Realizations after our camping fiasco: Surviving with a preschooler

Perhaps fiasco is too harsh of a word, but as a mom who in her past life loved to camp, I walked away from this weekend's 20-hour camping trip a little bit smarter.

After having a good night's (or two) worth of sleep in my own bed, I came to a few conclusions about camping with a precocious preschooler:

1. Know your location. Check out the web, brochures, online reviews, your friends...anyone you can to get their sense of the location and why their families liked and didn't like it. The reality for us was our Girl Scout council is trying to build the family camping program, so we didn't know people who had gone. Had we, we would have known that the platform tents area near the lake had less room for preschoolers to roam, and our money would have been better spent reserving in the "primitive camp" area, still not far from the lodge, where there would be space for the little guy to run around.

2. Nap time is futile. Maybe it's easier if your preschooler isn't in the middle of transitioning out of naps, but couple the excitement of sleeping away from home with the lack of naps, and you've got a recipe for "not listening" moments.

3. Realize your restrictions. The pint-size restrictions. Even though they can stare at a worm for 10 minutes at a walk at home, hiking for half an hour in the morning may not be as thrilling.

4. Plan for a little home essentials. Please, don't be like one of our platform tent neighbors and pack your DVD player, but bring a few comforts of home to make your trip more bearable. Like your preschooler's "tag" (or lovey). Or a football. Or a book or two to help them settle down if needed. Or crayons and paper while you're cooking over the gas stove.

5. Focus on the bright side. Yes, we had to bypass the latrines about 15 times to go to the indoor plumbing at the lodge, but at least I got my steps in!!
For your first few adventures, stick with sites closer to your home. It makes needing to cut your trip home short a little more bearable.

Any other tips you can share about camping with little ones?

Bear-Bear's Banana Berry Smoothie

Invented by my 3 year old, this smoothie was simple and turned out great!

1 large banana
4 large strawberries
1 tbsp. local honey
1 c. milk

Blend and enjoy!

Survival camping

Wasn't it Kenny Rodgers who said you had to know when to fold 'em?

Well, I caved. A mere 20 hours into our first camping trip, we were packing up and headed home.

Camping with a 3 and 5 year old for a weekend obviously meant I had a few screws loose. I posted the idea on my Facebook page for suggestions on managing it; there I got responses ranging from the optimistic ("Just tell them to stay away from the fire") to drugging them with Benadryl.

I figured I had it all planned out. Our Girl Scout council opens up one of its camps to families on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. I thought it was a great first forray into camping: no need to pitch a tent, family-friendly environment, unit house with kitchen in case it stormed, no drunken idiots.

I planned simple meals (hot dogs and Cheerios, anyone?) and hoped for the best.

Except I forgot who I was dealing with: Worn out children who were coping with lack of sleep from two night's worth of storms, a night with the engaged couple from church we were mentoring, the excitement of the end of school, the thrill of bike races the day before at day care, and by the way, we are CAMPING!

Somehow by the grace of God we straggled into camp at 8:30 p.m., delayed by the fact that life meant that we didn't start packing until six that night. The next morning, the kids were up as soon as daylight peaked through the gaps in our tent. They didn't want to hike the trails. They wanted to go into the ice-cold lake when it was still maybe 60 degrees outside. My daughter wanted to boat; my son didn't. Instead, I had to hear about whether we'd drown as we paddled the two of us across the lake while her brother and dad played in the nearby sand.

The men was what killed the trip. My little guy refused to understand the concept of staying with us, staying on the trail, watching for cars and, by the way, don't run out of the tent alone. Oh, and latrines? That would not be a consideration. Instead we hiked back and forth to the lodge so he could use the more modern facilities. Meanwhile, my husband, bless his heart, was getting sick not long after lunch.

So after one last roundtrip to the lodge and a hastily made batch of smores on the stove, I threw up the white flag. I knew when to walk away (though I felt like running). I swore to the camp manager that it wasn't about the camp (because we would go back!) as we hastily checked out two days early. We packed up and drove the hour home. The kids slept all the way. (Ninety minutes later, they're still out, husband included.)

It wasn't my fantasy weekend, happy memories of us sitting around the picnic table like when we camped as kids. But somehow, we all survived. And maybe, just maybe, the kids will find their glimmer as they recount their first camping trip.

School supply savvy

The end is here!

School, that is.

Today, my baby will come home with her bag bursting with the last of her drawings, worksheets and half-used school supplies. Sure, from a clutter-busting perspective, I could recycle the papers and toss the rest. But I think there's a better purpose for my school supplies.

Last year, local story featured a public school teacher determined to have supplies ready for each of her students this fall. So determined she was, and knowing that many of her students were impoverished, she ended up dumpster diving at the very affluent Carmel Public Schools. She ended up with three carloads worth of school supplies, many of them in wrappers.

The reality is, in this case, your trash could be someone else's treasure. So if you're determined to toss your half-used school supplies before summer strikes, at least do it with purpose. Donate it to:

1. Scout troop.



2. Freecyle.



3. Vacation Bible Schools, preschool programs and Parent's Day Out.



4. Day care centers.



5. Homeless shelters.



6. Any social service organization - many clients may have to take their children with them, and art supplies and notebooks would occupy them while they are waiting.



7. Goodwill.



8. Garage sales.



9. Survival packets to take to church (or any other place where kids have to be quiet but struggle.) It's great to be able to hand a frustrated parent some extra crayons and pages to color on!



10. Retirement homes. You'd be surprised what craft supplies will do to help our older generations who just need some stimulation!

Any place else I missed?

A little hail damage never looked so good

Given the craziness of this spring's weather, I'm grateful to live with a little hail damage on my car and a knocked-out porch light after yesterday's three rounds of tornado warnings and storms. Haven't taken a full tour of the property, but my loved ones are safe, and I can live with that.