So... After some well deserved vacations, I'm finally back home with my dogs, my bed, my shower, my laptop, my car and every other thing in my life that makes me smile!
I went with my lovely family to Orlando and visited almost EVERY theme park, the ones I've visited recently, the ones I've been in for a thousand times, and the ones I hadn't been in for more than two decades. It was extremely hot and extremely tired, but great! I definitely love theme parks! I'm pretty sure that if I lived near theme parks, not only would I got there several times a year, but would probably work there. OK, maybe I wouldn't work there now, but I would have in my youth.
Besides learning that I'm a total control freak, I learned / realized a few things.
1. If I can't control something, you better not be around!
I think the control freak part was the worst, cause, it's not that I've forgotten what a maniac I am, it's that I haven't been able to show it and torture someone else.
So I think you know what my poor husband got after 2 weeks alone with me and our son... I like everything done the way I WANT IT, and schedules MUST be respected and followed. Now I know that if we went on vacation more often, maybe our marriage wouldn't go as well (LOL).
2. I don't receive that much phone calls
I'm aware that the people who call me everyday are mostly family and friends, and frankly, I wouldn't want my phone ringing all day... I took my phone with me and was worried because my birthday would come and I didn't want to answer all the calls because the roaming would be too expensive. Pppphhhhttt... Yeah right. I got about 3 or 4 calls, which is kind of depressing. Sure I got some congratulations on Facebook and twitter, but I expected at least a few more calls.
3. The fatter you are in a theme park, the less you wait in line
No matter how many times I go to theme parks, it impresses me every time the fact that so many overweight people go around in wheelchairs. It freaks me out couples who are both overweight and take turns on the wheelchair. And it makes me angry when I think about someone being too fat to walk, and having a family member push them around. I'm very against people being so overweight that they can't walk, I really think you should draw a line somewhere between "my clothes don't fit and I feel miserable" to "what the hell, I'll just use a wheelchair".
4. There's no such thing as a "small" beverage in the USA
First day, it's very late, we're looking for the hotel address, so we stop at Wendy's. One hamburger and a small coke. The small coke is the size of my head.
I thought it was just Wendy's. I was wrong. Even worst, one day I accidentally ordered a large drink. OMG!!! It was like a gallon in a glass. I couldn't drink that much soda in a week!!
5. I need my son more than he needs me
I always say that my son is very close to me, and that he has mommy-tis. He's always asking for me and crying when we get separated for any reason. Truth is, he wants to be with me very very much, there's no doubt about it, but when someone grabs him or when he smiles at someone else more than he does with me, I get crazy jealous. And then I realized, I need him much more than he needs me. That feeling of being loved no matter what, is unbelievable. And I need that. Everyday. For the rest of my life. I know he will start judging me eventually, and he will probably hate me some days, but I'm planning on keeping the feeling of being loved no matter what in my heart!
6. I need my dogs more than they need me
Same as the last one... Dogs love you just for being you. That's amazing. I love my dogs soooooo much that I can't live without them. I was so worried of going away for vacations and leaving my pets. I was afraid they would stop eating and die. The last pet I had did that.And I cried for hours with my dead hamster in my hand and then for days with my dead hamster in a jar. I still have him in case you're wondering, still dead, still in the jar. Only now he is buried in a plant.
Anyway... I was so afraid of leaving, that I almost cancel my trip. I was even planning on going back earlier if something happened.
What happened? They were OK. I was kind of bummed knowing that they were happy and didn't miss me, and then I felt REALLY bad for feeling bummed that they were happy. In the end I did feel happy tho, knowing that they were OK!
The thing was, after one week I was crying at night because I missed them so much, and 3 days before coming back I couldn't take it anymore. When the plane landed, all I could think of was opening the kitchen door and kissing them.
And yes, they were OK. I'm sure they missed me. But I'm even more sure that I missed them more.
7. There's only so much junk food my body can take
When eating a hamburger or a slice of pizza, I'm the kind of person that says, OMG
8. After using a GPS, I'm virtually incapable of remembering directions or address
My brain stopped working, I guess he deserved a vacation as well! I couldn't remember if we turned left or right, how many blocks we passed, not even a street's name. Shameful. I know.
9. Never, ever fly in Avianca
We bought this tickets a year ago with another airline, which later joined Avianca. By the time our trip came, the original airline wasn't flying to Miami anymore, so we had to go in Avianca.
Worst thing ever. We had a connection flight from Miami to Quito in Bogota. They made us wait in the airport in Bogota for 10 hours. Not fair. Specially considering that there was another flight to Quito with the same Avianca 5 hours before ours. Not fair, never again am I traveling with that airline.
10. Be ready to mess up all of your child's schedules
Since the day we got home from the hospital with my newborn, I've been doing everything by schedule and respecting everything there is to respect about everything they tell you to, but specially regarding sleeping and eating habits.
I've put my son to bed every night for a whole year, at 7:30. Awake. In the dark. Alone. It was perfect. Really. The perfect baby. He would stay in his bed, in the dark, and just sing himself to sleep. Sometimes for an hour or more, without even a cry.
Same with food. Five meals a day since he turned 5 months, first was fruit, then were veggies, then came cereals, protein and so on. Five meals of real, home-made food. Healthy, boiled, no salt or sugar added real food. Oatmeal, polenta, quinua, all from scratch. In 11 months, just 3 Gerber.
And then came our vacations. In a hotel room, sleeping with us in his pack-n-play. Not at 7:30 anymore, but at 10, 11 and sometimes even midnight. Total disaster. Waking up earlier... Not having regular naps... Sleeping with the TV on!
Once again, same with food! Eating chicken strips in restaurants for two weeks... No veggies. Gallons of apple juice a day. Gallons of milk a day. It was very hot, so he drank a lot of fluids. No more home-made cereals or fish. No more chickpeas, or broccoli or carrots...
And then we came back. First night, he almost climbed out of the crib! So he slept in the pack-n-play. Lights out. Cry. Mom left the room. Even more crying. And then I thought, dear God, what have I done?? A whole year of training gone in two weeks!! We're on the third day, and we still have a whole lot of crying going on.
It's OK tho... I'm determined to push restart, and start over. One thing I've learned is that kids are very much like dogs. In many ways. More than you would think. So if dogs can learn anything in two weeks, I'm doing the same with my child!
The food thing will be easier, but the sleep thing is keeping me awake at night!
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