Travel Belize

I can't help but to dream I am on a flight to someplace warm with these crazy Iowa temperatures lately. One of my favorite vacations is...Belize! It's okay if you just Googled where Belize is :) If you are looking for someplace warm with sand, beach, and sun? Ding ding ding, Belize it is! Aside from a snorklers and scuba divers paradise, their laid back lifestyle and friendly people make this place a real gem. No hasseling or begging from the locals, English is their primary language, and they take the dollar! It all started for me too with a google search for "great place to vacation." I love to try new places, while my husband would go back to the same place everytime, so when I suggested Belize, he wasn't sold. After all, it was a trip to celebrate his birthday. I did my research, scowered my go-to travel sites and ended up finding a ridiculous deal with an even better flight. For those who hate wasting a day traveling, this may be your next vacation! A normal connection is typically from Des Moines to Houston onto Belize. Now please don't stay in Belize City, not so good. Once you land in Belize City, you catch a puddle jumper (don't freak out) to Ambergris Caye which takes about 15 minutes and flights run all day. If you are a chicken, you can take the water taxi which takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours....it was the worse thing ever and at the end of this post I will do my best to explain why. Book your mini flight through Maya Air or Tropic Air, which is what we used. Make sure to get a roundtrip ticket.

After you land, pick up your bags at the very confusing and huge baggage claim. Haha kidding. Another reason I love this place.

You can take a land taxi to the water taxi station which is totally unnecessary because it is less than 2 blocks away from baggage claim. I consider myself the carry-on queen, so it's easy for us to walk the 2 blocks. Yes, this princess seriously packs everything, everytime into a carry-on. Once you are at the water taxi place, it is best to buy a week long pass for the water taxi, which allows you roundtrip rides all week. It's worth it.

After a 5 minute water taxi ride, you are at your home away from home. Everytime we go, we stay at the same hotel, Coco Beach Resort. We will probably never stay anywhere else. Although it has no all inclusive options, there are plenty of other options available. You can have them stock your room with food you have choosen from a list, to be in your room when you arrive. Room service and poolside service are another option as well. Last year they added a brand new restaurant onto the property which is stunning, and they also have another more relaxed restaurant next door on their sister property. Drinks are pricey at the swim up bar but here is a tip: buy your booze at the duty free shop in the airport. Problem solved. Two different pools to choose from, one has a slide and the other is for wading or cooling off. The rooms are stocked with everything you need to make meals and free coffee as a perk! They know the way to my heart :) This will not be your typical over crowded beach resort. <

Things to do: These are my suggestions! 1.) Day trip to Belize City for cave tubing and climbing the Mayan Ruins. This is a long day but a lot of fun. Ask for George!

2.) The Chicken Drop at Wahoo's Lounge. Yep. Just like bingo but you win if the chicken poops on your number.

3.) Snorkel (because I don't scuba) Hol Chan Marine Reserve. A half day was plenty for me. 4.) Eat at Wild Mango's. Get their fish tacos and a local brew. br />
5.) Try a Johnny Cake at Ruby's cafe. If you go on the day trip, one of these are included. It's your breakfast. Ham and cheese is best :) br />
6.) Rent a golf cart and drive into town instead of taking the boat. Hilarious. Walk the streets and explore. There are 3 streets, Front, Middle, and Back street. You can't get lost. 7.) Enjoy The Palapa. Aka the bar. Write your name in marker on the deck ( you may find mine), float in an inner tube in the ocean water, and watch your drinks be lowered to you in a bucket. Heaven.

8.) Try the local cocktail, Rum Punch. Watch out, they pack a mean punch! 9.) Feed the Tarpon at Sunset Grill. WARNING: throw the fish in, do not hold it! That dumb Tarpon ate my whole hand and left me bleeding for lunch. Not cool but we still get a good laugh when we talk about it. 10.) Finish off your vacation with a romantic dinner in the property's restaurant. Delicious food and wine.

Needless to say, at the end of our trip my husband said hands down, it was his favorite vacation. Score! Pack your hat, sunnies, and some flip flops. This is what you will live in 90% of the time while in Belize. Safe travels! P.s. This picture is the best explanation of why you should choose the flight over the boat ride. It was this scene for almost 2 hours. Never again!

