Chatty Cathy
I can’t tell if it’s boring when I re-tell them to other people, but I just can’t get enough of the funny things my newly-minted three-year-old has been saying lately!
Maybe it’s a Mom thing, and other moms find toddler-speak interesting, too? I always love reading the Clara Conversations over on Young House Life, as well as the Every Says feature over on Dear Baby. It’s so funny to hear a little person’s perspective on things, once they can put it into words.
Here are a few of D’s funniest lines lately …
- “Oh, my GOSH!” (He explained he heard it from my mom)
- “Das awe-sum!”
- (While watching me dry off after a shower, and launching into our usual “girls have vaginas, boys have penises” discussion): “I want a ‘gina! I want a ‘gina in my bum so I be just like Mommy and Sissy!”
- (While crying about something very specific he wanted for breakfast): “I want a peanut! Pees, Mommy! PEANUT, PEES!” It turns out he wanted a cold, dried-out pita.
- (While asking to watch the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer special, which happens year-round): “We a watch a Roof-rolph, pees?”
- (While running outside onto the deck to check on Darling Husband doing yardwork): “How it goin’ Babe? What you doin’ Babe? How it doing?”
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| D just stood at the front door shouting “Ha! Ha!” I asked him what he was laughing at and he said he was “talking to da birds.” Sure enough, a crow answered “Caw! Caw!” and D continued yelling “HA! HA!” |
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| At the mall, D insisted on wheeling C’s stroller into the mall so he could “watch da people.” The cashier did a double-take and said “Did he just say he wants to people-watch??? How old is he?” |
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| D attempting to padlock his dresser drawer using a toy. He kept murmuring “Dis a tricky one” and “Nice and safe.” |
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| “I can’t eat da brekkist. It’s TOO TASTY!” |
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| This one isn’t a funny line, but a funny story that I shared on Instagram. D snuck out of his room at naptime to play in the toyroom (outside my office) as usual. I ignored him while I finished a call, and then I realized it was really quiet. I stepped outside my office and saw him fast asleep under the play kitchen. Guess he needed that nap after all!
*** And for our conclusion, selections from Belle from Beauty and The Beast (something D sings about 50 times a day to himself): “… Elysee! Da baguettes! Hurry up! … *pause* … Bonjour! Bo-jour! BONJOUR BONJOUR BONJOUR!”
xoxo
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More adventures in camping with toddlers
Our new tent trailer has been getting quite the workout! And luckily, we’re learning more each trip about how to successfully camp with toddlers — something that is not for the faint of heart.
For our third camping trip, we hit up a spot called Elm River that has a lot of history for our family. It’s the same campground I used to visit with my dad, sister, and stepmonster — in the exact same trailer, since as you may recall, the trailer was gifted to me by my dad earlier this summer.
Darling Husband and I also went to Elm River to camp with friends during university. I don’t remember too much of those trips, except that (A) they were fun, and (B) we thought we were flat-out GENIUSES for tying bags of beer to our inner tubes as we floated down the river.
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| Good ol’ Elm River in Debert, Nova Scotia |
This trip went very smoothly, so let’s get to the rundown so we can see how we did! (Remember you can go back and view the first rundown and second rundown, if you’re looking for lots of toddler camping advice and what-were-we-thinking moments!)
What went wrong:
- We arrived at lunchtime. Check-in time was noon, and the campground is only about 10 or 12 minutes from our house, so we sort of ate a quick snack at home and then arrived promptly at noon. The kids and I ALWAYS eat lunch at noon, exactly. So … yeah … We intended to BBQ up some hot dogs as soon as we arrived, and that didn’t happen, so there was probably a hangry moment or two.
- We forgot the bed-rail for D. Luckily, we didn’t need it. We just piled up pillows from the trailer’s bench seats, and we had no issues with him falling out of the (very high) trailer bed.
