(Not Really) Roughing It

When most people heard we were going to spend a week tent camping in New Hampshire, their reaction was one of either sympathy or disbelief. Only a few seemed envious of our vacation plans. I realize that camping isn’t for everyone, but it really isn’t as much work as people may think. You just have to be ok with a little dirt, a lot of chilly (or too hot) and a tiny cook stove.

Here is D stirring up some eggs for breakfast:


We went for a walk down to the river and Belly got her toes wet. The water was C-O-L-D!


Then, Fairly Odd Father showed the kids how to skim rocks:


Jilly played her first game of mini-golf. Well, her first physical, not-computer-game-based, game of mini-golf:

One afternoon, we spent at a huge mountainside lake. Oddly, the water in the lake was much warmer than the water in the campground’s pool:


A highlight of our camping trip had to be cooking hot dogs over the open fire. Of course there were marshmallows cooked too:


But, with 40 degree nights, breakfast was the chilliest meal:


A trip to the Fair was well worth it. After all, D got to try out the big tractors:

and, Jilly got to play “impatient Massachusetts driver”:


D and I posed in the Carousel bench—it was his idea to sit there, honest:


The girls screeched on the roller coaster:


And, before we knew it, it was time to go home.


Not a bad way to spend a week. Even if I did have 10+ loads of laundry to do when we unpacked.

Nightly Postscript: When Bedtime Is Hell


I’m sick of being pissed off at bedtime.

There was a time when I’d tuck the kids into bed and say something like, “I love you more than all the stars in the sky” or “I love you more than all the donuts in the world”. We’d kiss, and they’d go to sleep without another peep.

I really do remember this happening. . . .twice.

Recently, bedtime features one very tired and end-of-rope mama and three not tired, acrobatic kids. I scramble through three stories, reading as fast as I can without sounding like that guy from those 80’s Fed Ex commercials.

Then, I alternately kiss/scold/threaten/”I love you”/sigh/plead/threaten/tuck in/tuck back in/physically lie child down to be tucked in. Some nights this works, and I sit quietly until three children’s breathing slows to the speed of “sleep”.

Other nights (tonight), I tell them I’m “done for the night”, and stomp out of the room to go sulk. They’ll either quiet down and fall asleep on their own, or Fairly Odd Father will use his daddy voice to quiet them down. Or, I’ll hear them goofing around, and I’ll go back into their room and get angry, frustrated and icky.

Then, when I finally go to bed, I think about how if something terrible were to happen in our home that night, the last memory my kids would have of me is of an angry, frustrated and icky mommy. This thought causes me to get out of bed and stop by their room one last time while they sleep. I straighten their pillows, tuck the blankets around their small bodies and kiss their foreheads. Then, before I leave, I whisper that my love for them is bigger than all the stars in the sky.

Jumping Into Perfect Posts

I’ve emerged from a woody campsite in New Hampshire unscathed. It’s taken a few days to get back into the swing of “living in a house”—-things like running water, an in-home bathroom and a refrigerator hold a special thrill to me right now.

But stories of our camping adventures and the drunken aftermath will have to wait as I have decided to jump into the institution known as the Perfect Post Awards.

The Original Perfect Post Awards 08.08

These awards were started by Kimberly of Petroville and Lindsay of Suburban Turmoil back in 2006 to recognize great blog writing each month. I’ve long admired these awards and have finally decided to play a part in awarding these little bits of monthly love.


So, as my first choice, I happily bestow the honor of the August Perfect Post Award to: dahdumdumdumdumdumdum (that’s a drumroll)

Ali of The Cleaner Plate Club for her post titled (deep breath, this is a long one): “Om’s Blue Cheese Zucchini Boats: Like Her Garden, A Thing of Beauty”.

OK, so the title is a mouthful, the post itself is gorgeous. What resonated with me most was how much we can still feel the influence of those who died years ago. While reading this post, I could feel, not only how much Ali had loved her grandmother during her life, but also how much of her grandmother she still carries with her and sees in her own children.

Stop by Ali’s blog and read this post. You’ll even get a delicious recipe at the end so that you too can remember something special about her Om.