RV family

Everything is Bigger and Better

Continuing on with the real life of full-time RVing as a family. One realization this week is, although my children are really great together and get along very well, their close quarters and togetherness 24/7 has caught up. We have had beautiful weather and have been outside a lot but all of the time side by side in all things has led to a bit more of the petty arguments. Shaun and I have decided to take more one on one time with the girls to A. separate them a bit and B. get some one-on-one quality time with them. Lesson learned!

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The second realization of this life we’ve enveloped is that I hate “packing up” when it’s time to relocate. Actual hate! Now that we have learned to stay in one place for more than a few days, it’s a bit better. However, it still sucks packing the counter items into safe places, putting the bars in the refrigerator so food doesn’t go flying, emptying the “tanks” from the bathrooms, undoing the fresh water hoses and cable lines, cleaning the floors where the slides go in, putting the bikes up on the racks, securing the chairs, taking down the tent and lights, removing the tables in the living room, and all around making sure every…single…thing is stored and stowed away safely.

One of the biggest, and unexpected, highlights of the trip so far happened on Friday. Shaun was working from the RV, it was raining, and it gets teeny tiny feeling on days like that. So, the girls and I jumped in the truck, drove about an hour, and landed ourselves on a real Southern plantation. I decided to pick the Laura Plantation because they still had slaves quarters as part of their tour. I was also told that they informed and educated about slavery but wouldn’t scare the crud out of the girls. Just for informational purposes, Laura, who the plantation was named after, wrote her memoir around the age of 70 called Memories of the Old Plantation Home: A Creole Family Album by Laura Locoul Gore.

While driving not far from the plantation I was really hoping that this mamma and her two little girls didn’t break down in this section of Louisiana. During the tour we were informed that there were projects built outside of the plantation for the emancipated, uneducated, non-English speaking families to go to. Therefor, a generation or two of these families still live there since they had to move off the grounds in 1977 and the area was still not flourishing economically.

img_9130On a lighter note, we parked and the grounds were just breathtaking. To our delight we arrived just as a tour was about to start so there wasn’t too much waiting around in the gift shop for these love-to-shop ladies. We met our amazing tour guide, Camille, and off we went. Camille was so informative, quippy, energetic, historical, and passionate about the history. As soon as she started talking, we were all enveloped in the history and lifestyles of those that lived there. After, we hit the gift shop and bought a book so we could better remember what we learned, learn some more, and relive the tour. The girls couldn’t wait to tell Shaun everything we learned and saw.

 

Our trip from Baton Rouge, LA to the Houston, TX area on Sunday was an anticipated 4 hours 45 minutes, without stops. I downloaded an app called Roadtrippers so we could find cool things along the way. With the apps assistance we made a stop at the World’s Largest (former) Fire Hydrant! In Beaumont, TX right off the highway we saw what is now the second largest fire hydrant in the world.   img_9173

 

About three hours into our house move and we drove right into heavy rains. Now, in New Jersey we get some heavy rains but this was completely different because everything is so flat and therefor was scarier. As I started following the weather and subscribing to the local alerts, my phone started blowing up. Stream flooding, heavy rains, and thunderstorm alerts started flashing red. My heart started beating hard. Shaun drove slow and steady and eventually we arrived to a beautiful and mostly dry campground. To our great surprise, and this doesn’t happen often but when it does it’s a treat, we got to pick our campsite. We found a fairly dry, close to the showers, and quiet spot. It was now dark, pouring, and muddy. We were tired, excited to watch the Celebrity Big Brother finale, and hungry but we still had to do the obligatory set up process. After about an hour we sat down to our show, ate dinner, and were ready for a rest.

As we drove through the Houston area we were surprised by how many people had RVs in their driveways, almost every house. Then it dawned on Shaun and I that these weren’t RVs to vacation in but this is where the disastrous floods happened and most of these people were living in these RVs because they couldn’t live in their sticks and bricks. It was really heart wrenching to see such devastation and for a long distance of our drive. We all said a prayer that these people get their lives, homes, and normalcy back soon.

