I started this blog to share the things I've learned from the many trips we've taken so far with our twin toddlers, to talk about the trips we're planning, and to give and share travel advice with other moms.
Having taken my 3-year-olds plenty of places that many of the adults in my lives frowned upon ("You're taking them on a cruise to Alaska??? What will they do there?? You're staying with them at a bed and breakfast in Key West off of Duval street--wouldn't they be better off at home with their grandparents?") I've started to approach most of my trips justifying why I SHOULD be able to take young children there. But now I'm going somewhere where no justification should be necessary. At all. Yet I feel more intimidated planning this trip than any of the others.
We are going to Disney World.
Gulp.
As a child, I went to Disney World when I was 8, 14, 17, and then as an adult I went for a few long weekends here and there with my husband. I feel I know the place pretty well, though it's been a few years now. So why I am I stressing about where it will and will not be okay to take my boys to dinner, when I've taken them to 4 star restaurants in Vancouver without thinking twice?
Last night, I was actually afraid to make a reservation at Cinderella's castle because I think the boys won't be mature enough to appreciate it. What???
Maybe it's all the hoops Disney makes you go through to get a reservation. You have to pay up front when you make a reservation at Cinderella's castle, and demand is so high you have to book practically the full 180 days in advance to get a dinner seating before 9:00 pm. What if my kids are tired on the day we have the sacred reservation and just want to go back to the hotel and crash? Do I risk paying the $130 reservation when we have to cancel?
And then there is the meal itself. I'm not sure my kids are going to eat anywhere near enough to justify the $24.99 price tag, PER CHILD. At the nicest restaurants, I am only charged $12 per child max. And can I just vent a minute that the $24.99 price tag is only going to give my kids the entree options of Mini Hot Dogs in Pretzel Roll Buns, Chicken Tenders with Mashed Potatoes, or Macaroni Topped with Melted Mozzarella?? Are you kidding me?
Now I get the high price tag is because of demand--every kid wants to eat in Cinderella's castle. So we're paying for the whole experience here, not the food by any stretch.
But, sorry boys--we can take you to the Cactus Club Cafe in Vancouver where the waitresses all look like models and the kitchen is led by an Iron Chef and you will eat lobster mac n cheese with a whole lobster tail on top--but you are just too young to dine at Cinderella's Castle. Maybe in a few years...
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Back at the Keyboard
Hello!
I've been wanting to come back to blogging for some time now, but I just couldn't decide how to do it. Many of you know me as Emmie from Fertility Lost, the blog I started in 2006 to chronicle the journey my husband and I undertook to have children. That journey certainly took a lot out of us, and nearly ended with my untimely demise, but somehow I'm still here and now H and I have two wonderful 3 1/2year old twin boys, A and Z.
The first two years of the boys' lives were about our recovery and day-to-day survival, and quite frankly nothing to blog about, but the summer the boys turned two we set foot on our first flight as a family. A door opened and a new phase of our lives as a family began. Now we're going about turning our little men into seasoned travelers. In less than two years we have taken them to Chicago, IL, South Bend, IN, Seattle, WA, Vancouver, BC, Alaska, Key West, FL, Miami, FL; not to mention all the road trips to Williamsburg, VA, Ocean City, MD, Nags Head, NC, the Jersey Shore, and Pennsylvania. In less than 2 years, all those places. And we already have our next two flights booked. From housebound with infants to flying toddlers across the country. Unbelievable.
While H and I definitely value our adult time together--from date night to nap time--we both would rather take our boys with us than to leave them at Grandma and Grandpa's house while we travel. I'm betting the infertility struggle plays a role there--we fought too darn hard and long to have these guys in the first place. They grow so fast, and I'm betting that it will be no time before they are teenagers who want nothing to do with us. H's family never traveled together. Mine always did. Does that make or break your relationship with your family? I don't know. But for now, we think that the family that flies together stays together.
I hope you'll join me in reading about our adventures, learn from our travel mistakes and sucesses, and have a few laughs along the way. It's good to be back!
I've been wanting to come back to blogging for some time now, but I just couldn't decide how to do it. Many of you know me as Emmie from Fertility Lost, the blog I started in 2006 to chronicle the journey my husband and I undertook to have children. That journey certainly took a lot out of us, and nearly ended with my untimely demise, but somehow I'm still here and now H and I have two wonderful 3 1/2year old twin boys, A and Z.
The first two years of the boys' lives were about our recovery and day-to-day survival, and quite frankly nothing to blog about, but the summer the boys turned two we set foot on our first flight as a family. A door opened and a new phase of our lives as a family began. Now we're going about turning our little men into seasoned travelers. In less than two years we have taken them to Chicago, IL, South Bend, IN, Seattle, WA, Vancouver, BC, Alaska, Key West, FL, Miami, FL; not to mention all the road trips to Williamsburg, VA, Ocean City, MD, Nags Head, NC, the Jersey Shore, and Pennsylvania. In less than 2 years, all those places. And we already have our next two flights booked. From housebound with infants to flying toddlers across the country. Unbelievable.
While H and I definitely value our adult time together--from date night to nap time--we both would rather take our boys with us than to leave them at Grandma and Grandpa's house while we travel. I'm betting the infertility struggle plays a role there--we fought too darn hard and long to have these guys in the first place. They grow so fast, and I'm betting that it will be no time before they are teenagers who want nothing to do with us. H's family never traveled together. Mine always did. Does that make or break your relationship with your family? I don't know. But for now, we think that the family that flies together stays together.
I hope you'll join me in reading about our adventures, learn from our travel mistakes and sucesses, and have a few laughs along the way. It's good to be back!
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