Sanibel '13

It all started three weeks ago at Lukie's 15 month appointment.  I told the pediatrician that if she said his ears were clear I'd be shocked.  A week of whining and not sleeping for more than 3 consecutive hours - oy.  So she took a look and regrettably said that in fact they were clear.  Dang.  Fast forward one week and GG has a temp so I took them both in.  And while she was fine the doc examined his droopy, goopy eyes, his cough and inside his ears and declared a "raging" double ear infection.  Time for antibiotics - cefdinir to be exact.  Let me take this moment to say how much I hate antibiotics.  They wreck my kids' stomachs and I'm never entirely convinced they're taking.  Two cranktastic days later I got a panicked text from Auntie Erin while I was at work, saying Lukas was burning up.  She gave him Tylenol and a cool bath and by the time I got home and all that night he was fine.  The next morning he was in a great mood heading in to school and I thought we were on track to Health City...until the meeting I was leading was interrupted by someone telling me daycare was on the phone.  Sh*t.  Luke had woken up from his nap with a temp of 103. I had to run back into the conference room, collect my things, and high tail it out of there.  Super professional.  Upon arrival he was just the saddest thing I've ever seen.  Limply leaning against one of the teachers who was rocking him in the sick room, heat just eminating off of him.  Back to the pediatrician.  After 4 doses of cefdinir not only were the ears not better, they were worse.  My options were to switch oral antibiotics, or go more directly to the system and do a series of 3 intramuscular shots of rocephin.  It was Thursday and we were set to fly on Sunday.  Shots it was.  These shots went deep into his little thighs and by the second one he knew exactly what was happening.  Poor Bubbie.  So another trip to the pharmacy and another day of leaving work early...getting ready to lose my mommy marbles in 3...2...1.  So where was Matt during all of this?  Working on a global issue that had reared its ugly head the week before.  12 hour days at work followed by conference calls with China every night.  He honestly didn't even know what day it was.  There was only one solution to all this crazy: VACATION!

Sunday finally came and we loaded up the kittens and headed to the airport. We had a direct flight, snacks pouring out of every pocket, and Luke's ear numbing drops.  Let's go! 

kids in jammies

with donuts!

The flight was pretty uneventful, although I will say thank god we were a 1:1 ratio. She was fine but he was a normal 15 month old being wiggly and having the attention span of a gnat. Flight attendant! Cocktails!

Grandpa Karl picked us up at the airport along with my mom. That's right folks, K&K had an extra bed so they invited my mom to join. The good news was that with three grandparents at our fingertips, we would for sure get to spend some time alone (little did we know). We gathered our piles of luggage, strollers, and carseats, and loaded into the rental van (note to self: do not even test drive the Grand Caravan when it's time for a van. Blech).

It was so nice to be in the heat and humidity. The instant we got to the condo it was time to strip down!

this is the life

would prefer to be in a dress than almost anything, ever

Sunday night we decided to keep things easy and just order a couple pizzas. So Karl called in our order...we should have known something was amiss when he said, "You don't deliver? But your ad says you do." Somehow he got confused about where he was ordering from, the fact of which was driven home when he and Matt walked into the joint he thought he had ordered from and they ran smack into the delivery guy. So as the children were melting down and I got a text from Matt saying, "going to be late. Dad's confused" I decided maybe we should just have some cereal and call it a night. See? Easy.

We spent almost all day Monday and Tuesday rotating from the beach to the pool and back again. The weather was in the low 80's and perfect for water fun.

Less perfect was the fact that we happened to arrive during Red Tide, an algal bloom that causes obscene amounts of hacking to those at risk. Like people with asthma or other respiratory issues. Read: my mom. So as you read the rest of this post just imagine hacking in the background.

cool dude

first time those 20 little toes have dipped in the ocean

back on the beach after nearly ::gulp:: six years

lukie and grandma red tide

gg was easy to spot from miles away in that pink suit

maio men in front of the condo. couldn't get any closer!

this chair is just my size

love that goofy grin

in the pool and happy as a clam

unlike big sis, this one has no qualms just leaning right into the water

swimming and sun?  didn't stand a chance. ps - how long does he look?!?