Monday we recouped from Sunday’s moving fun and Tuesday we had a normal day of Shaun working and us schooling and exploring. Then Tuesday night we went to the first day of the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the rodeo itself because the tickets were combined rodeo and concert tickets and that night Garth Brooks was performing. Not being a country music fan, there was no way I was paying concert prices to see a rodeo and there’s another one to see on our next stop anyway. We did see a lot of livestock and a huuuuuuuge bull! We checked out some cowboy gear, watched a cow/livestock award ceremony, collected cards to learn about the different stations/animals, went to the petting zoo where the animals roamed freely around us, rode some rides, and more. It was a lot to take in and a lot of fun!

Shaun is traveling and will be home today. It makes me uncomfortable when he travels and we aren’t home, actually when we are home too. However, we have the nicest neighbors here which made me feel a lot better. We are excited for him to come home today and looking forward to exploring the Houston are some more! Yeehaw!

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One Month In

Last Thursday when I posted I hadn’t realized it but it was exactly one month since we left and started this journey. Time flies when you’re having fun! I think one of the biggest challenges, personally, is getting “me” time. In our sticks and bricks (that what full-timers call grounded homes) the girls would occasionally go off and do their thing, Shaun would go to the office or make a mess in the garage, and I would get some time to myself. Even if I was running errands, just being in the car by myself was time to gather my own thoughts.

Don’t get me wrong, I would not change a thing right now. It’s just a big adjustment. We are so used to in our daily suburban/Pleasantville like life having some time to do you. Shaun tells at me to get sleep but when I wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes I’m wide awake and I’ll read, Pinterest, look for a condo in Florida, etc… It’s kind of like when you have a newborn and don’t know whether to nap, eat, shower, or watch tv. Eventually the not sleeping through the night thing will catch up on me but for now it’s slightly rejuvenating to my soul.

This weekend we spent Sunday and Monday in New Orleans. A lot of people tried to poo-poo on the fact that we were bringing the kids there but people also did the same when we took them to Las Vegas and that was a stellar vacation for all four of us. Neither Shaun or myself had ever been to New Orleans and didn’t really know what to expect but we figured if it’s not appropriate or really for the kids we’ll just get in the car and head back to the campground easy peasy.

After extensive research I learned that Jackson Square in the French Quarter during late morning was the place for a family. All I can say is WOW! We had such a freaking blast! All of Saturday was well spent in Jackson Square and we never left. The cheesy chochkey shops, talented street performers, musicians, magicians, and live artists kept us busy and engaged all day, well until early evening. Both girls were part of live performances too.

Don’t get me wrong, it helped that you could get adult drinks to-go along the streets, fresh pralines, fresh beignets and hot chicory coffee everywhere also. One of the best parts was checking out some historic statues and reading up on them since people are actively trying to have these bits of history taken down and I wanted us and the girls to soak it up in case the naysayers get their way. Then we walked into a historic church, strolled along the waterway, and bought some mementos, including our commemorative magnet. As an executive family decision we decided to collect magnets from each place and/or memorable stop along the trip. Our refrigerator is starting to look lovely and makes us smile. When it gets a little more festive I’ll take a pic and share.

Monday was President’s Day so Shaun had off from work and we went back to New Orleans to see some more of what we missed and just enjoy another day in the city. We parked by Lafayette Cemetary #1 because I really wanted to check out a cemetery since they’re so famous. A tour had just started when we arrived so we had to wait for the next one in an hour and half because you are now only allowed to tour that specific cemetary with a certified guide. We decided since it was 10am to see a bit of Bourbon Street if it was appropriate.

Bourbon Street was a complete fail, let down and disappointment. I do realize that going at night without kids would have a totally different feel but when we were there it was just delivery trucks up and down the street and there was nothing special about it at all. One block up towards Jackson Square was Royal Street and the shops, galleries, and restaurants were amazing and so much more fun. We shopped a bit, yes again, and then headed toward Cafe De Monde to savor some more beignets and chicory coffee. After a family powdered sugar fight (it legit happend and the boring people next to us were not amused which made us laugh harder) we putzed the Flea Market along the river and bought some killer hot sauces and spices. Then we headed back to the car too tired to see a cemetery. I’m hoping we have time to see one of the plantations, dual purposing a road schooling lesson and see a few things a bit closer to our campground before we leave. New Orleans is about an hour and twenty minutes away so I think I’ll save anything we missed for another trip.