- It was a bazillion degrees. Of course, we had no control over this, but I still wish it hadn’t been quite so hot. Seriously, people should schedule their vacations around our camping trips, because we accidentally seem to pick the hottest days of the entire summer. For non-outdoorsy people like me, camping is not a good place to be when it’s 30C or above. There’s no AC, that’s for sure.
- I forgot a book (like a real, paper book). I guess I’ve been relying on electronic books too much lately, and I forgot a real book. That would have been nice to have, especially since …
- … my phone got water damage. When we were in the pool, I left it (far back from the edge!) with our towels, but some asswipe’s cannonball must have splashed it. It screwed up for the rest of the trip, and I didn’t have rice to leave it in, so I left it on. I was in need of an upgrade anyway, for other screw-ups it was doing, so I ended up getting a new phone earlier this week. I got to see some interesting patterns on the screen, though, while it dried out!
What we did right:
- We packed lots of Froot Loops. Apparently, this is my favourite part of camping, because I VERY MUCH looked forward to eating two mini-boxes of them the following morning. Delicious.
- We have dinner down to a science. Easiest camping dinner ever — we bring steaks, steak spice, and a packet of roasted potatoes that I’ve precooked in the oven at home. The steaks are done on the portable BBQ, and the tinfoil packet of potatoes is tossed on the grill to warm up. HEAVENLY, and very, very easy.
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| Ooh yeah, baby! |
- We set up the dining shelter. This was a huge source of
conflict, er annoyance during our first trip, because we were attacked by bugs and didn’t have a safe spot for the kids to run around outside. Darling Husband made sure to set it up this time, and it was perfect. We had a place to leave our giant tupperware bin of food, the cooler, etc. It was like a little outdoor living room. The only downfall is that both kids can unzip it to escape. Maybe a padlock is in order? - We made Jiffy-Pop. Another food-related highlight! I’m not sure why it is so special, because it is essentially just microwave-like popcorn, but … it’s awesome.
- We picked a campground with a pool, a playground, and a river. There was never a time we felt bored, or didn’t have something for the kids to do. Critical when you’re camping with a one-year-old and a three-year-old.
- We had reinforcements! My lovely Little Sis was camping at the same campground with her awesome friends (we crashed their trip, YOU’RE WELCOME!). So it was INCREDIBLY AMAZING to have babysitters nearby. We tried not to overstay our welcome when we visited their tent site (I think), and they were so sweet about playing with the kids. We even got to hang out with them in the river for a while, as they tubed and floated (and drank beer) and we kid-wrangled and floated (and deposited our kids in their inflatable boat for rides). It was so fun for D and C to be able to go on “adventure walks” to find their Aunt Lely’s site, too. And they had a prettttty awesome time playing with the water spiggot, too.
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| Running water is THE BESTEST! |
- C had her very first S’more! I hadn’t really planned on giving my 15-month-old a S’more, but it happened and I was fine with it. She ate it very, very slowly and seemed to think it was the best thing ever. I didn’t even eat a marshmallow this time, so I felt very un-camping, but really, they are just so sticky and gross to me. Should I eat one per trip, just to fit in? Maybe.
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| Darling Husband has a tradition of spending all of our cash on firewood (two huge reams!) and proceeding to use every stick of it, no matter what. Our fires are large. |
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| “Dis is delicious!” |
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| Experienced S’more eater |
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| The scene at camp (Hiyo, dining shelter!) |
What we’ll do differently next time:
- Bring a couple of tarps. We still haven’t brought one along, even though we love the idea of setting one up right outside the trailer so we can step out onto a “front porch” of sorts. I also want to spread one out as a floor inside the dining shelter. C drops a LOT of food on the ground, and then tries to pick it up and eat it — and gets a mouthful of grass and dirt, too. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to scoop little bits of food off of the GROUND but it’s rather difficult.
- We’ll bring more daytime snacks. We had all of our meals covered, but for snacks it seemed like we had nothing but Goldfish for the kids and chips for us. Not a problem, but we should have packed granola bars, apples, and other easy-to-eat things.
