Vacationing With Kids - Now That You're Home (Part 3 of 3)

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
that I shall say good night till it be morrow." - William Shakespeare

   As with any vacation, parting is such sweet sorrow. I'm wrapping up our 3 part series on "Vacationing With Kids" with a look at coming home from paradise. We took the kids down and waved goodbye to the beach, the pool, the drink stand, etc., and headed out. The flight home was less exciting, the people around us less inclined to enjoy our children, and we got home MUCH later than we had expected. It seems inevitable that we start the week back on a bad note, just as Murphy's law dictates.
   With my fingers dragging along the keyboard, like my feet would drag along a long desert hike, I try to convey my thoughts on what comes after vacationing with kids. Now that you're home, you must battle everything about home life that you spent a week forgetting. The unpacking, laundry, cleaning, meal preparation, work, bills, and so on, are all part of everyday life that were put on hold while your only concern was staying entertained. If you're one who can come off a grand vacation recharged and ready to get back to reality, then good for you. You're in the minority. If you're like me, and coming back borders on depression, here's some ways we can stem the tide of malice towards our real lives.

3 Ways To Beat The Post-Vacation Blues

1. Get your kids back on schedule ASAP. Nothing ruins your return home like bad sleep. It produces bad attitudes, bad wake up routines, bad sibling arguments, and so on. We've had previous experiences with this, leading all the way up to just this past one. Figure that one out, before you worry about much else.
2. Get unpacked with a quickness. I've noticed that the longer I take to put things away, the longer I stay in my funk. It's not like I'm going on another trip, right? So why leave half my stuff in bags 'n suitcases for another two weeks? Get it put away.
3. Stay busy.  I mean, distract yourself with anything. Work, cleaning, school, soccer practice, garage stuff, yard stuff, and so on. Don't let yourself sit there and wish you were back on vacation. I don't mean forget the good times. Sure, look at your pics, write a journal entry, and tell your friends and family. I'm talking about when you should be getting back to real life, keep busy. When I let myself daydream for too long, the blues comes back with a vengeance. Whether you're sending kids back to school, or coming back from paradise in the summer, find a way to keep moving forward.

   It's tough coming back from such a good time. My mother has told me that she has a very hard time coming off of vacations. I must get it from her. Yet we must soldier on, until the next break. Until then, best foot forward.

J. 

Vacationing With Kids - The Trip (Part 2 of 3)

 

 

"There's no such thing as fun for the whole family." - Jerry Seinfeld

 

   I'm not sure Jerry was entirely accurate. As promised, we're halfway into our spring family vacation, and somehow we're all still alive. Going anywhere with my wife's family usually entails some sort of epic sickness, though, the week's not over yet. To continue on after  "Vacationing With Kids Part 1", I wanted to get right into some things I've learned while being away from home with our little ones.

1. Check that mother effin' list twice before you go. I have three swim suits sitting nicely in a drawer at home. Nothing like spending part of your treat budget on yet another swim suit you forgot to bring. There's more I forgot, and it's embarrassing to admit, so moving on,....I said moving on! I think an actual Word document listing what we bring each time would be a good idea. Grrrr...

2. Prep for bedtime BEFORE bedtime. Our Wee Lass goes down much better when we're not trying to pull out the hideaway bed, get jammies on, calm down the monster that is a 3YO after a full day, and so on. So while one is finishing dinner, jammies, etc., the other is frantically setting up beds, blankets, noisemaker, or whatever so that it's all quiet on the pacific front. This makes for a happy next morning (see pic at top).

3. Do more together. I know it's a "duh" statement, but isn't it why
they call it a "family vacation". Our kids start to go nuts within the first hour of waking up if they're not engaged. Mostly our 'Lil Man, but it's obvious we need to get them out to see, do, experience, etc. It doesn't even have to cost anything. Beach was free. Botanical gardens were free. Pool was free. Just get out there! I'm sure I'll sing a different tune when I have three sullen teenagers, but I'm hopeful.

4. Continue to check that stress at the door. Of the past 4 days, my best times have been when I'm not stressing the small stuff. The lousy times are when I'm like, "Does he HAVE to touch EVERYTHING?!" The Wife is like, "Mmmmm, he's a 3YO boy,.......yeah." So I try to chill more, despite my genetic code.

5. Find some time for you. The Wife and I are determined to find some time for ourselves, alone, to head out and have a few minutes to clear our heads. Okay, so Jerry might be right. There's no such thing as an entirely "Fun for the whole family" trip. We're all different, not robots. Wait, maybe my 'Lil Man....nah. We're finding that time, and it helps to get in that little time we need to stay sane, recharge, still love our kids (just joshin'), and remain driven and creative.

