Beach with kids

Our last Summer weekend! :(

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It feels as it was only a few weeks ago the kids finished their first year at their new school. I remember I thought we had SO much time to do SO many things! We thought about going to the beach more often, plan a trip or two to Orlando to go to Sea World, use our tickets to Dinosaur World and so many other family adventures!… wrong.

Before we knew it, it was mid-August and we were planning what to do on our last weekend before the kids (and Becca) went back to school!! Don’t get me wrong, we did a lot of fun stuff this summer (Becca’s family came down to Siesta Key for a week, we went to the beach a handful of times, I played in the Ultimate Frisbee Sunshine State Games, Regionals and Nationals Championship and much more) but we thought our summer break was going to be much longer than it was. I guess life with 5 kiddos, 2 of which were under 6 months of age goes by really really quick…

The crazy thing is that this weekend was no different than any other weekend this summer. We had a lot going on. Between Open houses, purchasing last minute school supplies and clothes, celebrating my 39th birthday and trying to get everyone back to our night-time schedule, we were running out of time very very quickly. We needed to make sure we had at least one super fun day! Unfortunately, the weather had been against us too! It has been raining on a daily basis making it hard to play outside and if that was not enough, all this stupid rain is making our backyard a mosquito paradise!! Sucks!

But, I knew we needed at least one last weekend at the beach. I reached out to our beach buddies but unfortunately none of them were able to come out! And the ones that were going to join us texted me the morning of to let me know they had partied too hard the night before and were staying in nursing the hangover….. (damn people without kids. :)) I didn’t care, I had promised the kids (and myself) that we were going to the beach and so we did!!! We got very lucky, we went in the morning and were able to escape the nasty rains and enjoyed our Florida sunshine.

We had a blast. Despite the fact that I forgot to bring the paddle for our paddleboard (what a momo), we played in the water and the kids “surfed” some waves on the board — I was actually impressed on how brave Nico and Nati were getting up on the board and riding the waves! That came to a temporary stop after Nico rode the longest wave and took a tumble once the board hit the beach… 🙁 … He did not cry and got back on the board but he began to “abort” much earlier jumping off the board to make sure he did not eat the beach again… haha.

Santi had a great time jumping waves and playing in the sand burying the army men and animals he had brought. The babies were very well-behaved and even took a couple of good naps in their little cocoon enjoying the breeze and the sound of the waves (seriously… is there a better scenario to take a nap!?! ok, maybe if there was a hammock… ).

After leaving the beach we headed home to celebrate my birthday with my family and we even got to play upfront with their scooters AND played in the pool before the rain ruined the rest of the afternoon. The kids loved it. Now that Nico can swim, he has been enjoying the pool so much more!

Monday was the kids’ last day off. Their “nona” picked them up in the morning and took them to the Ringling Museum of Art and they LOVED it!! It never occurred to us to take them to the museum assuming they would be so bored and probably crazy loud! But they all loved it and were mesmerized by all the art. One more cool activity to add to our list.

I also got to have some fun Monday night! I met with a couple of friends to go paddleboarding in St Pete. We were able to paddle for over an hour right on time before the rain took over…

Although the summer flew by, we had a great last weekend as a family taking advantage of many of the cool things Florida has to offer. We are ready for another school year (oh boy, so we think….).

“What the heck?!”

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One day this summer, while at the beach, I picked up Santi (age 2) and went in the water with Nico and Nati. We live near the Gulf of Mexico, so the water is usually calm and “good” waves are hard to come by. However, it was a windy day and the waves were bigger than usual. After jumping a couple of waves, we got hit with a “big” one and both Santi and I got splashed with water all over our faces….. It was fun and hilarious, especially when I heard Santi say, (with a loud squeal) “What the heck?!!?” I could not stop laughing it was so cute and funny, which of course gave him the green light to keep saying it over and over… oddly enough, it never stopped being funny.

When I checked the date of my last blog post, I felt the same way. “What the heck!?” I realized I had not blogged since Easter!! 4 months without blogging!?! To me, it meant 4 full months without documenting some of the amazing things that have happened … less memories to look back upon when we read our family blog… Unacceptable, yet I understood why…. Oh yeah, we happen to have 5 kids, two of whom are now 6 months old TWINS! And life at our household has gotten busier. In addition to the non-stop learning of how to raise two babies at a time (not freaking easy), we were juggling our jobs, our business and trying to launch a new one. All while still doing all of our activities like Nati’s ballet and gymnastics classes, Nico’s strider races and soccer, my Ultimate Frisbee practices and tournaments, etc…Looking back, it seems like a lot, but in reality, that’s the only way I function. I like staying busy. Sometimes too much. J

So, I’ve decided to make a list of “Awesome things we’ve done this summer” and blog them one by one so we can record all the cool memories we’ve built this summer and recall the milestones the kids hit this summer. Exciting moments like riding a bike without training wheels! Or Learning how to swim! Or our Beach Week, Nati’s dance camp, Emi and Ale’s growth and Santi’s craziness!

