Mexico with the Kids!

TRUTH: vacationing with the kids is no rest and relaxation. As i'm writing this, it's been a week since we've returned, and I feel like I need a vacation from vacation, and from work. I'm contemplating on booking a hotel room for me, myself, and I and just sleep and shop and eat. knowing high strung ME though, i could never relax because of the guilt of leaving kids at home and spending money on just myself. Also, i don't want to not be with the kids, I just want it easy peasy like sleep through the night, eat the food, sit at the beach/pool and self entertain, and that'd be it for 1 week- too much to ask? all in due time (womp womp).

===> Departing:

woke up kids no problem, left the house no problem. all electronics charged night before.

I have an app on an old phone and iPad that allows you to download videos from youtube directly, unfortunately I couldn't find that app anymore to link here. maybe iTunes is doing a sweep because youtube has a license on videos? no idea. anyhow, the VIDEO D/L app allowed me to download a bunch of youtube videos to occupy kids and be able to play the videos without using wifi/on airplane mode. i also signed up for Netflix for the first time, but i find my kids don't watch complete shows/movies/series, they scroll and like short episodes of kids opening up toys, popsicles flying and teaching colours, and watch music videos that get on your nerves after some time.

plane ride there was great because it wasn't a full flight. a huge spacious plane that we were able to spread out.
TIP #1: when you choose your seats, choose the 2 seater ones as there is overall more space and no one sitting  beside you.
TIP #2: i split up gene and I's seat so he was sitting in another row. i had a few moments when both kids were not in my field of vision and were out of my hair.
TIP #3: clean your house, change all your bedsheets prior to leaving so when you come home you come to cleanliness and a clean familiar bed.
TIP #4 WHICH I FORGOT TO DO: make sure when you download movies from netflix, switch the account to the proper one. the movies i downloaded where on my account, and when we got on the plane the iPad was on Max's account and thus couldn't access the movies. DOH!
TIP #5: bring a stroller, it allows you to cut a few long lines
TIP #6: bring the carrier, life saver for Mikkel's naps and Max's fatigue (he was able to sit on the stroller) while she was sleeping on the carrier
TIP #7: Bring an empty water bottle and fill it after security; kids need something to drink often and you definitely don't get enough or as often as you would like while in flight

Max was/is absolutely no problem on flights.
Mikkel, as it was her first time did ok. she was able to sleep for 1 hour. she requested the breast a lot and it was easy yet not that easy to just give her the breast whenever she was fussy or bored or tired or whatever that would escalate into a tantrum if i didnt do it. Food that they ate were goldfish, cadbury fingers, hard candy lollies, sweet tart lollipops (mainly for mikkel because she would choke on the hard candy ones), instant noodles in a cup because you could always ask for boiling water.

TIP #8: ask the flight attendants for a garbage bag (or bring one in your backpack), we accumulated so much crap from the snacks and various entertainment items that needed to be opened. where else would one put them right?

kids didnt touch colouring books or felts, but stickers occupied some of their time. mikkel bounced on my lap and exhausted me from her activities and restlessness.

===> VACATION WEEK!!
we went to Nuevo Vallarta, and it took Mikkel 3 days to like the sand and listen to the sound of the waves. Awesome, not! thank goodness there was a pool because she was used to the sensation from her exposure here and i was able to literally cool off from the heat. Mikkel also wanted to be carried all.the.time so by going on the pool she was near weightless and i actually go to be in the water and participate in the entertainment.

TIP #1: Bring sand toys from dollar store, take advantage of all the sand toys other families leave on the beach because they too had to leave paradise, and pay it forward by leaving the sand toys you have accumulated for another family before you go home.
TIP #2: Natives were the best holiday shoes for kids as they were able to get wet and cleaned/shook off without fuss

i love all inclusives because i just absolutely despise wasting money on food kids won't eat. during our stay, Max ate a little bit of everything- MAX = AWESOME TRAVELLER. Mikkel however is a pickier eater and ate a muffin for breakfast, Fruit Loops for snacks, mac an cheese and lunch with fries, and dinner a piece of bread maybe, more fries, a hot dog with no bun nearly every day. also she was drinking juice all day and every day countless of times. i love that i didnt have to worry about their meals as there was always something to eat and i was able to get just enough without paying for a full priced meal.

Max did all sorts of activities and was easy to care for.

Mikkel's favourite spots were going up and down the stairs that lead to the beach from the pool deck as well as the outdoor shower where you would wash your feet off so sand was minimally being brought into the pool grounds. Conveniently, it was right beside the stairs she liked and that the foot was stations were the perfect height and water pressure for a little toddler not yet used to the vacation stimulation.

