Road Trip

I am so excited. My super sweet Kevin told me he has always wanted to visit Memphis and Graceland. I never really had a hankering to go there, but I have heard great things about Memphis and I have no doubt that visiting Gracelast would be fun even if it does sound kind of cheesy. (we both think it's cheesy)

SO....my dear sweet man has reserved this cabin for my birthday weekend (end of August).  We talked about camping but decided the cabin would be fun and more of an adventure than just getting a hotel room. We plan on riding the motorcycle down for a fun filled weekend vacation. I can't wait!!

I also love the fact that it is so easy to plan stuff with him. We discuss, agree and then he books it. So refreshing!

I know we will have a great trip.....we just enjoy each other's company so much.

Oh and he LOVES barbeque so I am sure we will having some yummy barbeque dinners.

Latest Rant against my husband – NOT PLANNING

I am a planner. If I have something I want to do I put it on my calendar and then guard the date. I have learned that hard way that not planning is a sure fire way to forget things, miss things or just not get to do the things you want; especially when you have kids and a job and a lot of responsibility. I have to plan things ahead of time or they just don’t work out.

My husband is a terrible planner and so are his parents. This makes me crazy. He likes to just do what he feels like when he feels like and not schedule a damn thing for fear he might change his mind or not feel like it when the day finally arrives. I get this and maybe if I were single, footloose and a fancy free I too would operate this way but alas I am not and I do not.

This is a huge issue for us for many reasons, the most obvious of which is that we never agree on how to plan things.

Some examples:

This summer, at the beginning of the summer, my husband spent about $50 on a nice life jacket for our daughter. Last year he got a screaming deal on an old metal canoe that was somewhat beat up and he fixed it all up and declared it the family canoe so we could all go on float trips. (because we never do anything as a family.) Now summer is almost over and we have not once used that boat or life jacket. I have not scheduled a float trip or a boat outing because this is more his “thing” than mine and in general, when I attempt to actually fix a date on the calendar that involves my husband being there he is reluctant to commit if not downright negative about my plans.

Another case in point: the train ride to visit his parents….when will we do this? It won’t happen. Mark my words.

Then there was the trip to go camping and visit a big cave near here. I had been really excited about this trip knowing my daughter would absolutely love it. Husband agreed he wanted to do it but would never commit to a date. My latest attempt was to suggest Labor Day weekend because it is a 3 day weekend. He said “NO too crowded”.

Today it has happened yet again; lack of planning (IMO) is causing me problems. So yesterday his mother asked if she could have the kid this weekend. Of course she can, that is fine. I told her we would do the exchange on Friday night. Now, all of a sudden, three days out, I have a full weekend with no child. This is my chance to do something!

But what to do with only 3 days to plan? Husband suggested we bike to a nearby winery town and spend the night and bike back next day (140 miles round trip). I was pretty excited to do this trip but then he checked into getting a room Saturday night and they are all booked up already. Of course they are….other people make plans. Next idea, hang with Valarie….well she has her daughter this weekend. This kind of defeats the no kid’s fun. It sure would have been better if I could have coordinated my daughter’s visit to the grandparents with the weekend that Carrie is at her Dads.

Been texting other friends….all have plans. So now I have 2 full days and no plans and having a hard time finding anyone who is even available to hang out with. GRRRR

Cancun Mexico

For the longest time Husband had pretty much refused to plan a family vacation or even a vacation with just the two of us (leaving our daughter with his parents) so I am not sure why he finally agreed to this vacation in Cancun Mexico but I am sure glad he did.

We left home on Sunday the 22^nd of August and drove to his parent’s house.  Our flight was at 7 am on Monday morning so we needed to be up and out the door early.  It would be Beanie’s first ever airplane trip and she was excited.

We traveled with some old family friends of my husbands.  They are both school teacher so that is why we were venturing to Mexico in July.  They also have a little boy who is about 2 years younger than Beanie.  She likes to think of him as her little brother.  We assumed it would be great to have both kids along so they could play with each other.

The flight down went smoothly and Bean only looked scared for a few second when we first took off.  Once we landed in Cancun, we were picked up by a shuttle and driven to our all inclusive resort hotel.  I have never stayed at an all inclusive before and it was pretty cool to have a drink handed to you as you checked in at the front desk.

The place was very pretty and I was really feeling good about the trip.  The day we arrived, we went swimming and waded in the ocean and then had a really fancy dinner at the restaurant there in the hotel.  At dinner they served us a bottle of wine.  Nice.  And it’s all included.

I woke up the first morning in this gorgeous white hotel room on the beach in Cancun…. in a huge king size bed with my husband sleeping next to me and our daughter next to him.  I felt really happy and lucky at that moment.  I was ready to have a great vacation!

