Cruise Tips

We have now been on two Carnival Cruises and I am by no means an expert cruiser but I can share some tips and tricks that we picked up along the way that have saved us money. First off, we booked our most recent cruise two years ago. We put down a deposit and paid it off over two years. Yes, the deposit was non refundable but we were able to bump our trip out an extra year so that was not lost. A non refundable deposit is scary but it was also a great way to commit to a trip and force ourselves to budget and work towards this vacation. Talk is cheap and you can always talk about a vacation you want to take and plan but until you start the process you will never go. The fact that we could pay for it over time made it appealing and exciting as well.

What Happens on a Cruise?

So you book your vacation and choose what places you want to visit. For us, we went the Caribbean route. So we boarded the cruise from Miami on a Sunday afternoon. We spent Monday at sea traveling to the first destination, Jamaica. Tuesday, we docked and could get off the ship at 8am but had to return on board by 4pm. Our ship left that port Tuesday evening and we awoke Wednesday morning at Grand Cayman. Then Thursday, we awoke in Cozumel. Friday we spent the day and night at sea leading us to docking back in Miami on Saturday morning.  

When you arrive at the cruise terminal with all your bags you get tags on them, tip the bag man who insures they get to your room and proceed to actually checking in to get on board. Once you are on the ship you can go eat or go to your room or wander the ship. During the lunch hours they had a buffet and for dinners there was a more formal sit down dinner. You had the option of assigned dining in which each night you had early seating (6pm) or late seating (8pm) and were paired with the same people each night. Of you could do free seating in which you showed up to dine between the hours of 6-9pm and were sat with different folks each evening. We liked the late dining because after a full day on the islands we liked to come back, grab a snack, and take a nap. Then we would wake up and have a few hours before dinner. We did assigned dining on both cruises and will not be doing that again. The first cruise we were paired with a really nice couple in which we really enjoyed talking with and eating with each night. This last cruise, we got paired with two other couples and we just didn't jive. If you don't like the folks you have to sit with, you end up not wanting to go to the dinners. Each morning they had several breakfast buffets and had one big dining room open for a sit down served breakfast or brunch. We enjoyed a bit of both depending on when we woke up and what we were in the mood for. 

Each evening, usually while you are out eating dinner, your room is cleaned and they leave an itinerary for the next days events happening on the ship. There was always plenty of entertainment to include: comedians, bingo, dance parties, deck movies, contests and shows. They also tell you when you can get off the ship once we dock on the island and when you are to be back on board. It's usually a good 6-8 hours you get to be on the island before having to return on board. 

You can choose to book excursions before you even sail, book them on board or book them the day you are on that island or destination. These are the big money makers but are also really fun adventures that you typically won't be able to do anywhere else. The ship offers sanctioned excursions but once you dock you will notice there are local folks offering excursions as well. Carnival recommends you choose theirs because if your excursion runs late or something happens they will hold the ship for you. So it may be a bit pricer but it's worth the fact knowing that big boat won't leave without you! We didn't do any this trip because we just wanted to go to the beaches and play it easy. Our first cruise we swam with dolphins and did the Atlantis Waterpark in the Bahamas. That was really fun, really pricey but totally worth the experience!

Food and Drinks:

The big thing everyone talks about on a cruise is all the fab food. Well, yes the food is everywhere, all the time so you never go hungry. It's all included in your vacation except for a few speciality restaurants  that you can choose to make reservations at and pay a bit extra to go there. You don't have to book those restaurants before you actually cruise so you have the option to look at the menu on board and decide for yourself. 

