Hubby is an avid camper. Me? I love the outdoors and the fresh air and the serenity and exploring Ontario and the provincial parks. I do not love a lot of dirt, or bathrooms without running water. Multiply that by about 1000 when I have my son with me.
Side note: for the purposes of "pretending" that I'm not broadcasting my life on the internet, I will not be using the real names of anyone in my family. I'll refer to my son as Peanut.
At any rate, I found myself on a campground on Lake Erie last weekend, with Hubby, Peanut, and the dog in tow, for our first ever family camping adventure. Dirt? Copious amounts. Bathroom? I insisted we be very close to the comfort station (and therefore running water), so that was livable at least.
Actually, it was a fantastic weekend. Being away from the house and chores meant that I got to really focus on Peanut, and since I will be heading back to work soon, this really is a blessing.
Obviously, there were some challenges. Our previously spacious tent was rather crowded with a pack-and-play at one end, and a doggy hogging the air mattress. It was interesting trying to change the diaper of a squirming, flailing one-year-old on that air mattress. Nursing him before bed was also quite the adventure because it meant I had to climb onto the bed while holding him, maintain my own balance, maneuver him into place, and then hold that position. It was like being on a bouncy castle.
We spent a morning at the beach. It was too wavy for Peanut's liking, but he was thrilled to sit in the sand, eat some sand, toss it around, shovel it into his bucket, and dump it out of his bucket. Except then we had to clean him off. He is extremely squirmy and does not love to be showered. Baths are the highlight of his day, but showers? Not so much. The campground only has showers. Our solution was that we would all go into the shower, Hubby would hold Peanut while I soaped him down. Easy to do since each shower has it's own entrance and is not one big room with multiple stalls. One minor issue: the dog has minor abandonment issues and barks like crazy when left alone.
So she came too.
All four of us crammed into a shower room, squirming baby, shampoo everywhere.
I'm relieved there won't be time for another camping trip this year.
