Camping with bobblers* 101

As many of you know, my family and I just got back from a four day camping trip.  Yes, this trip included Addie and one other 10 month old-the daughter of our friends, and Addie's birthday buddy**  Traveling with bobblers-much less camping with them-is quite a different ball game than traveling alone.  There is a whole new check list that comes with being away from home with babies and young children.  I am here today to share the lessons I learned about camping with bobblers, because I feel that everyone can benefit from getting away for a week with as few stressors as possible. 

Lesson #1: Pack more than you think you need.  Seriously.  This seems to be a no-brainer, but you would be surprised.  In fact, pack more than you think you need to pack.  Usually, when camping, there isn't the time or the resources to stop and do laundry.  I packed three outfits for every day that we were camping.  I used two each day, and the third came in handy as extra layers at night.  Addie wore everything I packed for her, with the exception of two nicer onsies I was holding off as "just in case" clothes-no need to ruin the nicer clothes in the dirt!  Other than clothes, can you believe we ran out of formula?!  We had to run to the nearest town-thirty miles away-to buy a new can.  Pack more than you think you need.  I cannot stress this enough!

Lesson #2: Set up a play area with all the toys you think can withstand the dirt and possible moisture.  This will be a lifesaver!!  There is nothing worse than bored bobblers for four days straight!  This really helped wear them out after a day of hiking and being carried around.  Bobblers need to expell their energy, too!  What better way to do this than in a safe area with a few familiar toys?  They do enjoy looking at new things, too, but sometimes it's great to feel a few comforts of home.

Lesson #3: Bring shoes-even for non-walkers.  It's amazing what grass, dirt, rocks, and trees can do in the way of encouraging a 10 month old into being on their feet all day!  Not to mention the added bonuses of making it harder to pull socks off, and adding an extra layer of warmth on chilly days or evenings.

Lesson #4: Bring lots of snacks and easy-to-pack foods for children. Sandwiches, canned fruits, graham crackers, cheese cubes...all great stuff!  It's a big pain when you have a full day planned out away from a campsite with a hungry child and nothing but sit-down foods to offer.

Lesson #5:  My final tip.  RELAX!!!  Enjoy the trip.  Don't worry about everything.  I learned this week that you can't control every aspect of a child's life.  I cannot stop her from trying to eat rocks, or rolling around in the dirt, or hitting her head on the pavement.  I can try- I can try really hard- but I cannot stop everything, and after a few days, I realized I didn't really want to.  Relaxing and letting go just a little bit helped Addie to open up and thoroughly enjoy her first camping trip.
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I hope this short list of tips I've compiled can help another set of nervous parents enjoy a trip outdoors.  It is truly a great feeling to know that the major parts of my life have not changed by having a child, and that-for the most part-I can still enjoy all the same things I did pre-baby.  What's even better is that now I can share them with someone new!




*Bobblers-not quite baby, not quite toddler
**Birthday Buddy-Good friends that share a birthdate

Camping, Frogs, and so much more..

Whew.  I am taking a break for a few.  I would much rather blog, anyway.  You may be wondering what I am taking a break from, right?  Well, I'll tell you.  I'm not very good at keeping secrets.  My family-along with another family-is going away for four whole days to the Washington coast to go camping!

I must admit, I am pretty excited about this little mini-vacation of ours.  We haven't done too many exciting things this summer what with Willie going to school, then being unemployed, then starting a new job and all.  He starts school again right after this trip, too, so we are making it right in time!

This will be our first family vacation (well, if you don't count going to visit family.  I guess this is the first vacation of our own) and we've been spending days preparing already.  We dusted off the tent, picked up some hot dogs and marshmallows and graham crackers.  The luggage is out, the clothes are washing, and the cat-sitter has been called.

With this being said, you should know that we will be completely off the radar for a few days.  Seriously.  No cell phones, no lap top, no technology what-so-ever.  In fact, I can't even get a weather report for the area! This shall be an interesting trip.

