a dash of sassitude

Having returned from a camping trip recently, and having another one coming up before the summer is over, I’m thinking this might be a great topic for WFMW. On to the post…

Serving breakfast to our wild bunny guests. I was still half-asleep.

Six Tips to Make Camping Easier

My darling hubby and I headed out on a three day camping trip. We were taking the small car, and needed to pack light. Tent, air mattress, sleeping bags, suitcases, water, food, and cooler.

Okay, we had an ipad, laptop, and our iphones, too. Books, notebooks, curling iron…hubby needed those. Okay, I needed them. It wasn’t camping in the truest form I suppose, but we did rough it some. It was a tent afterall.

We soon realized we forgot some things, but overall, we had a blast. Here are some things we either learned, or actually did right:

1. When tent camping, include a tarp or canopy for added protection from rain. Our recent camping trip found us enjoying one misty weekend. A tarp placed over and extending past the edges of the tent can help keep the tent drier. It’s especially nice to have it extend out a bit over the front to give you a dry place to get in and out. If you have room to pack it, a canopy is wonderful to have over a tent.

2. Make sure you have the right size tent. I know, it sounds obvious, but let me tell you our story. Hubby bought a tent that was 7′x7′. Plenty of room for the two of us. Until we put in the air mattress. Making the tent a little less than 6′x6′ by the time we crawled in there. Now at 5’2 1/2″, I was fine. Hubby, however, is a little over 6′. His head stuck out one end, and his feet out the other. I, of course, found this very funny.

3. Bring lots of bottled water. Bottled water can be used for drinking (hehe), putting out camp fires, making hot tea or cocoa, cleaning up, brushing teeth,  and for an impromptu hair washing session outdoors. Talk about refreshing! Our last camping site didn’t have showers, and I needed one. We’d been outdoors tromping around in the woods, on the beach, and in the rain. So I lay down on the seat of the picnic table, and hung my head off the end. Bob wet my hair down with bottled water, lathered me up, and rinsed me out. It was c-c-cold, but so. much. fun.

4. Pack a small axe or hatchet. We bought some firewood, but had to borrow an axe to chop some up for kindling. We now own one for future trips. Very handy for firewood, and chasing obnoxiously loud campers around the campground in the middle of the night. Okay, maybe not, but it’s tempting.

5. Bring marshmallows and long sticks. You may think you won’t miss having them, but there is something that comes over you while you sit around a campfire. It’s powerful, and hubby immediately remedied that mistake.

6. Pack your clothes in a Rubbermaid container with a lid. Clothing will get moist when tent camping. Crawling into damp clothes on a cold morning is not fun. Treat yourself to some dry clothes.

Hope you find these six tips helpful. Leave your best camping tips in the comments, and maybe we’ll use them for our upcoming trip: hubby, me, five kids, and two dogs. Oh my.

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What do you do when you have six kids with birthdays in January, February, March, April, May, and July? (We may have to have another baby to fill in June hehe.) You can only invite friends over so many months in a row before they wave the white flag. Who do you choose to have the party that year? My kids haven’t had birthday parties in years except for our immediate family and any relatives who happened to be visiting that month.

This past winter, a friend and I were chatting about birthday party dilemas. She mentioned the idea of having one celebration in the summer for all three of her kids. A lightbulb went on. Why not host one big birthday bash for all the kids! It could be a yearly event!

My mind started ticking at the possibilities. We could have it in June since that month isn’t currently occupied by a birthday. It could be a potluck. Guests wouldn’t even need to bring gifts. We’d have it at the park. No need to limit how many guests to invite. Oh the possibilities…

This June, the first annual Silva Summer Birthday Bash was born. We had our first celebration on the 14th. Twenty-seven guests showed up! Not bad for the first year eh? Some guests brought gifts anyway, everyone pitched in with food, drinks, cups, plates, etc., and I bought a big cake.

(Notice the finger prints above the h and d in birthday? Hmmm – they seem to be the same size as Little Miss Princess’ fingers.)

We had some games, but the biggest draw were the waterguns.

(Bob decided to come after me, so I grabbed the Super Soaker and ran!)

(Don’t worry, I got him back).

Some of the guys played Frisbee Golf, the ladies chatted, and the kids played. The weather felt custom ordered with sunshine warm enough for water play, but cool enough for spectators sitting in the shade. It was a beautiful day and the kids loved every minute of it.

(Don’t worry, they weren’t burnt, just hot from playing hard.)

I’m thinking we need to have a theme next year. Maybe Hawaiian. Hula skirt anyone?

The Silva Summer Birthday Bash Works For Me. Check out my Wordfilled Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesday posts, too! I also have giveaways here and here.

