Florida Vacation Part 1

Is there anything more depressing than returning to work after vacation?  Hardly.

Our Florida vacation went better than expected and I wish we could have stayed longer.  Spring Break for A and my niece and nephew occurred early this year and as a result, it happened to fall between two busy weekends.  In retrospect, it was probably a good thing – apparently the Disney Parks are expected to be even more crowded this week as more people are on Spring Break.

Monday, A and I got up at 5am.  We wanted to leave the house by 7am and also had to get Addie to doggie day care.  Of course S took this opportunity to sleep the longest he ever has.  He went to bed around 7:30-8pm and woke up just before we left the house.  I’m not sure what to attribute the amazing sleep to.  He had some enchilada on Sunday so maybe Mexican food had something to do with it.  Mama loves Mexican food too!!  We also discovered that S appears to be getting molars.  So strange because he only has 5 other teeth.  He’s definitely not following the baby teeth chart.

ANYWAY.

I pride myself on preparing for trips.  I had ordered handles for the boys’ car seats that allowed us to pull the seats through the airport with the boys sitting in them.  Once we figured out that it was easiest to push the boys’ car seats instead of pulling them, we were golden – unfortunately, it took me tipping W over to discover that.  Oops.  He was totally fine and it’s funny now.  With these, we didn’t need a stroller and the boys got a kick out of riding in their car seats.  Highly recommend.

The TSA workers asked us if S could walk through the metal detector and we thought it was worth a try.  S started off well, but tripped right in the detector.  With his hands on the floor and butt in the air, he froze.  It was so funny.  We kept trying to get him to stand up and walk through, but he wouldn’t even look at us.  I think it gave everyone a good laugh and we eventually made it to our gate.

I filled backpacks for the boys with special treats and items to keep them busy on the airplane – chips, goldfish crackers, new books, a Water Wow tablet, Spot It game, and stickers for W.  Yogurt bites, goldfish crackers, new books, a Water Wow tablet, and a new toy for S.  I also stocked the diaper bag with extra clothes, books, bottles, and a cup for W, and had apps on my phone.  The boys loved their treats and S fell asleep on the plane.  They were awesome little travelers.

  

Once we landed in FL, we had to get our rental car, which took forever.  When we finally had it, A had to install the car seats, which took a while and then it was another hour to the rental house.   So the majority of the day was spent traveling and the boys were amazing through it all.  W was so confused about why we had a different car and why Nani had a different house.  I explained to him several times that we were borrowing them while on vacation and for the rest of the trip, he referred to them as our borrowed car and Nani’s borrowed house. J  Speaking of the borrowed house, I was a little nervous about the layout and where we’d be sleeping, but it was great.  A and I were in a room with S and W had his own room.  I was thankful for that arrangement since S woke up a few nights and W slept well in his own room.

After arriving at the house and grabbing a late lunch, we headed out for a walk to check out the community pool.  It was awesome.  There was an adult pool, a kids' pool, and a lazy river with water slide.  There was also a Tiki bar!  I can’t remember the remainder of the evening, but I think we relaxed and went to bed early.

Tuesday, it was off to the Magic Kingdom.  As we were driving into the parking lot, I got ridiculously excited.  I absolutely love Disney World and couldn’t wait for the boys to experience it.  I had stayed on property in the past and didn’t realize how much time it would take to actually get to the Magic Kingdom – park, walk to ferry, wait for ferry, and then boat ride.  W really liked the ferry boat ride, but once we finally got into the Magic Kingdom, he got super cranky.  Our first stop was the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride.  We figured both boys would love it.  While in line, W whined and cried because he wanted to be picked up.  I picked him up for a bit and then he had a meltdown because he didn’t want to ride the ride.  He LOVES rides and I have no idea what the problem was.  I’m guessing he was tired after our day of travel and also hungry.  Never a good combination.  I put W on the ride despite his protests and he cried until almost the very end, when he decided he actually did like the ride.  Ugh.

Afterwards, we decided it was time for a snack.  A and I love the Dole Whip so we shared one and got W pineapple juice.  I figured if he didn’t like it, I certainly would.  He couldn’t get enough and was in a better mood, thankfully.  I tried to get W on the Jungle Cruise ride next, but he kept complaining that he didn’t want to go on the boat.  We eventually figured out that he thought we were going back on the ferry boat to leave and he wanted to stay.  By the time we figured that out, S had fallen asleep in the stroller.  A suggested the It’s a Small World ride.  For some odd reason, he actually enjoys that ride and I was happy to stay with a sleeping S while he took W on the ride.  I attempted to go in a couple stores, but the shops are not very conducive to a double stroller so I gave up.  Apparently W loved the ride and S woke as A and W were finishing the ride.

I knew W would need a diaper change after all the pineapple juice so that was our next stop.  Upon hearing this, W had meltdown #2 because he didn’t want said diaper change.  After waiting in line with a crying W only to find out the family restroom had no changing table, I was very frustrated.  I picked W up and headed to the women’s restroom.  Amidst the meltdown and flailing arms, as I picked him up, W somehow scratched my face.  It definitely wasn't on purpose.  I didn’t realize it stung until after the diaper change and when I touched my chin, I noticed I was bleeding.  Perfect.  A crying toddler (who now had a leaky diaper and wanted to be carried) and a bloody chin.  All I could think was “happiest place on Earth, my ass.”.  I was not having fun and I totally could have handled the situation better.  I remember telling W that I was "so mad at him right now".  Not one of my finer moments.

After that fun, it was off to lunch.  We had reservations at the Crystal Palace and even though we had reservations, we had to wait 30 minutes to be seated.  Thank goodness Nani and Papa were there to help and I got a little break from angry W.  He had some lunch and was finally in a much better mood.  We also got to meet Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore during lunch, which was lots of fun.  S could not get enough of the characters.  He hugged Pooh bear and would not let go.  So cute. J

After lunch, Nani and Papa stayed with us and kept S company while we took W on the Barnstormer.  He was so funny - I think he was equal parts terrified and loving it.  After that we went on Peter Pan, the Winnie the Pooh ride, and the People Mover.  The park was crowded and we figured we should probably head home on a good note.  I’m relieved we had a great afternoon after a not so great morning.

To be continued…