- I’ll bring a book. Not that I had much time to read, but it would be nice to have the option just in case.
- Buy a second cooler beforehand. We only have one cooler, and it’s way too packed during our trips. We have a bunch of icepacks in there, plus all of our milk, juice, meat, fresh fruit, butter, Darling Husband’s beer, and — most importantly — my Diet Coke. The tent trailer also has a tiny fridge, but it doesn’t seem to get very cold. I think we need to buy a second large cooler, so we can have one just for drinks, and one for food. They’re probably on sale now, too!
- Bring Diet Coke cans, not bottles. Speaking of Diet Coke, this is a very, very important reminder to myself, and to all other Diet Coke drinkers. Do not bring a two-litre bottle. It is a HUGE pain in the butt to have to pour drinks when you’re camping, because (A) all of the cups are crappy plastic thingys, and (B) there are limited hard surfaces on which to balance the aforementioned crappy cups, and (C) you can’t just grab a can and head to the river, playground, etc. Bring cans camping, if that’s the ONLY piece of advice you remember.
***
We are getting better at this camping thing, and these posts are proof! Darling Husband is working a lot throughout August, but we’d like to try to sneak away for another trip soon — even if it’s just one night in the middle of the week.
We think we’re even ready for multi-night trips, if you can believe it. The set-up/tear-down process of a tent trailer is really a lot of work, and I think staying for two nights would allow us a little more time to enjoy camping — rather than feeling like we just got settled, and having to take everything down again.
Happy trails!
xoxo
… and then my kids ate my jewelry … (Product review)
The following post is a product review of Smart Mom Jewelry’s Beaded Teething Bling necklace. I was provided a necklace to review, but all content and opinions are my own.
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We had a real issue with baby C when she was about 10 months old. She turned into a biting maniac who would chomp on unsuspecting family members (mainly me). It was NOT COOL, C (if you’re reading this when you’re older, please stop being a dramatic teenager and take pity on me, OK?)
D went through the same thing, to a lesser degree, but he still has an issue with chewing on his fingers/nails/hands and even his FEET, to my utter horror.
I think my point here is kids = Bitey McBiterson?
When Smart Mom Jewelry asked me to review one of their teething necklaces, I was immediately interested. My kids have both been bad about yanking on jewelry (D has broken many a chain), and this stuff was supposed to stand up to the wear and tear of kids? They could even gnaw on it? Sign me up!
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| Beaded Teething Bling in “Zebra” |
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| Oh, the bathroom selfies. You know them. You love them. |
When the necklace arrived, it was bigger than I expected. I don’t normally wear anything expect a small silver chain with a few charms on it, so it took a little getting used to. I liked that it was black and white.
But I couldn’t believe how much the kids loved it! C grabbed it and put it in her mouth right away, and paused when she realized I wasn’t stopping her. D noticed immediately (as he notices immediately when I change my nail polish), and got in on the chewing action. I managed to wrestle the pendant away from them eventually and give it a little chew, too. In the name of research, of course!
It’s been a few months now, and I must admit I don’t think to put it on as often as I should. With all of the beads and the pearl finish, it feels a little dressy. But I think one of the single pendants on a plain cord would work much better for a casual, everyday Mom outfit.
The kids recently started playing with it when they go into my closet in the mornings. Because the beads are safe and it has a breakaway cord, I can let them play dress-up with it while I get dressed and not have to worry. D loves wearing it, and C still goes to town gnawing on the beads.
They think it’s hands-down the best piece of jewelry I’ve ever owned — and the most delicious!
Thanks, Smart Mom!
Camping with toddlers: Take II
It appears we got over any ill feelings towards camping with toddlers pretty quickly, because before we knew it, we were on the road again!
This time, it was what I refer to as “soft camping,” because we were setting up the tent trailer in the yard of Darling Husband’s grandparents’ 145-year-old home (now technically his parents’ summer home). It still involved a two-hour drive both ways, sleeping in the trailer, and packing a whack-load of stuff, so it was still sort of camping.
