Cruise Day 1

That would be Monday. But first, before that, we had a long drive back home from Vegas on Sunday. This time, the kids didn't do so hot. The baby whined, the kids fussed, and we had to stop multiple times. The drive home always drags on more than the drive there - the trip is done, the anticipation is gone, all you have to look forward is the unpacking and cleaning up the mess you left during your whirlwind of last-minute packing.

We got home late Sunday, only to immediately unpack and repack for the cruise. That's because a lot of the stuff we took to Vegas we also had to use on the cruise. Please just shoot me if we ever plan on doing back to back trips again. I know I'm such a whiner, but did I mention I still had a fever? Plus 4 kids? Thank goodness for pills.

Monday morning wasn't too bad. I finished packing while Kevin was at work, then we drove down to San Diego for our 5 day cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada. Of course the first thing we did upon embarking was eat. That pretty much messed up our schedule the entire week, because after eating lunch at 2:30, we weren't ready to eat at our regular dinnertime, so from thereon out, breakfast was at 10, lunch at 2, and dinner at 8:30. Everyone knows the first rule of cruising: life revolves around food, and we were a fine example of that.

While Kevin took the kids exploring, I unpacked and organized everything in the closets. You know you're truly a mother when you're more interested in putting away socks than exploring or watching the ship sail away from the dock. After the kids got back, they lounged on the bed and watched the cartoon network which was featuring nothing but Scooby Doo, the new ones which are lame. So there we were, after weeks of planning and megabucks spent, watching cartoons that we could have just stayed at home for. Luckily, cartoon time was interrupted by - what else - dinnertime.

We opted for dinner in the buffet, thereby exhibiting extreme wisdom in avoiding a 2 hour formal dinner with 4 little kids. At home, we're almost always stumped by what to make for our next meal. That first night on the cruise, I was stumped by the vast amount of choices. Should I eat pizza or sandwiches? Salad or pasta? Chicken or roast beef? One thing was for sure: ice cream for dessert, sore throat or not.

After dinner was bedtime. Bedtime is not bedtime as you know it. Bedtime is actually an hour long process (at least) of nagging, changing, brushing teeth, breaking up fights, more nagging, storytime, prayer time, tantrum time, and yet more nagging. Eventually we all just pass out, Kevin usually first and in a most annoying manner sprawled out sideways on top of the blankets. This is our usual conversation at bedtime.

Me: Kevin...Kevin...Kevin...Kevin...KEVIN!
Him (finally): Why are you yelling at me?
Me: Can you please straighten out and get off the blanket?
Him: hmph
Me: KEVIN!
Him: Why are you always yelling at me?

So as you can see, we all had a very exciting first day on our cruise trip. The kids got to run around and skip their naps, we all had ice cream & cheesecake & mousse, and most importantly, everyone had their own neat drawers of clothing.