Warning: this is a long one!
Geeky Entrepreneur travelled for work this week. He was gone for three nights. He had not done much traveling since Amor Chiquito was born, but it looks like he will be traveling about once a quarter from now on.
This week was hard and exhausting for all of us. At the same time, it reminded me about attachment and taught me about the needs of little ones. Let’s just say that our daughter was very sad, confused and angry when her dad was gone. She did things she had never done before, including acting out in school. I felt as though a grumpy and unhappy alien took over my sweet and happy child. She did a lot of crying. I was ready to cry several times. You get my drift.
We got through it. Daddy tried to talk to her two or three times a day. I gave her lots of hugs and love. I tried talking to her about feelings. We co slept and cuddled a lot. That being said, I was still left with the feeling that, no matter what I did, my happy and sweet baby was temporarily gone. This made me wonder. What could I do differently? What did I not do? What could her dad do differently?
I spent some time online. I knew separation is not ideal. I know how it affects little ones and why. It has to do with attachment. You and your little one have a bond. She trusts you. She knows that you will be there when she needs you. You are her world. You mean complete and absolute safety to her. Suddenly, with little or no warning, you are gone. She wonders why. She wonders if or when you will return. If she is old enough, she may worry about where you will sleep, what you will eat, etc.
Up until age five or six, little ones are unable to verbalize their sadness and confusion. They communicate these feelings in different ways: crying, showing anger, sometimes even hitting the traveling parent when s/he comes home. Your little one might withdraw from you for a while after you come home. She may continue to worry about if/when you are leaving for days. For example, Ari is still asking me, multiple times a day, if daddy is home and if he will be home when she comes home from school. The first words out of her mouth this morning: is my daddy home? Where is he? I don’t see him.
I did some research and found some links that I thought may be helpful to you next time you are traveling.
Effects of Separation and Loss on Children's Development:
http://www.peterhaiman.com/articles/effectsOfSeparationOnYoungChildren.shtml
This article focuses on prolonged absence, but it explains what attachment is and the importance of attachment very clearly, I thought.
** I pasted a portion of the article below in here because it is a PDF. I could not find or did not know how to find a link to it. **
***
Business Travel: Preparing Kids for Your Absence and Keeping in Touch
During a preschool circle time, children discussed their parents’ occupations.
Four-year-old Joe shared that his Dad worked at the airport. His teacher asked if he was a pilot who flew planes or a mechanic who worked on them. The boy was stumped, “Um, I don’t know. That’s just where we take Daddy to work.”
by Karen Stephens
Sometimes kids wonder about the simplest things — like how you will get food to eat when you’re not home.
Following up with Joe’s parents, the teacher discovered that Dad didn’t work at the airport at all. But it quickly became obvious why Joe thought his father did. The most tangible thing Joe knew about his father’s work was where he and his mother took Dad almost every morning — you guessed it — to the airport.
From Joe’s perspective, the airport was Dad’s workplace. Preschooler Joe hadn’t yet figured out that the airport was just Dad’s work commute.
Especially for parents, the glamour of work-related travel wears off quickly.
Frequent business travel wears on nerves and tugs at the heart. It can rob parents of irreplaceable child-rearing moments and create painful physical distance. And it’s not just tough on moms and dads. Young children often don’t clearly understand where parents are during work travel, or why parents don’t take the whole family along. If children are left unprepared for a parent’s absence, it can be a time of scary uncertainty.
If you’re a parent whose work schedule includes a lot of travel, the tips below will help you prepare children for your absence and help you stay in touch until your safe return.
Remember, not all surprises are good. Forewarn kids before you travel. If you leave unannounced, you’re likely to undermine trust. If you must leave very early in the morning, say your good-byes the night before. But avoid saying good-bye right at bedtime when children feel most alone anyway.
Let children know why you have to travel for work. According to their ability to understand, briefly explain what you’ll be doing. Sometimes kids wonder about the simplest things — like how you will get food to eat when you’re not home. If those details worry your child, reassure them there are restaurants
and grocery stores where you travel.
Explain how long you’ll be gone. Younger children won’t understand calendar dates, so talk about how many nights sleep or how many days of child care it will be before you return home. School-aged children can mark off days on a calendar. (However, also prepare them for flight delays that upset the best of plans.)
With today’s easy exposure to news reports, children might worry about your travel mode. This is especially true if you’re flying or taking a train after a reported accident. Reassure children that pilots or engineers will do their very best to get you where you’re going safely.
www.ParentingExchange.com
Whenever possible, leave a photo or brochure of where you’ll be — even if it’s your hotel or company building. You can even leave web sites of your travel location that children can view. All that will help your child understand that you didn’t just “disappear” somewhere.
Use technology to stay in touch. Call home when you reach your destination and leave your contact number on the voice mail. Consider faxing and e-mailing messages or digital photos.
Call home at agreed upon times or you’re likely to miss each other; especially when in different time zones and/or countries.
Don’t forget promised call times. Most kids — especially preschoolers — don’t talk a lot during phone calls, but they still like to hear your voice. If you get delayed, remember to give kids a sincere apology once you do talk with them. Young children often don’t clearly understand where parents are during work travel, or why parents don’t take the whole family along.
Help children maintain a sense of your presence in the home by leaving them with one of your favorite items. It can be something as simple as a sweater, sports cap, book, or photographs.
Leave love notes under pillows, in backpacks, or under meal cups to remind your child you think of them even when you’re gone.
Draw up IOUs for activities you’ll do together once you return, such as go to the park or children’s museum.
Continue participating in daily routines even when you’re gone. Leave a video of you reading a bedtime story. Make a tape recording of you and your child singing favorite songs and leave it with a tape recorder for listening.
If you miss a special event, holiday, or birthday, don’t waste time feeling guilty. Limit those occasions as much as you can, but a missed event isn’t the end of the world. Instead, spend your energy planning together how you’ll re-celebrate when you return. Or plan how to celebrate together long distance, such as singing “Happy Birthday” over the phone.
If you are gone a long time, periodically mail home little treasures for the kids. Items easy to mail include coloring books, paperback books, stickers,
puzzles, bookmarks, stuffed animals or puppets, or a few foreign coins. Those are just a few ideas to help ease parent-child separation during travel. There are many more useful ideas in the
book The Business Traveling Parent by Dan Verdick (Beltsville, MD: Robins Lane Press, 2000). Verdick shares lots of ways to creatively stay in touch with children until the joy of your next reunion.
Bonvoyage!
About the Author — Karen Stephens is director of Illinois State University Child Care Center and instructor in child development for the ISU Family and Consumer Sciences Department. For nine years she wrote a weekly parenting column in her local newspaper. Karen has authored early care and education books and is a frequent contributor to Exchange.
© Karen Stephens 2007
www.ParentingExchange.com
A few more ideas:
One idea that we meant to try, did not do, but will most definitely do next time is using webcams. Ari is very visual. She wanted to see her dad and she wanted to show him what she was working on, even what she was eating!
