Hi again :)
I had every intention of this being a HNR, but unfortunately the start of our trip co-incided with the BTF server being down for a few days, so I wasn't able to post for the first few. After that I got into the groove of my little notebook, so I figured a JBR would do just as well, so here it is...
As a (relatively) new mother I am learning that the key to travelling with toddlers is to be organised, and then to check how organised you are, and re-organise it again until you've covered everything.
For the purposes of definition, 'organised' in this sense means;
Nappies for the younger one, spare shorts/ pants for the not-quite-yet-toilet-trained, juice boxes, chewy snacks for airplane ear-popping, fully charged electronic devices, things to re-charge said electronic devices when you've landed, favourite toys, and throw in some coloring pencils and a small paper pad for good measure.
I left it all to Munchie - he is afterall, the 'primary carer' and we've travelled a lot as a family these past few years, so I assumed he'd have the basics covered by now. Silly me. Will I ever learn?
Last Tuesday night I packed the kids side of the suitcase, packed my ¼ of the suitcase, and crawled into bed at 1am after an overseas conference call - drifting happily off to sleep in the knowledge that all I had to do tomorrow was go to work until 4pm and then fly to Bali. All Much had to do was pack the essentials in the carryon luggage, and throw the last minute things on top of the suitcase, INTO the suticase.
Wednesday afternoon I called Munch to check on progress... 'got everything?' 'Yes, dear, I have everything we could possibly ever need' - were the famous last words he uttered before he committed parental suicide and failed to pack almost everything we needed to get two toddlers with only half an afternoon nap onto a plane for three hours and have them fed, watered and occupied until we safely landed.
The message? Each person in a relationship has a specific role to play.
They are not gender dependant at all, but in most households they are well-defined, and this trip was proof that you should never mess with them. If you are now The Hand Luggage Packer, you shall forevermore be the Hand Luggage Packer. Similarly, I will never be the Bin-Taker-Outer, nor the Lawn-Mower, but I am doomed to be the One Who Cleans the Fridge and the Sugar Bowl Filler for the rest of my married life. The position of Person Who Changes the Toilet Roll is currently open, and we have no recruits for that one.
Anyhoo - I digress. The flight to Bali was uneventful, except for the moment of sheer horror and panic when I discover shortly after take-off that the iPad has only 20% power left and no spare pants for Snubs who hasn't been to the toilet since lunchtime. I engage my inner creative parent and spend most of the flight singing every nursery rhyme I know, and making up dot-to-dot pictures on the back of our flight itinerary until Snubs finally falls asleep. Mookie is easy - all he needs is food, and thankfully the trolley dollies were never more than a button push away.
We arrive in Bali around 20 minutes late, sail through visa and immigration in around 15 minutes including a pit-stop for Snubs, and while Munchie heads to the ATM to cash up, the boys and I wait for Mookie's pram and our single suitcase. They come whizzing around before Munch can finish his withdrawal, and in a jiffy we're out the front looking for our hotel transport man, who we spot cradling his branded hotel sign and fervently texting someone paying absolutely zero attention to anyone walking out of the airport.
Munchie sneaks up on him from behind and announces 'HELLO!' Scaring the bejesus out him to the point he nearly drops his phone, and all the other waiting drivers giggle uncontrollably.
We all trudge down to the pick-up point right next to a little convenience store and I zip in to buy a small stash of beer to have when we make it to our room. Soooo tempted to crack one in the car, but my Mother would have a fit, so I sit back in the van and sweat it out until we're in the privacy of our room. We get through the obligatory "where are you from" and "have you been to Bali before?" - the poor man desperately hoping he was lucky enough to score a couple of Bali virgins, but sadly we had to shatter his tour itinerary with the admission that we had no concrete plans, and would play it by ear each day.
This trip we're staying at different hotel - the Mercure in Sanur, never been here before but I'm a fan of the Mercure family rooms world-wide, they're thoughtfully set up and perfect when you have little ones that are too big for one hotel room, and too small for a separate room. There are only three of this room type in Sanur - and they need a bit of maintenance (more so now - but that story comes later :)
They have a small sectioned off bunk bed area, a playstation in the room, second TV and second bathroom, and a big sliding door that separates the main bedroom from the lounge. They are very spacious and we found the room perfect for what we needed. Snubs is still too little to be trusted on the top bunk, so we made up the couch for him, and Mookie slept on the bottom bunk with not too many issues, we had a couple of roll-outs and donks on the floor, but both pupils still dilate at equal rates, so we figure he's OK.
We do a very quick unpack - I ferret around in the suitcase looking for LambLamb, Mookie's night-time companion and Petey (Peter Rabbit) who is still the man of the moment for Snubs. 'Honey? Where are Petey and LambLamb?'
'Mmmmn - where they always are - on the bed.'
I look around the room. Our bed? Nope. Couch? Nope. Top and bottom bunk? Nope. 'Which bed?' I ask, half knowing what he's about to say...
'THEIR BEDS' he spells out like I'm a bit dim.
'You mean AT HOME?!' - Me. 'YES' - Him.
I huff. It's enough to get my message across. Because he has perfect comedic timing, at that exact moment Snubs tabs me on the should and asks 'Mummy where's Petey?' to which I reply 'ask Daddy sweetheart, he knows where Petey is...' and smile cheerfully at Munch.
For the record - we can repeat the above conversation with a few minor changes for the;
iPad charger, phone charger, spare camera battery, toothbrushes (although weirdly, the toothpaste made it), my makeup bag, Mookie's favourite car, and the pile of Snub's underpants I had neatly folded the night before which were ON TOP OF the suitcase.
A quick change of kids into pyjamas (not hand luggage, so it goes without saying we had those) and into beds, a couple of beers open at last, and Munch and I slide the door shut and head out to the balcony over-looking the tranquil pool and 'cheers' each other to a lovely quick break in Bali...
Sampai Nanti!
Dutchnat