Puppy and the Dog Whisperer

For the past 10 years, we've been blessed with an amazing dog.  She was a Giant Schnauzer and most definitely the best pet I've ever owned.  Sadly, she died in September.  Since I stay at home, I really missed her.  She was my companion, second set of eyes for my babies and our protector.  It was horrible when she died.  I always said that after Raven, no more pets.  But....the minute she was gone, I knew we'd have another dog.  My kids are still young enough and I feel they need a pet.  Not to mention that talking to a dog seems much less "crazy" than talking to myself all day!

After Raven died we started our search for a new puppy.  Raven was a Black Giant Schnauzer.  She was huge and we have a small house.  Plus she was 80 lbs. which made trips, bathing, etc difficult.  So we decided to be a little more practical this time and go with Standard Schnauzer.  We wanted a black one.  Which turned out to be quite difficult to find.  Apparently they are rare.  And expensive.   We found several breeders but had to wait until a new litter was born.   We continued our search while my husband binged watched Cesar Milan, Dog Whisperer.

Before I go any further, let's talk about Cesar.

I have nothing against Cesar.  He's great.  I do agree with a lot of his theories.  But too much of anything isn't always a good thing.  When I say my husband binged watched it, I don't mean like when we binged watched 5 seasons of Sons of Anarchy.  I enjoyed that.  There was a story line to follow.  Did you know that Cesar has several shows?  Yep, he does.  And they are all on several times a day which are all set to record on our DVR.  Every night for at least 2 months we've watched hours of Cesar.  At one point my son wanted to be Cesar for Halloween.  I didn't think his pale ginger complexion would work but he does have the accent down now.  If you've watched Cesar you know he does the "Tsk/PShht" sound to distract a negative behavior.  My husband is now trying this on the kids.  (It didn't go over well when I was "tsked".)  And if I hear one more thing about negative energy, I may lose it.  

So by this point we've all been forced to watch Cesar and had family movie night when the Bringing Home Puppy episode aired.  My 13 yr old daughter did not partake in the viewing and almost didn't get to go pick out the puppy.  Luckily, my husband and son had plenty of time to educate her.

Finally, after a long 8 weeks, it was time to get our girl.  We were giddy with excitement.  Names were picked and debated, a sweater or two may have been bought.  

A few friends told us we were crazy.  We were like...what??  I knew it had been 10 years since we had a puppy and almost as long since we had a baby but come on?  A cute, cuddly little puppy would be the best thing ever!  Right??  Right?  

We went in "Cesar" style with our calm, assertive energy.  There were 2 girls to pick from and we all immediately agreed on this tiny, cute little baby.  We named her Rebel and brought her home.  It was a 3 1/2 hour drive from the breeder's house so we made a stop at PetSmart.  She totally stole the show there and was the center of attention.  Several people were like "Good luck tonight"  "You won't get any sleep tonight".  Then they would laugh and walk away.  Whatev...we got this.

Rebel got tons of attention that night and stole our hearts.  She had about 30 minute spurts of energy and then would sleep for an hour.  The kids love her.  We went to bed about 11:00 and she cried for about 30 min.  Not too bad.  At 4:30 she started crying so I went to let her out.  And that's when I was reminded how much work a puppy was.  Her little crate was covered in poop.  Not just the crate but the blankets and her were also covered.  I scooped her up the best I could and took her out.  Luckily we made it out before she went a few more times.  Then she had to get a bath and I had to clean up the mess.

Have I mentioned that I love my sleep?  Like, I have to have it or I'm a mess?  Well she had other ideas.  It was play time.  I ended up falling asleep on the floor with her until my husband came out at 7:00.  I got up said "she just peed on the floor, I'm going to bed."  It was pretty much just like when we had a baby.  He had slept through it all.  

The next night didn't have any accidents but she was up and crying every 3 hours much like a baby.  My son thinks we should just strap a diaper on her, he's tired of cleaning up messes.  She does go out and potties but cries her little heart out when you put her back in her crate at night.  

Yesterday she went in to get her ears cropped.  She spent the night and came home today.  Last night my son said, "ahhh, I can finally relax without the dog here."  Apparently, he's also realizing how much work a puppy is.  We had a restful evening and a quiet night. 

So now as I'm typing this, my husband just got home with Rebel and her little cropped ears.  She's literally flying around the house and crying like she's on crack.  She is very excited to be home.  And has a lot of energy from being locked up at the vet for 24 hours.  Also, she seems to be looking for the kids.  Luckily they get out early today!  

