I Need (another) Vacation!!!

This fourth of July weekend was supposed to be our little family's mini-vacation. Our mini vacation turned into a massive weekend of torture. MASSIVE. I am just going to say...and maybe repeat....vacationing with kids is NOT a vacation. (Atleast, maybe, until they are old enough to be left alone for a while) The following is the story of our fourth of July weekend aka Hell Weekend.

SO...I was SUPER stoked about this little trip. As most of you know, I hate it here in Vegas. (hate, loathe, despise, abominate Vegas) This little trip was supposed to be a quick getaway to get us all back to our lovey dovey days and bring us closer as a family. The only thing it brought us closer to was death in one way or another. There was no lovey-dovey-ness and the only time it brought us closer was when someone (me or Bowen) was crying. ((Don't worry..we are ALL alive))

Friday night we had soccer practice. I should have seen that practice as an omen of what was to come. Bowen is the cryer on the team. He throws fits and cries and lays in the middle of the field when something doesn't go his way. After him sitting with me for like 15 minutes I said to another mom, "Wellllll I wasted $120". Which was maybe probably how much the zoo was. (more on that later) After practice we went home and I told Jason to hold down the fort while I grabbed supplies for the trip ahead. (Mostly lots of drinks and fattening snacks) I ran like a chicken with my head cut off around wally world and headed home where I started or switched some laundry over and baked some cookies for the trip AND got Bowen to bed. At 9:15 Jason headed to bed. I tried laying with him for like 5 minutes, but there was SO much to do and it sure as hell wasn't getting done in my bed. So I shut the door on Jason and packed toys, Bowen's stuff, my stuff, laid it all out by the door...and then at 10:30 decided I had to go to bed.

Saturday morning I was up and at 'em at the crack of dawn. I got ready, ran to get gas, breakfast and ice. Then had Jason load the car. We were on the road at 9:22. (not bad for us) The rest of the trip was a daze of stops and toys being passed around and then we FINALLY got to (not so sunny) San Diego. We checked into our (pretty damn nice) hotel and decided to hit the beach. Jason headed us towards Mission Beach. Umm..we didn't get very far. It was an effing mess. LINES to get to the beach, packed parking lots...it wasn't looking too good. So we opted for Old Town and some yummy mexican food because I was starving. And here, my friends, is where it all starts to go downhill. I am already crabby because we have been in a car forever, Bowen doesn't want to be in the car. So we park and go to get the stroller and someone (JASON WATSON) forgot the stroller. (For the record, I had it out next to everything else that needed to be loaded. Jason does admit that this was a rookie mistake.) So we walk to Old Town. Bowen has this new thing about running into the street. This "new thing" makes me want to rip my hair..and his...out. We make it to a restaurant for dinner. We order queso, Bowen's fav, and it was kinda weird so he refused to eat. Anyways the WHOLE dinner was spent fighting with Bowen over this package of fireworks worms, ya know, the ones you light up on the ground and they just burn and glow. NOT cool...for anyone but a 3 year old. Anyways the kid REFUSED to let them go, or sit them down. It was a battle. We barely make it through dinner and decide to walk through Old Town. MISTAKE. Bowen wanted to run and walk and be free. I can't blame him. BUT this made his mommy a nervous wreck. Adults weren't paying any attention (Which made me want to knock the shit out of them!) and he wasn't either so he was always about to get knocked over and hello, we are both short, so easily he can be lost in a crowd. I needed a xanex, or seven, after that trip. Anyways...we called it a night and went to Target for a much needed stroller..and then to the hotel for a break.

SUNDAY!!!! I woke up in a pretty good mood...until I went to put on my make up. So I know this is stupid to most people, but I forgot my base. I love my make up. I need it. I am VERY insecure without it. So I immediately get upset about this. Jason says we will go to CVS and get some, not a big deal. Ok fine. ((still started the day off wrong..stupid, I know, but whatever, suck it)) So we go to CVS where I get make up. Thank God! Then search for a cafe where Jason swears the food is phenomenal. After many texts and googling we find the damn place. And get to wait for 30 minutes in the cold. Yea..cold. It was a cloudy, 60 that morning. (WTF San Diego?) Bowen, of course, is not cooperative during breakfast. He wants to sit on my lap as soon as I get my food. And then kicks me in the legs. (I have some serious boo-boo's from a softball game on my legs, so every time he kicked me in the knee or shin I wanted to stab him with my fork) We make it through breakfast and decide to head for the zoo. I was testy. I will admit it. So far it seemed like everything had been a shitload of work for bad results.

