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| One still sleeping... Dad was out of town last night, so we pulled mattresses off of beds, & selected a menagerie of pillows and blankets fit for living room floor camping. ;) |
Things feel off when my husband is out of the house. Even if he's just sitting at the dining room table all night doing his homework, he's still here. It's routine. We're used to it. We like him home.
Last night he had to leave town. That left us home alone, and that happens, next to never. Since it felt a little 'off' to have dad gone, we decided to do something out of the ordinary too.
I'm an early-to-bed gal, but not everyone else in the house is...so, instead of sticking to the routine, we pulled out the mattresses, a menagerie of pillows and blankets, my daughter's big sleeping bag (for that camping feel, you understand, lol) and we camped out on the living room floor, watching movies and tee heeing/giggling until far past my bedtime. ;)
Such a silly, simple thing, and yet it was so awesome. I think every parent has done this at least once (or helped set up a space for the kids to do it).
Free entertainment, quality kid time, and mom encouraging the mess (see pic above)??? Yeah, those are good times. :)
nice....that is so fun...
ReplyDeletewe have done similar and even built tents
out of the blankets to sleep in...smiles
we even set the real tent up in the living room once.
Hubby's set up the tent in the back and we've camped out there. The teen chickened out on night two and the toddler was still gung-ho. That second night I heard the animals running around the yard at night, and from that point on, I was siding w/my daughter on 'that's enough tenting.' hahaha.
DeleteWe've done blanket tents too, though my older boys (now grown) were the building masters for those. :) -
Sounded absolutely perfect and so much fun. Glad you made the best of your husband having to go out of town last night!! :)
ReplyDeleteNow I'm lost not having him around to make a huge Sunday breakfast for, lol! Routine just sneaks up on ya', Janine!! :)
Deleteoh!this is so nice,sure you all had a good time with the new concept of camping :)
ReplyDeleteNo wild animals or mosquitos. I'm all-in. :)
DeleteIt sounded like fun and made a change and more convenient than real camping LOL
ReplyDeleteEasier to clean up too. ;)
Deletehow fun.... I try to get Marc and Broxton to do it, but they like the bed too much. lol, but we have "camped" in the backyard in a tent before - it was SO COLD the night we decided to do it!!!
ReplyDeleteWe get weird animals at night. I shan't be camping out there again, I don't think. ;)
DeleteI used to LOVE doing this as a kid!! Good times :)
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the best thing about kids, they are very easy to make happy. :)
DeleteThese are the kinds of fun family moments that kids remember. One New Years Eve, my parents came home, woke us all up in the middle of the night, and took us to IHOP. It was so much fun that it has become one of my forever favorite childhood memories.
ReplyDeletehttp://joycelansky.blogspot.com
I bet that was fun as a kid. :)
DeleteHow exciting! I may have to steal that idea off you! : )
ReplyDeleteIt's fun how easy it is to get the littles excited over something when it's just a little out of routine. :)
DeleteYep, I've done this very thing too and it's always a big hit. Add some popcorn with the television and then you have bedding to wash the next day. Fun anyway.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and thanks for the smiles. :)
And we did have popcorn!! :)
DeleteThat sounds so fun! That is something your kids will remember!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny the things they do remember...they're not always the ones you thought they would be. The little things like these, do seem to stick out way more than even very big things (like sightseeing on trips). :)
DeleteWhat fun! Your little guys will absolutely remember this. My husband was away too weekends ago and we did something similar!
ReplyDeleteCuz we moms rock at this stuff (and I'm sure dads do too ;) ). :)
DeleteOh that is fun! We do this when the electricity is out, so we can all gather around the wood stove.
ReplyDeleteSmart thinking to keep warm. ;)
DeleteI agree ~ such fun for all ~ love the photo ^_^
ReplyDeleteartmusedog and carol
www.acreativeharbor.com
Something as simple as a mattress on the floor...totally delighting the kids. That makes me happy. :)
Deletehaha been there a time or three, such fun to do indeed.
ReplyDeleteMy older two did it on their own (blanket tents on the furniture and such). I probably stole this concept from them, lol. :)
DeleteIt may be messy but it looks very comfortable
ReplyDeleteThere were no comfort complaints (though I did wake up missing my big, comfy bed at one point during the night ;) ).
DeleteThose are the best times... memories for the children they will never forget... neither will you. I need to do this with Valentina.... I think she would love it too :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your lovely comment Rosey... the person trying to tear me down is someone I don't even know... she is jealous and has no self esteem of her own... luckily I do have self esteem... eventually she will tire of it all and just implode... I will have nothing to do with it either :)
Have a great week ahead :)
Having it be someone you don't know can be better (and worse). Too bad folks don't just mind to their own. The Golden Rule and all that good stuff.
DeleteSome things, like 'do unto others' never go out of style. :)
Your son looks so cute, and what a fun night! I think it is fun to sleep somewhere different and have a great time doing it with someone you love! It is messy, but it is fun!
