the best vacation EVER, EVER, EVER

We had the absolute best time in Cancun. The hotel we stayed in was called the Gran Caribe Real and it is an all-inclusive family-oriented place on the ocean in Cancun, Mexico. It was our first time traveling with other families (6 other families, exactly), our first time in the Caribbean and our first experience with an all-inclusive, all-you-can-eat-and-drink place.

Activities
Without boring both of my readers (haha) with the daily play-by-play, I will just put it out there that the food was outstanding, the fruity drinks rocked, and the activities were so much fun. There was bingo, super-sized jenga, bracelet-making, spin class (O.M.G), aqua aerobics, games in the pool, step aerobics beside the pool, paiea cooking lessons on the beach in the biggest pot I have ever seen, kayaking in a beautiful lagoon, bike-riding down a narrow sidewalk with scary traffic flying by, shopping, bargaining, and being accosted in the black market, karaoke, hammock-swinging, beach-walking, and lots of laughing, talking, and great times with friends.

General notes
Notes to self for next time: take computer with me, as the place has wi-fi, take only 5's and 1's because stuff is so cheap and don't get any pesos because they are happy (thrilled) to take American money, take more clothes (even though it is vacation, it is the Caribbean so people dress up and look nice even in swimsuits), remember that just because we can eat everything we want doesn't mean we have to, stay in Playa del Carmen for a little more family vacay and a little less college spring break (although that definitely added to the celebratory and social feeling of our hotel, which we loved), get a massage in the evening (rather than the morning) and then shower before hitting the sundeck because the oils they put on your skin block any sunblock from working and make you bake like a Gorton's Fish Stick in the Mexican sun.

Food, food, and more food!
Did I mention the food was really, really good? I mean, out of this world, best stuff I've ever put in my mouth delicious? There was a 24-hour snack bar place which was the smallest and least delicious of the places, but it would rival any American hotel continental breakfast and was changed periodically throughout the day. The kids loved it and the constant coffee was awesome. Strong and black - just like I like it. There were also two other buffet restaurants that had so many choices I couldn't possibly list them all. All of the choices were generous portions, freshly-cooked, and perfectly-seasoned. There was a humongous variety so everyone had something he or she liked at each meal: hamburgers, fruits, steaks, chicken, pastas, seafood, chips and salsa, lots of vegetable salads, yogurt, breads, fajitas, tacos, and some good old American staples like mashed potatoes, french fries, and one-pounder hot dogs. Everything was wonderful - there were bars in every room of the place just about, and even the most exotic fruity drinks could be enjoyed with each meal and all throughout the day. There was one restaurant that we could not get into because it was booked, and one that was an outside place that was cold in the evenings and hot during the day, but still had yummy, richly-marinated grilled selections. A poolside sushi bar also had some appetizer types on the menu, but I never got around to eating there. I can not say enough nice things about this hotel.

Drawbacks - and they weren't very many
The only drawbacks I had with our entire trip were that there are often workers around the hotel trying to talk the visitors into spa treatments, expensive excursions, and club membership (aka timeshare) presentations. Due to the nature of the economic situation in Mexico, these services are lucrative and extremely helpful to these individuals. You can't fault them; they've got all these tourists walking around wanting to do stuff and they stand to feed their family if they can talk them into one or two extras. When we went to the Flea Market we were literally harassed by the workers there to buy stuff and come to this store instead of that store and pay the best price and it was annoying and stressful. I still loved it because I was all about the experience and that was part of it. The whole trip was so, so fun - I was just happy to be out of town that I was cool with whatever we did, so long as we were safe. Speaking of which, we never felt uncomfortable in the least bit in our hotel, only a little at the flea market, and a teensy bit at the airport. Also, I had a hard time getting my shower to the right temperature, and one of the other family's shower backed up on the last day....hated that for them, but pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, in which 31 people went to another country together for spring break.

