I was actually pretty optimistic for how it would go and was only really worried for how we'd do with the whole sleeping thing. My reasoning was this: my normal life the ratio is one of me and two of them so this was actually a true vacation for me because my workload would be halved! Plus, life around the homestead can get a little stale, especially with boatloads of rain, so a change of scenery and heated indoor pool sounded pretty damn good! But obviously a hotel isn't a great deal of space for people to have private sleeping space. We picked a nice hotel that was set up with a small living room (enough to fit two cribs) and had a door to shut it off from the bedroom.
My only fear was that no one would sleep. The good news is that people actually did sleep... just not in the arrangement we thought. That ended up being totally fine because as all parents know, it's not really how you sleep, it's that you get to sleep that matters!
We left our house at 9:30 am on Monday to avoid rush hour traffic. The drive would usually take us about 3 hours but with kids it ended up being a little over 4 hours. There was a bottle and diaper change stop and a coffee & donut stop. All the important things!
We did let Hartley watch tv in the car. We ordered a headrest tv for the trip, and it was perfect. And Patrick was good in the car with toys and books. He's now in his "big boy" car seat, which made the drive more comfortable.
Since we didn't eat lunch on the road we were hungry for early dinner so after the pool we took them to this awesome place called Dead Freddie's. It actually has an outdoor eating area with a playground! So after Hartley was done eating I took her to the playground and Brian kicked back and had a couple beers with Patrick. We decided since the rain had stopped to take the kids to the beach that evening. Hartley went nuts for it. She loved the beach.
She actually calls the sandbox at my parents house, "the beach", so I thought she'd like the real deal. It did not disappoint. Brian showed her how to use her buckets and sand moulds and shovels. She thought it was great.
She wasn't nuts about leaving but bedtime was approaching, and Patrick had a runny nose that was tiring him out more than usual.
This night we put Patrick down first, then Hartley. They both laughed and shrieked back and forth from their cribs. Then Patrick fell asleep, and Hartley managed to fall asleep, too. However, Patrick's congestion caused him to wake up after a little while so we took him into bed with us. He actually fell right asleep in our bed, and since it was a king size there was plenty of room. I slept like crap though because I was so afraid something would happen to him.
The next morning we ordered room service - and as pathetic as it sounds that was a huge highlight of the trip for me. Having someone deliver a meal to you that you didn't have to prepare or clean up? Um, heaven.
After breakfast, we took the babes to the beach. Keep in mind it was in the 50's the whole day so they were very bundled. Again, kids are so easy, they didn't mind. They did have cute beach outfits they never got to wear but oh well.
Hartley discovered seagulls and seashells, and we had the whole beach to ourselves. When Patrick started getting tired, Brian took him back to the room to nap, and I took Hartley to the pool. Another highlight of the trip was having special one on one time with the kids. Hartley loved her mommy and me time at the pool. Added bonus was some lady had complained about the water temperature so the heat was turned on, and it felt so good! Hartley didn't want to leave the pool so I eventually had to bribe her ;)
We got back to the room, and Brian went out to pick up subs for lunch. Then after lunch it was time for Hartley to nap so Brian and Patrick left for the boardwalk. Our hotel became a girls napping suite because I napped, too!
Our male counterparts were less lazy - Brian and Patrick walked 4 miles. They did the whole boardwalk and grabbed a beer at Hooters. Father son bonding at its best, right?
After their boardwalk adventure, Hartley and I were up. So we all did the indoor pool together as a family. The kids again loved it. We took turns carrying each of the babies around the pool. Patrick was all about the splashing and kicking, and Hartley was more about the relaxing back float, resting the back of her head on my chest.
For dinner I didn't feel like schlepping the kids around in the cold and rain so Brian picked us up pizza.
After dinner, he took Hartley to the arcade in the hotel, and she loved it. Patrick stayed up in the room with me. I got the room organized and tidied, and we relaxed and snuggled together.
Then we attempted having them share a room again at bedtime. Patrick we put down asleep. After about 20 minutes of Hartley calling out his name to wake him up - he woke up. He was so tired and not happy to be woken up by his crazy sister. So we put his crib in our room. He slept while we watched the New Girl finale. Then Brian and I crashed, and a good night of sleep was had by all!
The next morning we decided since the kids loved the pool so much we'd take them for one last swim. They had a blast one more time at the pool. Then we headed out.
The drive home took a while because we did end up in some early rush hour on the way back. But we all bathed when we got home, put on fresh pajamas, and I managed to wash all the dirty laundry from the trip! Our dining room table is still covered in duffle bags that I'll eventually get to unpacking... someday!
But honestly, I'm shocked at how well the trip went. There were no meltdowns or tantrums. Everyone enjoyed themselves. Brian and I managed to have energy and not be exhausted afterwards. I think we both wish we'd stayed longer but we did anticipate it being tougher than it was.
I think if there was something we did "right" to make our trip so successful is that we planned the trip around the kids. It was a manageable length of car ride, a family friendly place to stay and not a long trip. I also think compiling a long packing list in advance was very helpful because an infant and toddler aren't exactly light travelers, and you don't want to forget anything they deem important. But I also thank God for the vacation luck he sent us and hopefully next time the weather gods cooperate too!
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