When my girlfriends from high-school and I all turned about 25 years old we promised each other that the year we turned 30 we would all take a cruise together. In my mid twenties nothing seemed further away than 30… except perhaps 40 . Somehow 5 or so years FLEW BY! We had some kids, some of us got married and I still lived in Cali while they were all up in Seattle. One of us even had 3 kids and has spent the last 5 years moving all over the western US. Well, we made a promise, and we kept it!

On April 10th I left my beautiful children for a 7 day Mexican Rivera Cruise on Carnival Cruise lines! WOW! The two weeks leading up to this trip I was a complete mess. I cried at the drop of a pin, I cried at the thought of leaving them, I cried while feeding Bastion, I cried when Ella was going to sleep… I cried at ANYTHING!! I wasn’t crying because I was worried about how they would be taken care of or anything like that, I was simply crying because I love them so much and the thought of 7 days without them hurt me to my soul. Bruce was SUPER supportive, even Oma and Opa flew down to help him take care of the kids so that he could still go to work.

Leaving was tough, but having my best girlfriends here really made it a lot better. I started focusing on the great things that were going to happen. Ella and Bastion were going to be able to build an even tighter bond with my parents, one that they would not be able to build if I were here. I was going to get a chance to sleep through the night, to recoup, to remember what it was like to just be ME. Bruce was getting to do “cry it out” with Bastion and move him into his own room. There would be a lot of changes and great things to come from this trip, I just had to let go and let it all happen. So, off to Long Breach terminal we went to catch our boat!!

Here is Shannon and me all geared up to get on the boat:

and here is out state room:

and here we are all excited to be settling in!!

Breastfeeding has been something that was important for me to do with both kids. Luckily I am able to do so, and I didn’t want to have to stop due to this trip. This was another one of my big fears. Just so my kids know… even when I am not with them, I am doing my best to care for them,

case in point:

Pumping every chance I got!!

One of my favorite days on the cruise was the day we went to Puerto Vallarta. that morning Shannon and I got up really early and watched the sunrise from the front of the boat. It was AMAZING. I thought I would sleep a lot on the boat, but I was still in a waking every few hours schedule, so I had no problem getting up super early, putting on my robe and taking the elevator 11 stories up… YES, 11 stories, then up another flight of stairs! The boat was HUGE.

Here is my favorite shot I got that morning using Shannon’s camera:

I really had an amazing time. I missed my family SO much, but I knew they were doing great. It was almost better that we couldnt really communicate. I wanted so badly to get a text from them, but every time I did I would tear up. It was great to hear though, that everyone was happy, and to my pleasant surprise… SLEEPING!! We got home on a Sunday, dropped the girls off at the Long Beach airport and Bruce and I headed home with about 150 oz. or so of frozen milk . When we pulled up to the house there were kids toys out front, the sun was shinning and front door wide open. I ran in to Ella eating lunch at the kitchen table in her swim-soup (as she calls it) and Basi on the floor. Both my parents were here till the next day and it was SO great to walk in to a house full of love and to kiss my little poop-machines! <3

Now that I have taken this trip, I am really REALLY glad I did. It was hard to leave, but good to do. I really needed the time I got to spend with my friends, and I see how it has made me a better mother and wife. It has put a lot of things into perspective for me, which I really appreciate. I also feel SO very lucky to have had friends for so long that are SO great!! We decided for our 40th’s we are going to do the Caribbean! I just hope 40 doesnt come as fast as 30 did!! I hope one day that Ella is blessed with girlfriends like I have, because they really do make the world better.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 at 11:39 am and is filed under Baby #2, Ella, Momentous Occasions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.