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1.  Confidence

When something bad or scary happens, your kids need to see a mom who is holding her head high with confidence, knowing that, somehow, everything will be fine. You may need to fake it, but confidence is contagious.

“If Mom says we’re going to be okay, then we’re going to be okay!”

You’ll see your kids straighten their backs and a gleam of resolution come into their eyes. They may not know exactly how all the pieces will fall into place, and you might not either, but with confidence you can move forward and tackle the impossible. Together.

2.  Courage

“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson

I love that quote so much that I included it in my book.

Fear depletes us of strength, but courage is energizing. It emboldens us to look past our current circumstances and know that we can tackle whatever comes. Your kids need to see that courage in your eyes. Just like confidence, it’s contagious.

3.  Comfort

Confidence and courage do a lot to comfort our children, but there’s nothing like a hug or a soft lap for cuddling. Gentle words, a kiss on the cheek, gathering the whole family together in a group hug — kids need that when they’re scared and when the world as they know it has fallen apart.

Moms, no matter what has happened or what you’re going through, don’t overlook your child’s need for comfort that can only come from you. A hug from grandma or a neighbor just isn’t the same.

The really cool thing about comforting a child is that you are comforted in return. That’s the payback, and it’s worth it.

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post Moms, your kids need these 3 things from you in a crisis by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

This month YOU or someone you nominate could become our June Survival Mom of the Month! We want to recognize you for what you have accomplished to help your family be ready for anything.

Winners will receive a copy of my book, Survival Mom, a set of Marjory Wildcraft’s DVD series Grow Your Own Groceries,a PurifiCup Portable Water Purifier and a $25 Amazon gift card. Sorry, you’ll have to furnish your own tiara!

Complete the form below and submit it by Junel 5. The winner will be notified on June 6, and will reign as our official Survival Mom throughout the month!

SPONSORS:

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post Who will be our June Survival Mom of the Month?? by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

When I first began storing a bit of extra foods and other essentials, I stocked up on numerous boxes of tampons and a few boxes of sanitary pads. I watched for coupons for my favorite brand and tried to buy them when they were on sale.

This wasn’t a bad strategy.

However, when I started using the Diva Cup, all that changed. A single $30 purchase made all those other products obsolete, and I’m a 100% Diva Cup girl from here on out.

First, here’s the concept behind this product. A small-ish silicone cup is inserted in about the same location as a tampon and it collects “fluid” over a period of time. (No pun intended.)

Once inserted, I forget the Diva Cup is even there. It’s doing its job quietly, which is all I ask of a feminine hygiene product. It continues doing its job for up to 12 hours.

Did you hear that? Up to twelve hours!! I don’t have to rush to a bathroom multiple times during the day or wake up to deal with “issues” during the night. The Diva Cup is leak-proof.

I absolutely love this product and will never go back to using anything else.

The one drawback

When the Diva Cup is removed and emptied into the toilet, it has to be washed before being re-inserted. When I’m at home, this isn’t an issue but I can see that it could be a little complicated if you were using a public bathroom.

One solution is to buy 2 Diva Cups and alternate them, placing the cup to be washed in a ziploc bag until it can be properly washed.

By the way, I just use Ivory soap and warm water, not any special type of cleaning solution.

What I’m about to say next is going to sound pretty close to crazy, but…I kinda, sorta look forward to my period every month because I get to use the Diva Cup!  Wheeee!

Crazy, but this product is so worth every penny. I wish I had known about it years ago.

For those of you wishing to stock up, I’d think that buying maybe 4 or 5 of these could last for many, many years. You might even want to buy one or more for the younger female members of your family.

It’s small enough to tuck into an emergency kit, so you’ll be prepared anytime, anywhere.

The Diva Cup is available for sale on Amazon, but here is a store locator if you want to get one TODAY!

Also, here is the official Diva Cup website with tons of information.

Did I mention that I really, really like the Diva Cup?  By the way, it comes in 2 sizes: pre-childbirth and post-childbirth.