ReplyDeleteI can trade messy for fun. :)
DeleteThis is awesome, moments you will treasure for ever. Time spend with our little ones, indoor or outdoors is well spend time. Children remember more than what we think they do.
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a lovely weekend!!
Thanks for your kind words, and I agree, kids do remember a lot! Wishing you a lovely week too! :)
DeleteThose are wonderful times and memories you will have.
ReplyDeleteyep, those are the good ones & whether they remember them or not, I will. :)
DeleteThat's so fun, the kids love it. Even my little two love nothing more than getting on the floor with a blanket glad you made the most of the interrupted routine
ReplyDeleteI remember being happy on the living room floor as a kid watching TV. Silly the things that come to mind sometimes, isn't it? :)
DeleteWe have done similar things before. They love building forts and sleeping in them and hey, what's the harm?
ReplyDeleteIt is an easy way to get some happies going. :)
DeleteThis is a great idea I will have to do this with my son sometime.
ReplyDeleteBest winter camping evahhh! ;)
DeleteHi Rosey, we used to do that all the time with my daughter! I miss that! I'm so glad you had fun and at least he wasn't gone long. Take care and have a nice night!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julie. Happy Week to you!
DeleteMemories like that are the ones we hug to ourselves forever.
ReplyDeleteIt is the silly small stuff you miss when they get too big to like this kind of stuff. :)
DeleteSo so wonderful to spend time like this at home :) I've an item on my 30 before 30 list to go camping.. Doubt we'll ever make it out to camp outside so this will be perfect!
ReplyDeleteAi @ Sakura Haruka
You seem to be on the move a lot, you might get that outside camping done. :)
DeleteOh yes, and make pretend tents and all kinds of things! Yes, we have to remember the kid in us sometimes and let our inner kid enjoy our kids. lol
ReplyDeleteIt's way more fun doing that kind of stuff than the typical grown up drudgery. :)
DeleteThose are the fun things that kids will always remember too! We like to throw in a little out of the ordinary once in a while also. Some messes are fun ;)
ReplyDeleteAgreed, and blankets, pillows, and a mattress are pretty easy to clean up. ;)
DeleteOh this is super cute! I used to do this when I was a kid!
ReplyDeleteI need to start doing it again!!
Free & fun, what's not to love for a parent? :)
DeleteThe kids and I do this sometimes too. They mostly like to sleep with me when their father is away.
ReplyDeleteCamping in the living room is wonderful fun! We love it! Not done too often and loved when done.
Glad you had such a great time just hanging.
Ya know, I'd have done the co-sleeping thing, but I'd have been out like a light long before any kids, so the living room was a better option that night. ;)
DeleteHaha I usually fall asleep before them too but that's during the camping out in the living room :)
DeleteIn the bed, we just seem to go to sleep :)
That's how memories are built! I'm sure when the kids are grown they will get together and talk about the night they camped out with mom and had so much fun!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because the older two boys had each other. There's such an age gap between my younger two, that I sometimes have to be the one to bridge it by participating. :)
DeleteTravis has actually set up a tent when my nephews have visited. They had fun!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your littlest man did to!
BTW both my boys have always been great sleepers for the most part. Then the last week Isaak's been having nightmares, seeing things, and wanting Travis in his bed. I don't want to start any bad habits. He's scared, so I'm at a loss on what to do. #sleeping issues.
I'm sorry to hear your boy is having sleep issues. Bad dreams are the worst for the little ones!! :(
DeleteAnd probably a whole lot warmer than camping outside right now!
ReplyDeleteboy, you ain't a'kiddin' ;)
DeleteWe do this sometimes too and we absolutely love it!!! My boys go crazy every time and a normal bedtime is impossible!! Its great to make memories like these!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I threw bedtime right out of the window with the first pull of a mattress. ;)
DeleteHi Rosey .. fun for your son - and so right for him ... and it'll just make such a great reminder of his early life ... Let Dad and youngster enjoy themselves ..
ReplyDeleteCheers Hilary
Cheers to you! I'm headed over to see your latest post. :)
DeleteThis is so sweet! It's true that changing up something as simple as your sleeping arrangement can be so fun! I remember doing this all the time as a kid. :)
ReplyDeleteAn easy way to mix up routine, and I didn't have to pay for it (ha!). :)
DeleteYou are an awesome mom! This looks like so much fun...the memories that he'll have of that night will stay with him for a long, long time. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty lucky that the kids still like simple things to have fun. :) Thank you for the compliment.
DeleteThese are the things that kids remember.. Mom camping out in the livingroom with them. How fun!!
ReplyDeleteEasy, free, and we had a blast. That's the best kind of fun. :)
DeleteHow wonderful! It's times like those that are made of real quality.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! He's so easy to make happy too, I will be sad when he outgrows this stage. :)
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