We have to travel a lot this weekend for the holiday so it should be interesting.  I know that she will outgrow this phase much like a baby does.  I thought that it would help with missing Raven but I think it's just made me miss her more.  And why didn't we consider getting a dog that was a year or two old?  Ugh.  She's lucky she's so cute. I just hope she realizes that Mama needs her sleep.  And probably new carpet.  Until then I will just keep calm and be a pack leader. 

My dirty little secret

I have this little (uh hmm...okay big) secret.  Or it could be seen more as a problem.  I guess it's not really a secret because some people know about it.  And maybe it's more of an obsession?  Either way, I needed an intervention this past week.  Here it is....

I am *slightly* obsessed with office and craft supplies.  Yes, you are laughing at me.  That's okay, we all have our problems.  Acceptance is the first step.  

I'm not a big shopper.  I don't love clothes, fancy shoes or expensive purses.  I could care less about going to the mall or buying designer things.  But get me in a Staples or a Hobby Lobby and my supply lovin' heart pitter patters a little quicker!   And don't even get me started on kitchen supply stores....I have to limit myself on that heart thumping exposure!

Staples is my go to for office supplies.  No, I don't have an office or even work in one.  There's something about all the organizational possibilities in there, the different colored paper and labels for everything.  Magnets, markers, post-its...oh my!  I went in yesterday for a new wall calendar and had to really practice self control around all the super cute chevron notebooks that were on clearance! And don't even get me started on Sharpies.  If I didn't already have every color, I may have bought a few more.  They make everything bright and cheery.  

I love me some sharpies!

And when I go into places like Hobby Lobby, I just see so many cool projects.  I want to do them all. The problem with said projects is that I always have supplies left over.  I love to make hair bows but when you only need about 10 inches from a 3 foot spool, there are always leftovers.  

So why am I telling you all this....it's leading to the big problem.....THE CLOSET!!!  So you are wondering where I keep my stash of office supplies and craft supplies?  I don't have an office or a craft room yet I have all the supplies for one.  I've gotten WAY better and really only buy what we need now.  I like to buy school supplies on clearance and then I have them throughout the year as markers run out, things get broke, etc.  But then all the half used items come home in June and also get shoved in the closet.  Plus it's where we also keep games and books.  Add all this together with the kids rifling through it and shoving items back where ever they may fit and the closet gets SCARY!  In fact, by the end of summer, it was so scary and such a mess, you couldn't close the door.   Every fall I have to reorganize the closet and get rid of stuff that no longer works, is missing pieces, or is just junk.  I haven't done this in a long time.  It was out of control.  I'm pretty sure I had craft supplies in there from when my daughter was still doing Girl Scouts.  (she hasn't done scouts in 3 years.)  An intervention was needed.  And since I share embarrassing things about my kids, I thought it was only fair to post a picture of my horrendous closet.  We like to keep it real.  (this is also for all my friends who always say "your house is always so clean")

My OCD mom is now disowning me. 

So that's what it had become.  It was a hot mess.  Nothing could be found.  You can tell that things were just shoved in and then the door was closed.  Things were falling out.  It was bad.

It took several hours and two garbage bags.  It wasn't pretty.  It wasn't pretty at all.  I'm not sure how I had accumulated over 60 spools of ribbon and 23 additional folders.  I'm also pretty sure I won't have to buy school supplies next year.  Or until the youngest goes to college.  Anyone need Mod Podge because I have 3 jars.  On a happy note, my bedazzler and the heating pad were both located.   Luckily, one person's hoarding can become someone else's bargain.  I was able to sell lots of my accumulations!

Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!!

Yes folks, that's the after picture.  Ahhhhh!  It's so organized!  I just open the door and stare at it.  To say we got rid of a lot is kind of an understatement.  I think if we haven't used the 3 red craft pom poms in 4 years that I was saving, we probably won't need them.   Yesterday I was in Staples and Hobby Lobby and didn't buy a single thing except the one calendar I needed.  Progress.  We won't mention all the things I'm obsessing over at Bed Bath and Beyond.  That's a whole other post.

School Pictures

It's that time of year again.  Fall is in the air, the thought of holidays are starting to creep into your mind and school is in full swing.  The month since school pictures were taken has flown by and the next thing you know, you open your kid's school folder and staring back at you are school pictures.

