Simple Joy

Please pardon the one-day delay in my Simple Joy this week. Normally I post one simple joy from my week on Monday mornings. But this week I'm posting on Tuesday morning, as you can clearly see.

I took a weekend trip to Boston for business and am just now getting an opportunity to reconnect with this here bloggy-blog.

Boston is a delightful city, one that I hope to return to many times over. One evening after a productive day of work I found such joy gazing out my hotel window at the setting sun over the cityscape.

I simply can't get enough of the architecture in big cities. In Boston, there was something historic and regal to see at nearly every turn. As I sat and watched the sun set with great pleasure behind many of these buildings, I imagined all of the people throughout recent history who have stood gazing out this same window. Watching this same sun set. Dreaming of tomorrow. I was having a moment. My business partner may have thought I was crazy, but I was having a moment.

I hope to see you again soon Boston. Until then, stay historic and regal.

Road Trips with Kids and NO TV

With the holiday weekend upon us it is predicted that 39 million Americans will hop in their cars and get on with the good ol' tradition of summer road trippin'. Hitting the road is one of my favorite parts about summer. To me road trippin' means freedom, adventure, lively and unpredictable circumstances, new places, tight spaces, roadside picnics and uninterrupted time with the people I love. All good things in my book. 

But road trips with kids can be a source of panic and anxiety for many parents, grandparents and godparents. And for good reason. When trapped in the car with children we brave endless hours of...

She's touching my seat.

He's looking at me.

Mommy, I have to peeeeee. I can't hold it. I have to go nowwwwwwwwwwwww.

Are we therrrrrre yeeeeet?

Over the years, the biggest words of advice we've ever received are "make sure you bring a DVD player for the kids". So early-on in our adventures in parenting we bought a portable DVD player to entertain the kids on our road trips. 

I don't know if it's just my kids or what, but bringing a TV with us in the car is a nightmare on wheels. 

As of this year I've vowed never to bring that thing into my vehicle again.

With the DVD player in the vehicle I endure endless hours of...

What's wrong with this thing. Why isn't it working? Every 31 minutes.

I don't like this movie. I want the other one. Every 7 minutes.

I don't want to watch her movie, it's for girls. Every 4 1/2 minutes.

I can't seeeeeee it. Every 3 minutes.

As a result of this torture, I banned all sources of motion picture from our latest road trip. No TV. No computer DVDs. No Gameboy.

Instead I found 13 simple ways to keep the children happy and engaged on our 32 hour round-trip excursion. Granted it was just me and my three monkeys. I needed some serious strategy.

As I was plotting out my no-TV method of road trip survival, my strategies fell into three categories—

Food

Activities

Passive Engagement

Food

For my brood, food is the most important component in maintaining our composure. All hell breaks loose when the children are hungry. Prior planning goes a long way such circumstances.

A few strategies that worked well for us:

Large Tote — I filled an 18 Gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote with endless snacks. Gluten-free and diary-free stuff that was easy to grab such as Larabars, Kettle Chips, Mrs. May's Sesame Strips, Stretch Island Fruit Strips, juice boxes and so much more.

Cooler — Then I packed a cooler with all kinds of fresh fruit, vegetables, peanut butter, jelly and lunch meat. 

Impromptu Picnics — This made it super convenient to stop for impromptu picnic lunches. 

Fresh Air — With my gaggle of young kids, the best picnics were had at old-school vintage playgrounds.

Prepared Smoothies — One of the treats we looked forward to the most was the frozen smoothies I packed in the cooler. Blend them up the day before you leave and stick them in the freezer overnight. They serve as convenient ice packs for the cooler and halfway through the day you'll have a fresh icey cold treat waiting for you. Don't forget to pack cups and straws, you'll need them when you stop in the middle of nowhere.

