Travel

Most people lose sight that they are less than a grain of sand in the grand scheme. More see themselves as the entire beach. Many fail to see the expansive desert that surrounds it – Maurice Aherne

We where travelling through the sandpit… You know 5 minutes from our house. Nothing out of the wack here!

To set the scene, you must picture sand swept hair, the peaceful sky, calming sounds… Enter Mylittlelove Aoibhie.

She literally hates being in the desert. Sandpit at playground- fine. Beach- fine. Dirt in garden- Bring it on Mammy. Throw her into the desert and run backwards to take a quick snap- you will hear her screams in Australia!

What is it with Littleloves and being awkward? How do they suddenly decide that – you know what? I hate this?

Sand is not on her only hate! She also hates if you ask her to do something, trampolines that have zips, showers that are in doors- outside with the house is always ok. She hates strawberries that look like strawberries but loves the strawberries that look like blueberries. Please dont tell her its a blueberry though or she will hate that too. The list that is as long as the great wall of china goes on!

We just call this list Aoibhie-isms and we embrace them in our house hold!

We moved further into the desert today and stumbled across this beautiful lake. It was full of ducks and swans. I literally felt like we had taken a flight down to Perth, Western Australia to the local park. There was black swans by the plenty. Aoibhie was in heaven and thankfully forgot about the sand that was stuck to her chubby feet.

I mean look at it! You wouldnt believe we were in the sand pit would you? Until you turn the corner and you feel lost again! Thank goodness for Google Maps ey?

I cannot wait to bring Littlered on Saturday. Hopefully she will be like me and super excited about this Dubai Gem.

Clearly this is not Mylittlelove Aoibhie’s special place…

Happy Weekend!!

“Did you ever notice that the first piece of luggage on the carousel never belongs to anyone?” ― Erma Bombeck

Up at 3.30am allergic to the 10hour flight ahead. Slight confusion as we appear to have accumulated more things since going to bed last night. How did this happen? Mammy hasn’t even shopped yet! Did the Teddy’s breed since we put mylittleloves to bed?

We knew they would each pick their favourite (Fuffles and Pinky) but we had forgotten that when your small, you don’t want to leave any teddy out. The suitcase reappeared with 2 Frozen characters, 4 Barbies and the whole cast of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but as I hadn’t had a coffee yet and it was “stupid a’clock”, anything that promised to make our flight easier, mylittleloves happier and the whole airport experience hassle free was of high priority.

We flew with Emirates as they have a direct flight to Bali from Dubai. Thankfully check in was easy and Aoibhie managed to be the first on to the plane. Why isn’t there a prize for that? Mammy upgraded to Business perhaps? They walked onto the plane like they owned it and settled in knowing what was ahead of them. Mylittlelove Cadhla-Rose who is 6 has been on 17 mostly long haul flights (holy moly thats a lot) and Aoibhie who is 2.5 has been on 10 of those flights. We had free Wifi and all of our seats were together which is a luxury!

I feel like every holiday we find one item that we couldn’t have done with out! This holiday was our first using the amazing Babyzen Yoyo. If you haven’t heard about this dreamy travel stroller yet, it was the first pushchair to be approved for cabin luggage (measuring only 56x45x25cm when folded up). It can be folded with one hand in a few seconds – and there is a strap to carry it over your shoulder like a light baby bag. Our last two trips we have been told, “your stroller will be there for you when the door opens” – LIES… it is never there! So thankfully this light stroller is as easy to push and easy to store. You can purchase it from Just Kidding which is our go to shop in Dubai or for stockists world wide you can go to the Babyzen website.

As you can see by this post, I felt like I was winning! Granted this winning feeling didn’t last long. A few hours into the flight we had already watched Frozen twice and a few episodes of dora the explorer, Aoibhie realised that she was allowed to use the bathroom (oh dear). She also realised that sticker books are more entertaining in the bathroom. Stickers all over the mirror and me trying my best to peel them off when she wasn’t looking as I really didn’t want to end up on passenger shaming. Then realising your seat goes up and down… who knew? My personal favourite was asking everyone she could see, “are we there yet?”

One hot tip for Mammy’s out there when travelling is to make sure you have spare clothes for YOU. I assumed that because mylittleloves had travelled so many times without being sick that they would never get travel sick. Unfortunately this was the flight I would learn! Turbulence was rocky and poor little Aoibhie couldn’t take it any longer – this Mammy was destroyed! Bye bye to my new 4 in 1 Gap dress.. it was nice knowing you! In future I will be dressing comfortable and layers!

I wouldn’t have traded this mad experience for the world though. ALWAYS travel when you have the opportunity. I’m guessing that 10 to 20 years from now we won’t remember the times that tested us on our adventures but we will remember the beauty that was wanderlust bali, the funny family moments and the new friends we made…

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the relegion and avoid the people, you might be better off staying home” – James Michener

Who said you cant travel with kids?

