Our Camping Staycation

Growing up I read books and watched shows where the families go camping together.  Usually the kids complain that they didn't want to be stuck in a tent with their parents or whatever, but for some reason that never dissuaded me.  I always desperately wanted to go.  We just weren't the outdoorsy type so it never happened.  

Now that I have kids of my own, I thought "I simply must take my kids camping one day.  It'll be so much fun!"  

At least I was smart enough to have trial runs.

We started by practicing sleeping in a tent.  We tried in the sun room, in the family, wherever it just didn't work.  My kids decided they wanted to sleep in the tent outside last year.  You guessed it another fail.  We lasted until about 10:00...then still awake we ended up back inside AGAIN.

This year we decided to try again.  I was weary, but you know the definition of insanity...try the same thing expecting different results...  Yeah, I'm insane.  But the results were actually DIFFERENT.  We slept the whole night in the tent.  And I learned a few lessons from it:

• The kids sleep better if you let them play in the tent while setting it up, but then don't actually get in it until bed time.  (We went inside and watched Rugrats Go Wild til bedtime.  How Wilderness Chick of me right?)
• Get EVERYTHING you need into the tent before you all get into it.  This way you can stick together. The second you get out to get something else the kids will freak out and you will be sleeping in your bed again.  (This includes sheets, sleeping bags, extra blankets, hoodies, socks, books, water, and any snuggies that are also sleeping in the tent.)
• Reading camping books in the tent is super fun. We read Curious George Goes Camping, Fred and Ted Go Camping, and Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping. 
• Bring a flashlight for reading.  Unless you are 10 feet from your house using up your cell phone battery because you used the flashlight app to read the books is probably not a good idea.
• Scenes from the Walking Dead video game may flash through your mind.  Try to ignore them because zombies can do nothing to a bad@ss supermom like you.
• This is NOTHING like camping outside.  What in the world do people eat for breakfast in a tent?  I thought we could use the grill like a campfire in the morning and throw eggs and peppers in tin foil and on the "campfire."  (I saw that on a camping website somewhere.) Um where exactly do we keep these eggs until the morning?  Okay so we scratched that.  My daughter and I made homemade whole wheat raisin bread last week.  We figured  perfect we can keep that in a cooler or something overnight so we brought that out.  But in the morning we realized the butter was in the house in the refrigerator.  ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO KEEP A FRIDGE IN THE TENT OR SOMETHING??? I DON'T GET IT!

What tips or tricks do you have for me?  Please comment!  I need all the help I can get!   :)

Papier Mache Volcano

The kids and I love making papier mache volcanoes.  They are simple and can be made with things found around the house. No two volcanoes ever need to be made exactly the same way. Here are a couple:

This was the first one we ever made.  We took three days - the first to construct and let dry, the second to paint and let dry, the third day the volcano ERUPTED!

Our most recent volcano took two days, we made it one day, then painted and erupted it the next day.  

Here’s what we used:

A piece of cardboard
This served as the base of the volcano
A cookie sheet
This was just to contain the mess from papier mache-ing and the "lava" when the volcano erupts.  We didn't need this for the first volcano because we actually used a the bottom half of a box.
An empty water bottle 
I know that I need to stop buying them, but I haven’t quite yet been able to kick the bottled water habit.
Pink Duct Tape (masking tape works quite well too)
A newspaper
 My dad still gets the newspaper daily (old school lol) so I'm generally able to get my hands on some old newspapers pretty easily.
1 cup of flour
1 cup of water
Paint
1 cup vinegar
4 drops of red food coloring (fun but optional)
4 tablespoons (or something like that) baking soda
A magazine insert (used at the end in lieu of a funnel)

We created the basic shape of the volcano using the water bottle, duct tape, and cardboard.  First we stood the water bottle in the middle and use the tape to hold it in place and also to create the bones of the structure around which to papier mache. Precision is not required.  (Thank goodness!)

 

Then we mixed 1 cup flour with 1 cup water in a bowl, cut the newpaper into strips and papier mache-ed!  

We left our wonderfully messy volcano to dry for the night.  The little lady was a little upset we didn't cover the top of the water bottle this time, but still looks good to me!

The next morning, little lady painted it with my directions to keep the paint thin so it wouldn't take so long to dry.  I wanted to erupt it the same day.  It became a two day project this time instead of 3.

To erupt the volcano we poured a cup of vinegar into the center of the volcano.  This is where the optional food coloring can be used.  Then as I got out the baking soda, I realized I didn’t have a way to get it in the little hole of the water bottle all at one time to make the big eruption.  That’s where the magazine subscription insert came in to play.  I rolled it into a cone shape and we put the baking soda in it.  Then we put the cone into the top of the water bottle and opened it into a cylinder.  The baking soda fell in and the volcano erupted.

