Guys! We’re having a blast on our vacation. Nolan thinks he’s in Cancun for Spring Break. He has literally been up partying all night. ALL NIGHT. And by “partying” I mean flailing around in our bed (he’s not a co-sleeper, but apparently he is a vacation co-sleeper!
He thinks this means that he should perform a routine from Cirque du Soleil in the middle of the bed, throw in some periodic Irish step dance moves, and yell out random words that pop into his head). Basically anything that was exciting to him during the day (Mickey! Cousin Abby! Bus!) is coming out of his mouth in a stream of verbal vomit at night and landing all over my ears. And Brian’s ears. And probably the ears of Melissa (sister-in-law) and little Luke (cousin) as well, since they have the misfortune of sharing a room with us.
It got so bad that Brian was forced out of the room with Nolan at 3:00 a.m. (after 90 minutes of in-room partying/step-dancing). Nolan and Brian took a walk – hold the phone – until 6:30 a.m. Yes that’s right. I woke up at 6:30 to find both of my boys still missing, and briefly thought that they had been kidnapped.
Nope, not kidnapped, just walking off a little steam for hours on end!
Now Brian is a zombie.
Nolan is on-top of the world, ready to party. Again.
Heading to the Clubs
Help us.
I knew that traveling with little Nolie would present us with some challenges, and that I *may* not be able to uphold all of my super impressive regular life mom standards while we’re on the road. (I mostly made up that bit about having super impressive standards in the first place, but just roll with me here).
Anyway, things are a little, shall we say, “looser” on the road. More flexible. Ok, kind of a mess, yes.
Not only did we not enforce the “you sleep in your own space” rule we have at home, but we have also just completely let all of our standards fly right out the window when it comes to nutrition.
Last night Nolan discovered ranch dressing, and basically ate an entire tub of it by dipping the same french fry over and over and over again and just sucking off the ranch. It was gross. And kind of awesome.
Piglet Is His New Role Model
We’ve also been telling Nolan that pretty much anything that’s a solid food is a “cookie” because he knows he wants cookies. He’s not an idiot, you guys.
Oh yes, and we’ve also been telling him that everything that obviously doesn’t look like a cookie is “ice cream.” Because he knows he wants ice cream. Again, he’s not an idiot you guys.
So basically, we are trying to trick him into eating by pretending that all foods are junk foods. Which I’m sure won’t mess with the development of his healthy eating habits. (Blind confidence is key here).
We’ve also been letting him eat his meals like he’s a small, feral animal. Just today he found some of his grilled cheese sandwich in his cousin Luke’s shoes. Did we allow him to eat this exciting snack out of his cousin Luke’s shoes?
Why yes we did. Because that’s how we’re rolling on vacation.
Exhibit A: Ranch dressing feeding frenzy
Exhibit B: Grilled Cheese Lunch in His Cousin’s Shoes
You know what the thing is about all of this? I’m not going to feel bad about it! Not one bit! Nolan’s cholesterol will return to normal levels in a few days. He will not be up partying all night spring break style next week. He won’t always eat his meals from the dirty shoes of his cousin.
So let’s hear it! What rules did you let slide this weekend? Confession time! And let’s rally around each other, eh? Sometimes it just makes you feel better to realize that we all let our children live like feral animals once in awhile!
Ly
Lolz. I actually could have written this post. We were just on holidays twice in the past month (once to Boston and once just down to the south of Ireland). Aoife did the ranch thing with Ketchup (if only we had ranch here!) but it’s made with tomatoes so she get her serving of fruit and veg, right? I bribed her with snacks so she would be quiet while we walked…aaaannnnddd…. When we were in Ireland, she woke up EVERY.DAY.AT.FIVE. and the kids channel here doesn’t start broadcasting until 7. BLURGH. I nearly cried every morning. All rules are off on holidays!
Liz
5-6 a.m. is baby “power hour.” I think it’s when they get all their best thinking done 🙂
Mer
Thanks for a much needed Monday morning laugh Liz! I love it!
Liz
Thanks Mer! We aim to please.
LP
I love the photo of Nolan heading to the clubs. Reminds me of John Travolta strutting down the street in Saturday Night Fever. Here I am people; the party can begin now.
Liz
Yes! That’s the exact vibe he was going for.
Sarah J.
Oooh- we went to the beach during nap time (to clarify I mean all of us- not just me and the hubby while kids napped at home– that’s apparently against the rules). Then upon our return the kids vegged out in front of a full length movie. We followed that with a healthy (by that I mean large, not actually healthy) portion of Chinese for dinner! I can’t figure out why my little guy was up 4 times between 4am and 5am!? Enjoy letting it all slide.. sometimes it’s fun being able to say “yes” to everything we Moms usually have to say “no” to!
Jessica
I absolutely love your last statement, “sometimes it’s fun being able to say’yes’ to everything we Moms usually have to say ‘no’ to.” We have yet to go on a family vacation but I honestly cannot wait! Although, I know we won’t be throwing away ALL of the rules but it will be nice to just let some things go that I would normally stick to my guns on.
Meaghan
OMG i love this. Not only am i one of the crazy Disney people but i completely relate. We visited my parents in FL in March. My daughter was off her rocker the whole time. We never co-sleep but after two days of her getting up at 330 for the day, she would snuggle with me for a few mins then pass back out. Everything will right itself at home. I also always thing you need a vacation from your Disney vacation afterwards. Maybe that’s just me! ENJOY!!
Shannon
My son does that with ketchup too. But I especially relate to you on the “step dance in the middle of the night” thing. We just experienced that literally last night camping. Our lovely neighbors on one side played their radio until 11 PM after which our lovely neighbors on the other side picked up the slack by yelling loudly and singing happy birthday multiple times while playing beer pong until 1 AM. Of course, my two-year-old also thought it was time to party and just kept doing laps around the tent, bouncing off of everything. Once the drunkards calmed down, my husband had to drive around in the car for a while to get my son to get to sleep because he was so hyped up.
Denise
Girl! We were all about breaking the rules with our little dude at Disney World. Naps in real beds? Nope lets go until he passes out in the stroller! Regular bedtimes? But fireworks! Balanced meals? Grapes and milk you guys!
He loved every minute and it was magical. #nojudgements
Denise
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