Dinner - Still reliving Jamaica

Zane's birthday dinner (10/20) meant some delicious-ness.
Jerk Steak ~ I'm proud of myself. I made the seasoning myself! WOO HOO!!
Fried Plantains
Rum & Coke [Appleton Rum of course]

Yummmm!!!

Jamaica October 2009

By now, most of you have seen the pictures one way or another, but I thought I'd add a little photo blog with a few of the "stories" of the trip. I can never capture the essence of our vacation on a computer, but I'll try to at least document the trip - if nothing else, for our own memory jogs....

We had to leave our house at 4:30am to catch our flight from Dallas to Miami. I think we look pretty decent for such an early morning [woke up to storms at 2:30]. I'm certain that it was the excitement getting us through the morning, but regardless, here we are - Ready. To. Go.

We got to Miami and it seemed like the *longest* wait. We had to walk 2 terminals but we finally got to our gate and we were off to Montego Bay. Picture is Natalie with her suitcase in Miami. That cute little suitcase is getting some miles now!

We got to Montego Bay in the middle of their afternoon rain storm (common this time of year!) But we sailed through customs, got our things, and quickly made our way to the Beaches/Sandals lounge at the airport. Zane and I got some Red Stripe beer and Natalie got some water - and after about 5 minutes, we were called for our ride to the resort. We walk out and realize that we don't have a bus - it's merely a VAN to drive us the 90 minute trek. I wasn't thrilled, but just too darn excited to be upset.

We leave the airport and before we even leave the town of Montego Bay, we pull into a gas station. Zane assumes we're getting fuel. Nope. The driver needed to air up the tire. Great. Makes you feel GREAT when you're in a foreign country in a rinky-dink van, embarking on a 90 minute trip - and they need to air up the tires.

We survived the trip. It was an absolutely CRAZY ride from Montego Bay to Negril. They drive on the left side of the road, they drive CRAZY, the kids had just gotten out of school, so they were all over the sides of the road -- and the 1.5 lane road was scary to say the least.

But we made it. And it was paradise from the get-go.

We were taken to a lobby where they brought us cool lemongrass cloths to wipe down with and brought Natalie a fruit punch - and Zane and me some rum punch. Life was good. We were in an absolute oasis and all was right with the world.

And it got better. We got to our room and had been upgraded.

A beautiful king-size room ... beachfront ... with a pull out sofa bed and a mini fridge. Bliss!

Oh, and a lovely balcony to enjoy! Natalie and I with our drinks they gave us at check-in:

Day 1 ended with an early night. We took a tour of the property and we ate dinner - okay, twice. You know, since it was all-inclusive, we needed to see what our options were! Yes, that really happened. No, I don't feel bad about it!

Day 2, we woke up at 6am ~ at daylight. We wanted to get the most of our day. We had read that it rains frequently in the afternoons and also that sunset is around 6pm, so we were set on getting the most out of our days.

Here Zane and I are soaking it all in ... still. We are truly in paradise and oh-so-happy!

We didn't waste any time hitting the beach. They had these full "floats" that you could lay in the water, get some sun, and not float around. I loved them! Obviously Natalie thought it was a balance board. :-)

She opted to spend most of her first day at Kid's Club. They tie-dyed shirts, went snorkeling, baked cookies with Cookie Monster, and more.

While she was gone, I tried my luck at water-skiing. It didn't work out. All 3 times, I would get up out of the water, but then would fall backwards. They say salt water flushes are good for your nose and sinuses. I should be golden then!

And just a little [aside] story about Natalie going snorkeling. Not sure what we thought they meant by snorkeling, but we were clearly not well informed. When we dropped her off at Kid's Club that first morning, they pull out a regular composition book. They ask her name, our name, and our room number - and we sign her in. That's it. Oh, we DID have to go get her passport to verify her age. But that was all. And so we left to go do watersports, etc - and didn't really know what to expect from Kid's Club. Well, apparently they take them out on a boat about 1/2 mile out from shore to the reef to do *real* snorkeling. I had no idea. Natalie reassured me though, "Don't worry - they wrapped a life jacket around my waist." Wow, I felt so much better. HA!

