Here are a few things I learned on our vacation to Mexico for this week’s seven quick takes. Click here to join the carnival. Enjoy!
1. You do not need a sweater in Mexico in the beginning of May… just in case.
Seriously, I took a sweatshirt for each of us, just in case once the sun went down it was chilly. Sometimes when I’m at the ocean and I’ve been in the hot sun all day, I need a sweater. But not this time…. Not in Mexico. Not on the plane. Not anywhere. They were just dead weight. And when you’re lugging two kids and a bunch of activities for them to do in the car or plane, dead weight is just that… dead weight.
2. There’s something about getting in small, dark, cramped places that remind me I’m claustrophobic.
There are certain things about myself I forget until I’m in the middle of a panic attack. One of these things is being afraid of heights – something I was reminded of while climbing a rock wall a few months ago (and yes, I made to the top after much self-regulated breathing). Another is that I’m claustrophobic. You might remember Henry and I went snorkeling in a cave after visiting the ruins at Tulum. I was all right when we were in the part that was half exposed to open air. It was when we went into the all enclosed part when I had problems. And honestly, it wasn’t even that we were inside a cave… the cave was expansive in most parts. The problem was the stalagmites and stalactites coming down at different places from the cave ceiling. When they popped up in my peripheral vision it made me feel like the ceiling was coming down on my head. It didn’t help the guide instructed us to swim with one hand at our forehead like a rooster comb to make sure we didn’t bump our head on anything.
As a sidenote, heavy breathing is accentuated when you’re ears are underwater.
3.
This is antimicrobal skin cleanser that came home with Ryan after his first (9 week) stay in the hospital. It was for cleaning his surgical wound. He healed up so fast there is 95% of the bottle left! I decided to take it to Mexico because I knew we’d be in the water and wanted to be safe. I’ve heard if you clean an ocean wound (from sea urchins or coral, etc.) right away they heal a lot faster and without infection. I didn’t know what we would encounter so I threw it in the bag.
We used it the first day we were there on Henry’s brother’s ankle. I rock!
4.
Similarly, I threw in a first aid kit I got on the cheap (on sale and used a coupon) for any minor cuts and scrapes the kids might get. I took it with us when we did our site seeing too, because you just never know. Clayton, my brother-in-law, saw it in my backpack when we went to Cozumel. He laughed to himself thinking ‘why in the world would we need that?’ He wasn’t laughing when he cracked his knuckle on a rock at the beach and I offered him soothing antibacterial ointment and a protective band-aid when we got back to the car. In fact he was humble and gracious and told me how wonderful it was that I brought it. (really I’m not usually this prepared, I just felt I needed to bring these things since the kids were with us.)
5. If you’re going to buy a hat, for goodness sakes, buy one that has a string to hold it on your head.
When picking out hats on our way to Chichen Itza, Henry and Natalie randomly got hats with neck ties, Ainsley and I did not. Ainsley and I spent the rest of the week chasing our hats and alternatively making our arms tired by holding our hats on our heads; or giving up and carrying them. Henry and Natalie enjoyed their site seeing while a string held their hats on for them.
6. It’s better to wear sunscreen and get no color at all than to get a terrible sunburn.
Several in our party decided to skip lathering up with the heavy duty sunscreen and had to stay inside for a day while the rest of us played in the sun. So sad. And so painful.
Or you can be like Natalie who wears SPF 50 and still tans a beautiful bronzy brown.
7. Taking the kids on vacation is simply living the same life with different scenery.
What are your summer vacation plans?
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (3)
LOL completely agree with #7! We leave today for our vacation in the Smokey Mountains…with our 3 children! Say a prayer 😉 Cause we are driving!!!
I like all of these, but can especially relate to #7. When My mother and sisters took our families to the beach, I was a nervous wreck. If Seth wasn’t getting too far into the water, Polly was walking away from us up the beach. Needless to say, I got my tan standing up that year. Same situation, different scenery. Well said.
And, how great it was that you were so prepared – even if it was just because you brought the kids along.
Glad you all had such a great time!
I will be vacationing to the hospital to have a baby.
😉 I am going all out this time, nice PJ’s to take, I am insisting on the therapy massage after delivery. Hopefully , to top things off my gestational diabetes will be gone and I will enjoy one big milkshake holding one cute baby girl!