Finally Spring!

We made it!  Through winter I mean.  We always seem to go into hibernation in the winter.  We socialize less, we do fewer activities, we stay indoors mostly.  But this winter felt especially bad.  We didn't spend much time with friends, we rarely played outside and we definitely spent way too much time on electronics.  Finally, we are getting some warmer days and starting to play outside again.  It's amazing how much the weather can effect how you feel.  It's so nice to open the windows and enjoy the longer days.  I think this year I was the one who felt the winter blues the most.  I had a hard time staying motivated to get anything done and I really just didn't want to do much of anything.  It's time to get back out there and put friendships back into the forefront.

We are counting the days down till summer.  We can't wait to swim.  There is a pool directly across from us at the park we are staying at.  They are prepping it now and we are all obsessed with watching the progress.  We can't wait for lazy days at the pool. 

We are also getting more serious about finding land to build on.  We are doing on our research for a couple of plots and hoping to make an offer on something soon.  We are all getting excited to build something of our own. 

Recently to get out of the house more, we have taken up roller skating.  I didn't think I would remember how.  Turns out it all comes back to you.  The kids are picking it up rather well and we all love it.  So for now I will leave you with this little video of our last outing to the fun center.  There are also bouncy house stuff there. 
Roller Skating Video

Oh and the kids have been learning to ski.  Kya and Charlie spend most of their time on the big hill with Brian.  Lily is learning to ski with me on the small hill.  She loves it and begs to go all the time.  And I think she is the cutest thing ever when she skis down the hill. 
Lily Learning to ski

Big Kids Learn to Ski

Miles of Love,
Stacey

Christmas

There is nothing better in the world than Christmas with little kids.  This year, it was just what we needed after all the sickness we had the previous week.  On Christmas eve we like to do a small gift exchange with just the five of us.  The kids could hardly wait to get to it.  They each received Christmas PJ's and a small toy.  This year we also drew names for each other and exchanged those gifts.

  
Brian's sister hosted Christmas eve and we enjoyed a delicious dinner and a really fun version of a white elephant exchange.  We also read the Christmas story from The Bible and sang carols.  Lily was so happy we sang Jingle Bells.  She talked about it for days after.  The kids kept track of Santa on the phone and when he started to get close we set off for bed.  
We spend the night at my sisters house every year.  So we hurried to bed so we could get up bright and early for Santa.  This is my favorite moment of the entire year.  Anyone who knows me, knows I am a believer in all things Christmas.  Parenting is hard but I feel this one moment was made to make it all worth it.  Listening to the kids quietly chatter about where Santa is and what he will be bringing.  Their excitement for the morning making it hard to fall asleep.  It takes me right back to those moments with my siblings when we were small.  It makes my heart so full I can hardly stand it.  
We all finally did make it to sleep and the kids actually slept to a somewhat decent hour in the morning.  
Side note: My family is a bit freakishly close.  We don't like to miss even one second of anything that any of the children do.  So you can imagine the paparazzi frenzy of Christmas morning.
So of course when the kids wake up, we stop them on the stairs and make them wait until all adults are up and cameras are at the ready.  It's a little like torture for the kids but totally worth it for the grown ups. 
Santa had left their presents in a bag this year.  This worked nicely to keep them at a steady pace in seeing their presents.  They were beyond excited and there was a lot of squealing and laughter, even from the kids.

This is my favorite picture from all of Christmas. It has my cute niece in the back smiling so big about her cute bracelet she now shares with her puppy, and Lily sticking her head all the way into her sack to see what Santa brought.  Charlie is happy here.  I just caught him mid explanation about his Pokemon cards.

