The art of ‘vacationing’ with kids.

First and foremost, going on a trip with kids in tow should lose the title of vacation. To me the word vacation implies a period of time when you get to sleep in, not clean, not be a referee and most importantly, get to RELAX. When you bring tiny humans on a trip with you that is a TRIP. Not a vacation. You will still have to wear all your hats, just in an unfamiliar environment with cranky,exhausted kids. 
We recently planed a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. We were able to find an AWESOME deal on a condo on Certifikid (like Groupon but for kid and family oriented deals) We stayed at the Historic Powhatan Resort and loved it. The kids had their own room and best of all, we had a kitchen! My toddler is doing better in restaurants finally but it was nice knowing we cook in the condo instead of taking him out if he was cranky. 

I meticulously packed, planned and prepped in hopes that if I was 100% organized and prepared we would have a relaxing and enjoyable time. I even planned a daily itenerary!

See all that planning and all the fun stuff we were going to do?
Here is a photo of how it actually went

Nothing went according to plan. The weather was cold and damp so our outside plans didn’t workout.  Our restaurant plans got rearranged due to wait times and attitudes.  Thankfully I had planned ahead and brought lots of games and movies. We ended up really enjoying hanging out in the condo having good ole family bonding time!
This was our first family trip and It was full of trial and error. Here are a few things I will keep in mind for future trips!

The hot mess moms guide to not losing your sanity on vacation 

1. Try to stay in a condo instead of a hotel.

You will have more room to hide from your kids.

2. Eat in the condo as much as possible.

Cranky kids and restaurants never end well. If you do want to go out, buffets are a good option since they eliminate wait times! (Unless they have a line wrapping around the building)

3. Don’t over plan your day. 

Pick the activities you really want to do and spread them out over the course of your trip

4. Keep scheduled nap times if possible.

Rested kids are happy kids!

5. Bring favorite games/ toys. 

Even though we got to do some fun stuff, it was awesome getting to relax and hangout with each other.

6. Most importantly, let go. 

Do your best to relax. If you are like us, family trips will be few and far between. Enjoy it while you can!

7. If all else fails, remember the GOLDEN RULE! Don’t go anywhere until your kids are old enough to stay home alone. TA-DA! Vacation!