Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Traveling with Toddlers Part 2


Monday
My day started at 4:00 in the morning when I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep.  By 6:00, Mia was awake, but the rest of the gang was still sleeping.  I decided to take her exploring while the other half of our family stayed in bed.  She thoroughly enjoyed riding the escalators up and down, pushing elevator buttons and snacking on a banana.  When Mate called to say he and Ava were up, Mia and I returned with breakfast, which was enjoyed on our balcony overlooking the ocean.  Mate’s job sure does have some nice perks!  Today was going to be a good day. 
Mate got in the shower and I began to iron his clothes.  Uh-Oh…where are his dress pants?  OMG…why aren’t they in the suitcase???  I grabbed his phone and frantically started looking for the nearest store that was open at 7:30 in the morning.  Walmart dress pants?????  I broke the bad news to him, but said I had a solution.  Within 30 minutes, I made it back with a $10 pair of pants that I was hoping would work until another store opened.  Luckily, for both of us, the pants actually fit well.  Bullet dodged.  At some point we’ll feel like this is a vacation, right? 
The girls and I were on our own for the rest of the day.  We went swimming, to the mall, napped and even managed to get a good amount of our money back from Avis.  None of the that went smoothly, but that’s okay.  Even when you plan so much that your plans have plans, things go wrong.  Tomorrow will be even better than today…

Tuesday
Well, today started in an unexpected way.  The girls woke up at 4:15.  Had we been at home, they would have fallen back asleep.  In a hotel room, they can see us and there was no way they were staying put.  After about 15 minutes of family snuggle time, it was clear that they were not going back to sleep.  I figured I better take them out of the room so Mate could get some rest.  The three of us strolled down to the lobby and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the computer while the staff vacuumed and buffered the floors around us.  Slightly awkward.  We wasted some more time walking around before heading back up to the room.  The girls and I spent the rest of the morning playing and napping.   
Mate was able to meet up with us for lunch, followed by a great time at the beach and pool.  He headed back to the conference and I loaded the girls into the car for a trip to the nearest McDonald’s Play Place.  Unfortunately, the drive took longer than expected due to traffic and when we arrived there was no play place due to a remodel.  Ugh!  Luckily, it’s not like the girls knew where I was taking them, so I turned around and headed to Target.  We were in need of some more diapers and I figured the girls could have some fun in the toy aisle.  We happily pressed every toy we could find that made noise or moved.  It kept them occupied and made me feel like the drive wasn’t a complete waste of time.  The girls and I spent the rest of the evening playing in the room.  They are currently sleeping soundly in their cribs while I hide in the bathroom typing.  The hardest part is behind us.  Tomorrow afternoon we head back to Orlando and the real vacation can begin.

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