One of my friends suggested that we tell Ari that Daddy will be traveling days before he actually travels. She suggested that we get Ari involved in the packing process.
I feel/hope that talking to Amor Chiquito about what to expect when Daddy is gone might be helpful. I am thinking about how often she can talk to him or see him on the webcam.
Do you have any other suggestions?
As for our family, all of us are glad that life is back to normal. Daddy is glad to be home. Ari is thrilled that her dad is back. I feel that both of them are back! I am hopeful that in a few days Amor Chiquito will stop worrying about her dad not being there when she wakes up in the morning.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Friday, April 8, 2011
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Our Second Cruise as a Family
My blog, how I have neglected you this month… There has been a lot going on. We went on vacation for a week. One weekend we were preparing for and having a birthday party. Another weekend we went to Nana’s for another birthday party. Amor Chiquito started preschool. My wisdom teeth were extracted and so I spent a few days sleeping a lot. I have been looking for work. It feels like this month flew by.
In theory, I’ll be posting a fair bit during the next few days. Let’s see if that really happens! Intensions and actions… Two different things… You know how it is!
So, our cruise… It was our second cruise with Amor Chiquito (third if you count the time she was in my tummy!). It was a seven-night cruise. We stopped at Port Canaveral, Fl, at Nassau and Freeport, both in the Bahamas.
The highlights:
Amor Chiquito went to a beach for the first time. She loved looking at the water, going in, not so much. She thoroughly loved making sandcastles.
We did the SeaWorld Explorer shore excursion. This consisted of a 20-minute water taxi ride (my favorite part) and about 45 minutes in a submarine. Geeky Entrepreneur and Amor Chiquito enjoyed looking at the different types of fish, corals, etc. I basically just got to see water and a few sparkly things. I still had a good time. My family had fun and I so love boat rides. So it was all good!
The day we stopped at Port Canaveral we did not get off the boat. Almost everyone else did, so we had the pools, whirlpools, the toddler pool and the slide to ourselves. It was great!
My mother and her boyfriend came along this time. So Geeky Entrepreneur and I got some grownup time almost every day. Between that and Amor Chiquito’s naps, we managed to squeeze in about 14 Pandemic games! It is a fun, cooperative game. We strongly recommend it. Apparently, the idea of the game designer was to create a game both him and his non-geeky wife would enjoy. That’s us, and, yes, we both love it!
Back to the cruise… Amor Chiquito loved the towel animals every night.
She loved spending time in our little balcony and looking out the windows. She has been watching Go Diego Go, so she was often looking for whales!
She played many different pretend games. There are so many I could write a separate post just on that!
She went on walks around the ship with grandma and went to a family friendly show. Something about butterflies…
The food was delicious, as usual. We ate way too much of it! I was a bad girl; I had chocolate melting cake almost every night! And, I would do it again! Amor Chiquito and Geeky Entrepreneur were all about ice-cream cones and fruit, just like the other time.
I did a tiny bit of shopping. I always like to get something that will remind Ari of our cruise.
I took tons of pictures. We made a collage. It has five of our favorite photos and is going up in our living room.
Geeky Entrepreneur got to read lots and did not think about/try to work once! It helps that internet access is very expensive! That being said, he simply does not think about work when he is on a cruise and that is huge. That never ever happens.
Amor Chiquito loved the airplane ride. In fact, she did not want to get off.
The one annoying thing: we missed our flight on the way home. We would not have had we shown up five minutes earlier. I will admit it: I became the super stressed out monster. I just kept thinking about how, eventually, Amor Chiquito would get tired, she does not nap easily, she would get cranky, etc. My awesome husband talked me through it. Ari napped, a very long nap, on my lap, and was not ridiculously cranky once. I can’t even remember the last time she napped on my lap. It was great! I was uncomfortable for a while, but it was so worth it!
I am having fun planning our next one! My awesome crunchy friend wants to cruise sometime too. Fun possibilities! I am getting excited!
In theory, I’ll be posting a fair bit during the next few days. Let’s see if that really happens! Intensions and actions… Two different things… You know how it is!
So, our cruise… It was our second cruise with Amor Chiquito (third if you count the time she was in my tummy!). It was a seven-night cruise. We stopped at Port Canaveral, Fl, at Nassau and Freeport, both in the Bahamas.
The highlights:
Amor Chiquito went to a beach for the first time. She loved looking at the water, going in, not so much. She thoroughly loved making sandcastles.
We did the SeaWorld Explorer shore excursion. This consisted of a 20-minute water taxi ride (my favorite part) and about 45 minutes in a submarine. Geeky Entrepreneur and Amor Chiquito enjoyed looking at the different types of fish, corals, etc. I basically just got to see water and a few sparkly things. I still had a good time. My family had fun and I so love boat rides. So it was all good!
The day we stopped at Port Canaveral we did not get off the boat. Almost everyone else did, so we had the pools, whirlpools, the toddler pool and the slide to ourselves. It was great!
My mother and her boyfriend came along this time. So Geeky Entrepreneur and I got some grownup time almost every day. Between that and Amor Chiquito’s naps, we managed to squeeze in about 14 Pandemic games! It is a fun, cooperative game. We strongly recommend it. Apparently, the idea of the game designer was to create a game both him and his non-geeky wife would enjoy. That’s us, and, yes, we both love it!
Back to the cruise… Amor Chiquito loved the towel animals every night.
She loved spending time in our little balcony and looking out the windows. She has been watching Go Diego Go, so she was often looking for whales!
She played many different pretend games. There are so many I could write a separate post just on that!
She went on walks around the ship with grandma and went to a family friendly show. Something about butterflies…
The food was delicious, as usual. We ate way too much of it! I was a bad girl; I had chocolate melting cake almost every night! And, I would do it again! Amor Chiquito and Geeky Entrepreneur were all about ice-cream cones and fruit, just like the other time.
I did a tiny bit of shopping. I always like to get something that will remind Ari of our cruise.
I took tons of pictures. We made a collage. It has five of our favorite photos and is going up in our living room.
Geeky Entrepreneur got to read lots and did not think about/try to work once! It helps that internet access is very expensive! That being said, he simply does not think about work when he is on a cruise and that is huge. That never ever happens.
Amor Chiquito loved the airplane ride. In fact, she did not want to get off.
The one annoying thing: we missed our flight on the way home. We would not have had we shown up five minutes earlier. I will admit it: I became the super stressed out monster. I just kept thinking about how, eventually, Amor Chiquito would get tired, she does not nap easily, she would get cranky, etc. My awesome husband talked me through it. Ari napped, a very long nap, on my lap, and was not ridiculously cranky once. I can’t even remember the last time she napped on my lap. It was great! I was uncomfortable for a while, but it was so worth it!
