Blogging at the Beach, Volume 2

Sunday afternoon, after a day of lots of rain and settling in, we venture out to eat as a family.  I know, I know, I had just written that we are eating most of our meals here, but the rain stopped and we were ready to get out!  Oh boy, are we learning all about that.  Three small children + nice restaurant = chaos!!  We get compliments on how well behaved our children are all the time, that is not so much the issue.  It's just the timing issue and you never know how that is going to go when eating out.  We called ahead to make sure the wait wasn't insane, and were told, no wait.  Great, but we get there and end up waiting about 10 minutes.  No big deal, but we are sat at a middle table so it's kind of cramped and loud.  The boys are hungry, mistake numero uno, we waited too long to feed them.  Mistake numero dos, Jason orders a spicy appetizer and Noah whines that it hurt his belly.   Elijah has to go potty everytime we sit down to eat, lol.  Ava is overstimulated.  Noah wants to play musical chairs.  I take Elijah for a walk in between appetizer and meal.  Ava wakes up and wants to be held.  I eat my dinner with one hand as fast as possible, which I am pretty much used to by now.  So then a really nice northern lady who had obviously drank a few glasses of wine, comes over to me and says, "It's a bitch, right? I used to be in your shoes honey, I totally get it. " LOL!!!!!!!!  I just replied, "It can be crazy at times, but they are such blessings, it's totally worth it."  She talked to Noah for several minutes which was hilarious also, he talks in this really interesting voice when he meets someone and I have to translate everything he's saying because I am the ONLY one who understands it.  Add translator to my list of credentials.

Go Potty Mom, pwease.

So we head back to the condo, make some cookies, and act silly the rest of the night. I ate too many cookies and got a rush of energy.   I was chasing the boys around like I was a bird, "cawing" pretty loudly until I remembered, we are surrounded by neighbors on almost all sides and it was after 10 p.m. here.. They were loving it, laughing so hard, but I think it scared Ava.  She was looking at me like I was crazy!! lol  Then we played "freeze dance"; dancing and freezing when someone turns the music off.  Noah loved controlling the radio, he got so tickled.  Elijah can really "cut a rug."  Jason couldn't resist and joined us in the fun, so after that we were all wore out and headed to bed.
Monday, we woke up to a really loud thunderstorm.  I actually slept in with Ava since I knew we couldn't go anywhere until the rain stopped.  Around 11, it stopped and the rest of the day was sunny, hot, and humid!  We left a little late in the day and went to a camera shop to get a tripod for beach photos. YAY! :)  I am looking forward to getting some family beach pictures with my new camera.  Eli fell asleep and since we were getting hungry, we concocted a different plan.  Noah, Ava, and I would go to the shopping center we were headed to and find a place to eat.  So while Jason sat in the car with Eli, we headed off and found a really neat little restaurant.  It was kind of swanky, New York-ish, if that makes any sense.  Very slow at this time and a really neat menu, so we headed inside to order.  I ordered for everyone and called Jason to bring Eli in when the food arrived.

Sleepy boy

Worked out pretty good until Jason and Eli arrived.  Eli wasn't ready to get up so he was cranky and didn't want to eat.  Then Ava woke up right as the food hit the table.  My dreams of eating a meal with both hands and chewing my food instead of swallowing it whole were no longer taking place. lol  So, we decided AGAIN that eating out is just a crazy idea.  We do have a couple more places we want to eat at, but we are learning how to make it go a bit smoother, so hopefully the next experience will be a better report. lol
So after that, we decided to go shopping for a bit.  Lesson number 2:  little kids do not like shopping.  lol  They actually did pretty good once we found the toy store, but we hit about 4 shops and then proceeded to the ice cream stand.  It is quite comical to think about Jason and I figuring out this being outnumbered thing.  When all else fails, toys and ice cream seem to fix the problem, for everyone!
One of our goals on this vacation are to spend one on one time with each of the kids.  So when we got back, Jason took Elijah down to the beach to go crab hunting.  They grabbed their little net and flashlight and off they went.  Noah got a new boat for the bathtub so I gave him a bath while they were gone.  Jason and Elijah found a few crabs at the beach and then Elijah had his turn with his boat in the tub.

I made popcorn, a much loved snack in our family, and we played a new game we bought at the toy store called "Pop Up Pirate."  Jason was the last one to do it, and his competitive spirit couldn't hardly stand it!! HA HA HA!! I had to rub it in of course, isn't that what a good wife does?
Tuesday, we wake up around 9-10 a.m.  to a beautiful sunny day.  Jason made pancakes and eggs for the boys.  I cut up some fresh cantelope and watermelon for my breakfast, my stomach needs a break from all this vacation food!  We called and made reservations for Jason and the boys to go on a pirate ship adventure.  I REALLY want to go too, but it is midday and I don't think that is a good idea for the baby, so it's a guy adventure this time.  It will be great bonding time with their Dad, and Ava and I will go shopping while they are out on the boat.  I also made my spa reservation to get a facial and reflexology pedicure, I can't wait for Thursday!! :)
We ate lunch and dinner at the condo today. lol  Dinner was yummy, parmesean crusted tilapia, grilled veggies, and sun-dried tomato foccacia bread.

We had an early dinner so we could spend the afternoon at the beach.  Earlier in the day, we rented some bicycles to ride around the island.  The sand is really compact here so you can even ride them on the beach.  We rented a little carriage for the boys behind one bike and I put Ava in her Ergo carrier and rode the other bike.  We headed off to the beach and rode our bikes to a nice little tide pool.  The boys played and Noah built his first sand castle all by himself.  It even had his boat hidden inside , lol, he was so excited!

Ava woke up from her little nap and did not want to be in the carrier any longer once we started back to the condo.  So we stopped to give her a break and a chance to dig her toes in the sand.  And I couldn't resist a mini-photo session, she's just too cute!  I could take a million shots of her.

Jason offered to carry her and push one bike while I drove the bike with the boy's carriage.  It was not an easy task to manuever those little dudes on a narrow sidewalk in the dark!  It was close to a miracle that we made it back in one piece.  Then I turn around and see Jason had really rode behind me with one hand holding Ava, the other on the handle bars!  Lawd, no wonder the guy we past said, "you guys have really got your hands full!"  And he didn't say anything because I would have never let him do that, good thing it was dark and no one called child protective services! :-/  But since we all made it back in good condition, it was something to laugh at once again.  Maybe we are crazy for the things we attempt with 2 toddlers and a baby, but it sure makes for an interesting life, lots of stares, and a few comments here and there.
We came in and bathed everyone, ate popcorn, and the boys called Pa and Nanny, then went to bed.

Jason and I watched cable for a bit.  We don't have cable at home anymore so it feels like a treat.  Now it's time for us to go to bed.  I am really tired and having allergy issues or something, so good night for now.
Big day tomorrow for the boys, can't wait for Volume 3!!