I BELIEVE............

THIS WEEK CAN NOT GO BY FAST ENOUGH!

WITH ANY LUCK AT ALL, THERE MAY BE A FEW SURPRISES IN STORE FOR THE LITTLE CRUMB-SNATCHERS OF THIS FAMILY!!!

FIGURES.....It would be me!

I thought the worst thing that could happen these days would be the kids getting sick...especially before this weekend. I expected them to get themselves into something.

Then I lost a present that I have had hidden in plain sight for 8 months now. That really sucks but I know I will notice it sooner or later. Not a big deal in the scheme of things I guess. So I pushed on.......

I decided to finish the mess Brinkley started when she claimed she cleaned her room yesterday. I have never in my life heard a girl say she has too many clothes. As far as I was concerned, that was not going to be the case anymore.

I got through the entire room and figured the closet was next. With everything out of the closet I started going through the bins and that was when it happened.

It was the krrrruuunching sound that made me nearly vomit. I felt like I was in slow motion. I couldn't straighten my leg and I couldn't bend it and it was in a grotesque postition. (Seriously, think Mel Gibson's shoulder in leathal weapon when he dislocates it to get out of the straight jacket.) I felt the tears start and then I yelped for Tommy. Who was I kidding. There was no way he could hear me.

I literally had to bang my knee into the ground to get it back into place. It was the most excruciating pain I have felt in a long, long time.

One more urgent care visit and I find I have dislocated my knee. Luckily, I relocated it before someone else had to. And I would not recommend doing this.

Hopefully I will be off the cruches soon... I don't have time for this......Oh well... 'tis the season I suppose...and after all, it is the most wonderful time of the year right?

(Tommy said it would be good for me to slow down a bit, I have to agree, but this is ridiculous!)

MMMMMM CHRISTMAS IS HERE.....

Everyone knows I heart Christmas! It is absolutely my favorite holiday and time of the year.

I am a giver.
I love, love, l-o-v-e giving Christmas presents.
I love making the kids go through their mounds of toys and find, at the very least, ten each, to donate and then, go through them again, to find more.
I love the scents of the season.
I love the candles.
I love the treats (I am not eating them this year though).
I love wrapping presents until they are piled high.
I love putting presents together until my fingers hurt.
I love the anticipation of Christmas morning.
I love the lights.
I love the glitter.
I love the spirit of the season.
I love the shopping.
I love the traditions.
I love the trees.
I love the ornaments.
I love that Santa has a tree he puts his presents under.
I love that we have a family window tree for family presents.
I love that our trees are pink and blue.
I love that Tommy has no idea what our kids get and doesn't mind it.
I love that Christmas no longer stresses me.
I love that I can't stick to a "$20.00 only" for adults.
I love the wrapping paper.
I love crystal tape.
I love bows.
I love watching my kids put up their trees.
I love Barbie ornaments.
I love that Tommy helped with a tree this year!
I love making gingerbread houses now!

I love that Spike loves the warmth of the lights.
I love Pudgie's curiosity about Baby Jesus (and the missing donkey).
I love the bathroom that is locked and piled ceiling high with gifts!
I love the glow of the lights on our banister at night.
I love the blow ups in front of our house that attract little ones at night.
I love E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G Christmas.

And finally,

I love that Tommy just smiles and puts up with me this time of the year!

Change...ING

This is a scary word for me.

Tommy knows I shy away from change. Ok, "shy," is not exactly the politically correct term to use. I guess the phrase, "throwing my body on the floor, flailing around kicking and screaming like a 2 year old," fits the bill much better.

I resist change like I resist the urge to sign up for the New York marathon. It pretty much does not exsist on my, "bucket list," of things, to ever, never, ever want to do, in life!

Somehow, though, I am in the middle of big change for me.

A few years ago I had a spat with my neighbor. It was more or less our kids that had the spat, but being parents that are fiercely protective of our little guys, it turned into a quote, unquote, cat fight, between her and I. And to be totally honest, it was never our kids that were the problem.