Last time we struggled with the daytime portion of the trip — keeping them safe, entertained, contained, you name it — but the night was perfectly smooth. This time? Total opposite. The daytime was great, because we had two grandparents and a great-aunt to help us watch the kids. It was awesome!
But at night? OH GOD, THE NIGHT.
D was hysterical about going to bed. We locked them in the trailer and stayed in the house for a bit (don’t worry, the trailer door was about two feet from the door of the house), and when I went outside to go to bed, I stepped outside to hear silence from inside the trailer … and see THE TRAILER DOOR WAS OPEN. Like, wide open, swinging in the pitch-black night.
I think I had a momentary heart attack as I flew inside the trailer to see if they were still there. C was sound asleep in her playard, and when I pulled aside the curtain to see D sound asleep in his bed, I don’t think I’ve ever been more relieved.
Lesson learned: D can unlock the trailer door. Good to know!
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| Little Miss C ready to go camping (wearing one of my latest sewing projects) |
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| On the road again! |
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| Exploring the beach |
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| Fun times on the lawn tractor! |
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| I think this should be my new Blogger profile pic, don’t you? It’s so outdoorsy of me! |
On the second day, we were treated to a wagon ride by a neighbour two doors down — gotta love small-town connections! D was in his element, because the boy LOVES horses, cows, and any other farm animal you can name.
In the tradition of these let’s-learn-from-our-mistakes camping posts, let’s revisit the trip …
What went wrong:
- We nearly lost a kid. D unlocked the trailer and (possibly? nearly?) could have escaped into the night (luckily, he did not — or if he did, he came back!)
- We didn’t pack any warm PJs. In my defense, it was 30C when we left our house, so I didn’t expect it to be soooo much cooler just two hours away. But it was pleasant during the day (instead of sweltering), and pretty crisp at night. Poor C had nothing but a flimsy tank nightie, and I didn’t even have a long-sleeved top or sweatshirt to put over it. Lesson learned: even in the hottest part of summer, the trailer can be very cool at night.
- We didn’t pack enough bedding. See above. Luckily, we were above to borrow (gorgeous, handmade, antique) quilts from Darling Husband’s grandparents’ house.
- D had night terrors. This isn’t a “camping thing,” because D often struggles with things like this at home. It seems to happen when he’s really overtired/over-TVed/oversugared, which goes hand-in-hand with grandparent spoiling and all that jazz. He screamed and cried off and on throughout THE ENTIRE NIGHT, which woke up all three of us. He couldn’t even be reasoned with (i.e. threats/bribes hissed across the trailer) because he was still asleep. Brutal with a capital B.
What we did right:
- We didn’t overpack. Yes, I didn’t pack warm PJs. But I also didn’t pack a lot of other crap that we didn’t need. I was faster throwing our bags together, and when we got home, I unpacked everything fairly quickly, too. That was a huge help, because I loathe unpacking.
- We did what we could to get the most sleep possible. With D’s crying/screaming episodes at one end of the trailer, and poor C next to him in the playard, the trailer was NOT CONDUCIVE TO SLEEP, to put it mildly. He would cry/scream, she would immediately wake up, stand up in the playard (uncovering her poor, underdressed self from the blankets) and cry, too. So we broke down and took her into bed with us, where she curled against me and slept like an angel. When D cried, she’d stir, but not panic. Yes, it was harder for me to sleep — I’m not good with sleeping with babies — but it was better than listening to her cry. Plus, then I could keep her warm! #forgottenPJfail
- We were quicker about packing and unpacking. Camping feels like a lot of work (and IS a lot of work) if you let it. But if you throw your stuff together and go — and in return, unpack quickly as soon as you get home — it doesn’t weigh on you as much.