We spent the next few days swimming and enjoying the beach and eating at all the restaurants available between our hotel and the one next door which was also open to us as part of our deal.  We drank all the drinks we wanted for free!!  All you have to do is walk up to the bar and ask and they give you pretty much anything.  No wallet required.  (I know we paid, but that was back when we booked our rooms.)Beanie got a kick out of having soda since we limit that normally.  We told her she was on vacation so she could indulge.

It was relaxing but it got a little boring after a while.  And, of course, I had hoped that Husband and I would finally connect but sadly it never happened.  One night we were walking on the beach and I tried to engage husband in a more intimate conversation.  Of course it didn’t go well and just ended up aggravating him.  The next day we were sitting by the pool and again I brought up something that he did not want to discuss.  I can’t even remember what we were talking about because his response completely stunned me.  He said “honesty is going to ruin my vacation” and he stormed off.  

We tried to do a day trip into town and then got a little lost because he refused to talk to the bus driver.  This irritated me because we ended up having to walk a lot in a strange city with a small child who wanted to be carried.  He, of course could not carry her because of his cast and stitches.

One night we were in our room together after Beanie had dozed off and he asked me if I was going to go to sleep.  I knew if I didn’t he would stay and try to get sex from me.  I really wasn’t in the mood to finally get his attention just because he wanted to “have a good time” so I lied and told him I was really tired so he would leave.   That just made me super sad.

The little boy that went along to keep Beanie company turned out to be a little monster.  He tried to push, hit and fight with our daughter every time he got near her.  We spent most of our time trying to keep them apart from each other.  He threw tantrums in the restaurants and frequently would refuse to wear any clothes at all.  His parents just never discipline him.  It’s crazy.

The trip did have some bright spots.  I got to see a mama sea turtle haul herself up onto the beach one night and lay her eggs.  My child was very well behaved for the most part and being there to experience her experiencing so many new adventures was a delight.  So many first for her; first time on a plan, first time on a bus, first hotel stay, first time to see the ocean, first time on a boat, first ride in a golf cart and I am sure there are even more.

The beach was so beautiful and white.  The resort was just wonderful.  Everyone we met at the hotel, be they workers or guests were so super nice.  There was more than one person who worked there that told us there names, learned our names and seemed genuinely thrilled to see us every day.  I really enjoyed getting to know these people.  They made the trip even more special.

All in all I was glad I got to experience Cancun and an all inclusive resort but it is not a vacation I can’t wait to do again. Next vacation will have to be some great new adventure.  (And I suspect I won’t be taking my husband.)



Enjoying a glass of juice after getting her hair done.  Note the in pool bar behind her.




On the big speed boat headed to visit the island. 



Doing shots at dinner.  (The kids got apple juice.)

Only decent beach shot of us all.

The first time she saw the ocean.

Our hotel.

Enjoying he last soda before we left.

Nap time on the beach.

The other couple took the kids to a pirate dinner.

My mama turtle looking for that perfect spot to drop her clutch of eggs.

Beanie and her fancy shrimp dinner wearing the new dress Daddy bought her at the flea market.

Life is Fun?

What do I do that is fun?.....What fun do I have?

I guess running with my running friends is fun and I get to do that normally. Thanks to the weather and my surgery, it has been over a month since I got to have this fun.

I rent movies from Netflix, but that really isn’t fun. If I want to watch a movie, I have to wait until my child is in bed and then I can start the movie. She usually doesn’t go to bed until between 8 and 9 and she gets up around 6 am; so generally, even if I start a move at 9, I can’t stay awake to finish it. And, on top of the toddler problem, I also have the husband problem. He tends to not want to watch most of the movies I want to watch, so I end up watching them alone. SO, a movie also cuts into any couple time we might be able to get away with which is totally rare when your toddler sleeps from 9-6.

I used to ride my bike for fun. Now it is hard to make time to ride since I have a toddler (and its winter).

I used to go out with friends.....husband + toddler = no social life!

I love, absolutely love to travel. But, since I got pregnant, I have not gone on a single trip. It has been 3 years now. In fact, I missed my period right as I was leaving for Colorado in February of 2007 and that was my last trip. I went to the doctor when I got home and found out I was not alone, I had a Bean in the oven!

I could go on a trip now, but the economy is so jacked up I feel I need to save my money for house payments should I lose my job. My husband is sort of not working right now and that is a bit scary too.

I used to have fun with my husband.....well, back then he was my boyfriend.....and back then we didn’t have a toddler.

Golly, I sure make it sound like having a toddler has ruined my life. And that is not how I feel at all. I love my daughter and she brings me great joy, but, she is not really “fun”. She is work. She is rewarding work that makes me feel grounded and needed. She keeps life in perspective.

Maybe the moral of the story is that I need to MAKE time for some fun once in a while so I don’t get so bunched up and crabby feeling that I never have any!