At any rate, we rarely talked in the past years, if ever. We just avoided each other and went on with our busy days and nights and, somehow, we just ignored it when our kids just started playing with each other again.

A few weeks ago we started talking to each other again. Nothing really exciting. Just chit chat here and there and basic things. Kids, school, families....etc. We started figuring out that we really did have a lot in common.

This past weekend we were comparing Christmas list notes. We joked about our, "early morning," Black Friday experiences and how we still needed to go and get a few other things at one store in particular.

Later on in the evening she busted me putting garbage into my other neighbors garbage can and asked if I would mind if she came with me, shopping, in the morning. I thought it would be fun since I rarely go shopping with any adults, let alone female friends.

We set out at human hours and hit 3 stores. We had quite a bit of driving to do so I was not even sure how our conversation, if any, was going to go. It was awesome. We found out that we both have a lot in common and we laughed so much about a lot of things. I loved having someone to hang out with and shop with and in the end, we discovered that our kids have quite a few, but very unplanned, identical Christmas gifts that they will be receiving. I thought that was awesome since all of our kids are pretty much the same age and they all play very well together. With everyone getting some of the same gifts, none will feel left out.

We spent the better part of the afternoon together bouncing more Christmas ideas off each other and just laughing about the craziness that is our lives... and I had a blast.

Today I found myself laughing in my family room as we sent text messages back and forth about the presents we were putting together for our kids while they were in school. Thankfully I did not crash into the wall, while I was testing one of the toys out, and we did discover that some of our matching presents are easily assembled in one single step. (Can't beat that!!!)

There was a time when I would have held a grudge for an eternity. I would have never given it a second thought and we would never, ever, have been seen hanging out in front of each others' houses while our kids play.

I am still getting used to the idea of the, "change is good for me," attitude I promised to adopt in hopes of bettering myself and teaching my own kids about forgiveness. I am pretty sure I can keep going with this one because I have lost out on quite a bit of time with someone I have a lot in common with and someone I can actually see myself going out shopping with, again, and maybe, just maybe, even having lunch with!

GIVING THANKS

I am a lucky woman. I know this. I have a life that many envy, few can imagine, and I only can live. I am so thankful for that everyday.

Before dinner, someone always has to say prayers. Justice always says prayers at pre-school so his are slightly different then ours. I don't know how I started it, but our dinner prayer is always the Lord's Prayer. That is also our bedtime prayer as well. Jax had it memorized by two and half and Binky soon followed suit. None of this is here nor there... I just make sure that after the prayer they say they are thankful for "__________" today.

This week I have been seriously emotional about our life. Saturday was exceptionally hard on me and I literally had to stop my life for over 24 hours and just "be still." Not easily done for a girl like me.

So during this week I watched and listened and thought long and hard about things I am so beyond words, thankful for. The list is too long to post in its entirety but here is a smidgen of them:

*The littlest of hands that stroke my cheek at 3:30 in the morning and the voice that whispers, "Momma, you so sweet, I sleep with you and you snuggle me now?"
*Friday's, alone, with Tommy
*A little power pack of a spunk of a daughter that will never ever let anyone get the best of her
*The power of forgiveness
*Tommy's ever so passionate kisses... in the morning, afternoon, at lunch or dinner
*Doctors who listen and then listen some more
*Jax's kindness
*Tommy's patience when I go on my decorating whims
*LIFE as I know it
*The blue eyes in my family
*A body I can still convince to push harder and faster
*Jax, a child with an old soul that is wise..way beyond his years
*Friends I can call at any hour
*Brinkley, my girl who has a heart of gold and the spiteful tongue of a sailor
*A mom that drives me nuts and makes me laugh until I nearly wet my pants
*Pudgie, my baby who melts my heart everyday and night
*Tommy, the one who makes me whole
*The home we have created and the love it possesses
*Hard Work
*Hard Play
*Tough time that strengthen us from within
*Belly laughs
*Crocodile tears that heal the heart
*Band aids that heal the rest, or just look cool
*Looks that say it all
*Shoes that feel as good as they look
*Family that is really there for you, even if they are not blood
*Days with minimal pain
*The sun on my cheeks
*Pink Christmas lights
*Butterflies in my stomach when I see Tommy after a 16 hour long work night
*Healthy family members
*Honesty
*Friends that offer to take my munchies so Mommy can have a break
*My sister
*My nieces
*My parents and their quirky priorities (You can't choose your family)
*All things Jensen!