- We kept C in the car during the unload process. This sounds totally random, but it made a huge difference in our moods as we returned home from a two-hour Drive From Hell. We left her buckled into her seat (with all the doors of the van open) as we ran trip after trip into the house, and D played in the yard. She was happy to be home, so she just sat there watching us. And it was MUCH easier to drag in armload after armload without someone needing to keep an eye on her every move while she destroyed the house. Because of this speedy unload, we actually had almost every single thing unpacked and put away within an hour of being home!
- Mommy got some alone time. While Darling Husband and his family were playing with the kids, I snuck to the trailer to “make up the beds” a.k.a. throw the beds together and then lie on one of them reading Pretty Little Liars, drinking Diet Coke, and eating chips. I don’t know if this will be possible on every trip, but it made a world of difference to my mood during a busy, hectic, out-in-the-sun too much trip.
What we’ll do differently next time:
- Pack warm PJs (just in case)
- Pack as many blankets as I’d packed for the first trip (we’re learning that the trailer really, really has good ventilation and we should worry about being too cold rather than too hot)
- Make sure D is tired out from fresh air and exercise, not too much television/grandparent-spoiling, so we hopefully avoid night terrors (this won’t be an issue on a real camping trip, since there won’t be TV or a pantry full of cookies/candy)
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We’re booked to go camping again this weekend, so let’s hope that the third time is the charm!
A guide to camping with toddlers
If you had asked me how I enjoyed camping with a one-year-old and a three-year-old about two hours into the trip, I would have burst into tears and told you we were NEVER DOING IT AGAIN.
And we hadn’t even arrived at the campground yet …
We have not traveled much with our little brood. Not really at all, actually, unless you count overnights into “the city,” which is only an hour’s drive away.
Before we had kids, Darling Husband and I traveled a decent amount, but we are not travel-hungry people. We are people who enjoy it for a day or two, and then just want to come home. We’re also the people who find a restaurant they like (Hi Rose’s) while traveling, and proceed to go back multiple times (rather than exploring new places). Yeah, we’re exciting people.
Since having D (who just turned three) and C (who just turned one), we always seem to find excuses not to travel. Mainly that the trips are too expensive (they are) and that both of us are working too much/weird hours (we are). But also because we dreaded the hassle. The packing. The unpacking. The coercing our somewhat rigid little people into new situations. Going into the city for overnights was a pain, so we couldn’t imagine doing more than that until they were older.
But then my dad decided to give us his 1990 tent trailer …
… and we happily accepted it, got excited about it, started pinning camping tips and trailer makeovers, forked over too much money for registration, plates, safety inspection, and a hitch for the van, and began planning our first camping trip.
I can’t really describe our inaugural trip without saying “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
But it was, and it was.
So I’m going to try to break it down in a way that sums up what we did right, what we did wrong, and what we’ll definitely do differently the next time. Hopefully this info will someday help people who attempt to go camping with toddlers (God have mercy on your soul).
What went wrong:
- It was 31C the first day. I’m a monster in the heat. I’m also not used to being outside this much. There is no air-conditioning when you’re camping, unless you’re the trailer NEXT-DOOR TO US that had air-conditioning. I was jealous and quite possibly psycho.
- Darling Husband and I both got injured from setting up/taking down the trailer
- It was madness trying to keep C and D from running into the dirt road directly in front of our campsite (which had a surprising amount of trucks, trailers, etc. cruising along at all times)
- It took Darling Husband about 18 hours to set up the trailer, so I was wrangling the kids and taking them around the grounds for about 18 hours. In the insane heat. Alone. Did I mention I don’t do well in the heat?
- D freaked out that he didn’t want to use the potty or the washroom, because he wanted to go “at home.” (But he eventually went)
- C constantly ate stuff she found on the ground. And destroyed things. And cried and fussed. (So basically, just average stuff for her)
- Darling Husband set up the awning without anchoring it to the ground, so a gust of wind sent the metal poles crashing into me … and my knee
- We had packed SO MUCH STUFF, yet could never find anything. When we needed something outside the trailer, it was inside the trailer. When we needed something inside the trailer, it was still in the van. Nothing was accessible, ever.