beautiful pictures from a beautiful place

from the road (written 3/19/2010)

Yesterday, I wore my birthday present to myself, a new Spanx one-piece body suit ($98.00, Spanx.com). It is a super-compacted, mega-spandex-on-steroids bra/tummy minimize/panties/girdle combo that goes from your shoulder to your knees. I have to share a couple of amusing anecdotes about them (it?? Is it singular or plural because it is a combo-garment. I think for the purpose of this blog, we will consider is singular – one body suit ).
First – the crotch is a flap, but when stretched within an inch of its life(as mine was) it makes for a crotch-less piece of apparel. I wore a skirt to school and some kids were on the floor listening to a book, but I did not walk across any of them, only around the perimeter of their circle.
Second – It takes an aerobic exercise to get into said bodysuit and another to get it off to go potty. I Only went twice yesterday at school. Before going during sixth period, I asked my friend (one of my favorite BFFs) if she was okay watching my class and told her about my new, expensive undergarment of which I was so proud, and that it might take me 30 minutes before I could get back. I was sweating at this point because it was so hot in my room, but I had to go and I had to poop for the second time in one day, which is unusual for me. I have decided the Spanx bodysuit acts like a toothpaste tube and squeezes the contents out the nearest opening. Anyway, I take off my security badge, my sweater, shirt, bodysuit, and skirt and am hurrying to do my thing in there when the fire alarm went off. We had just had a fire drill on Tuesday. Fire drills are always on a Tuesday, when it is sunny, during third period. Always. Either someone mischievously pulled it , or the building was really on fire. And I was completely naked, with the uber-compression body suit around my ankles. I decided quickly that I would take my chances in a fiery, smoke-filled building before running out there into the student body in my less-than-completely-covered-body. I was sweating again by the time I got done redressing, and the all-clear was announced just about the time I got out. Sheesh,as if I weren’t already, at this point, I am so ready for spring break.
Third – I still had it on when I went to my friend’s casa to check how many inches we have lost in the last 42 days of doing P90X because we all left today for Nashville to fly to Cancun tomorrow morning. I totally think it was unfair that I had that thing on because I totally would not have lost as many inches as I did – 9 or 10 all total I can’t remember – but never in a million years was that all from P90X, but probably from the corrugated lycra that squeezing out my poop. Oh, well, I’ll take it and I am so excited to be going somewhere for Spring Break!!

“I gotta go where it’s warm” ~Jimmy Buffet

Never Again
Mark my words all you people out there in cyber-land. I will never again leave for vacation on the same day as the end of the nine weeks. I just can’t do it. I had a hotmess in my room today with everything that the kids were trying to turn in and all of the laundry, packing, shopping, getting my hair did, etc. We also just finished a service project in my advisor session and I have to have a substitute on Monday when I get back because Whitaker has an appointment with the new endocrinologist. I am stressed out but I finally got out of the classroom in one piece and on the road to Nashville. I heart my family so much! I can’t wait to be on the beach in about 18 hours!!!! Yay!!
I already lost the new sunglasses I bought just for this trip. Great. We also have to buy a new camera because we can’t find Whitaker’s camera anywhere and we decided to just buy a new one instead of keep looking for it. Hopefully it will turn up soon after we get home.
If you are reading this, please pray for a family that I know that has a little baby at home and just had VERY premature twins who are now in hospitals in two different cities receiving intensive care. I cannot even imagine how difficult that would be. All we can do is pray for them and that the babies grow and develop fully and become shining examples of God’s love and amazing healing power.

I'm not very good at .....

.....many things, but one of them is running/walking on the treadmill. Walking and eventual running have always been my favorite form of exercise (or anything I do with other people) but I have not seen great results since we got the treadmill. Of course, you do have to actually get ON the treadmill in order for it to work. I did start getting on it about seven months after we bought it. Now, my problem is staying on it.

