Mexico: Lounging Around

That's what a big part of this trip to Mexico was for Frank and I, taking time to relax while the kids played or playing right along with them in the pool or at the beach.

Enjoying the breeze in the trees, and the sun on our skin. Few things relax me the way a day in the sunshine can!

Traveling with kids can be tricky if you want to relax, we've found that out the hard way when we get frustrated that they need our attention when we want to sit and read. So, on this trip we chose to stay at a resort (our first resort experience) that had a kid's club and lots of activities for kids...it seemed like that would strike a good balance for us and we wanted to try it out. Usually when we travel we like to be independent, usually renting a small apartment through VRBO, but we especially enjoyed that at the resort all of the meals were taken care of and all we had to do was show up when we were hungry!

What we found was that even though there we organized activities for the kids they were happiest just playing in the water.

Jasper tried snorkeling for the first time and loved it, so he spent hours perfecting swimming with his mask on,

While he spent hours searching for things in the water we relaxed on chairs nearby, I even got to read a whole book (Stephanie Meyer's The Host, totally recommend it as a beach read).

Another reason that I chose the place where we stayed was because it was in the jungle, with natural pools (called Cenotes) through out the property, lots of jungle trails and even Mayan ruins right on the hotel grounds.

In the evenings animals would come out in the jungle and it was fun to look around for them, we saw turtles, Spider Monkeys, Coati Mundis, Iguanas and Macaws. 

Mexico: Phone Hijack

So while I was busy coloring with Carys on our flight back from Mexico I gave Jasper my phone thinking he'd just play the couple of games that I keep for him on there, and this is what I found later....

Oh my goodness silly boy, I got a real giggle out of them!

I do remember him taking this last one, I should have known!

Mexico: Mayan Riviera

We just returned from an amazing week long trip here,

  here,

 and here...

enjoying the beautiful Mayan Riviera near Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

One of the big ironies of being unexpectedly expecting our third baby is that we had lots of big travel plans for the future. Really big plans, we even had a family schedule for the next 5 to 10 years all mapped out of where we wanted to go, places like Bali, Thailand, India and Central America. I love traveling and my kids definitely have the travel bug too, we drag "homebody" Frank along on our adventures, but I think he really likes it. All of our big travel plans will obviously be put on hold for a few years now, while we have number three this summer and probably until he is a few years old.

So, we wanted to take one last big trip just the 4 of us before I get too big and uncomfortably pregnant. I didn't want to travel too far, but we still wanted some place exotic enough that it felt like an adventure. Plus, I speak Spanish after spending part of my childhood in Argentina, so I love being able to use it!

Mexico seemed to have just the right balance of all of these things and we had a great time, I can't wait to share about our trip here this week!

Pink Blossoms

Today we celebrate the official first day of the Spring season, happy day! My body feels a little confused this first spring in Charleston as it seems like we've been welcoming spring in since February when the early tulip Magnolias started blossoming. It feels so early to me but I welcome it.

Our favorites so far have been the pink ones, in our neighborhood there are massive huge Azalea bushes, which Carys picks from to make endless bouquets.

A nice surprise was to find that we have some small Azalea bushes underneath my favorite palm tree. I didn't realize that they were Azaleas until the buds started forming, it will be fun to watch the bushes grow bigger each year.

Another nice surprise has been these pink fire bushes next to our front steps.

The kids and I did some spring planting in our small front containers with Pansies and Sage. They look so great against this wild bush, each blossom looking like a fire work.

 

See, its like a pink explosion,

Then there is my favorite, ever! I have always loved Red Bud trees, and always wanted one. So last summer when we did our garden renovation I had a small Red Bud tree planted...and then waited all winter to see these blossoms,

Our little tree did not disappoint, I think she's just lovely!

Since I really can't contain myself in my excitement for spring here are a couple of other blossoms, not pink, but so pretty,

This is one of the plants that actually never stopped blooming throughout our mild winter, I know that they are related to the hibiscus plant but I don't know much else about them beside that the kids think they look like fairy lights.

 Spring is here!

Finding Sand Dollars

When I started my morning walks on the beach in January, I also unintentionally started a new collection....sand dollars. They are shells that I've always loved, I remember searching for them for hours as a child on the beach in Florida, but had only ever found one whole one before, on my birthday last summer. So, imagine my surprise when I started finding them, many of them, as I walked on the beach each morning.

They would appear in the shallow waves, washed up in the retreating tide, embedded in the sand. My friend Marianna who walks with me sometimes said that she has never seen someone find so many of them. It was as if they were appearing for me, or maybe I just tuned in to them and began noticing them at every turn! 

Now I've got a pretty large collection of them, in every size and with soft variations of color.

For now I've lined them up on the window sill in my studio, along with my grandmother's green glass collection,

And along shelved through out our house, sprinkled in with other treasures. I'm hoping to make something out of them for the baby's room, it seems like they are meant to be for him somehow. I'm still deciding what to make, possibly putting a bunch of them in a pretty window box mounted on the wall? I'd love to hear ideas if you have them!

Happy Weekend! xo

Belly

I thought that it would be fun to finally post some belly shots, so I snapped some the other day just out of the shower, these are the first ones that I have taken this pregnancy. I'm in my 18th week now, almost half way!

I am feeling worlds better now than I was even a couple of weeks ago, I have definitely turned the corner with my morning sickness and it feels so good to have my energy back and to be feeling good! I've also started a great prenatal yoga class that is kicking my butt in a good way and helping me to meet other mamas. The class welcomes pregnant mamas as well as mothers who want to bring their babies to yoga, this is especially fun for me right now as being around babies gets me excited for what is to come, its all feeling more and more real each day.

Here are a few other shots of life around here these days....

fort building in the family room happens more often than not here,

The vacationing tourists on spring break have started to become a part of my morning beach walks, the ocean water is still cold but they are out there playing and we've been having a string of great weather in the 70's, feels like spring has sprung.

Carys usually has one of the kitties in her arms, its love all around,

Our kids recently asked for their own rooms, which has been a project that I've been working on, I'm looking forward to posting pictures of that soon. Since they have always shared a bedroom, it has been fun for me to now decorate a specifically "boy" room and "girl" room for each of them. Jasper has chosen a safari theme and Carys wanted a mermaid room, both of which have been really fun!

Sending a bit of the sea to where ever you are! xo