For anyone that knows me, this is SOOO out of my comfort zone to entrust the care of Natalie Grace. Let alone in a foreign country - in the OCEAN!

But we all survived and were still so happy by evening. Kid's club is closed from 5-6 and Natalie wanted to join the club again at 6 for dinner and a movie night before we had to pick her up at 8. But we got a quick jaunt to the beach for sunset first. There was a resort photographer there that was able to capture some great shots. I have several more, but I thought this was a favorite.

The one of Natalie we were able to snag with our disposable camera! It just makes me think of the song, "I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean...." Love it!

Day 2 wrapped up after we went to pick her up at Kid's Club at 8 - and found the place empty. We had NO clue where they were, what they were doing, etc. Turns out, Beaches has a huge inflatable movie screen and they were showing Beverly Hills Chihuahua down on the beach. Natalie was down there with her camp counselor and we got her back at 9. A super fun day was had by all of us and were so ready for the next day!!

Day 3 started with Natalie learning to knee-board. She did AWESOME!! She got up every time and would go for long rides out in the ocean. She was definitely the smallest one out there and was so proud of herself. She got a little sassy and was trying to learn to do jumps ... she couldn't figure it out. Which is just fine with me!

Natalie went back to Kid's Club and Zane and I took advantage of the snorkeling trip. It was BEAUTIFUL!! The water is crystal clear and seeing all of the reef plants and marine life was amazing. I wasn't too impressed with the jelly fish, but once the guide told me the little ones wouldn't sting, I relaxed a LOT and got a bit more adventuresome. We took Natalie out with us a few hours later and she was loving it. She had been out with the kid's camp, but it was fun for the 3 of us to get out there together!

Then was our adventure on the Hobie Cat [mini catamaran sailboat]. The Watersports guide told us that we were welcome to take it out but the wind was being spotty and so it was at our own risk. We sailed right out and made pretty good time.

We were about 2/3 of the way back when the wind simply DIED!! We waited a few minutes and it was only getting calmer - if that was even possible. So Zane did what any good sport would do - he jumped off and pushed us back in. The guide was laughing "Ya' mon, I told you that would happen" Thanks guy! :-)

Then the real adventure for our family .... Kayaking. As you can see, it was Zane in the back, Natalie in the middle, and me [photographer] in the front. We could NOT get that thing to go in a straight line. At first, we were all paddling. It wasn't working, so SURELY it must mean we need to get Natalie to stop paddling. No improvement. Zane is paddling away. I'm paddling away. We're trying so hard and it simply isn't working. So I quit paddling. No help. Zane quits - and well, we just didn't go ANYWHERE!. So we get back to all 3 of us. Natalie is beating the heck out of us with her paddle because we're all out of rhythm. Needless to say, we took it back to shore and opted for another activity .... and there will be no team kayaking in our future!

Our evening adventure was to go off-property and go get Natalie and my hair braided. She had full braids, mine was only 1/2. It was really fun and neat to talk to the ladies about Jamaican culture and history!

Our last day, we had lunch at the Japanese restaurant - I only included this picture because it was one of our few family shots from the trip and I thought it turned out pretty well ~ and the restaurant was a blast!

This was truly a magical trip. I know that sounds corny, but it really was. We had an amazing time - as a family and as a couple. We can't wait to go back ... and cant' say enough about the Jamaican people, Jamaica itself, the beaches of Negril, or the Beaches resorts. They were all just perfect!!

And we're off

I'm quite impressed because I was completely packed [including bags in the car] with 12 hours to spare. The year of waiting, anticipating, and pure excitement is finally here ....

So off we go ...

The Taboo Subject of Bedwetting

We were one of the "lucky ones" - our daughter was potty trained by age 2. We didn't have any relapses to speak of. She was easy to train, was motivated to be a big girl - and it was just done. All except for night time. No big deal. Not at age 2. Or really even age 3. But by age 4, I started getting frustrated. WHY does she not get up in the night to go to the bathroom instead of in her pull up? Of course, I thought it was the pull up issue, but we had tried long trials of panties to bed, which just led to mountains of laundry for me.

We tried everything it seemed. Reward charts & incentives, waking her up in the night, limiting fluids, pull ups, NOT pull ups, just giving it time. I thought - hmmm, surely she'll just outgrow it.

