Does anyone else have those visions of going on vacation with kids that are TOTALLY unrealistic?! You know, the ones where you see yourself sitting by a pool, sipping cocktails, while daddy entertains the kids. Well those were the thoughts running through my head as I pushed “buy” on a local Groupon deal that popped up in my email last month. WHY DID I DO THIS?! Going away with two kids under the age of 3 was the furthest thing from a vacation.

Let me give you a little back story…

I have not written anything in a while because the reality of having two kids so close in age, really hit me. It was all fun and games until my son (the baby) was mobile. Around that same time, my husband got a new job, someone in my company quit, and my boss was on paternity leave, leaving us shorthanded. The combination of all this, resulted in the most stressful few months we have had since being married. It felt like we were going 100 mph just to get through the day, and by the time the kids were in bed, we would collapse right behind them. Thankfully I had a two week “vacation” from work scheduled at the end of August so I had a light at the end of the tunnel… so to speak.

Any parent understands a vacation from work doesn’t mean what it did pre-kids. Instead of sleeping in, relaxing and going out on the town; it’s early mornings, long days, and trying to entertain the little ones while avoiding melt downs at all costs. It’s basically the equivalent of going to the gym from 5am-7pm. That being said, my husband got a couple days off so we could have a long weekend together as a family of four. This is where the night away comes in… I repeat, ONE night away.

We went to Ocean Edge Resort which is less than an hour away from us in Brewster, Ma. (I plan on writing a review for Cape Cod Moms in the near future because this place really was accommodating for families with kids so I definitely recommend it.) The day started off great. We actually left the house on time and both kids were happy in the car. We got there and went straight to the pool. Swimming and lunch went off without a hitch…

The problems began after lunch when we went for a walk with the kids in the double stroller in hopes they would sleep. My 2 year old quickly put a stop to that idea as she insisted on walking. Thankfully there was a playground ahead so we made our way there and kept her busy while the little one took a short nap. A very short nap. Her shrill sounds of excitement soon woke him up. We were now going to have two exhausted kids by dinner time. We went back to the room to take a little breather, have a snack and get changed for dinner. Shockingly, dinner at the restaurant wasn’t bad. Thanks to mac n’ cheese, pink lemonade and some PBS kids on our phone, we survived and didn’t make any big scenes at the restaurant (don’t judge please). Next was the dreaded bedtime. My husband and I had gone back and forth on how to approach this. Our oldest has never slept in a bed. In fact, the few times she’s been in our bed for one reason or another (sick, nightmare, etc.) it turns into play time. So, to say we were weary of this in the first place, would be an understatement. We decided the baby would sleep in the pack n’ play in the bedroom, while she would sleep on an air mattress in the living room with one of us. Well about 10 minutes, and 7 “hold on, I gotta get something’s” later, it was clear this was going to be an epic nightmare. Her new found freedom coupled with being in a foreign place was not a good mix. There is no point going into detail of the next few hours. Let’s just say by 10pm I was about to pack up everything, throw the kids in the car and go home. Some how, by the grace of god, she finally fell asleep. On me. In the most uncomfortable position ever. I decided to forego my potential broken back, and stay still to avoid awakening the beast. I felt like I teleported back to newborn days of being up every hour. She would toss, I would turn. She would yell, I would say “it’s ok”, and so on and so on…

At 4:30am she decided it was morning time. She sat up, said “hold on, I gotta get something” and it was then I realized there would be no more sleep for me. About an hour later, the other two were up so we hopped in the car to do the only thing that solves every problem in the world… find donuts. Thanks to those donuts and LOADS of coffee, we got through the rest of the day. We swam, we snacked, we packed up and we made the trek home. I can’t help but think, was it worth it? We just spent a lot of money for no sleep and memories that our kids won’t remember. The sick thing is, we’re doing it again in a month! Are we crazy?! Or as parents do we just hope for the best every time and expect the worst?!

***I have to give a huge shout out to my husband because he is legit the best packer on the planet. He took care of EVERYTHING in that department. I’m talking sleeping equipment, clothes, swimming stuff, food, bottles, etc. If I didn’t have him I don’t know what I would do. The kids would probably be half naked, eating chips, and sleeping on the floor.

I’ll end with these pictures. Thank you donuts.