  After the excitement of Santa we took a breather and my dad and I headed out to get my best friend from Florida.  More about her in my next post.  
This year instead of a big dinner, we opted for a fancy brunch.  I liked this way better since breakfast foods are my favorite. We did our family gift exchange and there were more delightful sounds of joy.  I love Christmas day so much.  I love that everyone lounges around in PJ's all day and that the kids happily play and share their toys with excitement. 
A few favorite things the kids got this year:  
Charlie got Cozmo the robot.  When he saw it he said "I got a new friend for Christmas!"  Charlie asked for him last year too.  Since he didn't get it, this year it was the only thing he asked for from Santa.
Kya got lots of L.O.L. dolls.  Pretty much all she asked for also.  Another favorite was her makeup kits.  She is obsessed.  She got one from both her Nana and her aunt Stephanie.  
Lily also got lots of L.O.L. dolls but her favorite toys she got were her new Anna and Elsa barbies with matching little Anna and Elsa's.  She is obsessed with barbies.
Now back to real life.  

Miles of Love,
Stacey

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

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

5 things that make RV life hard

When people ask us how things are going in the trailer we always talk about how much we love it, because we really do.  We have been pleasantly surprised about how much we are enjoying it.  But like everything in life there are things that are hard.  I thought I would share 5 of the things we have found more difficult in a trailer than when we lived in a larger home.  

5 reasons RV living is hard:

1: Everything takes a little longer to do.

    So you want to grab that cute sweater right as you go to walk out the door.  Wait.  You need to lift up the bed to get to where you store those bulky clothes.  And if you are like me you're too weak to lift the bed on your own if it has all the pillows and blankets on it.  So first, unmake the bed and then grab that sweater and then remake the bed and now you are on your way.  This is how getting simple items is just a little harder than before.  I find everything has an extra step or two than it used to.  If we want to play a game, we have to get up from the table, take off the cushions and get the game out, then put back the couch so we can play. 

                                        This is what it looks like when we get a game out

This is life when your storage is in places like under the dining table or under a bed that has to be lifted or even on the outside of your house.  As we go, I am finding more and more how to place things a little more strategically so things are simpler.  However, this is just a part of it.  I noticed it right away.  Everything is a little harder to do in a small space.  However as the days go on I notice it less and less.

2: Cooking is more difficult.
    Meal time has taken some adjustments since the move.  The oven is super tiny and doesn't cook very evenly so we almost never use it.  We have an insta pot that I use for most meals.  I also have one skillet and one pot, so big meals are out of the questions and no meals that require cooking two things in a pot.  I knew this would be an issue before we moved so I was prepared and had already put a lot of thought into the meal planning.  It has worked out fine for us and for the most part I have been able to adjust.  The other thing that makes cooking difficult is the dish washing.  I have to hand wash the dishes, so I am careful with how much I use.  I also only have one small drying rack with very limited counter space so drying too many dishes becomes a problem.  So overall, cooking can be difficult without thinking and planning.

Our counter space is limited so the stove doubles as a drying rack.  Everything takes a little bit of choreography to make it all run smoothly.

3: Long showers are a thing of the past.
    We are lucky to have a tank-less water heater.  A true luxury when living in an RV.  However this still uses up propane and that can get expensive.  So showers are quick and to the point.  We live where it gets cold.  So of course there is nothing like a hot shower when you wake up on a cold morning.  However standing in the water for very long can get pricey so we tend to take quick showers.  The kids really struggle with this concept.  You know kids and how they think money grows on trees.  Sheesh. 

4: Privacy is non existent.
    Being a mom, this hasn't existed for me for some time now.  But I can imagine if you are used to privacy this can be a big problem.  It seems like the second you get in the shower there is a line of people who need to use the bathroom.  If you want to watch something or read a book, everyone sees you doing that and wants to know what you are doing.  I have little kids so this might be worse for us than if you had teenagers who would just go hide in the bunkhouse.  Just today I had a friend take the kids for a play date.  I was alone for about 30 minutes and I didn't know what to do first.  Should I clean, watch TV, read a book, talk on the phone, take a nap.  There were so many options, the excitement was overwhelming.  To be honest though, I felt this way when I was alone in our bigger house also.  True mom life.  Still, if you like to be able to go in room and close the door and watch tv or read or just think, that is not a possibility here. 

