Naptime Blog

I recently took a trip to Cancun. It was unexpected and fun. The beaches were beautiful and the sound of the waves crashing while a gentle breeze wafted through open windows was wonderful. The all-inclusive resort was something that a girl could get used to really quickly.

Since I didn’t have to worry about food while I was at the resort, I only had to pack a few items. We all know airline food is almost non-existent lately, so I stuffed my tote bag with lots of tried and true travel snacks. I went to my local grocery store and stocked up on flavored popcorn, pistachios, crackers, bottled water and a few other yummy nibbles. Luckily, there are so many generic choices these days. I didn’t break the bank and had money left over for a few souvenirs for the little ones.

I also saved on store brand sunscreen. We went on an excursion where they were selling sunscreen for $15! I am glad to report that my store brand sun repellant was only $5. I hit the dollar store up for two books that only set me back $2 total. You sure can’t beat that!

Who knew traveling didn’t have to break the bank?

P.S. I’ve included a few photos of the scenery. I hope you enjoy!

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

What a great time of year. I love this spring weather that is slowly creeping in. It’s time to pack picnic baskets, decorate Easter eggs and shop for colorful Easter suits. As a young child my mother always encouraged (made) me do an Easter speech at church. I still can remember my knees shaking all these years later.

My family will be on a mini-vacation during the Easter Holiday, so I’m not sure we will make it to church this year

I want to share some of those traditions my family had growing up with my children. Baby Jayce who is now 14 months (time really flies when your teething :( ) is not ready for an Easter speech yet, but he can certainly enjoy a picnic and going Easter shopping with mommy. I would like some recent pictures taken of my family during this holiday season. I am usually behind the camera. I think catching these memorable moments are so important.

They grow and change so fast. Here’s a recent picture of our little traveler.

~Shanta

Next week is our “Spring Break” :) and the next thing a teacher loves best beyond our students is our “SPRING BREAK” This year we have been blessed enough that my husband has enough vacation time to take off with me! I love that. We are planning to load up the old SUV and hit the road, this year we are headed north.

My oldest son who is 9 has always wanted to see the BIG city. So we are jumping on Hwy 13 to the New Jersey Turnpike. Yes, you may have guessed it; we are headed to New York City baby!! This is going to be an easy breezy road trip. We are saving money by staying with family members.

Our agenda goes a little something like this:  (but we will remain flexible w/ children onboard)

• 1st  Stop granddaddy’s house (Delaware)
• 2nd Stop New Jersey to visit family and get a free room for a couple of nights (LOL)
• 3rd Stop New York CITY!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 4th  Stop Washington, D.C
• 5th  Williamsburg, VA to Busch Gardens

Last but certainly not least, home sweet home. Wish us safe travels,,,,

~Shanta

The “Happiest Place on Earth” may be the happiest place on earth, and it may be the most family friendly place you will ever visit, but what if you have multiple babies?  Is it still family friendly?  And are you as a parent “happy” in the Happiest Place on Earth?

My husband and I decided to be spontaneous, something we cannot often do with our children, especially with three children under two years old.  I needed a vacation, and so we decided at the end of January that we would spend my daughter’s winter break in Florida.  We booked rooms with our timeshare in Orlando, and I was thrilled that we were going to get away from the snow and cold for a few days and spend a little time with Mickey Mouse.  We weren’t planning on visiting all the parks, and would play it by ear, but I figured we’d spend two or three days in Walt Disney World and introduce our little ones to this most wonderful family vacationing spot.  The boys adore Mickey Mouse and friends, and my daughter, although this would be her third trip to Disneyworld, was very excited.  As for Paul and I?  No matter how old I get, I still love to go to Disneyworld.  It is my favorite place to be.  So I was totally unprepared for anything less than an amazing vacation.

The only negative with planning something spur of the moment is that we didn’t get the chance to seriously research doing Disney with three babies.  I automatically assumed that we’d have no problems in Disneyworld, as it caters to young families.  This may be true, however, if you are a family like ours, Disney might not be the place to go…  believe it or not!