We have had an amazing year, so far, and our family has so many things to be grateful for. The list is truely endless so I will leave it at that.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving and safe weekend of

S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G!

~H.O.M.E.~

My girlfriend asked if she could come by this morning after she dropped her little guy off at school. It was a strange way that she asked but I welcomed adult female conversation. It has been a while since I have had any, just sitting on my big comfy couch.

During the conversation, she noticed a lot of the changes I have made around our house. It has been a long time since I have had her inside our house. She like all that I had done. New paint, new wall coverings, new pictures, new candles, new lights, more artistic things here and there. Some little, some, not so little. Everything is coming together more and more and our house feels soooo HOMEY and WARM these days. Not that it didn't before, just different. It is more about our family and they way things are between all of us now.

It made me start thinking.....

Today was my downstairs cleaning day. GOOD SCRUBBING DEEP cleaning day. Grout cleaning, nook and cranny dusting, kind of cleaning day. I am still working on my kitchen since I also re-arranged artwork on the walls and had to deal with some things along the way.

Once I was 80% done doing the downstairs cleaning, I took a second to sit down and have a snack. That was when I started wondering what Jax, Binx, and Pudgie would remember about our house growing up. I try very hard to make our house the kid friendly one. None of our rooms are off limits because I have some sacred china or something I can't live without if it gets broken in there. Of course everything has value but the only things with true special meanings are the people that enter through our doors!

We live pretty casually around here. I like it that way. Leather is easy to scrub clean and I happily repaint dirty walls that don't wipe up well.

I wonder if Jax will remember that I put the ottomans in front of the T.V. so that he had a place to put his snacks and drinks when he and Daddy were playing their video games together.

I wonder if he will remember I got him the beanbag because it is more comfortable for them to lay against it as they take out the terrorists and dismember alien life forms.

I wonder if he will ever realize that Daddy picked out the big T.V. just for the purpose of playing cool video games with his kids.

I wonder if Binky will remember that I spent more time on her bedroom, decorating and then redecorating it, than I spent on all 3 of the other bedrooms put together.

I wonder if she will remember that all of my garage is designed around mostly her toys and scooters and jump ropes and walkie talkies and chalk and art supplies. My Escalades spot comes second to keeping her precious roller blades safe.

I wonder if she will remember that I kept our kitchen table because of all the markings she accidentally made from writing her letters and numbers too hard on her papers.

I wonder if Pudgie will remember how hard I worked to draw and paint his entire bedroom, free-hand, Spongebob and Sandy and Squidward and the pineapple.

I wonder if he will remember all his ride on toys that he can park with his eyes closed, perfectly in their assigned parking spots.

I wonder if he will remember our picnics in the grass on lazy sunny afternoons when the other two were at school and we were having special days together.

I wonder if he will remember how I laughed like crazy the first time he decided he wanted to be just like his DOZER puppy and go potty on the grass.....

I want my babies to have memories of this house being awesome. Being a safe zone and one that all their friends were welcome to play at.

I want them to know our house is a HOME that we have fun and laugh and LOVE and play and learn and fight and forgive and bring friends to and have family over, in. I want them to remember that Christmas is our holiday and we always have prime rib with corn and everyone plays the Wii after dinner.

I want them to always remember that our house was loud and fun and filled with joy.

I want everyday to be a day to remember and holidays to be lavish and sacred and times that they tell their own children about one day. I want our house to hold traditions dear to their hearts and that they will want to carry on one day.