- Everyone got too hungry, all the time, despite having packed approximately 5,430 tons of food. Why? Because getting to the “food bin” was a pain in the butt, all the time, and we often got sidetracked trying to keep one or both children alive.
- Darling Husband and I almost got divorced in the parking lot of a Best Western. (Long story, but we were both starving and had stopped here to get lunch on the way to the campground. After unbuckling the kids and trucking them inside, the front desk informs us that their restaurant is CLOSED on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We dragged everyone back to the car, rebuckled carseats, and then both promptly turned into the crazy hungry people in the Snickers commercials. Not a pretty moment for us.)
- We forgot to pack steak spice. This sounds like a little thing, but damn, that was a disappointing steak!
- Darling Husband didn’t think we needed the dining shelter (massive bug tent that surrounds the picnic table), so he didn’t set it up. Even though I begged him to. But he didn’t. You get the idea.
- Massive amounts of bug-bites for all.
- There were a lot of bugs in the pool. And Band-Aids. So many Band-Aids.
- I tried to make friends with a woman in the pool, and she blew me off. (All I did was compliment her daughter’s Dora The Explorer bathing suit and tell her she should be friends with D, because Dora is his fave, and she looked at me like I was a perve!)
- Darling Husband spent every dollar I had on firework. If I’d had more dollars, he would have bought more firewood. (I think buying it and using it was the highlight of the trip, for him.)
- Did I mention how freaking hot it was?
- Keeping the kids away from the campfire added six years to my life, and lots of grey hair. OMG FIRE, KEEP AWAY FROM IT, NOOOO.
- D didn’t want to sleep “in da tway-ler” because he wanted to sleep “in da boo house” (our house is not blue, hmmm)
- I was so tired by the time we got both kids asleep that I followed shortly thereafter, which was kind of a bummer considering JIFFYPOP!
- The biotches at the next few campsites were all friends (all camping without their hubbies) and stayed up late yakking around their fire, which kept me awake, because I can’t just NOT LISTEN to a conversation. I’m
nosya journalist. - When you are camping, you feel perpetually grimy. I don’t do grimy well.
- The store didn’t open until 10 a.m., and I spent approximately 90 minutes pushing the double stroller around the (steep! hilly!) campground in the drizzle while D asked me repeatedly if “da store is open now?” All because we wanted to buy a Yogi Bear souvenir. When the store finally opened, he burst into a tantrum because he had to pee, and we left without buying a damn thing.
- Did I mention how muggy it was?
What we did right:
- We set up the kids’ beds as exact replicas of their beds at home. For D, this was especially important, since he is sensitive to change and likes things to be a certain (i.e. USUAL) way. We used his usual bedsheets, blankets, stuffed animals, water cup — even the exact books he’d had in his bed at home. We also put up the bedrail, which he doesn’t use at home anymore, but we didn’t want him falling out of the (very high) trailer bed. He was reluctant to go to bed, but once he got in and saw how familiar it looked, he settled very quickly. We were shocked (and pleased).
- We collapsed the kitchen table and set up C’s playard on it. She’s pretty used to sleeping in her playard (naps at other people’s houses, etc.) so she was fine with this. It was the only place in the entire trailer that it would have fit, but it worked out well. She had her own little bed, and she fell asleep instantly. Win!
- We picked a campground with a lot of kid-friendly activities. For our first-ever camping trip with the kids, we picked a Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park that was a little over two hours from our house. They had a massive playground that included big wooden structures to climb on (a train, a tractor), a pool that included a tiny kiddie pool and a splash centre, and one of those awesome giant jumping pillows. D was in heaven! Apparently during the “high season” (which started a few days after our trip), they also have bumper boats just for toddlers, mini-golf, sports, and organized activities with counselors. Definitely a great place to camp with kids.
