NaNa NaNa Boo Boo…Stick Your Head in Doo Doo…We Went to Cancun…

I think we can all agree…we all need a vaca once in a while!  Well, last week, we ditched the kids and hopped a plane for 7 days in MEXICO!  We went with 3 other couples (8 of us total)  and it was a blast.

We got sloppy drunk everyday…stayed up till 3 in the morning…worked out in the gym…did zumba on the beach...bungee jumped…and didn't get sick ONCE!

(right about now Sam Langfald is saying to herself…"uhhh, we did nothing of those sorts!"


When I day dreamed of Mexico, those were the things I was doing…and then I got to Mexico and realized, I didn't magically have any more energy than I did in Iowa…in fact I had less energy because I was sweating it all out!

I WATCHED others
-get sloppy drunk-I think I had a couple drinks the whole time I was there
-stay up till 3 am- we all crashed by 10pm (but were yawning by 8:30pm)
-work out in the gym-  we intended to…but you had to walk past the buffet and all the good machines were taken
-do Zumba on the beach…HA!  yeah right, not in a swim suit my friends…not in a swim suit!  Ah who am I kidding, I wouldn't do it in a winter coat!
-Bungee Jump- didn't see anyone actually so this, but a random man on the beach offered it to me and I had to pass…
-get sick…it seemed as thought we were the ONLY ones who got SICK!  everyone had at least one day, and we were on a don't ask…don't tell agreement.


here are somethings I learned in Mexico
Phrases:
"NO MAS ESPANIOL!"
"NO MAS"
"BANO?"
"AQUA?"

Culture:
they are obsessed with "coochie coochie"  or at least they think Americans are
they are obsessed with TEQUILA! or at least the think Americans are
Mexican's love Queen and Michael Jackson…?
Don't get the skirt steak…just don't do it!

Around the world:
Britain's can fly to Cancun for half the price we can and they have 10 hour flight…
It does not matter what you wear on the beach as long as the twig and berries are covered and secure…
Not everything can be translated
Ryan is still big in Mexico (they called him MR. Muscles and MR. Wiskers!)
Michael Langfald has many clones around the world…not just Mexico

Here are some pictures of our resort, group shots and our trip to Chichen Itza

the beach was FANTASTIC and the view from our room was nice.

 
We were standing on a sand barge, which was easy for Ryan's hobbit feet but I was gripping with my toes to beat the waves.

Our tour guides to Chichen Itza were a little crazy!  Handing out shots and beer the whole tour!

(and do you notice Michael Langfald's doppelganger?)

 This was the stairs down to one of the mayan sink holes…we were met by two mayan men…painted…and with a tip basket (of coarse)

 We were the first in the sink whole, so we stripped and got it…SO. COLD.  and full of cat fish.  But it was a once in a life time opportunity and we breathtakingly beautiful.  There a boy in the sink hole, who you could rent life vests from, he had a strange creature on a leash.  He didn't speak any English, so I couldn't get out of him what kind of animal it was.  All he could say it "NO! BITE!"  that's all I needed to stay the hell away.  Ryan told me to take a picture, because Riley would know.  Sure enough, when we got home, I showed Riley the picture and he said "Oh! Sure! that's and American Badger…no wait!  That's a Coati!"  I was seriously doubting his knowledge, so I asked "is that with a "QU" or a "C"?"  and he responded "C"
He was right.  He even pronounce it right.  Coati…otherwise known as the Mexican Raccoon.

 Then we taste tested tequilia…which was nice.

 then onto Chichen Itza…which was hot!

 Then onto a Spanish village made from Chichen Itza Ruins

 We had a lot of fun spending time with each other, with friends and making new friends!

Now we are back to reality and peeling.

Ninja-Like Baseball Moves

This year Riley is in a tee wee baseball.  It's a little more organized than last year and we have games.  Ryan also gets the privilege of helping coach…which, I'll admit, I wasn't sure how he would handle ten 4 and 5 year olds…but he does great.  Although the first practice the children looked at him like he was frankenstein.

When this whole baseball thing came into our life…I really thought that Ryan would be the angry parent, yelling and pacing on the sidelines, turns out I'm the idiot.  I will refer you to the link below:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/7e583517e5/will-ferrell-get-on-the-bag

It's like torture watching from the side…while your kid is drawing in the sand or doing some sort of unexplainable karate moves??? (see below)  So this year instead of yelling like will ferrell did, I found a more creative way to direct Riley…

"HERE COMES THE BALL…RIGHT TO YOU RILEY!!!!"
"RILEY!  WAY TO GET ON THE BASE!"
"KEEP WATCHING THAT BALL!"

I tried to keep the urgency out of my voice and sound pleasant, calm and understanding…

To be quite honest, it was chaotic and hilarious, but the kids had a lot of fun, except for the few who decided they were done at the end and either sat down or walk around the bases.  

Riley hit the ball every time, ran as fast as he could (bift it one time) and had some good grounding stops.

Parental Advice

Warning: This is an Unnecessary RANT

Maybe it's because my husband is rubbing off on me or maybe it's my age catching up with me…but I just have to rant about this.  I by no means, claim to be a perfect parent…(I have a 5 year old in solitary confinement as we speak)…I mess up and frequently my kids are naughty, but my husband and I assess the situation and come up with a solution…which is normally a really evil genius punishment (muhahaha!)  I don't google "how do I get my boys to stop fighting" or "my toddler picks her nose, is that normal?" or "5 ways to make your child feel more loved"  I just do what I think is right and what I think will work, sometimes it's trial and error…but eventually we figure it out.

I recently came across an article for the huffington post titled "Stop saying "you're so smart" 3 ways to better praise your kids" here's the link

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-jain/praising-kids_b_5272483.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000037

I did not click on this article to find out "how I can praise my kids better" or because I thought I needed help in this matter, I simply clicked to see what idiotic parenting advice people are handing out now!

I see parents on facebook asking for advice or simply venting their current issues with parenting, and like flies to a light, us other parents offer up THE solution to their problems!  I admit, I do it too…I sometimes feel like I found THE solution…but I am quick to remind myself, my solution worked for MY kids and probably will only work for MY kids.

Just like smart phones are making us dumber, the BEST parenting advice is making us the WORST parents.  Why are we taking advice from books or from people who we don't even know, are we so lazy (or sleep deprived) that we can't come up with a solution ourselves or better yet, why are we searching for a solution…to a problem that probably doesn't even exist!

Like this article about how to properly praise your kids!
…the first 2 paragraphs alone made me want to quit reading this…her whole point is not to praise your kids too much, yet she let a 1 year old control the "shoe situation" and they were late for class, music class by the way (really? we're putting 1 year olds in music class, give them a pot and a spoon…bam! music class and you just saved $50)  Anyways…She blames the fact that they were late on her parental habit of praising her child whenever she does something.  Then she maps out exactly when and how she thinks you should praise your child...

Ya know, I have enough to think about…like if I can make the last couple sheets of paper towels last the rest of the week or what that wet spot on the carpet is and if I want to even risk smelling it, I don't want to methodically think about when and how to praise my kids.

So here's the BEST advice you will EVER get!

Ready?

Don't take any parental advice ever!!!!

Praise your kids when you think they need praised and don't when they don't deserve it!  Spank-Don't Spank…Gluten Free/Organic or Hot Dogs and Mac n Cheese…Co Parent or good old fashioned Child Neglect…who cares, it doesn't matter.  You and only you control how your kids are raised and if they are little monsters, that is your fault and your fault alone.  No book, Medication, Doctor, Teacher or Blogger can fix parents...