First of all, I am still distracted by home-type things, such as the washing machine finishing and the television shows that are on. Second of all, I get a little hung up on the numbers of laps I am walking (???) and calories I am supposedly burning. My thoughts go to such places as the following: How do they know how many calories I am burning because that is different for each individual? How can it say I have walked two laps when I haven't gone anywhere? Why does the incline make such a difference and if I walk with a higher incline will my quad muscles actually get bigger instead of smaller? AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! In other words, it's like a mental breakdown, Amy style.

Thirdly, and most importantly, however, I am currently struggling with the treadmill because I am lazy. L. A. Z. Y. lazy. Previously in my life when walking, I would walk up to three miles away from home, be ready to quit, but have to get my fat ass back home somehow. This is the most successful running plan for people as lazy as me. That is why I need to be like my sister (who is not lazy and has more work ethic than anyone I know except my workaholic husband). My sister, whom I admire for lots of other good qualities as well, walks outdoors, year round, in VERMONT! I, in southern Indiana, or anywhere I have lived for that matter, have what I call a three-degree comfort zone. It is somewhere between 74 and 77 degrees with a slight breeze. If it is hotter than that, I am complaining, sweating, and light-headed. If it is colder than that, I am FREEEEEEZING, shivering, and loudly griping to anyone who will listen about how uncomfortable the weather is, how I miss Florida, and how my natural insulation (fat) should keep me warmer, but it doesn't. (It's really not quite that bad, but almost.)

Another bonus about walking outside is that I generally spend most of the time praying, listening to worship music, recognizing my blessings and not my challenges, and thinking about things I need to change in my heart. It seems much more focused, mature, and beneficial mentally and spiritually, as well as physically.

Thank God for the girls I have been doing P90X with for the last 7 weeks, because if I had to do it all on the treadmill, I would have gotten nowhere. Of course, I don't know how much I have lost because I am not weighing, but I do feel better about myself than I did when I started working out in January.

Loving the Tony Horton concept of not saying, "I can't" but phrasing it, "I am currently struggling with....." It seems so much more positive and hopeful, even when the fact may be that I truly can't, like basically ANY of the push-up and/or pull-up varieties in the P90X videos. All of us have come such a long way with our strength and our stamina....I am amazed at how exercising makes you feel about yourself, not just how your body feels. I plan to stick with some form of exercising after we return from Cancun.

Hopefully not the treadmill. love and hugs

It's not all about me.....wait, maybe it is

Ok, just kidding. It's all about my family.

Today I had an appointment in Louisville with Tretter at the endocrinologist. It rained all the way up there and was uber foggy, but we made it with time to spare. The place was so full we both sat on the floor in the waiting room, but I didn't mind at all. There are so many kids there with more significant problems; I am thankful we could sit on the floor, that Tretter is such a trooper, and that we don't have to go there any more often than we do.

I had a long discussion about both boys with our Nurse Practioner. She is great - more like a mom from mom's group than a doctor, which makes it so easy to talk through things with her. We discussed Whitaker and how he is scheduled to see the new Pediatric Endo in their office. (March 29) She explained to me that it is a woman and she came from Cincinnati Children's, which is supposed to be outstanding. Should we need another opinion about Chiari repair surgery, she would be well-qualified to recommend someone at Cincinnati. He is scheduled for another set of comprehensive back, neck, and head MRIs on May 8 and an appointment 3 days later with the neurosurgeon.

She looked at the X-ray of Tretter's left hand that I had taken with me from Wednesday. By looking at the amount of space left in the growth plates, doctors can tell the bone age of a child, which is not necessarily the same as their chronilogical age. We have been doing this since the boys were one and two, when they first fell of the growth chart at their well-baby visits and were referred to a pediatric endo in the first place. At that time, eight years ago, both boys were diagnosed as being "constitutionally delayed." Today, Tretter's bone age was 7 in the radius/ulna and 8 to 8 and a half in the phalanges. (I am so proud of myself for learning all the medical lingo). She said we will measure him and weigh him again in 4-5 months, whenever we have to bring Whitaker back, so we can calculate Tretter's growth velocity (the rate at which he is growing) at that time. Reassuringly, she said that we have time before the growth plates fuse, should he need growth hormone treatments.