As our country knows and is heartbroken by, there was a tragedy this past week. While we are really enjoying our time together as a family and gathering these priceless moments it is so sad that other parents won’t have any more moments with their children or family member in the wake of a mentally unstable teen who really needed someone to hear his cries. My prayers have been plentiful this week with thanks that my babies are with me and safe. After Sandy Hook I remember dropping Natalie off to her preschool and telling her aide through tears how hard it was to leave my baby in hands that weren’t mine. I knew the women in that room would do anything for my daughter but still no one protects a child their momma.

img_9083This time homeschooling my girls is even more of a blessing right now because although I know anything can happen at any time and it’s all in God’s hands and I don’t doubt that one bit, I know that they’re safe from being at risk for a school shooting situation. I’m in no way saying that homeschooling is the answer or that it is right for everyone or that we should all jump on this bandwagon but without a doubt it puts some of my crazy mom brain to a bit of ease. Who would have thought that when these beautiful babies of mine were born that a level of crazy worry and insanity would come with their birth?!

So, on full-timing notes, my awesome husband made us a bike rack out of PVC pipe so it can be taken down and put together easily. I concocted window darkening covers out of a 6 ft roll of thick drawer liners from Target and double-sided velcro (pray Natalie will sleep in a bit please). We figured out how to use the shower in the RV. Don’t think we stank like hippies or anything but have only stayed at legit campgrounds that have clean shower facilities. Also, they have laundry facilities in case you were wondering if we are wearing dirty clothes. We are using our stove more and getting a grip on our eating out habits.

In our defense of eating out a lot, everywhere we’ve gone has had amazing food. Tennessee had down home Southern food, Tampa had fresh seafood, Crystal River had Grouper on every single menu which is my favorite fish in the world, and now here in New Orleans is crawfish and more seafood. It’s hard when you’re surrounded by food that you can’t get at home and is amazing to control yourself. Tuesday I vowed to get back on my game…so far so good!

We are here in Louisiana for a few more days and then taking the trek to Texas. I have so much on my list of things to see and do in Texas that I can’t even contain myself. We are hitting all of the major cities because Texas is a huge hub of manufactured housing and Shaun will be representing eLend all over the place. He is so committed and such a great speaker that I think Texas won’t know what hit them lol.

Giddy up for the next stop!

 

Week 3…Living the Dream

I can’t believe, and I mean this is the best way possible, that it’s only week 3 of our journey. Honestly, it feels like it should be more like month 2. All three weeks have been so different that I feel like I can’t compare them. Week 1 sucked and sucked some more. Week 2 was chill, some adjusting occurred, and we got outside a bit. Week 3 can be summed up in one word…FUN!

Last Friday we moved to the Orlando area so we could spend the weekend in Universal Studios. We, and out BFFs/family, the Pieklos, have never been. To give an honest review of it from two families that have done Disney a bunch, it was wayyyy better than we expected! Especially now that we have an “adult” ticket holder among the kids and they’re getting older. We spent two whole days there and still didn’t get to see everything. Both families got yearly passes since we were going for at least two days and would probably go back again. It also permitted us to go back and forth between parks via the Hogwarts Express freely.

Day One

Day Two – Shaun’s 40th Birthday

Monday we moved from Orlando to the Tampa area. I couldn’t be happier to move because for lack of a better word the Orlando campground we were in was, ghetto. We relocated to an amazing campground with indoor pool, every service you could imagine for your RV, two on-site restaurants, and so much more. I will disclose the name next week or send me a message to find out where.

Tuesday, Dani and the kids came to see our new mobile abode. The kids went for a swim and had a blast. After we grabbed some yummy Cracker Barrel dinner. Wednesday I took the girls to the American Girl Doll Store in Orlando. Natalie’s request for this adventure was to see every American Girl Doll store in the US but she happily settled for every store near where we visit. This was our first one and they each bought an outfit for their dolls with their own money. After I surprised them with an afternoon back at Universal. Being a lower crowd weekday, we went on things we didn’t and went back on things we loved. We closed the place down again and had so much fun!

