March brought us our much anticipated family vacation to Cancun Mexico. We flew down & relished in paradise for a good week, but of course that just wasn't long enough (is a vacation EVER long enough?)! Lucky for us, we only had to splurge by buying our airfare for the trip - the rest was paid for by the in-laws. As members of Palace Resorts, my in-laws booked a fabulous trip for themselves, our little family and my sister-in-law, Gabby & her boyfriend, Devon. It was Gabby & Devon's spring break from Alabama, & we all had a great time with each other. Since our flight took off early Sunday, March 15, Rod, Sophia & I opted to stay the night in Atlanta. It started off rainy & cold....I could've cared less as I knew the warm rays of Meh-hee-co were only hours away. Or so we thought. Upon arriving at the Atlanta airport, we were searching for AeroMexico's check-in counter....nowhere to be found. After a few mis-guided directions from airport staff, we found the tiny, tucked-away counter. Then the misery set in. Apparently, AeroMexico is a Delta SkyTeam member, so the two companies coordinate flights, planes, staff, etc. Except the Mexican-based staff must've over-siesta-ed after too many cervezas the night before. The Atlanta AeroMexico check-in staff couldn't locate any of the passengers in the system...are you kidding me? This was NOT happening on my glorious vacay...or was it? It was still b'fast time & I thought I could hold on until I got some coffee until the problem was fixed. You know it's bad news when everyone in line begins to set-up camp right there in line. Laptops, DVD players, iPods, games, etc slowly all came out & began entertaining their miffed owners. The airline staff wasn't telling us anything for a long time. Finally a supervisor showed up & only then did we get any sort of report on the status of our flight. By this point, Sophia was ancy, our emergency reservoir of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish was dwindling (& fast!), we had become good friends with the couple in line behind us and everyone in line was contemplating their SECOND meal already...this had the beginnings of the trip from hell. Finally, after THREE hours of waiting in line - AeroMexico got their act together, secured the list of passengers & began getting everyone checked in. By this point we should've been making our final descent into Cancun! Ugh. Happy to get the 'worst' over, we safely & without further incident made it to our gate. Luckily for Sophia, she had made a little friend in the line earlier & they then got to 'play' before boarding. Sophia especially loved this little Mexican girls piggy-tails...they were sweet to watch playing!
The flight went great...however, I'm pretty sure it was only great because almost every passenger on board depleted the crew of every possible Tecate, Dos Equis & Corona on board! Rod & I decided that it was the only way to start our Mexican vacay out right...so we had our delicious Corona's en route over the Gulf of Mexico. Sophia loved the plane (as usual) & was quite entertaining to those around us. She & a little boy, Charlie, played peek-a-boo over the seats & even swapped toys (Sophia received a motorcycle action toy while poor Charlie got stuck with a plush baby-doll!) for awhile. Towards the end of the flight, Sophia decided that her 'baby' needed a diaper change....she's such an intuitive mother!
Finally we arrived & it was HOT! I giggled to myself at all the poor saps back in Atlanta dealing with cold, rainy weather. Life all of the sudden seemed perfect. We were whisked away to our all-inclusive resort where the pampering began immediately upon our arrival. We were driven to our suite & it was amazing!! It was very coastal/contemporary/chic....and perfect to set-up shop for the week. In our suite was complimentary bottles of wine, beer, liquor, fruit, etc. We even had a private hot tub (never used it as it took too long to fill up...but it was nice to know we had it...ha!). Our patio area boasted a double chaise lounger that Sophia immediately sprawled out on...and who wouldn't love the fact we got unlimited FREE calls to the US? It was heaven. The 3 of us quickly changed into our warm-weather duds & went out to explore. Just a short walk from our suite was a pool/bar/food area called "Los Tacos"...pretty un-original name, but whatever. It was picturesque & perfect! We sat down to enjoy the sun dancing on the water, the deliciously fresh guacamole/pico de gallo and of course...our decadent drinks! Rod treated himself to a frosty cerveza, while I opted to toast the beginning of my vacation right...champagne! Well, it was a mimosa, but whatever. Sophia happily sipped on her Sprite and dined on her 'papas fritas', aka, her french fries. She was the happiest little clam I'd ever seen. Well, second to her happiest-clam-mommy! We soon met up with Patricia, Rafa, Gabby & Devon, who all arrived on a later flight. They didn't arrive without incident either...their luggage was missing! However, it arrived the next morning and everything was fine. The resort offered 14 different restaurants, several swim-up bars, discoteca's, pools & more. We tried as many different restaurants as possible during our week there & I didn't even feel guilty for packing on a good 7-8lbs! Now that's a good vacation! Sophia loved the kiddie pool as she could float in her floatie & still feel her toes touch the bottom...ahh, life's simple pleasures!
