Where does he learn these things?

Last night Andrew made some bad choices and got his blanket and snuggle bear taken away at bedtime. After the meltdown ended, he calmly called me in for a snuggle and told me through quivering chin,

"Mommy, you hurt my feelings....and....and...and broke my heart!"

I gave him a big, long hug (to mask my silent giggles), a kiss and told him to take a few deep breaths and close his eyes. He was asleep within 10 minutes.

That little boy melts my heart.

Where do I start?

So we've been home for a week now. Crazy. It honestly doesn't feel like we were even on vacation because of the deluge of trials that have come since we've been home, but then I look at the photos and remember the wonderful, child-free time that Kraig and I shared for one blissful week (thanks again, Tina and Kurt!).

We took the Royal Caribbean Western Caribbean cruise. Our ports were Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, Cozumel, and Belize. It was worth every penny we paid (and didn't save--I know! Me! Not saving money! Unheard of!) and if I had the money, I do it again in a heart beat. I loved the boat, the beaches, the food, the people, the ocean, but mostly being alone with my best friend.

We took almost 200 photos, so here are the highlights. Hopefully it doesn't get too boring.

First hour on the boat. We were both in awe of it's size and splendor. This was Deck 10, with Ft. Lauderdale in the background.

Probably within the first hour also, but I just couldn't get enough of how beautiful it was and we hadn't even left port yet.

Our first adventure was tandem biking around Key West. If you've never tandemed before, I highly recommend it. I didn't stop laughing the entire time I was pedalling. This was mile 0 of US1.

We didn't see any swimmers. One of the places we biked.

Kraig snorkeling in Key West. He was actually really far out. Apparently the beaches are not great in Key West. The locals don't frequent them for fear of getting a disease. But this was a State Park that was guaranteed clean.

You can tell it was the first day of the cruise because of the farmer's tans:) Beach in Key West.

Formal night. Being pregnant posed a few packing challenges because I didn't fit into any of my old formal dresses. Tina helped me find this beauty the night before we left flew to Ft. Lauderdale. Huh, it looks like maybe I should have used the laundry service on board to get it ironed. Whoops.

The food was wonderful--definitely one of the highlights. We ate in the dining room as often as possible because I loved having someone wait on me for a change. Plus, the food was better in the dining room. The first two nights we were at a table by ourselves, but then the head waiter moved us to an adjacent table with 6 other delightful people. Truly. We made great friends at dinner.

Kraig tried escargot. I wanted the Webbs to see how much it looked like an abelskiver pan :)

Enchantment of the Seas in port in Cozumel. This was at the beginning of the day because we aren't laden with shopping bags yet:) It was a good day to shop in Mexico. :)

Snorkeling in Cozumel. Fantastic. We had a boat take us about a mile off shore to a couple of coral reefs. Our dear neighbor loaned us her digital underwater camera. It was SO fun and took such awesome photos underwater.

We went on a Cave Tubing excursion in Belize. First we hiked through the rain forest to a freshwater river that runs through the country. It was the definite highlight of the cruise. Don't ever visit Belize without cave tubing. (The great underwater camera doesn't take the best photos out of the water).

There was a rock wall on the back of the boat. It was closed most days because of the wind, but Kraig snuck in a climb our last full day on board.

There was always something fun to do in the evening on the boat. There were games (made more entertaining by the number of drunk people playing), comedians, dancers and singers, and on the last day, a magician came. He was looking for a volunteer from the audience and chose me! It was fun to be a part of his trick. I still don't know how he did it:)

So that was our trip in a nutshell. It makes me smile to just remember the fun times on and off the boat.

First things first.

We had a fantastic time on our cruise. Pictures to follow, as soon as I finish reinstalling every program back on my computer. And figure out why my speaker aren't working.

Anyway, we had an ultrasound on Monday and new baby Webb is a very un-shy LITTLE BOY!! We're so excited!

Things I'm doing rather than doing the things I should be doing

You know how the days leading up to a vacation seem shorter and shorter and longer and longer at the same time. It feels like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done that I need to but at the same time my vacation is never going to get here. Maybe it's just me.

So, instead of tackling the mile-long list of "to-dos" this afternoon, I took myself (and my children) to the mall. Now, normally, I don't take my kids many places that don't have the luxury of shopping carts and child safety seat belts. And I don't employ my double wide stroller very often (outside of a walk to the park) because the aisles are never wide enough and stacks of clothing seem to end up on the floor as we walk by. But I digress.

The mall. I've lived here in Denver for over 2 years now and I'm afraid I've never walked the length of the outdoor mall until today. I even did things I don't generally do while at said mall:

1. Bribed my children to behave, stay close to me, and not touch things. Ok, I bribe my children into good behavior often (if anyone has a better parenting tactic, I'm all ears), but today I bribed them with a trip to the candy store. Really. It sounds so cliche, but it's true.
2. Bought a book full-price from Barnes and Noble. Who does that anyway? I paid $19.45 for a book that was $10.23 at barnesandnoble.com. Does anyone really shop bookstore/music stores when everything we want can be shipped to us the next day from amazon.com? This is Suzanne Collins' 2nd book in the Hunger Games series. I decided to buy it instead of wait for my copy at the library (another first) so that I can have good reading material on my cruise.
3. Paid $10.45/pound for Jelly Belly jelly beans (to bribe/reward my children with at home) that I can get at the grocery store or --gasp-- Walmart for $2/pound. But I had to follow through with the candy store reward. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't?

I'm worn out. I need a vacation. Thank heavens I have one scheduled.

One year older...

Today's my birthday. Yea! Happy birthday, me! I made it though another year. I'm making my birthday cake this year, so I think I'll do this:

But on a more exciting note than turning 29, Kraig and I leave for our cruise ONE WEEK from today!

I must admit, I'm a little nervous about leaving the children for a week, flying across the country, and loading myself and my honey on a large boat. I'm trying to settle my anxiety about leaving by preparing lists and menus and addresses and directions.

Please help me! If you've ever left your children for an extended period of time, what were things you wish you'd done or what were some things you were so glad you'd taken care of before leaving?