I knew she was a deep sleeper and that was part of the problem, but I still didn't have a clue how to fix the problem. I also knew we were in for a long haul when I could go in to have her go to the bathroom - and find her in a wet bed, wet pajamas, and still sound asleep. Hmmmm, certainly not getting anywhere.

I did some talking to people, but either they never dealt with the issue or they were still dealing with it. Not much help there either.

I had heard of various bedwetting alarms, but really didn't know much about them. I read this article by Dr. Greene and, given that I was at the end of my rope, decided to give it a try!

I ordered the SleepDry Alarm from Star Labs and had it within 2 days [they must know how desperate people are!!]. So we gave it a try. The first night was a nightmare. Literally. The alarm went off at 10:30, 2:30, and 6:00. It was like having a newborn again! But we didn't have a night like *that* again. The next couple were only 1-2 times. Within a week, it wasn't going off at all -- and she was waking up to go to the bathroom.

I'm sold. The thing works. It was an awful experience at the time. But it was 1 week. And she's 6 years old. The happiness and pride she has in waking up dry was WELL worth it.

Our run-in with H1N1 Flu ...

Update 10.07.09: Happy to report that she is now FREE of fever and even the cough for the most part. The fever took *forever* (Tuesday - Tuesday)! She is now recovering ... still seems wiped out of all real energy (2+ hour nap today), but will get to return to school tomorrow. She's REALLY missing her friends, so this is bringing a smile! Now to get through the next 5 days without any other illness or hiccups and then we're off - on a jet plane! WOO HOO!

We're on day 4 of our encounter of H1N1. Having a kid with an "underlying health condition", I admit that it had me a bit freaked out. We have been very proactive in getting/keeping her asthma under control, but I was still quite anxious about the flu going around.

Tuesday morning, she was a little congested, but I thought it was because she missed her allergy medication the night before. I gave it to her and sent her to school. When we picked her up, she looked a bit "off" - glassy eyes and just not herself, but she insisted that she felt fine. I felt her and she didn't seem warm - so we continued on to her orthodontist appointment [another post].

By the time we got home, she had a 102 temp and was coughing. Talk about FAST. Typical flu onset. She spent the night with high temps and we were doing the piggy-back of Motrin / Advil to keep her at the 100* range.

Wednesday morning, we were able to get in to the Dr. where they tested her for flu [positive] and we got her prescription for Tamiflu. Because they are out of the kids' variety, they compound it from adult - and it is NASTY! We have gotten over the hurdle of getting her to take it - thanks to Gatorade & cherry syrup.

We spent a night of no sleep with a croup cough ~ We did the steamy bathroom thing.

All-in-all, she's doing well and seems to be recovering, but it's definitely a strange virus. It has made her quite irritable and just very "off" - the fever comes/goes without medication. Very odd.

Her lungs still sound clear - but I'm still freaked out about her getting other complications. Hoping the early Tamiflu and her inhalers will help us avoid that.

Enough germs for us, thanks!!!

I get notes too

Natalie left me a sweet note. It made my day:

to: Traci

From: Natalie

I love you mom.

You are so so so so nis to me.

1. read with me
2. play with me
3. hang out with me
4. keep me helthy
5. go shoping for me and with me

Awww. And pretty darn good spelling, too ;-)

Lunch Notes

I've never really been a lunch note kind of gal, but as we remember from this post, Natalie basically begged me to jump on the lunch note bandwagon.

And I admit, I've loved it. She buys her lunch more than she takes, but they can have a snack in the classroom, so I leave her a little note with her snack periodically. Last night, I even used her crayons to decorate the snack note.

It's just my way of saying to her, "I'm thinking of you, I love you, and I'm looking forward to picking you up."

She seems to like it - so it's a win-win. I feel good about doing it ~ and she smiles to receive.

But then today, I saw a great new campaign from Kraft Lunchables.

www.lunchnotepromise.com

You go on there, you sign up your promise to send a lunch note, and they donate a meal to a hungry child. AND, they have some cute little designs you can download as a PDF to write your note on if you're lunch note challenged!

So go ... do it ... send your lunch notes ... and create a smile for your kid and a meal for one that is hungry!