Icey Cold Beverages — Lest we forget the driver, be sure to pack some icey cold beverages that will help maintain focus on the road. Nobody needs an adventurous road trip turning into an adventurous visit to the roadside ditch. While coffee and tea may work for many of us to keep our attention sharp, a fantastic non-caffinated option for energy and focus is Kombucha. Pick some up at your local natural grocer before heading out and be pleasantly surprised at how invigorated you'll feel when you finally reach your destination.

Activities


Notebook and Pencil — I am always amazed at how far a simple pen and paper will get me when it comes to keeping the children busy. Each child received a new notebook for the trip and a small sack of colored pencils. They had hours of fun drawing the things they saw out the window.

Pipe Cleaners — We had great success with bringing along something crafty to keep their little hands busy, such as pipe cleaners. I found them at the Dollar Store and bought a pack for each kid. You should have seen all the beautiful rings, bracelets and necklaces I was adorned with by the end of the trip.

Binders — I prepared a three-ringed binder filled with age appropriate material for each child. For the baby this was coloring sheets of lions and hippos. For my eldest child the binder was filled with maps of the United States so he could draw our route as we traveled.

Library Books — There is a lot to be said for the captivating factor of new library books. Enough said.

Digital Camera — The kids love, love, love taking pictures of all they see. So many new and interesting things to capture. You should have seen my son trying to get the perfect picture of the military trucks as they passed. It kept him busy for over an hour.

Passive Engagement

Historically, this is where the TV makes an appearance. Not anymore, my friends.

Books on Tape — Instead, we opted to borrow books on CD from the library. Talk about happy and content. All three little ones sat and listened intently for hours. Then they would nap. Then they would listen intently. Then they would nap. The pattern continued until we listened through eight full disks. I was in road trip heaven.

Tunes — It wouldn't be a road trip without your favorite tunes to rock out to. Make at least two CDs ahead of time, one with the kids favorites and one with yours. Rockin' and rollin' is how it was meant to be.

So there you have it. Thirteen ideas that kept me and my children sane on our latest long road trip.

I'd love to hear your ideas for keeping the children engaged when on the road. Please do share your thoughts below.

Here's to safe, happy and contented travels!

Bringing the Joy of Family Vacation Home

It has been one month since that glorious day in May when my sweet husband walked across the commencement stage to receive his diploma for our—eh, I mean, his—four years of hard work in Grad School.

In the past six weeks our family has traveled 2,784 miles by car and 4,334 miles by air to three amazing destinations for a some much needed R&R, in addition to visiting one very average middle America town to honor the life of a very important person.

Evidence seen here...

My road trip with the three kids halfway across the country. Dada stayed home.

Graduation vacation in Mexico. The whole family together. Delightful.

Camping in Moab, Utah. Multi-family fun.

Our annual trip to California to visit with my family. Just me and the kids.

Across the miles we've had plenty of time together to talk and dream and laugh and dream some more.

The most amazing thing about trips in general is that we get to take a step back from the day-to-day happenings in our lives. Remarkably, when not in the middle of the normal flow—be it the busy, mundane or chaotic flow—of our lives we start to see things a little differently. And if we're lucky we'll be seeing things a lot differently by the time we get home. That's why I love taking trips so much. The new perspective is so refreshing.

I especially like road trips—even with three rowdy kids in the back. The focused time I get with my hubby is precious to me. Endless hours of talking. Endless hours of hand holding. For some reason we don't seem to get much of that goodness when we stick around the house. And the kids are strapped in. Have I mentioned before my love of little children who sit still?

Still and quiet children aside, upon arriving at home my main goal was to translate the wonderful things we've seen, breathed and felt from our time away into our day-to-day living.

However upon arriving at home, the busyness of our schedules, mundane household chores and chaotic ambiance inside our four walls took their proper places front and center in our day-to-day happenings.

Hardly shocking. But honestly, I was shocked. How did we go from peace and harmony on the beach to three short people fighting, screaming and whining all day long? I imagined our family vacation bliss would last a few weeks at the very least, while I was secretly hoping for slightly more. We must have forgotten to pack the good vibes, mellow moods, and go-with-the-flow attitudes in to our suitcases. These delightful ways of functioning together have likely found anther family of vacationers to overwhelm with their joy by now.