I am having fun planning our next one! My awesome crunchy friend wants to cruise sometime too. Fun possibilities! I am getting excited!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Airport, big airplane...!
Today is the big day! We are going on a cruise! Same ship and itinerary (the Bahamas) as last time. We never got off the ship last time and we have a one hour flight, so it was a no-brainer, especially since we have a little passenger who simply loves to stay put for a prolonged period of time! Did you sense the sarcasm there?!
As I posted on Facebook this morning, if you want the most reliable alarm clock ever, have a child! I really hope that this special ability goes away later, but, thus far, at almost three, this lovely benefit of having a child is still here!
Favorite words this morning: airport, biiig airplane, and, completely unrelated, pillow pet.
Off to pack some snacks and drawing supplies for my beautiful alarm clock!
As I posted on Facebook this morning, if you want the most reliable alarm clock ever, have a child! I really hope that this special ability goes away later, but, thus far, at almost three, this lovely benefit of having a child is still here!
Favorite words this morning: airport, biiig airplane, and, completely unrelated, pillow pet.
Off to pack some snacks and drawing supplies for my beautiful alarm clock!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
We love water parks!
Finally get around to wrapping up this post. This is my third try! Can you spell busy mom of a toddler who also happens to have ADD?!
Last week Amor Chiquito, Geeky Entrepreneur and I spent three days at an indoor water park in Fitchburg, MA, about an hour and 20 minutes from us. My mother-in-law joined us on the second day for the day. It was a lot of fun!
Water park = fun.
Water park + grandma = even more of fun!
There was a toddler pool, a spray area, toddler slides, squirt guns, and ropes that the child could pull on so that lots of water could land on mom and dad’s heads!
There were slides for older kids, a 4 feet deep pool, several hottubs, and, best of all, three awesome slides for bigger kids and adults! Thanks to Nana, Geeky Entrepreneur and I got to go on the slides at least 15 times!
The three of us got to enjoy the pool. Ari is beginning to feel more comfortable in the water. She loves wearing her “swim coat.” That is the name she gave the life jacket. She enjoyed practicing her swimming and she learned how to float.
There was pizza and milk shakes right at the water park. Ari was in heaven!
A few things I really liked about this park:
There were huge windows, but no skylights, so no need for sunscreen or any of that. There were several hot tubs and beachchairs outdoors, so people could enjoy the sun if that is what they wanted.
Everything was on or ended on the one main level. This made learning the layout of and getting around the park much easier for me. One of the tricky things about my eye condition is that I have no depth perception. Staircases going up, no problem, but staircases going down... Let's say that there have been a number of falls in my past! Yay for the white cane and for the husband who has a cute and subtle system worked out to let me know when there is a step coming up!
Since there was only so much junk food we felt like eating, we decided to go on a drive and check out a tiny restaurant that had great reviews. Ok, so onto the real reason: they had fondue! Yumm!
I wish you could have seen Ari’s chocolate mustache! She had way too much fun! She was powering through the food on my plate like there was no tomorrow. She ignored the strawberries and the banana slices; she went straight to the cheesecake, the brownie bites, the Oreos, etc.! Daddy noticed just how much yummy stuff she had been eating, removed the yummy stuff, and left the fruit for her. She promptly decided that it would be best to go sit near Daddy, seeing as how the yummy stuff was near him now!
A classic Ari story: she told me she needed the potty and I did not get her there soon enough. So she had an accident. She promptly took off her shorts and underwear and ran across the restaurant butt-naked to inform her Daddy that she had an accident! I was glad that we were the only ones in the restaurant at that point in time!
Long story short: lots of fun was had by all! Three days at a water park is perfect, just right. We will be doing that again some time.
Last week Amor Chiquito, Geeky Entrepreneur and I spent three days at an indoor water park in Fitchburg, MA, about an hour and 20 minutes from us. My mother-in-law joined us on the second day for the day. It was a lot of fun!
Water park = fun.
Water park + grandma = even more of fun!
There was a toddler pool, a spray area, toddler slides, squirt guns, and ropes that the child could pull on so that lots of water could land on mom and dad’s heads!
There were slides for older kids, a 4 feet deep pool, several hottubs, and, best of all, three awesome slides for bigger kids and adults! Thanks to Nana, Geeky Entrepreneur and I got to go on the slides at least 15 times!
The three of us got to enjoy the pool. Ari is beginning to feel more comfortable in the water. She loves wearing her “swim coat.” That is the name she gave the life jacket. She enjoyed practicing her swimming and she learned how to float.
There was pizza and milk shakes right at the water park. Ari was in heaven!
A few things I really liked about this park:
There were huge windows, but no skylights, so no need for sunscreen or any of that. There were several hot tubs and beachchairs outdoors, so people could enjoy the sun if that is what they wanted.
Everything was on or ended on the one main level. This made learning the layout of and getting around the park much easier for me. One of the tricky things about my eye condition is that I have no depth perception. Staircases going up, no problem, but staircases going down... Let's say that there have been a number of falls in my past! Yay for the white cane and for the husband who has a cute and subtle system worked out to let me know when there is a step coming up!
Since there was only so much junk food we felt like eating, we decided to go on a drive and check out a tiny restaurant that had great reviews. Ok, so onto the real reason: they had fondue! Yumm!
I wish you could have seen Ari’s chocolate mustache! She had way too much fun! She was powering through the food on my plate like there was no tomorrow. She ignored the strawberries and the banana slices; she went straight to the cheesecake, the brownie bites, the Oreos, etc.! Daddy noticed just how much yummy stuff she had been eating, removed the yummy stuff, and left the fruit for her. She promptly decided that it would be best to go sit near Daddy, seeing as how the yummy stuff was near him now!
A classic Ari story: she told me she needed the potty and I did not get her there soon enough. So she had an accident. She promptly took off her shorts and underwear and ran across the restaurant butt-naked to inform her Daddy that she had an accident! I was glad that we were the only ones in the restaurant at that point in time!
Long story short: lots of fun was had by all! Three days at a water park is perfect, just right. We will be doing that again some time.
Friday, May 21, 2010
All about our trip to Boston...
Warning: this is a long post. It is more like a diary entry, my attempt to remember some of the fun and beautiful moments I have with my Ari and the wonderful people around us!
Our trip to Boston two weeks ago was eventful, in a good way. Here are a few stories.
Geeky Entrepreneur left for San Francisco before 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Amor Chiquito and I visited our neighbors in the morning. It worked; she was having fun and not thinking too much about how Daddy was in an airplane, far away. I had considered not mentioning the airplane, but I decided against it. I prefer being honest with her and giving/teaching her the tools she needs to cope/manage whatever life throws her way. I am very grateful and we are very blessed that Daddy going on a business trip is one of the most stressful things she has experienced thus far.
