Hurricane season... R U Ready?

It’s hurricane season!!! Did you know that? LOL I am sure you did because it’s apparent in the weather we have been having especially in Louisiana. I love Louisiana the culture, the hospitality, the family events, adult events just the fun altogether as well as sportsman activities such as fishing, crabbing, shrimping, gator hunting etc. Since moving from Baton Rouge to the Northshore of Louisiana I have learned some perks, such as the beach being 2 hours away in Grand Isle, great school systems, awesome neighborhoods, friendly people, great shopping and access to both New Orleans and Baton Rouge within an hour away. However it also has its cons…such as hurricanes. As anyone who watches the news knows we are on Hurricane watch here in Louisiana. Since I am so close to Lake Pontchartrain ( 4 miles) we are definitely getting prepared.  We started a hurricane box when we first move to Baton Rouge when Hurricane Gustav came.  I wanted to do a post for everyone on important things that will be needed for anyone who is getting ready for the Hurricane or needs to get ready for the season period. This list includes if you have children and if you don’t just simply disregard the items.

*This list is not in order so put in order at your own discretion.

First thing first, get a Rubbermaid container ( you know those ones that you can store stuff in). They are often blue and even green and red during Christmas, some as also pink. Either way get one and put your essentials in it.

1.       Flashlights: I like to have enough for all the big kids who can carry one just in case we all have to walk and need one)

2.       Batteries:  You need plenty of those depending on how long the power goes out. Maybe a mega pack would be good. Never know.

3.       Candles and lighter: When you’re not using the flashlight the candles will be very helpful. They will also be essential if all the batteries die.

4.       Bottled water: This is essential everyone. We can’t survive without it and considering that I have a baby, toddler and to young boys I want to be sure to have enough for everyone. From what I understand you are supposed to have enough to last you for a week. And you should have at least one gallon a person a day. So being that there is 6 people in my house we need 6 galloons a day. SMH!!! That's a lot of water lol

5.       Battery operated radio: This is important to keep you in the know of what it is going on especially if you have no power and your cell phones go out. Plus you will able to keep up with the time, which will be essential and keep you sane if the power goes out.

6.       Grill and charcoal: If the weather permits its and you have no power you can cook on your grill. That’s what we are going to do. I will tell you this….you may not be able to cook full course meals but you can grill hotdogs, sausages or meat if you have some in your fridge and don't want them to go bad. After Hurricane Gustavo passed up 4 years ago in the BTR we went to Winn Dixie since they had power and got steaks. Lol we grilled outside our hotel room down in the parking lot and even meet some nice people who we chatted with and the kids were able to keep some air after being cramped up in a room for two days.

7.       Nonperishable goods: Cans of soups, vegetables such beans, fruit and even tuna and spam are good to have. If you have children or just for you, you should get bread, crackers, food snacks, apples, peanut butter, jelly anything that doesn't need a refrigerator to stay good. If you have little ones and you lose power and need to lighten the mood consider acting as if it’s a picnic. Light the candles around your area,  put a blanket down and have sandwiches, fruit and water. It will ease their minds to do something fun.

8.       Cooler: You need a cooler to put your food in. That way you can take it to your designated area that you are going to ride the storm out at. Last thing you want to do is have to move around in the dark and hurt yourself trying to find food.

9.       Paper plates and plastic utensils: Since there may not be water this will come in handy. Quick to use and trash. NEED I SAY MORE!

10.   Trash bags: To put trash in. Last thing you want is a bunch of trash in the area in which you may have to stay while the power is out. Order is still necessary to keep your sanity J

11.   First Aid kit and medication: Make sure you have enough medication for a week or two. If your child has asthma make sure you have the inhaler and a refill, allergy medicine, cold medicine, fever medicine, orajel, etc. My oldest two have allergys so I keep Lordatine, my oldest has asthma so I keep both his everyday pump and emergency pump plus refills, pain pills for headaches, orajel cause baby boy is teething and cold medicine cause bg has a small cold. A first aid kit will also come in handy just in case anyone gets cut or something while riding out the storm.

12.   Important papers and identification: These papers can go inside a safe inside that plastic container I talked about at the beginning. It should hold, ids, passports, ss cards, birth certificates, shot records (for kids) and a home management binder (will discuss the important of this in another post).

13.   Gas: Make sure whatever car you are going to drive is gassed up in case you decide to evaluate or after the storm is over and need to get out. If the storm is really bad you may not be able to go get gas.

