Thrifty Thursday

I am in awe of women (and men) who find time each day to post blogs.  I really thought I could do it, however I have had a realization that blogging each day is not in my cards.  I guess I just need to make it a habit; however, I enjoy losing my time in the presence of my children.  What better place to be, than with them... 

However, I did want to take a moment to post tonight.  Tomorow is the beginning of MARCH!  Where has this year gone?  It seems as though it was just Christmas.  I have now been using my THRIVE products for over a month and I just wanted to share with you how AMAZING they are.  My kids love eating the fruits and veggies for snacks!  We have already eaten all of the peaches that we began with and most of the strawberries and raspberries.  The corn is looking pretty sparce as well!  I love that Snuggles in particular, will open up the pantry, get out a can of what he wants and eat that.  It is so much healthier than what he used to do.  He will eat more things now too.  That is Tylers favorite part about it.  Another thing I love is that I haven't had to chop many veggies.  I broke my arm right before I started using THRIVE and honestly could not cut things.  It was too painful and my arm just would not bend that way.  Some of the items I ordered came just one or two days after and it was a blessing.  I was still able to have onions, celery and carrots in  my foods and I didn't have to go through the time and pain (not just the fact I don't enjoy cutting kind of pain, but physical pain it really did cause) of cutting them.  I just opened my can and dumped in what I wanted.  However, what is even better is how THRIVE has saved me a couple times.  On Valentines day I went to make a cake.  I had all my dry ingredients mixed and was working on the liquid when I realized I was OUT of eggs!  Both kids were sleeping and I really did not want to wake them for eggs to say the least (for a cake that we really did not HAVE to have).  So, as I was thinking about what else I could do, I remembered I had gotten whole eggs.  I pulled them out, opened them up and used them!  I even ate some of the batter (I don't ever do this... so that was a big thing for me).  And I now use the THRIVE eggs every time I make a cake, or almost anything I have baked.  I LOVE them. 

I will stop my raving (mostly just because I am tired and still have other things that are pressing my time).  I wanted to give you the opportunity to try THRIVE too.  For the month of March I will be doing a personal deal.  If you host a party using me as your consultant I will give you a pantry size can of any fruit or vegetable you would like to try.  For those of you who are not close to me, others have hosted online parties that have done really well.  Contact me for further information if this is the route you would like to go so that you can also take advantage of this deal.  For anyone who signs up for "the Q"  with a budget of at least $100 I will give you a #10 can of Macaroons (if Macaroons are not your idea of a good incentive, contact me and we can chat).  Remember, these deals are only through me.  If you have already tried THRIVE or if you think that you would enjoy being a consultant, right now I am offering a Party Package that will have a few items in it that I will give to you to help you get to know the product better. 

I am enjoying getting prepared.  I enjoy what I eat and use THRIVE each and every day.  I know that in an emergency my family would not be turned upside down and that life could continue without too many interruptions.  I am grateful for that knowledge. 

Feel free to send me an email or call me.

My email is:
prepareyourshelves@gmail.com

You can also go to my website for more information about hosting, the Q, or becoming a consultant:
http://prepareyourshelves.shelfreliance.com/prepareyourshelves

Mormon Monday

It has been a while since I posted, and to be quite honest I should be getting ready for tomorrow, but I wanted to share a thought.

Yesterday we were given the opportunity to talk in our ward. We were asked to speak on the talk fom Elder Hales entitled Being a More Christian Christian. I found it difficult to find one thing to focus on. But I feel that it came together, not due to anything I did by any means...  I just wanted to share a few thoughts from it.

What kind of Christians are we? How are we doing in our quest to follow Christ? Living a Christian life is not just something we can check off at the end of the day. It is a way of life. President Monson in a first presidency message asked, "what are we doing with today? If we live only for tomorrow, we'll eventually have a lot of empty yesterdays".

As we live our lives we must find ways to live the attributes of Christ. When we may fall back into old habits, much like Peter and some of the apostles after Christ's death when they went fishing, we must be like Peter and swim to Chist. He did not wait for the boat to fet there! There was no hesitation and we must not hesitate either! Don't delay!

What kind of Christians are we? How are we doing in our quest to follow Christ? What thinks Christ of me?

Teachable Tuesday

I keep beginning posts and never finishing...  Someday, I will improve.  Today I will be quick, but I wanted to say something...

When reading with your kids make a game from it.  For example, find colors in the room that are in the book.  Or find objects that begin with the same sound as something or someone in the book.  This will get you and your child more involved and makes it fun for them!

Wild Wednesday

Yesterday was CRAZY... But today has been productive and I had a quick minute of downtime while Bug sleeps and Snuggles is doing puzzles. 

