Worst Day Ever!

Today was by far the hardest day in the trailer to date.  First of all, we have been passing a stomach virus around for the last couple of weeks.  This thing has been the worst.  I think Lily picked up a virus at the pool and then passed it to each of us one at a time.  So everyday for the last 12 days I have had at least one bed to change.  Usually more than one though.  Taking care of 3 little sick people while being sick myself has not been the easiest.  Still, I felt like we were surviving and I was holding it together.  Not today though...

I woke up in the early morning hours to a child throwing up in their bed.  So I got her showered and put her in bed with me and slept for a couple of more hours.  Then I was woken up to another child who had an accident in bed and wouldn't you know it, a 3rd kid then yelled out they had wet the bed.  So looked like all three kids beds had to be changed.  Then that first kid woke up in my bed and oops, looks like an accident in my bed.  Awesome.  Let's just say at this point I was feeling a little overwhelmed.  After stripping all the beds and throwing the laundry onto the porch, it was way too big of a pile to keep inside, I walked in the bathroom to find someone had peed on the floor!  I was losing it fast. I burst into tears and sat down on the toilet to hide.  I decided it was too smelly in there and the place is so small that those littles out there would eventually find me.  So off I went to get ready for the day and start cleaning up the place. 

This is what it looks like when we are disinfecting the bunk house.

Sick kids everywhere, at least they sleep a lot.

Oh yeah and remember the kid that threw up.  Well she mainly hit the carpet right next to her bed. So that was on the clean up list too.  It was really top priority since it was stinking the whole house up.  Luckily, I have a good friend who brought over a carpet cleaner and lunch.  That lifted my spirits for sure.  We headed off to the laundromat, got our car washed and headed back home.  Things were going better but I could still feel that I was teetering on insanity.  So I decided we were going to go get dinner, I couldn't take washing dishes tonight, and go see Christmas lights.  

Dinner was fine, remember we are all sick so no one really ate much and then we headed to see the lights.  Wouldn't you know it, all the kids were fighting in the car and tattle telling on each other.  All I could think was, maybe we should just go home and go to bed.  Lucky I didn't, because when we reached the city park and started driving through the display, listening to Christmas music, everyone started talking excitedly and squealing with joy.  I love Christmas.  It really is so magical.  

After the lights everyone was much happier.  As I write this the kids are all playing with their baby dolls and all 3 are playing happily together.  I really needed this day to end on a happy note.  I'm sure glad it has.  The thing is, that messes of this magnitude seem so much more intense in a smaller space.  It's harder to clean up when you don't have the room to make piles of laundry and you have to leave the house to do laundry.  Days like these make us miss our stationary home, but we also have big dreams and have to keep perspective to get through.  Tomorrow already looks better.  Now here's hoping for a good night sleep.

Miles of Love,

Stacey

2nd Snow Day & Giveaway

We had our second snow day and I am happy to report that it was much more successful.  First of all, we had electricity.  Brian added plastic to the sides of our porch so the snow at the entryway was not quite as bad. 

We felt nice and cozy in the trailer.  So of course a snowy morning called for hot chocolate and pancakes.  Charlie wanted his with sprinkles.  So, why not. 

We ate and watched the snow fall outside. It was actually quite magical. 

We hustled through our school work that morning so that we could get out and play.  The kids refused to get bundled properly and by the time I was done shoveling, they decided that they were too cold, so our snow play was short lived. 

 Charlie took this photo and when I saw it on my phone I couldn't help but smile.  This perfectly encompasses my days.  Kya is always right under foot, following my every step.  Some days, being a mom gets tiring.  I crave the days when I could sit down to eat a meal or go to the bathroom in peace, but I know someday I will wish there was a little one behind me, asking questions incessantly. I really am so thankful for this time I get with my littles. I love that Charlie captured this moment of my little shadow perfectly in step with mine.  Oh how I love her. 

 So while we didn't make it long in the snow, we had a very nice cozy snow day.  Maybe next time I will convince them to wear their snow clothes and we can make it to the sledding hill.