Today, we went to see the Pieklos new abode, an actual brick and mortar lol. Then we took the kids to play and collect seashells on Honeymoon Island. It was beautiful and they had a blast. After we went to dinner in Dunedin and the husbands met up with us. Last, we walked for some amazing ice cream at Ice & Cream Creamery and if you ever go, stop here because it is yummy.

Not only did we finally get warm, have some amusement park fun, enjoy Florida, but we got to do it with our besties, cousins, loves! However, they aren’t rid of us yet…. There is more fun yet to come! This weekend is the whipped cream, hot fudge, and cherry on top of the already eaten two scoop ice cream cone of the past week.

Stay tuned to see what these crazies do next!!

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Starting the 7 Month RV Life

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So we did it…up and left our beautiful, spacious, grounded new home and moved our family of four (+Gilmore, our dog) into an RV for 7 months. Monday morning we up and left our house, in shambles might I say, around 7:30am to make it to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for Natalie’s follow-up appointment.

Shaun took his job out on the road and is vlogging about it if you want to follow my man, Shaun Hamman , on Facebook and see video footage of some of what’s below and what’s to come?

*This is going to be a brutally honest account of my side of this adventure so far so be prepared.

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Sunday – Day Before Departure

Let’s begin on Sunday. I woke up not feeling so hot because of a fun concoction of horseradish cheese, veggie pizza, and wine the night before. However, after a few hours after waking, hydrating, and snuggling the girls on the couch, was still not feeling well to my confusion. There was no time to not feel well, it was 16 degrees out and I had to start packing up the RV. Shaun and my stepdad were outside in the cold most of the day doing the grunt work of getting the RV and truck ready like superheroes. Hours later and I still didn’t feel well, was exhausted, and oh did I mention it was my birthday, but NOT up to celebrating. I had not slept well in a few days so just chalked it up to that.

I needed a good night’s sleep. Sounded easy having been under the weather and going all day long but it didn’t come so easily. Natalie was not feeling well either. She woke up right as I fell asleep and threw up. Right back to bed we all went and half an hour later as I was starting to fall asleep again, she threw up again.  I had her sleep in my bed so I could keep an eye on her and that helped me sleep for a few hours. In the middle of the night I woke up in sweat soaked sheets and anxious tightness in my chest. That was the end of sleep for me. Those feelings and the added growing more anxious over knowing that my alarm was going to go off at 5am and the clock ticking closer and time to sleep being lost.

Monday – Departure Day

img_7952-2Morning of departure day comes and we all wake up bright and early and leave in a mad rush to make Natalie’s appointment. The anxiety follows me along our commute to Philly. Then Natalie and I go into her appointment and we hear her doctor give her the green light and say she’s healing great and I feel some relief. I instantly think that the green light from her doctor was what all the worrying and anxiety were about and I’m fine.

 

We get back in the car and I’m feeling a bit better. With a pit stop at the RV dealer because Shaun couldn’t get the furnace to work, yup and it was 18 degrees out. They said it was going to take two days for it to be shipped. Shaun, with his brilliant mind, asked if they could take it out of another RV so we could get on our way. They did it! We were back on our way.

At this point I am still feeling a bit uneasy and anxious. It dawns on me finally (mainly because my BFF pointed this out) that the fact that we’ve up and left the comfort and security of our home in our safe town and all that is familiar to us has led to this feeling. Especially after some really special farewells (pix below). How could I be so stupid as not to anticipate this feeling? Sometimes reality just sneaks up on you and bites you in the butt and this was one big shark bite out of my ass.

We were taking our time and moving along fine with an anticipated overnight at a Walmart along the way and make it to Louisville the next day for Shaun’s conference. We experienced some disconcerting shimmying going down a large hill. I thought we were overweight and being completely unsafe and then couldn’t get that thought out of my head of course. Panic begins on every downhill from there and builds.