This pretty much sums up my list of things you should have to assist you with preparing for hurricanes. One thing that is not on my list is a designated area in which you and your family will ride out the storm. Choose somewhere away from windows and glass and lower level of house. We will be using our closet in the bathroom. It’s a walk in so we should be able all climb in if need be along with cooler and plastic bin.

Let me know if there’s anything I missed. Hurricanes and tropical storms are serious and we must take in account for our safety :)

Until next time lots of love,

Ladyhart

School Shopping 101 Buying School Supplies Pt.1

School shopping to some may be FUN, but to others it’s more like a headache. Especially if you have more than one child to shop for (like myself). So here are some tips on how to save money on clothes, uniforms and school supplies. Hopefully this will make your trip the store less overwhelming and you will walk with a list full of check marks.

1. 1. Save school supply coupon When summer begins start saving coupons for school supplies. Often times theses coupons come in handy later with sales that stores are having. You should get some in the mail, Sunday papers as well as online such as www.coupons.com. You can also sign up for coupon text messages like at Target. They will send you text messages of new coupons that come out for their stores.

2. 2. Get the list in advance

Around July I recommend looking on the school’s website for the supply list and print it out. If it is not there keep checking once a week until the first week of August. (Since my kids start the first week of August I actually looked in June). If it’s still not there call the school and see if you can pick one up.

3. 3. Sign up for coupon bloggers

Coupon bloggers often stay on all sales, so this includes school supplies. Make sure to check some out like www.southernsavers.com. You may be able to get some items for free, provided that you started saving school supplies coupons when the summer starts.

4. 4. Go through old supplies

Often times children reuse certain materials such as rulers, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, folders etc. So when they bring that stuff home at the end of the year don’t trash it. Instead find a box, label and store it (if it’s in good condition). This way when you get the new supply list you can check and see what your kids already have and check it off the list.

Sn: This year I didn’t have buy three packs of pencils only 1 because I had 2 packs of 24 from last year, I also saved on scissors for my boys, 2 folders, a pencil box, highlighters and book bags. I do not buy new book bags every year, I buy one every 2-3 years depending on condition. Considering that my children are not in middle or high school were they carry heavy books often there is no need to spend an extra $15-30 when there old one works just fine.

5. 5. Check ads and make notes of who has what on sale.

Checking ads when they come lets you know who has what for sale and you can than compare prices. Keep a tablet with ad price and store so you can compare and get the most for your money. While often times Wal-Mart has the best prices you can sometimes find items in bulk for cheaper at other stores. For instance a pack of glue may be 99 cent at Wal-Mart but at Kmart a 3 pack of glue may be on sale for 1.99 so you would be getting one for free.

6. 6. Start shopping as soon as possible

If you don’t want to get stuck in those long lines or find yourself not being able to find certain thing, get to the stores early and start shopping. Often times this gives you a chance to shop in a more organized area with a lot more variety than when everyone has ran through all the items and choices are limited.

Sn: My kids get excited when they get items that are their favorite colors. Making an effort to get to the stores early to get items they like may influence their desire to go J

7. 7. Don’t stress yourself if they don’t have it

Sometimes no matter what you do there will be some items that are not in the store. DON’T PANIC!! The store will restock and you can get it than. Nine times out of ten the children do not need all the times right away so as long as you get it before the first month of school is out your good to go.

What do you think of my tips? Are there any tips I missed? Let me know so I can add it in there. Stay tuned for PT.2 Buying school clothes and uniforms

Pneumonia + moving = disaster

This summer has to be the worst ever in the history of the Hart family. In June hubby got struck by lightening. I was so worried that something would happen to him but wanted to be strong for him and the kids. To top it off I didn't get much sleep cause I was so worried about him. That lasted for about a week until the swelling in his legs and his limp stopped. I was still concerned however and anyone who knows my hubby knows he will know go to the doctor or hospital so I was in a lose, lose situation. Stuck worrying at night while everyone is sleep is no fun..believe me. July was okay my sis got married and Ikaika had a b-day party. That was awesome stay tuned for pics of those events and I'll tell you how to have a basic b-day party with friends and family for your love bug. Sooner after the great events August came...... ohh how August has been horrible to me. First we had to register the boys into a new school and since we hadn't closed on the house yet we had a hard time getting legal docs for them to register. In the mist of that my daughter got sick. Daughter was so sick she had to do breathing treatments.....:( my poor baby girl. She finally got better thank the lord because that weekend we we had to pack our sleep bags, clothes and personal and stay at our new house. The drive was going to be to much for me one hour there and one hour back and with both boys going to different schools car pool for both was going to be out the question.

