Cragmama

Oct 16 2014

Do outdoor adventures with your family ever feel like this picture? If so, you are so not alone. These sort of pictures are not the ones that usually show up on social media. In fact, scenes like this are generally not even photographed. This one happened to be captured by my husband on a picnic lunch at Julian Price Memorial Park. After a stressful week at work and getting our new water distiller system installed, we most definitely needed a break. We’d just set up camp, and were grabbing a bite to eat before setting off on a family hike. Unbeknownst to the Crag-Daddy, Big C and I had been arguing about food (“Hiking bears are not for lunch. You have to be a happy hiker to get them.”)

So when Steve sat down on the bench and said, “Smile, everyone!” Big C whipped his head around with a snarky remark and got an eye-roll from me, while Baby Z was of course oblivious to everything but my water bottle. And so it goes.

Certainly not meltdown status by any means (but I had a hard time finding a representative picture of an ACTUAL meltdown.) But it does bring up a good point – not all outdoor moments with your family are good ones. Sometimes they are pretty crappy. And that’s okay too.

If I wanted to I’m sure I could pontificate more about the life lessons that can be gleaned from temper tantrums at the crag and meltdowns at the farthest point on the trail away from the car. But I’ll save that for another post. Today I just felt like showing an authentic glimpse of what our family sometimes looks like “behind-the-scenes” in the Great Outdoors. And to encourage you to get out anyway, because the good moments more than make up for the bad ones. (And ALL of the memories will make for good stories later!)

Anyone else been there, done that? Feel free to share a story (or a pic!)

Opening a Can of Worm (Farm)

Homeschooling.

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Oct 13 2014

Hands-on nature activities are a big thing at our house – the messier, the better. It’s my opinion that allowing a child to explore the world around them with all 5 of his/her God-given senses will create a lifelong curiosity and appetite for learning. One such activity that we tried recently was making a worm farm. It’s easy to do, and is fun for all ages!

How to:
All you need is a container of some sort, preferably clear. (We re-used an old soda bottle.) Toss in some dirt along with a few compost items (rotting leaves, banana peel, coffee grounds, etc), and you are ready to add your worms!

Finding Tips:
1. Search after a rain, when the soil is moist for digging.
2. Large rocks and decaying logs make great places to hide under, and require less digging to discover (although the digging IS part of the fun!)

We spent almost an hour digging around in the garden, only to come up with 3 small earthworms (along with a weird grub that Big C also wanted to keep.) Ironically the next day we kicked over a log only to discover about a dozen of them – all fat, round, and wiggly! One of them was so big that I thought it was a very small snake!

Dump ’em out, and watch ’em squirm!

“Farming” Tips:
1. Make a cover for your container out of dark paper. (We cut up a paper grocery bag.) Slip the cover on when you are not observing. The darkness will encourage the worms to tunnel all the way out to the sides of the container.
2. A cookie sheet makes a great tray for observation.

When you’re done observing your worms, release them in your garden, or if you have one, your compost bin. (See this post for why you should compost with your kids.) If you kinda dig having the worms around, you can provide a more permanent structure for them using these simple instructions. In return, they’ll provide you with fresh compost every 6 months to a year!

Literacy Tips:
For preschoolers and early readers, check out “Diary of a Worm,” by Doreen Cronin, to add a literacy component to your experiment!

Anyone else ever have fun with worms?

Hound Ears Competition: Bouldering and an ER Visit

Climbing. North Carolina.

1 Comment.

Oct 08 2014

With a title like that, I should probably start this weekend recap with a SPOILER ALERT: Everyone is fine!!! That being said, our weekend in the mountains was filled with excitement of both the good and bad variety.

For those of you not familiar with “Hound Ears,” it’s the site of the first of usually 3 (but this year 4!) legs of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series Competition. The boulderfield, which in my opinion is one of the best in the region, is situated inside a private, gated community, so this competition is one of the few times during the year the boulders are open for climbing. For background: the last time our family had participated in the event was in 2010. Big C was just a few weeks younger than Baby Z is now, and I had surprised myself by snagging 3rd place in Women’s Intermediate.

Comp is delayed…but first, lemme take a selfie!

While Steve and I definitely still fall more in the roped climbers camp when it comes to outdoor climbing (it’s pretty obvious if you’ve ever seen us try to mantle…), we’ve been doing a lot more bouldering in the gym lately, so we came in feeling a lot stronger than last time.

