In Guest Room Babysitter

On our cruise, I tried to keep Eli to his regular routine. I know if Eli gets enough sleep and eats well that he is a true angel but if he does not get enough sleep and has too much sugar, the little devil side of him comes out.

Eli usually has a two hour nap during the day and then sleeps from 7:30pm – 6:45am at night. We were not able to give him a nap every day because of different activities going on so I was insistent that he needed to go to bed ON TIME!

Lowell and I were on vacation and we did not want to sit in our room from 7:30pm for the rest of the night so I hired a babysitter from the cruise line to watch Eli as he slept. The two nights that we hired a babysitter, I had the sitter come to the room after Eli had fallen asleep.

The first night of having a sitter a nice woman from China arrives. Unfortunately, Eli was not quite asleep when she arrived. She asked if she should feed him, give him a drink etc. I said no- just let him fall asleep and that he should be out soon. I then told her that once he has been out for 15 minutes, she can turn on the TV, use the book light I brought to read etc. She said thank you but she will just sit there as Eli slept. I again told her that he would not wake up once he has been out for a little while and please make herself comfortable and watch tv or read etc.

Lowell and I come back three hours later and Eli is asleep and the babysitter is sitting on the floor in the dark.

Now, I should describe the room to you. If you have been on a cruise before, you can imagine, the room is NOT big. In our room, you walk in and there is a small closet (picture a small pantry closet) on one side and the bathroom on the other side. There is a small desk next to the closet and then the pack n play and bed. There is NO room to walk. I will post a picture once they are uploaded.

So, we hired a babysitter the next night. This time I was able to meet her beforehand. She was helping us at the guest relations desk and told us she would be our sitter for the night. Again I encouraged her to bring a book, she could watch tv etc. I told her Eli would be sleeping the same time. She said thank you but she will just sit in the dark while he sleeps. And she did.

The babysitter gets paid $12 an hour so I think that is pretty decent for sitting in the dark while my son sleeps!

A Much Needed Vacation

We finally got away. Last week, Lowell, Eli and I traveled with friends and their kids to the Bahamas on a Royal Caribbean cruise. It is always wonderful to get away but especially when you leave your cell phone and computer behind.

I work for a Fortune 500 company and work many hours. During the week, I usually work 9-10 hours a day and work a few hours over the weekend. It was nice to take this vacation and leave the work computer behind. But, the problem is that the work does not stop while I am away. It just grows.

I returned from vacation to approximately 150 e-mails that I needed to do something with. I am a project manager and manage multiple projects at a time. Unfortunately, I am back from vacation but will be working long hours this week to catch up on work missed.

The vacation though was wonderful. I hope to blog about it this week. I really did find time to relax which I needed. I loved keeping my mind away from work and everything else. I also treasured the time that I spent with my family.

Day 3: Epcot

Today was our last day at the parks. Eli and I went to Epcot. I have not been to Epcot in years and was surprised to the amount of changes. Even Spaceship Earth had completely changed- and for the better.

We left the park after 11am so Eli could get a nap in before our flight home. Due to problems with our hotel room, we were given late checkout (3pm) for free. We finally get back to the room close to 1 and Eli naps. I felt bad that I had to wake him at 10 to 3 because of checkout.

We check out of the hotel and walk around the hotel for the next two hours until we can leave for the airport (and when Lowell was out of the conference).

We had a late flight so I was nervous about Eli but he was so well behaved. (It helped that I had a DVD and snacks prepared.) We finally got home after 10pm and we all crashed.

Even today, over a week later, we are still all trying to catch up from sleep.

Day 2: Animal Kingdom

Today, Eli and I were on our own. Lowell was attending his conference and we were not meeting up with anyone. I decided to take Eli to Animal Kingdom thinking he would like the park. To me, Animal Kingdom was a glorified zoo. Yes, there are some attractions- the safari is neat and now they have a dino world with a few things but for the price of a one day ticket - $75 for non Florida residents, Animal Kingdom is not worth it.

Eli did enjoy looking at the animals but besides the safari and Dino ride (like Dumbo), I can’t think of any other rides we went on. I really wanted to see the Lion King and Nemo shows but one was 30 min long and the other 45 min long and I thought that was too long for Eli.

