Cruisin' Together: Memories Made (Part 3)

And then when we get to the ocean
We're gonna take a boat to the end of the world
All the way to the end of the world
Oh, and when the kids are old enough
We're gonna teach them to fly
- "You and Me" Dave Matthews

No matter what, we were together and we made memories. Memories of a baby crying and a little boy in awe of the ocean. We try all the time to take in these moments because soon this time in our life will slip away from us and our boys will be all grown up. Maybe with all Dean's crying, this vacation will be etched a little deeper in our memory and we'll be able to laugh about it when we are old.

It is truly the little things - the joy on Devon's face getting to have an ice cream cone for no other reason than "we're on vacation!" (right after eating dessert only 15 minutes earlier). The joy of waking up and heading down to a buffet of everything your heart desires for breakfast - from eggs and hashbrowns, to bagels with smoked salmon, to pancakes and waffles, to miso soup?! Yes, they truly had something for everyone on this cruise. At the breakfast buffet I spotted spicy vegetable curries (Firoze was happy), miso soup, baked beans (is this what the British spread on their toast?), mueslix, roasted tomatoes... whatever floats your boat! It was wonderful.

These were the little things that brought the joy to our vacation and here were a few more:


The sports court on the ship included a rock climbing wall!


Firoze wanted to prove all those stories from his childhood, like the one where he could climb the tallest coconut tree like a monkey!


And he totally proved himself. He made it to the top and rang the bell in about 60 seconds! He was the fastest and best climber out there. I was impressed! Who knew?!

One day, I looked out our window and saw this sight... another cruise ship literally passing so close that we could wave to the fellow passengers!


Our first stop was Labadee (Royal Caribbean's Private Island off the coast of Haiti)




The coastline was like a scene out of "Lost"...




The beach was one of the best I have ever been on. Everything was set up to make the beach easy and perfectly enjoyable. There was a full sidewalk running right through the beach - perfect for pushing a stroller. There were comfy beach chairs all set up. There were endless "Labadoozies"... fruity tall drinks that could be enjoyed as is or with a little something extra (wink, wink). There were kids play areas. There were food stalls. It was amazing!





Devon and I had the best time collecting shells together on the beach. He spent the rest of the cruise playing with his new "toys" as he spent hours examining every shell that we found.


Dean was thrilled to be on such a beautiful beach. (Can you feel the sarcasm?)


Even little Mister Grumpypants enjoyed the kids play area!


We chowed down on some barbeque jerk chicken on the beach. It was the perfect lunch... a little spicy, a little smoky with some sweet coleslaw and plantains to balance it out!

Later that night, this was the scene after the sun had set and we sailed away from the island. The scenery was spectacular and the island, the sky and the sea turned all shades of blue.


Devon was just happy to sit and play with his shells...


Our room attendant made us literally laugh out loud with his towel creations. This was one the best... a monkey that was swinging from the ceiling after we got back from dinner! Devon was so impressed!


Every day we would go to the pool and enjoy our favorite thing in the world... swimming and relaxing in the jacuzzi! It was the best part of our day.









Our next stop was Falmouth, Jamaica...


(My camera fogged up right over Devon's face, but he was being lifted off the ground by the stilt-walkers! He was half horrified/scared and half in amazement! We got beef patties and walked around the streets for a little bit before deciding that Jamaica was not our scene with two kids in tow, so we headed back to the ship for a little bit of this...

Devon got to golf for the first time. (And don't argue saying that mini-golf is not real golf, ok?)


And Dean laughed from the sidelines. Dean actually found this slightly amusing and was relatively calm while Devon was waving his "stick" wildly in the air.




Does this look like two pro golfers, or what? Ha!


Firoze even got to join in on a sunset game of soccer on the sports court.


One of the best things about the ship was the kid's club for Devon. I was so impressed! They even organized the cutest talent show for all the little kids on board and Devon performed a dance with the other 4-5 year olds. It made my day!


He was so good! He didn't freeze like some of the other kids. And when the MC interviewed him after their dance, he was so confident. It made my heart go pitter patter. There is nothing like the love you have for your child.


This was the other thing that brought a smile to my face...

The dessert buffet! Yes please!

And last, Firoze and I had to have a little stress relief from all that crying...


Casino Royale - Ding, Ding, Ding, Ching, Ching, Ching... Can you hear the sound?!!

I have to admit... it's a rush when you are watching that little white ball bounce around the roulette wheel and you are just hoping your number hits...

And on my last spin on the last night, I put it all out there... I went big and put it all ($12) on my lucky number 23 (Firoze's birthday) and my number came up...



And I left $500 richer!!!

So, we did it all... we laughed, we cried, we cruised!

P.S. The trip back to Atlanta was a nightmare that would make a grown man cry. I won't even GO there!

Cruisin' Together: The Best & Worst of Times (Part 2)

There is a secret law of parenthood that no one talks about. It might be whispered about between parents - phone conversations that go one for hours, in private. No one without children ever hears about it. In fact, you can google it all you want and you'll come up empty handed. But I'm bold... I'm going to blog about it.