I know our house is not the biggest on the block. It may not have the most expensive toys with all the bells and whistles in it, and it surely is not the most organized. The furniture may have spills and the carpet may have spots. The decor may not be for everyone and some may think we are little to forward in our house. Our house does not stay as clean as I would wish for.... and most days, you can find dishes in the sink.

I am good with that.

I am good with that as long as my babies all know that this house is filled with so much love for them everyday it could bring me to tears. It is a safe zone for them to be themselves and let go of all the worries that are still to come, in this crazy life we live.

~AN HONOR~

IT IS, TO PUT IT SIMPLY, AN HONOR TO BE PARENTS OF THIS CHILD. GOD GIFTED US WITH THE EASIEST, SMARTEST, CUTEST AND HUNGRIEST KID I KNOW. AFTER 4 YEARS OF STRAIGHT A'S, HE FINALLY GETS TO BE ON THE HONOR ROLL!

WE ARE SO PROUD, AS USUAL!

THE WHISPER~

Ahhhh it is in the air now.

That almost irritating whisper. I have been ignoring it. Sort of.

It is calling me everyday.

I find other projects to tend to or create.

I can't ignore it anymore.

Rafiki does this every year.

He talks to me and tells me,

"IT IS TIME"

The trees are coming out this weekend.

I will find the lights I want for the outside of the house come hell or high water.

The baking will commence. (Ok, who am I kidding with that one?)

I will buy Trish's goodies and pass them off as mine at parties. (Again, no one will buy that either, so I will give her all the credit she so deserves.)

I will become one with the Spirit of Shopping.

I will start my tradition of wrapping presents behind locked doors watching movies until the wee hours of the night.

I will hide more presents than I will find when Christmas Eve arrives.

I can smell the candles and scents of Christmas already!

I will take the time to make cookies with the kids.

I will be in my happiest of places!

3

ONE OF THE NEW AND EXCITING CHANGES IN OUR HOUSE IS OUR WORKOUTS. OUR GYM CLOSED. THIS WAS NO SURPRISE TO US. WE QUIT IT BEFORE THE OWNER COULD SCAM ANY MORE MONEY OUT OF US... UNLIKE SOME VERY UNLUCKY PEOPLE THAT GLADLY HANDED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO THIS GUY. ANYWAY.. MY BLOG IS ABOUT OUR NEW WORKOUTS.

TODAY WAS RUN SUNDAY. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO IT TOGETHER. TOMMY AND I, THAT IS. I AM HARD CORE UNHAPPY ABOUT GETTING UP ON THE WEEKENDS. TOMMY LEFT ME AND PUDGIE IN BED AND RAN BY HIMSELF. THAT LEFT ME TO GO IT ALONE.

I MADE MY 3 MILE PLAN AND THEN I HAD COMPANY. JAX AND BRINKLEY WANTED TO GET IN SOME EXTRA MILES FOR RUNNING CLUB. IT ALL SOUNDED WELL AND GOOD. I CAN MAKE 3 MILES WITHOUT STOPPING.... WITHOUT CHILDREN. THAT WAS THE PROBLEM.

MY THREE MILES WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
OK 3-2-1-GO
BINKY LED THE PACE SINCE HER LEGS ARE LIKE 5 INCHES LONG.
~SHE TIRES QUICKLY.
~JAX TOOK OVER THE PACE.
~HE WORRIED ABOUT BRINKLEY.
~I LEFT THEM FOR MY RUN. IT WAS A STRAIGHT PATH SO I COULD SEE THEM BEHIND ME.
~PROBLEM WAS, WE WERE ON HIGLEY. I WORRIED ABOUT THEM BY THEMSELVES, EVEN IF THEY WERE ONLY 1/4 OF A MILE BEHIND ME.
~I WOULD RUN 1/2 A MILE AND TURN AND GO BACK 1/4 OF MILE TO THEM AND TURN AND RUN ANOTHER 1/2 MILE.
~THEN REPEAT.