Back to the story, around 2:00 p.m., we headed out to Boston. It was a two-hour bus ride. It went well. Amor Chiquito was fascinated. She does not remember being in a “big bus” before. She spent some time on my lap until she felt comfortable and she eventually moved to her seat.
At one point, Ari started telling me about who has which privates and who is a boy or a girl! This was a first. Last I knew, she was confused and thought/wanted to be a boy. I was grateful for all the background noise; I don’t think the other travelers would have been interested in our conversation!
One thing that did not go over so well was using the potty. The motion scared her and she just could not relax or use the potty. I was waiting for her to have an accident any minute. She made it to Boston and she went as soon as we got to the bus station.
This reminds me… Mommy forgot the night diapers! Unbelievable! Fortunately, my friend has a little one and so they shared diapers with us. Ari was ecstatic. She thinks disposables are very cool! What is different than what you have at home is clearly in, didn’t you get the memo?!
We spend the afternoon and the evening with my friend and her little one. The kids quickly felt comfortable playing together. Before we knew it, they were plotting mischief together, chasing each other, looking at each other on the mirror, playing with trains, watering the plants, etc. It was adorable!
Crunchy moment… Yaminette got me to eat a veggie burger. That was most definitely a first! It was horrible! I am never eating one again! That is why I made sure I knew what brand it was. Darn, one point for Yaminette!
Night time went better than I had anticipated. Amor Chiquito did not nap, so she fell asleep quickly. There were a few night wakings, but she went back to sleep easily and quickly.
In the morning, we took the kids to a park. They had a lot of fun.
We then had yummy Indian food for lunch! Indian food buffet, yay Boston! That is one of the few things I like about Boston: you can find whatever food you are in the mood for!
Both kids refused to nap. What a shock! This made me a bit nervous, impending long bus ride and all…
Since they would not nap, we went out for icecream and to another park. Ari went with Yaminette to get icecream and she informed Yaminette that she wanted “pint tawberry i-team pease (pink strawberry icecream please”! She enjoyed her icecream, and so did her and my clothes!
There was tons of sand in the park. My daughter decided she must enjoy the entire sand experience. So she took her shoes and socks off. By the way, she did this everywhere: on the bus, at the bus station, she has done it at restaurants…
After the park, Ari fell asleep in the car, on the way to the bus station. Exactly what I did not want to happen. That kid does not like it one bit if you wake her up! So I carried her for a while. Eventually, she woke up, walked, and did not do what she usually does. No crying for a long time. Thank you, kiddo.
You should have seen us: each carrying one kid, Yaminette with Ari’s car seat, me with a backpack and a diaper bag. I don’t even want to think about carrying all our stuff without help through the maze that is South Station. Traveling as a mama of a little one without a companion is interesting… Quite the workout!
The ride home was not bad at all. We were stuck in traffic for an hour, so it ended up being a 2.5 hour ride. Thomas and Friends kept us company for a portion of it. That is the one reason why I brought my laptop. I am glad I did.
Oh, almost forgot… We got on the bus exactly four minutes before it left. Boston traffic… Never taking the 5:00 p.m. bus again!
One more thing: for quite a while, Amor Chiquito kept asking about “otro mommy (the other mommy)” and about Yaminette’s son. She wanted them “in big bus too.” Once I explained that that was not a choice, she decided she wanted “go back otro mommy house, baby, trains.”!
Overall, the trip was awesome! I have an awesome friend and she has a kid that is cute and funny as can be! So it was worth it, all of it! We are ready to do it again!
Once we got home that evening, Amor Chiquito went to sleep very quickly.
The next morning, things went downhill from there! Amor Chiquito was missing Daddy lots. She did not sleep well. She had circles under her eyes. She cried a fair bit. She was extremely upset any time someone left. Our last night without Geeky Entrepreneur, Amor Chiquito talked my mother into staying over. My mother even slept on our bed. Somehow, it felt strange, but nice.
Saturday morning, Daddy got home around 10:30 and Ari’s world was a much better place! She was in heaven with Daddy and her two balloons! One thing I noticed: for days, each and every time Daddy was leaving the house, she would get anxious and would ask him if he was going in an airplane again. She is fine now. Every now and then, if Geeky Entrepreneur is gone for hours, she asks if he is bringing balloons! No, no such luck!
Our trip to Boston two weeks ago was eventful, in a good way. Here are a few stories.
Geeky Entrepreneur left for San Francisco before 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Amor Chiquito and I visited our neighbors in the morning. It worked; she was having fun and not thinking too much about how Daddy was in an airplane, far away. I had considered not mentioning the airplane, but I decided against it. I prefer being honest with her and giving/teaching her the tools she needs to cope/manage whatever life throws her way. I am very grateful and we are very blessed that Daddy going on a business trip is one of the most stressful things she has experienced thus far.
Back to the story, around 2:00 p.m., we headed out to Boston. It was a two-hour bus ride. It went well. Amor Chiquito was fascinated. She does not remember being in a “big bus” before. She spent some time on my lap until she felt comfortable and she eventually moved to her seat.
At one point, Ari started telling me about who has which privates and who is a boy or a girl! This was a first. Last I knew, she was confused and thought/wanted to be a boy. I was grateful for all the background noise; I don’t think the other travelers would have been interested in our conversation!
One thing that did not go over so well was using the potty. The motion scared her and she just could not relax or use the potty. I was waiting for her to have an accident any minute. She made it to Boston and she went as soon as we got to the bus station.
This reminds me… Mommy forgot the night diapers! Unbelievable! Fortunately, my friend has a little one and so they shared diapers with us. Ari was ecstatic. She thinks disposables are very cool! What is different than what you have at home is clearly in, didn’t you get the memo?!
We spend the afternoon and the evening with my friend and her little one. The kids quickly felt comfortable playing together. Before we knew it, they were plotting mischief together, chasing each other, looking at each other on the mirror, playing with trains, watering the plants, etc. It was adorable!
Crunchy moment… Yaminette got me to eat a veggie burger. That was most definitely a first! It was horrible! I am never eating one again! That is why I made sure I knew what brand it was. Darn, one point for Yaminette!
Night time went better than I had anticipated. Amor Chiquito did not nap, so she fell asleep quickly. There were a few night wakings, but she went back to sleep easily and quickly.
In the morning, we took the kids to a park. They had a lot of fun.
We then had yummy Indian food for lunch! Indian food buffet, yay Boston! That is one of the few things I like about Boston: you can find whatever food you are in the mood for!
Both kids refused to nap. What a shock! This made me a bit nervous, impending long bus ride and all…
Since they would not nap, we went out for icecream and to another park. Ari went with Yaminette to get icecream and she informed Yaminette that she wanted “pint tawberry i-team pease (pink strawberry icecream please”! She enjoyed her icecream, and so did her and my clothes!
