Camping, bunk beds, and American Heritage Girls

"Bunk beds are cool. It's a bed.......... With a ladder!" 

The Doctor

The gorgeous Hill Country of Texas was the backdrop to our lovely weekend. 

What do you get when you take a grown women, who has never camped, and throw her in the woods with 17 little girls to help watch over? Craziness and learning and a side of humor.

This past weekend, Miss A and I headed out into the wildness that is the Texas Hill Country with around 100 other girls ranging in ages from 6 to 18. Miss A is in her second year of American Heritage Girls and is currently a Tenderheart.. If you have never heard of AHG (American Heritage Girls will be referred to as AHG in the rest of the post. This is mainly because I'm lazy and I love a good acronym) don't worry, while this scouting group is fairly "new" on the block of girl groups who scout, it has been around for a few years. I will say here, that we were roughing it. Yes we stayed in cabins, with indoor plumbing, and amazing bunk beds, but there were 17 little girls ages 6/7/8 and 6 adults in one cabin. Learning to navigate girl drama, we parent's are now pros. 

A brief Background

AHG was started in 1995 by a group of parents in one mom's kitchen in Ohio. This pioneer mama wanted a character building scouting group that meshed Christian values and ideals while also incorporating learning in areas of outdoor skills, exploration, science, home skills and many others. She also wanted her young girls to be positively influenced by girls of all ages and by grown adults while keeping a sense of family traditions alive. Many AHG troops are run different ways, but at their core, they are a Christian focused group. The girls are not asked to sign any form of statement of faith, but may earn badges relative to their own denominations. Most AHG groups are chartered by a home church. AHG is perfect for our family and many others, to the tune of 20,000+ girls in 48 states and 7 countries. Everyday, an AHG troop springs up somewhere and it's membership has increased by over 50% each year since 1995.  American Heritage Girls is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the mission of building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country.(from website)  For more information on AHG and find a troop near you, check out the website. http://ahgonline.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=20600

Camping and bunk beds

In December, we were told at a parent informational meeting that there would be the first ever South Texas Winter Camp. I'm going to be blatantly honest here and say, I am not what some most anyone-who-has-ever-met-me would call a "camper". I enjoy a good sporting section in Target and I will eat food on patios, but that is about the extent of my camping experience. My daughter, my free spirit, thinks camping is amazing. She enjoys the outdoors, hikes, nature study, leaf identification. Pretty much, if it can be done outside and possibly involves digging in dirt, sign her up. So naturally, when she heard that there was camping she was excited but then she heard that it was cabins and she was thrilled. 

"We can go mom, ya know, since we don't have a tent." 

So all month and into January, I listened to random songs about camping, sat through excited diatribes about what animals we would see, and estimates of how many smores she could stuff in her face. She happily read off the camping list, gathered her things, and packed her own part of the bag. We made matching t-shirts with the AHG creed on them and away we went into the Texas Hill Country. She was thrilled about sleeping in a bunk bed, I was thrilled that cougars were not as hungry in January as in the spring.  

As we arrived, checked in and unloaded, she was found happily making her bunk up. Miss A looked down at me at one point and exclaimed:

"Mom!! This is so cool! Bunk beds are cool. It's a bed............. with a ladder." 

All my Whovian friends out there will recognized the reference and then exclaim themselves "best moment ever!" I would have to agree with you, of course. 

After a dinner, which put the girls into the cabin groups they would be in, going over rules, and the buddy system, was prayers and a progressive story told by flashlight under chins, it was lights out. That was at 9pm. However, the girls were much too excited to sleep and around 2am most fell asleep. The rest took until 3am and everyone was promptly awake at 6:30am, a whole 15 min before the wake up alarm call. Opening Ceremony was at 7:15am.

Between learning about insects, making old magazines into new paper, making beaded jewlery, silk screen, PE, a hike, a map reading and knot tying demo and three meals, the girls were tired but loving and soaking up every single minute. This is what I have truly come to love about AHG. Camping with girls is hard, especially little girls, but the program has some amazing badges and the learning is just awesome. We honestly do reading, math and AHG in the summer, because to earn a badge takes several steps. For instance, Miss A had to make a correct map of her neighborhood, mark North, South, East, West, learn to read a compass and use it for direction to earn her orienteering badge. This is why AHG just rocks for our family. The badges earned are for real world as well as outdoor stuff. There are also service stars, as each girl has to do a set number of service hours in the community to earn a star yearly. There is also patches which are earned for things like father/ daughter BBQ's, mother/daughter teas, participating in Scout Sunday and National Day of Service among others. We ended the jam packed day, around the campfire while the girls preformed skits and ate smores. 

