Ive tried posting a few times since moving and getting settled. Nothing just ever seemed to come out right.

I'm now about 30wks pregnant and we found out that we are having another sweet baby boy. The last 2wks have just been a big ball of emotions. This pregnancy is so much different in that my emotions are off the wall. Mostly between anger and crying. I do not ever feel like my happy self. Im grumpy constantly, and the realization that I don't know why, makes me even more angry. Its safe to say Im not a nice person right now.
there are 2 other things also. One of which I dont want to discuss right now until things are set, but its big and will effect everyone involved for life.
The other thing is about baby,who is still unnamed!
The ultrasound seemed to show a Renal Pelvic Dilation. Basically one of his kidneys was measuring a bit bigger than the other. My MW said that it could have just been that the urine he is producing just had not been excreated yet that day. She said I would need another ultrasound soon to measure it again. That was it.
So I googled. It is a pretty common thing to find on US for boys. Its monitored by US. If it keeps growing and gets to big I could possibly have to deliver early. If it gets bigger but not exceedingly they will US him after he is born and possibly give him antibiotics for 6-8wks to prevent infection. Normally it goes away on its own. That really was the only info I could find that would give me some sort of outcome or what to expect.
Only a few people in either of our familys know anything about either of the two situations going on. Sometimes I just don't talk to specific people about this kind of stuff because they actually make it worse.

Jared applied for a job as an adult detention officer at the facility here. He has all the qualifications from the military and jobs like this have military preference through a point system. This job would be a big help for us, the pay is good and has health benefits. Its also coming at a perfect time with me having to basically quit work when I have the baby. I haven't worked there long enough to be able to use any of the leave Im actually accruing, so no maternity leave for me.

Life just feels a lot harder than it should right now.

My 72hr bag...well so far!

With our upcoming move I am not going to start every ones bags just yet. I have "started" mine, which will be more of a communal bag and pretty basic. Once we get settled and Jared and I both have jobs and know whats going on with our lives, I'll pick back up on it and get every ones started.

For right now though this is what I have.

This summer Meghan and I got an itch to go hiking, but between both of us working crazy hours we only made it out once, and that was just to the state park, which is just hills lol!

It did give me a chance to try out my new pack and some cool flash light things I found.

A lot of what can be found in 72hr kits can also be hiking/camping materials. So when I notice our Walmart was clearing out the "camping" stuff I stalked it like crazy. At the time I was not really thinking 72hr bag so there were things I should have gotten as they were at awesome clearance prices. Things like thick ponchos, weatherized undershirts and pants, drybags, hatchets, all kinds of stuff!

Some things I did get during the clearance though were-

My backpack

Camp Soap(small sheets)

Water purification Tabs

Generic first aide kit

Water proof matches

These were all awesome finds!

With this I have added other stuff-

Life Gear-Glow Stick flash light

Safty wrap(silvery blanket)

Tarp

Match container

Instant Ice pack

Cleaning tabs for my Hydration Bladder

Quick Clot Combat Gauze

1 Mountain Home Ice Cream MRE

Stinger waffles

550 Cord

Gerber

So let me elaborate a little and tell you why I have each of these things.

 Life Gear Glow Stick- Saw these and was intrigued at the multi purposefulness. I have a red and a pink. The whistle is kind of awkward to use but works well enough. I love the flashing or solid of the color part. The light its self is not all that bright. I used it at night and was just "eh" about it. I think they would be a good option for younger kids bags though.

Safty wrap- The one I have is similar to the link. It was in a first aide kit that was down to its bare bones so it went into the bag when I bought a new FA kit. We used on during our blizzard incident and it was pretty helpful!

Instant Ice Pack-Again part of the first aide kit. Just one of the ones you squeeze and it gets cold.

Cleaning tabs for Hydration Bladder- This is the brand I have although Im sure there are others out there. When you first get the bladder it will make your water taste like plastic. I recommend these for 2 reasons. 1 for cleaning so you not tasting plastic and 2 for bacteria or mold growth. My husband is deathly allergic to mold so its something I have to think about.

