summer 2011

summer 2011

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012
family

Thursday, February 7, 2019

what vacation is like for a mom with lots of kids...

Here I am, awake at the crack of dawn, when I could be sleeping! The school called, the school that's a few thousand miles away, in the frozen north, where there's ice and snow, to let me know there's a two hour delay. So typical me, once awake, wide awake, I decided to do some internet exploring...you know, how much do these resort workers make, how much to buy a house on the beach, and how much weight does a normal person gain on vacation.

Here at the resort, there are families with children. As much as I admire the babies and toddlers, and the older imps with their ice cream mustaches, I'm glad I'm not watching them ha. It seems so selfish, but I am reveling in the utter lack of responsibility.

Don't get me wrong, the kids are adorable. Yesterday we watched the dolphins, and these little kids were swimming with them, put their hands out when the dolphin swam by, and got rides right on those dolphins, across the pool, with huge grins, some of those kids just laughing their heads off with joy. Kids are precious. But when I see the sunburnt mom being led across the little bridge to the bathroom by the little monster doing the potty dance, I'm glad I don't have small children here.

But oh, if I could have taken my kids on a vacation like this when they were small, of course I would have. Water parks and ice cream stations, yup.

Can we talk about the food here? Yesterday I decided to behave a little better because the night before was a bit rough for me, I had heartburn (my own fault), and had to sit up and watch the hours tick away while the girls slept. So breakfast was an omelet and a roasted/fried seasoned tomato...then Aaron showed up with a piece of this flaky pastry like cream cake, which he insisted we all try...oh heavenly yummers it was good...we didn't go get more, but we just kept talking about it yesterday. He wants to go home and make one. Anyway...I was a bit better yesterday, no cake at lunch, ha. But you just sit down at the lovely tables in the restaurants, and drinks of your choice are served...the buffets, oh my goodness! Everything you could imagine in a first class bakery, plus all the food! Steak, chicken, pork, all grilled up sizzling fresh. Salsas and guacamole, and every kind of fresh fruit and veggie. (Watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple on skewers, works of art!). Rice, every kind of fried potato (hash brown, fries, wedges). Sausages, vats of bacon, ham, all sorts of yogurts, smoothie stations, soft ice cream, toppings, mini tarts...the other night we had lemon curd tarts in a crunchy chocolate shell with meringue...oh yum. With hot coffee...mmm.

For lunch, we eat at the open air beach buffet. The pico, fresh salsa, is amazing. I eat that with a few tortillas, some grilled chicken, a spoon of rice, some peppers...a nice break from the sun, and we are always somehow starving at lunch. We kept to our No Cake At Lunch vow yesterday, but today is our last day.

When I get home, I'm going to go sit at the dining room table and wait for my coffee, ha.

It's going to be tough, going back to my reality. I have not missed making my own coffee, wiping down the counters, washing up, and you know, all the maintenance and busy work.

But when I think of my girls at home, of my Jonathan and Miss Char, and Miss Cam, and the older ones, I am excited to see them.

We will have one week home, to catch up on things, then start packing...we're driving to Florida! The kids are extremely excited about this, and I'll really enjoy it. It'll be a far cry from this REAL vacation, but the joy will be there nonetheless...the joy from sharing experiences, and being with them, but not the joy of simply relaxing, ha.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I think that taking kids on a cruise is the ideal family vacation. Food is available at all times, so no hangry kids to blame. We used to go as a large extended family trip every 2-3 years. A group of 30-40 of us. It was super fun. We did all inclusive resorts a few times, but found with younger kids, they'd wander, while cruise ships had less places to get lost and more reliable child care facilities.

An American Housewife said...

The dessert that was a flaky pastry like cream cake... sounds like my favorite of ALL time - the Lithuanian Torte. A restaurant in Omaha, NE is known for making the very best of these and they can ship all over. I make them myself (http://www.housewifebarbie.com/2013/11/lithuanian-napoleona-lithuanian-torte.html) and I LOVE THESE SOOO MUCH. :)

Not sure if this is the one Aaron had - "flaky pastry like cream cake" can mean many things but it reminded me of my favorite. LOL. Thought I'd share just in case this is similar.

Marilyn said...

Have a wonderful last day. Eat everything!! Next week you can get back on track and look back at this last week with a big smile 😁 and try to recapture that lovely warmth and fun. Enjoy!!

Marilyn from Canada