But I want them back. Mellow moods, mellow moods, where are you?

So I've been thinking. What are the factors that contribute to such greatness as a family when on vacation?

A few points that have been sitting with me strongly...

Simplify everything. On vacation the schedules are simple. They are not overcrowded with nonsense. We do the essentials. Not much more. Cooking becomes a family activity. Tidying is a mindful practice.

Detach from the stuff. On vacation our space is not overcrowded with ten thousand little things. Or a hundred items of clothing. Or sixty pairs of shoes. Everyone has one outfit for now, one in the laundry and one for later. Just one pair of shoes per person. One hat. One book. In a hotel room or vacation rental there is a place for everything and everything in its place. This is so much easier to do when there are one hundred things to deal with instead of one hundred million things.

Allow children their fair share of the Earth's elements. For my kids, this is no less than eight hours a day feeling the sun's warmth and getting up close and personal with the forces of nature—be it a wave, dirt path or tall rock.

Plan well. There is a time and place for everything in the day. Try to feed the kids a meal two hours late and watch the madness unfold. Try to get just one more thing done on the computer before we leave for that bike ride I promised and watch the madness unfold. Meal prep, kitchen clean-up, quiet time and mama's work all have proper spots. When well executed this ship runs smoothly.

I'm excited to actualize these concepts in our home this week. First stop... delivering bags of stuff to the thrift store. Yay!

Moab Madness

Please excuse me if you haven't seen the dancing cook doing her dancing while cooking thang lately. It's not that I haven't been dancing and cooking. For I have. 

But I've also been dancing while doing a handful of other things over the past few weeks. 

Namely dancing while driving. 

Dancing while flying. 

Dancing while beaching. 

Dancing while dreaming. 

More time on the road has meant a whole lot of egg dinners, mushed beans and camp food. 

Despite the lack of kitchen time for me in the month of May—a welcome break mind you—I have had more than my fair share of outdoor time. 

Upon return from our graduation vacation to Mexico where we spent every bliss-filled day on the beach, we turned around the next morning and drove to Moab, Utah for the Memorial Day weekend.

The American West is a magical place to find yourself in the summer. The children insisted on referring to our destination as The Wild West where people do things the old fashioned way. Indeed it felt that way with the vast rocky landscape and endless blowing dust. 

The eight little kids on our camping trip were in outdoor adventure heaven in Moab. Despite the mad crowds for mountain biking, four-wheeling, ATV-ing, and camping over the holiday weekend we felt like we were the only ones out there in The Wild West. Within minutes of setting foot in camp the boys took to their bikes and dashed off to hunt dinosaur fossils.

I took to my camera and dashed off to capture the miraculous beauty of the desert found in the form of sparse vegetation,

wind,

and sky.

Perhaps the most interesting part of our trip to The Wild West town of Moab was the local city park where we spent a lot of time escaping the 55 mile per hour wind storms that were tearing through the camp higher up on the rocks.

This park had the most interesting playground equipment I'd ever encountered.

Large, big-as-life, musical instruments.

Chimes, drums, bells, xylophones and cow bells.

The kids were really into it. 

But I must say, I think the adults enjoyed it even more. By the time four adults were playing, it turned into a downright chorus of spontaneous jamming. 

A genius idea for a park. It was amazing and magical and just the right touch to end our weekend trip out to The Wild West.

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Speaking of xylophone's... all xylophone lovers must check this out. Do yourself a favor and watch this three minute clip. It is joyous!

Forest Xylophone Plays Bach

I Awoke From A Dream

I awoke from a dream last night...

where bits and pieces of the memory were pulled together like an abstract collage.

It began with the three most precious men in my life standing at the sea shore, watching the waves roll over the sand. 

Somehow I was swept away to a rooftop in what appeared to be the jungle with the ocean shortly off in the distance.