The first morning we awoke in Orlando, I was more excited than the kids were!  I couldn’t wait to see Mickey Mouse, I could not wait to see that castle in The Magic Kingdom, and I was so looking forward to the mid afternoon parade with all the characters, music and dancing.  We were unlucky enough to arrive in Orlando during the coolest week of the year, but I was determined to enjoy the week in the cooler weather.  After all, we had just left 26 degrees and a foot of snow in NYC.  Fifty-five degrees in Orlando was better than that!  Plus, I had only done the Disney parks in 95 degrees in the past, and waiting on lines in the heat and humidity, walking with the kids would be difficult.  Perfect.  As the park was open until 1 am that day, we decided to wait until 11 am to arrive, to give the sun some time to warm up Orlando.
We had to get through the crowds with my seven year old, a double stroller and a single stroller.  We thought it easier to take the two strollers than our triple.  We walked around a little bit, just letting the kids take it all in, and decided that the first ride we took them on was “It’s a Small World”.  The wait was only 30 minutes, so we went on.  I asked the attendant if I could wait on the line with the kids in the strollers until I got to the ropes, and she said we had to park our strollers.  Of course, having rules the way they are, I understood why they needed us to park our strollers.  I asked if there was any alternative, as we were only two adults with three babies (my seven year old cannot hold a baby in a crowd), and she said no.  I was a bit taken back, but again, rules are rules.  We parked the strollers, took the kids out, and got on the line.
As we expected, due to my boys getting bored and antsy (what toddler doesn’t?), it was a nightmare on the line.  Paul held the twins, and I held Joseph.  The twins wanted to get down, so Paul put them down.  I would hold one of their hands and Paul would hold the other’s hand.  Louis is into diving on the floor yelling “safe” (as in baseball sliding), and Anthony is the neat police, picking up every bit of food or paper that falls on the floor.  And wouldn’t you know it, both of the twins did exactly those two things while waiting in line.  So as one twin was throwing himself on the floor and the other was picking up every bit of Disney litter, Mommy and Daddy were in a sweat.  I need to remind you that we also had our 5 month old Joseph on this line, as we alternated which of us would hold Joseph and which of us would fight with twin toddlers.

We were still determined to enjoy our trip to The Magic Kingdom.  After all, we spent enough money to get in the park!  Tickets were almost $80 for each of us to get in and almost $70 for Juliana to get in.  For $240, we were CERTAINLY determined to get SOME fun in the day.  Don’t let anyone fool you.  You only save a significant amount of money if you go to the parks for multiple days.  And I don’t mean 2 or 3, I mean 7 or 10.  Well, if you buy the four day passes you save about $20 for a day.  But if you are like my family, who can’t possibly do all of these multiple days in the same trip, you have to add on the “no expiration” option, which adds a lot more to your ticket bill.  I often wonder if Walt Disney had those prices in his plan when he designed this amazing world. 
Well, those Disney people are not stupid after all, because the look on the boys’ faces when our boat went through “It’s a Small World” was priceless.  They loved every minute of it, as did Juliana.  And no matter how many times Paul and I sit through it ourselves, it is still amazing.  So off we went to continue on our park journey.

I asked the attendants on the Pooh ride if my husband could wait on the line with one of the little guys, and I would wait with the others in their strollers until he made it to the front of the line, to save us from fighting our kids on the long lines (as the lines were getting thicker at this point).  Once again I was told no.  Another attendant evidently felt sorry for me, and as obviously the senior of the two, he asked what he could do to help us.  I explained our dilemma that we could not possibly wait on one more line with three babies and our daughter with only two adults.  I told him that I was not trying to cut any lines, and that one of us was quite willing to wait on the long line with everyone else.  If they could allow us to do this, it would be very helpful, and I would meet him at the front of the line with the remaining children.  He said that even though it was busy today, he could help us out.  So he asked his colleague to assist me to the front of the line as my husband got up the ramp and was almost ready to board. 
Paul called my cell as he approached the ramp, as surprisingly, the line was moving quickly.  I took the twins out of their carriages, and the attendant helped me get to Paul.  I was thrilled.  And then, the line stood still.  Evidently, the “fast pass” line backed up, so they needed to take them first, having the rest of us wait.  And so once again, Paul and I were on the line for another twenty minutes with Juliana and three babies.  And once again, we were in a sweat, losing our patience and energy, and not very happy in the “happiest place on earth”.