The Secret Law of Traveling with Infants
(And this is like a law of physics - it's undeniable, not up for discussion)
If you take your infant (age 6 months to 2 years) on any trip longer than 2 hours away from home for any length of time lasting for 24 hours or longer and spend more than $200 on travel expenses, you will be subjected to some or all of the following:
A child you do not know - a child you don't recognize. A child you might describe as a "monster child." A child that turns red and wails for no apparent reason. A child that instantly shows signs of illness without warning. A child that refuses to sleep and becomes an insomniac, lasting 48 hours without napping or sleeping. A child that goes through 20 diaper changes a day. A child that requires multiple outfit changes due to extreme distress (hot sweats, intense drooling, vomiting). A child that no longer finds any comfort in the arms of his/her parents. A child that will make you no longer like children. A child that turns into a fire breathing dragon... oh wait, that part might be exaggerated... maybe not.

Why wasn't I warned about this law? Hmmm... I don't know. I guess that's why it's a secret. Anyways, the secret's out! I'm in on it now. I got it. I learned the lesson and I'm passing it on.

So, all that business about the cruise ship being wonderful... It was. Let me be clear. It was the family trip of a lifetime. Too bad Dean didn't agree. He flat out hated our trip. Even though he is only 1, he said "I would have preferred to be asked if I wanted to take a cruise and I would have told you emphatically 'No!'" Dean is really amazing with vocabulary, so this is exactly what he said. Actually, he just cried for another 5 hours and pushed me in the face and scratched my arms in despair and I kind of understood what he was saying.

We were gone for 6 days. That is 144 hours of vacation. 144 hours of pure bliss. Except Dean fussed/whined/cried/screamed/wailed for 141 hours. He did enjoy 3 hours of our vacation. That was the best 3 hours of the trip!

That was on Day 5.

We were sailing back to Florida on a full day at sea and we came back to the room. We expected Dean to have his usual meltdown. Instead, we opened the doors to our balcony and a little bit of heaven opened up. The sea was calm and glassy. The weather was very warm, but not hot. The sun was golden. And Dean was happy!








Doesn't Devon look so grown up here? I can't even believe it!




Instead of kisses and smiles, I get dinosaur roars!

For 3 hours, Dean was an angel and we loved and kissed him and forgave him for all the very bad things he had done on our vacation.









I'm trying to be an optimist. I am trying to look for the sweet things about life... the memories I'm making with my family and all the blessings that we have. I did enjoy our vacation. I really did. I got all the things I wanted, but I got to experience them with a soundtrack of "Baby Shrieking." That's ok. There will be future vacations...




When Dean turns 10.

Cruisin' Together (Part 1)

"The music is played for love,
Cruisin' is made for love
I love it when we're cruisin' together."

So... do you want to hear the good news or the bad news?

Ok, of course. The good news! :)

We just got back from an amazing cruise vacation on the Navigator of the Seas - a Royal Caribbean Cruise. This was our major family vacation that we have truly had to save up for... our splurge!

Our flight to Florida was so easy... too easy. Devon watched movies on his DVD player and Dean either drank his bottle or slept on our shoulder on the flight. We made it there in record time and were ready to board our ship.



What a gorgeous ship! It had everything you could think of... multiple pools, 5 10-person jacuzzis, 6 restaurants, an indoor city with shopping, pubs, and a coffee shop, a casino, a rock climbing wall, a spa, a mini golf course, a sports court, an ice skating rink and incredible views of the ocean everywhere you looked! It was everything we dreamed it would be.


This was the pool deck.


Another view of the pool deck - our favorite place to spend our mornings after breakfast.


This was the adults only pool area. Firoze and I both took turns coming up here for a quick nap or to read a book in peace.


This was the amazing sculpture that spanned 10 floors! It was made to look like the bubbles from a diver under the ocean, but it was metal balls suspended on wires that moved as the ship rocked.


This was the indoor promenade, or the mini "city" on board. It was an open atrium at the center of the ship with shopping and dining options.


This was the coffee shop that you could come to every afternoon (or anytime at all because they are open 24 hrs!) to get a free coffee or tea and all the pastries you could stuff yourself with! Trust me... I took full advantage! Is it wrong to have a calzone, a cinnamon bun and a apple strudel with a cup of tea at 3pm in the afternoon? I don't think so!

But my FAVORITE part of the ship was our room! It was our first cruise with a balcony room and it was heaven! From now on, I'm spoiled... I can't go back to an inside cabin. Now that I know what it's like to wake up and throw open the curtains to see the ocean for miles and to slide the door open and hear the sounds of the waves and feel the sunshine. Nope, no going back.


This was the view from the balcony looking in.


This was the view looking out at our balcony - notice the nice pack n' play that the cruise ship set up for Dean. (More on that later!)


Firoze and Devon step out on our balcony and enjoy the sun!


Of course Devon brought "Baby" (you don't think there was any way he would leave his "best friend" at home, do you?) Baby should really have a passport by now. What stuffed animal has been on at least 10 flights by now and has literally flown around the world and has now taken a cruise? Hmmm.... lucky panda!


So happy to be on vacation!


We're all smiles here, even Firoze was so excited to be on vacation... away from the hotel... away from the stresses and pressures of everyday life. Little did we know what we were in store for! (More on this later :))

The first thing we did was to head up to the pool to enjoy the "Sail Away."



We started with sips of a fruity cocktail and smiles all around to feel the warm breezes, to watch the ship leave the Florida port and sail into the sunset, and to look forward to 6 days of fun and relaxation...

At least that was the plan. Parts 2 and 3 coming soon!