Monday, July 10, 2006

Company in an RV

We had several family members visit last week, and people have asked how we manage to have company, living in an RV.
It takes a lot of creativity.
A lot of patience.
And a lot of love.

The RV paperwork says it sleeps six, but doesn't say anything about space for all their stuff.

The couch makes a queen sized bed.
The table makes an almost double size bed, big enough for two small children, or two adults who really love each other.
One kid slept in the recliner.
The three dogs are all small, so they curled up with whomever would give them a few inches under the quilt.
So the sleeping part we had figured out.

The next part was what to do when Peepaw gets up at the crack of dawn, and the kids want to sleep until noon. That's when we started playing musical beds.

The couch bed turned back into a couch, and whoever was sleeping there came and got in bed with Mimi (that would be me).
The table bed turned back into a table, and whoever was sleeping there came and got in bed with me.
Usually, by this point, I gave up and got up.
Then all the bedding, pillows, and bags were gathered up and put on my bed, around and on top of the children sleeping in it.
At that point, we could start breakfast.
We made big batches of pancakes, bacon and sausage, and everyone zapped their breakfast in the microwave as they got up.
We used paper plates to cut down on dishwashing.
We cooked on the smoker and grill outside as much as possible.
We spent most of our time outside, in the water, on the boat, or in the yard.

My darling put up a clothes line outside for the abundance of towels, swimsuits, and damp clothes, since the tiny bathroom has only one towel bar, and all the stuff hanging from the shower made it a little difficult to take a shower.

The trick was getting the kids to actually hang their stuff on the line.
Another difficulty is that the line is higher than my head, so some of us had a little trouble reaching that far.

The adjustments, the aggravation, the inconveniences are all worth it, to have so much time to spend with those we love.

As I have said every year for the past four years.....
Maybe by next year, the cabin will be built.

5 comments:

Tammy said...

Wow, what an adventure! Sounds like it's pretty cozy living- crowded but fun.

I end up playing musical beds some nights in my own house! One child will come in the middle of the night...then if the second child comes in after a bad dream, it's way too crowded with four, so I leave to their bed...another joins me later...not exactly a restful night! ;)
Thanks for the comment on my post today. :) Enjoy your RV with the clan!
~Tammy

Susie said...

You're right about the stuff! Whenever we take the grandkids in our fifth wheel they haul so much stuff along that I am forever doing the shuffle with all of it!
When we get six in it, it's just way too cozy for me, even for one or two nights. I'm sure I'd feel differently if it was my only way to visit with family!

Jeana said...

A bit different from when we visit and my kids get up at the crack of dawn and all morning they say "DON'T WAKE THE MONSTER! (Mimi, pre-coffee) and cackle at their joke.

Jan/lost-strayed-or-stolen.blogspot.com said...

Yeah, I forgot to mention that consumption of coffee hit an all-time high during that week. By me, that is, not the kids.

Randi said...

We have an RV that sleeps 8 and we happen to have 7 in our family. Let me just say that it only sleeps 8 if you don't mind stuffing the whole family into a room the size of a bathroom and then having a slumber party in it! We always take tents for our boys when we camp!