Camping Trauma

Welcome to the July 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Family Vacation

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared their family-travel tips, challenges, and delights. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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Its been said that being in the woods literally revitalizes us. It is a calming place to be. Elmo and I love to be in the woods. I definitely feel recharged after a camping trip. Such was the case when we went to Spencer Creek (when I was very pregnant... with Spencer).

We decided to take Spencer for his first camping trip last August to celebrate our 4th anniversary. It was going to be a biggie, too! I researched and found an out-of-state State Park with two popular swimming holes nearby. It had no cell phone signal, but also hosted a few geocaches. It sounded perfect!

Our van started acting funny on the way there. I undercooked our dinner and then it started raining so I couldn't really finish it. It rained the first night and our tent leaked. We drove to town in the middle of the night to buy a tarp, which we then fought to put up... in the rain... in the middle of the night. Swimming holes... well there had been a drought so they weren't open for swimming. The second night it rained so bad that it flooded our tent! We did enjoy the meals at the small cafe on-site, but had already spent our food budget on actual groceries. That we couldn't cook due to the rain.

See the water lines on the pole? The water level was waaay down.

We did get to enjoy swimming in the pool at the state park before leaving - a day early. Getting home was a nightmare because of the trouble with the van. It was basically overheating over and over again, despite having water in it. It took us over 6 hours to make a 4 hour drive.

At this point, I am hoping that camping hasn't been ruined for us. It was a horrible experience. Our next camp out will start in our back yard... for practice. and healing.

I think camping will still be our favorite way to get away (its really the most cost efficient, right?), but I have often said that I wished we could get some camping mentors. We don't feel confident in our skills or knowledge of camping and I don't know how you're supposed to learn without someone to teach you.

What is your favorite family getaway?
Do you know how to camp? If so, who taught you?

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Favorite Family Vacation Recipe: Staying at Home — The best family vacation Laurie Hollman at Parental Intelligence could ever recommend requires minimal packing, no hotels, unrushed travel, easy meals to everyone’s taste without a bill, no schedules, everyone’s favorite interests, and three generations playing together.
• Scared of toilets and other travel stories — Tat at Mum in search is an expert at flying with kids. She shares some of her tips and travel stories.
• Staycation Retreat for Busy Mamas — Lydia's Handmade Life gives Budget-friendly, eco-friendly staycation ideas for busy work-at-home moms.
• How We Leave It All Behind — At Life Breath Present, they don't take traditional vacations — they go on forest adventures. Here are some tips in planning for an adventure, if you don't just go spontaneously, as they have before. Plus, many pictures of their latest adventure!
• Traveling while pregnant: When to go & how to manage — Lauren at Hobo Mama discusses the pros and cons of traveling during the different trimesters of pregnancy, and how to make it as comfortable as possible.
• Our Week in Rome: Inspiration and Craft Ideas for Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers — If anyone in your family is interested in learning about Ancient Rome, if you enjoy crafts, of if you're a parent looking for a fun staycation idea, check out Erin Yuki's post for a Roman-themed week of crafts, food, and fun at And Now, for Something Completely Different.
• The Real Deal: A behind the scenes look at our "Western Adventure" — Often Facebook and blog posts make vacations look "picture perfect" to outsiders. If you only looked at the pictures, Susan's recent family vacation was no exception. In this post at Together Walking, she takes readers "behind the scenes" so they can see the normal challenges they faced and how they managed to enjoy their vacation in spite of them.

• Welcome to the Beach House! — Kellie at Our Mindful Life is in love with her family's new "beach house"!
• Road Trip to Niagara Falls — Erica at ChildOrganics writes about her first trip out of the country with just her and the kids.
• 5 Essential Things to Take on Vacation — Five things Nurtured Mamas should be packing in their suitcase for their next trip.
• The Many Benefits of Camping with Friends — Do you want to go camping, but the very thought of it seems daunting? Make your life easier - and your kids happier - and go camping with friends! Dionna at Code Name: Mama discusses how much better camping can be when you join forces with others.
• My Natural First Aid Kit for Camping, Travel, and Everyday Use — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama gives us an insiders looks at her natural first aid kit for camping, travel, and everyday use. These natural remedies have saved her hide and those of others many times! You might be surprised what made her list of must-haves!
• Traveling Solo and Outnumbered — Alisha at Cinnamon and Sassafras shares lessons learned from a recent trip with two toddlers and no co-parent.
• Compromise and conviction on the road — Jessica of Crunchy-Chewy Mama shares the reality vs. the dream of travel and dishes on the compromises she makes or won't make while traveling.
• Camping Trauma — Jorje of Momma Jorje offers why she loves camping and why she and her family are a little gun shy about it, too.
• First in our Books — Writing fresh from her first family vacation, Laura from Pug in the Kitchen has realized that helping pack her parents' station wagon made for a smooth and pleasant trip that was more than she hoped for!

Mamatography 2014 - Week 17

Day 110 - Sunday - April 20

Sasha loved hunting for eggs in our back yard! (She has never had a back yard before.)

