Travelling with a toddler

I've  always enjoyed travelling and according to my Facebook memories, June is a popular time of year for me to holiday! 5 years ago I was holidaying in Hawaii with a group of triathlon friends, I was in peak fitness and competing in the Hawaii 70.3. 4 years ago I was away on a girls trip in Port Douglas celebrating my 30th birthday where we consumed what seemed like a year's supply of wine and cheese. 3 years ago I found myself in a less tropical location, Ballarat of all places (though I was meant to be in Thailand - long story). The last 2 years with an impending birth and then an almost one year old, I found myself remaining at home. This year I am once again on holiday for my birthday, in the tropical destination of Fiji with my little mini me as my travel companion. Gone are the days of relaxing on the flight, reading books and watching movies, instead I found myself desperately trying anything to entertain an almost 2 year old for 5 hours, of which one I was stuck standing at the back of the plane as it was the only place she was calm!

I had visioned days playing happily in the pool, relaxing in the sun, reading whilst she napped. However it appears the water was too cold for my little princess, whilst other parents couldn't drag their children away from the pool I couldn't drag mine into it. She was happy enough sitting on the step splashing her feet and soon enough I realised that was actually pretty relaxing, so there we waded in the water, splashing and smiling.

We wanted to go on a cruise out to the islands and somehow a guilable me got roped into a deal where the day cruise only cost $5, the only catch was I had to attend a 90 minute sales pitch at another resort, sure, why not! Luckily for me, Mia decided to be cranky at just the right moment so we didn't have to endure the whole sales pitch and we still got the $5 cruise! Best $5 ever spent! We had a great day out on an island, the water was beautiful, I was relaxed, Mia was happy and the weather was amazing. We even ran into some friends of my brother Sam (small world!) Mia loved the Fijian music and dancing and she behaved so beautifully even having not had a nap all day. This warm weather holiday was benefiting us both! It would have almost have been the perfect day if not for this mornings disasters! When I got Mia up this morning I found her in a cot full of vomit, of course she didn't want to be bathed either! There were toys and books to be cleaned, a toddler to be bathed  and clothes to be washed. Ordinarily I would have found this to be a stressful situation, but not today, we were in no hurry, we were relaxed on holiday! So instead of getting frustrated with the toddler that refused to bath I remained positive and calm and in turn she co-operated. All was going well until she called out from the bath a little agitated, I went to see what was wrong, only to find poo floating in the bath! So spew and poo all in the one morning, great start to a day in paradise! So whilst I may be on holiday from my paid work, there really is never a holiday from being a mum and that includes cleaning up spew and poo. But the memories we made today are worth every single painful moment that sometimes can be motherhood. Tonight as I drank a glass of wine on the balcony, Mia came up to me with her bottle of water in hand and raised it up to say 'cheers', I couldn't have been prouder! On Friday I will celebrate my 34th birthday, Mia of course will have no idea, but I will get to spend my special day with one very special little lady in a beautiful tropical island and if all she does is raise her bottle for a 'cheers' then that will be the best birthday present ever!