Monday, February 16, 2009
Vacation?
Ryan and I have for some time wanted to plan a vacation. The problem: Emily. We're not quite ready to leave her, and we're not ready to take her. We've been exploring the idea of a cruise, while she stays with family. What do you think? Will we miss her too much? Will she think we've abandoned her? Are there any vacations that wouldn't be a nigthmare with a toddler who can't sit in a car seat for more than a mile without serious stimulation in the form of snacks and "Wheels On The Bus"?
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11 comments:
Two things: First, you will miss her, but it's such a nice break. Just go for 5-7 days. You come back refreshed and ready to tackle each day.
Second, Chris and I took our first to San Diego for one of our anniversary's. She was only about 9 months at the time, but we went to the zoo and Sea World and the beach. We stayed on Coronado island. It was, to this day, one of my favorite vacations. That's a great one to take Emily on if you decide to take her.
Good luck!
This is just our story- take it for what it's worth. Jason and I took our first vacation away from the kids for our 10 year anniversary. We were gone 3 days and the kids were with Grandparents (plus 2 unmarried uncles and an unmarried aunt- constant entertainment)at our house. It was summer so no schedules to keep- just constant playing. Our youngest was 18 months. The kids had a blast. We tried not to miss the kids and were only 3 hours from home. We took our next vacation not quite two years later. We went to Hawaii and my parents watched the kids. It was fun. . . but! The kids really struggled. We were gone 6 days. Since the kids were sort of freaking out my parents struggled too. It was during school so there was a lot going on. Jason and I worried about them and missed them a lot so it put a damper on the whole thing. We have since decided that they are young for such a short amount of time, why take long vacations without them. We want our vacation memories to include them. There will be years and years for fabulous vacations when we don't have to find a babysitter. It's true that vacations are fewer and farther between and they are far less glamorous than they could be, but we are so happy with this choice. Some of our fondest family memories are on short vacations and camping trips with our super funny kids.
I have a hard time sitting in a car for more than 1 hour without snacks.
Helen, we have dragged Jakob all over Europe and loved it. It's cool that he gets to go to these places too, even if he doesn't remember. He'll always have the pictures. It makes vacationing a bit harder. You don't get to see quite as much, and dragging a stroller around can be quite taxing, but I'm glad he's with us. Last summer I went to Europe for 10 days with my class and left Jakob and Ryan at home. I missed Jakob so bad. I called every day. He was fine, but I was so anxious to get home to see him. I didn't really miss my husband that much. It took about five or six days for that. But I missed Jakob from the very beginning. Traveling with him throws off the whole nap schedule and routine and stuff, but he just sleeps in his stroller. We don't have a car in Europe. We travel by train or bus. Anyway, this is a bit scattered, but if you drive somewhere, just take the scenic route and stop every couple of hours. You could take a train somewhere and then she can have freedom in the train car. Don't go somewhere where all there is to do is go to a museum. That won't really last. Maybe one day you could do that, but kids need somewhere to run around. I liked the San Diego idea.
Helen, (and yep, I am a mostly silent reader of your blog)
GO ON A CRUISE! BOOK IT TODAY!!! Perhaps I'm a horrible mom, but Shane and I still sigh when we hear the Royal Carribean music on TV. Tyler was 4 and Sydney just turned 1 and it was one of the best weeks of our lives.
And I felt totally justified because I was a much better mom when I returned.
GO!
She is plenty old enough for you to leave her while you go on vacation. She won't be the one who has a tough time but you will! A wise friend once told me that it takes about three days for the mom to get over missing the children and then she become a little more human again.
For cruises, book here: skyauction.com
I say take the vacation! We went to Hawaii and left Chloie when she was nine months. I did miss her and called every day to see how she was, but is was SOOOO nice to have some time for just the two of us. And even though I was pregnant and sick, it was still worth it. If Dave and I had the chance to go on a cruise, I would do it in a second.
Thanks everyone! I think we're going to do a 4 night cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. Nice boat, not gone too long, cheap flight to Ft. Lauderdale. I think Emily will have fun with her cousin, Ruby, and we'll probably miss her more than she'll miss us.
Helen, just found your blog through Jessica. So fun and cute. It is so fun to see your pictures. Ron and I are coming to Utah in a few weeks. It would be nice to meet Ryan, finally. Hopefully we can meet up.
I left Skylar for a cruise when she was 8 months old.. and I hardly enjoyed it because I worried she was at home terrified to be away from me but turns out she was fine and never remembered it... I say go...And trust HF
Hey Helen,
I miss seeing you every week. First of all. ..vacation. We left Chase and went on a cruise when he was about Emily's age. I missed him, but it was nice. . .espcially since we haven't taken a vacation since. When we came back it was quite hard to cope with the fact that he clearly wanted my mother-in-law more than he wanted me. That transition was a little rough, because I think he figured out we had left him. But I would totally go somewhere before baby #2!
Surgery is scheduled for March 11th. I am dreading it! I really don't know how it is all going to play out with my kids. Maybe you'll have to come visit? How is v-ball? How was the beach volleyball night out? Say hi to everyone for me.
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