The Terrific3 travel blog

I managed to get up at 6am today and brave the roads/sidewalk for my first run outside the 0.05 mile walkway outside our villa. I needed to really move my body without slowing down or turning around every few seconds. I went about 0.2 miles before I turned around, but hey, that felt amazing!

We had a pretty chill morning in Ubud. The kids swam while I packed. I’m so glad we haven’t done a lot of big transfers with all our stuff (this is our 4th one, in the 7 weeks so far) as I find it extremely stressful to pack up all our stuff and make sure it’s in the right bag to come out at the right time.

Wayan drive us to our hotel in Sanur. S and I were a bit disappointed as it was not as nice as the holiday inn nusa dua—there was no game room, no spa, and only 1 pool on the rooftop (which frankly concerns me a bit as I can see my wild boys climbing on the edges and trying to jump into the pool and falling off the rooftop.). I have already told them not to do this. When you have boys, you have to anticipate all the wild things they can do as they have BIG imaginations. Our rooms are pretty nice here— I have a king room connecting to the kids’ twin room.

The kids were extra “special” today—S in the morning and Z in the afternoon. Between their crazy, silly and over the top behavior, and packing and unpacking for the transfer, and figuring out basics about the new town (Sanur), I feel completely and utterly at my mental and emotional limit. Traveling alone with 2 kids can be very hard at times and today I felt like I wanted to put both of them on a plane home and finish off the vacation alone! Sigh, of course I can’t do that. And I’ll have childcare the next 5 days, which will help. We canceled our surfing plans as I realized the surf school was going to take my kids out on a boat from Sanur to surf and I just didn’t feel comfortable with that as well as the crappy communication, meaning I didn’t know what else they didn’t tell me. It’s too bad as they’re one of the “best” surf schools in Bali, but if I’m paying $50/lesson/kid, which is a huge price in Bali, I expect better communication than I received.

Therefore our nanny will be here from 7-12. When I realized how edgy I was feeling, I asked if she could stay until 2pm. Still waiting to hear back but if not tomorrow, I’ll have her for longer the next day. I really really need some kid free time, which is what I’m looking forward to the most when I come back to Portland. I don’t know how some people are stay at home parents, but I’ve always known it is NOT FOR ME, and though I’ve loved traveling with my boys, I’m kinda done now!

In terms of Sanur, I’m really liking the vibe. It’s a smaller, much less busy town than Ubud. The hotel is about a block from the beach, there is a same day laundry across the street (we were waiting 2-3 days in Ubud as it was so busy), the beach is decent, and there’s a 4km paved walkway along the beach (to run!! To bike!—nike rentals are close) and a yoga studio close by. There weren’t as many people walking around and I wasn’t deathly afraid of being run over by a motorbike. There are a ton of restaurants right by the ocean, a lot with live music. I’m looking forward to some ocean relaxation after the overwhelming sensory experience of Ubud.

As far as tomorrow, I plan on a long run (5 miles??…it’s been a while) and then hopefully some yoga and/or swim and weights. And if our nanny can stay longer, then lunch alone and maybe a beach side massage….we shall see. Just time without parenting so I can re-center. Wish me luck!