If you give it a try, let me know what you think!

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post A Review of the Diva Cup: Not for the faint of heart. (Men, avert your eyes.) by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

Each month there are great entries and it’s hard to pick just one! If you’ve nominated yourself in the past, give it another try! We do look for entries with lots of information, since our goal is to learn from each other.

What Possible Emergencies are You Preparing For?

I’m preparing for anything that could possibly displace, inconvenience, or disrupt my family’s day-to-day life and routines! I know, that’s a pretty broad spectrum.

On a national level, dilemmas such as possible financial collapse, terrorist attacks (like the Boston Marathon bombing, most recently), and government acts of aggression (our own U.S., and others…such as North Korea) have all been on my mind. I have a heightened awareness, and stay on top of what’s going on in the news regarding all of these events, but I try not to dwell on thinking about catastrophic national events too much because, for me, it slows me down.

Locally, I am preparing for weather-related emergencies (such as tornadoes, hurricanes, or fires), and how the national emergencies I mentioned will affect my family, within our community.

What have you done to prepare your home and family for these possible emergencies?

I like to be organized and prepared for the unexpected…it’s just my personality. I’m the mom who had the diaper bag packed for almost every scenario when my kids were babies, the one who gives “practical” (but unique and tasteful) gifts to make life easier, and the go-to girl at work when someone was in a pinch or needed tools. In fact, in the early days of my marriage, I was the (ahem) more skilled one with the electric drill (my husband has since become quite the tool guy, though, in his defense!). So, I’ve always considered myself somewhat prepared for first aid issues, weather-related emergencies, power outages, etc. However, in the past six months or so, I’ve realized that I’m not *nearly* as prepared as I should be!

And, let’s just say, the panic set in.

Once I calmed down, I started by putting together a family first aid kit and 72-hour bags for each member of my family. I’m currently working on adding supplies needed for camping, food storage, etc. each week, and I am trying to read or educate myself a little bit each day on related topics. As outlined on this site and in other places, I focused first on the “big” things (water, sanitation, etc.).

We planted a garden, and various fruit trees and bushes, and have a compost bin. Even though we live in a dense suburban neighborhood with Homeowner’s Association restrictions, we have been pretty efficient in how we use our property without it compromising aesthetics or space for our kids to play, in my opinion.

image by marvinxsteadfast

I’m also clearing out clutter! I realized early on that in order to properly store and prepare, I had to have the space to be able to do that, since our house is modest in size (without a basement). So, a yard sale is in the works, and consigning my kids’ outgrown clothes has generated a little bit of money towards supplies and storage needs.

I’m starting to network locally with like-minded people. This has been a tough one for me, but I’m slowly making progress. And, I’m having conversations with my kids (ages 9 and 6) about being prepared for emergencies and having an awareness of their surroundings, in a matter-of-fact way that hopefully is helpful and not scary or worrisome.

Finally, and this is a personal decision (obviously), I decided to get my concealed carry handgun permit, and learn how to shoot different types of guns. Even though I grew up around guns and had been taught by my father about gun safety, I wanted to feel comfortable enough to defend myself and my family, should (God forbid) a situation ever arise. My husband and I are avid about teaching gun safety to our kids, have joined a firing range where we now practice regularly, and I am taking additional training classes to improve my skills.

What resources (books, websites, etc.) have helped you the most in preparing?

A cornerstone of feeling prepared, for me, is being informed. That means learning and knowing skills but, in my world, it also means knowing what’s going on locally and nationally, and seeking accuracy in the news (I know, a challenge!).

So, I dig deeper and get my news from various sources (mostly online), including Twitter. And while I don’t rely on Twitter for 100% accuracy, it is a good source for getting real-time updates, links to articles that aren’t in the mainstream media, and networking (especially locally, in my experience). One thing I avoid are websites which lean towards being conspiracy- or doomsday-related, though, simply because they mainly do nothing but fill me with worry and dread, and then I get discouraged and usually end up stuck. Not helpful, to me at least.

