa even came out to help build with snow block molds. B started to build a small wall but decided on helping with the giant snowballs

 

 

Emergency Prep Bags

Emergency Prep Bags

(sorry this is a longer and boring post)

So my 2018 goal was to revamp all of our packs for e-prep. I did most of this before our Mackinaw Trip. Mostly because I had all our gear all over the foyer to pack for the camping trip so why not revamp our packs. 

Grab and go 24 hour- Day Pack

(located by front door with kids go bags, 2 cases of water and 2 wool blankets)

  quick grab pockets

fire gloves, chapstick, water purification tablets and mini first aid kit (band aids), baby wipes 

 Pocket set: compass, flashlight, pocket knife (swiss army style) and whistle

Reference Material set: map case, BOM, Survival  reference guide, first aid reference book, Paper and pencil

  Big Pocket

First Aid Kit

Gloves, tape, band aids, scissors, tampons, triangular bandage, gauze, nail clippers, alcohal wipes, iodine, hand sanitizer, tweezers, medications (benidryl, tylonol, zzz quil, smelling salt, bug bite ect)

Toiletries 

deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, hand soap, lady products (tampons and pads), Kleenex, razors, body wash

Survival set

Matches, lighter, fire starter, solar blanket, ponchos, hand warmers, glow sticks

Food Set

24 hours of food. MRE sets, crackers, granola bars, PB and Jam, Add water family packs

Odds and Ends

Toilet paper and wool Blanket

72 Hour Kit- 2 Adult Kits and 1 Kid Kit 

(Stored in Back Room)

The way our 72 hour kits work is they are and addition to the 24 kit. Nate's Pack seen in pictures. Is set to have the 24 hour attached to it if needed or his pack can be a stand alone. My pack is set to add the additional kids pack onto it. 

Outside Pockets

Sleeping Pad, Tent, Ground cloth, ground blanket, Tarp, Flashlight (we normally have his hatchet and shovel here too but have them inside the pack because of the kids)

 Outer Pocket

Vest, first aid kit (simple, a bigger one is in my bag), gloves, Survival Bandanna, glow sticks, pocket set (see earlier part of this post), tube tent, ear plugs

 Inner Pocket

Hatchet, shovel, Water purification bottle, dish set, stove and fuel, hammock, flashlight, map case, tent patch kit

Hygiene Kit 

Body wash, shampoo, deodorant, face wipes, Tissues, water purification and emergency towel (made of gauze like material) 

(My pack add: feminine products, and my medication)

 Other Gear Bag:

 Hand crank radio and flashlight, wipes, ear buds, can opener, Kleenex, survival bracelet, flag tape, duck tape, can opener, crazy glue 

Bottom Pocket

Sleeping roll- fleece sleeping bag and cold weather bag

****KID's Go Bags will be in a different post****