a peek inside the fishbowl

It’s day two of summer holidays but my work goes on. I have deadlines galore. Sadly, I require near complete silence to write/think/do anything work related. (Seriously, even someone chewing on a banana in the same room makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes. Gah.)

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve already had to remind the girls that MUMMY IS WORKING RIGHT NOW. (Um, except for right now. This is officially-sanctioned break time.)

So I got out the big guns … a paint-by-numbers set Mark and I bought the girls at the Musee des Beaux Arts in Montreal last summer. It was (and still is) by far the best and most interesting paint-by-number set I’ve ever seen. No lame-o horses or unicorns with flowy mains or peace signs or anything obnoxiously cartoony. Just lighthearted and sweet. The colour palette is hip and modern. What can I say? I like it.

They must have spent 90 (NINETY) focused (AND QUIET) minutes diligently painting within the lines.

And now they’re done. I think I’ll pick up a couple of frames for them today. Right after I finish my work, of course.

I just just poking around some old camping files and found a photo of Emma that was taken in summer of 2004 at the *exact* moment she realized that I wasn’t actually trying to trick her and that her inflatable arm floaties ACTUALLY KEEP HER AFLOAT.

Imagine her saying: “Look mummy! I’m swimming!”

I love that photo. It’s just one of many excellent camping memories.

We booked our camping spot many months ago. This year we’re going to be staying in a yurt! (Which I’ll be writing about later.) It is a little annoying to have to book your site so far ahead of time (you have to book five months to the day if you want to snag your favourite spot), but it’s also oddly reassuring. It gives us something to look forward to, especially now school is out and everyone is talking about summer plans and looking ahead to the coming weeks.

Camping is a pretty special thing in our family. We’ve been going camping almost every summer (sometimes even twice a year) since Sarah was about two, so I’ve posted about it a lot. As a result I get lots of hits from people who are looking for information about:

“car camping” and “camping with kids”
“outdoor camping”  “family”
“what to pack” + “camping”
“food” +”camping”
and “am I crazy going camping with little kids?” ;)

Clearly there are a lot of questions about camping out there.

I once outlined some tips in an article for SavvyMom (some good stuff in there, go see!) but I thought it might be handy to compile a listy-type post with the nitty gritty details.

First, let’s talk about what you need to pack. You will need to bring …

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If you do something twice does that make it a tradition? I did this last year and found it to be a fairly humorous (at least for me) observation of life here at Casa Fishbowl. So here goes.

9:00 a.m.
I’m still in my pjs and there’s a cold cup of coffee on my left. I hate to admit this, and I’m not sure of the reason, but my taste for my morning coffee has been waning. It’s just not tasting as good as it used to.

Mark is at work. As he was lacing up his shoes this morning Sarah asked him where he was going. He laughed.

“I don’t have summer holidays like you do!” he said. We do have some exciting plans this summer. But that’s another post. :)

The girls are watching a recording of Saddle Club right now. Once it’s over I’ll ask them to get dressed. They were up early this morning.

Mark’s dad is coming to pick us up and bring us over to their place for the rest of the day. Their pool is gorgeous. Just looking at it is extremely relaxing. What luxury. I might even bring a book. I’m finally reading “Eat Pray Love.” I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I am. But right now I have to tidy up and get ready to go.

9:20 a.m.
Sarah: ” Don’t forget, it’s NOT SATURDAY.”

10:00 a.m.
It looks like Sarah is building a teepee in the backyard. Emma is watering my tomato plants.

10:10 a.m.
My theory: Michael Jackson is not really dead.

10:15 a.m.
Dumped out the last container of stinking milk from one of yesterday’s school lunches. I WILL NOT MISS THE STINKING MILK.

10:29 a.m.
Dishes washed. Counters cleaned. Dish washing cloth nuked (i’m trying to do that more often now that it’s summer). Bag(s) packed for the day. Waiting for pick up.

Debating choice of reading material for the day given the stack of photo books I just took out of the library.

10:40 a.m.
We watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang last night and I can’t get the soundtrack out of my head. It’s Truly Scrumptious!

11:17 a.m
Officially poolside at my in-laws.

I’m suddenly hating my bathing suit. Recent weight loss has rendered it rather ill-fitting. Time for a two-piece?

11:44 a.m.
A wall of dark clouds heading this way. Crap.

12:20 p.m.
Thunderstorm warning. Temperature drop. Time for lunch.

12:24 p.m.
Cauliflower: the filler vegetable!

12:54 p.m.
Rain. More rain. This party is moving to Bayshore for the next while.

2:56 p.m.
Hit big sale at Old Navy and dropped $150 for new clothes for Emma. I keep telling her to stop growing but she doesn’t listen to me.

4:38 p.m.
Finally got in a swim. Would have liked a bit more sun, but I sure feel refreshed now. Girls are both reading.

5:49 p.m.
Chicken on the BBQ, salad is ready, baguette is sliced, wine is poured, BRING IT ON!

7:02 p.m.
Hoping it won’t be rainy for movies on the beach, and wondering why we haven’t bought new folding chairs yet.

8:20 p.m.
Waiting for movies on the beach to begin at Westboro Beach and the weather is fine. Loving this.

8:31p.m.
Billie Jean was my favourite MJ song.

10:06 p.m.
Home early from Movies on the Beach… got rained out. Boo.

Still annoyed at the SMOKERS.  Why smoke during a movie, around hundreds of other people, many of whom are children?

10:25 p.m.
Kids in bed. Totally pooped. There’s sand in my socks. I’m a little sad we missed the movie tonight but am also looking forward to tucking under the covers with my book. All in all a good first day of summer.