 Then as I got out the baking soda, I realized I didn’t have a way to get it in the little hole of the water bottle all at one time to make the big eruption.  That’s where the magazine subscription insert came in to play.  I rolled it into a cone shape and we put the baking soda in it.  Then we put the cone into the top of the water bottle and opened it into a cylinder.  The baking soda fell in and the volcano erupted.

This was so much fun for both of the kids (even though my BMOC refused to be a part of the papier mache-ing process cause he can't stand having yucky hands.)  

I think we are going to do some science experiments examining the chemical reactions created when using different amounts of vinegar and baking soda another day.

I love having fun with things around the house!

Liebster Award

So I was nominated for a Liebster Award by Life of a Full Time Mom, which is an award for ((new)) bloggers with less than 200 followers.  It is really cool and I'm totally honored.  I can't believe it took me so long to accept it. 

In order to accept this award, I must answer questions and then list 11 random facts about myself.  So here goes:

1. What is your favorite childhood memory?

I used to love riding my bike around our cul-de-sac.  I like that I live in a neighborhood that is not heavily trafficked so that my kids can play outside as well.  (My memory ends with me attempted to stop and running into the garage door, falling, and skinning my knee, but I still have to go with it as my favorite.)

2. Where did you go on your first vacation?

I can't remember what my FIRST vacation was, but when I was young my grandparents had a cottage in Coboconk.  We used to go there every summer and climb on the rocks, see the chipmunks, feed the ducks, and swim in the lake.  This probably was my first vacation.  It's the first I can remember.

3. If you can only eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

I have to say broccoli and cheese.  I usually put it on baked potatoes, but I can live without the baked potato as long as I have my broccoli and cheese...yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

4. What's your favorite comedy movie?

I don't know what my favorite is, but on a recent rainy day, my children and I went to see Despicable Me 2.  It was cute.

5. If you're given a chance to go to outer space for a few months, will you take it?

This is actually a hard question.  Like any good undercover nerdy chick I love space - fiction and non fiction.  I love following what the Mars Rover is doing (making its way to the base of Mount Sharp) checking out the new names for Pluto's moons - Styx and Kerberos.  Plus I just love any new exploration so I want to say yes, but only if my kids can come too!  Hey, it would be a good learning opportunity for them too....ummm right?

6. What do you think is your best skill/asset?

I think my best skill that I'm currently working on is learning to compartmentalize.  I know some people look at this as not so good, but I can be Me-The-Mom when I'm with my kids or blogging (or cleaning or cooking....) and Me-The-Worker when I need to focus and switch gears.  I've learned to be able to put aside the pain from the things my parents say to me in order to still be happy doing whatever it is that I need to do at the time.

7.Straight or curly hair?

I love curly hair.  I have straight hair, but my mother and my kids have tons of curls.  While it is definitely easy to comb through my straight hair their curls are to die for.

8.  Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer?

FALL!!! Love the clothes, the food, the produce, the pumpkin rides, the Halloween costumes, the mosquitos leaving, the cool weather....I could go on for days.

9.What was your favorite toy when you were a kid?

Is it strange that I cannot remember???

10.  Is there something you want to change about yourself?

My confidence.  I have insecurities that hold me back from doing a lot.

11. Red or nude lipstick?

Lip gloss!

11 Random Facts

1. I am a Resident Alien.

2. I love cutting my kids sandwiches with cookie cutters and making them into cute shapes.

3. I have said the exact quote "I wish life was more like a spreadsheet then everything would have it's own special little cell and be completely organized."  I love organization.

4. Reading charts excites me.

5.  I'm going back to school for a post grad certificate of accountancy. (As a single mom, my belt just keeps tightening but it never feels like I can tighten it enough.)

6. There are certain TV shows I cannot live without:  Walking Dead, Orphan Black, and Doctor Who for starters.

7. My undergrad degree is in Therapeutic Recreation.  Even though I have not worked in the field for years, I try to use as much as I learned in school about creating activities that will fulfill physical, emotional, and cognitive needs and apply them to the things I do with my children.

8. I have been asked if I am my children's nanny 3 times in the past month or so.  I'm trying to take it as a compliment.  I guess I just look that young and skinny!  HAHA So just kidding.

9. I hate that young girls today look up to people like the Kardashians and try to encourage my daughter to take interest in people like Marie Curie, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Blackwell, Amelia Earhart, or other women that can be applauded for their brains, bravery, and willingness to go above and beyond.

10. When my kids wake up in the middle of the night and try to sneak into my bed, I let them.  I know I shouldn't, but I love my babies and I like to snuggle.  Plus it gets lonely in my bed sometimes. :)

11.  Instead of music, I listen to the podcasts Stuff You Missed In History Class, Stuff You Should Know, and RadioLab while I'm running.

