RVing with Kids (The human ones)

So the question is —- Am I an adrenaline junkie? Do I enjoy this? The planning is fun…. the stressful moments actually doing it all is not always so much fun. Travel with 3 kids. Driving with 3 kids. Camping with 3 kids. Hiking with 3 kids. Yes. (in hindsight) I loved every single planned/unplanned bit of chaos during the first time around (when we drove from New York to Arizona 11 months ago)…. and so far I love every second of it….. so I must be.

The first time we drove across America….. it was interesting to say the least.  I think NOTHING went as planned other than the route and the destination.  Kids loved seeing new things.  Kids hated sitting in the car for hours on end.  Meeting new people every time we stopped was part of the adventure. Mechanics are incredibly nice to you and talkative when they want your business… 😉 —– The first time we towed a 20 foot travel trailer and it took us almost 2 weeks….    People told me THEN that I was crazy for wanting to go on a long road trip with kids….

Now it’s time to make the trek back across America….  The kids have no concept of time (not REALLY) and can not fathom how long this trip is going to take us….  AGAIN.  I know they’re going to ask me (just as they did on the way to Arizona….) “ARE WE THERE YET?!  HOW MUCH LONGER?”   The second question isn’t possible to answer for them because they don’t understand when I tell them it’s only 25 more hours to drive (which might take a week)…. I will just keep telling them to look on the map and consider how far we’ve gone and how long it took us to get this far already….  maybe they can wrap their heads around the idea of time a little bit more by the time we get back to New York…..

They are excited about the trip again.  They are excited about their “NEW HOME” (temporary home on wheels) and they LOVE their new SPACES inside the motorhome.   They have already helped me put up the map (where we tracked our route last time) and they have spaces for their books, crayons, papers, toys, dolls, blankets, etc….   They make the trip exciting for me… but I know they’re going to lose the thrill of it all fairly quickly……

 

 

 

 

 

ORANGE CURTAINS!

Orange curtains.

Blue curtains.

Plaid curtains.

Quilt cut up to fancy some curtains.

Curtains from the thrift shop depicting an image of a farming family in the 60’s.

 

ORANGE and green flower curtains lovingly and diligently time consuming-ly (not a word) hand sewn from my grandmother (my Nana) before we left NY 12 months ago (she made them for my ‘other’ home on wheels – a 20 ft travel trailer).

THEY MIX WELL…

 

With the brown/blue stripe shag rag rug

next to the “SUMMER TIME” rug

which overlaps the tried and true light blue “comes free when you buy the camper rug”

not far from its cousin the red rag rug on it’s way out the door….

 

Want to know what mixes even MORE WELL than those things mentioned above???!!!!

 

Mixes even ever so wonderfully with the blue towels on the seats (to prevent the inevitable yelling that would encompass the camper after something is spilled because children do actually make a mess sometimes).

The other seat covers (a bright colored stripe/flower shower curtain) and sage green sheet help keep the front seats as clean as possible because I too happen to enjoy myself a beverage while driving and if that said coffee spills on my seats I won’t be as joyful as I would be if it spilled on something easily toss-able.

To help the blending of wonderful sights further I added a beige/maroon paisley design shower curtain to help with some privacy when parked and hidden away……

 

I have cups. There are no 2 cups that match. NEVER. Not happening.   I have dishes.  Sometimes (EECH… they actually do match because they came from my mother who passed away and who did not have the odd ‘NON MATCHING’ thing that I have)  But I like orange.  Orange cupcake bins. Orange spoons.  Orange scrapers.  Orange “POO gloves”  (I really did write on my orange gloves and label them “MY POO GLOVES”).  Orange CURTAINS.  Orange shirts.  Orange blankets (I wish).

Blankets.  Pillow Cases.  Stripes. Blue. Pink. Red. Polka dots. Satin. Cotton. Velvet. Cotton. Cotton. Cotton. Retro pillow cases. Do they match the blankets?  WHY would they?

Let me explain my dishes while we’re at it.  We have a plethora of a selection of napkins and paper plates.  Everything on sale happens to fit in my drawer.  In the drawer below the fridge the children are able to choose their own plates and napkins based on their moods at the time and we are always up for a NEW set of paper plates and go through napkins like it’s no ones business so if you have some… send them our way.. the more color/variety/selection … the better… 🙂  ****WHO KNEW?**** (She’d be so easy to please!?)

 

I realize that the colors/decoration scheme is not for everyone because so many have seen and just are taken aback with it.  I may appear disorganized and crooked but it is entirely organized and put together to the highest level of awesomeness that a large portion of the rest of the world just can not appreciate.  🙂

BUT I JUST LOVE MY ORANGE CURTAINS 🙂

Ready. Set. Go.

Step 8 – Climbing, Catching, and Finishing Touches ….

