Home Sweet Home

There's nothing like walking into your home after a week vacation and smelling the aroma of pumpkin pie plug ins or crawling into crisp clean cool sheets or using a toilet that doesn't sound like it's having a seizure every time you flush. Yes the joys of cruising, toilets.
Maybe I am pushing it a bit, I would take that 12x12 cabin any day if it was offered to me again.

But in all honesty, for the first time in 11 cruises, we were happy to be HOME. Granted the big boat is our home away from home, sharing a cabin with a 11 month old terrorist who find bras and underwear in a drawer way more amusing than his 300 toys, makes for a long week. But a week I wouldn't trade for the world. 

 We traded in our nights in the night club for nights where we retired to our cabin early with a sleeping baby and had drinks out on our balcony while CC slumbered away in the closet. Yes, closet. I have no shame, we put the pack n play in the cabin's closet, it's an open long space that fit the pack n play perfect. Hey it worked.

We spent more time in the buffet than we did at the pool. What can I say,  my kid eats like a 300lb man and I can't keep food on his plate long enough before he shoves it in his mouth. This though became a problem for Chris and I. CC had to eat at least 3 times a day, full meals, highchair pulled up to the table, full on scene. Which in turn made Chris and I eat full and I mean food falling off full plate of food each setting. Thus adding many inches to our waistline. No big deal, right?

HA! I brought one formal dress. My favorite one, the pink flowers and jewels make me feel like I am dancing on top of the world when I slip squeeze it on. I knew it was a tight fit, a tad tighter than last cruise. But dammit- I didn't care- I have to go to at least ONE formal night this cruise. I made sure we went to the first formal night in the cruise so I fit in my dress, wore my best pair of Spanx and made mental notes not to bend over to grab baby out of stroller. Because goodness would I burn some eyes with my hot nude colored Spanx hanging out of the back of my dress. Shoot, I already rolled up the legs enough so they didn't show at all. 

Too bad I looked down at dinner and saw this.

No wonder the waiter kept asking if I wanted more bread. 

No another napkin please because this first one isn't covering this mad mess!

But hey, who cares when you're famous on the ship. OK, well I lie. But much to our surprise we found our wedding photo still hanging out in the photo gallery. I had to resist the urge to tell everyone walking by how cool we are. Yea, we are losers because this friends was a huge highlight of our trip. 

But then again, we are the dorks that went out to the deck we were married on and did a .083 second replay for the one photo op.

 2008

 2011

Then

Now

So much has happened in the past 3 years, had you told me that very day that we would go through what we did and be able to stand in that very spot 3 years later and reply a kiss, I would have laughed in your face. But we did it, we live our life for Nolan, we strive to be the best parents for CC and dammit we are still going to cruise.

To be continued: How we cruised with a baby.....