Monday night we went out to a fun restaurant called Cheeburger Cheeburger, specializing in huge burgers and make-your-own malts. Yummy! This was the start of a running joke throughout the trip. Cheeburger Cheeburger was located on the main drag called Periwinkle Way. They featured a lot of silly schwag for sale, including t-shirts proclaiming "I made a tinkle on Periwinkle". Well guess who just thought that was the funniest thing she had ever heard. And since we were on Periwinkle almost every day, there were a lot of tinkle giggles. It was at Cheeburger Cheeburger that Genevieve took over the camera, as she did several more times throughout the rest of the trip. Some of her shots are hilarious, some look like Rorschach tests, but overall it's fun to look through the lens of a 4 year old.

gg at the photo helm for the next few shots

nom nom nom

We did more beach and more swimming on Tuesday. Who could argue? Tuesday afternoon Matt and Karl went to the store and returned with the fixin's for mojitos, which I am deeeeeeeeeeelighted to announce Matt totally perfected during our time away. They have since been elected the official drink of Wautoma '13. Woot!

one day in the humidity and the curls just erupted!  i loved it

i don't know where she gets it

jumping for sand castle joy

wandering out to the sand bar

he doesn't know whether to look at big sis or to mimic the sand pipers which he obsessed over the whole trip.  future ornithologist?

shell creations

she dang near crushes matt's skull every shoulder ride she gets

ahoy!

three generations of maio men.  one of these things is blonder than the others...

hello, tiny clone

windswept

the curls!

watching for more 'tweet tweets'

our view.  rough, no?

this is what happens after two non-stop hours in the pool

Tuesday morning we started with breakfast at a place which claimed the world's best (which I think was discovered via the pizza parlor hullabaloo). I won't say it changed my life, but it was pretty good. Until it was time to pay the bill. Because the royal 'we' had not agreed in advance of who was going to pay, my mom and Karl nearly got into a fist fight over who had the privilege. I was only mildly horrified until Karl returned to the table, turned to me, and said, "Your mother bit me." Sure enough, there were teeth marks on his wrist. Exactly how many children were on this trip?

i'll order the eggs with a side of physical abuse

After that, um, incident, we stopped at a strip mall area to pick up a few more items at the grocery store (should have considered adding 'first aid supplies' to the list). We happened upon some cages which were home to super-exotic-if-you're-from-the-midwest birds so of course everyone checked them out.

loving the muscle shirt on our lean little man

silly afternoon snack face

Tuesday afternoon my mom's middle brother, Dan, drove down from Sarasota for a quick visit. Neither she nor Matt and I had seen him since our wedding so it was nice to hang out and catch up. He brought some ancient photos of my great grandfather and some semi ancient photos of my mom as a young lass, all of which were very cool. We were looking forward to seeing him and their lone cousin, Doris, again on Thursday.

Tuesday night we celebrated my mom's birthday at the Island Cow. It was a great meal, and the person responsible for the bill was decided well in advance. The owner/host happens to be a Harley rider who spends his summers in Door County (Door County Carl!). I won't say that telling him what I do for work got us any major upgrades, but we did seem to get seated rather swiftly.

these kids just love trying out chairs

island cows

karl proclaimed his last visit to island cow was seven years prior.  if we go in another seven years gg will be up to his chin

And here's where Karl and my mom try to teach each other how to count:

 Meanwhile, more GG shots

is she making some kind of statement here?

innocent bystander photo

raw oysters.  i can only get one down but matt killed it

happy birthday!

 

Wednesday was forecast to be the beginning of a cooling trend (which, as we were getting about a foot of snow at home at the same time, was open to interpretation) so we decided to drive up to Captiva for the day. It was only about a 35 minute drive so we had plenty of time that morning to take a beach stroll. Three days into the vacation and our little beach bums were showing signs of wear.

blowing a kiss to the lizard

maio boys in camo shorts

what the...?

girly toes

manly piggies

mumsie, i'm getting a little tired

and buh-bye

man i need to bottle that saltwater air

We loaded up the family truckster and headed north. We landed right at 11:30 which is when the Bubble Room opened for lunch. Recommended to me by a colleague, the Bubble Room is like Friday's on crack. To say that it's loaded with flair is an understatement. There are few things which hold a hungry kid's attention better than trains that spin around the room and dancing marionettes. All five adults enjoyed the famous She-Crab soup...which unbeknownst to us, may have been the beginning of the end. More on that later. 

