What Will We Accomplish Today!?

When I get the kids up some days… I ask them this….

— What are we going to accomplish today? What are we going to get done (together…. as a team)?

Some days my list of “To-Do” — is as simple as #1 – Relax, Breathe, Be Grateful, Laugh

I’m hoping that when they face adversity they can look at it and consider it something positive that has been laid in front of them. Trusting that it will all work out (whatever it may be) and continue to do the right thing (whatever that may be) at the time….

We do a lot of “HAPPY THOUGHTS” here….
We do a lot of praise.
We do a lot of “I’m sorry because I did _______ and Will you forgive me?”

I’m hoping when life knocks them down… they can get back up with a smile on their face and determination in their hearts/souls and keep on trucking with the best during the worst….

I think your attitude has a lot to do with what happens to you in your life.
If you are thrown a whole bunch of horrible things one after another and think woe is me…. then chances are likely you will not see the light that can come out of that experience…
If you look at it as a new challenge or learning opportunity then even in the worst of times you can power through to another day.

Travelling with kids. Travelling at all… Trying something new… Not having a clue about the future…. Putting everything on the line…. hoping for the best…..

No job lined up. No place to live figured out. No real PLAN for the future.. BAHAHAHAAA It’s Hilariously SCARY!

Some may say I’m crazy. I think I just put my trust in something and think no matter what everything will turn out okay in the end (or so I hope).

I know I have today though… and I know today counts… today is what matters.. and the next few weeks… the mornings… that turn into afternoons… which will inevitably become evenings leading into nights…. The sun will rise tomorrow… and to that I am grateful. Today is awesome. I just hope tomorrow is too!

I hope my children can take away some sort of road schooling education from this trip… something worth more than what textbooks can offer them…. A year ago they didn’t know desert, mountains, jet skis, pontoons, boathouses, etc…. But now…. They’ve seen the desert… They KNOW different animals, weather patterns, culture, plants like a cactus (And the girly girl knows it all too well as she had a needle in her rump a few months ago after leaning a little too close to a pretty one)…

They are so young still.. but I hope they learn how to speak their mind.. hope they learn how to face adversity as well as RESPECTFULLY face the education system (educators/administrators) that they are a part of….. I do not know how to INSTILL a desire to learn in them… TO INSTILL the mentality to readily use and take what you can from teachers, mentors, people at the market, or whoever you can (knowledge is so limitless)… Time. Time. Time….

********************* What will YOU accomplish today ?! **************************

When I said I was obsessed with quotes… I wasn’t kidding.

Here are some more GOOD ones to read today. Reminder of the thrill.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings! Stay positive.

Words that make me Feel Good About The Summer Of 2014

My Mother was Insane… :)

I think about the past 10 years of my life and consider it a complete turn around.

My mother passing away…. Getting married….. Having three AWESOME HAPPY HOOLIGAN CHILDREN…  Buying, fixing up, having a house fire, and selling a handful of houses…. Living in a 5th wheel for a y ear……   Getting divorced (filing for it.. trying to get divorced)……..   Going back to College full time while working full time while doing the SINGLE MOM thing full time……   Living in a travel trailer for a few months…….   Taking a job 3000 miles away and then moving with said 3 happy hooligans across the country to a city where I know no one……..  AND NOW… the trip back —–

WOW.  I am SO HAPPY to be where we are today.  Life is hectic and planning this trip BACK EAST is a bit stressful considering the chaos behind it all but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  The kids are excited about living in a motor home… the kids are excited about seeing a couple new fun things along the way on the venture back east… and they are good.  Very GOOD…. compared to where they were only one year ago.  Educational experience overload. Yes.