Tea Party!!! (Simple things = the best bits of happiness … REALLY)

The kids decided they wanted a tea party… however we had already given away all our MUGS… so we had a solo cup tea party inside the Motorhome….
They had so much fun. It was beyond simple and something they’ll remember forever… they have asked me already if they can have another one… I promised them we would once we got on the road….

Then my oldest has always been a ‘catcher’ of critters… anything… he catches it and shows me… He’s caught so many lizards and crickets it’s not even funny… 🙂 Proud moments I suppose. 🙂

He’s also my CLIMBER… OH MY GOODNESS he’s my climber…. Since he was born and could crawl/walk/climb…. he’s been climbing….
He climbs walls… He puts things together just to climb them…. He climbs trees WAY TOO HIGH and people stop to ask if he needs help to get down… (he doesn’t… he just loves to climb) —- He even climbs vertical light poles (again drawing a crowd because it’s a bit out of the box for most people to see a boy his size scaling something without any struggle)….. he climbs on the playground (on top of it where you’re not supposed to climb)… Well he’s already climbed the motorhome and loves to climb the ladder… I have to constantly watch him because he will indeed get right up on top and say “Hi Mom”… (hasn’t happened yet but I don’t put it past him to TRY)….

Then I had a couple friends help out with a couple different “this doesn’t work” issues… and miracles are wonderful. This motorhome is put together so nice. It’s clean. It’s working well. It’s ready to go…
We are just lingering with a few more finishing touches….. last FEW things…. 🙂
EEEEEEKKKKKK 🙂 🙂

 

Step 7 — Packed with solar christmas lights and all

We have just about everything packed…. kids are comfortable with the set up… they know what to touch.. what not to touch.. we’ve talked about emergency exits…

The kids even helped me cook on the mini grill.. just for fun… 😀  And per usual… they had to share strawberries too 🙂

Moved sleeping bags 15 times before deciding on a final location…   So funny…..

I’m almost ready to say.. we’re 95% packed
We are… dare I say… we are almost ready…..

🙂

Leaving. Emotions. Whoa.

People keep asking me “Are you excited about your trip?” —

How can I answer that question….. My emotions are going haywire and have been for weeks… months… 🙂

I feel excited and thrilled.
I feel nervous and uncertain.
I feel scared and anxious.
I feel joy and gratitude.
I feel hesitant and cautious.
I feel content and blessed.
I feel timid and aware.
I feel hopeful and ready.

 

Nothing is better than seeing new things and having experiences though in my mind…. so the only way this whole trip could be categorized in a higher level…. is if I had a NEWER motor home that ran off earth friendly fuel/solar power and somehow had unlimited funds to do this sort of “fun” figuring it out as we go forever….

Cheers ~

Memoir – What Happens When You Get Rid of All Your Stuff (Article)

I have always felt this urge to get rid of “STUFF” and to have LESS of “stuff” around me.

I am OK with only a few things….

I like to have the basic needs met but everything else is just filling up space around me and usually overwhelms me and I want it gone, want it out of my sight so I do not have to worry about rearranging it or cleaning it….

Moving a family of 4 into a 28 foot MH is a feat to accomplish.

I minimalized everything. Bathroom stuff all in one tiny tote. Emergency kit full of band aids and medicines readily available….. Kitchen stuff GONE…. Hand held can opener, no toaster, one big pot, one frying pan, a couple spices to season with, mini bags of flour/salt/sugar, paper plates and lightweight easy fix meals…

I couldn’t give up the coffee pot or the French press…. THAT is something that adds ‘value’ to my life… DAILY.

This article was TOO GOOD not to share….

(sometimes I fall upon one and share it here… THIS is one of those times).

When deciding what to “keep” and what to “give away” I had to look at each item and decide if it was truly worth adding it as weight to our motor home…..

Most of my keepsakes are pictures. Printed pictures. Of memories.
Other must haves – Art and Educational things for the kids (books, papers, paints, workbooks, flashcards, etc)
The kids all have enough outfits to last us a few weeks without getting to a washing machine and honestly I think even THAT is too many outfits…. (I might just toss outfits as they get dirty along the way and let them dress in their “play” clothes for the first part of the trip)..

Towels….. Microfiber super soakers do a WORLD of wonderful things…. They’re small and work miracles… so YESSSSSSS… No space hogging towels lingering around.
I kept 2 glass/ceramic dishes that were my mothers…. They came all the way here from New York with me and They will make the journey back…. But if you’ve ever cooked in a real glass dish VERSUS a cheap metal pan… *sigh* you know the difference…. 🙂

I narrowed down their toys so easily that I amazed myself. BOOKS took precedence over toys.
AND they have their hand held video games to keep them company too….
I kept a couple hoodies, a few pairs of pants, and one winter coat for them all….
Everything else went on it’s merry way out the door to be donated to someone else who doesn’t have ENOUGH STUFF yet.