- We got a campsite close to everything. This was luck on our part, but it worked out well. We were right across from the pool and the jumping pillow, and basically right across from the playground, too. We still had to take turns staying with the kids, but it made it easy to wave each other over to “relieve us” when we needed to switch places. Of course, this lot also meant there was zero privacy (we’re used to treed lots from our single-people camping days). But convenience trumps privacy, especially when you have two toddlers.
- We packed a travel potty. D spent most of the time walking to the public washrooms with me or Darling Husband (since our tent trailer
was the only one at the campground that didn’t have its own bathroomdoesn’t have a bathroom). But I was glad we’d packed a stand-alone potty to keep in the trailer. Before we put D to bed, we explained he could crawl down in the middle of the night and use it to pee if he had to go. We both totally assumed he would probably have an accident or freak out and cry for us to help him, since it was an unfamiliar place. But we woke up in the morning and — lo and behold — there was pee in the potty. He hadn’t even woken us up when he went. Good job, kid! - We baby-proofed the trailer. Since D and C were going to be alone in the trailer at night, while Darling Husband and I sat around the campfire, we wanted to make sure it was D-proof — since he’s known for being, uh, curious. We didn’t hook up the indoor stove at all, and just used a portable BBQ outside on the picnic table. We stuck outlet-covers in all of the outlets, and I’d packed all of the sharp knives, matches, lighters, scissors, etc. in a plastic tub that stayed in the van. All of the medicine and first aid supplies stayed in a separate bag, also tucked away in the van. I don’t think he did any exploring when he was supposed to be in bed, but you never know with D!
- We kept the sunscreen handy. I don’t think I’ve ever put so much sunscreen on little people in my life! You don’t realize how little time you spend outside until you’re spending basically every minute outside. Luckily, the sunscreen was not something that was ever hard to locate.
- We packed those multi-packs of sugary cereal. I think eating two bowls of Froot Loops was the highlight of the trip for me, since we only ever buy boring cereal at home. What a treat to eat those brightly-coloured little hoops again, mmmmm. (Oh, and D calls Frosted Flakes “Tiger food” which is adorbs, obvi.)
What we’ll do different next time:
- We will spread out a tarp below the door of the trailer. All of the experienced campers did these at their sites, and it looked really convenient. Walk out, step on something clean, put your shoes on, etc.
- We will organize all of the crap. It felt like the picnic table was constantly covered in crap. Food containers, dishes, toys, sun hats, random crap, etc. I want to be able to have a few heavy-duty plastic bins near the trailer that we can use for storage.
- We will set up the goddamn dining shelter. I don’t care if we don’t see a single bug when we arrive, Darling Husband. It’s going UP! Mama needs a shaded, bug-free spot to sit and eat, please. And it would be pretty nice to have a contained spot for the kids to run around, without constantly fearing they are running into the road.
- We will pack a smaller “food bin” so it can stay in the trailer. I don’t think we necessary had too much food (well, yeah, we did) but what I didn’t like was not being able to access it. The damn food bin literally lived in the minivan, and we did not, so … yeah. Being able to have all of the food together (i.e. mini-fridge and tub of dry goods) all together will make it much easier to get everyone fed. Eating out of a van is just wrong.
- We will pack a larger clothesline. Do you know how many wet towels, bathing suits, clothes, and swim diapers that are generated by a family of four? We would just LOOK at the pool, and suddenly there was a pile of wet, drippy clothes. Next time, we’re building a clothesline as far as the eye can see.
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So as you can see, our first camping experience with the kids was … a lot of things. Exhausting. Frustrating. Dirty. Stressful. Kind of terrible at times.
But it was also fun.
And a new experience.
And kind of awesome at times.
I came home ready to light the trailer on fire, but we’re already planning our next trip, so that should tell you something. (I’m not me when I’m hungry, and Instagram does a great job of reminding me that there WERE really great moments, too.)
Happy Trails!
xoxo
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Heather's Handmade Life 