Camping disaster 2010

Don't think I have forgotten to write....O No, this is a good one!

Honey Buns wants to camp. Because we are so busy, I arrange to take the day off on Monday and we plan to camp on Sunday night and then mosy home on Monday...then back to the real world on Tuesday. Sounds like a plan, right?

That is when Camping Disaster 2010 starts...

We get it all loaded up in the little pick-up (I have been on a campaign to trade it in, get something we can all fit into...this trip has helped my cause)

We get loaded up (Honey Buns, Sweet Pea, the dog and me) the bed of the truck is full with camping stuff and 3 coolers. (food cooler, drinks cooler and cooler of extra ice, in case you were wondering!)

We get there...we are camping at a state park about 40 minutes from the house...as we are paying our fee...the ranger says...we are expecting rain tonight. If we have severe weather, we will open the storm shelter between the 2 bathrooms at the shower house.

We continue and pick a campsite...to which I made sure it was appropriately close to the shower house and we set up the tent. Sweet Pea and I go check out the playground and swimming beach and Honey Buns gets everything settled and goes fishing. Dog is loving the outdoors and smelling everything, runs with us girls towards the swimming beach.

Sidenote: we are the only ones in the tent camping area...dog is running free because of that.

We check it all out and we start back to tent to get on our swim stuff. All of us walk back down to swimming beach, even Honey Buns. Swimming beach is typical lake beach...but this time it is flooded, meaning that the water is covering some of the parking lot therefore we really can't see the beach...but we want to swim and I decide it will be fine if we are careful. When HB goes back with us, I explain that there is some parking lot under water and then huge boulders before the swimming beach...be careful. I have Sweet Pea take off her shoes and put them by the bag and we wade in. She has on her life jacket, but I only let her stay in the parking lot area and don't venture into the boulders that we can't see or anything like that. Honey Buns...doesn't listen too good. He decides and then lets us girls both know that we should be wearing shoes since it is a parking lot...to which Sweet Pea runs back and puts on her flip flops and wades on in. What do you get when you combine flipflops, water and a 3 yr old? A FALL headfirst into the water, where the child is sputtering then crying because she has skinned up both knees on the parking lot and the flip flops are now floating away, into the boulder area and she just realizes it and is crying harder, meanwhile blood is gushing from the knees...Honey Buns is in the deeper water and I am scrambling to get her upright and then I have to figure out the flooded boulder area to rescue the flip flops. Swimming time...is so done.

Start walking back to camp. Should be noted that to be nearer the shower house is to be the farthest away from the swimming beach.

Girls go take a shower, HoneyBuns will start on dinner. Girls return from shower clean and happy. Honey Buns...sitting and stewing.

FORGOT the MATCHES

How can we have this great campout without fire, marshmallows or even a hot dinner?

His solution???
Eat cereal for dinner.

My suggestion...go to the store and buy matches, ask the ranger station or beg from a camper on the other side of the campground.

If it is cereal for dinner...we can go home now.

He begs the matches, starts the fire, cooks the pork chops.

Cell phone rings...my parents ask if we are taking cover...sun shining, blue sky...so I ask why and tell them that we are camping. They tell us that storms are coming our way. I tell them we are close to shower house and it will be fine. (they call 3 more times to check on us)

Dinner goes fine, Sweet Pea loves the marshmallows...I clean up after dinner and proceed to make the beds and put everything in the cab of the pickup and clean around the campsite in preparation of the the rain. It begins to get dark, the ranger comes by again to tell us the storm is about 40minutes away and has strong winds.

Watch lightening bugs and the girls get into tent. start fighting about touching the tent...finally sweet pea falls asleep. Honey Buns gets in tent...lightening starts to flash across the sky. Dog begins to howl at thunder...I wonder out loud how long until the dog is in the tent. Honey Buns says what do you mean...put her in here with us? Yes, because it is going to rain and I would rather you just put her in here than wait until she is all wet and then let her in. So he grumbles around and open the zipper and lets her in.
Get settled...more thunder, more howling...Ranger stops by again and tells us storms coming.

Rain drops...Dog moves to air mattress...Ranger stops by to tell us that it was raining.
DUH!