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I accidentally started potty training Little Miss Princess a few weeks ago. How does one accidentally potty train? Well, it went something like this:

I was reading some emails about teaching your kids the value of money. One person said they had taught their preschooler to value money AND potty trained at the same. Basically, they held up the child’s diaper and said that every diaper he used cost money. If he didn’t use diapers, they would have money to buy more of his favorite toy animals. Another parent piped up that they had done something similar.

I told Little Miss Amber that if she didn’t potty in her diapers and kept her undies dry, she could have a baby doll. I have to admit, I was being a little flippant and not for a minute did I think it would work.

I left for the day to run errands and when I got home, Little Miss Princess was asleep on her older sister’s shoulder. In undies. Which she had managed to keep dry all day.

AND SHE HAD TALKED ALL DAY ABOUT HER BABY DOLL. You know, the one I didn’t buy because I wasn’t serious. I took off for the dollar store and bought three cloth dolls and two coloring books. Then I headed to another store and bought her a nice baby doll. The plan was forming as I shopped.

We got home and I had my daughter quickly make a chart while I praised Little Miss Princess for doing so well. I told her that if she kept trying, she would get a prize that evening. Every time we took her potty, she put a sticker on her chart if her undies were dry. If she pooped on the toilet, she got an extra star.

Most evenings, she got a prize, and by the end of a week, she had few accidents and filled in her entire chart. She earned her nice baby doll and cheers from her family.

I keep her in diapers at night (we co-sleep and I’m not that brave), but she rarely wakes up wet. I’m hoping to buy two or three cloth diapers for night time use before we run out of this pack of diapers (which will take a few months at this rate).

She naps in her undies and we recently went on our first outing with her in her undies. She did great.

Accidentally potty training Works For Me.

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That title makes you dream of pampering yourself doesn’t it? I enjoy slathering on some creamy lotion, but when it’s cold? Not so much. I don’t like being cold. I REALLY DON’T LIKE BEING COLD! Not yelling, just clarifying.

A couple of years ago, I bought myself a lotion warmer from Conair. Then the pampering really kicked up a notch. I’d hit the on button, enjoy a toasty shower, and then rub some warm, soothing body lotion on. Oh yea! Luxury.

This led to lighting scented candles and turning off the bathroom light while I showered. Simple pleasures. It was like a mini oasis in my day.

By the way, this delights babies and toddlers, too. They love a bath by candlelight and warm lotion.

If you can’t find or afford a lotion dispenser, put your lotion in a small bottle or container with a tight lid. Using a small bottle or container makes it easier to warm it up more thoroughly.

You have a couple of ways you can warm it:

1. Fill a sink or bowl with hot water and let it sit while you take a bath or shower.
2. Let it float in the bathtub while you take a bath.
3. If you’re showering, either let the tub fill a little or put the bottle on the bottom of the tub where the water will hit it (the least effective way).

No more excuses for not pampering yourself or your little ones.

Works for me.

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Recently, I talked about how sick we have all been and how traditional medicine just wasn’t kickin’ it. Out of sheer frustration, I took the bull, or rather flu, by the horns and fought the battle with natural remedies. The tide turned and we could taste victory. Or was that the weird soup?

So what worked for us? Let me tell you about the bag of tricks I pulled out. That morning, I had to go to the chiropractor and he asked me if I’d heard about putting Vicks on their feet to help with the coughs. I had heard, but I’d forgotten! I told him I was desperate enough to try and would let him know if it worked.

That night, I had the kids all get in their pajamas and bring a pair of socks with them into the living room. We pulled out the Vicks and the kids looked at us like we’d sprouted wings. Or maybe they were thinking horns cause this seemed like an evil plot to them. I mean, can you imagine having Vicks squishing between your toes?

We slathered the Vicks on feet and chest and put their socks on. We were ALL high from Vicks fumes, but breathing easier.

The next day, I went out and bought more ammunition. I pumped vitamin C in them. Poured water through them. Made them rest a lot.

We drank a lot of herbal teas: honey lemon, chamomile, etc. Amber nursed. Nobody else was interested.

We took equal parts of honey and lemon and heated it enough to mix thoroughly and put this in a jar. The dose: 1 teaspoon every four hours.

We made a soup to help fight the crude and boost the immune system. This stuff was power packed and I put whatever amount (me? measure?) of: chicken broth, chicken, ginger root, onions, garlic cloves (minced), carrots, potatoes, and cayenne pepper. We took a bite. Bland chased by a spicy kick. A weird sensation. We had small portions throughout the day.

We used lavender and eucalyptus essential oils in little burners and in the humidifier. The air conditioner came on at night and the windows were opened during the day. On a decent day, I even dragged our sick selves down to the park for some fresh air.

They made a fast improvement after all this when traditional didn’t do a thing.

You bet I’ll be learning more about natural remedies.

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