HOLY CRAP, THIS WENT ON FOR FLIPPEN' EVER IT SEEMED. IT WAS AN AWESOME WORKOUT BUT SERIOUSLY.....................
POOR JAX, EVERYTIME I CAME BACK TO HIM HE WOULD ASK IF I WAS MAD.
NOT ON YOUR LIFE. EVEN IF THE LOOK ON MY FACE SAID DIFFERENTLY.
I HATE RUNNING BUT I WAS SO EXCITED THEY WERE RUNNING WITH ME.

IN THE END MY 3 MILE RUN WAS A 5 MILE RUN WITH A 1 MILE WALK TO ACCOMODATE THE KIDS.
I LOVED IT.

TOMMY WAS WAITING ON THE GRASS WITH THE SLOSH PIPES.
AS IF RUNNING ISN'T ENOUGH TORTURE ON THIS BROKEN BODY.
I COMPLETED 30 OVERHEAD SQUAT WITH THE SLOSH PIPE AND NEARLY FELL OVER.
THE BEST PART WAS WATCHING PUDGIE JUST HOLD HIS SLOSH PIPE OVER HIS HEAD SAYING HE WAS SUPERMAN!

I LOVE SUNDAYS!

~MAIN SQUEEZE~

Tommy and I are bound and determined to avoid any type of the flu in this house. I don't have time for all that. We have not vaccinated the kids yet and I have never in my life had the flu... and I am not about to start this year!

Tommy took it upon himself to designate himself and Justice as our official family juicers. I love waking up on Saturday and Sunday to fresh apple/carrot juice. My all time favorite is lemon/orange/tangerine/carrot, but we are doing the apple/carrot juice right now.

(NOTE TO ANYONE WHO MAKES FRESH JUICE... BROCCOLI IS DISGUSTING IN JUICE!!)

Tommy is a great patient, teacher with Justice... and

BONUS~

They do all the dishes too!

I love you boys more than any words can express!!!!

Licenses~

FAIR WARNING~ I AM JUST SIMPLY RANTING ABOUT BAD PARENTING ..... THIS ENTIRE BLOG!

"Are you freakin kidding me?" That was all I could think. I bit my tongue and thought...."Kiddo, you would last about 20 seconds with me before you got your tail smacked."

You see, Tommy and I don't bargain with 2, 3, 4, 5...8,10, 12 or any number under 18... year olds anymore. It has caused a few arguments here and there and as of late, I lost a friend over it. Grocery shopping at Fry's today, with my 4 year old that has been nothing short of a smart mouth brat that has had hot oil dumped down his throat 6 times today, made me thankful for the fact that he is my brat...that and the fact that the woman behind my carts little demon child was not mine.

I am not kidding when I say that I am more than patient at the grocery store. I have to be. I am the one who does it and until recently, I always had Pudge in tow with me. I fed him through every aisle to keep him quiet. I am not ashamed to admit that I am the mom who hands over the empty yogurt containers to the checker because he ate yogurt and bananas as we shopped. I even bring spoons from home just for this. The stockers know us by name and a few play with Pudgie when he is out of the race car testing me for the morning.


Like all moms, I have my limits.

A 3 year old that is throwing candy bars at me, when it is not my child, does not get, "patient smiles," from me. No bargaining and no little, "hellos," or, "hey buddy...blah blah blah," bs that I would normally throw out there. Instead, I did what I have a certain knack for lately. I made another enemy when I reprimanded this kid, in a round a bout sort of way, to his mom.

I know.... nice going DeAnna.... but in my own defense (like I need to defend my actions to a 3 year old...)

this little guy chucked his 5th candy bar my way, smacking Pudgie square in the face. Last straw.... This was after I had been hit in the neck, boobs and thigh already...... and, I was already having one of those mornings where I was seething about a few things. The fact that this woman did not even once tell this brat to stop, smack his hands, move him so he could not grab the candy bars, or even attempt an apology for the first, second, or even the third time this kid threw these bars had tipped me over the beyond pissed off edge....

