A Day in the Outdoors & Last Chance To Enter BENADRYL® Canada’s Most Prepared Mom Contest for a chance to win a $10,000 trip!

“Be prepared.” That’s what the boy scouts say, right? Well it would take a special troupe of Lord Baden Powell’s finest to get me through a recent Saturday.

Both of my sons’ baseball teams were playing in tournaments on opposite sides of the city. Their Friday nights games had been rained out, and rescheduled to Saturday, so they had a combined six games spread out between 9 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.. My husband was scheduled to work, and my 6 year old daughter was along for the ride. Normally I’d carpool my older son out with teammates, but it just so happened to be his 13th birthday and I felt bad sending him out all alone on the anniversary of his birth.

So I approached the day like a military leader plotting a critical campaign.

Being a prepared mom means packing the usual tournament requirements (camera, first aid kit, soccer chairs, snacks, iPhone, etc.). I certainly like to consider myself a prepared mom, but more than that I think I’m a real contender for the most prepared mom because I had to prepare not only for the expected, but also the unexpected.

Preparing for the unexpected necessitated some other critical packed items. Please lean in close and take a peek into the trunk of my minivan…

First, the weather for the weekend called for sun, wind, cool temperatures, intermittent showers and a chance of thunderstorms. This meant packing an umbrella, sunscreen, sunglasses, blanket, rain jacket, down vest, hat, gloves (Hey! This is June in Canada!)

Did I mention that the first day of the tournament fell on my son’s 13th birthday? That meant remembering to pack a candle and matches for the box of team doughnuts that I brought to to celebrate the 13-year old’s birthday. 

My 6-year old daughter has grown up with two very busy athletic brothers, so she’s a pretty good sport about hanging out on the sidelines at baseball diamonds, hockey arenas and soccer pitches. But the girl’s got her limits and I had to respect them. Therefore, I needed to include a hostess gift to thank the very, very nice mother who took pity on my daughter and invited her to spend a good chunk of the day with her family.

   

Also tucked into my trunk? Enough snacks to feed a small country for the single full game that my daughter did have to attend. In times past, I have forgotten said snacks, and endured 120 minutes of “I’m hungry, what can I eat? Do you have something for me to eat? I’m so hungry.”

Finally, I had to include a little pen of stain remover. My younger son’s home uniform is white; and he wore it for the first game. Baseball is a game built on superstition. His coach decided they’d continue to wear their home uniforms until they lost…and then proposed they go out for a team lunch to St. Louis Wings. ‘Do I need to mention that his coach is a father who, in all likelihood, is not responsible for the family laundry? ‘Nuff said.

At the end of the day, we’d all survived. The boys’ teams went a combined 4 wins, 2 losses. All children returned home exhausted by unscathed.  Thank goodness for my big trunk!

What’s your best tip for being prepared when spending the day in the outdoors?  Leave a comment below and click here to enter our exciting contest by submitting your 250 word essay why you should be crowned the BENADRYL® Canada’s Most Prepared Mom and you could win a $10,000 family vacation.