As for drinks, black coffee, milk, water, and tea are all included and you can find it everywhere on the ship. If you want any sodas, you have to pay for them and it's not to cheap. Same with alcohol, wine, beer, and fancy coffee. I think we paid $5 a beer, $7.50 for a margarita and $3 for a vanilla latte. To help ease the cost of our beverages we did the following things, which Carnival allows:

We each brought a bottle of wine in our luggage and on board. You are allowed one bottle per person. Only wine though, you can't bring a bottle of liquor or any beer. We also brought a 12 pack of cokes and a 12 pack of water bottles on board. You are allowed one 12 pack, less than 20oz bottles or cans per person. Since my husband drinks a few cokes a day, this saved us mucho money! The water bottles were for us to take on the island so that we always had water and were not having to pay for it on the island. The ship water was fine and filtered so never any worries there. I also packed a handful of the Starbucks instant vanilla latte coffee because I knew I would want a taste of home and it's super hard for me to down black coffee with cream and sugar. These instant packs were great and served me well with my vanilla coffee addiction!

Tips and Gratuity:

This is another cost not included in your booking fee. When you cruise you have a room key which also serves as a credit card in some sense. You buy drinks and whatever else you want on board with it and the last day of your cruise you get a bill and pay for it with your real credit card. Each cruise line charges differently but our ship had an $11.50 gratuity charge per person, per day. They divide that up between the stateroom person (person who cleans your room at least twice a day), dining room service, and alternative services (kitchen staff and other board staff). Besides that, each drink you buy has an automatic 15% tip added with your choice to add on it that or not. I think these folks on the ship more than deserve all these automatic gratuity charges so we didn't have issues with this policy. I know these auto charges had to be put in place because many guest would never tip so I understand. But, if you have never cruised or haven't read all the FAQ's you will probably be surprised to see these charges! We always plan for extra money to tip our specific stateroom person, our waiter and anyone else that we felt we appreciated how amazing they were! We typically tip this extra cash the last night. Before we leave town we bring a few extra envelopes to be able to hand out to those folks. This is pretty common to do. These folks work super hard and most of them work for 8 months straight before they get to go home to visit family. They are from all walks of life and are all so polite and nice no matter how crappy their day is. 

Packing:

The most essential things that were worth packing were:

Pain relievers: Any meds you may need like Tylenol, Benadryl, bandaids, etc take! Or you will pay a pretty penny for them on the cruise when you need them.

Sunscreen

Beach Bag: I personally like the ones with a zipper to feel a little more secure about my belonging when walking around the islands.
 
Water Bottle: We filled ours up during the day to have water on hand in our room and we took our personal bottles on the islands so we didn't spend money on bottled water.

Watch: There are no clocks in the rooms so this helped us know what time a day it was on the ship and on the islands

Dress Shoes: 1-2 pairs max that match multiple outfits so you can save space and hassle in your suitcase. Don't overpack with shoes, it's a waste!

Extra baggies:  Or a small waterproof container that you can take on the islands with you so your ID's and cash don't get soaked in the water if you choose to take them with you.

Carry On: I like to pack a day or two's worth of essentials in my carry on in the event that my luggage gets lost and I need stuff to wear/use until it arrives. Never hurts to packs your must need things in your carry on.

20-22 Months

Dear Little Spoon,
  You are just two months away from being two, which makes you a full on toddler pretty soon.  I LOVE this age. I love each day with you because something new always happens and we have so many fun adventures, from building tents, to reading books side by side, to saying "cheers" and smashing our PB&J sandwiches together. In the last two months you have changed drastically. I noticed it more because I spent one full week away from you on a vacation with Daddy and came home to a whole new kiddo! You are so sweet and show me love each day in different ways. I love watching you discover new things and love seeing how amused you are with the games I make up for us to play. You are easily amused, easily distracted, and easily captivated. You love to practice all the words you know by reciting them over and over. Lately, you love to listen and look for planes in the sky and big trucks on the road. Both noises stop you in your tracks and you look around to find the plane or truck to point to it and tell me, "pane" "ig uck". Each day you are saying more and more new words. New words I swear I haven't said but maybe you have picked up from TV, books or Daddy?