I turned to this little kid, then looked at his mom, and said,

"Once is funny, twice is a little un-nerving and the third times the charm... you see, by now, my child's ass would be bright red from the spatula I would be using on it for his being so rude at a grocery store, but maybe you think he needs to learn how to make his choices. I am not in the mood to watch your kid learn to make his choices today. I am going to suggest you move to another line before I bend down and whisper something so incredibly scary to your child, that he will choose not to sleep in his bed for a week. Now you have a great day too!"

I know that all of that popped into my head from making hot dogs over the fire with Jax, Brinkley, Haylee and Pudgie last night. They wanted to tell scary stories and it has been on my mind since last night when I kinda scared them all with some real life cop stories.....

Totally uncool for me to lose mine, but seriously... some people need a license to re-produce.

The woman moved... rather quickly too. She never did pick up the candy bars her demon was throwing, and my checker, well, she almost wet her pants laughing.

At any rate... the horrified look of, "How dare you?" was priceless today and I got over everything that had me in a yuck mood to begin with. Gotta love that, I guess!

CHANGE: RE~

SOME CHANGES ARE HUGE, SOME NOT SO NOTICEABLE AND SOME... WELL SOME ARE GONNA CHANGE EVERYTHING...... FOR NOW WE ARE:

RE-MODELING
RE-PAINTING
RE-FINISHING
RE-LAXING
RE-DOING
RE-WINDING
RE-ORGANIZING
RE-GROUPING
RE-DECORATING
RE-VISITING
RE-PRIORITIZING
RE-LIVING
RE-FACING

AND

TRYING TO KEEP IT ALL IN CHECK AT THE SAME TIME. (MAYBE I MEANT TO SAY THAT I AM TRYING TO STAY SANE ALL AT THE SAME TIME) WE WILL SEE HOW THAT GOES.

(the little voice in my head wishes that re-producing was on this list as well!)

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR

BIG CHANGES ARE A COMING TO THE JENSEN HOUSE!

SOME WE ARE THRILLED ABOUT, SURPRISINGLY, SINCE I HATE CHANGE.

SOME, NOT SO MUCH.

WE ARE EMBRACING EVERYTHING...

BUT I HAVE A HEADACHE SO I CAN'T STARE AT THE COMPUTER ANY LONGER.....SOON THOUGH!

hALloWeEn oN mAcK

This is our 4th Halloween in this house and the second time we have closed off our street for a block party. Every year is just getting better and better. Jax and Brinkley teamed up this year for their costumes. I swear some people are a little too judgemental and should keep their stupidity and comments to themselves. Other than that.. we had a wonderful night with a few friends and some of our neighbors.

Poor Brinkley had an allergic reaction to the glue that we used to apply her bloody cuts but I am hoping, by Monday, the rash will be gone. As for Pudgie... our little Bumblebee was the best one out there. I did see one other one but he did not have the helmet or the arm gun. That helmet made the outfit. It was awesome the way it made Pudgie's vocals sound mechanical. Even Daddy had to play with it! I do have to say that I love the fact that my kids begged us to go home after two blocks. They were bored trick or treating and wanted to play. It is awesome that they would rather spend the night playing outside with their friends rather than going house to house to get as much candy as humanly possible.

Smores, Trish's amazing pumpkin cake roll with cream cheese frosting and almond teuqila on the rocks made for awesome treats for the night while all the crumb-snatchers had little tricks up their sleeves to make us laugh.

Now, onto Christmas. Yep, you read that correctly. No Thanksgiving decor for this house. I am going straight to Christmas without passing go or collecting $200.00 and I plan on staying in Christmas mode until the day after Christmas, at the very least.
This last photo is my buddy Beth. She is pregnant with baby #8. Yes, number 8! And, she is due in 24 days. So cute! Thanks for coming and hanging with us!

1989

My 20 year class reunion was last night. I himmed and hawed about going and finally relented. Tommy did not want to go. He had the perfect out with Pudgie's massive ear infection and Binky still working on her vertigo subsiding. I did not want to go without him. He finally gave in and we met Susan and Melissa for an evening of the "unknown." I am not sure what I expected from my reunion but it really did not live up to any expectations. I am just glad I got to hold hands with the love of my life and hang with Susan and Melissa laughing until someones panties came off.

