Vacation ← Mommy Warriors

Trying to Stay Calm When Things Get Frightening

Feb

2013

I’ve always believed that my kids feed off of my energy. If I’m in a good mood, they feel loved. If I’m in bad mood, they think they did something wrong. And if I’m stressed over something, they get worried. So when we had a very frightening experience Monday on a flight home, I tried desperately not to show my terror. I’m not a great flier. People can try to convince me all they want how flying is the safest form of travel, but it still doesn’t change the fact the two best moments when I fly is when ...

When the Master Copy of Toy Story 2 Was Almost Deleted

May

2012

On my list of favorite kids’ movies is Toy Story 2. I loved the story line, the music, the characters, and, of course, the animation. I have watched it dozens of times over the years on road trips, in hotel rooms, or at home on the couch as my kids have all grown up with it. But the movie was almost completly lost. Watch the following video from Pixar to hear the story. And of course how a mom saved the day! Here is the rest of the list of my 10 favorite kids’ movies. They made the list because ...

Our Amazing Low-Tech Adventure with the Kids

Apr

2012

The kids had Monday off, and with any day off of school, I was freaking out over figuring out what to do with them. You know the feeling. Holy Pizza Pie! I’m going to have the kids home ALL DAY with no school, no camp, no scheduled activities. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!!??? Think! Think!! THINK!!! There must be something we can go do! I ran thru the usual list of options. Disneyland? Too expensive. Beach? Too cold. Movies? Too short. Museum? Too cerebral. Besides, they were going to the museum the next day on a field trip at ...

Homeward Bound At Last

Oct

2011

Day 24 – RV Summer Road Trip When we left the Royal Gorge yesterday, there were 1100 miles between us and getting home. After a quick stop at The Home Depot to tie up the generator exhaust pipe that just FELL OFF, we were on the road. The three adults took turns driving all day. Last night I think we slept in a rest area somewhere in Arizona, but I’m not quite sure. It was morning when we hit the California state border and that’s when the kids went nuts. How many more miles? How many more hour? What time do you ...

A Visit to the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park

Oct

2011

Day 23 – RV Summer Road Trip Today’s adventure had us off to Colorado’s natural wonder, the Royal Gorge. Formed over 3 million years ago by what was the start of the Arkansas River, the Gorge is an unbelievable sight to see. And where do you get this view? From the world’s highest suspension bridge that spans the Gorge, of course. Walking a quarter mile across the bridge, looking through the wooden slats and hanging at 956 feet above the river is pretty wild. I did good until I started looking down. It’s a helluva drop from the bridge. They even have a bungee ...

Maybe My Kids Will Be on a Future Olympic Bobsled Team…NOT!

Oct

2011

Day 22 – RV Summer Road Trip Wow, the two moms were like Thelma and Louise yesterday, we drove more miles than we imagined, the name Mommy Warriors sure applied in our case! We left Terre Haute, Indiana (and all the crap) in the morning and slept in a Walmart Parking lot somewhere in Kansas last night. The kids had all fallen asleep while we were still driving and this morning I got up early and jumped right in the driver seat and the kids were still asleep. Our destination today…beautiful Colorado Springs. It was still pretty dang hot and humid outside so ...

My Really “Crappy” Morning

Oct

2011

Day 21 – RV Summer Road Trip I guess I shouldn’t have bragged about me doing such a great job being in control of the RV yesterday. First of all, let me tell you that it was so hot and humid that after we took showers and went outside, we started dripping with sweat. The one thing I don’t miss about the east coast is surely the humnidity. After 4 loads of laundry and sweating like pigs, we were ready to hit the road. The kids couldn’t wait, it was so hot, they were miserable. Since we pulled into the campground after ...

Nothing But the Open Road 1

Sep

2011

Day 20 – RV Summer Road Trip The kids all had smiles on their faces when we left the Gettysburg KOA this morning, little did they know there was 642 miles of open road in front of us. That’s at least 10 1/2 hours in the RV with no stops. As we were pulling out of the campground I saw the sign below and had to laugh. Cute huh? Little does KOA know that this mommy warrior is also a road warrior! Wife on board, are you kidding, this mom was totally in control of this adventure since we left Pittsburgh and my ...

Civil War Battlefields, a History Lesson For All

Sep

2011

Day 19 – RV Summer Road Trip We had a full day ahead of us in Gettysburg and boy it was hot, a heat wave had hit and us west coasters were NOT too happy about the high humidity level. My son and my nephew, the two Civil War gurus, were up early and had all their Civil War gear ready to go. Muskets, canteens, jackets, kepis and more, they had waited for this day to come for quite a while and they were beyond prepared. Our first stop was Culp’s Hill. We were told by the boys that Culp’s Hill was ...

Gettysburg and Ghosts

Sep

2011

Day 18 – RV Summer Road Trip After a great day in NYC with family, it was time to pack up once again and hit the road. But first, mom had to go pick up the dogs from their overnight excursion. When the PetsHotel employee brought my two little darlings from the back, they wouldn’t even look at me. Talk about getting the cold “paw”, they wouldn’t even come over to me. When I asked how they did, she told me they were very quiet and spent their hour of camp time just playing with each and not the other dogs. ...