Blogs I'm Nominating for Liebster Award

Munchkin Mayhem

Miya Loves

The Many Adventures of the Lill Kids

The Barnes Family

Rules for Nominees

- Link back to your nominating blog

- Answer the questions they have provided

- Share 11 random facts about yourself

- Nominate blogs with less than 20 followers

- Create 11 questions to be answered by your nominees

- Contact your nominees and let them know

Questions for Nominees

1. Tea or Coffee?

2.  What is your favorite children's book?  (Either from your childhood or that you read to your children)

3. What is your favorite date night idea?

4. What is the last thing you ate?

5. Who were you named after?

6. What are you listening to right now?

7. What is your go-to pick-me-up when you are feeling down?

8. What is your dream vacation?

9. Dog or cat?

10. Strength training or cardio?

11. What;s your favorite recipe to cook?

Thanks again for this award!  Looking forward to seeing other people's answers.

Cape Cod

Okay, I have a confession.  I should have been diligently working on my answers and new
questions for the Leibster Award.  I should have been checking on all of the awesome, brilliant blogs that I'm following and honestly love.  But I was in Cape Cod with my family and although I've been back for a while now, I have been soooooo overwhelmed with trying to catch up on work, laundry, cleaning, and so much more.  It is ridiculous.  I still don't feel like I'm anywhere near caught up and we've been back for somewhere around a week now.  So I am going to go work on my answers to the Leibster award and leave you with a bunch of unedited pictures I'm slapping up from both my phone and a my computer.  

 The resort in which we stayed had a reptile show which was really awesome.  My daughter got to be the volunteer on stage helping to hold the boa constrictor.

 And at the end she got to hold the American Alligator.

 My son reluctantly touched it.

 The kids liked the pool more than the ocean.  They loved that they could just wake up, walk out the door and get in the pool...when the could convince me to come.  (And no, I don't really have 28 chins....I hope.)

 My daughter has a thing for mermaids. So she became one.

And it rubbed off on my son.  You can't really tell from the picture, but he had a mermaid tail as well (except he couldn't help but wiggle his toes and make the whole thing fall apart over and over again.)

 We did some catch and release fishing.  My daughter is an EXPERT caster.  (Yes, I learned how to cast from my 8 year old.  She learned last summer from my brother.)

 My 3 year old caught a fish almost as soon as he put his line in the water.

Believe it or not, this is the picture with the LEAST amount of hair in her face.

 Beach.

 There was an indoor pool for those rainy days.

 Tattoo artists.

 Pirate mini golf.

 They've been naughty.

 I read some great reviews about a restaurant called The Thai House and never having Thai food before (how did THAT happen) I decided we should try.  I was really not going to take a picture of it in the middle of the restaurant until I had my first bite. OMG It was DELICIOUS.

 Pad Thai.  I think my first words were "HOW HAVE I LIVED MY ENTIRE LIFE WITHOUT THIS?!?"

We stopped for ice cream and they were seriously the BIGGEST most ridiculous ice cream cones I've ever seen even after asking for the smallest cone they have. 

 An attempt to take a picture on the duck boat.

 My BMOC made me take a million pictures of him and him with his sister in front of this museum although we didn't even go in.  I would've liked to.  I'm a huge Jackie Kennedy fan, but I can probably find most of the same pictures on the internet anyway.  Plus I'm planning on getting Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy.  There is a audio version and I totally want to hear her own voice.  That would be so cool.  So I digress....(what else is new?)

My brother and I took the kids on the rail trail.  My brother brought his own bike, but I just didn't have enough room or motivation to try to pack our bikes.  So I rented a bike with a TagAlong for my daughter.  She is quite the perfectionist and gets frustrated if she can't keep up or gets tired. So this way there was no fussing or fretting.  I also rented a trailer that we were able to hook up to my brother's bike and my son had a great time going along for the ride and telling my brother when to speed up or "engage his rocket boosters."

Summmer Shanty.  Amazing restaurant.  Outside.  Lots of boats.
Perfect for kids.  They don't need to behave PERFECTLY because that is extremely hard for my son and it's just a good time.  We started our vacay with dinner there and enjoyed it so much we also ended our vacay with dinner there.

Hope you enjoyed...I'm off to finish more laundry, do more work, and of course get my Leibster Award post ready.  Time to check all of your blogs to see what you've been up to while I've been MIA!

Healthy Banana "Ice Cream"

As much as it drives me crazy, my kids love their desserts, sweets, and treats.  Around this time of year, ice cream is a definite favorite.  But when they ask for it, my face goes pale and my body grows weak envisioning the sugar high they are about to embark on.  It may look something a little like this:

But it lasts longer and is even more annoying in person.

