Top tips for traveling with kids

Life is a journey and parents of young children know that journey is more about damage control than the destination. Fortunately Jessica and I are able to make frequent trips home and are not only travel veterans but professionals. Due to our husbands work schedules we usually travel as just mom and baby, which can cause major mishaps. Together we’ve come up with our top 10 travel tips in hopes that others will fare better than we have in the past.

1. Looking cute in yoga pants or sweats is totally doable. 

Ok, I don’t want to be crude but let’s be realistic, airplane bathrooms are gross and with a toddler who touches  everythiiiing they’re worse. To make those bathroom breaks lightening fast, and doable with one hand (because if yours is anything like my chamaco they’re probably trying to open  the door) then be sure to avoid:

• any clothing that needs finicky buttoning
• zippers
• anything that needs adjusting.

Easy on,easy off and vamanos (you need to catch that kid who is already halfway down the aisle).

Photo by: themermaidinstilettos.com

2. Cinderella is a fun fairy tale but hunting for a lost shoe in an airport is NOT
A dear friend gave me this piece of advice and I think it is one of the best I have ever heard. Rushing to make a tight connection in a big airport she looked down and  realized that her daughter only had one shoe! She had to retrace her steps  through a busy airport and then bolt to make her flight (both glass slippers in tow) Lesson learned: be sure shoes and all accessories, are securely fastened  before continuing  your journey!

Hanging out at the gate, note the velco shoes!

3. You’re going to make a mess (and that’s ok!)

Photo: dailymail.co.uk

 

We know that kids and mess go hand in hand. You will make extra brownie points with the stewards and your seatmate if you try to keep that mess under wraps.

• bring along an old grocery bag or  two to clean up old snacks or dirty clothes.
• use disposable containers for any snack food.  Note: keep in mind that that  as your belongings become unravelled enroute you’ll be freeing up space in your bag

4. Sharing is caring! You’ll need two pens.

Photo: seeknewtravel.com

 

I learned this during the airline version of the Hunger Games last Easter while trying to fill out immigration forms next to a demanding toddler.  I made Chamaco his own ink free pen (shhhh, he doesn’t know!) that looks like mine. Now he can scratch away at a piece of paper, the back of the seat, his pants for all I care!  I am free to fill out  those picky forms.

5. Toys with multiparts? Not unless you want to get reeeally cozy with your seat mate.

Photo: thetomatos.com

 

Last Christmas I made the fatal mistake of bringing a Mr Potato Head with us.  Fantasies of constructing new faces and stretching my child’s creativity quickly  crumbled as Mr Potato’s ear was hurled into the back of 9A’s head…. Somewhere over Ohio I was pawing through the 11B’s carry-on hunting for the hat while the Chamaco sprayed apple juice at my (saint-like) seatmate. Lesson learned: if it comes apart, forget it. If you can’t afford to loose it,  leave it at home. And lastly if it hurts when  thrown, don’t bring it.

6.Ooooh, shiny! New toys are a game changer

Speaking of toys, new (compact, unbreakable) toys will be a godsend when travelling. I  find that the new toys Chamaco takes a liking to are ones that are closely related to what  he is playing with at the moment. The golden rule: don’t show your cards too soon. Wait until an almost meltdown or at least midflight to reveal this little tactic. 

Getting bored!!

7. Crafts are fun, clean up is not.

Photo: Blitsy Crafts

 

One thing I love to do with Chamaco is drawing. It keeps him still and helps him relax. One thing I despise is clean up. Luckily those toy geniuses have  solved the problem for us. Chamaco has 2 things we always travel with.

• The first is a Mess Free Activity Pad (pictured) which is basically a layer of gel against a light up background that also plays music. You and yours can doodle to your hearts’ content without risking unsolicited redecoration of your seatback.
• The second is a Water Wow by Melissa and Doug. This is a small colouring book that  comes with a paint brush (don’t recoil! I promise, it is parent friendly). All you need to do is fill the paint brush with water and hand it over. As your child dampens the page colour will appear  along with unseen details! Even for me it is mesmerizing.

