The Lovely Simulacrum

Stay Stress Free on Your Family Vacation - guest post!

2013-06-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

The following post was contributed by Kendra Thornton, "Travel advocate, TV spokesperson, PR businesswoman, proud wife and mama of 3. I am a long time travel expert who has been packing my bags and traveling the world since I was 3 months old! I've found my utmost desire in life is right here in my own home. I have taken my excitement for travel and brought it to you with some of my favorite travel tips and tricks. Enjoy!"

Thanks for sharing, Kendra! I'll put this advice to good use when flying with Charlotte to the beach this summer!

Photo Credit: Difei Li via Compfight cc

By the time summer vacation rolls around, everyone is excited. The children are dreaming of a great adventure, and Mom is looking forward to relaxing and spending quality time with her family. Such a vacation is certainly possible, but only with some special planning up front. Here are five tips that will help you create a stress-free vacation with your children that you can all enjoy:

1. Stay Family-Friendly: Begin your vacation planning by exploring family-friendly resorts. What if you could find one place that offered activities that appeal to your kids, you and your spouse? I promise, these do exist. When my family decided to visit the island of Oahu, we stayed at a breath-taking Honolulu hotel that seemed as if it was designed specifically for our bunch! Throw in a few events planned for the entire family, and you’ve got your very own tailor-made vacation. From beach resorts with daily kid camps to nature-themed expeditions that offer hiking, boating and horseback riding, there’s a getaway to meet your family’s needs. And if it’s “all-inclusive,” you can pay one fee that usually includes food, drinks and most activities. Put away your wallet and relax!

2. Stay Storage Ready: No matter where you go or how you get there, carry along extra plastic or reusable bags. You will need them for something, I promise. Sealable plastic bags are perfect for transporting food to the park or beach and can double as trash bags on the way out. And when you need to pack up toiletries or wet swimsuits at the end of your vacation, you’ll be glad you brought along these great little storage containers.

3. Stay Snug and Secure: If you are taking a baby or toddler on your vacation, a portable crib could easily become your new best friend. Don’t worry about where your little one will nap or sleep, or whether or not the hotel’s crib will meet your standards. Take a look at Baby Bjorn’s lightweight travel crib for a crib that will keep your baby snug and secure. Recommended by many traveling moms and at only 11 pounds, it’s super-easy to transport and set up. A good portable crib is worth its weight in gold for the peace of mind it will give both you and your baby.

4. Stay Hands Free: If you've ever used a backpack, you know that you cannot underestimate the value of always knowing where your bag is (on your back) and having both hands free for other activities (like corralling kids or carrying food trays). When traveling with children, you just can’t beat the versatile backpack for your carry-on. You can find a quality backpack that is both stylish and multifunctional at
Everlane, or check out backpacks to suit any budget and size requirement at your local sporting goods store.

5. Stay Relaxed: If you've planned ahead, your family should quickly settle into happy, glorious vacation-mode. Now is the time to remember that it’s your vacation, too! Spend time alone sunbathing, hiking or getting a massage while your kids are at the resort's day camp. Put the kids down early and enjoy a romantic dinner with your husband on your hotel balcony. Before you know it, you’ll be so relaxed that you’ll be planning next summer’s stress-free family adventure!

"The Machine" (or, "A Normal Weekend in Russia")

2013-06-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

My friend shared this video on Facebook the other day, and it beautifully depicts the inebriated, debauched absurdity of Russia. Or, rather, the inebriated, debauched absurdity of an alcoholic American in Russia. Anyone who's studied in Russia for an extended period of time has at least one similar story...

Language barrier? Check.
Vodka? Check.
A train? Check.
Drunk "helpful" Russians? Check.
Adventure? Check, check.
The mafia? Check, check, check.
Police corruption/indifference? Check, check, check.

Ah, the memories!

The video is a little long, but I promise it's worth every second. And try to suspend your disbelief for just a moment, because (I shit you not) that's really what it's like. I spent a whole year living this... and my liver barely survived to tell the tale.

seesters!

