And so I kinda vanished there for a week……..we went on holidays with the kids but I was afraid to publicise it too much for fear of my house being emptied whilst away!! But all is well and here is a small account of our adventure. It may be interesting for those of you tempted to travel this year.
There isn’t anything much that really really phases me.
But this did.
Hubster mentioned that he wanted to go on holliers for a week at Easter time a while back & my world literally spun to a halt in absolute horror.
‘Wait, wait a minute……what are you on about?’ I hear all you non-parents cry! And I would have shouted the same in my carefree, stay out late drinking cheap happy hour cocktails & sleep in the next morning, pre-kiddie days too.
But times have changed.
Let’s go to the buffet, guys!
Holidays with kids…..as those of you who have chanced it……is akin to preparing for war…..the most stressful, messy, soul-destroying war ever. A war comprised of many many battles, from the prep, to the transit, to the screaming crying with over tiredness, over heating, over eating and dirty looks (imagined or otherwise from strangers who are JUDGING YOU) and all the way back again.
And so we booked a week in Sentido resort in Lanzarote flying with Ryanair.
The mere mention of the words ‘flight’ & ‘Ryanair’ made my blood run cold but add a side of children and there you have a thirty-something woman having near on a nervous breakdown. And so off we went last Saturday morning, worn out by the time we got to the airport in Cork, our arms laden with bags of all shapes & sizes, stuffed to the gills & threatening to burst out all over the conveyor belt in front of the Ryanair staff.
However in Ryanair’s defence we met the nicest ground staff, who even helped us retrieve 2nd born from the conveyor belt as she chased her penguin suitcase into the hold, hysterical that she would never see it again. Clearly we neglected to put in the necessary ground work required for under 5-year-old flight prep.
It is a shame that Ryanair left us down on the way home….but maybe I’ll go into that another day. I haven’t the energy here…..but one tip – I would not bother paying for seats together prior to travelling on Ryanair as they still give them away!!
Of course Octopus boy scared the lady from the seat next to my husband away up to the front of the flight so we even managed a spare seat beside us. Mind you, the mere sight of us would send me scurrying too!
The girls mega cute carry on bags contained the following……and worked a great.
One tip I got was to buy a headphone splitter for the DVD player. I got mine in Argos here but I saw them in Penney’s last week also. It allowed 1st & 2nd born to share the DVD player & it worked a treat. Incidentally this is my DVD player here.
Snacks for my lot included – fruit in Tupperware boxes, Organix Carrot Stix, Organix Goodies Gingerbread Men, Cream Crackers & some jellies.
Sentido resort is a freshly built compound at the edge of Puerto Del Carmen. Its is an apartotel with everything on site. It’s literally right across the road from Los Jameos for those of you familiar with the place. We picked it as there was a variety of accommodation choices so we picked a 2 bedroom apartment/suite. Have a look here to see what they offer. This suited our needs perfectly!
We simply cannot do hotels as a) everyone around us would be miserable and b) we would be too, creeping around the room at 10.30pm trying not to make noise. So bedrooms are required for sure!!
Enroute to the buffet ……. again!
The restaurant offered lots of choices. The jam was terrible, as was the coffee! So if you go bring a pot of your favourite jam and hire the nespresso machine available. Just pack your coffee pods too! The annoying part was that you could purchase better coffee at the bar but they just served the awful stuff in the restaurant.
The kids club was really fantastic despite the fact that 1st born gave the game away & announced her Dad had actually told a lie & 2nd born was really only 3 and therefore swiftly hauled back to supervise her. And also despite the fact that 3rd born, who at 15 months should probably not even been allowed in (but they had toilets with SLIDING DOORS….equals hours of fun) was also ejected for colouring on their lovely, fresh, clean walls with a smell of paint still evident such was their newness.
3rd born decided to concentrate his efforts on the pool post kiddie club ejection.
The four pools meant the one heated one was never too full. And the Cabaret shows every night were so terrible that we enjoyed them and the kids LOVED them, of course.
To be honest the only negatives we encountered in the resort were loads of steps – but apparently Lanzarote is notorious for steps!! There was always a ramp close by except for up to apartment, on the 2nd floor. So there was serious buggy abandonment and that was fine as everything was close enough to walk to.
If you do decide to go there with small kids make sure you avoid Block 4 like the plague as it is situated above the theatre and you may as well be sitting in the middle of the stage with the show going on around you until 11pm EVERY night. We ended up there and 3rd born managed to sleep through it but 1st & 2nd born, come hell or high water, would not retire until it was over every night. 
View from our balcony – great if you want to watch the shows from your room but not so great if you need under 6’s to sleep!!
And so that was pretty much our week – we ate chips every day, ate desserts every day, threw the rule book out the window by day 3 with the kids as it was a losing battle. So in turn they too had chips and dessert everyday. The most worrying occasion was when 2nd born asked innocently after breakfast one morning (cocopops) could she go to the dessert counter. hhhmmmmm. Bad Mummy.
But it’s holidays and its a break and now I’m home with renewed motivation for the summer and getting back on track.
“Because it’s summer and the memories are just waiting to happen.” – UnknownI have put up a few more pic’s on my instagram page so feel free so visit it – leanmeanmomma
I hope that everyone enjoyed the great weather whilst we were away. There is really no place like Ireland in the sun!!
Yours, in absolute sugar ban until Friday night,
Cli xx
PS I would LOVE some tips for travel bags with kids – ie games, snacks, tips please. I could then do a pre-summer post on it to share all our tips x
