We’re THAT family

jumping

I believe that there are little notes in computers in various places around the world, warning people of my family.

No, I’m not having a moment of paranoia. I believe this is the truth.

Those computers are sitting at the reception desk at the hotels we’ve visited. I swear they’d say, “PUT THAT FAMILY IN THE MOST SECLUDED ROOM OF THIS HOTEL. WARNING. NOISY FAMILY ALERT.”

Traveling with kids is fun, except when it’s not. Which is a lot.

Last week we drove up and spent two days in Noosa. We packed everything but the kitchen sink. I spent a little extra so that we had a separate living room for Lulu to sleep in. Usually we’ll have one room, and after Lulu goes to sleep at 6pm we’ll sit in the bathroom until our own bedtime. Not fun, but necessary.

This place had an upstairs with the main bedroom, and a living room downstairs. I set up Lulu’s cot downstairs and thought I was winning at life. We were going to get sleep, and we could watch TV and relax until our own bedtime. WINNING.

But nothing ever really goes to plan, especially when you’re smug and think you’re winning at life. Rookie error.

Nighttime came around, and I put Lulu to bed. She screamed and didn’t want to sleep. So I got her out, cuddled her, and tried to resettle her. This went on for almost 3 hours. Completely exhausted {Lulu has been waking at 4am most mornings of late, so I’m knackered by 9pm}, I decided that she would most likely sleep if I simply brought the cot upstairs. So I picked up the cot, and tried to carry it up the narrow staircase. I did bang the wall in the process {no damage, just noise}, sorry neighbours. A sensible, non-tired mama would disassemble the cot and carry it up. Not me. I carried the thing up in one piece, with loads of difficulty.

I was about 6 stairs from the top floor when I started to really struggle. I called for Hubby to help, so he came to assist. We both struggled. The cot then whacked him RIGHT in the eye ball, and he pretty much died of excruciating pain.

Lulu didn’t sleep in the cot when we eventually got it upstairs. In the end I passed out into bed. Hubby took her downstairs to play and reset {you know sometimes kids should have a reset button?}. Eventually I found them at 2am crashed out on the sofa bed, no blankets or pillows. Comfortable, I’m sure.

I feel sorry for the people who stay in the rooms around us. I’ve never stayed in a hotel with a noisy family beside us, so I wonder if we just got lucky, or if the walls are super thick and nobody can hear anyone.

One things for sure, I’m certain if we ever visit the same hotel twice they’ll promptly kick us out and tell us we’re not welcome. I’m sure.

Are you a noisy family too? Do you think you’ll get blacklisted from hotels like I’m sure we will one day?

13 thoughts on “We’re THAT family”

  1. Oh we’re that family too. We often refer to ourselves as the Griswolds 🙂 People must cringe as we roll up at a hotel and all 5 of us stream out with the trantrum-throwing 3 year old and non-stop talking 7 year old the music-pumping 16yr old – we’re lots of FUN!!! 🙂
    One day we’ll look back at these days of ‘having little kids’ and laugh and smile and wish we could do it all again, exactly the same way!
    Cx

  2. Our first child was a dream to take everywhere and truth be told as the Golden Child she stil is. Our second child however is a different matter and he often refuses to sleep in an unfamiliar environment. There is nothing worse when you have spent money to have time away to relax. You poor things.

  3. Oh, I feel your pain. If we find ourselves in a gorgeous location for a few days we try to get a hotel room with a balcony, then hubby and I can hide out there whilst the kids are meant to be going to sleep. Arriving in Bali was the funniest, our nearly 5 year old Did Not Want to Sleep – and Kim Jong Un had just died so the back to back coverage on Fox bored her into submission, thank goodness.

  4. The Big One and the Small One have 2 settings on the volume control: Loud and Off. We are always a bit fearful when it comes to holidaying with them, but amazingly, we’ve only ever had 1 inconsiderate idiot complain about us. By inconsiderate, I mean our noisy room neighbours who had what sounded like 20 people in their room, singing and talking at the tops of their voices, and stomping around the room and bouncing off walls until well past midnight, and didn’t like it when my kids got up at 7am and turned the TV on low. My kids actually fell asleep to their din, but then, to have them knock on the door at 7.15am to tell us off for having the TV on low, which woke their precious 4yo who was making the racket the night before, well, that was a bit much for me. Lucky for them, we were pretty much dressed and ready to head out to breakfast at the time. I did take a few deep breaths before choosing to close the door on their faces.

    I think it’s part and parcel of families going on holidays. We’ve stayed in some gorgeous hotels and have been complimented on how well behaved my kid are. I used to think I need apologise to anyone and everyone we meet inside the hotel for having noisy kids, but, at the end of the day, it’s the kids’ holiday too. People would have to be absolute a-holes to complain about lively children, who might not be able to sleep in a foreign environment for a small handful of nights.

  5. I smiled when I read you’d sit in the bathroom and wait for bedtime while lulu would go to sleep. Finding rooms that are configured well for a baby can be hard to find unless you get a three bedroom room which costs an arm and a leg.

  6. I remember once we were staying at a hotel in Tassie. The Little Mister was really young. Like 3 months old. He HATED getting naked for a bath. HATED IT. He screamed the place down and the only way to deal with it was to grit our teeth and make it all happen as fast as possible, because NOTHING was going to soothe him until he was dry again and wrapped up. I remember someone on the floor above us banging on our ceiling. I was most unimpressed with their lack of patience. It was still day time and he’d only cried for less than 5 minutes FFS!
    My dwindling hormones almost had me storming up there to give the person a piece of my mind haha. While everyone’s entitled to a good night’s sleep in some nice accommodation (except for parents of course haha), I think that we should be compassionate too. I think having our own kid has definitely made me more understanding of others in those situations!

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