Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

We were hoping to go camping with some friends this weekend. When I say “we”, of course, I mean “I” was hoping to go camping and Husband was crossing his fingers for rain.

It’s not that he doesn’t like our friends, it’s just come hot on the heels of our break last week and I think he’s feeling a bit put upon.

It’s fair to say that Husband is still not a convert. His nature is to remember the negatives, he’s a half-empty kind of guy (if you’ve seen any of his comments on this blog, you’ll get what I mean). So he has deemed our two camping trips so far “disastrous”. I think that’s a bit harsh myself, but in his memory it has chucked it down for the entire 5-ish days we’ve ever been camping (despite photographic evidence to the contrary).

I can’t blame him too much. It’s true we haven’t yet mastered the art of sleeping comfortably, making for a grumpy mummy and daddy. But it could be that we just need to go for a bit longer and get into the habit a bit more. And it’s also true that we have had to pack the tent away then get it out to dry it both times. That’s a 100% strike rate as Husband likes to point out.

But, bless him, he’s agreed to give it one last try as long as the weather forecast for Sunday stays at less than 50% chance of rain. It was at 60% yesterday and we’ve discussed alternatives with our friends so we’ll still get together. But, wonder of wonders, tonight the forecast is in our favour! Only 20% chance of rain on Sunday.

Things can still change of course and we’ll probably decide what to do on Thursday evening. But I’m pleased he’s willing to give it another go. And I am grateful, even if he doesn’t think I am.

Beating the bugs and beasties

We were really lucky to be sent some brand new insect repellent to test on our camping adventures and we’re pretty impressed.

Ultrathon did some research earlier in the summer about mosquitoes in the UK. If, like me, you mainly think of them being a pest you need to avoid abroad, you might be surprised to hear that the survey found 50% of people they spoke to had abandoned a picnic due to pests.  And given the reports last week that mosquitoes have had a bumper summer (Mosquito Watch has even been set up by the authorities to try to accurately record numbers), never has there been a better time to protect the family. 

Knowing I’m particularly prone to being bitten I jumped at the chance to use a new insect repellent and no sooner had it arrived through the letterbox did I have need for it.

You’re probably thinking we were off camping by a lake or river somewhere, but actually, we were at home, in our own bedroom. Personally I can cope with midges and flying things when I’m out in the fresh air or strolling along the beach on holiday, but the thought of being a sitting duck in my own bed fills me with horror. Especially as Husband seems to have some in-built immunity to being bitten and I’m like some kind of all you can eat buffet as far as biting things are concerned.

I woke up one morning with three pretty big welts on my shoulder which we can only presume were bites. They were red, itchy and swollen and took about 10 days to disappear. There was no sign of anything in our room but I wasn’t taking any chances so the next night I sprayed myself liberally with Ultrathon and woke up untouched. I continued the ritual for the following four nights until I was sure that the little monster had gone.

I also gave some Ultrathon to my mother in law who had been so badly bitten – by a horse fly we are told – that her whole hand and wrist swelled up. She applied it religiously for a week and on the one day she forgot went to an afternoon tea party and was bitten again. Make of that what you will.

The repellent is available in spray, pump or gel and lasts for up to 12 hours – great for if you’re going out with the children. It’s also splash-resistant. I did find it had a strong smell so made sure to apply it where there was plenty of air, but the smell soon faded (and to be honest, I felt a bit better that it did have a smell!).

Ultrathon has earned a place in our camping essentials box and I’ll be taking it on any other outdoor activities we do before winter kicks in and the little so-and-sos die off.

Making progress

Hurrah! We had a lovely time camping in Filey at the end of this week. The campsite – Centenary Way – had been recommended by friends so we were fairly sure we were on to a winner. It appealed most as it was only a walk to the beach, but they’d also said it was a relatively quiet and family-friendly site and so it turned out to be.