School picture day is usually a few weeks into the school year.  Most kids are still sporting their freckly cheeks from summer.  They usually have a new(er) shirt or outfit to wear because you've just went school shopping.  It usually means a morning of stress and drama for most.  My daughter has massively thick, wavy hair so it's always dependent on the weather how she styles her.  My son just doesn't care.

We've had our fair share of rough "picture day" mornings.  One time I told my daughter she couldn't wear super shiny lip gloss to school for her pictures.  (I think it was 3rd grade)  She took it in her pocket and wore it anyway.  I had no clue until we got pictures back and she not only had it on her lips, but also all over her chin.  Karma.  Listen to you mom little girl.

We've also had the years of bad hair days and crooked teeth.  Not to mention, last's years pictures sported the colored braces which my daughter coordinated with her outfit.  We've had the year that we spent an hour straightening her hair only for it to be big and poofy by picture time...we've learned to go with curls.  And don't forget the younger pictures where I got to pick their outfits and now they think they look super dorky.

When my kids were littler, I went through a lot of stress getting ready for picture day.  I'd make sure everything was perfect.  I'd order a big pack and plan to send them out in Christmas cards.  I remember my mom cutting our pictures out and writing my name and grade on the back.  I used nonacid ink so it wouldn't ruin the picture.  I was all in.

And then I realized what a waste it was.  A month went by, the pictures came home, and I was always disappointed.  Don't get me wrong, the pictures were fine.  They were exactly what I paid for...a school picture.   I paid $30, I got a $30 packet of pictures.  Why was I expecting professional, studio type photos from a school picture.  I quickly learned.

The past couple years have been better.  I don't worry about it.  To me, school pictures are just that.  This is what my kid looks like every day at school.  They aren't normally polished and in fancy clothes.  They usually roll out of bed, run a comb through their hair and go.  So I guess to me, I want to remember what my kids look like on a normal, regular basis.   If I want a nice picture, that I can look at proofs and pick from, that I can guarantee a great smile and photoshop, I'm going to take them somewhere else.  You get what you pay for.  Also - did you know that you can volunteer to help at picture day?  The company that our school uses does a great job.  Yes, they herd them in and out but they are on the ball.  They really do take the time to make sure necklaces are fixed, hair is in it's place, etc.  I've helped the past two years and they do try and get the best smile.  Sometimes kids just smile gooney for other people.  I know my kids do.

So all that being said, let's get to this year's pictures.  I don't have my daughters yet but my son's came home yesterday.  As I mentioned, I don't put a lot of thought into it.  I let him pick his outfit, do his own hair, etc.  As long as his teeth are brushed, I'm good.  A few days before picture day, I noticed him checking out last year's picture.  I didn't think too much of it.  After asking what he was going to wear for pictures, I was on to his tricks.  He kinda giggled and said he had it planned.  He mentioned that he wanted to wear his Nike shirt and then laughed.  I didn't think anything of it.  I didn't realize he meant the same shirt he wore last year.  Once I figured it out, I joked with him that I was going to hide it.  Little did I know, he had already hidden it.

Picture day rolled around and he came out of his room proud as a peacock, wearing that Nike shirt.  He has two, one is navy, one is black.  I didn't mention that he had the wrong color on from the year before.  I considered it a small victory.   About 10 minutes before we were to leave, he looks at last year's picture on the mantel and then dashes into the bathroom.  He was in there for a while and came out with a massive amount of hair product on...just like last year.   So without further ado...here is last year's and this year's.....

I'm going to have to make sure to write the year on the back of all of these!!  Other than his face being a little chubbier, it's pretty much identical!  He was so proud of himself.  Luckily, I've learned.  I buy the smallest package and basically just use it to document the year.  I remember my pictures being pretty crazy (I liked aqua net) but it's so fun to look back on them now.  I want my kids to have that experience too.  If I want good pictures, I will get those taken elsewhere.  And since they got to pick their outfits for the school pictures, they know they have to wear what I want for professional pictures.  Mom wins!

An anniversary poem....

I'm a bit of a "closet" Kardashian watcher.  I recently saw the episodes leading up to Kim and Kanye's wedding.  She gifts him with Selfie books all the time.  Well, I have not mastered the selfie yet but then I heard that Kanye wrote her a song.  It's pretty stupid but it got me thinking that I could write my beloved a love poem for our anniversary.  I used to always write little poems or sayings to go with gifts but haven't in a long time.  So I wrote this little ditty for my man and thought I would share it with all of you.  It's totally cheesy and totally us.  Also, he hasn't even read this yet because he's at work.  But....he also keeps telling me that my blog should make us famous so I know he won't care that I shared it here first.