As of last week we moved you into a modified crib/toddler bed. It's not a full on toddler bed but you are able to get in and out of it freely. We had to convert your crib because you were attempting to balance on your belly on your crib railing to get out. You were able to get a few toes up on the rail as well which doesn't surprise me. You have always been limber which I think you got from being so crammed in my belly for so long. You have transitioned really well to your new bed and I am so proud of you for adjusting well. The first two days were your most testing days but you learned quickly! When you wake up in the morning you go sit in your little chair, cover your legs with your favorite blanket and look at books. This is the cutest thing to see you do and I love that you play quietly and study books. Then, you come get me or like this morning I woke up to find you on the couch with a snack and your water ready for me to turn on the TV for you!

You are trying more new foods but you still have your favorite go to items. You LOVE muffins and so I continue to make mini sized homemade ones with healthy substitutions to keep you full and happy. You still don't eat meat unless we sneak it in something and you seem to only like roasted veggies if any. Breakfast is still your biggest meal which is fine by me because I feel there are more options and variety to give you for that meal. You have never been a milk drinker and now only consume the occasional weekly "coffee" that I get you from Starbucks (organic vanilla milk). You ask for water and will drink it all day.

You still love to snuggle with me and cuddle up to me when we watch a movie or read books. I love this downtime with you and love how sweet you are to me. You are a very good listener and don't throw a lot of fits. When you do have a meltdown or a fit I ask you to calm down so we can talk about it. You usually do and we have a chat about what's going on. You do really well with me telling you why we are doing things the way we are doing them. You react better to positive reinforcement or incentives than to negativity or harsh discipline. I have noticed the more stress free our house is and the more laid back I am towards the things you do, the better you react to them. You really are a wonderful, well behaved kiddo. We are very lucky and I will do my best to continue to shape you into a happy positive little person!

Favorite Sayings:
Oh my
Oh dear
Oh mon (man)
Oh sh*t (only heard you say this a few times, eek!)
Hooray (accompanied with one arm raise to when saying it)
All gone
ZoZo coffee (when mama gets Starbucks, you get vanilla milk in a Starbucks cup, your "coffee")

Favorite Things:
Blankets (must have several to sleep with)
Winnie the Pooh movies (obsessed!)
Dr. Suess, Their is a Wocket in my Pocket
Dr. Suess, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? (we read both of these nightly and I catch you looking at them yourself in the mornings when you get out of bed).
Carrying Mama's Keys wherever we go
Library story time. You love the teacher and always make your way to the front of the class to dance, look at the book she is reading or just smile at the teacher.
Playing outside
Playing in a whole, in the dirt, outside
Anything that involves water. You help mama water all the trees and Daddy's greenhouse plants

Funny things:
Whenever you see an older lady with short grey hair you say, "MeMa, MeMa!". Then you make a sad face and say, "ohh" when that lady walks away. Just today you saw an interview on TV with the Long Island Medium lady and said, "GiGi! GiGi!". This made me laugh because you must associate the blonde hair with your GiGi and grey hair with your MeMa.

I went to Kohl's last weekend and bought you a few clothes on clearance while you stayed home with Daddy. When I got home, I opened the bag and showed you the clothes I got you. You picked up a pair of PJ's, held them up to yourself and said, "cute". I just about died hearing you say this! You love your clothes already don't you?!

You will break out in the Winnie the Pooh exercise dance in a store, at the park or anywhere you feel like it. You raise your arms high, then touch your toes all while saying, "up..down..up!"

Family Sunday Coffee

Before nap time I told you if you stayed in your bed and took a good rest, when you woke up you could wear mama's necklace. You did it and so you got to wear it!

Pooh bath toys for being such a good big girl in your new bed.

Feeding and chasing ducks but mostly eating the bread I brought for the ducks when I wasn't looking.

First night in your new bed started with smiles but tears and sadness soon followed. First night was the hardest. 

Happy to be outside, in the dirt, in a hole.

Our evening walks are mostly you pushing stroller, dancing with your shadow, and holding hands.

First pedicure. Mama and you had a at home pedi day and you refused socks the whole day so you could see your toes!