2013-05-29T10:01:00.002-05:00

Holiday weekends always go by too fast... I'd originally planned a trip to Iowa with Charlotte, but the friend I was visiting had to cancel at the last minute.

My poor husband! When I told him that I wasn't going away for the weekend as planned, you could tell he was disappointed. Who wouldn't be? He'd been looking forward to having the house to himself, sans wife and child - he was probably planning on running around the house naked and gorging himself on corn dogs and beer, while playing video games for hours and hours and hours.

As I told him my plans had changed, I literally saw the dream die in his eyes...

To his credit, he was very sweet about it, but I still felt bad. If I put myself in his shoes, I'd have been bummed out too (although a weekend to myself wouldn't include video games and corn dogs, it definitely would include nudity and beer). So I offered to spend the night at my sister Laine's on Saturday. Will said that it wasn't necessary, but I insisted. Honestly, Laine and I were pretty excited to have a slumber party!

We barbecued at my dad's lake house and staged an impromptu photo shoot with Charlotte. I've often been a little sad that I'm rarely in photos with my daughter, since I'm usually the one taking the photos. Laine offered to take some pictures of the two of us but, unfortunately, I have this weird thing: my face involuntarily contorts whenever someone points a camera at it. I have no idea why - it's like a nervous tic. Needless to say, my self-conscious grimaces make it difficult to get a good photo...

Yeah...

This was the best we could get...

We managed to get a couple decent photos (most of them were with Aunt Laine, though!). NOTE: For printing and photo-merchandising, you can find great deals on Vistaprint products or, for ideas, try Creative Inspiration by Vistaprint (I wish I'd known about these guys when I did Charlotte's birth announcements last February... grrr). I'm trying to think ahead to Father's Day and what I'm going to get for Will... maybe a nice t-shirt with my giant face printed on it? Maybe I'll be giving a sassy thumbs-up?

All joking aside, I kinda want to get that for him just to see the look on his face...

Anyway, Laine and I barbecued, had a little photo shoot, and narrowly avoided receiving sweaty hugs from my dad's super-drunk neighbor (**shudder**). Then we went back to Laine's apartment to watch girly movies and gorge ourselves on cookies.

Aunt Laine!!!!

Squishy baby!

Best. Aunt. Ever.

It's interesting how having a baby has brought my sister and I together. We've always been close, but over the last few years things started to get difficult. Alcoholism runs in my family like WHOA, and my sister was struggling a lot - things were definitely starting to escalate. I'd find airplane bottles of booze or wine in her purse and she seemed to be drunk all.the.time. I'd avoid her calls after about 7pm at night (because she'd generally be too buzzed to hold a coherent, two-way conversation). Our sister-friendship was fizzling out, since I was growing more and more worried about her... but I knew I couldn't take care of her and she was just getting further and further out of reach.

Then, last November, Laine just... decided to be sober. There wasn't some major crisis or event that forced her to it; she just woke up and was tired of being scared of what she might do to herself (or someone else) next. She told me that she wanted to be a good influence to her niece Charlotte (then in utero), started going to AA meetings, and made the lifestyle changes she needed to make it work. My family held our collective breath and waited to see if it would take.

It's been 7 months now, and she's been doing so well! She's like a completely different person - I actually enjoy spending time and talking with her, like I did when we were younger. I can easily say that she's my best friend again. She nannies Charlotte 3 days a week while I'm at work, and she's been a huge help to Will and me.

It's nice to have my sister back. I guess I didn't realize how far off things had gotten until recently, when I started mentally comparing Laine-NOW with Laine-THEN. We were able to use our Saturday night sleepover as another way to reconnect and just have fun with each other. My husband actually had to call me on Sunday and remind me that I'd promised to be home hours ago... (I think he missed me!).

I know it's a day-by-day thing, and I don't want to put too much pressure on her. I hope, if she falls off the wagon, she remembers to get back on again. But, so far, she's been a huge inspiration to me and I couldn't be more proud of her!