Last night I realized:

*20 years flew by in the blink of my eye

*I was able to sit with two "old" friends and laugh like time has stood still.

*They are both seriously, two of the most beautiful women, inside and out, that I have ever met and still have the privilege of knowing!

*Women took their husbands, men conveniently "forgot" their wives, jackasses I tell you....

*The "HOT" guys from high school ~ WHAT THE HELL KIND OF TASTE DID I HAVE BACK THEN?

*The "PRETTY" girls ~ pretty much......all have "slow" metabolisms now! (Is that kinder Tommy?)

*Some people never change... thankfully, some finally did

*I paid too much to sit and reminisce

*With the exception of Susan and Melissa, I can go another 20 without seeing these people again

*I married a lot later than 95% of my classmates

*I waited even longer than most to have kids... some have 20 year olds and one has a set of 21 year old twins!

*I am one of the very few that have been married only one time.... and then stayed married. One woman had 5 hubby's under her belt!!

*My class consists mainly of: Cops, firefighters, or criminals... sad, I know!

*There are a lot of people that really never grow up

*Once again, tonight showed me how lucky I am for the family I have and the life I live

~THE SPLENDOR RECAP~

I can't find words to describe the amazing vacation we had. Tommy and I had time together, alone, with each child individually, in pairs, and in triplicate. It was the best time ever. We have discovered numerous things about ourselves this trip:

Each and every person in this family sucks at cruising at some point in time

BEFORE: It is Pudgie. He had a horrible breakdown as we were walking the gangway onto the ship the first day and for about 20 minutes after we had boarded. He was awesome after that until Cabo when we boarded the small boat and with it being next to the Splendor he feared we were going to be squished!

DURING: It is my two biggest boys. Jax suffered the most. 4 out of 7 days he got some type of sea sickness. Never, "too bad," but enough to make him lay down one afternoon. Tommy does not do well in tropical storms. Especially after he has eaten breakfast.

AFTER: Binky and I get vertigo after a cruise. So far it has lasted 5 1/2 days and has only subsided a little for me. She has been living with a constant headache since we got home but new medication should fix it today. I was literally unable to stand up the first two days we were home. Tommy and Jax love this feeling on land.

Our entire family agrees that 24 hour room service ROCKS!

I am the only one who could really appreciate 24 hour maid service

I could sleep 24 hours a day on a boat because of the rocking. But only on the balcony with the fresh sea air blowing on me

Brinkley could too if it weren't for the fact that she has to explore every nook and cranny a ship has... even "crew only" areas. (That's my girl!!)

Jax can bargain anyone down on anything.....even stuff he refuses to buy afterwards!

Pudgie is lost without his big brother by his side

It scares me to death how people fall in love with Brinkley and remember who she is after meeting her one time..... and then commenting on her over and over again to me, in the strangest of places...Cabo, a casino, on a beach in Mazatlan, waiting for a cheesburger......

The jewelry Brinkley and I share is so unique people from all over the world offer to buy it because they have, "never seen something like that before!"

Brinkley is my dare devil "off" land. Parasailing was a breeze for her. Jet ski riding freaked her out to the verge of tears for fear of sharks. Zip lining is on our, "things to do list," next time we take this trip!

Tommy and I overpacked. Rephrase.. I overpacked myself, the kids and then Tommy!

We all hate humidity!

The beach is all three crumb-snatchers favorite place on earth to play

I still hate sand, no matter how beautiful the water or area

Jax can sniff out 14kt gold charms if they are within a mile of him!

Pudgie thinks the salt from a margarita is "sgusting" (disgusting) and I have to agree!

Jax loves virgin pina coladas

Jax and Binky are much more aware of the price of things since they had to pick and choose what they could buy, with their own money, on this trip!