We did wind up leaving a whole day early, but that was because, if you are from South Texas and Mountain Cedar doesn't bother you, you are not from this planet. We happened to camp in the gorgeous Hill Country in Texas where the views are beautiful year round, but also happen to be in the middle of a Mountain Cedar forest. Miss A's allergies went haywire and she ended up miserable being outside all day in the woods and was seen by the onsite Doctor. He suggested taking her home to just get her out of it. Of course she was terribly disappointed and cried all the way home. Which in turn broke my heart. 

Camping? Again?

Our experience was so positive that yes, we will be camping again. I really want Miss A to love the outdoors and learn how to build fires and identify plants and animals as well as make crafts. I want her to feel as comfortable camping, as she does in our church volunteering. I also want her to understand the impact of a community that serves each other. These values are what I strive to provide for her all the while she is making lasting, lifelong friendships. There is another family camp coming up in the spring, and Miss A and I will gladly go.

 I can't wait to pack our sleeping bags, grab our solar lantern and go out and discover the world. 

Together. 

Mother and daughter.

Learning side by side.

Growing,  in both our faith in God by the beauty we will be surrounded by, but also by the lessons we both will learn. 

 Now for some pictures from our weekend. Enjoy

Miss A and I in our handmade shirts.

Recycled paper making.

screen printing

The girls asking great questions about boat safety.

Learning how to correctly identify and put on a flotation device. 

Miss A in her bed with a ladder, hugging her solar lantern, happy as a clam. 

