I'm a survivor, I'm not gon' give up, I'm not gon' stop, I'm gon work harder. I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it, I will survive, keep on survivin'...

So, I was inspired to write this post after a conversation with one of my besties this evening. She lives about 2.5 hours away and said something to the effect of "You and E can roll west to visit anytime you like." Was so thankful for the invite... and as fabulous as it's been to be back in the great state of O-HI-O, making trips like this to see my favorite people is not as easy as it seems with the nugget. If this was 2 years ago, kid free and carefree- I would be down there every other day!

But unfortunately coming for a visit with the toddler in tow entails me packing up the following:

• Whole Milk (who keeps this in their house? No one. Unless you have a toddler)
• Sippy cups for said milk
• Clothes (multiple changes... just in case)
• Baby monitor 
• Sound machine/fan (oh, you have a fan? Sweet. One less item!)
• Blankets for nap/bedtime
• PJ's for bedtime
• Baby approved food items (puffs, veggie packs...)
• Toys. Toddler's need entertainment. So this means lots of toys to keep the wee one entertained. Unless of course, she can raid your china cabinet- at which point, we're all set. For about 15 minutes at least. 
• You don't have baby proof cabinets? Alright, I can try to MacGuyver some hair ties and dish towels to possibly keep them closed. If not, that pretty much guarantees that I won't have time to talk to you because I will be corralling the kid from climbing inside of your cabinets and pulling items from your drawers. I can't promise my jerry-rigging will work... Please don't own anything valuable. 
• Baby gates for the stairs because my kid will legit climb your stairs (seriously, I think I'm going to need to rent a trailer for this haul)
• Diapers. Lots of diapers. Invariably, this little jaunt will be the time that Ev develops amoebic dysentery and will poop more than an elephant with diarrhea. 
• Bags to put said full of poop diapers in... because you don't want that to stink up your trash. Oh hell no. That girl has some smells that are just unholy. 

And I think that will about do it. I will just need to try to remember to pack for myself as well. Somehow, stuff for myself I can totally see forgetting. We have enough diapers to fashion ourselves a mattress... and hey, at least the baby has 5 changes of clothes. Fashion show anyone? Yea, who am I kidding- that's way too much work. She can continue to live in the onesies. Do you have a toothbrush I can borrow?

The video below is hilariously true. And provides a pretty accurate depiction of why I don't hang out anymore... 

No, no... the days of impromptu trips to see those that live outside of a 10 mile radius of our house that I love most are long gone. We are in survival mode here, people.

Survival.

Gosh, it sounds so raw and carnal... but parenting is all about survival.

A friend from work and I were discussing this just last night. We were focusing on how what's right for one family, isn't right for another- she is in the camp of letting her kids essentially choose a bedtime, it's what has always worked for them. She was talking about how her kids have never really been on a schedule at all, even from infancy. They just fell asleep wherever they fell, whenever that happened to be. At night, she and her husband would bring the babies along to whatever they were doing with friends, and the kid would just sleep in the carseat or stroller. And this totally worked for their family.

I am jealous.

This didn't work for our family, and Ev has been on a pretty strict schedule since she was around 6 months old.

Prior to having kids, I never saw myself as a strict schedule person. I was a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl, and I was going to let the same thing happen with my kid. No child was going to hold me back from doing what I wanted to do. I scoffed at parents that had their kids on a schedule. FREAKS!

That is until I had a kid. And that whole philosophy flew out the window. And so did my judginess of other people.

You see, I went into survival mode. And I quickly realized what's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander.

My cousin Katie just had a baby... and little Miss Madison hates to be swaddled. Evie LOVED to be swaddled and was swaddled for the first 5 months of her life. Thinking about not swaddling her makes me cringe- it would've been an absolute nightmare! But, for Katie- not swaddling their new baby is working for them. See, there are no rules. It's all trial and error. And doing what is necessary to survive.

I think 'survival' sounds so dramatic... But I don't really care. It's accurate. Some days we thrive- we have a freaking awesome day, and things are going great. Evie is talking and learning and using what she's learning. Other days, it's a miracle that I kept her clean, fed and alive. That is survival. And I think I deserve a freaking medal for that. Keeping me AND another life form alive is some award winning sh*t.

Keep on survivin'...