What I hope to share with them someday is the foolishness that my mother instilled in me as a young woman.  My mother would embarrass me and poke fun at me in public all the time.  I realize now that it was her GOD GIVEN RIGHT as a MOTHER to do those things but at the time I completely (almost) hated her for doing those things to me.   She got a kick out of it and now I honestly can not wait to play fun games with my kids and be all sorts of insane in public in front of my own children just to embarrass them so they can remember me as the crazy lady just as I remember my mother as that same woman (unfortunately she passed away when I was 21 so she never got the opportunity to meet my children)… but oh man.. she would have LOVED to had known them and been a grandmother.

Basically I saw this other picture (below) and thought of my mother.. and a slight twinge of pain shot through me as I had felt sad because I will never know that feeling of being FOOLISH with my mother because I still had so many embarrassing moments with her (towards the end of her life I was just coming out of my shell of not wanting to be embarrassed and I too would act a fool in public with her around.. together we were insane.. they should have locked us up .. LOL)

Basically I know her personality was a bit off the path as most and I love that about what she was and who she helped me become….   I wish I could get on these little motorized carts now with her and just run amuck in public… terrorizing the “normal” people out and about… all the while LAUGHING at ourselves and our insanity….

I day remembering the good times brings back so many happy thoughts/memories.  🙂 Keep those who you love CLOSE to you and ALWAYS make sure you tell those who you love… that you LOVE THEM…  time is fleeting…  it really is…  and you never know when someone else’s or your time is going to run out.

Take Vacations … Happy People …. The time is now…

 

I wish I could constantly be surrounded with people who “get it” about travel – seeing new things – doing new things –

But for now….. I’ll just surround myself and amuse myself with these posts of quotes/pictures that make my heart happy.

If I sit still too long I get antsy. I like seeing and doing new things. I can not sit at home all the time and just be in a ROUTINE without the opportunity to try new things or venture off past the horizon….

All I can hope is that everyone out there somehow gets this travel bug before they’re too old to act upon it…
Such a happy life…

I am content. And THIS is a vacation of sorts. I am happy now. The time is now. (I think of the song.. shining happy people now by REM)

NOW — I can NOT help but insert the video to go with it… MUST LISTEN. MUST appreciate. Must dance along. 🙂
Enjoy the ride.. this is life. Today. Now. And it’s Hilariously Awesome.

Smiles and Ambition and Dreams and Motivation. Yes, Please!

 

 

 

Having Experiences are Worth More than Having STUFF

If I can instill ONE thing into my children that rages so strongly inside of me….. It would be this….

Do not collect STUFF (or collect it but don’t hold it as high importance)

But rather..
GO
SEE
DO
FIND
EXPLORE
RESEARCH
TRY and FAIL
ASK QUESTIONS
and KEEP SEARCHING

Make sure you collect EXPERIENCES

(The kind of experiences you can transform into out of this world stories you can tell over a camp fire)

Another one of my favorite quotes that I try to live by and set an example by….

Says SO MUCH in so few words… and I love it….

Have Less
Do More

You Only Live Once

 

When are you going to go somewhere or try something new?

What are you going to do with yourself that is incredibly awesome today?

Whose life can you possibly influence in a positive way?

 

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……

 

 

 

 

 

Happiness is…… breathing (and traveling)

 

I can not wait to see. do. smell. taste. experience. new things.

Especially MOUNTAINS.  I think mountains will be GOOD.

 

I think STUFF is over-rated.   I like STUFF but I like my TIME better… and I like doing awesome things with my kiddo’s more than I like my STUFF.

Now that I’ve bought an RV —  I am happy.

WHO and WHAT is around the next corner? Who will we meet? What will we get to see next?!

Whatever and whoever is there… I BET it is beautiful…

HAPPY SUMMER of 2014!!!!! Let’s Celebrate!

—- The excitement of adventure and uncertainty.

 

There’s no end to this.  There won’t be a point where I can say I’ve had enough or I do not want to travel anymore…..  I look at others who have seen and done so much more in the world past where I have been and wish that some day I could maybe figure out a way to do that too….

I love my wanderlust. 😀

Ready. Set. Go.