I know I’m 2 weeks behind in this post…but I promise it’s still informative. And funny.

Several years ago PW and I developed some pretty strict rules for vacation. They are as follows:

Rule #1: There are no rules.

Rule #2: See rule number 1.

You see, when there are too many rules about what time is bed time, eating vegetables and limiting cartoons, no one has any fun. There are too many distractions and differences from normal life to carry on a normal routine. So, we say to hell with the rules. If Baylor doesn’t even look at a veggie for 5 days, she will not die. If she doesn’t go to bed at 8pm, she will probably be a little crabby the next morning….but there’s also a chance she’ll sleep past 6:30am. Does one more Doc McStuffins cartoon mean I get to keep reading my book? Then watch away kiddo. We’ll mold your mushy brain back into shape next week. Cheesecake for breakfast? Why not (this was one of mine and it was fan-freaking-tastic). French fries for lunch? Sure. No nap? Let’s throw those dice! Multiple cocktails on the deck of the Del with lunch? It’s vacation!! (Sad I missed on this one this year –  I do, however, plan to make up for it next year).

I think the most fun part about the no rules is when Baylor realizes it. She will ask for something she knows she normally doesn’t get and then when she gets it, the look of surprise on her face is priceless. More than once I said “we’re on vacation! Run amok!”. And by the last day her favorite phrase was “we can because we’re on vacation!!”.

The caveat here is that while this makes vaca fabulous, it can make the return home a little troublesome. The key is to emphasize when it is and when it isn’t vacation. The declaration of “vacation over” makes for a lot of sad faces all the way around, but it makes it more understandable when the cartoons get turned off, the platter of veggies served and the wine gets left in the rack (maybe it was PW who struggled most this time around…).