Quick Clot Combat Gauze- So this is kind of an odd addition. The only reason I have it is because it was Jareds. Ever soldier has to have it during deployments.

This stuff is pretty awesome though, should someone be injured and is hemorrhagic you put this on the  wound and it clots it. Jared says it burns the area around the skin though and gets really hot. When the medics take it off it will take some of the meat around wound. 

The site for the link just says $48, not for how much of it you get though, so Im not really sure how practical it is to buy and from that site at least, you have to have a military id.

Mountian home Ice Cream Sandwich and Stinger Waffles-I'll explain another time.

550 cord/para cord- This stuff is SUPER cheap at surplus stores. Mine is neon pink. You can make it into a super cool bracelet. Its pretty handy in an emergency situation. We also have like 30ft of it that Jared, again, somehow acquired. 

Gerber Tool/ Leather mans- Not sure which one Jared has because his was issued to him. My dad ALWAYS had one of these when I was growing up and used it for everything.  Again you can find them at Army/Navy supply stores or heck if you live near a military base there is a site called BooKoo that many military people use and they are always selling items.

Coleman Camp Soap Sheets- These were one of my clearance finds and that's the main reason I bought them. I honestly am not worried about hygiene during a disaster. My life is more important than how I smell BUT these are TINY so I figured why not!

Water Purification Tabs- I cant seem to find the exact ones I have but this is the jist of it. Mine is a 2 step process though. These bottles are smaller than fingernail polish so I think are a must in your 72hr bags. Yes you should have water in your bag but should you come across a body of water why not use that before using up what you have??

So as you can tell I do not have everything I listed in detail. Im thinking of doing my very first video for you all!! That will make it a little easier for you all to see what Im talking about!

Emergency NOM NOM NOMs

Food and water are going to be a top concern in instances of emergencies. Its one of those times that, if you are forced to leave your home, you may not know where or when your next meal is going to come from. Will there be a water source? Is that water source clean?

There are a few different ways you can stock your 72hr bags with food. 

You can pick basic foods normally found at your grocery store that will stay good for a while such as 

-granola bars

-nut mixes

-canned goods

-Microwave meals(some can be made with hot water)

You can go with foods found in outdoor/camping stores like the Mountain House line, which are pretty fancy MREs. They are pretty expensive though, you could probably try to find some coupons or buy a few when they are on sale.

There are also the traditional Military MREs. You can find these online and Im fairly sure at Army/Navy supply stores. These can be expensive too but I would honestly choose them over a commercial brand like Mountian House just because I know more about them. I would check the supply stores first if there is one near you, I would think you would have a good chance of finding MREs cheaper. It may not be a whole kit like they sell on line though. 

I've been lucky enough to have tried some MRE meals with Jared being in the Army. 

Spaghetti is not to bad. If you find one with the brownie stuff, EAT it lol! Most are edible enough if your hungry enough. 

One thing Jared did tell me though is that if you are not quite used to it, it COULD block you up a little....know what I mean??

He thinks its the "bread" since its really dense(it dries your mouth out pretty well) so I would just nibble on it, don't discount it all together though since its a good source of carbs!

Another component of the MRE(what ever type) is if you want your food hot. Now for me, food is food. Hot or cold, as long as I have food I will be fine. There are options though. What I have experience with are the "Flameless Heaters" that came with Jareds MREs. They are simple to use and get REALLY hot. 

What ever kind you get they can be used for other things too(they are a one time use thing though) like keeping your body warm in a pinch. 

They can be slightly spendy though so if it came down to it I would be buying extra MREs instead of the heater.

Then we come to water. Im finding out its sold in a few forms.

-Pouches

-(juice)Boxes

-Cans

All of these options, I feel, have a place and purpose. 

-Pouches- in our 72hr bags/kits. They make the most sense there for their size and weight.

-(juice) Boxes- In the car is where I would put these. They are perfect for kids and could be stored easily in car type compartments. 

