the long awaited sequel. aka camping, part deux.

Well, hello friends! I can't believe it is August already. Where did July go? We have been home 1 week since our last camping excursion, and I'm still tired. Perhaps my fatigue is just the regular, run-of-the-mill, parent fatigue, without any connection to camping. Regardless, my plan was to write last night, but instead found myself in bed at 8 pm. You are all thinking, "but why is she still tired?" Because I couldn't put my current read down. But I was asleep by 10 pm. Then Ro joined us at 5 am. *sigh*

Okay, I regress. Let's talk about camping, part deux. Overall, the trip was ......... (am I annoying you yet) .......... great. Really, it was. We had great weather during the day, cool nights, no rain, good friends, good food, good memories. Did we all have good sleep? No and yes. Here is our summary.

Night one: Mosquitoes not near as bad as previous week. Vi is asleep by 6:40. Mama might get an evening around the fire after all! Same child wakes up at 7:15 and stays awake until 11. We go in the tent around 10:30 and I nurse her in hopes this will lull her to sleep. Doesn't really work but she eventually falls asleep lying beside me on the ground (Ro took my spot on the air mattress - yet again). Ro keeps sliding off said mattress onto Vi which I think wakes Vi up at 2. She plays until 3. I nurse her again, in hopes this will lull her to sleep. Vi then wakes up at 5, raring to go. I nurse her again, in hopes this will lull her to sleep (do you see a pattern arising?). Again, no such luck. I decide we better get out of the tent so Ro and Ben can continue to sleep. By 8:30, we have walked Long Point Provincial Park for 2 hours, Ro has napped for 45 minutes, and she has nursed once again. In a 24 hour period, instead of nursing 4 times, Vi had nursed 8. There was no milk left. Period. I had had 4 hours sleep.

Needless to say, Vi napped 5 times on Tuesday. Mama napped for 10 minutes. Oh, let me also share that I got my first post-baby period too. AWESOME (not)! Ro was in the water for 7 hours. Her cheeks got a little crispy. I felt sick to my stomach, being sun cancer girl myself. How could we let this happen? We reapplied protection 4 times. She wore a hat. However, the brim was turned up. Let's just say it wasn't on Wednesday.

Night two: Vi is asleep by 8:10. She woke at 10:45, and we jiggled her stroller until she went back to sleep (it took about 1 hour). Ro slept on the ground, and we all slept solidly until Vi woke at 6:50. A good night's sleep felt amazing!

We had great campfires, fun at the beach, and Christa came for the day. Ro had her favourite thing - a family shower - before we left on Wednesday. Want to hear a funny story (not really)? Remember how I said I got my first post-baby period? Remember how I just mentioned a family shower? I had been without the monthly visitor for about 15 months. I had forgotten what it was like having a period and a curious toddler, now preschooler. Here is our conversation in the shower:

R: "Mom, there is something in your bagina!"
Minor panic sets in. I'm wondering what it could be. I look down. Are you kidding me? It's my tampon string. I quickly try to think of a diversion, or a lie. But I can't lie. I look at Ben and roll my eyes. I ask him for permission with the same eyes. He grants it, with a slight nod.
Me: "Well, it's a string for my tampon. When you get older, God made our bodies so they shed blood every month. A tampon is like a sponge that is inside your vagina that soaks up the blood."
I hold my breath, trying to prepare myself for what my 3 1/2 year old might come back with.
R: "Oh, okay."
I know this is going to come up at the least embarrassing time, for sure. How do I know she remembered? Fast forward about 20 minutes.
R: "What are those? Napkins?"
Anyone who knows my daughter knows she doesn't want to miss out on any food. I grunt under my breath.
Me: "No, Ro. They are tampons in their pretty packaging."
R: "Oh yeah. The thing you stick in your bagina to get the blood."

I love having a smart kid.

And that ends our last camping trip of summer 2011. The end.

Tam