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Tag: emergency

  • Winter Car Emergency Kit

    Winter Car Emergency Kit

    This winter car emergency kit has been made possible by meori. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. 

    With winter, comes the potential for an emergency situation where you are stuck in the car. From minor accidents like fender benders to larger ones such as sliding off a slippery road and getting stuck in a snowdrift. With a winter car emergency kit, you and your passengers will have the comfort needed in any crises. 

    Be prepared this winter with a car emergency kit! Here's everything you need. ad

    Thankfully I’ve never been in a terrible accident, but  I have had my fair share of winter emergencies where this emergency kit would have been extremely handy. I’ve tried to keep things both practical and useful. After all, who wants to carry extra ‘stuff’ in their car all winter long. Not me! Four kids and all their ‘stuff’ that seems to end up in the car is more than enough extras. 

    So I’ve gathered everything you might need in an emergency – whether big or small – and compacted it into the meori foldable box with two compartments. I love that meori has CAR printed on it already, making it easy to see for everyone, including the husband, that this box belongs in the car.

    Prep your winter car emergency kit before bad weather hits. ad

    So what do I have in my winter car emergency kit? Let me tell you. 

    We fit everything but the blankets into a backpack for ease of carrying if we actually have to leave the car somewhere. So far that has not occurred, thank goodness! The backpack itself then fits nicely inside one compartment in the meori box, while the other side fits 4 fleece blankets. Together it all fits snugly in the bag of my Honda Pilot. If you know anything about the pilot, the trunk space is probably the only downfall. Being able to store a fully loaded emergency kit with room leftover is quite impressive. 

    Winter car emergency kit in the meori foldable box. ad

    The meori box has proven to be quite durable. ait’s quality made and holds up well to a large semi-unorganized family. The car box has been fantastic, but that’s not all they have. I’ve used meori to organize inside the house too! Just check out these other uses for inside your home. 

    meori Filing Box

    Organize your work files with meori filing box. ad

    Winter Gear Storage

    Keep hats, gloves, and scarfs organized with meori. ad

  • When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned

    When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned

    We can plan our life out all we want, but rarely does it ever turn out exactly as we planned, and sometimes it doesn’t even get close to the original plan. So what do you do? It’s all in the attitude, as I learned yesterday, but also the mental preparation.

    When life doesn't go as planned, your attitude will make all the difference

    Yesterday morning my sweet friend came and picked up Lincoln to give me a few hours to do something, anything I wanted. It had been a really rough emotional month for me helping a friend through some tough circumstances, and I needed that break. So after she took Lincoln I decided I’d go on a bike ride. If you know me at all, well I’d never believe I would choose a bike ride willing. There I was, though, breathing in the air rushing past me. 

    As I neared back home, I began to imagine the rest of the day. I’d grab a shower before Lincoln came back. Then he and I would play together. The girls would get off the bus. We’d all be happy, eat some homemade cookies, and do some house cleaning with good attitudes. 

    I began to laugh at myself and this perfect afternoon I was concocting. I KNEW there was no way it would go like that. The kids never clean happily, and I still had work to do. So I took a few more deep breaths and then told myself something that would prove to be very important later in the day. 

    “Adelina,” I said, “You know the day is not going to go like you imagine. There will most likely be fights, and the kids will be tired from a long day of school. They won’t want to help you clean, and may even put up a fight. But Adelina, it’s going to be OK. You just keep your chin up, and roll with the punches today, because you got to breathe. So smile, and don’t be disappointed if the day isn’t perfect. It will depend on your attitude.”

    And so I got home, and I kept my chin up. My friend brought Lincoln back, and we decided to plant our tomatoes. And that is when the perfectly imagined day turned upside down. While I hung up the plant, Lincoln was so excited the windchime had been temporarily moved within his reach, he started ringing it like crazy. Unfortunately, it was not secure and came straight down on his head. 

    Blood. Everywhere. It’s all I could see. I grabbed my little boy and ran inside to the kitchen. Paper Towels were the quickest, and I thought I’id just start cleaning him off to see the cut when I knew. Mothers instinct some call it, but I just knew I couldn’t calmly clean off the blood. It was pouring out and needed pressure applied. So I sat there, holding wet paper towels on his head with one hand and fumbling with my phone in the other. 

    Who do I call?! What do I do?! I started calling a couple different friends, hung up and asked myself what in the world I was doing. How did I think they could help? So I did what we’re taught to do from a young age in an emergency – I dialed 911. 