Let me tell you a little about us...  Some of you are quite familiar with our little family, but others are not.  My husband and I met on the WSU LDS institute folk dance team.  We dated for a short amount of time, got engaged, and married all within about four months.  We have two beautiful children; Snuggles who is 2 1/2 and Bug is 1.  Both kids keep me very busy.  They love being active and having attention.  Both also love being held and read to.  We spend a little over an hour each day reading books.  It is one of their favorite things to do. 

I am constantly striving to improve on myself.  Sometimes it can be a very thin line between recognizing my weaknesses and that they can be turned into strengths opposed to just being down on myself and not feeling like I am of any worth.  Thankfully, the technology we have these days gives me lots of resources to pick myself up and realize that we all have moments of feeling inadequate. 

The purpose of life is to learn and become what we have the capability of becoming.   Each of us is unique. We each have trials and blessings unique to us.  They are moulded for what our lives need.  I am grateful for that.  Although, it is not always easy, it will be worth it. 

So, if you are having one of "those" days or moments, just remember it will pass.  You are who you are.  There is always room for improvement, but you are amazing still!  I saw this today on one of my friend's facebook accounts...  It pretty much sums it up!

 

Mormon Mondays

So, as I have been pondering things lately, I thought how fun it would be to have a theme for each day.  Now, I am not promising to write each day (although that would be nice) but for the days I do write I will attempt to fit it into my theme... Here it goes. 

Mormon Monday: (I would say LDS, but it just doesn't work with any days of the week) On Mondays when I write I will try to post or do something that can help at church or for FHE or it may just be a thought...  We will see!

Teachable Tuesday:  I try to teach my kids new things each day.  Like I said in my first post, I am trying to put a preschool curriculum together.  Maybe I will share those ideas on Tuesdays or crafts...  Something where someone can learn.

Wild Wednesday:  This could be anything.  Or nothing.

Thrifty Thursdays:  I am HUGE on saving money.  I coupon.  I price match.  I think I am on a lot of people's hit lists when I am shopping...  But I will share things with you on these days of how I am attempting to save my family money.

Food storage Friday:  Part of be self reliant is being prepared.  I will share things I have learned, tricks or deals on food storage and emergency preparedness.

Saturdays and Sundays are for my family.  You won't be hearing much of anything on those days. 

So to end my long post...  Today is Mormon Monday.  Now, I need to begin by saying I like to make things.  I used to be super crafty and enjoyed that hobby.  Since getting married and having kids, this is something that has pretty much disappeared.  I don't do it.  So with that said, this isn't really crafty.  It isn't even creative.  But it is something.  I created this to put into a 4x6 photo album that will join us at church and in the mornings and before bed time (those are the times we struggle most with prayers.  The kids seem to do better at meal time).  The images I got off of LDS clip art. 

Enjoy....

http://www.scribd.com/doc/125002642/A-Prayer-Song

A START

For some time I have been contemplating the best things for my family...  Don't we all do that?  What foods to make each day?  What activities to play?  Where to go to keep two toddlers busy and entertained in this weather without picking up anymore sickness that I don't want to handle!  I have also been thinking about ways to prepare my family.  Food storage, emergency kits, spiritually...  I guess the list goes on and on.  But, I am finally taking action. A START you might say.  I have been really interested in food storage lately.  I have tried several different companies, had a few people even come to my house and I tasted some alright things and some pretty good things.  I wanted to be sensible about it too though.  I don't want to be one of those doom and gloom types, I just want to be prepared if something were to happen.  But it was also important to keep our budget and not make other priorities suffer.  After quite some time and lots of searching and talking with several people, I found a good fit.  Shelf Reliance.  I enjoyed their THRIVE products, found it awsome that they also do emergency preparedness and my kids eat their meat and vegetables.  Now, Snuggles, who is 2 1/2 doesn't eat much, so this is a BIG deal!  He opens the pantry and pulls it out all on his own.  Healthy snack...  why yes, you don't even need to ask.  I love it!  I also like the idea of using it.  Not just tucking it in a box in the basement, or under a bed but cooking with it.  Which means that it tastes good!  If you have never tried it and want to, I would love for you to have that chance.  You can message me here or you can go to   http://prepareyourshelves.shelfreliance.com and there is a contact section that you can write any questions or anything down too and I will get right back to you (well, probably during nap time...)

I am hoping to write down all the things I am doing with my family to become more self reliant and prepared.  I have found a lot of amazing things from other sites.  I will make sure to give credit where credit is due.  If you have something you and your family are doing, I would also love to hear about that!  Because, believe me, I need as much help as possible!  Look forward to the next post...  Maybe it will be about the preschool items I am trying to prepare, or the prayer books I am attempting to make...  We will see.

Heres to A START...