We’re back form a whirlwind weekend in North Carolina for my 10 year college reunion. We had a great time, but man is traveling with Emerson getting more difficult. It’s not the actual plane ride, but disrupting her schedule, keeping her safe when she just wants to sprint everywhere, and getting her to sleep when she is stimulated by everything around her! On to the fun stuff!
We rented a beautiful lake house with all of my girlfriends and their spouses.
I think I enjoyed relaxing at the house even more than the reunion events. The weather was perfect and the lake was so peaceful. There’s nothing better than sitting around with snacks and drinks and friends.
Matt stayed behind with Emerson on Friday night while my friends and I went to hang out on campus and then to the local bar, The Brickhouse, for a few rounds of drinks.
Emerson was up early on Saturday, so Matt and I went into the town of Davidson for the morning. We walked around the neighborhoods, had breakfast at an old favorite cafe, checked out the farmer’s market, and hit up the bookstore for gear. We had lunch back on campus where they had a bounce house for the kids. Emerson had no fear and was jumping all over the place. It was pretty hilarious and she was soaked head to toe in sweat when we got back to the house. Matt and I were finally able to relax a bit more during her one true nap of the four day trip on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday night was the formal dinner on campus. Matt and I hired a sitter, but since she had never met Emerson before, we tried to put Em to bed before we left for dinner. The exciting day, plus a late nap, thunderstorm, and extra clingy-ness led to an hour of crying before we could get her to sleep. We ended up being super late for the dinner and missing half of it:( We still had a great time but crashed hard when we got home at midnight. The weekend went by so fast and I’m really sad it’s over. I wish all of my friends could live together in one big neighborhood! I’m am relieved to be home where everything is baby proofed and I have a separate room for Em!
Krista
June 12, 2018 at 9:54 amI totally get it. Traveling with a toddler is no joke. When we travel (my daughter is 2.5) we have to have a hotel room or house where she has her own separate room where she can sleep or else it seems no one sleeps well. I’ve kind of just said to myself this isn’t our season for travel because I don’t enjoy my vacation if I’m walking around like a zombie because I’m so tired. I know this season will pass in a few years so there is hope on the horizon 🙂
Laura
June 13, 2018 at 2:09 pmShe’s just sooo unpredictable!
Kath
June 12, 2018 at 10:23 amI’m still scarred from the trip to the DR we took when Mazen was 2. He didn’t nap for an entire week and went to bed at 11pm and got up at 6am the whole time because we were all in one room and he can’t stand to miss a minute of excitement. You can imagine how his mood dropped throughout the week. I swore I’d never share a hotel room with him again! That is until he turned 4/5 and now he’s cute to share a room with : )
The lake house looked great! I wish we had done that for our reunion, but we couldn’t get enough people to join in.
Andrea
June 12, 2018 at 12:27 pmAhhh travelling without a separate room for your toddler is the absolute worst. I feel your pain!!
Denise
June 12, 2018 at 9:26 pmHonestly, as much as you think your toddler will “be fine” and it will be no big deal to bring them, expectations vs reality are something to consider. As much as we, as parents, want to attend events and still participate in everything (like the good old times) sometimes you just gotta give. I get not having someone to watch my child (3 children now) but I also appreciate my own sanity and relationships with my friends/husband. So, the next big event, consider how important it is to you to have “me” time vs “mom” time and is it worth it.
Liz
June 13, 2018 at 7:51 amOh yeah, we’ve definitely learned that we cannot travel without a separate room for our 19 month old unless we want to not sleep. It kind of sucks to have to pay that much extra, but it’s worth it (usually we just try to get a one bedroom with a separate area to watch TV and put him in that space. But there has to be a door to that area! If our kid knows we are in the same room with us he will harass us all night).
I have a different problem from you – our son generally adapts well to new places and adjusts to new sleeping schedules fairly well (knock on wood), BUT he’s a bit of a nightmare to travel with. Planes, cars, he hates ’em all and NEVER sleeps. I always said I would keep traveling a lot with my kids but it definitely makes you consider putting off travel until they’re a little older.
Laura
June 13, 2018 at 2:08 pmYeah, I’m thinking beach houses are our best bet for the next couple of years!