Other sites I frequent daily are Southern Savers and Totally Target for deals and ways to save on food and household supplies. Because I’m currently a stay-at-home mom, money is very tight. I like these sites because they make couponing easy, and the money I save week-to-week is money I can use for supplies for preparing. There are so many good sites now for deals, but these are my two favorites. (I tend to think in terms of small, manageable tasks that I can actually keep up with, and not get overwhelmed by…leading to discouragement!).

When I hit “panic mode” a few months ago, I felt very overwhelmed in figuring out how I was going to prepare my family for emergencies on a larger scale. There is SO much information online, and it was hard for me to know where to start. I started with putting together a comprehensive first aid kit…which was relatively small in scope, but gave me a sense of accomplishment when I finished. Believe it or not, I used Pinterest to find ideas for that one, mainly because I like visuals! Pinterest is a great source for lots of survival/prep/organizing ideas and, to me, pictures are always helpful and inspiring.

Next, I found a good, basic Emergency Preparedness series at A Bowl Full of Lemons. It’s written by an organized mom, and is broken down into an 8-week series. (Right up my alley, again, with manageable chunks I could do each week or so).

As I’ve become “more advanced,” (ha ha) I found Lisa’s website and book (Survival Mom), which I’m currently reading (on loan from our local library), and I ordered a set of books from www.disasterpreparer.com by Arthur Bradley (Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family, Disaster Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms, Prepper’s Manual: 50 Steps to Preparing for any Disaster). Eventually, I hope to get to more “hard core” prepping websites for learning skills and techniques.

For now, this site is my go-to site for reference needs!

What advice do you have for New Survival Moms who want to prepare their families as well?

This is a hard question for me, because I hardly feel like one to be giving out advice, since I’m still so relatively new to preparing! But, here’s my stab at it:

Start small. I started with a family first aid kit, then 72-hour bags. I’m now moving on to gathering supplies and items for long-term food storage, and adding to our basic needs for camping and my family’s ability to be self-sufficient. The same goes for information and resources; simple is best for starters, so you don’t get overwhelmed and discouraged. You can always bookmark sites, articles, etc. for a later date, once you’ve gotten past the basics.

Try to do a little bit each day, or at least weekly. Whether it’s buying one thing towards your supplies, learning or researching a new skill, or finding a new resource/contact, it will keep the momentum going to want to do more, and give you a feeling of accomplishment. And, don’t beat yourself up for feeling “behind” or late to the party. Just get started, and (as Lisa says is the #1 Rule of Preparedness): Do your best where you are with what you have!

Involve your kids, and get them enthused about being prepared. They don’t have to know what your preparing for, or your every worry, and it can be fun if you frame it in the right way or find a cool, kid-friendly option. One of the best purchases I’ve made was a hand-crank LED lantern for my son (by Haba, called Terra Light…available at Amazon). That lantern has served us well in power outages (it doesn’t need batteries) and the kids think it’s cool because you wind it up to make it work!

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post May Survival Mom of the Month! Stephanie K. by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

This month YOU or someone you nominate could become our Survival Mom of the Month! We want to recognize you for what you have accomplished to help your family be ready for anything.

Winners will receive a copy of my book, Survival Mom, a set of Marjory Wildcraft’s DVD series Grow Your Own Groceries,a PurifiCup Portable Water Purifier and a $25 Amazon gift card. Sorry, you’ll have to furnish your own tiara!

Complete the form below and submit it by May 5. The winner will be notified on May 6, and will reign as our official Survival Mom throughout the month!

SPONSORS:

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post Looking for our May Survival Mom of the Month! by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

Dear Lisa,

I wanted to reach out to you because I found your website last fall when I was bracing for a hurricane and had a 3 week old. I had not thought before he arrived about what to do in an emergency. But since

image by Ed Yourdon

finding you I have slowly begun to change some things for long term storage and safety for my family.

We have since been through a blizzard that had us stuck indoors for several days, and last Friday, we were sequestered unexpectedly in our home for 15 hours due to the Boston bombing manhunt. It hit very close to home emotionally and physically, but, I was prepared, thanks in part to you.