There was tons of sand in the park. My daughter decided she must enjoy the entire sand experience. So she took her shoes and socks off. By the way, she did this everywhere: on the bus, at the bus station, she has done it at restaurants…
After the park, Ari fell asleep in the car, on the way to the bus station. Exactly what I did not want to happen. That kid does not like it one bit if you wake her up! So I carried her for a while. Eventually, she woke up, walked, and did not do what she usually does. No crying for a long time. Thank you, kiddo.
You should have seen us: each carrying one kid, Yaminette with Ari’s car seat, me with a backpack and a diaper bag. I don’t even want to think about carrying all our stuff without help through the maze that is South Station. Traveling as a mama of a little one without a companion is interesting… Quite the workout!
The ride home was not bad at all. We were stuck in traffic for an hour, so it ended up being a 2.5 hour ride. Thomas and Friends kept us company for a portion of it. That is the one reason why I brought my laptop. I am glad I did.
Oh, almost forgot… We got on the bus exactly four minutes before it left. Boston traffic… Never taking the 5:00 p.m. bus again!
One more thing: for quite a while, Amor Chiquito kept asking about “otro mommy (the other mommy)” and about Yaminette’s son. She wanted them “in big bus too.” Once I explained that that was not a choice, she decided she wanted “go back otro mommy house, baby, trains.”!
Overall, the trip was awesome! I have an awesome friend and she has a kid that is cute and funny as can be! So it was worth it, all of it! We are ready to do it again!
Once we got home that evening, Amor Chiquito went to sleep very quickly.
The next morning, things went downhill from there! Amor Chiquito was missing Daddy lots. She did not sleep well. She had circles under her eyes. She cried a fair bit. She was extremely upset any time someone left. Our last night without Geeky Entrepreneur, Amor Chiquito talked my mother into staying over. My mother even slept on our bed. Somehow, it felt strange, but nice.
Saturday morning, Daddy got home around 10:30 and Ari’s world was a much better place! She was in heaven with Daddy and her two balloons! One thing I noticed: for days, each and every time Daddy was leaving the house, she would get anxious and would ask him if he was going in an airplane again. She is fine now. Every now and then, if Geeky Entrepreneur is gone for hours, she asks if he is bringing balloons! No, no such luck!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Preparing Amor Chiquito for Daddy's Trip
Geeky Entrepreneur is self-employed and so the majority of the time he works from home. The last few years, he has not flown anywhere. On Wednesday, he is flying to CA and will be gone for three days. This will be a first for Amor Chiquito. She is used to having Daddy home. She does not interact much with him from nine to six p.m., but she knows he is here, at home. When he is not home, she asks often when he is coming back.
How do we prepare her for this? What are good do’s and don’t’s while he is gone?
Here is what I have been thinking so far:
We will tell her the day before he leaves so that she is not anxious about it for days. Also, he is leaving at five a.m., so there will not be an opportunity for a proper goodbye the day of.
We will not make a big deal of it. For example, I am wondering if we should avoid mentioning that he will be in an airplane. She knows that people who fly in airplanes “go far away.”
I will do my best to get her to understand what a day is. If it seems like she gets that, I will explain that Daddy will be gone for three days. Each day, I will tell her what day we are on.
We are planning on video conferencing once a day. He will be on Pacific time and will have long days. Hopefully it will work.
A friend suggested that when Amor Chiquito talks about Daddy being gone I focus on when he is coming home, that he will be home soon, etc., rather than on how he is gone, she misses him, etc.
I plan on validating her feelings and keeping her occupied as much as possible.
We are going on a little trip ourselves! We are going to Boston to see my awesome friend Yaminette and her little one. I think Amor Chiquito will have fun playing with my friend’s son and his many trains! I am sure she will be fascinated by the big Peterpan bus! She has only been in one once before and she does not remember it. She was seven months.
Inserting rant here… Please do not imply that I should not go on this trip because I am visually impaired and my daughter is two and very active, seriously. I am a capable and cautious mother with a brain. I own a stroller and a backpack harness (what the heck is the correct name for those things?). I know when I need them. My daughter is just as safe as your kid is. By the way, you know what sucks the most? The fact that it is a relative, someone who has known me for 27 years, who said this to me. Rant over!
Back to traveling, I look forward to any thoughts/suggestions.
How do we prepare her for this? What are good do’s and don’t’s while he is gone?
Here is what I have been thinking so far:
We will tell her the day before he leaves so that she is not anxious about it for days. Also, he is leaving at five a.m., so there will not be an opportunity for a proper goodbye the day of.
We will not make a big deal of it. For example, I am wondering if we should avoid mentioning that he will be in an airplane. She knows that people who fly in airplanes “go far away.”
I will do my best to get her to understand what a day is. If it seems like she gets that, I will explain that Daddy will be gone for three days. Each day, I will tell her what day we are on.
We are planning on video conferencing once a day. He will be on Pacific time and will have long days. Hopefully it will work.
A friend suggested that when Amor Chiquito talks about Daddy being gone I focus on when he is coming home, that he will be home soon, etc., rather than on how he is gone, she misses him, etc.
I plan on validating her feelings and keeping her occupied as much as possible.
We are going on a little trip ourselves! We are going to Boston to see my awesome friend Yaminette and her little one. I think Amor Chiquito will have fun playing with my friend’s son and his many trains! I am sure she will be fascinated by the big Peterpan bus! She has only been in one once before and she does not remember it. She was seven months.
Inserting rant here… Please do not imply that I should not go on this trip because I am visually impaired and my daughter is two and very active, seriously. I am a capable and cautious mother with a brain. I own a stroller and a backpack harness (what the heck is the correct name for those things?). I know when I need them. My daughter is just as safe as your kid is. By the way, you know what sucks the most? The fact that it is a relative, someone who has known me for 27 years, who said this to me. Rant over!
Back to traveling, I look forward to any thoughts/suggestions.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Vacation Time
We finally get to go on vacation! It's been years!
Tomorrow morning we fly to Baltimore and we cruise for a week. Bahamas, here we come!
This is our first time flying with Amor Chiquito. I am a bit anxious about it, but hopeful that she will do well. The length of the flight is an hour and 15 minutes. We are bringing snacks and a few activities to keep her busy, and, hopefully, happy.
Activities include:
pen/paper
playdo, scissors, tools to make stars, sun, etc.
book
laptop with Barney and Elmo dvd's (we might not be allowed to use the laptop, though.)
Those of you who have flown or driven long distances with little ones, any tips?
There are a few posts I am working on, but I might not get to them before we leave tomorrow morning.
If I don't get to post again before we leave, I hope everyone has a good, healthy week!
Tomorrow morning we fly to Baltimore and we cruise for a week. Bahamas, here we come!
This is our first time flying with Amor Chiquito. I am a bit anxious about it, but hopeful that she will do well. The length of the flight is an hour and 15 minutes. We are bringing snacks and a few activities to keep her busy, and, hopefully, happy.