And there were limes. So many limes. Fresh margaritas were beckoning. This dream was getting better by the minute.

I started squeezing the limes. In the kitchen. Where my head was in the trees.

When I turned around, I spotted this hammock perfectly positioned ten paces from the kitchen counter.

Aren't dreams amazing the way they provide everything you need without hesitation?

Not certain if it was the heat or the margarita, but some mysterious creature began playing a game of hide and seek in the tree above.

Oh, and surprise! The kids were with me in my dream. They were walking along a dirt road, headed toward the beach. Perfectly content. Amen. 

And that hard working graduate was there too. 

The mood was mellow.

The surroundings blissful.

And at the end of the day, we were all together.

 

Soaking up every last ounce of sunshine available to us.

Until the day was done.

I'm hoping for another dream like that tonight.

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This was the song playing over and over again in the background.

Zac Brown Band - Knee Deep

1: One Woman, Two Thousand Miles, Three Wild Monkeys

I have been absent from this here bloggy-blog for the better part of a week.

Take a wild guess at what I did over the weekend.

No, I was not enjoying five days of luxurious spa treatment in honor of Mother's Day.

No, I was not sleeping 'til noon after long nights of celebrating the coming of my husband's graduation.

And no, I was not spending countless hours gazing into the eyes of my one true love.

None of those things happened over the weekend.

I'll give you a few clues:

Farmhouse in Illinois

Acres upon acres of wide open spaces

The most interesting part for my eldest boy — a long line of military vehicles

Haven't figured it out yet? I'll give you a few more clues:

Silos in the distance somewhere in Nebraska

The Mighty Mississippi River

Sunset in Iowa

My single wish for the 32 hours I was trapped in the car with my three young kids

Ah yes, you got it! I drove to Chicago for the weekend for a funeral. 

One woman. Two thousand miles. Three kids. Four nights. Five days.

As you can see, we spent the majority of our trip in the car. It proved to be an enriching time for all.

And now we're home safely and headed into the final week of my husband's four-year grad school journey. Just like the past four years for our family, driving across the country on my own with three kids has shown me that we can do anything we put our minds to. Whew!

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Somewhere around mile 1,673 I was very happy to hear this song. We rocked out.

Tesla - Signs

Away Weekend - St. Louis

Last weekend I had the good fortune of getting out of town. 

It was for a business event, but none-the-less, I left my three wild monkeys at home with their loving caregivers and I had more peace and quiet in one weekend that I've had all year. 

Every time someone texted to ask what I was doing, I proudly reported that I was sitting in my hotel room experiencing the wicked quiet that being by oneself affords. Thank God. Peace and quiet is an essential element of the human condition.

And when I wasn't sitting in the silent bliss of my room, I was doing other businessy kinds of things. Which, coincidently, is another essential element of the human condition.

And when I wasn't doing businessy kinds of things, I was dancing. Finally, the third essential element of the human condition. Go figure!

On Saturday night my colleagues and I took to the town. 

The next day my cheeks were sore.

Come on now, get your mind out of the gutter. It wan't the cheeks below the waist, it was the cheeks on my face.

I wish I had a picture to show you the perma-grin I had going all night long, but I left my camera at home in the good name of movin’ and groovin’.

Usually I come home from a night on the town with sore feet, sore legs and at times a sore head, but never have I reported sore cheeks. This was a first.

And what a first it was—a world music dance club in the Central West End of St. Louis called Club Viva. My girlfriends and I walked through a non-descrete side door, down the dark stairs and into another world. The dancefloor was small but the personalities were big. Men and women of all different ethnicities and nationalities, ages, shapes and sizes ripping it up on the beat-up hardwood floor.

Partner dancing was the name of the game in this basement club. I was finding it hard to believe that some of these folks were not professional Latin ballroom dancers in their day jobs. The moves. The grace. The sweat. The good cheer. All of it—blew my mind. These folks were incredibly serious about their dances.

It was hard to know who to watch. Every single one was worth feasting my eyes upon the whole night long. 