Before I left for this trip, though, I wanted to drop a quick line to you all about my friends at TheBlogFrog.  I don't know if you have noticed the widget on the left-hand side of my page, but this widget allows you to be part of my community on TheBlogFrog.  By becoming part of my community, you can chat with other readers, and if you join, your profile will show up on my blog.  I would really love to create a fun community on there, with forums to chat with my readers, and all of us linking our blogs together to form a nice network.  I just need you to help me with this!  It's super easy to join-just click one of the links above, or click on my widget. Once you join, you can search me out by my blog name-Surviving Motherhood- and join in, maybe create a few conversations.

C'mon.  You know you wanna!

Summertime is Good for the Soul

I love summer. I love the sun, and beaches, and going to parks. I love watermelon, and BBQ chicken, I love the smell of the grill. I love drinking wine sitting outside with friends until the sun sets (at 10:30). All of these things, to me, are good for the soul. I think everyone needs a little summer in their life, to make up for gray, wet winters.

Addie loves summertime, too. She loves Otter Pops, watermelon, mango, and strawberry jello. Yes, I do realize some of these things may not be of the best nutritional value for an 8 month old, but to me, the value to her soul makes up for it. I feel like my daughter has thoroughly enjoyed her first summer, doing all the things kids do during the summer. She has been swimming, she has been to the beach, she has enjoyed an array of tasty treats, she has been a kid. There is nothing I enjoy more these days than watching her splash in a wading pool or wiggle her toes in the sand. That is what childhood is about.

This is a message to everyone. Loosen up. Enjoy life a little. It's too short to always make the "right" decisions. Sometimes, all that matters is that you live a little.

Wonderful day in Paradise

We had a wonderful day today in Paradise....after we found parking, that is :)

Willie, Addison, and I met up with some friends for a picnic at the beach. It was such a pretty day out. Everyone else thought so as well. For some reason, I always think my great ideas are only mine and I need to learn one day, that if it's something I think is a great idea, the rest of the state probably agrees. Therefore....don't do it!! But all's well that ends well!

We grilled up some pork chops, sweet peppers, and pine apple (not all together) and had a side of macaroni salad. It was all delish...and typically summer!

The kids played in the grass for a bit
And once they got bored, we decided to take them down to the water and see how they liked it. Addison of course, was in love. I think I could have just left her there all day and she would have been perfectly content.

But alas, my shivering daughter finally caught my attention and I brought her back to the table, where we proceeded to have a teensy tiny little melt down. All it took was a little momma time and my angel was back, though!


We ended the afternoon pretty shortly after she woke up, came home, and put her to bed. It was, despite everything that should have made it a frustrating day, one of those days in paradise that I will remember from our first summer as a family.

Spring in Seattle

Ahh...Today was one of those days that makes me thankful for our decision to move here. It was one of those breathtakingly gorgeous days that Seattlites live here for.

We went on attempted a hike today after Addie's nap. I say "attempted" because we didn't end up where we intended to. Since Addie woke up late from her nap, we Willie decided we could just go to a more local hike than the one we planned on. So, he chose a really cool sounding hike, the end of which would look out over Seattle at a view point. This hike was an "anti-aircraft" look out point used in WWII, complete with missile silos! How cool would that be?!

I wouldn't know. Unfortunately, the crappy very informative hiking book we have gave us directions to the wrong starting point. In fact, we were about 10 miles off from where we intended to be. Since there were other various trail heads leading off from the park we ended up at, we decided to attempt one of those trails. They sucked didn't live up to expectations. They were all very very steep, and very very narrow, with no views, logs down in the trail, and loose gravel. I wasn't about to go very far under those conditions with a 6 month old strapped to me.

We did, however, find a sign pointing towards a view point and picnic area, and decided to stop and enjoy a good view on a perfect day.


The view from above.



Willie attempting to find a decent trail with another view.



Addie enjoying the view.