Morning y’all! I don’t know about you, but it just feels like that time again. Time to step back, break out a cup of coffee, and catch up with each other. You in? Great!

My life lately…
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You couldn’t have possibly guessed this by my complete and utter silence lately, but I have been quite busy over here! Remember that vacation I described as so badly needed? Yep! It finally happened. PHEW! After a week back now, I am almost back to normal in terms of time zone, routine, and food.

Although some time away from my kids was a wonderful break, I’m still reeling from the exhaustion of planning the trip. You feel me mamas, right? Besides just the normal airport transportation, child care, and hotel accommodations that alone can make your head spin, I had a couple other things to think about as well.

There was the whole getting “bikini body ready” thing I joked myself into believing that this time, this time would happen. To be fair…I was super close to reaching my personal goals and probably would have made it if I hadn’t slipped and bruised my tailbone three weeks before leaving. Yep, that totally happened. Between zumba, yoga, and juicing I was so close. So close! Don’t get me wrong, I’m still totally happy I made it this far. It’s just my all or nothing personality 🙂

Having porcelain skin and being from Seattle…now, we all see the inevitable in that equation, right? And although I’m totally opposed to the whole tanning thing (really, I am!) I knew that one day in the Caribbean sun was going to roast me unless I planned ahead a little. Now, I’m no expert so my logic may be off a little… But I figured that the tiniest base tan created by maybe 10 short sessions in a tanning bed would probably create less damage than a serious sun burn on my first day (that you know would be continuously exposed to the sun). So call me crazy, but tanning I did. More or less (did you know it’s HARD to make time for that kinda stuff when you have kids??? Who knew).

Shopping was a must a well. I don’t know if the Seattle weather is more to blame or our gradual weight loss over the last year and a half, but neither of us had ANY warm weather clothing. It was borderline ridiculous. Not to mention our kids are growing like weeds right now. Between their high waters, exposed bellies, and holes in the knees, our clothing budget took a major dent this last month.

And I couldn’t forget the hair days. When Grandma is watching your kiddos, you make things as easy as possible on her. That meant fresh haircuts for everyone, an easy protective style for Cocoa, and a color refresh for myself.

But even with the extra hours my hubby put in at work, we survived the chaos. We made it to the Caribbean! And let me tell you, it was glorious. But more on that later.

So how has life been with you lately? Please indulge…