Want a little peek at what Dad’s Day usually looks like around here? We honestly don’t go over the top with presents and activities, since Nate works almost every holiday. We keep it simple and sweet with some DIY activities or a Father’s Day printable that we pair with a gift he’s guaranteed to love.
Our imagination truly is one of the greatest driving forces in our lives. It conjures, creates, augments, stores, and helps us feel the intangible. All things past, present, and future can be toyed and tinkered through our imagination’s fancy. It can be born of nothing at all, almost suspended in the ether or rooted in something inspirational. Standing in the here and now, our imagination can take us to a whole other place and time. Oh a South Dakota road trip. All with just a little thought.
We were invited to the media premiere of Incredibles 2 last weekend, which naturally called for some epic Incredibles 2 costumes (you know we love coming up with creative family Disneybounding outfits). I left the toddler and baby back home with Nate since they don’t do too well in theaters yet, which meant that I had to get creative with the characters that the big boys and I channeled. It also meant that this film hit home for me in more ways than one.
It’s almost impossible to imagine what it’s like to be a father before you become one. There’s an obvious understanding that it is a large responsibility. There’s even a sense of some type of stored up wisdom gathered over the years to be passed down. The role of being the rock, the hammer, the fixer, the teacher, and the source of reassurance all in one. It’s easy to assume that all these things happen innately once the first child comes.
When we first started traveling, I had a conventional first aid kit. It got dismantled as certain things were needed and others weren’t. Ointments and some other often-used stuff earned a permanent spot in the diaper bag and other items were relegated to the glove box (we have yet to find a need for that space-age blanket). The pouch that gets tossed in my suitcase morphed over the years, and eventually shrunk into a modern medicine bag that holds items that help with the little emergencies we encounter fairly often.
I’m still going. And going and going and going. Friends have asked how it is that I can have this sort of energy in the midst of everything. Right after claiming that I’m trying to be mindful, how can I also write about being busy and needing an on the go snack? Well, life happens, that’s how. One pal recently said I reminded her of Princess Poppy from Trolls. She then cheekily, musically chanted, “Get back up again!”
Having four boys born in five years, I field a lot of questions about little boy hair. How do we wash it? How do we style it? How do we deal with haircuts?
Our family is going through a difficult time right now. Hah. Understatement of the century! I’m not ready to talk about that just yet, though. I’ve buried myself in work as a welcome distraction. There’s zero logic in anything going on in our world, but there’s logic in my response to it. I need to provide stability for my family. I need to be strong for my boys. The irony is not lost on me. Women, stereotypically, are not the workaholics. Women, stereotypically, are not the logical ones. But then, nothing about our family really is stereotypical.
Chelsea talks a lot about family health and well-being from both an individual and a group perspective. Self care is a top priority, as well as being mindful of our kids growing older. She tries to grasp onto every second of these precious days as they slip by, while also carving out time for herself. Multitasking to the max. I think those are traditionally thought of as “motherly” characteristics: being cognizant of personal needs while simultaneously bemoaning the passage of time.
When I heard that our sponsor Safety 1st was coming out with the first (and only!) recycled stroller made in the USA with American and imported parts, I had to be a part of their campaign to get the word out. This thing is made up of potato bags, diaper tabs and recycled car seats. Safety 1st works out of their Zero Waste manufacturing facility in Columbus to recycle 20,000 car seats a year, saving 130,000 lbs of plastic from the landfill! As US-based family travelers, we love to give back to our country and protect this great earth any way we can. But would this “green” stroller prove to be road-worthy? Come along with us and see!