Vacations

So I was reading the blog by Dawn http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/ who was featured on ABC and got me thinking it was time to put my thoughts down on paper and I see that she is on vacation in FL and there has been less then Fl like weather there during her trip.

I had a similar situation during my way to over hyped (at least in my mind) Long Beach Island NJ Beach trip. A couple years ago we rented a beach house for the first time and did so with 2 other families. One of which we knew and the second who we kinda of knew through a friend. Our youngest turned one while we were there so you can imagine that it was not all good times and relaxing, but nonetheless we had a good time. However we learned that while we like to go on vacation with other families we really don't want to have to share the same living quarters with them. For example when out 1 year old was crying in the middle of the night because he could see us in our room since one of other families insisted that their son be in a room by himself (but I am not bitter) we were not able to just let our son cry himself back to sleep as we would have at home or elsewhere 1) because we were in the room with him and 2) because we had to worry about 8 other people in the house. So we said that in the future if we could afford it was would rent a house only for us with the hopes others might do the same. Well we took a break from Beach vacations in 2006 for money reasons and because we had a new Au pair living with us and we weren't sure we wanted to take her nor were we sure about leaving her in our house all alone for the week We were very green on the whole au pair thing at that point and looking back she was the one to take not the others that followed her.

So this winter I said I want to go back to the beach but I wanted to go to the north east and I wanted to go when someone else we knew (and liked) was going. Shazam my neighbors were going to LBI too. So we coordinated weeks and anxiously counted down. I was so looking forward to this time I knew I would be planted on the beach most of the day toes in the sand watching the kids play and that by 5pm every afternoon I would have a cold corona in my hands. We drive up to Jersey on a Saturday get ourselves l settled and the next morning we wake to RAIN I look at the forecast Rain the rest of the week with a possible break on Thursday! I think OK we have the au pair so we (My husband and I) can still salvage a little time to ourselves and make the best of the rain WRONG!!! our Au pair from brazil first of all spent nearly half of the ride on the cell phone speaking Portuguese. how rude to sit in a car with 5 people and babble in a different language, on my phone using my minutes!! So on Sunday after our 1st and only trip to the beach with the kids I tell my au pair to stay with them while I run up the island when I get back she is sitting in front of the TV with them and on the cell phone again. later that night we go over to our friends house for dinner and she is to watch the kids while we are there she never lifts a finger and again talks on the cell phone. We take her home and tell her that it was not OK to talk on the phone the whole time and not help out or even watch the kids and also clip her wings as far as the extra money we said she could earn because clearly since it is rainig all she is going to do is sit the kids in front of the TV and talk on the phone. By day 5 neither my husband or I can take the rain or her anymore in our tight quarters so we pack up the family and head home. Yes it rained the rest of the week. When I turned my key into the realtor office she looked at me with such a sad face and said I feel sorry for you I thought you have no idea not only did I lose $2800 for a beach house rental I also was ready to send my au pair back to Brazil because she had clearly lost her mind and thought she too was on vacation when she had been briefed that she was not and that this would be work for which she would be paid.

Needless to say she is gone, we ended up telling the agency that she was not working out. We have another vacation planned for November to Disney and I PRAY that it does not rain and the weather cooperates I don't think I could handle another rain out. However I am toying with the idea of going back to Jersey next year only without an au pair.