Mama Jelly

I have Ruined Her

While most of these posts will be about my adventures in my craft room, the adventure of motherhood is one that I like to hit head on. While I consider Big B a very level headed person, this mama tends to error on the side of " Oh No I'VE COMPLETELY RUINED THEM!!" Isn't mommy guilt a glorious thing? I am a stay at home mommy now and feel the guilt just like I did when I worked. Only it's over different things. When I worked, the guilt was about time and how I could maximize the quality in my limited time with my oldest. Since she was our one and only for so long, I got the unique privilege of feeling mommy guilt plus only child mommy guilt. It was awesome! (insert sarcasm here) There were days where I would get off late from work, pick her up, make dinner, go to an after hours meeting, and get home long after she had gone to bed. Total hours spent with Miss A? maybe 1.... maybe. But this post isn't going to be a debate on staying home versus working mothers. I say, if it works for your family, if your happy doing whichever, than I celebrate you! I support all mommies, no matter how they choose to bring up their kids. We are all in the trenches with our kids, fighting the daily fight, dirty, tired and worn. Sometimes they win, sometimes we win, but most of the time we meet somewhere in the middle. NO this isn't about that awful unnecessary debate over working versus staying at home. Comments can hurt, cut you deep. "Sticks and stone could brake my bones, but words will never hurt me".... we've all heard that little rhyme but it is so wrong. At any age, words have the power to cut through you and the power to lift you up. The problem, when most people start arguing isn't the argument, it's the words you can't unsay. Each and every Wednesday, we get in the car and make our way across town to our church for mid week service. Between the bustle of getting the kids dressed, ready and cleaned, while getting dinner on the table, daddy comes home. We eat fast, load Miss A and Little B into the car and away we go. Personally, I think it's a great personal triumph if we are there at 7:10pm.... church starts at 7pm. We are perpetually late, it's a gift really, to still be late when we start getting everyone ready at 4pm. "And the award goes to the best at being late for no good reason is......" Ta-Da! This is usually the first time Big B has a moment to ask his in depth question "How was today?" On this particular day, we are running really behind, and are barely piled into the car, car seats fastened, seat belts on, when Big B says "How was today?' "Miss A got in trouble at co-op today" (here I should probably mention, we are labeled those "crazy homeschoolers") "Oh? What for" As I proceed to tell him how she really wasn't "in" trouble so much as not listening to the teacher due to waiting to keep the whole class together. Another little boy wasn't wanting to line up, and Miss A was afraid he would be left behind and so she stood still, wouldn't move until he came with the class, therefore getting herself in trouble for not listening. I'm telling Big B this when her little voice from the back seat pipes up "Jordan is my only friend mom. My only one, I couldn't leave him behind." I tell her that she could have played with the three girls in class, that he isn't her "ONLY" friend. She proceeds to sigh and says "Yes he is, I'm not allowed to play with the other girls. They don't like me." I ask her to clarify. "Mom, (she names the ring leaders name) she told them that I can't be their friend. I'm not allowed to play with them. She hates me, so they have to hate me too." Now to me hate is a very strong word. To hate is such a harsh and total emotion, it is not light or something to say but rather a strong word..... at least to me. "What do you mean she hates you?" " Mom, I can't be their friends. When I try to play in the girls center, I'm not allowed to. I just want to play restaurant, but they don't want to play with me. Once Jordan came, I had a friend, but before he came, I only played by myself. No one likes me at school mom." The words are hanging in the air, thick and heavy like a soured cream "No one likes me". My inner mom voice starts to scream: How could they? She is so sweet!! Amazing!! What is wrong with these girls? Yes, she is a bit of a drama queen, but they have to like her....... right? THEY ARE ONLY 4 and 5!!!!!!!!!! I hadn't realized at this point that tears were streaming down my cheeks. My breath was ragged as I fought the urge to bawl or just have Big B stop the car, get out on the freeway and hug my little girl, while telling her how amazing and beautiful she is. I'm gripping the seat as she describes where they pulled down her skirt in front of the class and opened the door on her while she went to the bathroom. I'm fighting the urge to march up to the closed school and camp out on the walkway leading to the directors office. "What does the teacher say?" I asked, trying desperately to control my voice so she won't know how upset I am. "She only says to stop it. But they don't mom. They sing a song about my coloring. I don't like to color with them." Knowing I'm going to hate the answer, I ask "What is the song?" She sings it, and I truly hear my heartbreak into a million pieces. We chose to homeschool because it was easier for us, because she is so smart that public school won't take her, because it was cheaper than paying the fancy prices. We choose to homeschool to give her a one on one education and personalized attention. We only chose to send her to the PK 2 days a week for socialization. We liked that they used ABEKA and we use it, right along side. We didn't choose to send her to a place to be bullied buy brat 4 year olds. Her hair isn't the right color, she never wears pants, she is weird. I listen as she tells me these things, not crying, not upset, just like they were math facts. A complete black or white thing, you either fit in or you don't. "Mom, I can't make it to church, I have to potty." As we pull off to the HEB, Big B turns to me "can you take her in?" he whispers. I just shake my head no. As soon as they are gone, I call my mom, she answers on the first ring "Hell.." she doesn't even get the word out before I am bawling, sobbing. "I HAVE RUINED MISS A!!!" I shriek between sobs. "What?!" She asks "I have ruined her. It's all my fault. We homeschooled her and now she is too sheltered and my biggest fear has come true. It's all my fault!" I'm sobbing at my mom. Calmly, like only she can do, she says " Tell me what happened." And I do, the whole thing. The whole ugly, horrible thing. By this time Miss A and daddy are coming out of the store and I say I'll call her back after church. At service, my heart is heavy. I can't pay attention. I can't focus. Little B is making google eyes at Pastor's wife, who comes and takes him, slobbering and all, all over her nice suit jacket. His little round blue eyes stare at me while he chews on his chubby fist. "They hate me mom" I hear her sweet little voice. Like it's a fact, Like it's the truth.  She's in bed and I go to my only place I feel completely alone, my craft room. I kneel down and start praying, talking to God like I always do, like he is my best friend. "Where did I go wrong?  What can I do? This is me all over again. This is going to happen to her always." It's just like Junior High and High School where I was teased and made fun of, laughed at for being different. It was a whole ton of moments where I was the target of cruelty, of hatred. I'm crying out to God now "Please help me be better. Please help me be a better mom. I have failed her." The guilt in all mothers is deep, no matter the side of the fence your on. We all feel like we have failed at one point or another. As I'm crying out, I'm listening to my IPod, I'm a modern day Christian. I'm Listening to Gateway College of Evangelism Choir and crying for my hurt little girl. But something moves in me and the anger comes. I'm mad! Mad about these little girls, mad about what they are saying and doing. I'm mad enough to possibly harm the mother of the "ring leader" in the parking lot at school the next day. But I am reminded that violence won't solve this problem, so I make a plan. I make a date to talk with the director one on one. I tell her what Miss A said and how I feel about it. I'm calm, collected, smart. I truly believe God helped me with that, since on the way in I saw the mom coming from the classroom and it took all I had not harm her. It was my mother's instinct to protect my child, but I must rise above. We talk, the director and I, and we come up with a plan. I feel better and once we talk it over with her teacher, I feel even better about it. Miss A and I go eat Jamba Juice to celebrate. That night in the bath, after her brother is out and cleaned, she hugs me. She is soaking wet and I protest. She looks at my face and says "I love you mom. You stick up for me. You care about me" I am reminded how hard it is to be a Proverbs 31 women, how this world can be so cruel to others for their own gain. "I heard you praying. You said my name and I heard you. I like it when you pray for me." She is saying this as she is yawning. I tuck her in, kiss her forehead. As I walk out I ask "How old are you?" She giggles "I'm 5." I know that. Just 5. Mama Jelly