   I hope these might come in handy for someone. They're just little lessons we learned along the way. It's meant to help first and foremost. It's also been therapeutic to look at our past and present vacations to see what worked, and what went terribly wrong.

   Stay tunes for Part 3 early next week. Awe yeahhh, there's a Part 3 to this bad boy.

It can be the quick, small moments that make it all worth it.

 

J.







Vacationing With Kids - Preparation (Part 1 of 3)

(image from Iinspoinspo)

"I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done." - Steven Wright

   Don't we all feel like that when we travel, especially with kids? We've got grand plans, and we WILL be prepared WELL in advance. Then, we only get so far and it's a mad dash to be ready on time. Thus begins our three part series entitled "Vacationing With Kids". I recently read "Why traveling with kids SUCKS ASS" by Karen Alpert, and laughed my own hind quarters off. She had one heck of an experience, though I find myself continuing to load the suitcases for departure in 12 hours. So onto the prep work.
   Packing needs to be started earlier than the night before, plain and simple. There is a fairly complete packing list available at TravelSmith.com. I didn't see much that I'd to the list as a basic start to the process. It'll vary depending on person, family, location, crisis, etc. That all being said, we're still up 'till midnight no matter the trip. With one kid it was procrastination. With three kids, it's finding the time to even get to the packing. We're lucky that we're not headed out with backpack each, consisting of toothbrush, underwear, a compass, duck tape, and floss. Hmmmm,.....interesting.
   As for the kids, prep work is in the hands of the creator. We have the power to dump it on them in one fell swoop with video cameras at the ready. We can also drop hints to keep it interesting. It's been a good carrot to dangle when behavior takes a nose dive. It's also been a great motivator for things like picking up rooms, finishing dinner, and so on. A big trip is so infrequent that they do need to earn it a bit. Or a lot.
   I read a decent 10 Tips For Making Spring Travel More Fun, at Eileen's Blog that addresses making the most of your trip for families with kids a little older than mine currently are. After reviewing a few other lists, here's my 5 tips and lessons learned in preparation for our 7 day adventure with a 7YO, 3YO and 6MO:

1.  Check your stress at the door. I tend to have high expectations that lead to stress, irritability, let down,....oh the list can get long. The last couple of bigger trips, I've tried to let that go. By having fewer expectations, I seem to have a better time. We plan a few things, but with a family as young as ours, we  try to just enjoy our surroundings and each other. It's worked nicely, and I'm not such a butt head.

2. A stitch in time saves nine. In other words, plan ahead. I'm talking everything you've slapped yourself upside the head for in the past. Packing is the big one. Then there's calling the hotel for a pack-n-play or high chair. Oh, and don't forget to keep your kids on something on a schedule leading up to the trip with dinner and bedtimes. If these things aren't thought of in advance in preparation, it just adds to the stress (see #1).

3. Take pictures, a LOT of pictures. Start early in the trip. I realized a long time ago that you can ALWAYS delete. You can never create. These days I never hear myself saying "boy, I took WAY too many pictures..." I certainly have, however, found myself saying, "Crap, I didn't take any pictures." A good time is a good time, but as we have more kids, it's inevitable that we take fewer pics. I've seen it in our family of 9 siblings/in-laws and 25 kids/cousins. So it's a conscious effort, but worth it in the end.

4. Mind the clock. I've admitted to The Wife that I'm not good a SEVERAL things. Packing for the kids is a joke. Getting the toiletries together is shameful. I don't reason well with the kids at times. Blah, blah, blah. I AM good a time. My mother drilled punctuality into the four of us brothers like we were in the Army. So I'm here to tell you that it's nice to be a little early and have time to breath as opposed to racing through the airport till you can hardly breath. Do it with kids and you'll see your relationship tested to its limits,.........trust me.

5. Remember, you're traveling with children. If you're a rookie, ask around. If you're a veteran, you should know better. Travel light, like me, who's packing for half the week and will be doing laundry. Take one book, and use the rest of the space for the kid's entertainment and snacks. Do NOT forget each child's favorite stuffed buddy, blanky, binky, bubby, or whatevertheheck. You forget, you pay. I once saw couple that made about a dozen emergency packs for the people around them on the plane that consisted of sandwich bags filled with candy, earplugs, and a note indicating that it was their first time on a plane with their child.

   I'll be posting again mid-week with Part 2 of 3. We'll check in to see how I did following my own advice for prep work. We'll also look at some tips for enjoying the trip with you children. Stay tuned for the finale. Part 3 of 3 will be a good one!

J.