I hope that writing these snippets don’t take me as long as 4 months 😉 I’ve realized how much I miss blogging and how amazing it will be for our kids to read our blog once they grow up, have children and take time to reflect on their childhood. And of course for Becca and I to do the same and cherish all the amazing moments we experience as a Happy Family of 7.

Our first family beach day! 8 details that helped us pull it off!

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This past week, Nico and Nati were on their spring break, which meant Becca took care of 5 kids by herself most of the week since I had to go to work. To give her a break and get the kids out of the house, we decided to go to the beach! Here is a list of 8 things that made our first beach day as a party of 7 a success!

Time Flexibility: Although we knew some people would be getting to the beach at 9:30, we did not stress to get there at that time.. Given the fact Emilio and Alejandro had a rough night (and therefore so did Becca and I), we had gone to bed late so we let the kids sleep in. Life with kids does not always work as planned, so being flexible and not sweating the little things help. We believe kids work better in a non-pressured environment. No rush. No stress. No fights. 🙂 The beach will be there no matter what time we show up.

A full baby is a happy baby.. a hungry baby – not so much! J . Prior to our departure to and from the beach, we made sure the babies were fed (tried to time it around their 3-4 hour schedule). This helped for a much more enjoyable beach day and for quiet car rides. 😉

Planning what to bring: As simple as it sounds, beach outings require items such as beach chairs, tent, umbrella, change of clothes, snacks, cooler, towels, sand toys among others… it ends up being a ton of stuff, so packing most of the stuff the night before (or at least having a plan of “attack” in the morning) helps for an easier and more efficient morning… This was our first time with 5 kiddos. We had to pack extra for the babies and because we knew we would be at the beach for a while — it’s not worth going through the crazy hassle for just 1 hour of fun. Which brings me to my next point..

“Plan” how long to stay at the beach: Ha! This sounds easy on paper. As parents we know most of the time things don’t go as planned, hence #1 on the list is very important. But it is good to estimate how long you’ll stay – Will you be there long enough to need lunch? Are you planning on having lunch by the beach? (do you need a change of clothes). In our case, will we be at the beach long enough so the babies would need to be fed again? Having an idea helps you prepare for things to come as the day goes by, when prepared (or semi-prepared) things flow more smoothly.

Shade, shade, shade (and don’t forget sunscreen): I must admit, I overplanned for shade this time around. I brought a canopy/tent (like this one), a cocoon for the babies to protect them from sand and sun (we have a fisher price version of this item), and a beach umbrella. Becca planned well and applied sunscreen on our other 3 kids and the boys always wear rash guards with SPF to protect them from the sun. Now, Dad is a different story… I forgot to apply sunscreen and paid the price the couple of days after. Dumb move on my part. Plan for shade. The sun is fun, but can also be harmful. Plus it’s good to have a shady spot after being in the sun for a while. Don’t forget sunscreen!

Keep an eye on the kids and relax: Huh? Yes, it can be done. As long as we know where our kids are at all times, we can relax, have a beer, talk to other adults and chill out. Some parents overprotect their kids and make the outings annoying for their kids and for everyone around them… The kids will be kids, they like to jump waves, make sand holes, run around without being careful, etc etc. We make sure we keep an eye on them, supervise and correct if/when needed and then let them get back to having fun.

Don’t sweat the sand: Sand will be everywhere. As much as you rinse off by the beach and shake all items prior to putting them back in the car, sand will find its way to be everywhere… It is what it is. I am not going to lie, it took me a while to come to peace with that and I have learned not to sweat it anymore. I have 5 kids… the days of a clean car at all times are long gone (actually not sure if they were ever there J).

Enjoy the beach and enjoy the kids: We don’t get to go to the beach every day. The beach offers so many cool things you can’t find anywhere else and is such a different “playground” for the kids! Plus, it offers super cool photo ops capturing the kids having a blast with their friends and siblings. We always come back from the beach with fun memories and a TON of pics to prove it (as seen below :)) .

More and more we are becoming comfortable experiencing things as a family of 7- as parents of 5 kids under the age of 6 and as parents of 6 week old twins. We don’t shy away from life. We embrace it. We learn and confirm we can do it! Yes, it is not the easiest and it has its challenges but the rewards and memories make every second worth it.

CHEERS TO LIFE!