Novel Study Helps With Bloody Noses

I'm a writer. So I'm frequently researching things for future novels. Recently, I've been studying into outdoor survival and in extreme circumstances.  I've even learned how to start a fire with a tampon and how to stay hidden in a jungle amidst gorilla warfare.  So now I'm totally prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse , granted I haven't had much practical experience yet.

One of the shows I had watched was Worst Case Scenario with Bear Grylls on Netflix instant streaming. During the segments where they are going to commercial break Bear discusses less life-threatening scenarios like the best way to get your thumb unstuck from a bowling ball and what to do if your fingers are stuck together with superglue.

He did a particular segment on the best way to get rid of bloody noses. Oddly enough he said to put pressure on the skin between your upper lip and your nose for something like 30 seconds.  Well, this week alone two of my kids had bloody noses and I suddenly remembered this piece of research from two months ago.  I tried it out on my kids and  . . . it works.

So try it out next time your little ones come running to you covered in a bloody faucet of ooze (unless it isn't a bloody nose, then you should call the cops or the hospital as needed).

Emergency Kits

In an unusual moment of productivity six months after Juniper was born I put together 72 hour emergency backpacks for each member of the family. We even had a church activity where we all got together and made food kits for the backpacks. It was awesome. I felt so accomplished.


Money has gotten a bit tight lately so I broke into the emergency kits a week or so ago to utilize the food for lunches for my kids. I've learned that some things don't last well flavor wise.  I've also learned that . . . um. . . its been two years since I've made the 72 hour kits.  So we've been writing down the food items we like and want to replace so that we can update them.


I had noticed last week that there were diapers in one of the backpacks in a size that none of my kids can way anymore. So finally yesterday I went through to update the kids clothes as well.  Yeah, so, um, Rose's backpack had size 4T clothes and pull-ups. Cyprus had 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers. And Juniper had size 6 month clothes, diapers, and individual formula packets.   Did I mention that Rose is 6 now, Cyprus is 4, and Juniper will shortly be 3 years old. 


I went ahead and updated their clothes, adding a second outfit instead of just one, and put in clothes that were at least 2-4 sizes bigger than they currently are.  I'm also working on building 72 hour kits for my two teenage stepsons' backpacks to include clothes they can wear.  I want to make sure they are prepared if there is ever an emergency when they are visiting us.


So my recommendation for today is if you don't have a 72 kit start putting together one from stuff you have around the house (cause something is better than nothing). And if you already have a kit when was the last time you to a look at it to see if it needed updating? If you're like me it might have been years.  Happy preparing!