There was the young woman with infinitely long legs who moved like a majestic gliding swan in flight. 

And then the old woman, certainly older than my mother, dancing with a hip young man and keeping up with him every step of the way, pausing only to dab the perspiration from her brow and chest. Cute as a button.

The partner dancing wouldn’t be anything without the Spanish, African, Puerto Rican, and Mexican men leading the women around the floor with such strength and purpose. 

The lovely local friend who brought us to this spot told us the dancers ediquette is to clear the floor after every song. Without 30 seconds pause, the same dancers would be back, each time with a new partner, to tear it up for another round. As the night wore on, a charismatic Latin singer emerged from the crowd to belt the tunes and shake his maracas to the beat. Truly, I have never seen anything like it.

By the end of the night it became obvious to my friend and I that this type of dancing was clearly missing in our lives. It brings a certain richness that can't be described. What ever happened to dance halls of the past? How is it that I, nor most of my peers, haven't the faintest clue about how to partner dance?

What I loved most about this experience is that it brought my imagination back to a time in the US when dance halls were the thing to do for a night on the town. And dancing with a partner was the only way to dance in public. I could just picture my Grandmother and her peers out at the dance hall. I've made up my mind—we need more of this—I need more of this.

Hubby, get your dancing shoes on. We've got work to do.

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Hands down, the most jaw-dropping dance of the night was the Bachata. I could not believe my eyes when every single person on the dance floor broke into this sexy number that has its origins in the rural neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic.

Bachata

Away Weekend ~ Hubby and Me

In my last post I mentioned something about my sweet husband and I getting the rare opportunity to steal away for a night to do something special. Well, I wasn't fibbing. This weekend—on a whim—we planned a little one night reprieve from our day to day happenings.

We never do this. So it was quite special. My favorite elements of our 24 hour date included...

The wine and fruit platter that welcomed us to the B&B.

The Clawfoot Tub, complete with rubber ducky.

The Victorian stylings of the entire house. I could have spent all 24 hours in this bathroom if my better half would have let me. I loved every last detail about it.

The unique opportunity to apply make-up to my face in complete privacy.

The shiny metallic wallpaper flowers. In my opinion, all walls should glisten.

The M&M's that welcomed us back to the B&B after a night on the town.

Now I don't know if I will remember this next part as the best part of our trip, but it certainly weighs-in as the funniest...

See this bed here? See how tall it is off the ground? Sometime about 3am my darling husband was awoken by what he thought to be a screaming woman in the bathroom. Possibly a masked marauder had broken into the B&B and was up to some mischief in the corner of our tiny room.

With all of his manly instincts kicking into high gear, he lunged from the foot of the bed towards the noise. His heroic action did not go quite the way it does in the movies—for there was this little step-stool at the foot of the bed—on which his foot got caught as he made his way to the B&B intruder.

With great force, he landed on all fours, like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey in the center of this tile floor just two feet away from the woman still in distress in the toilet room.

In less than a second he sprung to his feet and swung open the bathroom door.

I had gotten up to go pee two minutes earlier. And like any domesticated person might, I flushed the toilet when I was finished. Now I was standing here completely freaked out face to face with my husband who was breathing rapidly and running on pure adrenaline.

This whole event took place in less than three seconds flat. "It's me, it's ok, it's me," I pleaded. "What's going on?" I could tell in that moment that he was ready to do some serious damage to whomever was up to mischief behind that door.

"Oh my gosh, I thought there was a woman screaming in here. It sounded like someone was getting hurt," he mumbled, still half asleep.

"It was the toilet," I told him as we headed back to bed.

It took me awhile to get that short phrase out of my mouth, in-between my wild fits of laughter at the obscurity of this whole scene. Such an old building like this has old plumbing, and sometimes it's noisy, I further explained. He was right to think that it was a woman screaming in there though, it was loud and high pitched and probably shouldn't have been flushed at three in the morning in a 10ft x 10ft room.

Lesson learned.