Category Archives: Traveling

My Finds Friday – Vacation

Posted on September 21 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Happy My Finds Friday, vacation edition!

What a lovely, lovely mini-vacation it has been, I have gotten so much accomplished, including plenty of relaxation. Wednesday I spent the morning getting into a new series, Scandal, it is soooo good, I wrote a couple of blogs posts and then I went on a nice long and luxurious bike ride around Buffalo. I do enjoy taking Emmett with me in his trailer, but sometimes it’s nice to get out their on my own. I came home, made myself a nice lunch and relaxed some more.

Thursday, after taking Emmett to take day care I came home and cleaned. Cleaning is totally NOT relaxing or fun, but it needed to be done and having things clean makes me feel so much more relaxed overall. So it’s win-win! I had made plans with my sister Bridget to meet in-between her college classes and I completely forgot, I had gotten so absorbed in my cleaning that I let our lunch date slip on by. Thankfully she has a nice long break between classes so I was able to shower and get out to Panera, before she had to go back to campus. It was really nice to get to sit and chat with her, it had been so long since we had an opportunity to do that without any interruptions. Seamus was picking up Emmett, so when I got home I went out on another bike ride. It has been such a beautiful 3 days, I’ve gotten out and made sure to soak every bit of it.

And today, today has been wonderful! Seamus took the day off and we’ve spent some time just being a couple. We went for a leisurely breakfast and then ran a few errands, we relaxed watching some TV and talking. It was lovely! Seamus went to workout and I blogged, I’ve been blogging like crazy since I’ve been off. It has been heaven! Tonight we’re meeting my parents and siblings for dinner at Danny’s, I can’t wait to see everyone.

Now for this week’s My Finds Friday – Vacation

I hope to one day go on vacation with Emmett and even though we don’t currently have plans for traveling, I like to google and see what I can find as far as great family friendly vacation spots. This article on Parents.com shares the top 10 family friendly resorts, there are some really great options.
The thought of flying with Emmett makes me a little squirrely. I have no idea what to expect or how to even handle the situation if it should come up, Jaunted has a great article with some fantastic tips on how to fly with a baby or toddler. I will be bookmarking this one!
And here’s a little shameless plug for myself – Kendra Thorton wrote a guest post with some tips on traveling with a loving family.
Have you made the most of Pinterest when it comes to pinning your pins? If not, check out Reviewz ‘n’ Tips article on ways to increase your repins.
Fall is coming (or is it here?)! Either way, it is apple season and what better food to make with apples than apple sauce? Emily Bites has a lightened up Slow Cooker Applesauce recipe, and it seriously looks DEEEE-licious!

Be sure to stop on over and give all of these finds some love!

Your turn!

What vacation finds do you have? Share away by linking up below!

Filed Under: My Finds Friday, Traveling

Guest Post: Traveling With a Loving, Happy Family

Posted on July 22 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

I’d like to introduce Kendra Thornton, she will be doing some guest posts on my blog from time to time. Kendra is a travel advocate, TV spokesperson, PR businesswoman, proud wife and mama of 3. She’s a long time travel expert who has been packing her bags and traveling the world since she was 3 months old! She’s found her utmost desire in life is right in her own home. She has mixed her excitement for travel by bringing the taste of authentic cuisine to her own home with some of her unique recipes and sharing some of her personal traveling tips. You can follow Kendra on Twitter here or visit her website Thorton Public Relations.

I love my family, and I love to travel, but I will be the first to admit that the two do not always go together at first glance! When you are trying to make the plane while hauling a crying toddler or you need to deal with another chorus of “are we there yet?” from the back of the car, you may want to tear out your hair, but listen to these tips instead!

Tip 1: Eat Before the Amusement Park

Everyone knows that the food at the amusement park is terribly expensive, and on top of that, it is not good for you. Take a moment to eat a good breakfast before you go in. To prevent nausea, leave the fast rides for later in the day and spend the morning seeing the sights and opting for the smaller, slower rides. This ensures that you can see the park without worrying about finding food that your child needs to eat.

I use Gogobot to always check their reviews for family-friendly hotels. When we went to Florida, I scanned through their list of Orlando hotels and found a great spot that had both a quiet hours policy at night and a free continental breakfast for kids.

Tip 2: Buy Some Bottles of Water at the Airport

Children can get dehydrated and cranky about it without even knowing, and this can be a problem on the flights. If you are getting ready to board a long flight, make sure that you pick up a few bottles of water at the airport after you go through security. This can help ensure that you and your family are comfortable during the flight.

[photo credit]

Tip 3: Wash Your Hands, A Lot!

When you go traveling, you are going to be confronted with a lot of germs that are foreign to you. Teach your kids to keep their hands away from their faces, and encourage them to wash their hands whenever they get a chance to. Bring along a bit of lotion to prevent chapped skin, but washing your hands with antibacterial soap can keep everyone much healthier. There was an SCA survey conducted that found 40% of adults do not wash their hands after sneezing, coughing and leaving restrooms!

Tip 4: Audio Books

If you have a lot of driving or dead time to deal with, make sure that you download some audio books onto your phone, your media player or your iPad. An audio book will not trigger any sort of nausea or headache from the motion of the car, and you will discover that it can help your children stay entertained for hours.

Tip 5: Consider a Red Eye Flight

Red eye flights may seem a little extreme, but they can be fantastic for your kids. Keep your kids up until the flight is ready to take off; in many cases, they’ll love the late night treat! Then they can sleep through the discomfort of the flight and they will wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when you get to your location.

Traveling with kids can be a little trying, but the memories that you make are typically worth it! Take a moment to think about what you need to do to keep your family happy!

Filed Under: Family, Guest Posts, Traveling