Big girls get to ride on the shuttle bus!!!

If there’s one thing you can count on for Hound Ears, it’s that it’s going to be COLD! And sure enough, despite hitting low 70’s the previous day, Saturday never got above 45, with 20 mph winds. And while our family loves to camp, it sure felt nice to have a warm bed in a little mountain cabin both nights! Some friends of Steve’s parents have a cabin that is literally 2 miles away from the boulderfield, and they were kind enough to let us use it. And not only that, Steve’s parents volunteered to endure Tweetsie Railroad for the day with Big C, which meant we only had one kiddo to wrangle on Saturday!

In light of the deluge of rain and lingering fog that had poured in on Friday afternoon, the comp was delayed. We didn’t get started until just before 11, which didn’t exactly work in our favor since everything seems to take forever with Baby Z, but what can ya do! We started over on the Air Jesus Wall, where I second go’d Air Jesus Low Start (V5). In hindsight, we should stayed around and tried some more of the problems over there, but Baby Z was getting fussy and we felt like we needed to keep moving.

Crag-Daddy demolishing The Claw V4

We then walked back up to the top of the hill, where I was very pleased to send Damage Inc (V5) without losing too much skin in the process. I also day-flashed The Claw (V4), which is one of my favorite problems in the field. The next problem to go down was Ripper Traverse (V3), and I also spent some time working Woody’s V3 (V4), and The Glove Traverse (V6), but was unsuccessful for both. Again, there are a host of other V2-V4 problems that we should have hopped on before moving, but neglected to because the area was so darn crowded. We then waded through the mob to get to the Pocket Boulder, where I was very pleased to finally send the namesake Pocket Problem (V4), which had given me fits (and taken a lot of skin!) last time.

"My Daddy just sent The Claw, he is AWESOME!!!"

“Bouldering is superfun, guys!”

From this point our day started getting a little hectic. We spent a lot of time wandering around trying to figure out what to climb amidst the crowds and an at times fussy Baby Z! All of a sudden it was 5:00 and we were running out of time! In a mad dash I flew up Cracker Backs (V2), The Slatherine (V2), and Warm-Up Arete (V0), right before the comp ended. And just like that, the day was over!

Looking back on the day as a whole, I am very satisfied with how I climbed. I had a lot of fun, and sent several problems that had completely shut me down in previous years. It was also the first time I’d ever sent two V5’s in one day before! AND, it was also the first time I got to try out the brand new Tenaya Tarifa shoe. VERDICT = AWESOME!!! Expect a full (glowing!) review in the next few weeks!

But from a competition standpoint, Steve and I planned things out rather poorly. Even though we both climbed a lot stronger than we had before, my finishing score was a full 300 points lower than my previous year’s (and Steve’s was about the same), so it was a little disappointing that our improved efforts weren’t reflected on our score cards. Our fatal mistake? Not getting in the full 10 problems…and also me forgetting to actually record one of the problems I did at the end, which would have bumped me up to my previous high score (doh!)

Opening moves of Damage, Inc V5…and Tenaya Tarifa doing it’s job!

Amazingly enough, just lingering at each area long enough to log another problem or two, even if just in the V1-V3 range, would have given me close to 1000 more points! But the late start combined with a needy Baby Z made time fly faster than usual, and before we knew it, the day was almost over and our score cards were only half full! (Hence the absent-minded climbing frenzy in the last 15 minutes!) Oh well, competition climbing has never been our “thing” anyway.

“My Daddy just sent The Claw, he is AWESOME!”

Oh yeah…so where does the ER come into play? After playing his heart out all day at Tweetsie with no signs of illness whatsoever, Big C woke up at 2 am completely panicked and struggling to breathe. Based on the wheezy noises he was making with every breath, it was evident that his throat was swelling up, though we of course had no idea whether it was from an illness or some sort of allergy. Getting him to relax and calmed down did help stabilize him a bit. But he was still pale and his breathing was very labored (stridor), and we had no cell service to get a call in to the pediatrician, so off he went with his Daddy and grandmother to the local hospital in Boone. (And to all the mamas out there, I know I don’t even need to tell you how difficult it is to watch your sick little boy whisked away into the night, even if it is by two people that love him as much as I do!)

