Traveling as much as we do can take a lot on adults let alone children and dogs. The one question we seem to get over and over again from friends and family is simply, "how do we do it?" I could write an entire book on answering that very question because it depends on if your asking how we doing this emotionally, physically, financially, etc. There is no simple answer for how my husband and I continue to bounce around and explore the world around us, but I can say we must make a pretty good team otherwise we would have crumbled within the first two weeks. And this especially takes a toll on our toddler and dog.
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Little Doodles is our almost six year old Schnoodle and she loves to run! The first two houses we have rented didn't exactly have a back yard where she had any space to run so we always had to take her for walks or to a park for some fun time. She is constantly anxious, acting as if we will abandon her at any moment and it's so sad to watch her when she shivers, shakes and pants uncontrollably. She has unfortunately shown some serious medical issues caused by her anxiety in the beginning of wintertime and we have needed to take her to a veterinarian twice now to keep her healthy (luckily we think we've figured out the problem and she's now doing great!) Believe it or not, she still seems to love long car rides so the traveling part isn't the problem, it's the constant new environments for her that are making her uncomfortable. The best answer we have had yet is giving her her own consistent 'home': a portable tent! Tents are the greatest and she has always had one since she was a little pup to lessen her anxiety and make her feel cozy and safe. We call it her happy place! She had two tents in our home in Massachusetts, one upstairs and one down and because they were getting torn and tattered through the years, we decided not to keep them when we sold our house to move. But living in vacation rentals has taken it's toll on her and we've realized just how depressed she is without her tent. So we splurged on a really sturdy one and she's acting like a pig in mud lately! Talk about clearing the rain cloud over this cute lovable pup and replacing it with a home sweet home!
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Our two year old is also having transition difficulties. Most toddlers at this age are working hard on potty training and sleeping in a big girl bed. Not having a stable environment makes those difficult tasks seem impossible. Sleeping on a regular schedule is also become hard as well because she has to adjust to a new bedroom each month, accompanied with whatever blinds are on the rental windows, or if neighbors let their dogs out to bark before 6am (yes, we find it pretty obnoxious as well.) I think our biggest savings grace has been daylight savings time because we didn't transition Keiki to the new time change. Now she wakes up an hour later around 6:30/7am, takes nap at a more reasonable hour around 1pm, and then goes to bed about 7:30/8pm which gives us more time for bath and reading books in the evening and overall it's a more delightful schedule to all of us! But even though we have a better sleep schedule under control for this tiny tot, she still is more clingy, whiny, tantrum, mood-swing prone then a typical toddler because of always moving around to what she loves to exclaim with excitement, a "new house!" With the constant changing environments we thought maybe she would like a tent like our dog has so she could have a designated space to call her own. And a tent is great too because it can collapse and just move from place to place with us as we continue our adventures. Instead of the hyped, overly-expensive marketed ones out there, I simply went to the outdoor department at Walmart and bought an actual kids camping tent for $17.44. Although it's pretty huge, it's perfect for creating an area for pillows and blankets for what Keiki likes to call her "cozy home," as well as give her space to spread out to play with puzzles, read books, jump around, and play with dolls, stuffed animals, and cars too.