We spent the next day at our resort, debating on whether to try another park or not.  We met other vacationers and resort workers, and asked for tips and pointers, should we decide to try the parks again.  A few people suggested lying, either renting a wheelchair and beating all the lines all together, or going to customer service and telling them one of my children had special needs to get a pass to avoid the lines, and honestly, this was NOT an option.  We were blessed with healthy children, and I won’t take advantage of special accommodations for those families who really need it due to disabilities or illnesses.  Although I do think my family could use special accommodations, we were not eligible for any without lying, so we decided that our first Disneyworld trip as a family of six would be an abridged version, and we didn’t visit any more parks.

Yes, Disneyworld has the “baby swap”, but that doesn’t help our family because we still have to wait on the lines with three babies and only two adults.  Yes, Disney has “fast pass”, but if you utilize this feature and your ticket says to return 3-4 hours later, if you are walking with multiple toddlers, do you really think it is conducive to return to that area of the park later on, when it takes so much effort to get around as it is?  Yes, The Magic Kingdom (and I believe all the other parks as well) has a baby care center, but only one in the park, so if you are on another end of the park and need to feed three babies or change three diapers, you need to use the bathroom (and wait on the baby changing table line) or use your strollers.  And a lot of the other “perks” Disney claims to offer for young families is ONLY an option if you are staying at a Disney resort.  As we utilized our time share, that didn’t help us.  But I DID visit the vacation desk at our resort, which was manned by a Disneyworld employee, and she could offer no other help for us.

Although I feel every child should experience Walt Disneyworld at the various stages in their lives: as toddlers, as preschoolers, as school aged children and as teens, I would certainly re-evaluate taking your toddlers if you have more than one toddler at a time, for Disneyworld is not very family friendly for families with multiple toddlers/babies.

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (4 months)www.nevaland.com

I remember being a little girl, dreaming of when I would be a wife and a mother.  I always wanted to have children, and it was something I dreamt of often.  Holding each of my four children, I am still amazed at how much I love them and how much they mean to me.  My husband is my best friend, and our family is everything I always hoped I would have.  But with having four children, three of them under two, I can’t say it is always easy.

Everything needs to be planned out, prepared and thought through beforehand.  When Paul and I started dating, we’d often decide last minute to pick up and go for a quick weekend away.  If, at 5:00 pm, I decided I was not in the mood to cook, when Paul got home we would go for dinner.  There is something about being spontaneous that makes things more interesting.

I have been feeling cooped up as it is very difficult to get out with the kids in the winter by myself, and needed a break.  So about a week and a half ago, my husband and I decided we would take a drive down to Florida with the kids.  Juliana was off for President’s Week/ winter break, Paul got a few days off, and we packed up and headed in our new minivan from New York to Florida.  We own a time share with Wyndham, so I tried booking their Orlando resort, but had to book Daytona for 3 nights then Orlando for 2, as it was so last minute. 

SPONTANEITY!  It feels great!  Can’t do that much anymore! 

Within a little while we realized I booked Daytona Beach the weekend of the Daytona 500.  At least 12 people told us that Daytona during the Daytona 500 was a crazy place to be.  That didn’t deter us.  Neither did the 15 hour drive (both ways) that was ahead of us with three babies and a very impatient almost eight-year-old.  There was something so wonderful and liberating to just be able to almost literally “pick up and go”, that nothing else mattered.

Minivan’s all packed, kids are ready to go, and Paul and I are ready for our long drive.  I will drive for the first three hours so Paul can nap and then he intends to drive the rest of the night.  We plan on doing most of the drive while the kids are sleeping.  At least that is our plan!