Once in the new house everything was going fine, until my hubby came home and said he was tired. I figured he was just worn out from the sleepless nights we had with baby girl cause of her cold. Well that tired turned in a two week event........turned out he had pneumonia in his left lung. He had constant fevers, headaches, chills, lose of appetite, coughing, mucus, everything. It was horrible. I thought he was going to die. It was a good thing I made him go the doctor because it could have killed him. Needless to say we are still not moved and he has two more weeks of healing before he go back to his normal self. I am thankful that he is get much better.

The positives out of this situation:

Kids are going to better schools

Oldest finally gets to ride the bus (he's been asking since Kindergarten)

Finally have our own

Hubby realizes the importance of going to the doctor

Has anyone ever dealt with someone in the family with pneumonia? What was it like? How did you handle it?

I'm back

BACK IN ACTION!!!

It has been a while since I have been on and honestly I have wanted to just hadn't got a chance to. Last time I was on I was on my quest to become more organized before Keoni #3, (child #4) was born. Well that ended shortly because he came 3 weeks early lol. One day I was in target (my favorite store) shopping for home organization deals since they were having a sale (that's my story and I'm sticking to it lol) and I started having contractions. Being that it was not my first baby I honestly thought they were braxton hicks contractions and given that I have a short cervix which affected my pregnancy with baby girl Aolani I thought I just needed to go home and rest. I did just that and was fine until the next day when I lost my mucus plug and went into labor. Ended up having Keoni at 1 in the morning while my hubby and baby girl Aolani waited out in the waiting room. :(  Keoni was 4 lbs 12 ozs but believe me he is not missing any meals in fact we just started  1st stage baby food. Right now I am using store bought brands but plan on buying a food processor and making my own in the next few weeks.

So since my last post Keoni was born and my hubby and I bought a HOUSE! This is the biggest purchase we have made together and we are so proud of ourselves and our accomplishment. We wanted to own a house before we were 30 and we did :) We weren't looking to buy a house until I was finished with grad school but after dealing with the horrible school setting my kids were being subjected to in Baton Rouge I had to move. While they are making great efforts to improve the schools I felt that my kids were missing out especially if you compare them to those schools in which they had to apply and hope to get in. Honestly I wanted that at first but with 4 children that's a lot of stress and I didn't need anything else to work about. So we looked into moving into a better area with better schools and still fair for my husband's employees to drive since he would be relocating his office. Well we ended up in Madisonville and lets just say I LOVE IT!!!! Now I am back on my quest to organize and conquer the clutter-mania which took over my residency due to two complicated pregnancies back to back.

Until Next Time Lots of Love,

Ladyhart

Quest to become more organized

As time winds down literally (15 weeks before baby boy is here) I am starting to realize that my house needs yet again another session of decluttering and organizing. I have gotten a million ideas from friends and family but they don't seem to work. So I resorted back to FLYLADY.NET to assist me in this big task. She has some amazing ideas for tackling the house and staying on a schedule and so far her methods work for me. So I am going to dive in once again and use her decluttering methods until my house CLUTTER FREE. Now as for organizing I have yet to find a system that works. I was sitting on my bed looking at all the stuff that was unorganized and lord behold a show came on called "The Amandas." These girls are organizing gurus who will come into your house and organize it for you, but honestly I don't want that I want to do it myself. So I am on a quest to use some of the ideas I see on the show as well as on the website. I might even download the app and subscribe to the emails for $12.99 until I am completely organized. WISH ME LUCK and drop me some lines ladies. Do ya'll have any organizing or decluttering tips for me.

Emotional Rollercoaster

This pregnancy not mention the kids, school and everything is taken a toll on me. I feel myself losing grip of reality (well not literally) but you know what I mean. I'm shedding more tears than clouds over my house and it's driving me crazy. How much longer will I do this cause I've been going every two days LORD HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Follow directions please!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know if anyone else is having this problem my 4 yr old db is driving me crazy, literally. I tell him to do something and it's like a party to him. He has every intention on doing it but he gets distracted by the littlest things, like if he walks past my dd who can playing by herself, he'll stop and play with her. I have no idea what to do. I think to myself, what is wrong with this boy. Here is the kicker though, he gets smiley faces at school all week, but when he gets home he's like a different kid. He's hypered and hard headed. Any tips on what to do? I am confused and I have a headache dealing with day in and day out.