Bon Voyage

We are leaving for our first no kid vacation in a very long time in t minus 10 or so days.  To say I am beyond excited is an under-exaggeration.   I am beyond, beyond, excited.  Nothing like getting out of Dodge when Dodge is full of cold and wind and sporadic snow flurries.  Don't get me wrong, I am  sure at some point in my seven day- long date that I will have a crying fest because I miss the kids.  It's a dilemma that all mom's probably face.  You can't live with the noise, but then you can't live without it either.  I might need to find a random kid during vacation and offer to wipe the mouth, hands, and butt, just to feel normal. 

In preparation for the break, I have been gathering up what I call, "Sparkle, sparkle" dresses, perusing multiple websites on the best bathing suits, and even braved a spray tan.  Yes, I have stooped low.  We have also been working on getting the kids manners up to speed, since Grandma Jan is taking a heroic step and staying with the kids, all week long, by herself, at our house, just so Callie can got to school and I'm not put on the Bad Mom's list at school.    Emphasizing simple etiquette, like refraining from touching your brothers face while he eats, using the word Please for any request, and not mentioning poop at any time during dinner, are just the start of training.  

Since our trip consists of a cruise, I am really hoping that I have better luck than the recent cruisers upon the fire damaged Carnival line.  Nothing says, "Are you excited for your vacation?".. than a bunch of news media personalities asking why anyone in the WORLD would EVER consider a cruise in this day and age.  But since we all can't afford to fly ourselves to a private island like they apparently can, we will aim to get the most luxury for our buck, and just pray that an electrical fire doesn't make it all literally, blow up in smoke. 

I will try to take pictures, since my Grams requested them.  But I have a thing about making friends on vacation.  I don't.  So  I will see if I can get Kevin to be brave and ask a stranger to take a picture without having to meet them at the pool later that day.  Call me a vacation introvert, but if your not offering to bring me a towel or a drink, I'd rather not bother.  I prefer to save up my energy so that when I return home, I can once again be all things to every person under the age of 6, including a chef, a maid, a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, a night nurse, a butler, an encourager, and a huge shoulder.  Yep. It's high time for a bit of a break... and because my spray tan is starting to fade, it can't come soon enough. 

Open for Business

I closed the blog because I needed a break.  A break from people looking at my previous entry and making judgements, a break from thinking about what those judgments were, and a break from coming back to the blog with a witty post that would seem as if the previous entry was a blip in the life of an otherwise busy mom who cares about house decor and the latest Gap sale than she does religion.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the Gap. My Banana Luxe card is obvious proof of that.  Yet this change in our lives has been so huge, that it's hard to write about anything else.  With that said, and with full knowledge that anyone who reads this little blog of mine doesn't always approve of, or want to hear about all things "Catholic".. I have decided that I am going to give myself a break and make a compromise.  I wouldn't be the same writer if I had to hide a huge part of my life, but I don't want that huge part to overshadow all of the other great things that I think about, or participate in, with the family.

So my compromise is that once a month I will do a specific post dedicated to what we have been learning spiritually, whether it be about the Catholic faith or personally what God is teaching us at the moment, even if it isn't specifically "Catholic."  If someone doesn't want to read those posts, great.  No harm done.  I will be sure to label the title so that it is clear what the post is about.

As I have said before, I'm not an apologist, so curb your judgements accordingly.  But I have been moved and am being changed to the core by what I have learned.  And because I have been instructed to "always give a reason for the hope that is within me".... I am going to do, just that.

So I am re-opening the blog, for that small dedicated handful of readers.  And I must say, it feels nice to write publicly, again.  Even if eyes are rolling and "there they go again" comments are being said.  But before you can say, "you're an idiot," I will have better posts up about our upcoming cruise and ice skating adventures.  Family time doesn't stop just because I started going to Mass.  And that, is something that I can definitely, continue to write home about.