Go ahead and Judge Me

Im pretty sure no one has ever spoken the words "go ahead and judge me," but the problem is, everyone does whether you ask for it or not. One thing I can't understand is why us mothers feel the need to judge each others parenting skills and choices. I seriously find myself hiding some things I choose to do with my daughter for the fear of glares and comments I may receive. I don't need or want anyone telling me I am doing a bad job and how I'm going to ruin my child. I think I am doing pretty darn good for never having done this before. We are both healthy and alive, that's success in my book. Come on people, we need to be lifting each other up during this ride called parenthood, not tearing each other down. It is the biggest learning experience ever and mistakes are going to be made. Guess what our parents and grandparents would've said? "I did that with you and you lived didn't you?" Haha, if I had a dime for everytime I heard that phrase, I could retire! I am going to put all of my awesome (sense my sarcasm) parenting skills out there for all of you judgers to pick at and all of you scared new moms out there to relate to and know it's going to be okay. I believe you know your child best and to each's own. br />

I am now willing to acknowledge that I may be the reason why my diva baby does not take a bottle. Okay, it is my fault. Thank you for all of your imput and suggestions on my post, Breast & Bottle. I gave each one a fair shot, only to realize the problem is her self absorbed mother. I am probably not doing her any favors but I since have recognized that anytime my baby would want to nurse, it wasn't always because she was hungry. She would be sleepy and want comfort, I would whip it out and when she was actually hungry, I would whip it out again. Pretty much anytime she would ask, she received. That's what you're supposed to do right? Well, I really did stick to the bottle training and after a few tears, she would take it. When she took the bottle she would only eat 2-3 times that day and be satisfied. Hmmm that's weird, she eats 24 times a day normally. Kidding, but that's what it feels like. So after a week of this I realized that the nursing every time she whined was more for me, no wonder she doesn't take anything else. It's MY fault. Oh and I haven't tried the bottle for about 4 days, go ahead and judge :).

Confession number two. My child sleeps on her tummy and has since she was a newborn. Oh I can hear all of your gasps right now. No one talks about this taboo out of fear of being judged. Everything now screams BACK TO SLEEP. I of all people should know this. Yes, I have told a few white lies about her doing this, why though? It's how she sleeps best. I put her on her back and she startles and screams. Yes, I have tried the swaddle blankets and sleep sacks, she is a ninja and busts out, or screams until she is out. Congratulations to all of you rule following parents out there. When you find a REAL book on how to raise a baby, let me know. Want to hear what makes this tummy sleeping thing worse? She loves to burry her head in a blanket. Not even kidding. I wait for her to settle down and then remove it from her face. That is one good thing I do. She basically is making the rules at this point. Parent of the year award goes to me!

Confession number three. Oh these are going to just keep getting better and your judgement radar is ringing off the charts by now. My sweet baby girl sleeps with me. Oh yeah, I told you it was getting good. This has nothing to do with her, this is so my fault. It started off with her boycotting her bassinet. Seriously, why do we buy those dumb things anyways? I would take her out of it, nurse her lying down in bed, and she would fall asleep. Then I would hook my shirt back up and doze off too with her next to me. That my friends is how it all began. I now know what people mean by you will do anything for a few more hours of sleep. I did get more sleep with not having to get up out of bed, but not really considering the fact I woke up every 5 minutes to check on her while she was next to me. Most every night at 9 pm we would nurse in bed, lying down, fall asleep and as soon as I hear her grunt, about 2 hours later, no she doesn't even get a cry out before my boob is back in her mouth. But who cares? Im just laying there, it's easy, and I love having her next to me. I love hearing her breathe, smelling her sweet baby skin, and most of all, I love how she lays on her side with her face in the crook of my arm. My fault again. I have since been working on this with her because I feel I am doing her no favors and I want to raise an independent sleeper. Two nights ago was the first time I put her to sleep in her crib. She solidified my insecurity by sleeping like a champ in her princess baby room. When she cried, I nursed her in her room and back into her crib she went, like a "normal" parent does. I was a mess. Tears and anxiety that she was away from me and I watched the monitor all night as if it were an everlasting movie, but we survived. I just love her so much, and I have no idea what I am doing, I'm just doing me. We are still successfully sleeping in our crib :) Go me!