posing with the camel at our table

monkey on the loose!

bustin' out

After lunch we wandered around the island and got to see some dolphins playing along the shoreline. We were strolling around and of course the ladies got sidelined by an estate and antique jewelry store. And wow, was their collection amazing. Treasures galore! Lots of fun for anyone who loves unique, one-of-a-kind pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries. GG and Lukie got some souvenirs and after a little winking and nudging, so did mommy.

tracking the dolphins

and snuggling a dolphin

what can i tell you geeg, you've got to kiss a few

showing off her souvenirs, a dolphin and shell-purse.  she named the dolphin laura.

kaPOW!  say hello to my little friend.  a 1940s 15+ carat citrine with little deco-style diamonds on the side.  sure i had to trade it for my next three anniversary presents but true love is true love.

We drove back and just grazed at the condo for dinner. Well most of us grazed.  My poor mom hugged the porcelain goddess and truly from one minute to the next got the shakes and chills so bad she could hardly get to bed. Genevieve was sharing a room with her so obviously I hightailed her stuff out of there and into K&K's room. MISTAKE! Imagine the feeling of walking into the living room at zero-five-hundred hours (thank you, still lingering double ear infection. I was hoping to not get more than three consecutive hours of sleep for weeks on end), feeling hopeful that at least one of your kids slept well the night before, and hearing your poor MIL losing her guts on the other side of the wall. Poor Karl was probably thinking, happy 65th birthday to me, and I was thinking: Germs! Germs!! GERMS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I rousted my still sleeping husband and declared that we were getting the f out of there. We went to a playground (on Periwinkle, so more tinkling was required) and decided to try out the nature preserve, Ding Darlings. Since lunch time wasn't far off, we opted for the $5 self guided driving tour through the refuge. You would just pull over whenever you wanted to hop out and explore more. I think the most fun G had was not having to wear her seat belt. About three-quarters of the way through, Genevieve started panicking and yelling that she had to go to the bathroom RIGHT NOW. So I told Matt to pull over, snatched her out of the car, and helped her use nature's bathroom for what ended up to be the beginning of her own stomach bug. Add this to the "you know you're a parent when..." list. You know you're a parent when your kid takes a fiery poo on the side of the road at a nature preserve and the thing you're most concerned about is making sure you carefully collect the used wipes so as not to litter in the refuge.    

dear lee county, thank you for building a playground on the island for us to escape to

lukie, dolphie, and me checking out a tower view at ding's

annnnnnnnd more gg shots (pre-potty 911)

smell ya later, ding

Thursday night we were scheduled to have dinner with my mom's oldest brother and his family who live in Ft. Myers, but given her 'condition' Matt and I took the kids and went solo (PS - obviously her middle brother and cousin's trip was long 86'd). It was not the best idea we've ever had. Genevieve was not in the mood to eat anything and both kids were just beyond exhausted. The restaurant was elegant, so we were kind of 'those' people. Although it turns out Luke is crazy for Mahi Mahi. We wandered up and down the the docks and checked out the very cool boats, so that was fun.

photos by, guess who?

Friday was finally here. The grandmas were still out of commission.  And although Karl didn't get as sick as the ladies, we knew he was off when he said, "I don't even want to think about food."  That is not a KJM statement. So all the grandparents were sick, the kids were turning into monsters, and Matt and I were totally exhausted. Who's having fun?!?!?!?!?

back in sleeves and pants, but with time for one last beach stroll

guest photographer in effect

grandma drags some garbage back from the beach

We loaded the van one last time and Karl drove us back to the airport. He and Kathy had one more night in Florida to recover which hopefully was spent breathing sea air and drinking Sprite.

self portrait

gg-vision.  notice luke's hair has gone completely flat.  boo!

mmmmm, snacks

here daddy, i share my slobbery pretzel with you.  you're welcome.

So there's the good (mojitos!), the bad (stomach bugs a plenty), and the ugly (hi, my mom bit my father in law). We are now veteran family travelers looking forward to our next getaway. Perhaps this time, a deux.