Since the fall, I have begun stocking up on water and have a freeze dried food delivery each month. I have also made a list of items I want to have on hand for “green living” such as a solar oven, and have begun requesting these items for holiday and birthday presents, etc. I have stocked up my emergency kit supplies in the hall closet and continue to discuss with my husband different scenarios of where we would go if we needed to leave our home in an emergency.

We have friends and neighbors who were caught off guard on Friday, with empty cabinets, a sense of helplessness, and they were worried about being stuck in their homes for days. In my family, that was one less thing to worry about amidst all the chaos of the day. I am truly grateful to you for your dedication to helping others be safe. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Namaste, Laura

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post This Boston mom was ready for the worst by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

Survival Moms tend to be a bunch you’d want on your side when you’ve broken down in the desert or locked yourself out of the car, again. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve “swooped to the rescue” with a multi-tool, or band-aid. It feels good to be someone who can be counted on when times are tough.
But, is there a possible down side to always being prepared? I say there is. The very people you’re aiming to protect, your family, just may come to expect you to always have whatever it is they may need, want or wish for, at any given moment. In fact, they may forget to do anything at all for themselves. Maybe. Not pointing any fingers.

There are at least five things my kids, maybe even my husband, have learned from the rare moments when I’ve been unprepared.

Patience: “No honey, sorry, we don’t have any juice in the car. You’ll have to wait until we get home”.

Forethought: “Hey, Mom, can we bring my thermos in case I get thirsty on the way again”?

Self -Reliance: “No, I do not have crayons in my purse, find another way to entertain yourself”.

Adaptability: “ Sorry, Yellowstone doesn’t have a baby potty in the outhouse, would you rather squat outside”? (Turns out she would)

Although You Are The Most Important People In My World, Your Immediate Comfort May Not Be The Most Urgent Item On my To Do List: “Uh-oh kids. I forgot the bag with the snow pants in it. The good news is I have a first-aid kit, gloves and toothbrushes for everyone in my purse”! Which brings us back to #1.

I’m not saying you should go for an over-nighter in the winter woods without the snow gear on purpose. But maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to occasionally “forget” to pack your kids an extra snack, or pair of gloves, or your husband’s iPad charger when you‘ll be otherwise safe and taken care of. You’ll be delighted at how they begin thinking of these things for themselves, thereby becoming valuable members to your prepping team.

Read more from Magi at her blog, Half Acre Heaven.

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post 5 Good Reasons to be Unprepared (Sometimes) by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

My kids tastes have changed since then and we are eating fewer foods with gluten, more raw milk, and lots more produce, but when I first started with food storage, I bought what I could with a limited budget.

There’s a lot of judgmental people out there nowadays who loudly criticize moms like me who buy foods they deem to be “unclean”, for whatever reason. Maybe the foods contain GMO ingredients, maybe the honey isn’t local, maybe the meal contains high fructose corn syrup — it doesn’t matter to these militant moms. They’ll let you know, loud and clear, that you are a sub-standard mom and your children are in danger because you feed them fast food meals every now and then.

“What??,” they screech. “You aren’t growing your own organic foods and raising free-range chickens and then canning every last little tomato and carrot in purified water?”

“You fed that to your family for dinner last night? Ewwww! Do you know what that kind of food can do to a kid? No wonder your kids have _____”

Fill in the blank with anything from ADD to warts to allergies. Whatever the malady, you are to blame, in their eyes.

Well, I want you to know, just as loudly and just as clearly, that here on my blog and elsewhere, I have no intention of judging what you buy for your food storage or what you serve your family.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
– Plato

Yes, there are foods that are more wholesome and, yes, we should probably all be eating and storing them, and yes, every kid who wants a pony should have one!

Being a mom is a non-stop journey of learning new things, applying the good, ignoring the bad, and praying that, somehow, our kids turn out okay in the end.