For naps, some days i was able to breastfeed Mikkel to sleep under the palapas, most days i had to put her on the carrier and just suck it up. the beach breeze didnt make baby wearing miserable but she was still heavy and i lost beach/pool/R&R time because of it- but worth it to not have a cranky toddler or have to retire extra early at night because someone was cranky.

TIP #1: i gave the kids Kefir nearly every day prior to our vacation. maybe our guts were stronger, maybe the resort food was overall safe, but NO ONE GOT SICK or had diarrhea during the trip and i wasn't that careful with the ice/water business.

For bathing, i showered with both kids as there was no tub. for sleep, we requested to 2 double beds and for a majority of the nights both kids slept with me (and lucky for him, Gene got the bed to himself. the way the layout of the room was that i was able to move the bed against the closet and use one of the room lounger chairs as a barricade. Max didnt fall off, i was in the middle, restless Mikkel was also safe and secure. Tight fit, but i was so exhausted from the days that I was getting some quality slumber.

biggest hiccup of the trip was day of departure was when the bell boy didnt put our luggage in the transfer bus so when we got the airport it was a pain the ass. the Transat staff were amazing and got the hotel to send our luggage on a taxi and 20 minutes later we were reunited. imagine if it was an hour ride from the resort to the airport?!?!
TIP #2: i chose a resort close to the airport because i could not imagine driving for another hour on a bus after a long plane ride, immigration, customs, carousel, plus stuffy heat and high temps ordeal.

====> HOME: 
our flight was delayed because of the tail wind. going home though was in our favour and the tail wind made the 6 hour flight more of a 4 1/2 hour flight.

TIP #1: when you bring food for kids on your trip, double it and pack the other half in your check in luggage. try not to eat it during your stay. repack these snacks in your carry on for your flight home unless you want to pay insane airport prices for (junk) food.

our flight home involved a rinky dink airplane with only one aisle and full to the max. my husband was also extremely irritable which made for a doozy of a trip home (read: i wanted to throw away his passport in MEXICO). the flight home, involved whipping out gummy bears and more candy as i was  reaching my limits of all sorts. my kids really like lipton soup and i brought the Lipton Soup in a cup to bring in familiar foods from home. again, easy to ask for boiling water on a plane! The lineups for food were horrendous at the Puerto Vallarta airport, but alas since they were going to miss a proper dinner i spent a shitload of money buying fries, sandwiches, and milkshakes because the food on the plane is MUCH WORSE. lots of breastfeeding for Mikkel, jumping on my lap, and whining from both of the kids INCLUDING MY HUSBAND. Also, it was the first day of my period which means the heaviest flow and it was just the icing on the cake on my exhaustion.

the best part of my trip though was my period was due to come on Wednesday but didnt come until the Saturday (day of departure)! i love that i didnt have to sacrifice any days because of my period which is so debilitating.  you better believe i willed my body for my period to not come, tried to not stress out over little things so as to not tilt my hormones over the edge, and even prayed to give me a few more days! wow!

Finally, vacationing with the kids was definitely not relaxing but i love that i was able to do it and learned a few things on how they travelled. Im not rushing to do it again, but I'm not appalled at the idea of another trip many many many months from now.

below some pics from our trip!

^^ Max lost his first tooth during our trip ^^

^^ daily set up, we spent 6-7 hours a day here! ^^

^^ crackers and chillin' ^^

^^ endless coconut ice cream ^^

^^ crepes and fried bananas for breakfast ^^

Cinco De Mayo

Great day for a picture post about "Mexican night" at our Nuevo Vallarta resort!
I know, I know...last set and I'm done with Mexico pictures until next vacation :op

^^ eating with a view ^^

^^ don't know what these were called but handmade tortillas and a variety of meats and toppings to choose from, no complaints from our department ^^

^^ churro HEAVEN. I think I may have had about 7 or 8...so worth it ^^

^^ beautiful hand embroidered table and bed runners ^^

Thanks, Mexico!

The end. 

El Malecon: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

If you're ever staying at Nuevo Vallarta, it's about a 30-45minute taxi ride to the famous El Malecon Boardwalk. Initially we planned to take the local transit to the city like we did in Cancun, but thank goodness we spoke to the hotel concierge prior as once he saw the stroller, he recommended we take a taxi if we wanted to keep child comfort paramount. I was hesitant at first (cost was about $16 CDN vs. a fraction of the cost by taking transit), but dang once we actually were en route, we kept discussing how frickin long the ride was and if we had taken public transit who knows what type of body-overheated-travel-ruining-arguments we would've already had on the first leg of the trip...not to mention probably a sweaty, restless toddler to boot. (thank you thank you concierge!).