To add to that awesome feeling, about an hour before we were going to stop for the night it started snowing but not too bad so we figured we’d go another 15 miles to the next Walmart. About five miles later it was a full-on freaking snow storm. Low visibility, roads covered, slickness starting, and me completely having a full on panic attack. My chest froze up, my arms feeling cold and tingly, my stomach a rock, my breath only coming in short bursts, and tears full in my eyes. I am not prone to feeling this way. Once in college during finals, when Shaun and I split for a bit while we were dating, with my Postpartum, and that’s about it. For me to be having these feelings for a few days and then to go into the debilitating feeling of panic was very out of context.

Shaun was so confident and calm for the first 7 miles of the 10 left to go. Then it got worse and the hills were giant and then it happend, Shaun also got nervous. His nerves are rock solid so this made my nerves hit the next level. Finally after a very slow and treacherous drive, we could see the Walmart sign. It was like a beacon of safety. After parking we ran into Walmart to use the bathroom, walked Gilmore, turned the heat on and was safe and breathing again. Shaun and I just sat there in silence recovering from the journey while the girls were excited to have time to play and move around.

Tuesday – Day 2

We wake up to a parking lot filled with snow. Shaun told the Walmart manager that we were hunkered in and not going anywhere for the day and they were beyond gracious and understanding. It’s freezing out, 6 degrees, and there’s snow covered roads so we were not risking it. All night I spent full of anxiety with only short bouts of sleep. I really thought that I would be exhausted from the trip but the worry of the roads, if it would happen again, what could happen next, and so on kept cartwheeling around in my brain. This feeling followed me well into the morning.

Mid-morning Shaun walked into the RV after his morning call for work and a few other calls and said to pack it up, we are going. My body froze. I was not going anywhere again in that weather, in that truck that was not handling the size and weight of the RV as planned, and with my babies in danger. Ready to pick up my phone and call my mommy to come and get us (yes, I am not ever above calling my mommy to save me), he said he spoke to the Ford dealer and we’re headed that way. Long part of this story short, we dropped A LOT of money on an upgrade and left with an F 250 diesel and most importantly the feeling of safety.

It was still snowing a decent amount, however the roads where we were were finally well maintained and I can honestly tell you that I had so much less anxiety. Shaun and I finally felt safe and ready to proceed with our trip. What a great blessing and relief to have our family safe and ready for the junket ahead. With a few stops at Sheetz along the way we proceeded. We stopped at a Walmart again that night because we were delayed by the truck buying process and then Wednesday morning we proceeded to Louisville, Tennessee.

Wednesday

Arriving safely, we all ran to the showers excited to refresh, change, and chill out. Shaun went off to his conference for work, I finally had the chance to make our bed (Shaun and I had been sleeping on the couch because we didn’t feel like opening the slide for our room), unpack/settle, and the girls were so excited to have some play time.

Road schooling Day 1, and an extra day of work added on from the longer than planned trip, has begun! We are hunkered in because when the Hammans arrive to Kentucky where it’s usually 50 degrees, it’s a high of 10 degrees for the day. Heat on, NJ winter clothes on, and some massive chill time was what the second half of our Wednesday consisted of and we couldn’t be happier!

Day 1 of Roadschooling
Gilmore wanted to learn too

Thursday

I am so thankful to report that we are safely, a bit more warmly, snow-free and enjoying Road School Day 2! Shaun went off to his conference again and the girls and I are enjoying another day of life as it normally is at home. After our schooling it’s going to be a movie and popcorn kind of day and I couldn’t be happier.

Summary of This Week

The beginning of this trip SUUUCKED! I wouldn’t wish that feeling or what happened to us on anyone, especially a mother of two precious children. We are all safe now and ready to continue this trip! Will there be more moments that I want to run home to my mommy, yes. Will more anxiety come with the unfamiliar places and schedules, most definitely. Is it all going to be sunshine and roses, no. img_8036Is this going to be one kick ass adventure that my family will have amazing memories from forever and ever, YES! And that’s all that matters! And that I have my new RV coffee maker up and running 

Here are three panoramics of RV interior…enjoy!

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Master bedroom

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Kitchen

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Living Area