-Cans- Either in your house or in a pre determined shelter you already have set. My in laws have property in the mountains that Jared and I have talked about as a place to go. Storing cans up there would be perfect, as long as we make sure to leave a can opener too!!\

Another water option is a back pack with a bladder. This is your run of the mill bladder. You can get backpacks with them or ones without(but still have a spot for them. Most packs that are made for them have a hole in by the shoulder area of the strap allowing for the hose to come out and then a loop on the lower part of the shoulder strap to secure the hose. 

Keep in mind though that a fully filled bladder can get kind of heavy. I filled mine at a festival for the first time and it was pretty uncomfortable to me. That could be the backpack though or my  bad back!

Along with this I want to mention having some sort of water purification. There are tools that you can buy to take with you that will purify like THIS but they are expensive and can be bulky. I would invest in one for maybe a bigger pack or shelter(like the land I spoke of), but for a 72hr kit I would say to go with water purifying tabs, smaller for your pack but they do take a little more "thinking" in making sure your doing the steps right!

I think thats all I can think of for right now for food stuff.

Really just do your research, find good prices, look around. You cant really go "wrong".

Oh SANDY!

Sandy has me thinking about the likelihood of disaster on this side of the US.

Where I live both now, and my hometown, have pretty mild and distinct seasons. Yes it gets windy, sometimes there is flooding(because its the PNW and it rains!) but in general I dont have to worry about hurricanes or tornadoes! 

Although I DO worry. With the way weather is changing and our climate acting out of the ordinary, it would be logical to think that this is NOT always the way our weather will occur. I mean historically there is proof of that.

Its been a long summer, winter is coming.

(hopefully someone gets that and will actually comment..)

Then there is the (what I feel) very real thread of earthquakes for this area. I think its long over due.

Heard of the Pacific Ring of Fire???

Well HI Im on it!!!!!

There was just an earthquake in the Alaska/Canada area and are frequently small ones in California. So Im just waiting for the big one! Luckily I think in our home town we would be far enough inland that we would be o.k.

Just knowing that are ways to prepare myself and my family for theses situations makes me feel a little safer. I wish everyone would know a little more so that these situations could be a little easier for them too!

The situation that gets you thinking.

I honestly no one has one of these situations, that you all prepare to some degree BEFORE you have to be shocked into it.
I think I have made mention of my own experience in another post but can not seem to find it. So for those who are new I'll recant it.

I dont remember the exact day but it was sometime during the end of April. We were getting ready to move from Ft. Campbell, KY to Ft. Lewis, WA. It was Jared, Guy, Meghan, Rylan and Me. In the Jetta and a moving truck.
Not knowing much about travel really and how to map out a good route, we just went with what the GPS said. Meghan and I had take the same route when driving over from WA the first time and we felt fine with it. We even planned to stop and see some interesting stuff along the way!
Well we failed to take weather in to account.
Everything was going fine and we had made it to Rapid City, SD to stop for the night, planning to make the slightly out of the way trip to Mt. Rushmore in the morning.
I-90 got closed and we ended up taking SR 212, after getting the ok from a police department in Bell Fourche, SD.
Well....We got stuck out there. In the middle of no where, no towns and just a little cell service.
The Jetta was the first to get stuck, Jared and Guy had Rylan with them. They drifted of into the side of the road and couldnt get the car out.
Meghan and I turned the moving truck around to go back to them. We were going to all attempt to squeeze into the moving truck to try and get back to the town. Some guys in nice big trucks stopped and said they had room for 1 person. Jared wasn't sending me or Meghan with strange men and he wasn't leaving us out there by ourselves. So we sent Guy!
We managed to fit in the moving truck, then realized it was NOT going anywhere either!!
We rounded up everything and trudged back to the car. In a BLIZZARD!!
We made phone calls to the town but they for some reason had NO idea where we were, even though I told them exactly where we were(found out later I was about a mile off).