Activities include:
pen/paper
playdo, scissors, tools to make stars, sun, etc.
book
laptop with Barney and Elmo dvd's (we might not be allowed to use the laptop, though.)
Those of you who have flown or driven long distances with little ones, any tips?
There are a few posts I am working on, but I might not get to them before we leave tomorrow morning.
If I don't get to post again before we leave, I hope everyone has a good, healthy week!
Monday, October 19, 2009
We spent the weekend with Nana.
Saturday afternoon, we spent some time with my father and then drove to the in-laws’. Ari did very well on the car ride. She slept most of the ride.
Ari has been doing very well in the potty training department, but I opted to leave the potty chair at home. No good reason, simply because I did not want to bring yet one more thing. Bad idea! When we were at my dad’s, she asked to use the potty. When Amor Chiquito realized there was no potty, she was unsure about what to do. She was very intimidated by the toilet. Saturday, Amor Chiquito opted to wear diapers, but, by Sunday morning, she was ok with using the toilet at Nana’s, as long as someone held her, obviously.
We had five bags for a 24-28 hour trip!
Small diaper bag in case we went out somewhere for a few hours
Large diaper bag full of cloth diapers
Lunch box full of snacks for Amor Chiquito
Tiny backpack with clothes for Geeky Entrepreneur and I
Backpack with my laptop
See why I did not want to bring yet one more thing?! But I will next time. I am thinking of buying a portable potty.
Back to the trip, everything went well. Ari had tons of fun with Nana. We co slept Saturday night and Amor Chiquito did so, so well. She slept for over six hours before she woke up looking for mommy milk. Once Amor Chiquito realized Nana was awake, there was no way to get her to go back to bed. So off with Nana she went. And, we got to sleep in, for real! We stayed in bed until 10am. Wow! It has been a very, very long time! We decided we ought to go see Nana more often!
Everyone kept complementing Amor Chiquito because she says please and thank you most of the time. Some people were surprised at how well she is doing in the potty training department.
Every child has her/his strengths and weaknesses, if you will, so do not get discouraged if yours is older than mine and is not potty trained. Yours probably has been saying phrases for ever and Amor Chiquito just started saying a few, for example.
On a different topic, Amor Chiquito’s great-grandmother told me how the way to get her used to the toddler bed is to hit her and she will do great after that. I politely listened and ignored every word she said. Perhaps, I should/could have shared my opinion on this and how we successfully discipline our child. But I figured what was the point? She is 80; she will not be disciplining kids. Actually, come to think of it, I am wrong because she does babysit from time to time and she loves to give people advice and I am sure some people listen/take her advice. What is done is done, but I do think I will respond differently should the topic come up again. Part of me feels that I should not say anything. I hate confrontation, particularly when it is someone who is very set in her ways and who has parented many children, for much, much longer than I have. But, part of me feels that I should because, you know what, I am a mother and I do have valuable thoughts/opinions. Most importantly, I parent in a way that is respectful, considerate, and generates results.
Off my soapbox now…!
Back to the trip, Sunday night, we drove home and, again, Amor Chiquito slept most of the ride. We got to celebrate Nana’s birthday and everyone was happy. The only bad thing is that what little progress I had made in the weight loss department was gone, just gone! Back to eating well and getting on the elliptical every day!
We are so happy that we can travel again, even if it is only a weekend at a time.
Ari has been doing very well in the potty training department, but I opted to leave the potty chair at home. No good reason, simply because I did not want to bring yet one more thing. Bad idea! When we were at my dad’s, she asked to use the potty. When Amor Chiquito realized there was no potty, she was unsure about what to do. She was very intimidated by the toilet. Saturday, Amor Chiquito opted to wear diapers, but, by Sunday morning, she was ok with using the toilet at Nana’s, as long as someone held her, obviously.
We had five bags for a 24-28 hour trip!
Small diaper bag in case we went out somewhere for a few hours
Large diaper bag full of cloth diapers
Lunch box full of snacks for Amor Chiquito
Tiny backpack with clothes for Geeky Entrepreneur and I
Backpack with my laptop
See why I did not want to bring yet one more thing?! But I will next time. I am thinking of buying a portable potty.
Back to the trip, everything went well. Ari had tons of fun with Nana. We co slept Saturday night and Amor Chiquito did so, so well. She slept for over six hours before she woke up looking for mommy milk. Once Amor Chiquito realized Nana was awake, there was no way to get her to go back to bed. So off with Nana she went. And, we got to sleep in, for real! We stayed in bed until 10am. Wow! It has been a very, very long time! We decided we ought to go see Nana more often!
Everyone kept complementing Amor Chiquito because she says please and thank you most of the time. Some people were surprised at how well she is doing in the potty training department.
Every child has her/his strengths and weaknesses, if you will, so do not get discouraged if yours is older than mine and is not potty trained. Yours probably has been saying phrases for ever and Amor Chiquito just started saying a few, for example.
On a different topic, Amor Chiquito’s great-grandmother told me how the way to get her used to the toddler bed is to hit her and she will do great after that. I politely listened and ignored every word she said. Perhaps, I should/could have shared my opinion on this and how we successfully discipline our child. But I figured what was the point? She is 80; she will not be disciplining kids. Actually, come to think of it, I am wrong because she does babysit from time to time and she loves to give people advice and I am sure some people listen/take her advice. What is done is done, but I do think I will respond differently should the topic come up again. Part of me feels that I should not say anything. I hate confrontation, particularly when it is someone who is very set in her ways and who has parented many children, for much, much longer than I have. But, part of me feels that I should because, you know what, I am a mother and I do have valuable thoughts/opinions. Most importantly, I parent in a way that is respectful, considerate, and generates results.
Off my soapbox now…!
Back to the trip, Sunday night, we drove home and, again, Amor Chiquito slept most of the ride. We got to celebrate Nana’s birthday and everyone was happy. The only bad thing is that what little progress I had made in the weight loss department was gone, just gone! Back to eating well and getting on the elliptical every day!
We are so happy that we can travel again, even if it is only a weekend at a time.
Monday, September 28, 2009
We can travel chaos-free again!
Last weekend, we drove to Boston to see friends. We spent one night away from home. Ari did so, so well! I was very pleased. I could not believe it went so smoothly!
We left on Saturday at naptime. By the time we got to the gas station, she was asleep. She slept almost the entire ride. She woke up about 15 minutes before we got to my friend's Yaminette's place.
We spent the afternoon and evening with Yaminette, her husband, and her little one, who is two months older than Amor Chiquito. The kids had a blast, mostly playing with trains and riding a car. The guys got to chat. The girls got to catch up. It felt great. It was not chaotic at all, like one of our get-togethers was. I think last weekend worked well because we made sure we got together after the kids napped.
We slept at Yaminette's place. We were wondering how it would work, praying that one of the kids would not cry, wake the other kid up, and having the night turn into a nightmare.
The only thing that went wrong is that Ari did not fall asleep until 10:30pm. Very minor issue.