One afternoon Rod even volunteered to stay behind on 'nap duty' with Sophia so I could go relax & bask in the sun. I happily trotted off to Los Tacos with my iPod, tanning lotion & floppy hat to catch some rays & a few drinks. I was able to completely relax (& maybe even snooze) in one of the private cabanas...I was pretty sure I'd died and gone to heaven!
Throughout the week, the family all went on excursions - the first being to Isla de Mujeres, or Island of the Women. It was incredible here...I'd never seen water so clear or flourescent in my life. Even parts of the famous 'Blue Lagoon' movie (Brooke Shields) were filmed here!
Rafa & Patricia opted to scuba dive, while Gabby, Devon & me all went to swim with the dolphins. I'd always thought 'swimming with dolphins' was cheesy & overrated, but it was a pretty awesome experience. We got to perform tricks with them & swam with them too...pretty surreal. They are beautiful, miraculous & smart animals - glad I decided to go. Rod had been to Cancun & done the excursions before, so he was sweet & told me to go on the excursion. I'm pretty sure he & Sophia had a perfectly good time relaxing on the beach, eating at the buffet & even doing some crafty things in the Kids area.
Everyone had a great time that day. We had quite the boat ride back that afternoon...let's just say Mexican Tequila Punch / Beer + Rafa + music + sequins = priceless entertainment! Rafa was feelin' the vibe as he jumped up to sing & dance with our tour guides...he slipped on a sequin jacket, grabbed a ukelele & sang along to La Cucaracha! Poor Gabby & Rod wanted to slide underneath their seats in embarrassment, but Devon, Sophia & I were LOVING it! Poor Patricia was speechless....I think that's when she opted for a second drink!
One of our other excursions was to Xcaret (Ish-kuh-ret). It's like a zoo, aquarium, water park & history museum wrapped into one place. Rod, Gabby, Devon & I went on a a snorkeling river adventure - a slight rip-off as we didn't see jack until the end. Still a neat experience. We dried off, had lunch & then walked thru the zoo & aquarium portions. Sophia loved seeing all the animals! By the end of the day they have a big show - it was pretty spectacular. However, both Sophia & I were a bit too tired to really enjoy it. Poor Sophia fell asleep & I about did too. After the bus ride back to the resort, it was already past 9pm. I felt dirty & exhausted.
Our last two days there were pretty relaxing...we got our complimentary mani/pedi's plus our massages. Lord knows I needed that! It was a such a treat. Friday was spent doing nothing but lounging by the pool...it was fun to catch up on college gossip via Gabby & here all about Devon, aka Dirty D & his "DJ" parties/gigs. He'd kill me for calling it "DJ-ing" as he explicity said it is NOT DJ-ing...I just don't recall the proper 'term' for it. Sorry Dirty D.
Sadly, the week came to a fast end & pretty soon it was Saturday morning & we were having to pack & return home. Poor Sophia started the day off all wrong - vomiting. Poor thing up-chucked her dinner from the night before & couldn't keep any liquids down over the next few hours. Unfortunately, Rafa, Patricia, Gabby & Devon's flight left earlier than ours, so that meant Rafa could only give Sophia a quick exam, but boy was I glad he was there. There is nothing scarier than being in a foreign country & your child falling ill. After his instructions of trying to push fluids & bland food, if vomiting persisted he ordered us to go see the Resort Doc. The on-site doc examined her & ordered some anti-nausea meds to help Sophia endure her trip home. No fever, which was a good sign, but still puzzling as to why Sophia kept vomiting. Finally we had to make a game-time decision of whether or not we would go with the meds or the anti-nausea vaccine. Rafa favored the vaccine, so we went with his advice. It seemed to help right away, but Sophia just looked so sad. It was sad to have to leave the resort, but now all I wanted was to snap my fingers or click my heels and be at home taking care of her.