We started dating way back in high school,

You had a mullet and were oh so cool.

I was shy and much thinner,

Who knew our love would be such a winner?

We got married on a sunny September day,

Hundreds traveled from far away.

We’ve now been married for 16 years,

Through laughs and smiles and even tears.

When I’m PMSing you let me be crazy,

And when I’m tired you don’t care if I’m lazy.

You don’t complain when the house is a mess,

And you like my sweats instead of a dress.

I hate when you pee all over the toilet seat,

And you can’t stand to be near my feet.

Does this make us even?  Who’s keeping track,

Because I know you’ll always have my back.

Sometimes you annoy me and think you’re so funny,

But at the end of the day, I still love you honey!

You laugh because I always have to have the last word

But that’s just who I am, haven’t you learned?

We’ve made it through Dave Ramsay, Lamaze class and so much more,

Life with you is never a bore.

You’ve made me try things I never thought I’d do,

Like fishing and camping to name a few.

I love you every day more and more,

Even when you get mud all over the floor

You love me through the eye rolling and all of my drama,

I’m so happy to be your baby’s mama!

Lube

That title got your attention didn't it?  Good, keep reading.

We recently went to an event that had these amazing bubbles and wands.  My son loved them.  They were selling the solution and supplies but I thought surely we could recreate it at home.  My son loves to experiment so I thought it would be right up his alley.

The next day we went and got supplies.  There were several different recipes on Pinterest but most contained similar ingredients.  We picked one and were ready to go.   We mixed up the solution, made homemade wands (drills and other tools were involved).  At one point I thought maybe we should have just shelled out the cash but my son was loving it so we continued.

After we waited the amount of time for the solution to "brew" we headed out and tested our bubbles. After a few adjustments, we had bubbles.  Big, glorious bubbles....that popped as soon as they came out of the wand.  We would get them nice and big but they weren't "unpoppable" like the ones at the event.  By this time, it was 90 degrees and 100% humidity so we were done anyway.  I've continued to research on how to make these bubbles better and I thought I had the perfect solution.  Personal lubricant.  What?  Yes, that's right, lube.  I should point out that I read about this secret ingredient, I didn't come up with it on my own.

Several of the recipes call for glycerin which is thick but pourable.  I was thinking that the bubbles needed to be thicker and kept seeing these posts talking about a secret ingredient.  After much searching and joining a website and then another email group, I found it!  The secret ingredient was personal lubricant purchased from the dollar store.

Today I set out to make all my son's bubble blowing dreams come true.  I headed to the local dollar store in search of personal lubricant.  I was a little embarrassed about buying 2 tubes of this but I'm a confident, married woman....so I buried it in my cart with all my other items and headed to the check out.  I know I've seen this item up by the checkout before and all I could find in the hygiene aisle was the "warm touch" stuff.  I'm sure the ingredients were the same but continued to look for the regular.  There wasn't anyone in line behind me, which I was very grateful for, so I piled everything on the belt but still felt like I should point out to the cashier that the lube wasn't for me personally.  So as she gets to them I say "I'm using those to make homemade bubbles, do you know if you have the regular stuff?"

It went downhill from there.

The nice cashier, LaKendra, could have just said no.  However, I'm guessing she wanted to provide superior customer satisfaction, so she asked her manager if they had any.  Her manager was 3 aisles away.  LaKendra did not leave her register.  She yelled.  Loudly. (Hence the all caps)

"DO YOU KNOW IF WE GOTS ANY PERSONAL LUBRICANT IN THE REGULAR?  THIS LADY DOESN'T WANT THIS WARMIN' STUFF."

I yell "I'M MAKING BUBBLES FOR MY SON!"  I can feel the heat in my face rising.

By this point there is now an elderly lady in line behind me.  She's about 70 and thinks this is hilarious.  I proceed to explain to her that the lube is FOR MY SON'S BUBBLES!!  She just giggles and says, "It's okay honey, you don't have to explain your purchases."

The manager is now up at the register explaining that no they don't have the regular kind, only the warming stuff and is waving the box around like it's a lit sparkler on the 4th of July.  I'm telling them that that is fine, I will get this stuff, let's all move on with life.  The lady behind me continues to giggle.