This happened this morning when I went in my room. These three followed me in and commandeered the TV.  Mom problems or RV problems?  I'd say both. We even had Kya's friend join us. No one is immune to invading your privacy in a small space.

5: Space, Space and Space.
    This is the thing most people comment about and think is crazy.  To be living with little personal space is definitely a challenge.  Each person in our family has about 25 square feet of personal space that they get to call their own.  The rest (about 150) is all shared space.  The challenge isn't just about privacy, but also about having a place to call your own. A place to put your stuff and to decorate your own.  I tried to give each person a special place and it does work but a little more room per person wouldn't be a bad thing. 

Each child has a bunk decorated just for them and they each have a little storage container to keep a few items in their space.  

Trying to cook, eat, play games, build with legos, play barbies, and lots of other activities we do requires space.  This means that everyone else has to walk over anything you are doing. 

                                                   The bunk house during play time.

This can be a challenge for sure.  We are getting the hang of it though and try to be careful where we spread out our activities.  Space is the biggest thing we sacrificed and also the thing that is changing our family for the better.  It's a funny thing.

There are definitely challenges to the RV lifestyle.  However, once we made the leap we don't really feel any of these things are that big of a deal.  That does not mean we don't enjoy the space when we play at friends houses or a nice long shower when we visit family. It's just things that we have to adjust to. At the end of the day, we are still happy about the move and look forward to what might come next in our life.

Miles of Love,
Stacey

One Month Review

Two days ago we hit the one month mark for full time RV living.  We started reflecting on what we thought so far and I decided to share it. 

First, we realize how quickly a place becomes a home.  I was worried that every time we walked in the door we would feel like we were camping or just have that feeling it was a trailer not a house.  We adjusted quickly to not even thinking about those things.  We feel comfortable and already have a rhythm to how we do things.  Home really is where your family is.  Cheesy I know, but I couldn't resist.

                                    

       I found this on my phone.  I love that she took a

 selfie with Millie the trailer.

Second, We can't believe that we don't miss our stuff.  When we were purging our belongings, it was so stressful.  Every item in hour home was picked up, looked at, thought about and then we made a decision about whether we should keep it or not.  It was one of the most exhausting things I've ever done.  I've moved a lot in my life time (around 20 times).  I understand how to get rid of clutter, but when you downsize from a 2500 square foot house to a 300 square foot house, it is on a whole other level.  However, now after it's all said and done, I don't even miss that stuff I was struggling to get rid of.  I can't even remember what it was.  It's truly surprising how little we actually need.  Even now I look at the stuff I kept and realize that some of that stuff will probably end up going too.

                       Our yard sale to start the purge. 

Third, We all really like each other!  We have always been a bit of a codependent family.  However, we still found ourselves all in our own rooms, sometimes on our own level of the house.  When you have the room to spread out, you do.  Now we are near each other no matter what.  I was worried that it would take us a while to adjust to this, but we actually all find that we like it a lot.  We play games, we cook together, we sit and talk, we only have one TV so we even have to compromise and watch TV together.  I feel like we are actually getting to know each other.  I have to admit, I was worried. When you tell people your plan to live in a trailer, most people respond with, wow your brave.  Some even asked if I was worried about ending up divorced.  While I assumed we would be fine, the comments still made me think about these things.  It turns out, we really like to be together.  I know, I know, you're thinking it's only the first month, give it time.  I am, and we'll see.  But I am going to enjoy all this togetherness for now, just in case the naysayers are right.

These are the three main things that we noticed this past month.  Brian keeps telling me that he can't believe how much he likes it.  I can't explain why, but it feels so freeing.  It really was scary and stressful to give up a stationary home.  It was one of the hardest weeks of my life, but now I am so glad we did.  We feel like we have a lot of options and possibilities ahead.  I am a serious planner so not knowing what the future looks like is a little bit nerve racking for me, but also very exciting.

Miles of Love,
Stacey