8.Ice, ice baby! Layer layer layer

Sometimes planes are cold, sometimes planes are hot. Best to be prepared for anything. Bonus points if your layers are easily compactable and don’t take up a lot of room in your carryon. Those layers can also become helpful between that dirty airplane seat and your baby’s face if they nap midflight. 

Nap time!

Thank goodness for blankets

9.Snacks upon snacks upon snacks.

Photo: travelsort.com

 

Airpoint/airplane food is expensive, unhealthy, and full of fat and sugar. Set yourself up for success and bring along healthy snacks from home. Plus,  when your kid upends that bowl of cheerios onto the floor you won’t be out $8-10. My favourite snacks for the Chamaco are cheerios, corn, dried fruit and  homemade sandwiches. Avoid bringing sticky or bulky items and juice.  If I need to deal with a  spill (and chances are I will) I way rather water.

10. Don’t forget, almost everyone on the plane has gone through what you’re going through, or they wish they had. 

My second flight with Chamaco was on the heels of our first one (which was 6 hours long). He was 6 months old and  we were exhausted. It was late, it was dark and he had a meltdown on a packed, delayed plane. I tried hush him while near tears myself. A  passenger told me, “Look, most of the people here are parents. We’ve all been there, we get it. Don’t worry and just do what you can. It’s ok.”

The best part is always the snuggle time

Lesson learned: Probably you’re the only one freaking out. It is ok if at some point you’re a mess because we have all been there. Remember, you’re doing a great job and you’ll laugh later. But hey, misery loves company so if you have a truly toe curling story and remedying tip leave it in the comments! Bon voyage!

 

Puerto Morelos Beer Festival

We are fortunate enough to live in a place that is filled with beautiful beaches and plenty of things to do… and the occasional festival. This past weekend we both attended the Puerto Morelos Beer Festival presented by Soy Cerveza. But before we tell you about the festival we need to tell you why this day was important to the both of us.

A few months ago we were planning to go to the “Puerto Morelos” Beer Festival. We both made sure that our husbands would be available to join us and that the kids were slathered with sunscreen and ready to go. Katie had been talking this event up a lot and I was really excited to attend my first one.  We arrived in Puerto Morelos first (before Katie had even left her house) to find out that this Beer Festival was actually in Morelos, Cuernavaca…. many hours away.  So since that day we’ve had an inside joke about the Beer Festival but have also been looking forward to it more than ever.

The two day long festival was set in the heart of Puerto Morelos right in front of the beach.  There were probably over 100 beers available (we were too busy drinking them to count), plenty of local food stands, music, and handmade crafts and lasted from 12:30 to 11 p.m.

 

Even though this was a beer festival, my mission was to try as much food as my stomach could handle.  We sampled a pulled pork slider from DK, a local renewable restaurant that was built from recycled parts. They also had a delicious “Arroz Taiwan” with coconut rice.

We HAD to have shrimp and fish tacos since Puerto Morelos is famously known for being a small fishing town.  Restaurant Doña Triny’s had 7 different types of tacos with homemade salsas and fresh tortillas. Tacos not shown because we ate them too fast!

 

We needed to cool down, and Chamaca’s  face was starting to turn red.  So we walked across the street to cool down with some ice cream for the baby while we sipped on our ice cold beers.

Due to our hubby’s schedules we weren’t able to actually be at the festival at the same time.  We went during the day, and even though I went to the gym in the morning, I swear I burned more calories standing in the sun and sweating than I did working out. Katie was able to go at night when it had cooled down and experienced a little bit more of the nightlife and live music.  Her Chamaco stayed with a sitter so she and her other half were able to enjoy a nice date night.