El Malecon was beautiful of course, felt like I was on a California boardwalk instead of Mexico. The sea breeze made the entire experience so much more comfortable, 1 block over though was another story- like a 32+ degree celsius story! We were patting our backs for bringing Max's stroller because the boardwalk went on for miles and miles and no way would we have gotten as far as we did if we had to carry a 35+lb toddler! Because we weren't that adventurous with eating, me being pregnant and all, we had a late breakfast and loaded up so we didn't have to eat out. I brought 2 bottles of water (which we eventually guzzled by the end of the day trip) and a bunch of snacks that I intended for the airplane and any day trips because 1) Max isn't a huge breakfast eater and 2) when he has nothing to do but sit in the stroller, he wants to either munch or sleep. There are one or two OXXO (like our 7-Eleven) somewhere in the area, but not like we had an address for it. Lesson remembered: bring drinks and snacks for a toddler prior to coming! 

Some pics of our day trip below if you'd like to see! 

^^ we didn't have them pictured, but BRING A HAT! The sun is intense and dangerous. we wore sunscreen and i'm pretty sure I still got most of my colour from this one day ^^

Overall, we had a great experience on the Malecon. The local businessmen started up conversations with you but weren't aggressive. It was also nice to see the Puerto Vallarta beach water which was more of a beautiful aquamarine colour vs. the drab dark blue waters of Nuevo Vallarta (because of the sand). If you ever go on a Saturday, there's a farmer's type of market near the Zona Romantica - apparently it's hard to get a table there and whoever sets it up really filters the vendors selling at the site. We bought a couple of beautiful hand stitched/handmade toys for Max and his cousin- i'm regretting I didn't buy MORE for other kids in our lives since the craftsmanship was excellent in relation to the price they were asking. Darn! The Malecon is also a tourist site, so great place to buy any desired souvenirs to take back home. We came home with a bunch of stuff and didn't have to worry for the rest of the trip.

^^ sweaty boy and our favourite souvenirs from the farmer's market! he promptly named them Joe (blue) and Olaf (orange) for his cousin ^^

^^ public beaching in the beautiful waters ^^

Malecon, you're beautiful! 

Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico!

^^ Vancouver; window seat --------->> Nuevo Vallarta; room with a view ^^

We are home after a beautiful week in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico and i'm excited to share a lot of  a few pictures with you of our vacation! We flew with Air Transat, and everything was smooth sailing from waking up at 0400am to being all said and done in our hotel room at about 1830hrs Mexico time. Lucky for us, Max was a treat as usual on the plane ride (thank you thank you, little one)! And besides Gene getting sick from airplane food, our trek to the south and back was a success as hoped and planned it would be. 

^^ Paradise! ^^

^^ no pics of our hotel room, but this of Max in his poop closet. 

aka, where Max sought privacy to do the deed on a daily basis^^

We stayed at the Grand Marival Resort and Suites and highly highly recommend it. I've been meaning to do a review of our stay, but a million other things on the to do list (including going back to work) has put that idea on the back burner. However, I am committed to doing the TripAdvisor review as without it, I would never have found such a wonderful place for our family vacay...TripAdvisor, I owe you one! 

^^ we woke up everyday at 0700am to reserve a beachside Palapa. This is a MUST whenever going to Mexico because the sun is so deceiving and really very dangerous. The Palapas allowed us to stay on the beach for oh... 8 hours a day... nearly everyday! ^^

^^ we loved drinking the Mango Vice and Pantera Rosa ^^

^^ 20th week baby bump!! ^^

^^ the waters on the west coast weren't as turquoise as the Caribbean, but nevertheless beautiful and WAY BETTER than our local beaches. The sand on Mexico's Pacific was soft, there were no rip tides, totally safe for toddler wading, the beach was clean (no rocks, shellfish to cut your foot on), and the waters were so warm. I miss this place so much! ^^

^^ Max adjusted immediately and took his routine naps on Mexico time, under a palapa, with the fresh beach breeze blowing in his face. I fell asleep so many times as well, something in that breeze, the sound of the waves crashing...i wish I could've brought it home with me! ^^

We aren't swimming pool people because really, we can do that here in the city. However, we did choose this hotel in particular for its very kid friendly kiddie pool area. We loved its vicinity from the beach (literally a hop, skip, jump) so if Max was tired of the beach, we just took 5 steps up into the kid section and let him play and socialize. He enjoyed this area more though when there were no other kids around (lol) as he loathes water being splashed on/in his face, we enjoyed this area because pool water is pretty darn refreshing after a scorcher of a day. the water pressure at some of the kids play area felt like a massage on your back, not sure why it was turned up so high but I loved it for a daily kneading! 

We ate well! I miss my daily breakfast of french toast with condensed milk, bacon, oat milk, green juice, and a giant bowl of fruit. We all miss our lunch of hot dogs, wood fire oven thin crust pizza, fries, guacamole, chips, kid friendly slushy cocktails, hamburgers...and dinners that we were too full to eat, and loaded up on endless fruit and fresh drinks instead.

More pics to come!