But we all do the best we can, where we are, with what we have. One thing I’ve learned in just our first week of trying to eat as gluten-free as possible is that it can be pretty darn expensive! Right now, I can afford an occasional meal of $4.99/lb. GF pasta, but 4 years ago, I sure couldn’t have

Am I a better mom now that I’m trying to serve a lot more produce and “clean” foods than I was 4 years ago when my kids were chowing down on Vienna sausages? Do I love my kids more now than I did then?

Of course not!

I don’t want any mom, or dad, to feel like they can’t prepare their families for an  uncertain future just because they can’t afford more expensive organic, non-GMO, high-fructose-corn-syrup-free, gluten-free foods (is your head spinning yet?) or because they haven’t turned their backyard into an organic garden.

It’s downright depressing to try and measure up to someone else’s measuring stick when they aren’t walking in your shoes and dealing with your set of circumstances.

Always focus on doing what you can do, and let the militant mommies out there find someone else to pick on.

That’s all I have to say.

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post Caution! You have entered a No Judging Zone! by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

This month YOU or someone you nominate could become our Survival Mom of the Month! We want to recognize you for what you have accomplished to help your family be ready for anything.

Winners will receive a copy of my book, Survival Mom, a set of Marjory Wildcraft’s DVD series Grow Your Own Groceries,a PurifiCup Portable Water Purifier and a $25 Amazon gift card. Sorry, you’ll have to furnish your own tiara!

Complete the form below and submit it by April 5. The winner will be notified on April 6, and will reign as our official Survival Mom throughout the month!

SPONSORS:

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post Where’s our April Survival Mom of the Month? Could it be you? by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

image by MGD_photography

Some of us have become quite pessimistic about the future of America. Dystopian novels, movies, and TV shows become instant hits as we wonder, will the future be more like The Road or Hunger Games? Will my kids grow up in a free world or one in which their freedoms disappear at the whim of politicians?

There’s plenty more pessimism where that came from!

But life goes on. Just tonight I was helping my daughter with a science project, and as she became more and more frustrated, applying fabric glue to little pieces of ric-rac, I said, “Honey, let me do it,” as she went on to finish a homework assignment.

No matter what is happening around me or what the future holds, I still have to be a mom and do mom things.

I still have to plan birthday parties.

I still have to make sure the laundry gets done and that everyone has clean socks and underwear.

Everyday I have to have an answer to the question, “What’s for dinner?”

America may very well be headed toward an economic collapse. It’s hard to imagine any real recovery for an economy in which 47 million Americans are on food stamps, nearly half the population is poor or “low income”, and in January of this year, only 57.9% of the civilian population was employed. There are even more depressing numbers out there if you care to look.

But life goes on.

This weekend my husband will be busy working and I’ll be out in the backyard with the kids pulling weeds. I’ll keep an eye on one of our new cats who has been way too curious about the workings of our doggie door (all our cats are indoor cats) and maybe make some progress on a new knitting project.

When I hear, “Mom, what’s for dinner?”, I’ll need to have an answer.

As a mom, I don’t have the luxury of curling up in a corner, frozen in panic, while my kids try to fend for themselves, and neither do you.

We have to be stronger than we ever thought we could be in spite of the latest headlines because life goes on. Our kids depend on us, and yet each day they grow just a tiny bit older and a tinier bit more independent.

A few weeks ago my daughter and I tried to figure out what grade she’s in. That may sound odd, but when you homeschool, you lose track of those kinds of things. I figured she was in 7th grade because if she was in 8th, that meant she would be in high school next year, and that just wasn’t possible.

But it is possible. She’ll graduate from 8th grade this year and become a high schooler in the fall.

Life goes on.

Every parent should pay attention to the scary headlines and general direction of our country and economy, but don’t let them distract you from the life that is happening right around you every day. Kids need family traditions and memories of birthdays and dinners around the table. They need parents who are interested in what happened at school today and who know the names of their best friend and even their secret crush.

Life goes on and there are only so many tomorrows.

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post Life goes on and there are only so many tomorrows by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!