On a side note.... While I sit here typing this, Charlie and his friend are sitting at the table, playing chess and drinking hot cocoa.  The small quarters makes moments like this feel so cozy and perfect.  It's in these moments, that I am so happy we are here.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

O.K. people, now for some fun!  Charlie is dying to do a giveaway. Remember how he is obsessed with You Tube.  Well, they do giveaways and he really wants me to do one.  I told him when we get to 50 followers we will do it.  So your mission? Share, Share and Share! Oh and hit the follow button if you haven't already.  We aren't sharing what the giveaway will be yet, but Charlie came up with it and it is the cutest ever!  So you won't want to miss out!  

Miles of Love,

Stacey

Decorating for Christmas

All of our Christmas decor is in storage.  Not that we have a lot, I gave away almost all of it.  However, even the stuff we do have isn't really worth getting into.  So I decided to take the kids to the dollar store and we just bought a few things to brighten up the place.  The kids had fun loading the cart up and picking out treats.  The dollar store is one of their favorite places. 😄

The kids were excited to get started hanging the decorations.  We did a little tinsel and some cute hanging decorations.  

Next we put a few little statues on the steps.

Then Charlie and I decided to hang some lights around the door.  There were a lot of lights left over so we zig-zagged them next to the door.  We both stood back and at the same time said, "that looks terrible".  We laughed about it and then went back inside, leaving the terrible looking lights up in place.  Oh well, it was freezing out there, so maybe on a nicer day we will try to fix them.  Or maybe not.  Sometimes the stuff that doesn't turn out is the stuff we remember the most.  

                                  They look even worse turned on at night  😂😂😂

The kids made some cute decorations at my mom's house this past weekend so we taped them to the mirror.  There isn't a lot of wall space so we have to get creative.  

The one thing I really miss is our manger.  Every year we have a wooden manger and when the kids do an act of kindness we put in a piece of hay.  We try to get it all filled up so that on Christmas morning baby Jesus comes and sleeps in the manger.  The kids love it so much.  I'm trying to figure out how to make it work, but getting the baby out of storage may be impossible.  My mom made this nativity scene out of rocks and put magnets on the back, so we are using this since all of our nativity scenes are also out of reach.  I love this one though so much.  I think it is by far my favorite one we own.  

And last, we made a tree.  There isn't any room for even a very small tree.  My sister, who is the best, let the kids decorate a tree of their very own at her house.  We spend Christmas at her house so this works out great.  However, I still wanted them to feel like we had a tree they could see everyday.  So we made a flat one on the wall.  I just used construction paper and then the kids made ornaments for it.  They said it was better than a real one because they could make it however they wanted.  I love children and how they look at the world with such simple innocence.  Even in our big house, I tried to let them be part of the decorating and let them make most of what we did.  Someday when they are grown and it's just Brian and I decorating, then we'll make it all look perfect.  And I will miss the miss matched Christmas that I love so much. 

I really miss our stockings.  They are at my sisters, all ready for Santa, but they are one of my favorite things we own.  When I was little my mom made all of us stockings.  The year I got married mine went missing.  I was so heartbroken.  I still am.  Brian didn't have a stocking so it gave me the opportunity to make us both stockings.  We had Charlie that year also, so he got one too. Which meant both girls got one when they were born.  I am in no way a seamstress.  I wish.  My aunt is and I idolize her for it.  Anyways, they are not perfect, but they are made with so much of my love.  I loved seeing them hanging on the mantle all season.  I certainly miss them this year. 

Here they are at my sister's house
Waiting patiently for us.

Miles of love,

Stacey 

Weekend Getaway

A few weeks ago my sister called to see if I wanted to go to California with her for a weekend getaway to Universal Studios.  As many of you know, I have been dying to go see Harry Potter land for some time now.  So, I of course said yes and Brian said he was coming too.  So My sister, my niece and the two of us spent this last weekend in California at a theme park.  We left the kids with my mom.  Friday we flew out and because traffic is terrible there we didn't have time to do anything but eat dinner.  We went to city walk at Universal and ate at Margaritaville.  The balloon lady came around and asked if anyone wanted a balloon animal.  All the girls said no, however in an unlike Brian fashion he enthusiastically asked for one.  While she was making him a monkey climbing a tree, I whispered to him, "you know you have to tip her."  He had no idea this was expected.  Luckily Taylor had a couple of dollars and all was well. Although Brian will probably not ever say yes again to a balloon animal. 

