To Do List

UPDATED TO ADD:

Elaine, yes, I could use some information on San Juan! We are scheduled for a segway tour the evening we are there, but have a few hours to kill beforehand, during the afternoon. The segway girl recommended we go to Ocean Park, but I'm having trouble figuring out if that's a public beach, or a private community, and if we can catch a taxi there. What would YOU recommend for about three hours, on a weekday, during the late afternoon, that wouldn't take us tooooooo far from the cruise ship pier? Thanks!!
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So, we're leaving on vacation in just a few days, and I am in full panic mode. I've gone beyond the casual list-making of "Wow, I still have a lot to do" into the full-fledged "Holy shit, how many things am I forgetting?" zone.

I hesitated about how much info to post here regarding our trip. Blog safety consciousness everywhere dictates you simply DON'T put that information out there on the web ..... might as well rent a neon sign to put in front of your house advertising to any and all prospective burglars that the house is empty with no one standing guard.**

So I considered not posting ... but then, if my blog suddenly went dormant for fourteen days in a row, wouldn't that be kind of big clue, as well? I mean, you guys would assume I was on vacation ... or in jail.

And no way am I organized enough to pre-post fourteen days' worth of blog entries and then at the end be all, "Surprise! I'm back! You didn't even know I was gone but I'm back!!" Yeah, none of you would fall for that.

And you know what else? I *want* to blog about my vacation while I'm on it. Not because I think anyone else really gives a rats ass (although if you DO, how nice is that for me?) but because its a much more convenient way for me to collect my thoughts and memories and tales on a daily basis, and then use that for my personal scrapbooking later.

So ..... here goes:

BURGLARS OF THE WORLD, ATTENTION!!!

We are leaving next Monday for vacation --- the teeny tiny part of me that isn't hyperventilating in the corner for fear I will forget our passports, or we'll drive off and leave the suitcase with all the medicines in the garage, or someone will fall overboard, or we'll over stay our excursion and the cruise ship will leave us in Haiti, or we'll all catch some Caribbean version of the swine flu ..... well except for those minor concerns which are keeping me up at night, panic stricken and anxiety ridden .... except for those things, I'm really excited about it.

We are traveling with two other families, ten kids altogether, plus Grandma Betty. I think Grandma Betty thinks we only invited her for some free babysitting, which is totally not true, unless maybe one night there's a really good R-rated comedian or something on the ship, and then ok, maybe it would be convenient if she would take the kids on in to bed .... but mostly, its just because we like her company.

The kids are ecstatic ... they've never cruised, they can't wait to try snorkeling, we've chartered a private sailboat one day for just the six of us, they love the ocean, they love the beach, and Kellen was pretty much sold once he found out there is unlimited soda on the ship.

Blaine is in full "Oh, you just manage all the details, I completely trust you" mode ..... which I both appreciate and resent.

As for me, when I'm not stressing out that I'm going to forget something, or updating my to-do list, or crossing things off my to-do list as already done .... I'm giving a valiant effort to get as much done ahead of time as possible.

A variety of clothes, for a variety of situations, for five people, for fourteen days, with zero laundry facilities in the interim .... is a little intimidating. The situation is complicated by the fact that approximately twelve hours after we return home, my older two kids are leaving for a five-day church camp. Which means I will have to unpack the car, do laundry, and help them re-pack .... **probably** during the middle of the night, groggy eyed, grumpy, and still hopped up on caffeine from the 22-hour drive home.

So, a list of The Top Ten Things I discovered tonight, while demanding begging forcing threatening helping my children select their car clothes, daytime cruise clothes, dinner cruise clothes, formal dinner cruise clothes, swimsuits, pajamas, shoes, and undergarments:

1. NO-ONE in my family has fourteen days worth of underwear.

2. Kellen has not a single pair of dress socks to his name and has apparently been wearing athletic socks with his church shoes for months now, un-noticed by me.

3. Two of my three children do not have fourteen days worth of socks. The only reason it doesn't matter for the other child is because she lives in flip flops.

4. Kendrie despises dresses with every bone in her body.

5. When told she will wear a dress for formal night(s) or stay in the cabin during dinner (hello, Grandma Betty, looks like we'll put you to work after all!) she has to really think about it. The jury is still out on which she will choose.

6. The only way she will consider a dress with an itchy bodice is if she can wear an undershirt.

7. If you don't have an undershirt, taking scissors and cutting the arms and neck out of a plain white t-shirt will suffice, although after you have made the cuts is when she will tell you that's the shirt she normally wears with her pajama bottoms and you'll be screwed anyway.

8. My 12-yr old has cuter shoes than I do.

9. My 11-yr old was extremely helpful during the packing process, even voluntarily running downstairs to get his shoes and reminding me to pack him a belt. Hmmmmm. Something's up.

10. There's no way I'm doing this without forgetting something. Something big .... something important .... probably one of my kids. Or to pick up Grandma Betty the first morning on our way out of town.

**Burglars, ok, you really should know .... there is an alarm on our house. The dogs will still be here, inside most of the time. While the golden would simply lick your face off, the lab is actually pretty pissy if he doesn't know you. We found a camel cricket in the garage tonight, so take your chances with the mutant insects that might attack you. We really don't have anything good to steal, anyway. My sister and nephews will be here on and off the entire time, feeding the dogs and cat, bringing in the mail, mowing the lawn, etc. Since they live half an hour away, they intend to use our house as "home base" during these two weeks and will actually be here quite a bit, perhaps even overnight. Did I mention her husband is a volunteer sheriff's deputy and carries a gun???

I'm just saying ......