Poison Ivy with A Smile.

I know what you're thinking.  How the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks can she possibly be smiling with poison Ivy all over her face?

I guess it's just the giddy-ness of camping with the kids, or maybe I just don't take myself too seriously.

My kids love camping and it's a family tradition for my mom and dad to take their grand-kids camping for the week after school lets out.  I've tagged along the last couple of years.

So here we are, tent camping at Stephen's State Park in NJ. Foraging for firewood (in poison ivy as you can see), camp fires, smores, fishing - the whole nine yards.

There is something special about tent camping.  You're more in touch with the outdoors and the elements that come with it. It's great to snuggle up with your kids in sleeping bags and it even give you an opportunity to make up lies to tell your kids.  Last night my daughter was very concerned about daddy long legs, so of course on the spot, my mommy brain cooked up a great story.

"Dad stopped up and brought us those special daddy long legs capsules. The ones where you dissolve them in a little water, they smoke up the tent with a special smelling smoke that only daddy longs legs can smell. They can't stand the smell and it makes them sneeze, so they stay out of the tent."

"What about Grandma and Grandpa's tent?"

"He used the capsule in there too."

"What's it called?"

"Long-leg star dust, of course." (You've gotta be quick)

So yeah, camping and lying to our kids and poison ivy.  Good stuff.

As you can see in the picture, I'm all dressed and showered (no make-up though).  I'm off to a work luncheon.  Had to take one day off of camping to distribute some scholarship checks to some very deserving applicants for my job.

When you're a working mom, you make it work.  Poison ivy, and all.