We just had two nights (I’m still easing Husband in gently) and that turned out to  be a good decision as Buddy wasn’t very well last night and we needed easy access to things like ambulances and hospitals. He’s fine now, and that’s a whole different story.

The camping trip didn’t start too well, as you’ll have seen if you read this post. I wondered if I’d pinched Mother Nature’s boyfriend in a previous life as we were pelted with rain on the journey there. Although the rain abated, the wind did not and we ended up pitching the tent in what felt like a force five gale. I’m sure it wasn’t (it was only 15mph according to the weather people), but when there’s just two of you wrestling a flighty eight-man tent which appears to be threatening to take off, it certainly feels that way.

We managed to break one of the tent poles while getting the tent up. This was caused by our inexperience as we didn’t slacken off part of the tensioning system before pitching it (and I’m a little bit smug that, once again, it was Husband who did the damage). Still, the patching kit we’d bought to fix the hole in the porch (also Husband’s handy-work) made for a good temporary fix and I successfully persuaded Husband that it would all be fine once we were in and enjoying a beer, despite his threats of packing up and going.

A BBQ at the tent followed by a walk into Filey in the evening sunshine and an ice cream on the seafront soon lifted everyone’s spirits and we enjoyed getting our bearings that first evening.

Sleeping seemed to be our main issue this trip. Although the site is generally quiet there is some interesting wildlife which unfortunately meant that we didn’t get the best night’s sleep. I guess that’s one of the contradictions of camping – it’s great to be in the outdoors and closer to nature as they say, but sometimes it sounds just a bit too close. The honking geese and braying donkeys were a particular lowlight around 5.30am both mornings.

Mimi managed to roll off her air bed on both nights, the second time ending up sleeping in an L shape. She claims not to remember falling off and slept in longer than usual on the second morning, so it can’t have done her any harm. I suspect this picture will become part of our family camping folklore though!

The purchase of a cheap bucket BBQ proved to be inspired as we cooked on it the first evening, then just used the charcoal and sat around it the second evening. As it was on legs it met the site’s requirement (a common one we understand) for BBQs to be off the ground, so I was pleased we opted for that and not just a couple of disposable ones.

We had a hard-standing pitch, which I’ve decided I’m not that keen on. I’m a bit of a street urchin at heart and quite like to be barefoot, but the stones on the pitch made this pretty much impossible, even in the tent.

Looking around the site we came to a realisation. If we’re to carry on camping then we’re going to need more space. Especially as Husband’s car goes back in a couple of months and we will just get a normal hatchback rather than an estate. Let’s face it, the kids are only going to get bigger and with that will come additional kit like bikes which would be perfect to take along on our breaks.

So I think I’ve stumbled upon the perfect way  to persuade Husband to continue with our adventures under canvas – he gets to go shopping for a boys toy! To say he lusted after some of the trailers on the campsite would be a bit of an understatement. More than once he returned from a trip to a far-flung part of the site with detailed instructions about which trailer I was to pay attention to on my next stroll to the toilet block.

And he’s already sized up the market for suitable sized trailers, pricing new ones and investigating what the second hand sites have to offer. So while I’d rather not spend another couple of hundred quid on a brand new one, if we can pick up a second hand one for half of that, then I might just let him buy it. That’s if we’re allowed to specify a tow bar on his new company car – that’s very much TBC at the moment.

So it seems we’re making progress. Just the little issue of Husband and my overnight comfort. The airbed is definitely not working for us. So either self-inflating mats or a memory foam mattress topper need adding to the list of “would like to haves”.

We’re off again with some friends next weekend, but unlikely to solve the sleeping problem beforehand, so please do make any other suggestions about our sleeping comfort. Until then, I’m going to let Husband do some trailer window-shopping, by way of a sweetner. Never let it be said he can’t have his own way. Of course he can, whenever his way is also my way!

Camping by numbers

We’re on the way back from camping in Filey – in the rain (no surprise there then).

Husband described it as “better”, so definite progress on that front.

By way of a short summary, here’s our latest break in numbers:

Nights spent camping – 2
Total hours sleep per adult – 13 (not bad)
Ice creams each – 2
Times Mimi woke up on the floor – 2
Sandcastles built – 1 huge one
Different animal noises that woke me & Husband – 4 (donkeys, geese, seagulls, wood pigeons)
Sausages cooked on BBQ – 10
New friends made – 4
Bottles of beer imbibed – 8
Bottles of wine imbibed – 2
Portions of fish & chips – 1 each
Small bags of charcoal burnt purely for having something to sit around – 2
Times we thought we might get away with packing the tent away dry – 2 ( we didn’t)
Times we walked into Filey – 3
Showers between the 4 of us – 2 (grown ups only, thank goodness for washing up bowls)
Journeys in the rain – 1 there, 1 back
Times Husband threatened to put camping gear on eBay – 3
Times he meant it – 0
Pieces of new kit Husband thinks we might need – 3 (including a trailer!)
Tent poles snapped – 1
Strength of wind during putting up on tent – 15mph (see above for result)
Seconds taken to put double sleeping bag away now I know it’s called a stuff sack – 60
Loads of washing to do when we get home – 2

Deja vu

Oh dear. We’ve already recalculated the route due to festival and horse racing traffic and now the weather has heard we’re going camping and given us its usual greeting.

Husband has asked whether he can turn the car around – and he’s not joking. How can the sky be that beautiful azure yet it’s still peeing down?!

Parkinson’s law?

I think it’s Parkinson’s Law which dictates that work expands to fill the time available, and I’ve certainly proved that’s true with packing for camping.

This morning I’m meant to be working – I run my own business from home. We are picking Buddy up from nursery at lunchtime and zipping off up the A64 to the coast for two nights.

Mimi is also at home, but so is Husband so it is his job to sort out the packing. Although it seems we have different definitions for what “sort out the packing” actually is.

In my mind I have work to do, so I should be left in contemplative silence to get on with it. Husband is on holiday from work so, in my view, has nothing better to be doing and should just be able to sort what we need.

Now don’t get me wrong. This post is not about man-bashing. I always said Husband would make a wonderful wife. He cooks, cleans, washes, shops and irons, and there’s little I can do for the kids that he can’t. He certainly pulls his weight at home and always has, so I’ve no complaints on that front.

But what he doesn’t seem to able to do is pack clothes for the children. When it was just the two of us I’d spend around 10 days gathering things for our two-week holiday in the sun. The spare bedroom would be given over to housing all of the shoes, clothes, toiletries and sundries that we needed for lying by the pool.

These days we have much less spare space (especially since I claimed the spare room as my office) and far, far less spare time. This means that packing is carried out, at best, 1-2 days before we go anywhere. Due to lack of time because of a rather long to do list, the packingfor our latest trip is yet to be done and we leave in a little over three hours.

Realising Husband was unlikely to come through on this front, this morning I ran around the kids’ rooms and gathered their things while Husband and Mimi finished breakfast. A task that would normally take me at least 30 minutes was completed in around 7 – which just proves that Parkinson (if that was his name) was indeed correct. I’ve yet to pack my things and Husband can sort himself out, but I’m sure it will be fine.

Without wanting to tempt fate, what’s the worst that can happen if I’ve forgotten a few bits? They both have underwear, something to sleep in (thermal and non-thermal options), and an assortment of shorts, t-shirts and trousers with a warm layer thrown in. They might look like they coated themselves in glue, threw themselves into the wardrobe and came out wearing what stuck, but there’s nothing new in that.

For years I’ve threatened to get Mimi a badge that reads “I chose my clothes today”. I have suffered the pitying looks of child-free couples who think that all children should be well-dressed and co-ordinated at all times. And I’ve seen the knowing sparkle in the eyes of other parents as they appraise my children, with their wild street urchin hair (I do brush it, at least twice a day, honest) and “colourful” outfits. Those parents understand that some arguments are worth having and most days the one about what your obstinate child is wearing is just not one of them.

Anyway, I digress. If there’s a clothing-related emergency while we’re away for the next 48 hours it will be my fault, but it will surely just give us another *hilarious* story to tell the Tinies when they’re grown up. And perhaps I’ll take some photos for good measure. You never know when they’ll come in handy.

Third time lucky?

Much excitement here yesterday when we finally decided to take the plunge and book another camping trip.

In our usual fashion there was plenty of internet research about campsites and rather too much cross-checking of weather reports to decide on locations. But it doesn’t matter how long it took, the fact is we’re going camping on Wednesday for two nights to the beautiful North Yorkshire coast.

This is the third time we’ve booked a trip, although only the second time we will have been (see here for details of the cancellation of trip #2)

Husband is on holiday all week so he can get stuff ready while I do the bits of work I need to get through so we can have a stress-free couple of days with Mimi and Buddy. They’re excited already – although we had to avert a major tantrum when Buddy misheard us and thought we were dropping him at nursery and then going camping, leaving him there, rather than picking him up and then going camping.

I’ll be trying out the Ultrathon insect repellent we’ve been asked to review too. Husband never gets bitten but I’m like some kind of all-you-can-eat buffet for the various flying pests in this country and abroad. Fingers crossed it does as promised and I don’t have to live off Piriton and Bite-Ease for the whole three days.

Oh, and we get to test the roof box we were given. Husband has been busy filling the various holes with sealant (you have to drill it each time you attach it to a new car, think ours is #3) so as long as the weather stays dry we should be fine. Perhaps having this extra capacity means we’ll be able to see out of the back window this time. Now that would be a bonus…

There’s something in the air

We haven’t been able to squeeze in a camping trip so far this summer holidays, but I’m hoping to persuade Husband to have a few nights towards the end of August, along with a weekend with some friends of ours and their little camper van. If the weather continues to play ball then we might get lucky, so please keep your fingers crossed.

But while we haven’t been camping, we have been to stay with family and that meant sleeping on our camping air beds. We’ve spent the odd night on air beds before but this time we did three consecutive nights and, despite being the right side of my mid-thirties, my hips and back did not thank me for it. 

I’m sure I wasn’t too uncomfortable spending a week on only a thin foam mat when I was camping with my family growing up, so how come I feel like I need some kind of surgical intervention when I’ve spent three nights on something which in theory should be comfier?

Perhaps we put too much air in it. Although we have a pretty hard mattress at home so are used to a firm base on which to sleep. And on the second morning when Husband got up with the children I was left with knees touching the floor as his weight no longer displaced the right amount of air – so we had to add some more air ready for the final night.

I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the boat-like rolling which can happen when there isn’t enough air in the bed and one of you gets up. But I expected to be comfier than I was. 

And aside from the comfort there’s the ever-present threat of one of the children bursting one of the beds by throwing themselves on to it like some kind of miniature bouncy castle. I fully expected to hear a loud bang every time we put the kids to bed and threats of them sleeping on the floor if that happened fell on totally deaf ears, sigh.

Still, at least we had an electric pump with which to inflate all three beds. Otherwise I’d have spent about 30 minutes with a foot pump and would have thighs better than Jessica Ennis’. Alright, maybe not better, but as good as. Probably.

So what’s the trick campers? Do we need to try out the mysteriously-named SIMs? (I believe that’s short for self-inflating mats). Or is there something else we should be aware of? I hate the idea of a camping bed. I’m convinced I’d just fall right off the side and they look less comfy than sleeping on the floor. Plus, I quite like to sleep with my husband (he’s warm, like my very own hot water bottle).

If you have something which is super-comfy, please do let me know about it. Otherwise we might never camp for more than two nights at a time. There is something in the air, but it’s definitely not love.