I am so thankful that we discovered a healthy option for a completely delicious banana pseudo ice cream.  My daughter loves to boast about how healthy it is and my son hasn't even realized that it's not actual sugar laden ice cream.  (And of course I love it both for it's lack of artificial sugar and it's utter simplicity.)

Ingredients
2 bananas
1/4 cup of milk

This does require a little prep work because the bananas must be frozen, so I generally buy a large bunch of bananas (we love them for so many other things too) and I automatically slice 2 and put them in a bag in the freezer.

Then when we are ready for a (naturally) sweet treat we put the bananas and the milk in the food processor and whip them up until they become smooth and the consistency of ice cream.

Then, the part that makes it all worth while for the kids...decorating!  We often keep it simple with chocolate shavings, but occasionally letting the kids go nuts with the sprinkles is all the more fun.

Your delicious dessert of banana "ice cream" is ready!
(Serves about 4)

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

We have had on and off rain for days.  I have to admit, I kind of enjoy the rain.  However, quelling the cabin fever it inflicts on a certain couple of kids can be rather difficult.  We have fun, but it requires this mama to think on her toes, coming up with activity after activity before they lose their minds and my family room looks as tho the entire WWE has been using it as a ring.  (That reference was for my boyfriend...he better appreciate it lol).

Since I don't allow TV during the daytime, at least not during "school hours," here is a sneak peek of our last couple of days.

We...

Danced in the rain

Played Mr Fox

I took these pictures as Mr. Fox.  If you don't know how to play, its fun.  One person sits in a designated spot and is "Mr. Fox.  Everyone else starts at a designated spot, in our case at the other end of the hallway and says "Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox, what time is it?" Mr. Fox then responds giving the time in the form of a direction to get the kiddos to come closer i.e. "It's time to take three giant steps forward," "it's time to take a giant leap," or "take 8 tippy-toe steps," rea;ly any command you can think of is fair game for Mr. Fox.  But at some point when the kiddos get close Mr. Fox deems it "TIME FOR LUNCH" and chases the littles back to the starting line, trying to tag them.

Made forts of all kids

This is just one example using sheets and pillows.  We also made forts with chairs and blankets and by tying scarves to things and draping blankets over them.

Played in the garage

We roller bladed, plasma-carred (yup made up a new word), played wall-ball, and "baseball" with tennis rackets

Recyclable Three-Legged Races

This is partially a fun game for the kids and also a really easy way for me to crush the recyclables.  Two birds, one stone.

Painted butterflies

We made these by drawing the butterflies with crayon (I drew one for my son using crayon and he made it beautiful).  Then we used water color paints and painted over top.  My daughter then cut hers out, while my son practiced using safety scissors on an old magazine.  I was also thinking about gluing popsicle sticks to the back so that on hot, sunny days the butterflies can be transformed into fans to keep the kids cool.

And made marching bands.

We even set the tent up in the house and had a sleepover in the tent in the family room.

And so much more...

Simple Watermelon Salad

Summer cook outs drive me nuts.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love being invited to cookouts, food, sun, fun...what's the problem?  I NEVER know what to contribute!  I get nervous when I cook for people, because not everyone has the same tastes.  I'm a great cook, but when it comes to contributing to pot-lucks, cookouts, etc, I totally turn into Susan from desperate housewives.  It's nerve-wracking.  

Then my mom started making this watermelon salad...so I stole the recipe, simplified it EVEN further, and it is my go-to from now on.  Everyone loves it and I can throw it together, even while the dog is barking, the kids are fighting, my father is falling, and chaos is breaking out (this happens regularly it seems).  But the salad is so easy that there's almost no way to mess it up.

I got it down to 4 ingredients:

1. Watermelon
2. Cucumber
3. Feta Cheese
4. Balsamic Vinaigrette (you could make your own, but I often have a bottle of organic vinaigrette in the fridge so I just use that)

Cube the watermelon and cucumber.  Prior to cubing the cucumber I like to peel strips to make it look "pretty," but totally optional.  You can leave the skin on or peel it all, whichever is most appealing to you.

Put them in a bowl.  Feel free to play with the ratios of ingredients.  It's pretty hard to go wrong, but you may find that you like it better one way or another.  The size of the cubes can also vary.  (For me it was varying on how lazy I was and how many cuts I felt like making, but I find now that I kind of enjoy the cubes bigger anyway.)

Throw some feta cheese on top.

Pour a bit of vinaigrette on.  You don't need a lot because there are a lot of juices in the salad already and also because it can sort of overpower the watermelon.  But the juxtaposition of the acid and sugar makes for an amazing flavor combination.

Voila!  Done!  Seriously. Super. Simple.