She slept on the bus ride to the airport & I thought we were in the clear for the long afternoon-evening of traveling ahead. The vaccine was to help subside the nausea & make her a bit sleepy. Unfortunately, it worked against us in a MAJOR way. As we were waiting in the sweltering airport check-in line, Sophia lay asleep in her umbrella stroller. Then I heard gasps from a few moms in line behind us...I looked behind & down into Sophia's stroller to find that she had completely (& i mean COMPLETELY) bombed herself with vomit. Her little body & muscles had been so relaxed that the vomit pulled a sneak attack on her. I was beside myself. All I could do was to pull her out, strip her down to the diaper & throw the ruined clothes in the trash. Of course we were next in line & all I had to clean up were the wipes in my bag. Poor Sophia was crying her little eyes out, I was stressed to the max, & the family shirpa (aka pack mule), Rod, was left to haul all our luggage up to the counter & get us checked in. Luckily the moms behind who had witnessed the shock & awe stroller campaign lent a hand where they could. Like any good mom, I had packed a few extra clothes for Sophia just for this very instance. We had to clean out the stroller best we could, but there wasn't much hope for that thing. Gross. By the time we boarded the hotter-than-hell airplane, I said a few quick Hail Mary's & prayed that we could at least make it to Atlanta in peace. No sooner did I finish the sign of the cross, Sophia threw up. Again. On me. Now I was so concerned for her that I didn't think to pack a change of clothes for me. Great. However, as soon as we had gotten seated on the plane, we whipped open the doggy bag just in case...& boy did we have a 'just in case' on our hands! My blood pressure had to have shot thru the roof at this point as I stripped Sophia down again to her diaper. This time I left her in her diaper to keep her cool & to avoid any future bombings. She finally settled down & slept the entire way back to the states. Unfortunately, in order to keep her sleeping meant foregoing my own comfort. My back was cramped & my arm was asleep, but i had a peaceful sleeping toddler. I'm pretty sure for the first hour, I sat miserable in my seat, just letting tears stream down my cheeks...just begging God to be present with us on the flight and to lay his hands on my our baby girl. He did just that. The rest of the flight fine and our arrival to the Atlanta airport was the same. So with the 3rd outfit change, my puke scented clothes (it's uber-appealing, isn't it?) all our luggage in tow, we headed to find our car to head home to Montgomery. We got Sophia all snuggled into her seat, blankie & puppy tucked in too & headed home. Poor thing was exhausted, but managed to keep a bit of sprite & saltines down. Whew. A few hours later, we arrived home, beyond tired, but HOME. Sophia fared fine thru the night until Sunday morning, when vomiting reoccured. After several attempts of clear liquids & crackers not staying down, Rafa had her admitted to the ER. I'm beyond grateful that my father-in-law is a doctor! Poor Sophia got all hooked up to machines to keep up with her vitals, & even donned a sweet toddler's pink elephant hospital gown. However, her biggest concern was the 'owie' on her glowing toe! You know the monitor that is usually hooked up to adults fingers that make their finger look like ET, well, for kids, it's adhered to their toe. After 2 attempts at getting blood for bloodwork, out of both arms, they finally struck gold. Thank God, because that was awful to be a part of. No adult likes bloodwork, but at least you know what's going on & for the most part you are a willing participant & patient. In a kids' case, you have to hold them down because they are totally unsure of what's going on. Moreover, they're terrified because their Mommy is the one holding them captive. Because dehydration was the main concern, they had to call in a pediactric specialist to start an IV. She was a sweet doctor, who brought in a papoose to wrap Sophia up in so that the IV could be inserted safely. Poor Sophia almost looked relieved to be put in that contraption...as she was completely worn out from all the fighting before. They administered an IV in her foot, again, terrible to watch, but at least now she would get the fluids she needed. With both sets of grandparents standing vigil, Sophia then shut her little eyes and caught some rest. We were even able to capture some photos of her first 'official' stay in the hospital besides when she was born.
But have no fear, with all the recent hoop-la over this pandemic of Swine Flu, I assure you she did not have it, nor did any of us carry it back with us from Mexico. Her symptoms were merely that of a stomach bug & not the flu (fever, chills, etc.). We're just glad to be home & back into our usual routine! However, every now & then I daydream of a mimosa while basking in the sun at Los Tacos....ahh, Viva Mexico!
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