Confessions Of A First Time Mom

So, I'm nuts when it comes to my child.  My long time readers know that, but according to my sister, an avid reader and critiquer of my blog, I've been holding out on you. Apparently, I need to let the world know just how neurotic I am.

This past weekend, a church near my house had their annual picnic. Complete with carnival rides and kids games, and my personal favorite, a cake wheel where you place a dime on a number between 1-120 and if the spinning wheel lands on your number, you win a cake!

Unfortunately, the weather forecast was calling for 95 degrees with a heat index of 100-105.

All weekend long my phone was blowing up with text messages from the National Weather Service with heat advisories and a reminder to stay hydrated, and if possible, avoid going outside.

Needless to say, I was less than stoked about the weather.  My little fair skinned red-headed toddler definitely does not need to be out in that kind of heat, on a black top parking lot no less.

Being that the weekend long picnic is kind of the highlight of our summer, not going was not an option. So, I planned ahead for the heat.

My prep went like this:

In my handbag, I packed LOADS of sunblock, bug spray and a hand fan.

In a small cooler I packed:


Three large bottles of electrolyte water (partially frozen to keep extra cold)
Two frozen washcloths- for the back of my toddler's neck to keep cool
A Travel pack of baby wipes (storing them in the cooler meant that would be cool on his face and hands)
Frozen grapes and strawberries in snack bags

Clearly, I wasn't messing around.

Vacationing with our Tablet

The tablet is very travel friendly.  I didn’t have to pack/bring a larger laptop or use the small screen of my phone.  My Toshiba Encore™ 2 is super lightweight and thin but still has a nice and clear 10.1-inch screen.  I really liked being able to browse the internet and check on a few things online from the tablet.

I really try my best to stay unconnected with anything on the internet or work related when on vacation but I did have a couple of emails and blog related work I had to check on a few times really quick.  The tablet was great for this because it works more like a computer than my phone does and the screen is much easier to read.   I hate to bring my laptop on vacation so that is never an option.

Keeps the kids entertained with videos and apps.  My three young sons preferred the tablet over my phone for playing games and watching videos.  It came in handy a few times when the boys started asking if we there yet on the trip down and on the way back.