    The operator was very patient and had an ambulance headed out to us as soon as I called. He instructed me to keep the pressure on it, and add clean towels as they soaked through. And most importantly, he stayed calm and patient with this frantic feeling mom who didn’t know how to answer most of his questions – Just where exactly is the line between A LOT of Blood, and Excessive Bleeding?

    life doesn't always go as planned. Roll with the gurney, and have a good attitude

    The EMT’s came in, a 2-second examination determined he would need stitches, and next thing I know I’m laying on a gurney holding Lincoln, and being strapped in. I’ll spare you all the details, but have you ever thought about how one gets home from the hospital after arriving in an ambulance? Or who’s going to be waiting for the other kids at the bus stop?

    My afternoon most assuredly did not go as I perfectly imagined.

    We didn’t clean. We had PB&J and baby carrots for dinner. The new tomato plant never got watered. And there were definitely some tears involved in the day. What is important is that we made it through the day with everyone alive. We even managed a few laughs throughout the rest of the afternoon. I was home to kiss my kids all goodnight and tuck all 4 into their own beds.  

    So plan your life. Plan your days. Then let whatever happens, happen, and just roll with the punches – or the gurney.

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  • Meet Your Neighbors Before an Emergency Strikes

    Meet Your Neighbors Before an Emergency Strikes

    You never know when an emergency could strike close to home. Get out and meet your neighbors today.

    Tips for meeting your neighbors before an emergency strikes

    When you see emergency vehicles at your neighbors house, what do you do? You don’t actually know them. You wish you did because you want to be the kind of neighbor that knows everyone and is there to help. Whether it be borrowing a cup of sugar, or running them to the hospital. I want to know my neighbors, and I want them to know me. 

    That happened here last week. Mark was home and outside playing in the snow with Lincoln. He saw the ambulances come and thought it was at our one neighbor’s home who we do know pretty well. The two homes look very similar, which on our street of old homes is unique. He yelled for me to come out. Thinking I should run over and see what happened. 

    When we realized it wasn’t the neighbor we knew, we just kind of stood there. Now what? Should we still check on them? See if there was anything we could do as a neighbor? We knew absolutely nothing about this neighbor, yet we felt compelled to do something. So I called our friend who lives right next door and asked if she knew anything. She did, but not much. She’s an older single woman. Her kids all live out of the state. She was sitting up and talking to the Medics. 

    Since she left in the ambulance there really wasn’t anything we could do. Except wait, and wonder if I could have been a better neighbor. So I turned to my awesome friends, who haven’t moved around as often as I, and asked if they knew their neighbors and what their best tips were for getting to know their neighbors.

    Be the first to make contact. When you see someone moving in, don’t wait for them to introduce themselves, go say hi! Offer to help unload the truck, or bring by some dinner. If you are the one moving in, don’t wait for your neighbors to stay hi first. Once the move in has settled, head on over and introduce yourself!

    Service. Service is my favorite way to meet new people, but it never has to be a big production. Helping rake leaves, shovel snow, or running their newspaper up to the porch are just a few simple tips we can all do, and will help you meet those neighbors. One day we noticed our neighbor who we’ve not actually met, but know lives alone – yes it would appear most of our neighbors are single women – had newspapers collecting at the bottom of her drive. I sent the kids over to carry them up to her porch. She didn’t answer the door, possibly they didn’t knock either, but now we feel a slight connection to her. 

    Neighborhood Party! This is probably my favorite idea ever! Once we get warmer temps I think we’ll plan a neighborhood party. We have the backyard for it. It’s a great reason to go knocking on your neighbors doors too!

    Welcome new neighbors with a heart attack!

    HeartAttack. Similar to t.p.’ing, but more likely received with more joy on both ends. I love this idea Amber from Busy Creating Memories shared with me. Write nice notes to your neighbor and tape them all over their garage, front door, etc. It could be a welcome to the neighborhood, or “hey we’d love to get to know you more and these are the things we’ve noticed about you”!

    Get Outside and Be Seen. This was the 2nd most frequent answer from my friends. Spend time outdoors. Let your neighbors see you. Say hi whenever you can. If your neighbor has kids invite them to play with yours. I know I need to be better with this one!

    Bring Cookies. The number one answer given by friends online was to bring cookies! No one turns down a plate of cookies, and you really need no excuse to bring them over. So bake up some cookies, and take them over. Maybe whip up a little “Neighbor Card”, to include your phone number and house number so if they ever want to call or stop by but can’t remember which house you said you lived in – I can’t tell you how many times people tell me where they live, and have it not stick in my brain – they have it handy!

    When leaving for book club last night I saw a car parked and lights on at the “ambulance home”, so I think I’ll bake up some cookies and go introduce myself.

    Do you know your neighbors?