Jax understands what it really means to: "want" or "need"

We all realize how fortunate we are to HAVE

No matter where we are, my kids still love to snuggle at night.... even if the three of them are on a twin bed!

A waterslide, on the top of a ship, can be kinda freaky to ride down while in the middle of the ocean

I can't trust anyone to launder my clothes right. I paid to have our laundry done on the ship, only to have it smell like chemicals... so I had to re-wash 13 loads of clean laundry when we got home!

I had no problem letting Jax and Brinkley wander the Splendor together without adult supervision. Tommy had a difficult time warming up to this......and never really got over it!

Talking dirty to slot machines makes people think you are crazy.....even your own husband....until you win over $1500.00 from that "pretty girl...that's right baby...show me the money!!" It probably didn't help I was fondeling it too...

RAIN ON A CRUISE SHIP IS SEXY

Kissing my husband on that cruise ship, in the rain, EVEN SEXIER!

THIS IS THE FIRST OF MANY CRUISES THIS FAMILY IS PLANNING TO TAKE!!!

FINALLY:

No matter where we go on vacation as a family, there is still no place like home! (I just wish the maid would come leave little mints on my pillow! Is that really too much to ask?)

BRING ON CABO~

DAY SIX WAS ONTO CABO SAN LUCAS!

Once again, we debarked the ship with no real plans. We were all pretty tired from Mazatlan so we slept in too late to go to the beach, which devastated the kids. We chose to do a glass bottom boat ride and on to some shopping. All in all, we were some what dis-satisfied with Cabo. The only reason I say this is because we did not have enough time there. It was evil hot and even more so humid. I think that if we had 10 hours of play time here, we would have fallen madly in love with the beautiful water and phenomenal beaches we saw!! Once back on the ship, it was nap time for all and then on to parties in the Camp Carnival kids areas! This was quite the hit, since Jax and Binky were allowed out until 3:30 in the morning! So while Pudgie and the kids had fun doing things like this......Mommy and Daddy had fun in the casino winning this...One more day and night at sea (with another tropical storm) and we were more than ready to head home.
You know it is a small world when your new found friend on a cruise to a foreign country lives almost next door to your Grammie!!!
We are all fighting off vertigo, ear infections and overtiredness still, but would not trade this vacation for anything in the world!!

Still Cruisin'

NEXT STOP:
MAZATLAN!
With only the beach and sun on our minds for today, we quickly got off the ship and headed to Pancho's Restaurant. This is the most famous restaurant in Mazatlan and Tommy found out why when he and my Mom shared the Coconut Shrimp. We spent the entire day on the beach.

Brinkley and I did this together.Then Tommy and Jax did this:While Binky and I did this....Pudgie was content on the beach with his shovel and bucket but loved playing tag with the waves until he got knocked on his tushie at one point. He went right back in yelling at the waves and shaking his little fist. Gotta love this kids spunk.The vendors were never ending on the beach and finally became annoying to the point that it was time to leave.There is a really funny story behind this mask, that yes, we did bring home...so if you want to know it, just ask, but I refuse to post it on here!! (Ahem Tommy!)

We ate lunch at Pancho's, where everyone actually ate their real mexican food, Tommy and Jax fell in love with their coconut shrip that tasted like cinnabon cream over shrip...magnificent, we found an amazing jewelry shop for me and Binky to buy our one of a kind treasures from Mazatlan at, and we made it back to the safety of the ship in one tired piece.I must say, Tommy was not the happiest man in the world with the wanna be taxies we squished into and rode to and from the beach in. No windows, no seatbelts, two kids on my lap, and everyone yelling with laughter did not make for a happy camper of a POLICEMAN Daddy, but there was little we could really do about it so he bit his tongue and watched his kiddos laugh with glee at all the sights!!(Shawni, I had to nab this photo from your blog because we did not take an actual photo of the taxi's!! I hope you don't mind!!)

Thankfully, no one got sunburned during our 7 hours on the beach and we all found Mazatlan to be amazing!

ONTO OUR NEXT STOP ~ CABO SAN LUCAS!!