Fresh Mommy: October 2010

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“If you come home as happy as you leave, you have had a good vacation”
~Anonymous

It was just a two and a half hour difference between our right foot being buried deep in the sand while salty sea air tickled our nose and our left foot covered in mountains of red and orange... tiny little flags of surrender to the brisk fall breeze that shakes enduring tree branches into submission.

We are home to what we missed most, our welcoming beds.

But before that, we sucked every last drop of marrow we could extract out of this trip. This delicate blend of laid-back chilling by the pool and fulfilling as many little girl's dreams as we possibly could.

We would stretch out our jammied mornings with cuddles and nodding back off into dreamland a time or two and yet still had our fill of characters, parks and salty ocean air.

We would take morning baths instead of evening baths and come back way too late, only to suit up and follow a little one and her flashlight under the navy sky to the pool for a twilight swim.

When I was young I used to pretend I was a mermaid, and when it was warm enough, I would wear my swimsuit under my school clothes just so that I wouldn't have to waste any time changing when I arrived back home. And as soon as the kitchen door swung open and I emerged into the house, it was a mad dash to the back of the house as I flung my clothes this way and that, just to get to the water... to swim like a mermaid. No really. Like with my feet pretend glued together and all.

And because my little water babies take after their mama and could almost quite literally live in the water, we spent as much time as we could thoroughly pruning little fingers and toes.

And because it was vacation... and more importantly, because we wanted to hear the squeals of excitement over tears of anguish, we'd stay up 'till the wee hours of the night, tiny little bodies included, until we'd all crash in a big giant heap and eventually carry sleeping mushy babies to their beds.

Can I just say that slap happy babies are a trip? Because they are. Seriously.

Need a good laugh? Keep your baby up and get ready to party... you know, when you're on vacation.

The week? In a word a-ma-zing.

We came home happy, and tired, but mostly just over-the-top happy. And now we've got some sleep to catch up on.

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Read more about this trip here.

So, part-way into this gloriously sun-drenched vacation, my parents made their grand entrance into our lives to join us for the last hurrah. And after a day poolside with other friends from home, who just happen to be here as well, with our little free spirit exploring her shy side by overtly avoiding the big waterslide until the moment we said it was time to go... and then she made up for said avoidance three times over, my husband and I high-tailed it out of dodge and are now listening to the cappaccino machine's whirrrr and shhhhhh, while barristas hand bleary eyed, yet happy, customers their strong black drip topped with mountains of white foam. The aroma of fresh brew is fully permeating the air. But we're not here for the coffee, though that fact doesn't mean I'm not sitting next to my current fall obsession... a grande soy chai latte. No, we're here so that I can watch that perfectly pink line of the Flickr uploader make it's merry way across the page. Can I just say that our resort internet sucks? Because it does. But really, that's the only thing about this trip that makes our happy face turn upside down.

Because these finding-the-good life enthusiasts are having the time of our lives.

Beginning with curious eyes and short little legs sauntering their way through the maze of airport terminals until we count down the numbers and she triumphantly exclaims that she's found D52 and then fires off rounds of "Is this the Florida airplane?" "Where are the other airplanes going?" "Is everyone here going to Florida?" "That plane there, where's it going?" "California?" And before we can even finish answering the firing squad style blast of questions, she's made new friends, who are also, most definitely, going to Florida. Let the next round begin... "What are their seats?" "What are our seats?" "Can we all sit together?" "Then can I sit with them?"

She teaches me to love and explore everyday. Have I mentioned that before?

And one of the great things about visiting Florida? Our friends that live here. Dinner on the patio... in flip flops at the end of October. Meeting new littles and passing them back and forth. Having adult conversation peppered with bouts of hands don't go in our friend's eyes and eat the food that's on your plate please.

And those were just our first weekend's beautiful bookends perched atop this vacation's grand maple shelves. The kind that are almost too lovely they outshine the books wedged between them. But I assure you, each and every story in the middle is just as magical, and quite possibly even more so.

Like our trip to SeaWorld, a marvelous encore to my girl's first time and a glowing premier encounter for my littlest little.

We made it though a day in the park tear and tantrum free. And guys, that makes it one giant WIN for mommy and daddy.

And the face painting, oh the beloved face painting. According to my little sprite it feels so good... and also? It's a great excuse to look in the mirror every 3 minutes.

But since mommy didn't have a mirror stuffed somewhere in the diaper bag between a pack of wipes and bottles of water, the iPhone worked as a great substitute.

Just about the time that our little cubby cheeks was ready for a break from the overwhelming excitement and nestled himself right up into the crook of my neck, baby girl got a second wind.

And after her fill of mapping and climbing, well, naturally it was dancing.

And dance she did, with Shamu and the giant polar bear who shall remain nameless, because this mama can't remember his name.

Just as the sun began to bid us adieu, the moon began whispering it's sweet hello making it's grandiose appearance... hovering low and just out of finger's reach.