Here is where the preparedness comes in.
We got pretty lucky with what we had.
I have this quilt that I have had since I was like 8. It goes everywhere with me and its the only thing I sleep with. Well I insisted that Rylan have it in the Jetta with him before we set out on our trip.
Meghans mom had sent us a few small first aide kits. I had a Tupperware ware container filled with random things for our trip including the kits.
Jared and I always over buy when we stop at gas stations on trips. I buy more water than needed and food for "later". I ALWAYS over pack the diaper bag too.  I had enough diapers and wipes to last 3-4 days and a big container of formula, and a bottle of baby juice(he was 18months).
Jared had bought 2 big packs of these jerky/pepperoni bites.
Being in the Army Jared seems to have random gear of sorts scattered everywhere. There were gloves in the car, plastic magazines(for guns) and a pair of safety glasses. All of which came in handy when he had to dig out the exhaust during the blizzard.
That night got pretty cold but with the blanket and body heat of the 4 of us squished in the back of the Jetta, we made due. We even had one of those silver fire blankets that we put up to try and keep our heat in the back of the car.
At one point during the next day, the driver side window fell down in the door. This window was directly facing the wind. We used the fire blanket and Rylans dinosaurs to fill the whole.
Luckily after almost 24hrs the Sharif from Sundance WY and 2 plow trucks found us and a few other people, and took us back to Bell Fourche.


The point is that, we had no idea how long we were going to be out there. They did not know when the storm was supposed to stop or when they could come get us. While we were lucky in what we had, we could have been way more prepared!
Now with 2 kids an one on the way, I feel its even more important to think about situations like this and plan the best we can.

Im on one of those kicks :)

Just wanted to make a quick note of the whole pregnant thing. Im a little over 9wks now. "Morning" sickness has been off and on but has gotten much better, I have not thrown up in a while and can eat more. One thing I have noticed though is that I get a metallic taste in my mouth that kind of makes me nauseous  Its normal and is just due to hormones. Other than that things are just going along fine!

On to the main post. 

Im not quite sure what piqued my kick this morning or how I even got there, but I've been reading two different "prepper" websites this morning.

If you do not know what prepping means here are some resources for some deeper explanations but I will provide my own view.

I do not endorse, belong to, or specifically support all aspects of the websites listed, as with anything in life I take things with a grain of salt and for my own opinion. You should too.

Prepping to survive-What is prepping?

American Preppers Network

SHTF Blog- "sewage" hits the fan

So those are just a few that I have scavenged threw, all with good info.

Why do people prep?-

There are a few different reasons I've seen. Some do it because its part of the Religion, like the LDS church and their food storage practice. Some do it out of a belief of an imminent government fall out. Some do it out of the need to be prepared for natural disasters.

Whats my take/opinion?-

Both Jared and I have thought a lot about the "what if's" of being able to survive in case of anything. There are so many people today who have no idea how to grow a plant. How to feed themselves if food were rationed or gone all together. Skills that, even 2 generations ago, were normal knowledge points are "lost arts" to some people.

I dont know if the government with fall out, but historically I know that being wholly dependent on someone(in any form) to proved my basic needs.

I live in an area that is pretty mellow as far as natural disasters but things are changing it seems. Areas where things do happen are getting hit with harder storms, earthquakes, hurricanes etc. So why not be prepared for that?

I dont think there are any wrong reasons for "prepping". Its your own opinion, and we all hope that we wont NEED to come to need these things but its reassuring that its there, just in case!

I intend for this to be a running subject here since its is such a vast and somewhat in depth topic. There is no way I could fit it into one readable post and I know I would ramble and loose direction!!

My next post(which may be today) will, I think, give you a better idea of why Im starting this!

OOHHH Thats Why I Felt "Off".

I caught the pregnant.

Yep.

I am a little over 5wks infected.

Now you may understand my last blog post. Oh the hormones raging through me!

I know only a few people read my blog but I just had to announce it on here real quick. Just got back from visiting family though so I will do a better post in a day or two!