Vacationing With or For Kids?

This is the first time we have taken our kids on vacation. I mean, sure they have been to Grandma and Grandpa’s, and Edmonton, Wetaskiwin and even Calgary, but they hadn’t been out of Alberta before let alone the country.  And while this may be a vacation with kids, it should be called a vacation for kids, because let me tell you, I didn’t find it very relaxing!

First off there was the plane ride.  We have never taken our kids on a plane (I mean, why would we fly to Calgary), so I paranoid about being “that family” on the plane.  We have all read blog posts and letters to the editor about “that family”  where the kids cry, scream, yell, kick seats, go to the bathroom 10 times, and are a general pain in the @$$ to the other patrons thus causing them to write about you on their twitter account, #kidsshouldnotfly.  We were so lucky our kids were not any of these, and I tried so hard to pack enough stuff so that it didn’t happen, thankfully though we didn’t have to use any of it and the only time tears happened was by two out of three kids when we were landing.

Then there is the actual “vacationing” part.  Sure I didn’t have to do any dishes or cook any meals, and that in and of itself was worth the money to come, but it was replaced with things like this:

1. The sun rises at about 5am here and the blinds in the main area where the kids are sleeping do a poor job of blocking out the sun effectively, so low and behold, my boys wake up about 5:15am, which means they are miserable by noon and we are back to napping after lunch, causing them to not be tired at 8:30pm. A vicious cycle which we finally ended by giving up our plush king size bed, with a down comforter and 4 beautifully soft pillows, and extra-large black out blinds to our kids.  Now me and the hubs are sleeping in the main area on a double day bed with a sheet and a thin fleece blanket.  But the kids are sleeping until 7:30am.
2. Obsessed about my boys not getting a sun burn and ruining their fun, I am a Nazi with sunscreen.  Every 2 hours I am screaming at my kids to put their hats back on and come over for more sunscreen. When they come near me for a drink or snack I scrutinize them. “Are you getting red here? Do you feel hot? You look hot, come in the shade. Let me put more sunscreen on your ears and shoulders.” It’s been almost 30 degrees here every day and having been to the Mexican hospital (and it was a great experience) it’s too expensive to get sun stroke.
3. Food.  Now the boys would love nothing more than to just eat pizza and ice cream every day for 11 days.  At breakfast Liam runs over to where the ice cream usually is and demands to know where they put it, I however and torn between trying not to care and feeling like they should have at least one fruit and vegetable in the 11 days we’re here. Maybe some protein, maybe some fibre.  I poke around at the 20 dishes of food wondering if this will give the boys traveller’s diarrhea or constipate them. The answer is constipation.
4. In two days we are packing up to leave. It’s easy when it’s just me and Phil, with the 3 boys though I have to find everyone’s special toys that they brought, only to find out we lost Tiger. Then I had to email around to see if we could find a new Tiger that perhaps found a plane ticket back home. I need to pack up all the Lego because those tiny blocks are expensive, I need to find everyone’s superhero’s, passports, and dry clothes. I need to dry the clothes that are damp because I’m not having stale, moldy clothes in our suitcases, I need to remember to take out the warm things for us to change into in Alberta, and to not forget that we need to pack our sandels and take out our runners.

Our family vacation was a great time. But I’m looking forward to getting some peace and quiet at home, drinking coffee alone while the kids play downstairs, and sleeping in my queen size bed.

Kel-Cie is a mom to three 3 boys, creator of Kookies and her writing can also be found at Red Deer Kids and Red Deer's Child Magazine.