Stressed!!

At this point I don't know that I would plan a cruise during the holidays ever again! The last weeks have been SO stressful in preparation!! Plus I feel like our families feel let down that we won't be here for Thanksgiving (and my brother's b-day) this year!

When we planned the cruise I didn't feel like Thanksgiving would be a big deal to miss, because over the last several years that Kenny and I have hosted Thanksgiving most of my family has not attended (except my mom who is always there to help: physically and emotionally!). Last year most of Kenny's family didn't come over and we weren't invited to their dinner... SO all I was seeing was an empty 4 day weekend that I could use to add days to the trip! We will be off for 16 days and only using 9 PTO days... um awesome!! NOW my Uncle and his family is coming to visit from California, my brother is doing awesome AND we have rebuilt relationships with Kenny's side of the family so we could have had the HUGE gathering and feast that I always wanted. At this point there is nothing we can do so we will just have to miss out this year...

Also, missing black Friday and 2 weeks of prime Christmas shopping has put a little bit of a limp in my step! I made a goal to get ALL of our Christmas shopping done before the trip that way when we return we will be able to go to parties, plays and events without the added stress of shopping. The plan is working wonderfully, however it has added a lot of stress on top of the trip planning in the recent weeks.

Kenny is amazing and handles stress with ease. He tells me not to worry and encourages me to delegate chores, errands etc to him all the time (I am a little bit of a control freak like my dad!). He is constantly asking, "What can I do to help?"

Another huge concern for me is our dogs. Not just them being fed daily, but being loved on and played with. To us they are not just animals they are part of the family. Luckily we have some great friends who are going to house sit for us! To be honest I would not have booked the cruise without knowing we would have house-sitters. Melodi is such an animal lover and a great care giver I just know she will treat them like her own.

So all that said this weekend will be filled with cleaning and packing... and hoping nothing is forgotten! If you want to contact us during our trip please e-mail us at : KandAinHawaii@gmail.com I will be checking it every other day or daily depending on the internet rates, time etc.