Camping with Little Ones

I am by nature a very impulsive person. Therefore, Thursday night before bed, I said to Nate, "Hey, wanna go camping tomorrow??" To which is answer was "Huh???" We've camped many times before, but only once with William in tow. Now we have two little boys and the task seemed SO daunting. But, I did a little reading online for tips, psyched myself up, called our good friends to come along with their little girl(which, they did!!), and went camping!

It was WONDERFUL! The kids were all SO good. The boys went to sleep better at the campground than they usually do at home! They looked for bugs, played with their trucks in the dirt, splashed in water, played frisbee, got FILTHY, ate smores, looked at stars with Daddy, and then went to bed. The next morning was much more of the same. I was so relaxed and happy I never wanted to go home! The only change I would make is to go for more than one night.. Setting up and taking down takes SO long!

My tips for a successful camping adventure with little ones..

• Bring some trucks/cars for driving through the dirt
• Let them get dirty!
• Help them appreciate nature by exploring for bugs, and exploring their surroundings for animals and plants. (We were even lucky enough to show the boys a raccoon from 10 feet away!)
• Take it easy as a parent, let all your stress go and focus on relaxing and having fun..
• Bring along all-natural bug-spray such as California Baby, as well as slathering them with safe sunscreen, such as Neutrogena Pure Baby

Have fun this summer!

Chunky Crayons for Little Hands

I love crayons. I love the look of them, the feel of them in my hand, and the smell of a freshly opened box. I'm a huge nerd, but I'll admit it! However, when you put crayons in the hands of my little people, they break. I've found the best way to involve little guys in making their own, toddler-sized crayons!

Toddler-Sized Crayons

1. Take the paper off of the crayons and break them into small pieces (Little ones LOVE to help with this!)
2. Put them into separate muffin tins. They can be separated by color, or mixed together to create neat combinations)
3. Pop them into the oven, 7-8 minutes at 250. When they are done, stick them into the freezer to harden, then tap them out.
4. Color away! :)

Miracle

Today William dislocated his elbow. I guess it's inherited, both Nate and I dislocated ours when we were his age. It was horrifying, William was hysterical for a solid half an hour. After that he only calmed when he was very still. I had my sister run over to watch Owen while I took Will to the walk-in clinic. We waited for an hour and a half before the doctor came in. William was still very upset, screaming every time his arm moved a fraction of an inch.

We couldn't stand it. We just started praying. We asked God to please make Will's arm better, at least take the pain away. Literally, within minutes, William was up running around the room, giving high-fives, and completely normal. God INSTANTLY answered our prayer. The doctor walked in and said "yup, he's fine". The nurse was even surprised when she saw William, who, merely minutes before was whimpering in pain. God is good, all the time!