A little Intro

I suppose the best place to start when you start a completely self indulgent blog, is to start at the beginning. I'll fast forward through my childhood, my awkward preteen/teen years, my nursing jobs and career and my marriage to now, with my two kids, hubs and our rescued older dog Angel. I am a product of the Midwest, a true Southern IL girl at heart. No just because I come from IL does not mean I live near Chicago, you'd be quite surprised to know that there are towns outside of  Cook County. My husband (Big B) and I married and lived up until a year ago, in a little town called Collinsville - Home of the World's Largest Catsup Bottle. Whoop!! Let's hear it for C-VILLE!!!  **crickets**

Yeah, nice little town, full of front porches and main street businesses. We loved living there and loved that we could walk downtown to the Italian fest, in July celebrate the Catsup Bottle festival and we were only minutes to downtown Saint Louis. It was nice and quaint and full of all those wonderful events Country Music stars love to sing about.

We started our family there and were quite content to be buried there as well, until Big B got a call. "Come, make some money, work for us. Come to Texas, it never snows here." Never snows?! We were there!!!! Our little family of 3, Big B, Miss A (then 4) and I, Mama Jelly, all put what we could in a small U-Hal, loaded down our little SUV and drove for 3 days to move to Texas for Big B's job. Around Christmas time 2010, we learned that, despite everything we were told by a big hot shot fertility doctor, we were pregnant. PREGNANT!! Completely natural, completely on our own, pregnant. This was nothing short of a miracle and one I'll talk about in full in another blog post. So not only had we moved to Texas from Illinois, were trying to make new friends, trying out a new church, trying to get settled, we were expecting a complete miracle. Our tiny little man, Little B, was born in June at 6 weeks early. He stayed 9 days in the NICU and was released into our care, totaling 11 days in the hospital, with mom and Little B.

Mama Jelly giving Little B his first hug. He was born with a hole in his lungs and had to spend days under an oxygen hood.

Miss A with her new brother once he was released to room in.

Coming Home

Miss A and Little B currently

Cute kids: Check

Nice little life: Check

Craziness: Check

So what is this blog about?  I will be posting my craft projects, and favorite Pinterest pins. Don't know what Pinterest is? Check it out Here and be prepared to be amazed! I guess you could categorise this blog under "crafty blogs". But I do love and talk about my kids, our adventures in homeschooling and general craziness having a household with a 5 year old and an infant. I guess that makes me a "mommy blogger". Speaking of adventures, I am an awful cook. No, I'm not one of those women who say "I'm an awful cook" but throw things together like lasagna. I am an awful cook, as in I burn chocolate chips, set fire to a donut, ruin rice, can't boil water..... awful cook. So maybe put this blog under "first aid". Lastly, I love random things, going to flee markets, Sunday School pranks, everyday life sort of randomness, so possibly put this blog under "life".

Anyway you slice it up, this little self indulgent blog is about my little corner of the big state of Texas and our little family enjoying it. I hope you do to.

Mama Jelly