The next morning we were up bright and early and ready to go.  

We hit Harry Potter land first and it did not disappoint.  Hogsmeade looked exactly the way you would imagine.  There were people dressed as wizards and witches everywhere you looked.  They sell wands that you can use in certain places to make real magic.  So there are people all around waving wands and doing magic.  It makes it all the more real feeling. 

We rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey first.  It was incredible.  This ride was truly one of the best rides I have ever ridden.  We did the hippogriff coaster next.  Short and sweet, we were able to ride twice.  It gave amazing views of the castle so I would say it is totally worth it. 

First Ride

2nd ride, no one else would ride a 2nd time

We walked around the shops a bit to let every one's tummies settle and then went to ride everything else.  The park was not very crowded so we were able to get all the rides in.  The best coaster at the park is definitely The Mummy.  We all really enjoyed the back-lot tour.  It is  pretty neat to get to go onto a studio where things are being filmed.  I was most excited about The Good Place set.  

At the end of the day we headed back to Harry Potter to watch the castle be lit for Christmas.  We almost skipped this because it was so cold and we were not dressed for that.  Luckily we stuck it out.  We got some butterbeer and found a spot.  Without a doubt, the best part of the day.  It was so magical.  I had chills, and not from the cold.  I loved it so much that my face hurt from smiling so big.  Everyone made fun of me because my eyes even got a little teary.  It really was so good.  They even make it snow at the end!  It was just so perfect. Oh and the butterbeer, AMAZING!  Loved it. Wish I could make it at home. 

OK I'll stop gushing over Harry Potter land.  The park closed so we headed back to the hotel and ordered room service for dinner.  We were so tired from our wonderful day, we all fell asleep rather quickly.

The next day we went to the park, but since we rode everything the day before, we just walked around.  The park was much more packed and no one felt like standing in line so we got ourselves another butterbeer and decided to head over to the beach instead.  It was windy that day, which made it even more cold.  We went to the pier and looked around, but it was hard to enjoy because of the cold. 

We found a shopping promenade and walked around there.  We did find a Buddies Bakery.  You know from that show The Cake Boss.  So we got a treat from there and that was pretty yummy.  I could have tried one of everything.  Brian and Taylor decided to ride electric scooters.  Stephanie and I were way to cold, so we got some hot chocolate and found some comfy chairs to wait for them.  They said it was really fun and a tiny bit sketchy at times.  

We decided to go to the observatory on the way back to the hotel.  I didn't know anything about it, but it was really fun. We got to see a show in the dome theater which was really fascinating and they have a really neat planetarium.  Plus there are amazing views of the city from there.  I highly recommend this place.  I wish we had gone when it was light out to really enjoy the view.  We got back to the hotel to get to bed early because we had to leave for the airport at 4:45 in the morning.  We came home to a whole lot of snow and cold weather.  We realized California wasn't really that cold after all.  It was such a fun weekend.  I'm so glad we did it.  I think the older I get the more I treasure the memories made with loved ones.  This is definitely one of the best.  

Miles of Love,
Stacey

First Snow Day & No Power

Oh man, we had our first snow day in the RV.  Boy were we ready! We had the trailer skirted, the heated water hose hooked up, the propane tanks full and the new porch up and ready to block our doorway from the storm.  We were looking forward to waking up all cozy and warm and looking out the windows at a beautiful blanket of white.  That is not how it went.  At 5 AM I heard Brian whisper, "Oh No!"  I sat up and asked what was wrong.  The electricity was out.  In the whole neighborhood.  That's right, no power in 20 degree weather and dropping.  No problem when you are in an RV because you have batteries that will still run your furnace.  Only problem is, our batteries didn't work and we never replaced them. Yep, we are really smart people. 

We actually fell back asleep and stayed warm with our pile of blankets.  Surprisingly the kids didn't start piling in until about 7:00.  We all snuggled in bed for another hour and then everyone started getting hungry. 

It was cold climbing out of bed and we all bundled up and turned on the stove for a little bit of warmth. We turned on the faucets to a trickle so the pipes wouldn't freeze.

Knowing this was not going to cut it, we headed out for a breakfast at IHOP and some Grinch pancakes.  Charlie had been begging for weeks to go, so he was over the moon. 