She ordered a lot of bloodwork, which was done in their office today. After discussing Tretter's migraines and urinary issues, she wondered if we needed to do some more MRIs to determine if there is something like a tethered cord or other spinal/cranial issue going on. They will call us and tell us when he will have that and it will take place at Kosair. She is going to call me with results of blood tests and the results of the lumbar MRI and we will go from there. She also gave me the name of the neurologist they use if Tretter does need to see someone about his migraines and they are not tied to another subsequent diagnosis.

Then we went out to eat at an awesome Mexican place across from Trinity High School followed by a solo trip to the mall, which was beautiful, like an out-of-body experience. Okay, maybe not that good, but it was pretty productive. I got the following items: shorts, jeans, and two pairs of kacki pants for John in a smaller size (because he has lost almost 30 lbs.), some rocking Ray-Ban polarized sunglasses to protect his eyes, and a pair of red flip flops for him to wear on our trip; two more two-part bathing suits for the boys for the trip to Cancun (in 7 days); two bras, three pairs of panties, two miniskirts, two t-shirts, two rash guard bathing suit tops, and a package of different-colored Under Armour hairbands - all for ME, myself and Irene. pictures to follow. eventually, when I fix the blog and figure out how to upload pics.

Still have not weighed since before Ash Wednesday. might start to twitch if I think about it too much. Better stop thinking about it. Hope it is going in the right direction. :-0 (that is me freaking out a little bit)

Fill in the Blank Friday: So much fun

Thanks to my cyber-friends at http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/ for the Fill in the Blank Fridays; here are last week's and this week's answers, since I am little behind.

By the way, I am behind on my blogging because I have been obsessively reading these two blogs:

www.skinnyrunner.com and http://fatboyfitnessblog.com/


Okay Fill in the Blanks:
1.One thing I MUST do before I die is live in Manhattan, but I will have to be an old woman because my husband will never move there, and I am not looking to lose him any time soon.
2. I would rather be well-liked than accomplished; would rather feel like I fit in than feel like I am successful.
3. If I could give my younger self one piece of advice it would be you are good enough, you are smart enough, and doggone-it, people like you!
4. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd do so many cool things, starting with splitting it 50/50 with hubby right off the bat, so we would never fight over what to spend it on. Then I would donate to a lot of charities that I like and maybe even create one myself. Then I would quit my job and get a Ph.D. just because I could finally afford it.
5. The best surprise ever was a trip to Europe for my 3rd real birthday when I turned 12 years old.
6. My biggest fault is eating too much and biting my cuticles. Seriously, I have to stop. Both of them.
7. My biggest strength is being resilient and bouncing back, over and over and over. God never gives up on me, so I can't either.

1. When I'm nervous I laugh even when it is inappropriate. It's awful and I am working on it.
2. My favorite item in my closet is an orange pair of Victoria's Secret sweatpants that say "PINK" across the butt and "GATORS" down the leg. They aren't very flattering, but they are oh, so comfy!
3. Watching trashy reality TV is only fun if it gives off a positive vibe, like Project Runway and Ace of Cakes. Then I can't get enough. I say, "No, thank you," to crap like the Kardashians, Houswives, and anyone who finds it entertaining to curse repeatedly and argue.
4. My favorite childhood memory is decorating the Christmas tree with Christmas music playing.
5. Something you may not know about me is I love to write (on my computer, of course!).
6. A true friend does not judge you, but understands you, doesn't have to agree with you, but will never talk bad about you.
7. Something I hope people think of when they think of me is that I may not be very nice before I have coffee, but I am at least tolerable after I have coffee.