hello vacation!

Hola! It’s been a little while so let’s catch up. Back in March, I did something crazy… after much back and forth, I planned a short getaway to a beach destination with a girlfriend. It took some time trying to decide whether I should take my kids or not. This year has been nothing short of chaotic and I knew that they needed a break as much as I did. After a very exhausting day with them, I made peace with the idea that I NEEDED this time to myself. The idea of not waking up to an alarm and thinking of someone else’s needs before my own was definitely something to look forward to. So, I did away with the infamous “mom guilt” and decided to fill my cup in order to be able to help them fill theirs.

Fast forward to April, after coming back from getting that beach therapy fix, I was able to pull a quick trip to Miami for the girls and I’m so glad we did this! Since I know many of us are vaccinated and thinking about giving into the travel bug, I thought it might be helpful to share some tips on traveling with kids during these Covid times. I know I was a bit anxious thinking about this idea particularly because I have an almost threenager who is determined to do what she wants, when she wants.

Masking her up has been quite interesting. My sister and I spent about three weeks prior to the trip, coaching her and trying to get her to understand that we might get kicked off the plane should she not want to wear a mask for the entire flight. I was worried she would continue to dance around the idea of finding out for herself. Good news: it worked! I highly recommend for your little one to practice wearing it indoors and out in order to prep for your travels.

Remember not to allow anxiety to take over. When I traveled without the kids back in March, I remember feeling a bit anxious, particularly when feeling some unexpected turbulence. I know this sounds silly for a seasoned traveler but when you spend a year and change out of touch with the lifestyle you know while facing so much uncertainty, it’s easy to allow the “what if’s” to take over. I was not expecting my eldest, who has been jet setting since she was in diapers, to feel so anxious about this vacation we were so looking forward to but thinking back to how I felt, it made perfect sense. While the three year old was having such a thrill seeing us take off, the oldest one was clinging on to me, feeling as though she could not breathe. I remained calm, I eased her worries, validated her feelings and continued hyping up the idea of spending some time away.

Pack plenty of snacks. I know that airports tend to hike up pricing for water bottles and chips but I was not prepared for how much I was to spend before take off. Of course, traveling during dinner time did not help at all. The idea of dealing with two hungry kids was a chance I was not willing to take so sandwiches, snacks, yogurt and even a bag of sour candy was bought (anything to bribe a threenager on a plane). I totally recommend you pack a lot… as we all know, kids love their snacks!

Do not forget to prep those tablets. If it’s one thing you do not want to overlook is downloadable entertainment to have at their little finger tips since this is THE life saver for plane rides. I prepped these gadgets with a variety of shows and movies available for the watching. I was depending on those tablets to be able to indulge in a some Netflix fun for me.

While Covid has made quite the impact with everything we do or think about planning, making the choice to take a vacation with the girls felt right. We were able to spend time with family, play tourist and have some beach time. I knew it was worth it every time I heard my older daughter express how grateful she was for planning our trip to Miami… and if you are planning a trip to South Florida, pictures are linked to the different spots we visited during our vacay!

We don’t know where and when our next adventure will be but we’ll be ready!