Oh wait, back up, remember how we worked so hard to get the porch up to protect our entry way.  Well this is what it looked like when we opened our door. 

So, there is a small opening up by the awning, but I don't think that would let this much snow in.  My thought is that the roof is so high that if the snow doesn't fall directly down, which of course it doesn't, then it blows right onto the porch.  Looks like we may need to put some plastic sides up.  Anyway, after everyone was fed we headed off to Costco and got some batteries.  We won't be caught off guard next time. 

The kids did get to play in the snow for a while, but it was pretty cold out so they didn't last very long. 

We decided to head to a movie.  My kids hate movies, but we bribed them with treats and we all went to see Smallfoot.  It wasn't exactly how we envisioned the day to go, but a little spontaneity is a good thing.  It goes to show that it's always the one thing you don't think to plan for that you end up needing.  We haven't given those batteries a second thought since being hooked up to power. I guess you can never really be truly prepared.

Miles of Love,
Stacey

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Parent Talk: Technology

I don't know how many of you out there struggle with the technology balance but we certainly do.  First, I am part of the problem.  I love technology.  I love games, news feeds and mostly weather apps. I check my phone constantly so why do I expect my kids to be any different.  My kids love YouTube.  I mean it is a true obsession for them. They talk about it constantly, they act it out and they even have their own channels.  When we lived in our larger home it wasn't quite as bad.  We aren't even big TV watchers.  My kids refuse to watch movies and the only TV they watch is PBS kids.  So I never really thought we had much of a problem. 

Then we moved into a tiny home.  While we were moving, all rules and time limits on electronics faded away and then while we got settled in I found myself letting all of that continue to slide.  It's terrible.  Here is the thing, electronics really effect my kids behavior.  I mean really bad.  They are more angry, they fight with each other more, they are more defiant and they don't want to do anything else.  So a little over a week ago we started an electronic detox.  I was really good for the first half of the week.  I wasn't letting them have any time at all.  We do a little bit of schoolwork on the computer so I did let them do that, but I sat next to them and did a lot of the interacting with the device.  I really wanted to minimize their interaction with electronics.  Of course though as the days went on I started to give in more.  I am still restricting them greatly, but the last few days I have let them earn a little time.  

I admit whole heartily that I am a major part of the problem.  I home school my kids so I get absolutely no alone time.  It's so hard not to give in just so I can get the dishes done or sit down and eat lunch by myself.  When my kids have zero screen time they are either making huge messes or want my complete attention.  We are trying really hard though to not fall into turning to our deices.  It is definitely harder now that it gets dark shortly after 5:00 and the temperatures have turned colder.  I have found that TV watching has less of an effect on them than the interactive devices.  So we are trying to find shows to watch as a family and that does help.  Another impact too much screen time has caused is that no one can entertain themselves.  My kids complain all the time they are bored and then can not come up with anything to do.  What's strange about that is I have always had a no screens in the car policy.  Unless of course we are road tripping.  However, lately they get in the car for more than five minutes and they think they are dying from boredom.  That has been the biggest red flag that we have fallen into a terrible screen time habit.  

So we are desperately trying to get back on track.  It does take some strategic planning on my part and I have to realize that my time is now basically nonexistent.  So here is what we are doing to get back on track. We tag team parent now more than ever.  We switch off who does bedtime, because yes we still lay with our kids at night.  Brian takes the kids out for daddy time more often.  We do more field trips.  I have a list of ideas for the kids to choose from when they can't think of their own.  

Here are a few ideas I have come up with to help entertain the kids so they don't beg for electronics.  
-We have play dough at the ready at all times
-I bought them each a sketch book and they can color and write in that
-I print out mazes or coloring pages for them to work on
-Lots of library books.
-When I can tell we are breaking down, we all go for a walk or to the park
-I read chapter books to them
-We play trivia games on Google Home
-Games, Games and more Games (Charlie could play board games all day)

Please comment if you have any tips or ideas for this.  We don't have gaming systems and only have one TV.  Our biggest problems are tablets and YouTube watching.  I feel like we used to have a good balance for this, so we just need a little reprogramming to get ourselves out of the habit and hopefully we will be back on track.

Miles of Love,
Stacey

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