It rains and blows ALL NIGHT LONG. soon the tent is so saturated that it begins dripping on my feet. I start to whine. Sweet Pea sleeps thru the night. Dog sleeps fitfully.

5:30am Honey Buns says...are you awake? I am. He decides to make a run for it and let's get out of here. I put Sweet Pea in her car seat and we break camp. We are on the road by 5:50am headed home.

I should note here that while it was dripping on my feet, it was also dripping on Honey Buns head...but he is a better man than me and was not complaining or even mention it until we got home and I was talking about how hard it was to sleep with all the dripping on my feet.

It takes all day to dry out the tent, air mattress, sleeping bags etc. Everything is put away.

We start itching. All of us covered in bug bites. We determine it is chiggers, that crawled off the dog in the night and it is the most horrible thing I have seen. My little sweet pea has them in her hair it is that bad. Honey Buns also has sensitive skin and it looks like he has the pox, there are that many. Dog was sleeping right by him or on him most of the night. I have some, but nothing like him.

4 days later...itching is starting to subside.

We won't be going camping for quite some time!

two wheeler...sorta

check out this short video clip. She is loving the freedom!

isn't she sweet

Little Sweet Pea in her bed sleeping peacefully. So beautiful, so precious.

(are you seeing this warm fuzzy picture?)

I gently stroke her arm to wake her from her sleep...

she replies...

GET OUT OF MY ROOM

Home alone?

Home alone takes on another meaning when you are a mom...home alone for me means...home with Sweet Pea and Honey Buns is away from home. This has been a long softball weekend and I have been home alone. I am tired. I am happy to be at work, because I am getting a break. Honey Buns will be home tonight late, late late...but he will be home. And I will be glad for that. He got some wins and I am happy for that. Really happy for that. Makes the trip easier for him and we need the wins. Only 3 weeks of ball left.

update

day care is going fine. no crying yesterday, little crying today. It helps to know the kids and want to go so you can play with the kids.

I am happy it is going well.

Now the preschool discussion is surfacing. She will be 3 this summer. Preschool is 1-3 Tu and Thurs. How is the world am I going to manage that?

We survived!

Grammy and Grampy came to cover for me. I had a conference to go to and they came to save the day. Grammy made Honey Buns favorite foods and served him like the royalty he is (to her!) Me, I just treat him like the same ole Honey Buns and he usually treats me like a queen...so he was due some pampering.

Sweet Pea had a great time with them. She was ready for her mom to be home, but I think that Grammy was pretty grand.

New Day Care situation is going well. She is still crying when I drop her off...but I think that is to be expected and I am trying real hard to ignore it. She is so happy when I am there to pick her up and the beginning pre-school is really good for her.

I have started to struggle with the preschool decision. Should she go when she turns to 3 or do I wait. If it was tomorrow I think I would say wait, but since it is in September, I am thinking sign her up. A few days ago they had 2 slots open in the afternoon session...that's all that is left. I really really wanted to try and get her into the special ed preschool as a peer model. But they won't test her or even talk to me until she is 3...doubt the 2 slots will be available after the birthday. It is $35 to hold your preschool slot...should I pay the money and forfeit it if the special ed option works? Plus...I will have to think about the transportation...I gotta get her to preschool twice a week? three times a week? I better get some more information on this school stuff.

That wasn't supposed to happen

Our day care situation totally blew up last week. Honey Buns said about a month ago...you know you are going to have do something about {insert old day care lady's name here}...

a few comments about that...

1. why does it have to be me that deals with it?
2. when do I have time to deal with it?
3. how is Sweet Pea going to handle this?
4. can't we all just get along?

What does he have...a crystal ball? Me thinks yes!

And yes, the whole day care thing blew itself to smithereens.

So we have a new one. Still a neighbor, 2 houses the other direction.
It is going to be good...once we get over the trauma of it all. Sweet Pea is still crying (I know it has only been 3 days) but the crying starts in the morning when she wakes up. Isn't that extreme? Maybe not if you are into drama...we seem to be into drama.

New daycare lady has "school" they have time when they start to use pencils and crayons and she brings home papers covered in scribbles. It is so sweet.
New daycare lady is very strict and they follow a schedule...really follow a schedule.

It is going to be good for Sweet Pea...it is going to get better. I just have to keep saying that.