Thursday, Day 1:
We arrived on a rainy Thursday in the late afternoon in a drizzling Negril, after traveling all day. Once we stashed our stuff in the room, we hurried to make it to the Character Parade (I admit I sent my husband and the kids to go first, so I could freshen up a little). When I got to the parade, Bert’s smiling face was the first thing I saw. The rain had stopped and everyone was dancing around.

The parade ended on the beach, where all the kids got to dance and spend time with all the Sesame Street characters. We were so excited to see Big Bird — because for the last few weeks, we had told our oldest child, Ben, that we were going to hang out with Big Bird on the beach. Kids were encouraged to dance with the characters and were allowed to go on the stage. Everyone was welcoming and friendly. My kids were thrilled (but my four 1/2 year old did get a little scared up on the stage because it was too high up for her).

We were treated to a great dinner on the beach afterwards. We loved the food and there was a lot of choice It was great to sit with my family and other bloggers and finally relax.

Our kids finally started crashing around 8pm, so we said goodnight to our wonderful friends and went back to the room. The kids and and my husband were fast asleep by 8:30pm.

Friday, Day 2:
After a yummy breakfast buffet at The Mill(which turned out to be one of our favorite places to eat), we dropped the kids at the Kids Camp (which they eagerly scrambled into, with barely a wave). I liked that the babysitters took security measures and listened when I asked them to make sure my 4 1/2 daughter went the bathroom regularly. While we saw the resort and it’s amenities, the kids got to hang with Super Grover 2.0 and do science experiments.

My husband went off to the beach and I took a tour of the resort with the other bloggers. I was very impressed with what I saw. I loved that there was an enclosed toddler pool area with a play area. The pool was locked – you have to get the key from the Kids Club (so no kids could get into the toddler pool area without a parent). It was shallow enough that babies and toddlers had a safe area to splash around with their parent/caregiver. And like the rest of Beaches, it was spotless and well maintained.

Then we met with Sesame Workshop to see all the ways they offer apps and ebooks (we are so crazy about Sesame Street and loved hearing how many apps, systems, and ways they help with learning). The Kids Camp brought the kids in and my two had so much fun playing learning games on the iPads they provided. I was thrilled to hear there’s a sequel to Grover’s The Monster at the End of This Book (which started as a book and is also an app).

Next, the kids went back to the Kids Club and I met my husband for a Couples Massage at Beaches’ Red Lane Spa. Heavenly is how I’d describe it. Though I admit I got so relaxed I fell asleep a few times (and snored). The whole spa smells like Lemongrass (their signature fragrance), it’s piped in.

We collected the kids and ate lunch at Arizona’s. The kids barely ate a thing — they were still so excited about their day. We had the afternoon free and went off to the beach. We went swimming (and even swam in the rain). After dinner at The Mill, we went to the Sesame Street Show. The kids loved it and the Sesame Street Characters were treated like rockstars. All the kids were thrilled and had so much fun dancing around. After the show, we stayed and hung out and danced to the Steel Drum Band that was on next. They did two versions of Adele songs that blew us away!

By that time, it was past 8:30 pm and our little revelers were exhausted. We had such a wonderful time at this family friendly place!

For the next two days, we got to spend time at the pool and the beach. Call me a huge fan!

Thank you to Beaches Resorts for sponsoring this trip. As always, all opinions are our own. 

The post Parents’ Guide to Beaches Resorts, Negril, Jamaica appeared first on The Mama Maven Blog.

We recently got back from a wonderful family trip to Beaches Resorts in Negril, Jamaica.

Travel: To get to Negril we left NY on a 9:55 Flight. We left our apartment at 7:20 am and got to LGA early. We checked our one large bag curbside. (Read more after the jump)

Going through Security was pretty painless. Kids under 9 don’t have to take off their shoes anymore, but of course our kids took them off anyway! I sat with my 4 1/2 year old daughter on the plane and my husband sat with our 6 1/2 year old son. We basically kept our sanity through the package of red and blue toy soldiers that I bought for my 6 1/2 year old son. I also had a lot of snacks that I gave out.

Flights:

Because my four and half year old daughter is small, I used the CARES Harness to give her a five point harness on her seat on the plane (note, this is NOT for cars). We landed painlessly in Miami and found our connection (we had to take the Skytrain to our gate). I had thought we’d have time to get some food in the Miami airport, but it was only around 10 minutes before boarding. We met up with Esti Berkowitz of PrimeTime Parenting, Suzanne Chan of Mom Confessionals and Serena Norr of Mama Goes Natural and MomTrends. Our kids are friends, which made things much easier. The flight from Miami to Montego Bay was on a 757 (thank god it wasn’t a really small plane) and took around an hour.

Here’s where it got a little difficult, you have to fill out your customs card and go through customs to get into Jamaica. It wasn’t too hard, but the kids melted down.

Tip: Fill out the WHOLE Card — even the bottom — on the plane. Bring a pen for this.

Then we went through immigration (painless) and then through customs (not hard either). After we exited, we waited for our ride to Beaches in the Sandals/Beaches Waiting Room, which looked like a comfy bar/restaurant. It offered free beverages, seating, music, and private bathrooms.

Then we boarded a small bus for the trip from the airport to Beaches, Negril. The trip takes 90 minutes, so just like the airline flights, stay prepared with snacks and activities. I had put all my snacks and toys/devices away, luckily Suzanne had plenty of snacks to share. It started raining on the busride, this is what we saw when we pulled up to the hotel.

In my next post, I’ll talk about all the fabulous things we did at Beaches Negril (hint, Super Grover 2.0 is involved).

Huge thank you to Beaches Resorts for sponsoring this trip. We were provided with a free accomodations and two plane tickets (we paid for 2 other tickets). As always, all opinions are my own.

The post Parents’ Guide to Beaches Resorts, Negril – Getting There appeared first on The Mama Maven Blog.

The post Wordless Wednesday: Fun with Characters #Sesame Street #Beachesmoms appeared first on The Mama Maven Blog.