I would much rather have empty cabinets than look in my motor home and try to “figure out” where I’m going to put something…..

Crazy that we’re doing this again.

Hope for a safe trip. Hope for no break downs. Hope for no mega issues.

STEP 4 — Playing….. Rearranging… Still Packing….

When the kids go INSIDE the RV.. they want to PLAY… while I am trying to clean, plan, rearrange, and figure out where we’re putting things, how I’m organizing the cabinets… etc… they want to just go play up on my bed (above the cab) and check out their beds….
I love it.
They love it.
It’s happening and I am blessed.
Wishing for good things and a happy safe summer….
🙂

Last year when we made this trip (opposite direction, different route) —- I learned SO QUICKLY what I wished I had… and what I wished I hadn’t brought…..

This year I assume I will again learn beyond my own understanding (during and after the trip)

But basically I didn’t have enough FLASHLIGHTS — 3 kids — in an RV — I need MEGA amounts of cheap flashlights for them to “play” with and have to help them feel comfortable….

And second… I need to get myself a good LANTERN…. Something that SITS on the table while I do the Mom duties (whatever they may be at the time)…. and gives off enough light to make the kids not be scared outside at night…

The little push lights are a given too.. I had those before.. and they were worth every penny… They were super cheap (80 cents a piece) so I got myself about 10 of them to place all over the RV…

STEP 3 — Packing STUFF in …..

When I stand and look at our house….. and spin around… looking at our new motorhome…. then back again at the house…. I once again have the surmounting feeling of having too much STUFF (how did we collect this much STUFF after coming 3000 miles across the country with hardly anything?!) *answer: almost everything was from donations and the rest of the things were on sale..

I need to fit all their “STUFF” into a teeny tiny space again…..

So basically have spent copious amounts of hours pawing through everything (again) to figure out what we are taking with us and what we will donate or sell back out to try and get some more spending money/gas money for the trip….

I took pictures along the way so I’ll share them as the changes unfold…. (basically I would put something in one spot and then realize NO… I need THAT spot for this other thing…) or I would pack something in and a day later, go and take it out because my gut says “DO YOU REALLY NEED THAT?!” The cabinets were full of the last guy’s stuff (who I bought it from) because he was so kind to leave all his things in it for me to handle (keep and use)…. I took everything out.. thought about what I wanted and what could be given away/sold and then put half of it back in…..

Making sure things don’t fall down/fall over/clink and clank/break/come loose while driving is another part of this adventure…. When I packed the crock pot… I stuck all the extra napkins I have inside it so it would keep the lid from banging…. likewise with my other ceramic dishes….

I have sleeping bags for all of us which have been moved around more times than I can count…… I have extra towels for all of us (and extra kitchen/wipe towels/cloth napkins) for all of us because when they get super dirty I can just toss them along the way and not have to worry about a mounting pile of dirty clothes every single day….. To follow up with that idea I am probably going to “let” the happy hooligans wear all of their FINEST PLAY CLOTHES (stains, holes, etc) and when they get messy this time… INTO THE TRASH they go (they’re not worthy of donating at this point but will serve an EXCELLENT purpose of clothing along a camping road trip across America… 🙂 🙂

I have packed in some of their good clothes too but unless we’re going out to a fancy park/dinner/event….. they’ll stay packed away……………

What “GROUP” do we fit in?

We are not FULL TIMING around America for an indefinite time….
We are not JUST CAMPING for a short time with plans to return “home”….

We are actually…. Selling EVERYTHING (GIVING IT AWAY) —- Breaking our lease at our current resindence…. Stopping the electric, the internet, and re-routing our mail to a relatives dwelling….

We are relocating to another part of the country and we do anticipate it taking a few weeks (if not more) to get there… We are planning on doing some “schooling” while on the road — but are we technically ROAD SCHOOLERS? Are we road schooling at ages 6,5, and 3? Road schooling because the adventures are in themselves school lessons? Can they take it all in and grasp what’s in front of them? Hopefully they remember it all with the insane amount of picture taking I will do….

But basically…..

We will not have a house to move back into when we reach our destination.

SO — our HOME for an undecided amount of time — will be this Happy Home On Wheels 😀

Some (MOST) think that this is completely nuts and don’t understand WHY anyone would WANT TO live in a tiny house much less think that it is GOING TO BE FUN….

My reply — Less is More. We do so much better when we own less STUFF. We tend to fill our space with STUFF so if there is less space… there will inevitably be less stuff. I also think this is temporary and there’s an end in sight (even though I have no clue what’s in store for us)….. (I stay hopeful for all good things)

But back to my original thought …..

What group are we in? Are we “Full Timers, a Family on the Road”??? What exactly makes one a ‘full timer’ -vs- not a ‘full timer’