I am starting to realise some of our favourite holidays have been with our little loves. Yes, when mybiglove said he wanted to go to Bali with mylittleloves, I thought he was off his head! I mean Bali, full of luxurious resorts, the Gilli Islands and beaches kept the way God created them.. Why would you bring kids? Second honeymoon perhaps? Anyway, he was right again! Here are our top ten activities…

1. Monkeys hear no evil, monkey see no evil , monkey speak no evil! Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud is a forest whose main inhabitants are monkeys! The ticket costs 20,000 rupiahs (5Dhs) and you are able to buy bananas to feed the monkeys on your way into the sanctuary. As you walk through the forest, monkeys approach you and quietly observe if you have anything that they might fancy. You would really want to wear a bum bag with anything worth money kept locked away inside. They are soooo cheeky but so clever! Cobblestone lanes lead you through a maze-like paracours that finishes at a temple. Monkeys are able to roam around freely and so are your littleloves.

Tip- not buggy friendly.

2. Beach Walk in Kuta, is stunning. You feel like you are in South Beach, Miami. This shopping center is not only very upscale and trendy, it’s gorgeous and has astounding architectural details everywhere you look. From high-end dinning to a very authentic and varied food-court you will find just what you need and kids will absolutely love the floor that’s devoted to them. With fun playgrounds, arcade game area and even a cheeky monkeys play centre, it will cater to everyone’s tastes. We had dinner here with our littleloves most nights. One restaurant we loved was Sadrina. With stunning views of the beach and a selection for the whole family (plus happy hour) we where all happy!

3. With a Safari Journey , Aquarium, Petting Zoo and a Bali Agung Show the Bali Safari & Marine Park has everything you could possibly want to see within the same place. You can ride on Elephants, pay to take pictures with snakes, monkeys and baby tigers or just enjoy visiting over 300 species of animals. We stayed away from the food court however there is a restaurant called Uma that had something for everyone. Entrance into the park is 750,000 Rupiahs (200Dhs) for Adults and 600,000 Rupiahs (160Dhs) for children over 3.

Tip- Stay for the Bali Agung Show. (4:30pm Daily)

4. You are in Bali. You are at least entitled to one Balinese Dance show despite your husband’s reluctance and mylittleloves restlessness. They usually don’t take longer than an hour and they provide such an authentic scenario of Balinese culture. Gamelan music and colourful costumes can keep the kids entertained for a while. I believe most of these shows take place at sunset and are performed by “the most beautiful girls in the world” – Cadhla-Rose… Either way Aoibhie was not leaving until she got a photo with the girls!

5. Bali Sea Turtle Society.. This actually should be number one for us but It was our first day and my brain isnt functioning well today at all! (No more bintang for this mammy). This amazing society is based on Kuta Beach and the volunteers dedicate their time to saving and conserving the Sea Turtle. They relocate the eggs from the beach to a safe area and once the eggs have hatched natuarally (around 45days) they are allowed to be released back into the ocean the following day. This is where mylittleloves come to play! You select your turtle and help them into the ocean. Such an incredible experience.

Tip- My tip is TIP them! They need all the money they can get to insure this society stays running.

“Travel brings power and love back into your life” – Rumi ✨

Postcard from Bali…

Well, we survived the 10hour flight from Dubai to Bali which I was so happy about. I had never taken mylittleloves on a day flight purely as I assumed night flights would be easier (perhaps they would sleep more and I would get more time to watch movies in peace), I was sooo wrong! Day flights are my new favourite. You are up in ‘care bear land’ which distracts them for atleast 10minutes.. Colouring books.. Movies.. Disney TV and WiFi (thank you Emirates).. Sticker books and friendly flight attendents.. We arrived at our destination in no time at all.

The only thing I was nervous of was making sure my bum bag was always closed (yes they are in fashion now) and that we only drank bottled spring water (no brushing teeth with tap water). Mybiglove unpacked us all (his OCD comes in handy sometimes) and after the incredible shower we all settled in for bed!

Unfortunately after all my giving out to the kids for drinking pool water, making sure we took time to brush teeth with bottled of water and my constant phrase “use more sanitizer”, I had such an incredible shower that i perhaps swallowed the water and for the next 24hours ended up like poor Charlotte from sex and the city 2! I have a new found respect for that Mammy!

Now we are all back in action. Hooray!

Cadhla-Rose at 6years old is no longer a vegetarian (thank you bali) and Aoibhie has decided ice cream is an acceptable meal 24/7 but do you know what? We are all loved up and full of wonderlust for this magical destination.

(Just a postcard- I hope to fill you in after happy hour)

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