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Confession number four. I fed my 3 month and 1 week old child rice cereal. Yep, this eating every 2 hours still thing has me wondering if she would take more. No, I did not put it in her bottle like all of you other bad moms out there (insert sarcasm), I fed her with a spoon. I did my research on what was the "best" cereal out there, like that would make it better that I am starting it a few weeks before you are supposed to. I mixed up some cereal with water, because I am not going to pump for two seconds just to see if she likes the cereal. Again, just pass the best parent trophy my way. She ate the cereal like she was a pro, shoving her bib in her mouth to lick off the excess. Whew! Notice how I didn't post that picture on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? That's because I didn't want to hear all of the crap coming from the mouths of all the parenting experts out there, but now, I quite frankly don't care. No one is talking about things like this and when they do, they end up feeling like the worse parent ever. Clearly after reading this you are feeling pretty great about your parenting choices this far and that's what I wanted to accomplish. I am not saying don't listen to your Pediatrician about your baby's well being and please don't put your child's safety at risk. That is not what I am talking about here.

I am an educated woman who has been around a lot of babies and I remember saying things like, "I will never do that," or "my kid is never sleeping with me," before I was a parent. Oh how things change and the tables turn. I am a sappy old woman who turns to mush at the site of my baby girl. I wouldn't trade being a parent for the world, but I would change the judgement that comes along with it. I hope you enjoy this confessional and can relate to it at some point, whether you are as "bad" as me or not :)

Protein Pick Me Up

This weather has a way of affecting my mood and not in a good way either. Lazy, grumpy, stir crazy, and did I say lazy? I did have a great morning meeting up with my grade school friend, walking the mall, catching up, and talking about our babies. Crazy how things change and seeing each other as Moms. It seems like yesterday we were pretend Moms to our dolls. Looking out my window today, my view is actually quite nice but enough already! No wonder us Iowans put on shorts when it is 50 degrees outside, we are dying for a nice day or a break from shoveling.

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In honor of this blah day, I decided everyone including me needs some motivation, a pick me up! Yes my friends, I know it's only Tuesday. I found this quote on my Pinterest account and thought this would be a great starting point to get my mind motivated.

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And I know it is hard to get up and get a workout in when it's cold out and all you want to do is cuddle up on the couch and watch tv or online shop. Guilty! So throw in your favorite workout dvd and get your booty moving, seriously it helps boost your mood and your butt :) . My favorite is Tone it Up, like I have mentioned before. Those girls kick my butt! I am dreaming of the day when I get to run outside though, so I have been researching running/jogging strollers for this Spring. From the imput I have received it looks like BOB wins. There is nothing like running outside in the Spring smelling all of the yummy blooming plants and listening to nature...or a good playlist. So here is one of my favorite running playlists on my ipod to get you motivated to move!

1.) Mony Mony- Billy Idol 2.) Cyclone- Baby Bash ft. T-Pain 3.) Maneater- Nelly Furtado 4.) Kerosene- Miranda Lambert 5.) Another one Bites the Dust- Queen 6.) Milkshake- Kelis 7.) Catch me if you Can- Outasight 8.) Wavin' Flag- K'naan, Will.I.Am, & David Guetta 9.) Hurts so Good- John Mellencamp 10.) Whatever You Like-T.I.

Enjoy! After you are done with a workout or maybe you are on the go a lot and looking for a treat or pick me up that is new and healthy, try my favorite protein bites. Easy to make and even better tasting, I promise! I freeze them and keep 3 bites in a small Zip lock, and when I leave I throw them into my purse for a tasty snack. This recipe is modified from my Tone it Up nutrition plan.

Peanut Butter Protein Balls Ingredients: 1 cup Natural peanut butter (use creamy, can use Almond butter) 1 cup Honey 1 cup Old fashion oats ( gluten free if you wish) 1 cup diced dried apricots ( or whatever dried fruit you like) 1 cup sliced almonds ( I rough chop raw unsalted whole almonds) Cinnamon to taste 1-2 scoops of your favorite protein powder ( I use Vanilla flavor)

1.) In a medium pot, on lowest heat, melt honey and peanut butter until texture is runny. Remove from heat and add protein powder. Stir well. Add in apricots, almonds, and oats. 2.) Mix until all is coated well. Cool in fridge for 30 minutes, or until firm enough to roll into bite sized balls. About 1-2 Tablespoons each ball. Store in the fridge for best results.

You do not have to add the protein powder unless you are looking for an easier way to get in your extra protein. According to Tone it Up, the serving size is 3 balls, calories 275.

I hope you enjoy this post and let me know if you try the recipe! Have a great week. Some little lady is already looking up during tummy time! Sometimes that face is all the motivation I need, then again, so is that bikini drawer :)

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