He was MUCH improved by the time they got to the ER, and he was diagnosed with croup – that cold night air works wonders! His O2 levels were at 90% when checked, but to be on the safe side they gave him a liquid steroid…and would you believe he was absolutely fine the next day? Tired, of course – he slept in til 9:15, took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon AND still went to bed on time at 7! That night we cranked the monitor up to full volume Sunday night and went to bed on high alert just in case, but I heard exactly ONE singular cough!

My poor, sweet boy…

So even though our weekend took a scary turn, all’s well that ends well. Big C is a pretty tough little guy, and so far Baby Z seems to be in the clear. As far as climbing goes, next year we will definitely change up our strategy and pace ourselves a little better…and who knows by then we may be able to convince the grands to take BOTH kiddos for the day…to Tweetsie that is, not the hospital! 😉

Headbands for All! (And Giveaway from Bolderband)

Gear Reviews.

7 Comments.

Oct 06 2014

As an active outdoorsy type with rather unruly hair, I am rarely seen without some sort of hair “paraphernalia,” whether it be a headband, hat, or even just bobby pins and rubberbands. More often than not though, it’s a headband – it’s a great way to ~~disguise the fact that you haven’t washed it~~ keep hair manageable in the outdoors.

Here’s my Bolder Band worn in the smallest width option

Recently I got the chance to try out a headband from Bolderband, a product designed by Colorado mom Amy Crouse, who set out to design a headband that would stay put during her cross-fit workouts. The band is made out of a spandex/lycra blend (think swimsuit material), and can be worn in 3 different widths, depending on how it’s folded.

The band was very comfortable, and did a great job keeping both hair and sweat out of my eyes (the material is very absorbent.) At first I was skeptical about the Bolderband’s promise to stay put, since all of my headbands (even the ones with that grippy stuff underneath) always seem to slide back on my head after wearing them for a while, especially if I have my hair in a ponytail. But this headband really lived up to it’s claims! (Provided I wore it lower on my forehead – ie, so that it covers up where my hairline starts, if that makes sense.) A few times I wore it up a bit higher, and while it performed better than many other bands, it still slipped a bit.

But I’m not the only one rockin’ cool headbands in our household these days! Considering that I’m such a headband junkie, it’s not surprising that I’ve gone a little bit nuts about headbands for Baby Z. In fact, recently I set out on a quest to upcycle some of the clothes she’s grown out of (of which there are many!) A quick google search yielded enough tutorials and pictures to last until Baby Z is out of college, so I picked a few of my favorites to start with. Some require basic sewing skills, others are no-sew, and all are cute as a button! Here’s a few of the ones I made, with links back to the “pattern” I used…

The Turban Knot: My hubby refers to this one as the “Aunt Jemima.” (remember the lady on the old syrup bottles?) If you can sew two pieces of fabric together in a straight line and know how to tie a basic not, you can make this headband. (I also hot glued the loose ends of the knot onto the band so that they wouldn’t flop around.)

Baby Z rockin’ the turban knot at Grayson Highlands State Park

The Felt Flower: No pattern necessary, you just need elastic, felt flower, and a hot glue gun…These were so quick and easy that I cranked out some for my two nieces as well.

Baby Z chillin’ with Cousin R earlier this summer.

Waistband Rosettes: Turns out that Baby Z’s head circumference is the same as the waistband on some of her old pants, so I simply cut it out to use as the band part. I then chose from any number of tutorials on making fabric rosettes, and then broke out the hot glue gun!

Making those headbands was pretty easy, and you know what else is easy? Entering to win a Bolderband of your very own (or Bro Band, for the guys out there!) All you have to do is leave a comment about your favorite brand of headband and fill out the Rafflecopter widget below. The contest will run through the night of October 12 at midnight, at which point a random winner will be chosen and announced via social media. Best of luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crowders Mountain…and an Ode to an Old Blue Backpack

Climbing. Gear Reviews. North Carolina.

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Oct 01 2014

This past weekend’s trip to Crowders Mountain was an important milestone in our adventures as a family of four – Baby Z has FINALLY gotten big enough to transition into the Kelty Kid Carrier we used for Big C (our older model is reviewed here). While her brother started using it just shy of 6 months, my tiny Baby Z hasn’t been able to fit into it until now, a few days away from 7 months.

Big C’s first day in the Kelty

…First day for Baby Z!

Our agenda for the day was pretty open – we mainly just wanted to enjoy a beautiful fall day out on the rock as a family. We got a fairly late start, so Steve and our friend Chris hiked ahead while me and the kiddos hiked at 4 year old pace.