Luckily, today, a friend got me in the park so admission was free. Normally to park hop, you spend an additional $50! (rip off!) Eli and I took the bus to Hollywood Studies and went on the Great Movie Ride. I really wanted to go on the new Buzz Lightyear ride but the line was an hour long and it was close to naptime. So, Eli and I headed back to the hotel and I put him down for a nap.

I met some great friends who I have not seen in years for dinner and that was nice.

Day 1: The Magic Kingdom

Our first full day in Orlando, we went to the Magic Kingdom. We were hanging out with my brother and his girlfriend for the day and also met up with another couple we knew for part of the day. They also had a little boy just a little younger than Eli and I was excited to meet their son for the first time and they were meeting Eli for the first time.

I was not sure what rides he would enjoy or be afraid of but he loved them all. I think his favorite ride was the Dumbo ride. "Up" and "Whee" were his favorite things to say on this ride.

I was not sure how Eli would do in the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean ride but he enjoyed them both. Because we were between hotels, we had no where to go back for Eli’s nap so Eli had another day without a nap!

Eli became really cranky by 4pm and I knew we had to leave soon. We left the park around 5:15pm. We drove to the new hotel and checked in and settled into our room. I had to call 5 times for them to deliver the crib but the crib finally made it. Eli was so overtired that he did not want to sleep but he finally settled down at 8pm.

First Evening in Orlando

So, our experience at the airport was not very good but luckily Eli did great on the flight even though it was his normal nap time. After we arrived, we drove to our hotel. We were staying at a Best Western for one night and then transferring over to a Hilton for the remaining two nights.

We arrive at the hotel and relax. My brother, Josh, and his girlfriend, Elsa, were in Orlando this weekend and I was looking forward to spending time with them. Coincidentally, they were staying at the same hotel. We picked them up and went to dinner with them and also were meeting a few friends.

A couple of my friends joining us were meeting Eli for the first time. I knew he would be crabby so I felt bad that this would be their meeting of him. Sure enough, my no nap kid was cranky. He did not want to sit in his high chair. He did not want to eat. I had to hold him in my lap to keep him semi-happy. He was tired.

We got through dinner though. It was so nice to see everyone. One of my friends even drove in from Tampa to see us. It meant a lot to me. We got back to the hotel and crashed. We had to get up early in the morning for a fun filled day at Disney!

Atlanta Airport Experience

Editor's note: This post was written a week ago. Due to lack of Internet at our hotel and catching up on work when I arrived back, it is getting posted now!

I was so excited about our trip to Orlando. Lowell had a conference to attend and I was taking advantage of that by taking a couple days off work and taking Eli to Walt Disney Word for the first time.

Traveling is always a stressful experience in our household. Lowell likes to get to the airport when the plane is boarding and I prefer to be there 2 hours before. Each experience of driving to the airport usually lends itself to a disagreement.

Well, we arrive at the Atlanta Airport and the stress continues. The one nice thing about this airport is that there is a separate stroller line and in busy times you can cut 1 hour worth of security. Lowell and I proceed through that lane and go to the special assistance section of security. Because Delta now charges to check in even the first bag, we only had carry on. Each of us had one suitcase and one computer bag. Then we also had the stroller and the car seat- a lot of stuff! We had about half our stuff on the belt when a guy puts his stuff in front of mine. "Hey", I say, "we were in line first." He yells back- you are taking too long. I begin to move his tray back behind my stuff and he elbows me in the neck and pushes me. First of all, I was shocked then angry. I yell out to TSA- this guy just pushed me. Finally, Lowell who was occupied with Eli realizes what was going on and yells “this guy just pushed me wife, can we get some help here?” Finally, TSA yells for security as the guy goes through. Security did nothing. Finally Lowell and I go through security and yell for a cop.

The cop comes over, asked what happened and did nothing! Absolutely nothing. I was shocked and appalled. I should have pretended to fall and then maybe something would have happened.

The guy who pushed me had two girls with him, one looked to be a young teenager and the other a toddler. I feel very sorry for them. Their father could use some anger management and TSA in Atlanta needs to learn to do there jobs!