Life in the Mexican Caribbean is always a blast but being able to enjoy festivals like this one is a special treat. We had a fantastic time checking out the local breweries and some new tasty food. Thanks again to Soy Cerveza for hosting, we’ll see you again next year. And hey, if we ever make it out to Morelos (the city, not the port, Katie!) we’ll check that one out too!

My Healthy Marinara

Getting our kids to eat more veggies isn’t always the easiest task. I love to cook and spend time in the kitchen so I decided to take my culinary skills to a new level; cooking unique meals for my daughter.  Chamaca is a pretty good eater but she gets bored easily if given the same thing everyday.  I decided to try out a healthy marinara in the hopes she would like it and I ended up eating more of it than she did!

Ok, full disclosure the colour is only slightly reminiscent of marinara but luckily toddlers don’t seem to mind.

As evidenced by the Chamaco!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This recipe is packed with veggies, fairly quick and easy to make, and can be frozen in batches to be used later!

Photo: yourveganmom.com

• One head of celery chopped
• One large onion chopped
• 4 carrots chopped
• 3 zucchini chopped
• 1-2 cups of frozen spinach
• 1/2 cup your choice of Marinara
• Water add as needed

  In a large skillet I combined all of the vegetables and cooked them until they were soft. Then I added them to a blender with the marinara and water.  I prefer a thicker sauce so I used around 1/3 cup of water.  Once the sauce is all blended smoothly together you can serve immediately or store in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to use it.

  Feel free to add some protein by browning some ground beef or turkey and adding it to the sauce for a full and hearty meal. My daughter loves spaghetti and I hate cutting it so we substitute vermicelli and it works great. ¡Buen provecho!

Tell Me More…

After the initial question (How on earth did they end up in Mexico?) you might be wondering, how did they meet?

The short story is, through a local Facebook group. Any expat would agree that social media takes on a whole new utility when making friends in a new country.  After sharing a few expat mommy tip and tricks through Facebook we eventually met up for a play date with a bunch of other local moms and really hit it off.  It turned out we actually have A LOT in common. Since then we’ve spent a lot of time together and luckily our kids get along just as well as we do!

Our blog will be focused on our lives which consist of cooking, parenting, fitness (we both think this still might be a joke), adventures, and trying to find our way in Mexico.  We decided since our kids are barely old enough to put together a sentence, let alone give consent, that we won’t be using any photos of their faces (which is a real shame because man are they cute!) Katie has a 2 and a half year old son who we will refer to as “Chamaco” in our blog posts and Jessica has a 1 and a half year old daughter who we will call “Chamaca” (Chamaco roughly translates to kid or child in English). We hope you enjoy our adventures as much as we do.  Happy reading!

About Katie

 

I made my first trip to Cancun for my 22nd birthday during spring break my senior year of university. I made such an impression that the hotel I stayed at offered me a job! The plan was to come and work in Cancun for 6 months to soak in the language, culture and of course the sun. Sure enough I fell in love with Cancun and a few years later I found a different kind of romance. Now 6 years later my mexi-adventure includes my husband, son and our 3 dogs. My goal is to lead a life that explores and celebrates both Mexican and Canadian culture while enjoying every minute of living in paradise.

About Jessica

When I was 21, I was living in California, serving tables, and just trying to get by in Silicon Valley.  That all changed in July of 2010 when I met my now husband.  We dated for a year and a half before calling it quits.  I picked up two more jobs over the next year and he moved to Cancun.  One night, after two bottles of wine, I called him confessing my love for him and surprisingly he admitted the same.  I was on a plane a few months later for my first trip out of the country.  I stayed in Cancun for 2 weeks with him and they were the best 2 weeks of my life.  We went everywhere and saw and did everything.  I loved everything about the place, especially him.  But when those two weeks were up I had to return back to real life and do what made sense.  So I sold everything that I had and bought a one way ticket to Cancun, Mexico. Three and a half year later I have a house, a dog, a car, a daughter, a husband and a pretty great life. I’m choosing to live out my American dream, just not in America.