At this point, I'm starting to laugh too because I'm thinking that it's going to make a great blog post.  I turn to the lay behind me and say "This really is just to make bubbles."  She then tries to hand me the flyswatter she's buying and says, "Well honey, you should really spice things up and get this too."  I'm dying inside.  She's thinking we are 50 Shades of Grey and my face is now 50 Shades of Red.  I just laugh and say "no thanks, just getting bubble making supplies."

I manage to make it out of the store and tell LaKendra I will probably never be back.  And now I'm thinking I can't even let my son help make the stupid bubbles because he's gonna want to know what personal lubricant is and why the bubbles make him feel all warm and tingly when they pop on his skin!  After all this, the bubbles better be magnificent!  And all future personal lubricant purchases will be made on Amazon.

Questions....

It's back to school time again and everyone is trying to get back on a schedule.  I stay at home so it may be a little easier for me.  In the summer we really don't have a schedule.  Breakfast at 11:00 which also means it covers lunch and a late dinner, chores get done as needed and lots of housework slides because we are busy having fun.  Now that school is in session, it's 8:15 AM and I've already done two loads of laundry, dusted, swept and vacuumed.  I am much more productive on a schedule.

With the coming of a new school year, often comes changes.  My kids are in the 4th and 8th grade this year so I'm used to the normal "stay at home mom" questions.  I have a friend who's youngest just entered kindergarten and she stays at home.  She asked how I handle the question of "so what do you do all day now that your kids are in school?" or worse "so are you getting a job now that all of your kids are in school?"  Because being a mom isn't a real job right?

Sure these questions are innocently asked and people just assume that you will be going to work.  But people, stop and think.  Maybe you are just curious on how we spend our 8 hours of "alone" time but don't ask.  If you told me what your career was, I wouldn't say "but really, what do you do for 8 hours".

I'm not bothered by these questions.  I kinda laugh them off and jokingly say I'm just a lady of leisure.  Really I don't feel like it's any one's business but that answer usually does the trick.  Other times I do feel like I have to explain myself and justify why I stay home.  I will say, "I stay at home BUT I do this, this and this..."  And really, I'm not sure why I do that?  I think as moms we just don't want to be judged.

Being a stay at home mom works for our family.  I've been doing this gig for over 9 years now and it works for us.  When my daughter was little, I paid an obscene amount of money for daycare to go to a job I hated.  And if momma ain't happy, nobody's happy.  That rang very true for us.  When I got pregnant with my son, we knew changes had to be made.  In one year, we went from two incomes down to one, we moved to a new town which doubled our mortgage, we (meaning me) learned the hard way about saving money and budgeting.  We made sacrifices and it was worth it.

Being a stay at home means we live on less.  Yes we are comfortable but it's because of the choices we make.  We live in a small house with no basement.  We drive used cars.  I try and get bargains when possible and Dave Ramsay is part of our life.  When our kids complain that they want bigger rooms or a basement, I tell them that we can have that but then I will need to get a job...9 times out of 10 they stop complaining.  And eventually these kids are gonna move out and we won't need a bigger house then anyway.

So what do I do for 8 hours a day....anything I want!  Most days fly by.  Everything that you do on the evenings and on weekends, I do during the day.  All the errands you have to run or have your husband run, I do during the day.  Meal prep, cleaning, laundry, etc...all done.   My husband never has to worry about "house" stuff.  Chores are done, food is in the fridge and he always has clean clothes.  He pretty much has it made.  Also, I love helping people so if a friend needs something, they know they can call me.

All that being said, I have a pretty sweet deal too.  He works hard so that we can have this arrangement.  He provides for our family and continues to better himself so he can continue to provide for us.  If I want to have a "lady of leisure" day or spend time with friends, that's fine too.  This also works for us because I knew I would want to be involved with our kids' school.  I spend a lot of time volunteering there as the PTC President.  In fact, I've had students ask where my classroom is because they assume I'm a teacher.  I want to be involved in the place where my kids spend 8 hours a day.  I also do other volunteer work that is near and dear to us.  I also decorate cakes.  But again, I shouldn't have to list my "credentials" all the time.  I really doubt anyone expects me to, it's something I feel like I need to do for some reason.

In all honesty, I don't know how working moms do it.  I see so many of you doing everything I do PLUS working part time or full time.  You are amazing!!   I think the secret is finding out what works best for your family.  Maybe it's staying home, maybe it's working part time, maybe it's having your husband be a stay at home dad??  Regardless of what that formula is, if it works for you, I won't ask any questions.