As I hoisted Baby Z into the carrier and onto my back, I was amazed at how many sentimental feelings were conjured up by this old blue backpack. This dirty old pack had been through a lot. It had logged hundreds of miles at dozens of crags across the Southeast, seen numerous national landmarks (such as Devil’s Tower and Mt. Rushmore), and endured more than its fair share of abuse from sun, wind, rain, and a growing toddler. All while keeping safe the most precious cargo I’d ever known. Nonetheless, at this point, one would want to get away from the looks they’d get from the tattered areas of the bag, & would want a new backpack. Backpacks.global has all the reviews and more regarding them.

Beautiful view at the summit!

Even though it had been years since it was last put to use, I was surprised at how familiar it all felt – from the buckles and snaps, to the way it felt on my back (minus about 20 extra pounds of toddler weight!) As I started up the trail, I glanced in the little mirror that’s attached to the strap, and caught Baby Z’s eye. She smiled wide and giggled, and I all of a sudden found myself a little emotional. That wasn’t the face I remembered seeing in that mirror! My eyes shifted downwards…a much older version of that face was now hiking alongside me, one of his hands in mine, the other clutching a yellow flower we had just found. My, how time flies.

Big C halfway up.

And with that, our family has returned once again to the era of the backpack carrier. Baby Z loved the new, (higher) vantage point, and I loved being able to see my feet (as opposed to wearing baby on the front, and backpack on the back.) It’s time to get comfortable, because we’ll be in this phase for quite a while…although that big boy walking beside be is proof that it won’t be nearly as long as we think!

In my opinion, the best part of a backpack carrier over any other “getting-to-the-crag-with-a-baby” device is the ease in which you can get said baby to nap safely by themselves. Baby Z has more than once proven herself far less willing to konk out on a blanket at the base of the cliff than her brother ever was…she would much prefer to be held, thanks. Which meant that our strategy of late has simply been taking turns who wears her for the duration of each nap. Successful, yes. But also inefficient and exhausting with regards to climbing.

At the last bolt!

But the Kelty backpack carrier has a “kickstand,” which means that the wearer can “walk” her to sleep, then (with a little help), ease her down for a nap in the pack, right there on the ground! On Saturday, Steve and I got to BOTH be baby-free for one glorious stretch of an hour and 15 minutes!

As far as actual climbing, I got in 3 routes – Electra (5.10c), Energy Czar (5.10d), and Butcher of Baghdad (5.11d), which is basically an alternate finish for Energy Czar. I hadn’t been on the first two routes in a really long time, and I’d forgotten how much fun they are. Butcher was new for me, which doesn’t happen that often anymore at Crowders! In the interest of time I only had one go at it, and couldn’t put it together clean – several really long lock-offs from small but very positive crimps. But the sequence was fun, and while the holds were indeed sharp, I didn’t find them to be nearly as bad as they were rumored to be. Next time I’m out there I think it will go down fairly easily.

My happy little hiker at the base of Red Wall.

Our next stop was Red Wall, where our friend snagged his first outdoor lead on Butter Knife (5.6). It’s also where Big C tied in, and made it ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! Full disclosure – I totally hauled him up a good bit of it, which I generally try not to do, but the view at the top is awesome, and I wanted him to experience that. He was mega-excited to climb “all the way up to Daddy,” who was waiting for him at the anchors, and later he went on and on about how he got to see “a view!” Definitely a positive experience on the rock for him, which is fantastic in my book!

We hiked out the back way so that Big C could see the Chromagnon Cave, which is his favorite part about Crowders Mountain. (Often when we tell him we’re going climbing he will ask if we are going to the place with the cave…) The cave is leftover from the old mining days, and is basically just a blasted out tunnel that goes back 100 feet or so. In the summer it’s a good place to wait out rainstorms…so long as you don’t mind sharing it with wall-to-wall cave crickets. This time of year, the creepy-crawlies are not nearly as abundant, and we all ventured inside, letting Big C lead the way with our inflatable Luci Light.

On paper there wasn’t that much exciting about our day…just a run of the mill day at the local crag. But in reality it was so much more. It was our family continuing to settle in wholeheartedly to the next part of our journey together – and I wouldn’t trade these days for anything!

Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

When Family Outdoor Time Sucks…

Opening a Can of Worm (Farm)

Hound Ears Competition: Bouldering and an ER Visit

Headbands for All! (And Giveaway from Bolderband)

Crowders Mountain…and an Ode to an Old Blue Backpack