avoiding housework

(the water buffalo shared by our neighborhood. Nothing like having a "block party" while filling buckets of water!)

( just so you know, the boys LOVED the porta potty.They thought it was great to not have to come all the way inside! Ivan used it and said, "Mommy, we have a potty OUTSIDE!)

There are piles of neatly folded laundry sitting on the dining room table...being completely ignored! I will get to them...eventually!

Remember when Guam was on all of those typhoon/tropical storm warnings? Well I made a vow then that I would get my food storage/emergency preparedness up and going so that I wouldn't be one of those crazy people in huge long lines getting last minute supplies?

Well the storms passed with nothing but some rain and wind. So I...well...put off getting anything. I figured I had prepared for the storm (candles, batteries, flashlights etc)and so would be fine. We are near the end of the typhoon season and so I felt that I could relax.

I had set out a plan to get items, and Ben reminded me of our upcoming move. I didn't really want to go all out buying stuff, but then again, what if there was another storm?

The weekend before Thanksgiving we were given a notice that we would be having a 9 hr. water outtage the following Tuesday. I groaned but honestly, this wasn't our first one. However, I forgot about it. So Tuesday when Ivan was trying to wash his hands and no water came out...well I remembered. We have a water cooler, but the jugs are rrrrreally heavy so Ben has to change it. I had forgot to have him change it and ours was empty. I realized that I had no way to make Mason a bottle!

I had a few errands to do, so I hopped in the car and went and bought a gallon jug of water. Crisis diverted right?

Well that 9 hour outtage...turned into 36 hours of no water. I had only bought one gallon jug. And using it to make mac & cheese, used up over half. The water did come on for about 5 minutes, so I filled some pots and boiled them. I sent Ben to get more water.

Wednesday, they let us know that they weren't sure when the water would be back on, and they brought us...A PORTA POTTY. Yuck. And our whole cul de sac got to share. They also brought in a water buffalo so we could fill jugs & buckets.

Can I just say, that it was the dirtiest, nastiest 36 hours? Yuck. We all stunk (except Ben who went to the gym to take a shower!!)Harmony & my hair was greasy. The kids had to use wipes and sanitizer everytime they went to the bathroom. And the toilets were not flushed.

I can tell you that this was the first Thanksgiving that I had been so grateful for water!!

So what did I learn from this? Be prepared. No matter what. I found some awesome food storage/emergency preparedness sites and have begun to get some food storage. I have decided every time I go grocery shopping, to use $20 to buy essentials. I have a notebook where I keep all of my menus/shopping lists. That way I can keep track of what I bought the previous trip.

Yesterday I bought flour, sugar, water, tuna fish and top ramen. Not much, but it is a start.

So are you prepared? Do you have any ideas or suggestions? I would love to hear 'em!

C is for...

Connor! The other night, we had a Communication problem. (: He thought we were having pizza for dinner and was bummed when he found out that he wasn't. So, since I thought we were leaving the kids with a babysitter last night, I told Connor he Could pick whatever he wanted for dinner. He Chose one of his favorite C's...Corn dogs! So while I was at the Commissary, I also noticed Cheetos were on sale. An idea formed in my mind and we had a "C" themed dinner. It was so fun! On the menu was..

Corn dogs
Cheetos
Cucumbers
Carrots
Chocolate milk and
Candy Corn for a treat.

Then we all watched Fred Claus.

The kids had so much fun using "C" words and eating our "C" food. (Get it, see food?!lol)
It turned a normal family movie night into something even more special.It really is the little things isn't it?

Ethan told me later, since we are doing it in alphabetical order I get to go next right? I honestly hadn't planned to do all of them but it will be fun! I think I will do them once a month and just go around and around. Fun times. So I will be racking my brain for Ethan...eggs and egg nog? eggplant? We'll think of something!

However it turns out the best "C" Came this morning...CANCELLED! The storm watch over Guam has been lifted. We are so grateful that our little island has been spared. Thanks for all the prayers on our behalf!

Not done yet...

( Housing did this, I don't know about you but I am not sure duct tape is going to stop winds at 30+ mph...)

(Grey sky in the morning, sailor take warning)

( Our "backyard" in the first storm)

The last storm blew by us without any problems. I felt like I had panicked for nothing.

However, we knew that two more storms were coming.

While at the commissary, I got a call from Ben letting me know that the base was going to go to TCOR 2. This is how they measure how high the winds are and how far away the storm is. I can't remember exactly what it stands for though. The last storm, the Gov. of Guam went to TCOR 1, while the military stayed at 3.

Now the military is going to 2 by three o'clock and 1 by midnight.

The typhoon is( according to local news) will be reaching Super Typhoon status. Also according to local news, the storm is starting to move to the south west. It WAS moving up North and out of our way.

We are bracing to get hit, and hoping to get lucky like we did last time. There is one more storm coming up right after this one.

Keep praying for us as we face this.

Also, many of our Guam friends have lost loved ones in the storm that hit Samoa. Others are still looking for their families, both in the Phillipines and Samoa. Keep them in your prayers also. I can't imagine what they are going through.

I'll keep updating as long as we have power.

Sept. 17, 2003

**************UPDATE*******************UPDATE***********
According to our local news, we are now on a tsunami watch also. They are already opening up shelters across the island. As all of you as my witnesses, I will never again ignore the prophet's counsel to get a food supply and 72 hour kits. As soon as this passes, you better believe that I am getting my emergency preparedness kit READY!

Step back in time with me for a moment...

The weather was bright and sunny. The humidity was relatively low.Not a cloud in the sky. Nice beautiful day in Norfolk, VA. My sister Susan and her family were visiting. It was also Harmony's first week of pre-school.

Sept. 18, 2003...Hurricane Isabel hit. Power lines were down. Trees were knocked down and floating down the street. Rain and strong winds. Our family sat in a 100 yr old home, and watched as the water poured from the sky.The wind gusts were so strong that our gate was knocked over. Huge limbs were literally floating down the street. We were one of the lucky ones that didn't even lose power. It was a crazy storm.

The weather yesterday (our Tuesday) was bright and sunny. White puffy clouds in the blue sky. By afternoon, it had started to turn a little grey and windy.

The storm has now changed direction and we are expecting to get hit early tomorrow morning. There are also two storms coming up right behind this one.

I spent Monday fighting the crowds at the commissary and gas station. But I feel that I have everything I need. We have batteries, candles, canned food, water,paper products, clothes etc.

Our home is made of solid concrete. Ben describes it as " a concrete bunker". We honestly don't believe that we will suffer any damage. We figure we will lose power and that is about it.

As for now, our kids have a half day today. We will find out today if school will be in session for the rest of the week.

Although we don't feel like anything will happen, we ask you to please keep us and our family and friends in your prayers. Guam hasn't seen a typhoon in a long time and it looks like we are going to get hit.

Not to alarm anyone but, with the loss of power, we also lose our phones and internet. So if that happens, we will not have a way to get a hold of you. We will keep you posted as much as we can. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers!