Adventures in Geocaching

Geocaching by definition is a real world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS enabled devices.  Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempts to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.  Sounds super cool right?  If you have never heard of it I encourage you to look around at the website.  It really is some pretty neat stuff!  While we are transient, I thought that this might be a neat way to learn about our surroundings a little bit more and what a better way to sell a 4 and 5 year old on something then to say we are going on a treasure hunt!!!  HELLO, all I need to say is Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Right?!?!?

I did some research and realized that at the state park about 2.8 miles from our current "home," were two sites.  Both of the "treasures" were said to be "super easy to find," "perfect finds for young kids," and "great first finds."  This was going to be so much fun, the perfect way to spend an afternoon and a great school lesson!!  To say I was pumped about this would be an understatement!  So, I loaded up the crew and we drove the few miles to get started.

Now, one thing I hadn't counted on was that since we were going to be in the woods and in a very isolated part of South Carolina my phone network was kind of spotty.  It took us going from place to place to actually get the Geocaching App to load correctly, but when it did we were only .5 miles from the "x that marks the spot" as J would call it.  

Our navigator....

We started walking.  (This is also where I should insert that I was carrying the baby on my back.  I don't have a picture, I'm not good at selfies where you can actually see him back there.  I do have plans for practicing this skill.  I feel that it is one that will get used a lot on our homeschooling journey!!) One thing I really liked was that my phone turned into a compass (not that I am really proficient in compass reading, but it was cool), and there was a line that was drawn from where we were to where the cache was located.  It really was pretty simple.  We walked from the parking lot, through a playground, through a small patch of trees to a campground area.  Here is where I started making some mistakes.  I should have just followed the fool proof orange line, but I could tell we needed to go to our right more so if I saw anything that vaguely resembled a trail off to the right we went down it until it ended and then we had to turn around.  

This is the kind of "trail" we had been walking on!

This was where my oldest started saying things like "should we call fire and rescue?"  "I think we are going the wrong way!"  "Are we lost?"  "Maybe they will send a helicopter!  That would be so cool!"  And the middle child screamed every time we walked into a spider web...and that was a lot of times.

At this point we had switched navigators, and as you can tell she was super happy about it!

Finally, when I was ready to call it a day the road we were walking through the campground ended and a sign that said Beaver Nature Trail this way appeared.  It was a nice, wide, pine needle filled, no spider webs to be seen actual trail!  Somehow I convinced the kids to give it one more try!  

Note to self...when looking for "easy finds," you  might want to stick with trails that look like this!

So we walked...at this point we were about .2 of a mile from the cache and I was just so sure this was going to be a day for the history books!!  So we walked and walked and walked some more and we were within 100ft of the box.  The kids were so excited, I had the camera ready and this was gong to be amazing.  Then all of a sudden I looked down again and we were 130ft from it.  Wait!  That is not right!  Turn around we missed it!  

We stopped when we got back to 100 feet and I walked a little bit more into the woods and I got within 85ft and we found NOTHING.  Even the hint didn't help.  The kids entertained the idea of searching for about 5 min.  I should mention that this adventure was going on hour number 2 and we were all tired and wanted a drink!  So, we turned back.  On our way back we stopped at the campground and my children thought the water hook ups were like the coolest things ever to drink from....believe me when you have been walking for 2 hours in the woods without drinks, you really don't care where it comes from :)

My plans for the EPIC afternoon were not exactly how I had planned, but we did have an adventure for sure.  Now, when you see my children and they tell you all about the time we were lost in the woods and almost had to call a rescue squad, please know that we were never lost, nor did we need rescuing.  But like a fish tale, I am sure this one will grow and grow and grow until we wondered around in the woods for 8 hours without food or water, stopping only to take a nap on the banks of an alligator infested river...yeah, I failed to mention that we were walking parallel to a small stream.  

I still think Geocaching is fun.  And I plan to do it again, but I think we may stick to the city ones rather then the ones "deep" in the woods of rural South Carolina!!

ok, they were so tired and done with my adventures, but still so cute!!

Adventures in Running

Ahhhh, today was a good day!

Often, I get asked what I do all day as a stay at home Mom.  I have been asked this by more people then I can count.  Especially, since I seriously do not like to clean and like cooking even less!

We all know that "good Southern girls volunteer."  I mean that is what WE do!  I do tend to volunteer for pretty much everything, but what I spend the majority of my time doing is helping to run this little running club here in Jacksonville.

My favorite little running club....

For the past 8 weeks, I have has the privilege of helping to lead a group of special ladies in a Couch to 5k program.  Today was the graduation race.  It was AMAZING to see these ladies work so hard and do something they worked and trained for in the past few weeks.  I loved encouraging them on their journey and helping them realize just how strong they could be.  THIS is what I went to school to do.  As a physical education teacher by trade, I entered education to be a coach and to help teach kids, middle school students specifically, how to achieve a healthy lifestyle and learn to be active for a lifetime.  I think this is how most PE teachers feel, unfortunately the other "stuff" that goes along with being a teacher gets in the way.

Some of the C25K ladies...we are missing a few I think!

I am so incredibly proud of these women.  They come from all walks of life, all kinds of backgrounds and all have a different story.  The similarity is that each one of them made a decision many weeks ago that they were going to come to a workout at a park to RUN with a group of military spouses that they had never met before.  And then later when they wanted to quite they made the decision to get up, put their shoes on and make the drive to meet up with friends who would hold them accountable.  And even later when workouts got really tough, they made the decision to make attending the workouts and getting in a run a priority.  They made themselves a priority...even when the weather stunk, the kids were unruly, and they didn't feel very good, they made time for something that was going to change their life.  I am thankful they let me be a part of it!

They did it!

Today I was lucky enough to have my 5 year old side kick by my side the entire 3.1 miles.......well, I think technically it was 2.78, but whose counting.......it's an adventure either way ;)

Adventures in Guinea Pigs

To My Dearest Cha Cha,

I want you to know that this letter is very hard for me to write.  You have been in our home approximately 2 months and I will admit that I was hesitant, OK scratch that it was more like reluctant, to bring you into our circle of trust.  I knew I would be the one to clean your cage.  I would provide your food.  I would be basically bringing another helpless being into our lives and I already care for 3 helpless beings.  I did not want to add another.

However, I am ready to admit that I was wrong.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I am saying that I was wrong.  Now, I do most of the cage cleaning, but it is really easy and I have one really good 5 year old helper.  I also do most of the feeding, but again very easy and only needs to be done once a week.  But the holding, I never have to do.  I also do not have to worry about you not getting love because we have two tiny people who love you lots.

Let's talk about that love a little bit, because seriously this is why I am glad you are here.  No matter how much love a certain 3 year old gives you, you never show your love back with your teeth.  I have heard this is not necessarily common for GP like you.  In fact my Internet research says that sometimes three year old human child love is not always received well.  I am sorry that she was convinced you liked heights...especially falling from heights a few days ago. Yet you take it in stride, that is why you fit in so well here at the Harlow house.

I have also been impressed with your dexterity and your ability to make your way through the mazes a certain 5 year old boy makes for you out of random objects.  You are so patient as he creates these exercises for you.  You never run away, although I am not sure if this is because you are more scared of the unknown or because your large belly will not allow you to move fast enough to get away, but either way I appreciate your willingness to cooperate with him.


On the subject of food, I can tell that you enjoy it, so as long as you continue to be the good guinea pig I know you to be you will  never have to worry about running out of treats!

Much love to you my furry friend!

Adventures in Youth Sports Teams

If you say the words "Youth Sports" I cringe.  I know this has to do with teaching middle school and working with (notice I said "working with") parents of students who were on teams.  The parents of the kids on my cheerleading team were pretty awesome actually.  It was the parents of the boys teams who were the worse and I didn't even coach them.  I just heard/saw the stories.  It was bad.  So, you see I have good reason to be hesitant when it is/was time to sign my oldest up for some sort of team.  Along with the fact that I see many things wrong with the way young youth sports leagues are run.  More then anything I want my kids to enjoy playing sports and to learn how to be good winners and more importantly good losers.  First though, they need to learn skills and I think that is left out of so many youth programs......anyhow I digress.

We have did Soccer Shots last Spring.  This is an awesome program where the kids actually just work on skills and drills.  They also include team work, but they only scrimmage each other and there is no "game" commitment.  I liked it a lot.  My oldest really liked the intimate atmosphere where he learned some fundamentals.  He also went to a soccer camp last summer.  Again, good instruction no crazy game schedule and no kids on a field with no clue what is going on and parents and coaches yelling to "score a goal," and the kids looking back asking "which is their goal."

We also did tennis lessons.  He did them both one on one and with a class.  Good learning experiences.  He learned a lot of good skills and I was pretty happy with the progress he made.  He played tennis last Spring and Fall.  We may pick it back up, but right now his teacher is playing on his high school team.

So this is the year.  He is 5 and it is time for dun dun dun, T-BALL............  Last night was our first T-ball practice.  It was interesting.  I will say that I am pleasantly surprised by the fact that they have started practices a full month before games start.  I was also very surprised that the coach asked, well practically begged all the parents to be involved.  There was pretty much a 1 to 1 parent (or big sister/big brother/ uncle, aunt, older friend) to kid ratio.  They also worked on hitting, catching and base running.  All things that need to be learned before turning them out on the field.  J came home exhausted and oh so happy.  He loved every single minute of it!!

The other part of youth sports I have been dreading, is the giving up of Saturdays and the juggling of practices.  One doesn't really get to pick out what day you practice like you do with dance or gymnastics.  You are kind of just given the day and expected to make it work.  So, we are now trying to juggle practice around some other things and we already found out that in May, I am running a race and Child 2 has a dance performance in the morning and we have a t-ball game at about the same time.  So, I spent time this afternoon choosing and ordering a couple of extra car seats because it looks like we are going to have two kids needing to be in two different places at the same time.  Oh how fun!!!

All in all, our first day of team sports was not horrible.  Talk to me in 5 weeks when games start.  Until then I will need to search ebay for some Cubs gear!!

The Uncounted

First watch and read this........The Uncounted.


Next read this........article 1 (Note*  There are TONS of articles about this, a Google search will bring up no less then 20.  I liked how this one lays it out.)


Twelve years ago on September 11th, my husband had duty.  He was at work for approximately 24 hours.  Eleven years ago, in February I took dropped him off in front of his battalion to send him to war not knowing when I would see him again.  They told us to prepare for at least a year, maybe 18 months.   Yesterday, marks the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.  I skipped work that day.  I sat on the couch with my two dogs and watched the news.


My peer group, my friends, their children...we are the uncounted.  Maybe after reading the second article after reading the first will help you to understand why people get so angry, are so passionate and so disheartened when they hear of these things.  It's like a slap in the face.  It's being told you don't matter.  It says that the last 11 years, the ones that we cried through, worried about, prayed without ceasing for, don't matter.


Money is money.  But people, are people and they are so much more important.  I wish people would think about the people.

Adventures in Newborns

So one would think by baby number 3, you would have it all figured out.  Which I totally fell into that trap.  My problem is that my baby number three followed number 2 three and a half years later.  That is a LONG time in baby years.  You know how I know that...there are 3 generations of the swing I once used with baby number two.  It has some WAY cool upgrades!!

Here is my list of what I had forgotten about newborns.........

1) When the baby cries, you will have to fight the urge to offer a goldfish cracker to pacify them until you are able to sit down to feed them.  Doctors, nurses, grandparents, and random other strangers who offer all kinds of advice, generally frown on feeding solid food until they are a little bit older.  Not to mention they cannot actually get the said cracker into their mouth which will result in more crying and frustration!

2) You will become lightening fast when showering....if you even decide to shower.  Sometimes on Saturdays I look back and realize that my last shower was Sunday before church, but that is neither here nor there.  Back to lightening fast showers.  You will get your shower done in about 3.5 minutes, because the crying produced by a newborn usually produces "let down," causing you to drip precious liquid gold.  For those who formula feed or bottle feed, I have been told that the crying causes rushing, which also leads to spilling of the precious liquid.  No matter what way you feed, this type of crying equals feeding emergencies.  I have also learned that this type of crying also induces NPE (Newborn Poop Explosions), which result in poop up the back and down the chest, and usually requires a bath for the newborn along with washing all clothing and bedding.

3) You must pack not only extra clothing in the diaper bag for the baby, but also for yourself due to NPE.  Please see above for NPE explanations.

4) When planning any type of out of the house excursion that will last longer then 2 hours, you need to plan for time to feed the baby.  That often may require more "gear," and also a place to make this happen.  Police Officers generally do not look fondly on holding the baby and feeding in your lap in a moving car, especially if you are driving.

5)  Diapers...do not run out.  Make sure you have a stash either washed if you do cloth or bought if you use paper.  Believe me, running out of diapers is bad.........really, really bad.  Again, see NPE.

6) Tummy time is a must.  As soon as head and neck strength is achieved, that coveted one-armed hip hold can be mastered.  The day that happens all kids of doors will open up, literally.

7) The baby will usually fall asleep right before you need to go somewhere.  Especially if you have spent the last hour trying to get him/her to go to sleep so you can get ready.  When you have five minutes to put yourself together you usually will sniff armpits, put on some baby lotion (everyone loves the new baby smell right), put on maternity jeans (because that is what fits right now and we all know that jeans makes you look put together vs the same old black yoga pants you have worn the last 5 days), run a brush through your hair, brush your teeth and dash out the door!  Don't forget to go back inside for the baby.....

8) You will become proficient at one handed typing if you want to use the computer, phone, tablet, etc to communicate with loved ones.  This communication often occurs in the wee hours of the morning and you will most likely forget what you wrote...........it's kind of like drunk dialing.

9) Newborns are the perfect excuse for everything!  No one expects you to be on time, no one asks you to be at meetings, no one cares if you shower.......in fact if you have a newborn and make it to anything people will tell you how great you look. Actually, you should absolutely try to get out of the house shearly for the purpose of building up your self esteem.  After all, you did just house one of God's greatest creations for the last nine months, you deserve a little praise :)

P.S.  This is meant to be funny.   I may or may not have made you laugh.  But it is not meant to start a debate about anything, only provide a little chuckle, a head nod and an "oh yes, I remember!"

P.P.S.  I am a numbers girl.  I really like a good round number, like 5 or 10 or 20.  It kills me that I could only come up with 9.  Help me out, what would your number 10 be?

Adventures in Names

"He's a little boy with a BIG name!!!!"

That is what I am expecting to hear for pretty much the rest of his life.  Our only hope and prayer is that he lives up to the name, for he has big shoes to fill.

Naming our littles has ALWAYS been a bit of a process for us.  We really like family names and we really like Biblical names.  That is important to us.  We want to have a story to tell that particular child about the name we picked out specifically for them.  Our oldest is named after his grandfathers and you don't get much more Biblical then John and Michael!  When we used both those names we did briefly think, what if we have another boy?  Do we want to use both names for the first?  But the significance of the names was too overwhelming to ignore and another baby, much less another boy, was no guarantee!

Number two is named after her paternal great grandmother and her maternal grandmother.  It was important to us living in New York at the time, that we also put a Southern twist on the name making it a "double" name and thus "Clara Beth" was dubbed.  I did not know my husband's grandmother all that well, she passed away when we had only been married 3 years.  However, I can say from the stories I know of her and the personality that our daughter embodies so closely resembles that of Claramae, that I have no doubt they would be good friends to this day!

Thus brings us to little Edwin James.  He is named for two of his great grandfathers.  My mother's father is a very small, in stature, man with a huge personality.  I have many memories of him, as do others, being a story teller and commanding large rooms of people with his voice.  My husband's grandfather was a large, in stature, man with a quite, calming personality.  I remember him as a gentle giant and the perfect match to his wife, of which our middle is named for.  These personality traits we can only hope number three will embody.  Right now, he has definitely fit the bill as far as his size goes, being the largest of our three by 2lbs.  He also has quite the loud voice and does seem to command a room of people with it ;)

For us, names are a deeply personal endeavor.  We wanted to name our kids after people whom we could tell them about.  We wanted them to know they were named for someone special.  This is not to say that everyone should do that, but for us we wanted to continue the legacy of those who are special to us!  Naming a baby is definitely what I would consider a pretty neat adventure!

Are your kids named for someone special?  How did you choose their names?