                                  

Once I said it was perfectly okay to paint your toes and hands, you went for it! 

Got to play with couple week old lambs .

You got sad and upset when Daddy said he had to put the Toad back to bed.

You climbed out of your bed to get your favorite Dr. Suess books and then got back in bed and hugged them until you fell asleep.

Your smile and hugs make mean everything to me.

Baby Shower Bliss

This past weekend I did something exciting! I hosted a baby shower for my good friend. I am linking up with Dateless in Dallas and Showered With Design today on the weekend recap.

My friend is due any day with baby #2 so this party was just in time..whew! Yes, I was a bad friend and didn't plan it sooner but hey cut me some slack, it's my first baby shower hosting gig. Back when I was pregnant with my daughter we enrolled in The Bradley Method class in which we attended each Saturday for many weeks. It was at this class that I met a group of fellow pregnant women who have become such good friends to us. We met about 2 years ago and these ladies and their families make our life full and happy on a regular basis. They are some amazing mama's and daddy's I am thankful to get to call them my pals. Our kids are all around the same age so we share many playdates and outings. It's been so fantastic to have other mommy friends (and one stay at home Dad) in our lives. Well a few months ago a few of us talked about what we could do for our friend since she was pregnant with her second child (the first of our group..yay!). We came up with the idea to give her and her family a bunch of frozen meals to enjoy once the baby came as our shower gift.  I offered to host the party and everyone brought their frozen meals to the party. These other women are fabulous cooks so I can't say I wasn't tempted to steal those meals for myself!! 

Originally, I only wanted to do a few decorations to make it more shower like but then I got to thinking... even though this was their second baby, this baby still deserved a great party and needed some fab decor. Since we had just returned from our cruise I only had 5 days to find/make decorations and clean my house. I think it turned out pretty cute and I really enjoyed making this table festive. Her nursery colors are coral and mint so I wanted the party in those colors. BEAUTIFUL colors and an amazing combo but sooo hard to find here in our little town! I did the best I could with some paint, washi tape and a glue gun. It all worked out and we all had a great time!

Oh and check out the preggo lady in the last picture. You can't even tell she has a bump going on! She is all belly, that lucky duck!

Baby's Nickname is "Buds"-Not actual name! 

Washi Tape LOVE

We forgot a group picture but snapped this quick one before the preggo and her tot left. 

The Cruise That Changed Our Marriage

We got back from a week long cruise last week to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel and it was FANTASTIC!! We planned this trip 2 years ago just after our daughter was born. We originally planned to cruise last year but this mama wasn't ready to leave her 13 month old quite yet so we bumped it out another year. For the longest time I was stressed about leaving my baby girl for so long and being so far away. But I kept telling myself this was an investment in our marriage and we really needed the time together. No one can prepare you for how a child impacts your marriage and most couples would probably agree it puts more stress on both parents in different ways. Over the last year we have been feeling the mounting stress with the hubs change of jobs (including a layoff), buying a new house, numerous house repairs and upgrades, family illness, family deaths, oh and keeping up with the on the go tot. We didn't realize how bad we needed this vacation until we were on it and enjoying each others company. Something we hadn't done in awhile without constant distractions. As a stay at home mama, my child is the center of my world and 90% of my day is focused on her needs. It is easy to neglect your spouse when your tot is this young and and I was totally guilty of putting my husband on the back burner. Over the last few months we fought more than we ever had before. We both had plenty on our plates and the overwhelming amount of stress really affected us. It was making us distant, angry, exhausted and confused. We stopped kissing hello when he got home from work and that slowly led to not kissing goodbye. I was feeling like a solo parent for  weeks when he had extra work on his plate and I was responsible for the evening routine with our tot. It didn't matter if I was tired, sick, or needed some time alone, the kid still needed to be fed, bathed, and put to bed. It was a no choice routine that had to be done and my me time was gone and non existant. I was becoming so envious that my husband could come home and just lay down or go to the bathroom... with the door shut! If you are a stay at home mom you can understand how doing the same things each day all day (dishes, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, bath time, clean up...repeat) can become exhausting and un-exciting. For the most part your days are filled with the same chores. I was feeling angry towards my husband for getting to have a variety of things to do during his work day and then him coming home and telling me he was tired. On top of that I had nothing exciting to report about my day so him asking me, "how was your day?" was quickly becoming a pointless question (which I would let him know in my nicest sarcastic tone). So, that question stopped coming up which angered me even more. Yea, I was a full on mess at this point. I was pissed when he asked, and more pissed when he didn't. For all these examples above and more, I knew we needed this trip to reconnect. I knew more than I would miss my baby girl, I needed to take some time with my husband and figure out how to get past this anger we had developed for each other.