Childhood Managed

Today's post is inspired by this article: The Overprotected Kid. It is a long read, but I found it fascinating. I am mostly referring to the first section of it today anyway, but do yourself a favor and look through all the photos of The Land all the way through.

The article made me kind of sad... a bit reminiscent... and maybe even a little hopeful that perhaps I can still salvage some free childhood for my kids! We most definitely roamed free when I was a kid. In my dad's neighborhood, the rule for our house was that when the sunset touched a particular building, it was time to be home! No watches, no mobile phones, no checking in - and often no one home to check in with anyway! We had our packs. We even built our own tree house on a piece of land my dad owned... but that was several blocks away from our home. We also had a clubhouse of sorts in the woods and a back route to get to the local convenience store. We roamed. And never did any of us wind up in the ER for it. or abducted. Are things so much more risky now? Statistics say that they're really not. What changed? Fear mongering. The news. I am quite prone to worry and have a "heal the world" issue so I don't watch the news. At all. And yet...

I'm terrified of losing my children and we've moved quite a bit since my littles were born... so I'm not comfortable with letting them freely explore the neighborhood alone (at 4 and 2yo). But... I love the idea of "The Land" in this article. I want to find a way to make risks available to my daughter (and my son)... in a safe enough way to comfort Dad's worry (and mine, though mine doesn't seem to be as strong).

I find myself wondering what sort of "junk" I might be able to find for free on Craigslist or Freecycle.. tires? pallets? We have some boards back there... When I was a kid we rode our bikes down to a carpet place in the neighborhood and raided their dumpster for scraps. We had a carpeted tree-house! What random stuff could you imagine stocking in your yard for more exploratory play?

I will say (and almost "in my defense," as if such a thing is necessary) that since we moved Sasha gets SO much more outdoor time. We have a fenced back yard now so she is allowed to go out there and explore and play to her heart's content. I prefer to keep a door open where I can hear her, especially since the door is stiff and she can't open it herself. I've relaxed more and more, though, and don't feel the need to have my eyes on her at all times. I even caught my teenager telling her not to go behind the shed. Um... why? I told her to go ahead if she wanted. She's been back there before. There are no extra risks back there, its just out of sight. What have I done to my oldest? She worries over her siblings far too much.

How free do you allow your children to be? How free is too free? And I'm totally serious about suggestions for "junk" to put in our back yard! I only wonder if I can refrain from showing my children what can be done with some pallets, boards and sheets... and just let them discover on their own! I've really been wanting a mud hole for them out there, too!

Mamatography 2014 - Week 7

Day 40 - Sunday - February 9

Wordless Wednesday: Camping @ Spencer Creek!

Our first family tent camping...
This is how it began.

She stayed plenty busy for tent-raising and enjoyed throwing dirt into the air!

Wordless Wednesday: Windy Park Day

Sasha loves to swing!

Sasha & Daddy

Babies are the Theme of the Day

It occurs to us that if I am going to leave my job, then we don't need to plan a pregnancy around the industry peak season. Elmo thinks we should start trying right away and is not concerned with birth month in the slightest (even if that means multiple September babies).

This morning we were changing out cages for one of his tarantulas and found that several of our cages have tiny baby crickets. We learned a bit about cricket reproduction today. They apparently won't harm anything, so there is no concern. They'll likely die due to lack of food. Whew!

Meanwhile, we suspected that his Rose Hair (Grammostola rosea) had molted and rolled up her "garbage" into a bag. She has, however, been guarding this "garbage bag." Seemed strange, but we figured we'd just wait her out, then get it and dissect it! I have all the molts of my Anansi.

Ghost guarding her treasure

Today she finally stepped away from her garbage for a bit, so my husband attempted to remove it. She kept coming back every time he tried. After 20 minutes, he finally got it! He set it aside in a little jar for me to check out when I got home. I poked it a little. It was very soft until a point, then it seemed... crunchy? It was hard to describe. I didn't have an exact-o, so I just gently (old shells are delicate) gripped the web and pulled apart. I tugged a good half inch or so apart, but there was still more. I gripped deeper and pulled apart. Imagine our surprise...

Grammostola rosea egg sac!

This particular species of tarantula can lay anywhere from 80-1000 eggs at a time! Oh dear. And Elmo feels SO awful about fighting to get her babies away from her. No wonder she was guarding it! I must say, he is so cute feeling guilty about doing this, but we really never dreamed it would be eggs! We got her from a pet store! It isn't likely she has been exposed to a male! Ca-razy!

For now, we've put the sac back, but a few eggs fell out. She is back to guarding it and I'm hoping she'll repair it. We don't know what we'll do next, but gestation period is 6 short weeks! Then those little slings (spiderlings) will be so tiny they might fit through the slots in the lid! I've emailed and posted questions about what we should do and now we wait.

So babies seem to be the theme today. I just completed my menstruation, so I'll be ovulating very soon! It seems like all signs point to NOW. So... who knows what the future may hold. I currently have an IUD, but have heard they're not difficult to remove. More discussion is definitely in order!