Each baby only woke up once and the other baby was able to sleep through it.
The kids played a bit more in the morning and then we left to see our friend Liz.
We had a funny episode at Liz's. Liz shared a very yummy watermelon with us. Ari ate lots of it. She would not stop peeing! She was peeing every ten minutes or so. I swear I am not making this up! I think we went through five diapers while we were there. I eventually ran out of cloth diapers. Fortunately, we had some disposable diapers in our trunk. Ari was in heaven because she got to wear "pappos"!
Five minutes after we left Liz's, Ari was asleep. She woke up when we pulled into our driveway.
That's what I call success!
We spent a few hours with Sarah and Moo (Will, I mean)! Again, Ari was rested. All was well.
Stories about last weekend... Geeky Entrepreneur and I got exposed to lots of yummy food. This led to many jokes...
We love meat and Yaminette and her husband eat vegan. Yaminette and I had fun figuring out where we would have dinner. There were plenty of options. It's just that any time we talk about food, I must remind her "whatever the hell kind of food you want, just make sure they have chicken!"
On Sunday morning, the crunchy woman offered us vegan pancakes! I must pick on her! How could she dare?! I will admit it: they were yummy.
As if that was not enough, she offered us super crunchy juice (apple, ginger, and broccoli)! Tasty, but super spicy! If I did not have terrible reflux, I would have really enjoyed it. But don't ever tell her I said that! Oh, wait, you read this, oops!
Lastly, at Liz's, there was a very yummy potato, bacon and cheese pie waiting for us. The hell with vegan food! As if that was not enough, there was a blueberry coffeecake that was more like cream cheese with a thin layer of cake. Yumm, my kind of cake! Oh, and there was a delicious fruit salad. Remember the watermelon peeing episode?
Diapers need to be washed. More later... Looking forward to our next little trip.
We left on Saturday at naptime. By the time we got to the gas station, she was asleep. She slept almost the entire ride. She woke up about 15 minutes before we got to my friend's Yaminette's place.
We spent the afternoon and evening with Yaminette, her husband, and her little one, who is two months older than Amor Chiquito. The kids had a blast, mostly playing with trains and riding a car. The guys got to chat. The girls got to catch up. It felt great. It was not chaotic at all, like one of our get-togethers was. I think last weekend worked well because we made sure we got together after the kids napped.
We slept at Yaminette's place. We were wondering how it would work, praying that one of the kids would not cry, wake the other kid up, and having the night turn into a nightmare.
The only thing that went wrong is that Ari did not fall asleep until 10:30pm. Very minor issue.
Each baby only woke up once and the other baby was able to sleep through it.
The kids played a bit more in the morning and then we left to see our friend Liz.
We had a funny episode at Liz's. Liz shared a very yummy watermelon with us. Ari ate lots of it. She would not stop peeing! She was peeing every ten minutes or so. I swear I am not making this up! I think we went through five diapers while we were there. I eventually ran out of cloth diapers. Fortunately, we had some disposable diapers in our trunk. Ari was in heaven because she got to wear "pappos"!
Five minutes after we left Liz's, Ari was asleep. She woke up when we pulled into our driveway.
That's what I call success!
We spent a few hours with Sarah and Moo (Will, I mean)! Again, Ari was rested. All was well.
Stories about last weekend... Geeky Entrepreneur and I got exposed to lots of yummy food. This led to many jokes...
We love meat and Yaminette and her husband eat vegan. Yaminette and I had fun figuring out where we would have dinner. There were plenty of options. It's just that any time we talk about food, I must remind her "whatever the hell kind of food you want, just make sure they have chicken!"
On Sunday morning, the crunchy woman offered us vegan pancakes! I must pick on her! How could she dare?! I will admit it: they were yummy.
As if that was not enough, she offered us super crunchy juice (apple, ginger, and broccoli)! Tasty, but super spicy! If I did not have terrible reflux, I would have really enjoyed it. But don't ever tell her I said that! Oh, wait, you read this, oops!
Lastly, at Liz's, there was a very yummy potato, bacon and cheese pie waiting for us. The hell with vegan food! As if that was not enough, there was a blueberry coffeecake that was more like cream cheese with a thin layer of cake. Yumm, my kind of cake! Oh, and there was a delicious fruit salad. Remember the watermelon peeing episode?
Diapers need to be washed. More later... Looking forward to our next little trip.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Heading out for the weekend...
As is the case every time we go somewhere for the weekend, I am excited and a tiny bit nervous. I think Ari will be fine, but there is always the unexpected with babies!
We are driving to Boston (2 hours) to see some friends and will return tomorrow afternoon. We are doing the driving during Ari's naptime both days.
We will then hang out with our local friends/former tenants.
It's friends weekend! Yay! It's been a while.
A cute little story... The other morning, Geeky Entrepreneur was going to take Ari so I could get a little more sleep. She said and did the following:
Bye.
Blow big kiss.
Oh, agua.
Grabs my Klean Kantine from the hallway and hands it to me.
Bye.
Another kiss.
Close my bedroom door.
I am biased, but, that was cute, you must admit!
We are driving to Boston (2 hours) to see some friends and will return tomorrow afternoon. We are doing the driving during Ari's naptime both days.
We will then hang out with our local friends/former tenants.
It's friends weekend! Yay! It's been a while.
A cute little story... The other morning, Geeky Entrepreneur was going to take Ari so I could get a little more sleep. She said and did the following:
Bye.
Blow big kiss.
Oh, agua.
Grabs my Klean Kantine from the hallway and hands it to me.
Bye.
Another kiss.
Close my bedroom door.
I am biased, but, that was cute, you must admit!
Monday, June 22, 2009
We're traveling again!
Geeky Entrepreneur and I had been apprehensive about traveling (as in a 2-hour drive) with Amor Chiquito because last time we did it was chaotic. Lots of crying on the car ride, lots of crying at the hotel, did not want the playard, up until midnight, lots of crying during nap time the next day...
I knew that eventually she would do fine. She understands more and more language every day, so I figured I could explain to her what we are doing in a simple, toddler-friendly way. I have been seeing lots of progress in the sleeping department. Six months ago, she would only sleep in her crib. Now, she sleeps in her crib at home and on a toddler bed at Abuela's. She can cosleep and not try to nibble all night like she used to.
Last Friday, Geeky Entrepreneur said he wanted to drive down to see his father on Father's Day. I reminded him that if he drove down without the baby, his mother would disown him!
We brainstormed on what would work best. I figured we should leave at naptime so Amor Chiquito would sleep on the car ride. That adventuresome, curious, very active free spirit absolutely refuses to sit still for that long, just like her father!
Back to planning, Geeky Entrepreneur came up with a better idea: leave at bedtime, around 8pm. We could spend the next day with his parents and drive home at bedtime. We decided to go for it. Once I said yes, I got anxious, but, at the same time, I wanted to do it and had a feeling that it would work.