I think the zoo needs its own paragraph. The zoo...was intense. So we get there and find a spot. And then start to get the 392483948 things we need to walk around this place. Now...this may be cRaZy news, but I am not really into zoos. Obviously I have a kid so I will go to them, but really, I could go the rest of my life without stepping into one. We go to get our new stroller out and you need to put it together. Pain in my ass. Thankfully for the emergency kit my Mom made me, I had some fingernail clippers and I used my MacGuyver like skills to use them to cut off the 49 zip ties on the damn stroller. While getting this shit done, Bowen is walking out in the street. I remind him a jillion times that there are CARS there and he will get smushed like a little bug. We get the stroller done, pack his diaper bag full of shit we may need...and Bowen walks into the middle of the road...while a car is backing up. I haul him back by the hood of his jacket and yell (EFF off..I was panicked..my BABY could have been killed) that you do NOT walk into the street. He cries...mommy is almost crying...leading him to begin his first of many fits regarding the stroller. Anyways..this causes Jason to tell me not to yell at Bowen (or something like that) and I may or may not have replied that this whole trip was a waste of effing money and pointless. (umm...yea) So we make it into the zoo. Somehow. I cheer up...Jason lets it go..and Bowen is excited. (Thank GOD) So it was going pretty good. Bowen refuses to ride in the stroller, but he is kind of on a closed course, so I wasn't too worried. We make it to the Polar Bears, which is effing cool. They have this big igloo thingy that when you go inside a polar bear growls at you. SO cute watching Bowen scream and run for his life out of it. And then you could stand next to a seal and poke your head through some ice sculpture like thing. Cool. The polar bear even starts playing with a ball right up on the glass so Jason and Bowen have front row views to this. Then Bowen decides he is bored and goes back into the igloo. And you can crawl through it to the other side. I think we spent 10 minutes trying to get him out of it. I eventually picked him up and carried him away...while he kicked and yelled and screamed. (And we had PLENTY of onlookers) Really that is what the entire zoo trip was like. He yells and screams, we threaten to leave, he cooperates for five minutes, then yells and screams...it was like that the entire 2 hours. We finally leave...and then decide to go to Fuddrucker's for lunch. I look them up on the gps thingy and the first one I see is in Chula Vista. I am thinking thats out of the way so do the one 12.5 miles away in San Diego. My thinking was that it would be closer to the hotel. We literally drove 45 minutes. Oooops...my bad. But Bowen got a nap.

After lunch (which was really yummy btw, so not a total loss) we tried to get Bo to take a nap, but he was recharged. That only left time for the beach. We decided to drive up to San Clemente (where I once lived) and do the beach thing there. Umm..it was still cold...probably like 65..and overcast. We finally make it there (another 45 min drive) and the beach is PACKED. Luckily, we just brought a couple bags of towels and shit and a stroller, so we found a spot. Bowen was not having any of the waves or water. He did enjoy building a sand castle though. Jason decided he HAD to go boogey boarding. (I think that is what it is called) As soon as he heads to go get one the tide comes ridiculously high and I am grabbing all of our bags and Bowen and heading up the beach. Which was a pain in the ass. And irritating. Especially when your son refuses to walk and is screeching like he is a wounded animal. I was a little annoyed when Jason got back. I realize he didn't KNOW that was going to happen, but it was super shitty timing for him to leave. I know it is not his fault. JUST saying...it sucked for me. Anyways he goes out there and does his thing and Bowen stands on the beach yelling, "DAYSIIIIIIN COME BACK!!! DAAAAAAYSIN!!!" Which was really cute, and melted my heart. Then he got cold and came and snuggled with me. So the beach was kinda a bust too. We decided to head home and get some grub.

We left yesterday morning after heading to the pier for a few minutes. The pier was also a nightmare. Bowen wanted to climb over the rocks they have near the sidewalk to see the ocean. And NOT hold his Mommy's hand. This made me a basket case. And the kid does not have very good balance (or walking skills for that matter) so I was seriously scared for his life. When he wouldn't listen to me when I told him to stay on the sidewalk, (He looked me in the eye and crept his little toes over the sidewalk line) I got onto him. Now I don't think I yelled, I just raised my voice a few octaves, Jason says I yelled. Which caused a disagreement between us. I was over it and ready to get the eff out of there. We left..and headed home. I gave Bowen an iTouch and let him play birds and he was soooo quiet. So I napped for like 30 minutes. The rest of the trip was long. Of course there was traffic and quips about who was driving worse. It was a loooong weekend.

My moral of this story is...do NOT travel with a young child and expect it to be stress-free and wonderful. It is a pain in the effing ass. To say the least. The packing is extreme. Which means the unpacking is even more extreme. The lack of a schedule and normal sleep pattern does not help anyone. And lets face it, the shit you take your kids to (aka the zoo) is over priced. And Bowen sure as hell isn't going to remember it!! It definitely tested Jason and I. We made it through it...had a good heart to heart when we got home. I think Jason and I need a weekend (or one night) away. And when Bowen is older (maybe even a year) things will go muuuch smoother when we travel. But last weekend..was not so great or loving or wonderful. We had some good moments, but all in all, I need a day at the spa to get the tension out of my shoulders and neck..and a hair appointment, so she can hide the spots where I tore my hair out. Jason is probably re-thinking this whole built in family thing and checking on flights for Bowen and I to go back home. Anyways...I love my baby boy and I love Jason..but I think we should skip any more FAMILY vacations for a while.