Sunday (NOT) Funday

This summer I have noticed several pictures posted on social media and captioned "Sunday Funday".  These pictures usually show friends frolicking in pools, hanging out at cookouts, having a great time on a leisurely Sunday afternoon.  I mean, come on, even the Bible says that Sunday should be a day of rest.  Not so much when you are camping.  Sundays are not Fun days.  At. All.

This past weekend we headed to Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in Mammoth Cave, KY.  We met all of my in-laws there to celebrate my niece's upcoming first birthday.  We had checked out a few other campgrounds in the area and once we found out about a recent Meth lab explosion at one, we thought that Jellystone would be a safe bet for a little family vacay.  Everyone else stayed in a cabin near us and we took out the ole family glamper and headed to Kentucky. (cue banjo music)

We knew as soon as we headed out that it would be a rainy weekend.  Rowland's are camping you say?  Then mother nature is gonna bring on the rain!  I'm thinking that maybe we need to offer some kind of service to areas that are experiencing a drought.  "Need rain - point us to the closest campground!"  I was okay with the rain though because I knew we had the cabin as a fall back.  It was going to be fine.

We drove 6 hours while it rained the entire time.  Set up the camper in the rain.  Dried out the areas that water got into (which were limited thankfully). We had time to kill so we headed to eat.  We met a very nice, yet creepy, waitress and I started talking with a southern accent.  It stopped raining, we were dry and full and we headed back to the campground y'all.  It rained throughout the weekend but we were still able to have a lot of fun.  There were lots of windows of no rain so the kids swam, had fun with cousins, etc.

Around 3:30 AM this happened:

That's my son sound asleep next to a bucket of water.  You can't tell buy the bucket and towel are 1/2 full.  See, it started leaking around 3:30 AM.  I woke up and thought I'd peed the bed!  The memory foam mattress is super absorbent which I guess is a good thing because it all ran to the low spot (my butt I guess) and soaked in there leaving my son and the rest of the bed dry.  He slept through it all.  Luckily, duct tape and caulk fixed the problem!

We also got fancy with our glamper this weekend and figured out how to attach the canopy and screen room.  Plus we spread out the new outdoor rug.  It was super fancy.

(Don't mind my hubby's butt!  I meant to go back and take another picture and forgot. You're welcome)

The highlight of the glamper is the new lights we got.  Bobby got pink flamingo lights at a garage sale and I got the white ones last week.

Now it's almost like a fancy resort....except for the wet towels hanging in there!  Don't be jealous!  This really helped though in all the rain!

So back to my reason of Sundays not being fun....
Now that I've camped 3 times, I am pretty much a professional.  I noticed on Friday and Saturday, the campground was buzzing.  People were out, setting up, having fun.  You could smell foods cooking and fires going.  Golf carts were tooling around, kids on bikes were cruising and everyone was out enjoying nature.

On Sunday, not so much.  It's quiet.  All you hear are men barking orders, crabby wives and trucks pulling out.  You may hear a few kids crying, some complaining, car doors closing.  For the most part, the fun is over.  It's time to pack up and head home.  The worst part of camping is dealing with the mess.  Maybe in a bigger camper, where you can just close the doors and drive away, it's not so bad.  In a pop up, tear down is a pain.  Everything is wet.  Every. Thing.  That canopy and screen room we liked so much...gotta come down.  Those lights...gotta come down.  Thankfully, my husband is very meticulous in all of this and takes the time to fold it all and wind everything up and put it away.  Me?  I would have wadded it in a ball and left.  That new rug?  It's covered in mud but someones gotta fold it back up like a US map and get it in the carrier.

We've learned (now that we are pros) to get everything packed up and the camper ready to go and THEN take the showers.  We shower and basically pull away.  By the time I hit the showers, I AM SCARY!  I'm crabby, hot, sweaty, muddy and tired from not sleeping the past two nights.  We worked from about 8:45 until 10:30 packing everything up.  Check out was at 11:00.  We drove away at 10:58.  We cut it close on this one.  I thought I would take a selfie of my scary self before my shower just so you got the whole impact of how bad the situation gets.  However, the selfie was so horrid, I had to take a picture of my reflection in the car just to filter it somewhat.

I think this should say "You won't like me when I'm camping"  Things get ugly.
Also, on Sunday, I get to come home and work on this mess.

That's a ginormous bag of wet, stinky, dirty laundry and the other is a bag full of all the dirty bedding.  Fun times.  It's Tuesday and I just finished laundry.

So I guess the moral of the story is, while I'm getting used to this camping business, Sunday is definitely not a fun day.  Maybe we need to stay until Monday?