Stay tuned for details on how it all went!

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (4 months)
www.nevaland.com

Notice I did not call myself a Soccer Mom.  I am not sure why the term Soccer Mom was created, but Soccer Mom doesn’t quite fit me.  You can refer to me as Softball Mom, Girl Scout Mom, Choir Practice Mom…   In the past I have even been Gymnastics Mom, Dance Class Mom, Play Practice Mom or After School Program Mom.  I am sure at some point I will be Baseball Mom, Football Mom, Hockey Mom, Boy Scouts Mom, maybe even Bowling Mom, Wrestling Mom, Debate Club Mom,  and yes, quite possibly one day I might just actually be the proverbial Soccer Mom.  Whatever you call it, earlier this month, we finally joined the ranks of millions of other families and traded in our SUV (which was technically a CUV, Cross Over Vehicle) for a minivan.  So I am now an official “Minivan Mom”.

Being an at-home mom, I often feel that I have lost touch with the “grown-up” world.  I know how important I am to four little kids and a man that calls himself MY husband, but I sometimes feel that I lost my individuality along the way.  As I see my daughter grow so rapidly, and my little baby boys are now tiny little men, I am reminded that my own childhood is a memory.  I guess a part of me was holding on to my “truck” as a means of keeping young, although that doesn’t make much sense.  Honestly, sometimes even I don’t understand my train of thought!

Anyone and everyone who has children and owns a minivan has been telling me for years how I will be very happy to make this move.  Getting 3 babies in and out of a third row seat in an SUV was getting so difficult, even when my husband was with me, that it became a headache to go shopping or visiting.  And traveling with 4 kids, three under two is not easy.  I either have a double stroller with a Snap N Go for the little guy or a triple stroller, either taking up the entire back area in storage in my SUV. 

We are now the proud owners of a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country Touring.  Once my children realize exactly how much storage space we have in this minivan they are going to drive me crazy hiding toys and videos, possibly even each other.  We have dual DVD players, and each of them can have a different video or game going on them, which means my daughter can watch High School Musical while my boys can watch Yo Gabba Gabba and mommy and daddy can listen to Sirius radio.  I cannot wait to go on a long trip just to try all this out (of course we’ve tried it out on shorter trips, but would love to make a trip down south with all of these gadgets!).  Although it won’t be easy getting the boys in and out of ANY vehicle in the next few years, it has been much easier to get them in the minivan than the truck.  And I am AMAZED with how much room I have with the strollers in the back… we even went food shopping and forgot to take the carriages out and had plenty of room for the packages!  Maybe next time we can venture to the grocery store WITH the kids (nah…!)

I am amazed with how much I am enjoying the features in my minivan and how family friendly it really is.  I am slowly getting used to the idea of being a Minivan Mom, and am making the best of it.  Maybe in about 18 years I can get that two seat Mercedes!

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (4 months)www.nevaland.com

So even though its only a 5 hour drive to visit my in-laws it is still going to be a mini road trip packed with little activities and snacks to keep Shaughn busy during the time. I’m hoping that maybe we can time it along with his nap so that the drive will be less “boring” to him. I don’t want him to get restless or cranky from being in his car seat for so long. Is there some type of “rule” about how long a child can be in their car seat for a road trip? Maybe we will stop for a few minutes to have him walk around. No, he is still not walking on his own, but he is more interested in walking as long as he is holding our hands which is better than before :).

Everyone is so excited to see Shaughn and I know he will be just as happy to see all of them. I show him pictures of his family up there to keep him reminded of their faces and tell him their names. Where my husband’s family lives is a very different town than where we live now, its nice and quiet and is a good break from the business down here. It also gives you the chance to appreciate the stars because there’s barely any street lights so it will be a nice getaway for all of us. Hope the holidays are great for everyone!

Krystle

I learned a lot on vacation…

I learned that you don’t really relax or rest on vacation with two toddlers.

