Brady Bunch Vacation - Episode 1

Look up in the Sky

Its a bird, its a plane, its Super Mom! I can change two diapers, check homework, respond to work emails and cook dinner while planning this weekend's play date in the blink of an eye. Hi, this is Super Mom at your service where multitasking is essential to family survial. Welcome to Momma’s Corner, where my mission is to create a family friendly environment to enhance the joy of family travel through shared experiences.

A mom's day-to-day can be hectic so taking vacation is essential to maintaining one's sanity!

Momma’s Corner - Mother May I?

Are those your kids?

Hey do you guys remember playing this game as a kid? Mother may I take 5 steps forward? Or Mother may I jump on 1 foot? To which the designated mom would answer Yes, you may or No, you may not because you didn’t say mother may I! Well let me tell you as a mother of 4 kids who are under the age of 7, the melodious polite request of mother may I is seldom heard! In fact it is more like Mom I’m thristy…(translation – stop what you are doing and service me NOW!) There has to be at least one mom out there who can identify (smile :)

So many topics to tackle! Where do we start??? - Lodging

One year my husband and I traveled to Florida and at that time we only had two children. Two very loud children might I add. Well we decided to stay at an extended –stay type hotel so that we could take advantage of having a stove and refrigerator. While we were getting settled in the room and my kids were eagerly exploring the dwelling my husband went to the front desk to ask about the laundry facilities. Unfortunately while he was at the front desk, the lady next to him was highly upset and demanded a refund so that she could go to another hotel because of the loud children in the room next to hers! Guess who was in the room next door? My husband was too embarrassed to acknowledge that his family was the source of the noise (wink ;) This is the precise reason why when we travel now, we prefer to rent a vacation home!

As you will quickly learn, I am all about lists! So here are my top ten reasons why renting a vacation home is far superior to renting a small cramped hotel room for families!

1. The kids can use their outside voices inside and exude excitement!
2. There is ample space to store multiple boxes of cereal just incase your kids don’t all enjoy the same cereal!
3. You don’t have to spend $10-$15 per person for a continental breakfast that your kids are most likely going to pick over!
4. The children, better yet , the parents can have their own room!
5. Many vacation homes supply entertainment for children, including children dvd’s, children books, board games, floaties, beach balls, etc.
6. You won’t have far to carry the kids from the car to the house in the event that they fall asleep during the car ride home and you don’t have to pay for valet parking!
7. You won’t feel forced to go out everyday just to prevent your kids from going stir crazy. You can actually spend time relaxing by the pool, or using one of the other featured amenities of your vacation home!
8. You can rent a house large enough to bring help (such as a loving grandparent) and not feel the financial burden in your pockets!
9. Multiple bathrooms!
10. Often at times a vacation home will feature amenities to attract families including high chairs, pack and play, bunk beds, etc at no additional charge. I can’t guarantee the no additional fee but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

What's Next on The Radar?

So, believe it or not I would like to do more than just give my two cents on parenting advice and share stories about my wild and crazy family! I want to hear from you! Please share your stories and scrapbook ideas with us! Over the next couple of weeks, please send me your stories to BradyBunchVacations@yahoo.com about the following topic:

KIDS Zone - Coloring Contest

Lets add some pizzaz to Petey Parrot. Its been a very long and cold winter for Petey and he needs some color added to his feathers! Once a month we will be awarding a $25 Toys R Us gift certificate for the most Colorfully Colored Petey. Monthly chosen Petey's will be displayed here at Momma's Corner along with the child's name, age and state. Entries are valid for kids age 2-11. To enter, simply download the NON COLORED Petey PDF file on the Travelers Page. Color Petey and return entries to BradyBunchVacations@yahoo.com. All entries are due by the last day of the month! Good Luck!