So, on Friday night, while Geeky Entrepreneur and Amor Chiquito went on their evening walk, I packed frantically! Off we went around 9pm, behind schedule, of course!
I put Ari in the car. I said "sleepy time in the car." She nursed. While she was nursing, I sang the bedtime song. Geeky Entrepreneur played the "rain on the roof" track from Happiest Baby on the Block (we play it every night). Ten minutes in she was asleep! She slept the entire time!
We got into our hotel room. Amor Chiquito woke up briefly and went right to sleep. She got up again at 3am, but went back to sleep easily. We got up at 7am and by 7:45am we were at my mother-in-law's.
Amor Chiquito napped in the car at 1pm. Again, it went well. She slept for an hour. Not ideal, but good enough.
After dinner, we got in the car and 20 minutes in she was asleep. She woke up ten minutes before we got home.
So, it could not have gone better! I am very happy that we found something that works. The takeaway is: be mindful/considerate/awear of her schedule, tell her what we are doing and replicate the bedtime routine as much as possible.
I am looking forward to planning a trip to the Boston area so we can see our "Boston friends" (hi Yaminette, hi Liz!).
I knew that eventually she would do fine. She understands more and more language every day, so I figured I could explain to her what we are doing in a simple, toddler-friendly way. I have been seeing lots of progress in the sleeping department. Six months ago, she would only sleep in her crib. Now, she sleeps in her crib at home and on a toddler bed at Abuela's. She can cosleep and not try to nibble all night like she used to.
Last Friday, Geeky Entrepreneur said he wanted to drive down to see his father on Father's Day. I reminded him that if he drove down without the baby, his mother would disown him!
We brainstormed on what would work best. I figured we should leave at naptime so Amor Chiquito would sleep on the car ride. That adventuresome, curious, very active free spirit absolutely refuses to sit still for that long, just like her father!
Back to planning, Geeky Entrepreneur came up with a better idea: leave at bedtime, around 8pm. We could spend the next day with his parents and drive home at bedtime. We decided to go for it. Once I said yes, I got anxious, but, at the same time, I wanted to do it and had a feeling that it would work.
So, on Friday night, while Geeky Entrepreneur and Amor Chiquito went on their evening walk, I packed frantically! Off we went around 9pm, behind schedule, of course!
I put Ari in the car. I said "sleepy time in the car." She nursed. While she was nursing, I sang the bedtime song. Geeky Entrepreneur played the "rain on the roof" track from Happiest Baby on the Block (we play it every night). Ten minutes in she was asleep! She slept the entire time!
We got into our hotel room. Amor Chiquito woke up briefly and went right to sleep. She got up again at 3am, but went back to sleep easily. We got up at 7am and by 7:45am we were at my mother-in-law's.
Amor Chiquito napped in the car at 1pm. Again, it went well. She slept for an hour. Not ideal, but good enough.
After dinner, we got in the car and 20 minutes in she was asleep. She woke up ten minutes before we got home.
So, it could not have gone better! I am very happy that we found something that works. The takeaway is: be mindful/considerate/awear of her schedule, tell her what we are doing and replicate the bedtime routine as much as possible.
I am looking forward to planning a trip to the Boston area so we can see our "Boston friends" (hi Yaminette, hi Liz!).
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Abuela is cruising with us after all!
Abuela was uncertain, as she has not cruised before, but she said yes and all of us are very excited!
Abuela and Amor Chiquito will have their own cabbin. Win-win for all! Abuela is ecstatic! To her, it will feel like Amor Chiquito is sleeping over, which she can't wait for. But, at the same time, if Ari needs us, we are a few steps away. Geeky Entrepreneur and I are ecstatic because we'll have some "us" time.
It will be great to have both family activities and adult activities. Yeah, I know you're probably laughing! What I mean by "adult activity" is things like going on the awesome 2-story slide. We can't do it together if we have the baby. She is too little. We also enjoy hottubs, which are not an ideal activity for a young child. So, with Abuela coming, we will get to do things like that, but, we'll also get to go to the beaches as a family, among many other things.
We are very lucky in that our mothers are good mother-in-laws. My mother-in-law is so awesome I invited her to join us on our last cruise. We spent 7 days together and when we flew in and went our separate ways, I actually missed her! Weird and unusual, I know. I am a lucky woman!
Abuela and Amor Chiquito will have their own cabbin. Win-win for all! Abuela is ecstatic! To her, it will feel like Amor Chiquito is sleeping over, which she can't wait for. But, at the same time, if Ari needs us, we are a few steps away. Geeky Entrepreneur and I are ecstatic because we'll have some "us" time.
It will be great to have both family activities and adult activities. Yeah, I know you're probably laughing! What I mean by "adult activity" is things like going on the awesome 2-story slide. We can't do it together if we have the baby. She is too little. We also enjoy hottubs, which are not an ideal activity for a young child. So, with Abuela coming, we will get to do things like that, but, we'll also get to go to the beaches as a family, among many other things.
We are very lucky in that our mothers are good mother-in-laws. My mother-in-law is so awesome I invited her to join us on our last cruise. We spent 7 days together and when we flew in and went our separate ways, I actually missed her! Weird and unusual, I know. I am a lucky woman!
Monday, June 8, 2009
We're going on a cruise!
So, I lied... I didn't get any work done earlier as I said! Instead, I wrapped up my cruise research! I booked our next cruise! Geeky Entrepreneur, Amor Chiquito, and myself are going to the Bahamas on Nov. 15 for a week! I am so excited! I can't wait! 160 days to go! (The Carnival website keeps track for me!)
My mother might come with us. If she does, her and Amor Chiquito will have their own cabbin.
There are kid pools for Amor Chiquito and a 2-story water slide that Geeky Entrepreneur and I can't wait to get on! Geeky Entrepreneur is also very excited about 24/7 access to icecream! No, not making that up!
We'll be flying to Baltimore. The flight is only an hour and 10 minutes. It will be our first time flying with Amor Chiquito. I am a little nervous about it, but hopeful that she will do ok. She'll be 26 months then, so I am sure she will understand more language than she does now. My plan is to point out planes, tell her about them, tell her we will be going on one, etc.
Now, need to get some work done, for real!
My mother might come with us. If she does, her and Amor Chiquito will have their own cabbin.
There are kid pools for Amor Chiquito and a 2-story water slide that Geeky Entrepreneur and I can't wait to get on! Geeky Entrepreneur is also very excited about 24/7 access to icecream! No, not making that up!
We'll be flying to Baltimore. The flight is only an hour and 10 minutes. It will be our first time flying with Amor Chiquito. I am a little nervous about it, but hopeful that she will do ok. She'll be 26 months then, so I am sure she will understand more language than she does now. My plan is to point out planes, tell her about them, tell her we will be going on one, etc.
Now, need to get some work done, for real!
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