I realized so many things on this vacation. I really feel in love with my husband again. Like, full on my heart is so full LOVE. I never stopped loving him, but this trip allowed me to hit the refresh button all those feelings and admiration I had for him when we first got married. We shared great conversations. We enjoyed a week of meals with no interruptions. We watched movies from bed. We got room service and took naps. We enjoyed drinks and dancing. We held hands. Do you realize how BIG holding hands was to us?! If you are like us, those small signs of affection had disappeared months ago because who had an extra hand to extend when diaper bags, sippy cups, snacks, and cell phones were filling up the two we had. We shared so many laughs, so many smiles, and made so many memories. Just the two of us. I was really able to reflect on my actions over the last few months and realize that I was stretching myself to thin. I had let my husband slip off my priority list. Hell, he hadn't even made the grocery list when I think about it. Eight months ago we had excitedly discussed expanding our family after our tot was older than 2 or 3 years old. Skip to a month ago we exchanged two sentences about holding off on any family planning until we figured out this rut. Needless to say this cruise truly changed our marriage and allowed us to focus on our relationship as husband and wife, and how to appreciate each other again. Appreciation, a word we had long forgotten but both craved deeply.

We had a super long layover in Dallas before our last flight took us home. We ate a really great meal and talked about how we both felt this cruise really reconnected us and helped us get back to where our marriage needed to be. We discussed planning another trip in another 2 years and taking smaller weekend trips through out the year. We have only been married less than 3 years but I feel we really stumbled upon a key to keeping our marriage happy and full of love. We live our life in the fast lane. We are on the go, busy body people which means we don't spend a lot of our days doing nothing or having down time. For us those busy adventures make our life fun and memorable and really fits our personalities. However, putting the world on hold and devoting time to each other is something that we HAVE to make more time for. Until this trip I had not realized how important "dating" your spouse was. I was one of those moms who thought doing date nights on a regular basis or vacations without our kid would be to stressful. I really thought we would be depriving our child by not taking her with us everywhere and how could I leave her out?! I can now say and advise that you have no idea how much you need the time away until you try it. All things should be tried at least once and taking time away from your busy life or child is something worth trying!!

Lastly, I really feel I came home to a better behaved and happier kid. This can totally be a result of the awesome Grandma's in her life who watched her during that week but I strongly believe she was picking up on our stress and her parents being off balance. We have been home a week and she seems to listen to me better, follow directions faster, throw less fits, and is all around a happier kid. This more than anything has made me realize that her life is shaped by the vibe we put out and the atmosphere we create for her. I gotta give the kid more credit. She is smart and duh, of course she would pick up on unhappy parents!! We do not fight in front of her and the times we have we control our tones and such but I am certain now she could sense the tense relationship we had developed and was reacting to it.

And now photos from our awesome trip!  We didn't take many because we had more fun enjoying our trip than capturing it.

Montego Bay, Jamaica on my Birthday

Formal Night

Happy. Happy. Happy.

Turning 30 on the beach with a yummy drink. Life. Is. Good.

Cruise Time is HERE!

