Home Sweet Home

We're back! We arrived home on Monday afternoon from a wonderful vacation in Panama City. It's always so nice to come back home, although the unpacking and the week's worth of laundry I could live without! I think we are finally starting to settle back into our rhythm. Now we have to get ready to head back to school next week!

The weather was perfect. The kids had a great time. The hotel was very family-friendly. My mom and dad came down on Thursday and spent the last few days with us which was so nice. I actually got to relax a bit. I forgot how much work it is to go on vacation (especially with 3 kids in tow)! I guess that's why we haven't gone to the beach in 7 years.

Gramps and Jonah built some really amazing sand castles. They were the hit of the beach! (See the picture below).

Violet hated the sand but loved the pool. She was SO happy to be home. She was a totally different kid being back in her own environment. She even learned a few new tricks while we were away (dancing, pointing and opening drawers)!








Here are some of the highlights:
Jonah and Sadie's first look at the ocean!







The hotel pool.









The view from our balcony.









One of Gramps' materpieces!









Our visit to Shell Island.









Jonah's first ride on a jet ski.









It's great to be back! I hope it won't take us another 7 years to get back to the beach!

"All Right . . . who threw the fish in the washer?"

Did I get your attention? More on the fishy washing machine in a minute...

I am already regretting that I told my children about vacation two weeks ahead of time. They are acting like they do when they're all hopped up on sugar – running around, jumping off of the furniture, yelling and screaming – ALL DAY LONG! I should have waited until the day we were leaving and just loaded up the car and said, "Hey, guess what? We're going to Florida!" But I had to go and open my big mouth (because I'm just as excited as they are – in fact, last night I could hardly sleep).

Yesterday evening, they were driving me so crazy that I couldn't even have a conversation with Michael about the plans. I finally told them to go and make a waiting chain. (See photo). It was Jonah's idea. He made a link for every day from now (actually yesterday) until we leave, so there were 14 links in all. Each morning, he and Sadie remove a link as a visual reminder of how many more days we have remaining until vacation. It kept them busy for a good 20 minutes! We do the same thing at Christmas.

Today, we went shopping for things to take on vacation with us. I am obsessed with all things travel sized! Deodorant, lotion, wipes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, you name it. They even have mini laundry detergent and rolls of toilet paper – which I was able to restrain myself from purchasing, although I may have to rethink that one. They're just so darn cute. The kids each picked out a few travel activities to keep them occupied in the car. Have I mentioned it's a 10 hour drive?!?

Now, on to the fishy washer. So the night before last, when I was doing the laundry, I noticed a putrid odor coming from the dirty clothes. I mean a really foul odor, not just the normal stench of dirty laundry – it smelled like someone (Michael) had put one of Violet's poopy diapers into the dirty clothes basket by mistake (which wouldn't be a first). I searched and searched for said diaper. It wasn't there. So I proceeded to go about washing the laundry as usual. When I went back to transfer the clothes to the dryer the next day, it smelled like I had left the wet clothes in there for a month. I washed them again and thankfully the smell was gone.

I realized something though. It wasn't the clothes. It was the washing machine itself! I have been washing cloth diapers in there two to three times a week for 15 months. It was bound to catch up with me. I did a search online and this is what I found:

http://www.thediaperhyena.com/washingmachinecare.htm

So I did the prescribed vinegar/baking soda voodoo and voila...no more stinky washing machine!!! Now I just hope my clothes don't smell like vinegar.

Oops, almost forgot the word of the day. Sadie is such a gamine. (Lame, I know, but I want to go to bed)!

14 days and counting...

until I am lying on the sandy beaches of Florida with the breeze blowing through my hair and a frozen drink in my hand. I finally planned our first vacation in 7 years! Seven very long years! It has been a supernumerary amount of time since our last vacation – we are long overdue! I can almost hear the waves rolling onto the shore now.

Of course, I'm not looking forward to the 10+ hour car ride with three children, but it will be so worth it to see their faces when we get there! Jonah has only been to the beach once when he was 20 months old, so he doesn't remember it and Sadie and Violet have never been. They are going to have so much fun! I can't wait.

Our Staycation

Michael was on vacation from work this week. We all had a very nice week together. One day, we took the kids to the park. Jonah almost broke his wrist jumping off the swings (see below).



Yesterday, we went downtown and took a riverboat ride on The Spirit of Jefferson since The Belle of Louisville wasn't running. It was very nice and relaxing. The kids really enjoyed it.



Before we even left the dock, Sadie had spotted a "lobster" (a.k.a. stick) and a "submarine" (a.k.a. buoy). Needless to say, this "vacation" was way better than the last one (see "We Need to Get Out More" below).


It drizzled a little and was a bit cool especially with the wind. I was definitely not prepared. You can tell that I'm a third time mom. When Jonah was a baby, if we had planned the same excursion, I would have packed two changes of clothes, a hat, several diapers, a jacket (for each of us), a blanket, emergency rain ponchos, the sling, an umbrella, toys, snacks for the baby, a sippy cup, antibacterial wipes, a first aid kit, the camera and video camera, extra batteries, suncreen (or "sunscream" as Sadie calls it) and rations in case we crashed onto Six Mile Island!

This time around, this is all we had with us (and I'm not exaggerating): one cloth diaper and cover, a onesie (size 6-9 months), a pair of 0-6 month socks (did I mention that Violet is 14 1/2 months old and wears size 12-18 mos?), the camera and $3. Luckily, it cost exactly $3 to park. When it started to get a little cool from the rain and wind, I had to improvise and use the cloth diaper as a blanket to cover the baby. I somehow managed to squeeze the 0-6 month socks on her – I'm still not sure how I pulled that one off. The other two kids were just s.o.l. Jonah tried to cover himself with Violet.


It all worked out in the end and we had a lovely time anyway – in spite of my lack of preparedness! At least I didn't forget the camera!

We Really Need to Get Out More!

This is turning into "The Sadie Blog" but I can't help it, she gives me the most material!

The other night we all went for a bike ride around the neighborhood. It literally was a 15 minute bike ride. When we got home, Sadie came up the stairs and said to me, "That was the BEST vacation EVER! Can we do that again next year?" And she was totally serious!

I felt so sorry for her. Poor child has never been on vacation. It takes so little to please her. We really have to get that kid to a beach this summer! Although, I must admit that I am a little hesitant to take her on a real vacation. Right now she is such an easy kid to please. Her expectations are low. If she finds out what a real vacation is like, we might be in real trouble.