I learned that the enjoyment you receive during vacation is through living vicariously through little ones who are experiencing the beach and exploring the world for the first time.

I learned that there aren’t enough convenient places to stop quickly when you have two little ones in diapers.

I learned that fast food chicken nuggets get old really fast and I learned how to be creative in presenting new foods to my little ones.

I learned that it takes almost the whole week to get the little ones used to the new schedule (right up until it’s time to leave) but as soon as they get home to their own cribs, it all comes right back to them.

I learned that things we overlook daily are the neatest thing to a 16 month old and a 28 month old.

I now understand why my parents stopped taking us out to eat until we were teenagers.

I learned that a crowded outlet mall on a rainy day can over stimulated two toddlers in 10 seconds flat.

I learned that we can pack more into our SUV than I ever thought possible.

I learned that no matter how much work it is to go on vacation with two little ones, it is totally worth it for shots like this.

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

Before I had kids, friends warned me that I would have to pack the entire house just to go to the grocery store. I never realized how right they were! Now that the kids are a little older, day to day trips aren’t that bad. I can pack a couple diapers, a container of wipes, two sippies and a small snack and be good for at least an hour or two if I time the errand just right.

Vacations are a different story!

When I worked a 9 to 5 job (more like 7:30 to 5:30), before I had kids, I remember how much I would look forward to vacation. I also remember how much work it was to prepare for vacation and how much catch up I had to do when I returned.

Now that my job is of the 24/7 variety, that’s still the case, but now instead of making sure someone is trained to work on my projects, I have to make sure I pack enough clothes, food, diapers, strollers, floaties, sippies, play yards to keep the kids safe at the beach, pack-n-plays, blankets, swimsuits, toys, first aid kits, sunscreen, baby shampoo, baby wash, baby toothbrushes, Goldfish crackers, portable DVD players (for the 10 hour car ride), DVDs and money for all of the things I forget. I’m tired just blogging about it and that’s only the things the kids will need while we are on vacation. I still have to make sure hubby and I have enough clean clothes, underwear, shampoo and so on and so forth.

In addition to packing all of the needed supplies, I need to do my research and make sure the hotels/condos we stay in are safe for the kids and that there are fun places for them. By the time I’ve done all this and have the kids strapped in their carseats and ready to go, I am exhausted and ready to crash in the passenger seat with my travel pillow. But hrm, what is that smell emanating from the back seat? And back inside we go to freshen up again before we leave.
Oh, and did I mention we have to make sure we have someone to watch our beloved fur babies?

With all the work going on vacation entails, not to mention the unpacking, laundry, etc. when we get home, is it worth it? I would have to say it definitely is. If a bright, bouncing beach ball on a beautiful white sand beach with gorgeous blue water puts even one smile on the face of my little boys, it’s sooo worth it and I’d do it monthly. Anything that brings joy to their hearts is it worth it to this mommy.

I can’t say that so much for a 9 to 5 job.

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

The older I get, the more I fall in love with the beach!! I can’t remember very many trips to the beach as a child, but my kids will have very vivid memories of the beach.

It seems like we have been going almost every weekend lately. We are really close to some beautiful beaches. We live about an hour away from 2 great beaches; the OBX & Va. Beach.

Jeromy Jr. and Jeromy Sr. seem to think they are pro-surfers!! NOT
I have yet to see either of them stay up on a wave. They love the boogie board and appear to be having a blast, but at every attempt it is a total wipeout.
Baby Jayce was enjoying the feeling of sand running through his fingers. He looked amazed and after the amazement wore off her tried to eat it!! He is at the wonderful phase were everything goes in his mouth for a sample taste. I am very cold natured, so I don’t play in the water much. I like the feel of salt water on my feet, but that’s about it. We love going to the beach, it is very inexpensive. We pack a small picnic basket, load up on sunscreen and we head out!!

I try to have all my paparzzi equipment ready for any magic moments that may come up!!

Here are a few shots from the beach,

This is the 1st time Baby Jayce felt the ocean,

-Shanta