It's official cruise time so that means a week of good eats, no workouts, and lots of relaxing is coming my way. Although, a yoga class on board does sound sort of nice and may help take the edge off of leaving my tot for so long. Bet it's cheaper than a mixed drink too!

I don't feel like I made my fitness goals that I set for myself awhile back but I understand life happened and things came up that continually threw me off. Overall I feel pretty good and wish I had gained more muscle but wishes don't get results, hard work does. Last week our house got sick (again) and I have been pretty nervous to leave my tot which has led me to skip a few meals each day. I am not a stress eater and somehow breakfast has been the least appealing meal to me all day. Oops. So here is my final snap shot of my progress. I would say this was a consistent 5 weeks of home workouts and eating pretty balanced. This is also my new swim suit for the trip! Yay!

The only thing left to do now is cruise and make new goals for Spring!

Stork Stack Review- January Box

Due to holidays, a death in the family, and home reconstruction I neglected to take pictures of the past few boxes from Stork Stack and just ended up handing Little Spoon the stuff. But here is my review of the January box. In all honesty, I was not that impressed. It seemed very fitting for a 6 month old more than a 20 month old. In fact, I cancelled my subscription with them because the last box wasn't so great either. We will continue on with Citrus Lane and see how that goes for a few months.

Stork Stack is a monthly subscription that sends you 5 items a month specific to your child's age and gender with the occasional item being for mom/parent. It's $27 a month.

January Box/20 Month Old Girl:

 Harvest Company Keys: 

These seem pretty durable and will make for a good toy for my purse or the car. I think an infant would enjoy these more than my on the go toddler. 

 Harvest Company Cork Block Stacker: 
As soon as I saw these I had mixed feelings. My first thought was that my kid would bite a chunk out of one of these and that would be an issue. She still likes to "taste" everything so I wasn't really happy about this toy. Well my motherly instincts were spot on because Stork Stack sent out an email last week about a recall on these due to many mothers concerns. Happily waiting for my refund on this.

Harvest Company Wheaties Car:

Are you seeing a trend in these toys yet? They all are from this new company, Harvest Company. This car was probably the best gift out of the box. It's all wood which is nice. My tot plays with cars and this kept her attention and entertained. 

 Kind Bar: Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate:
Delish! I didn't even care about the nutritional info on this because I saw peanut butter and chocolate on the wrapper and that sold me on the spot! It was yummy and actually served as my breakfast on the road one morning.

Party Book:
I always like getting a book in these boxes because it's something we will use at any age. This book has bright and fun pictures so we like it. The story is kind of here and there but Little Spoon really likes the photos so we like it.

Italy Swag

My in-laws went on a cruise this past September and brought us some things back from their trip to Italy. I am finally getting around to posting about it before they get used on our cruise coming up.

1. Sandals from Capri. They are handmade and beautiful. This picture doesn't do them justice. I have been saving them to wear on our cruise. Ahh, I can't wait to wear them. Maybe they will bless my feet and be worn on the day I turn 30! Fancy fancy.

2. Dish Towel from Taormina. I haven't worked up the courage yet to actually use it to dry dishes or our towels. I know if I display it then the tot will rip it down and drag it everywhere. So this will have to be saved for when she is a bit older. 

3. Purse/Bag from Rome. Again, this photo doesn't do it justice because the color is beautiful and bright. Another save for our cruise. I know, I know I am a saver. But I promise after I sport it on the beach vacay then I will use it more on a day to day basis. It's all ITALIAN leather and fabulous! These and the sandals were my FAVORITE!!

4. Salad tossers from Taormina. These are so fun and festive with a little lemon detail on the handles. Now we just need to host a dinner or get together to put these out!

5. Wine stopper from Taormina. We love wine and unfortunately don't get to drink much of it with as busy as we have been lately. When we do get the chance we haven't been known to finish the bottle so this will help us keep that wine fresher..longer!

**BONUS**

Baby foot down below. I was in such a hurry to snap a picture of all these goodies because she kept trying to play with everything that her little foot made it into the photo.