Trick or Treat

Yesterday I began the thought of where this post would go, I couldn't have been more wrong.
It started like this
Trick #1: Being up all night with first Marley who scrambled into our bed and then Jacob who was an early morning riser... thought I was going to lie in after that (see last post) but since Jacob didn't fall back asleep until 7:30am I convinced myself that since I was already up I would go to a spinning class at Sandys 360.
Trick #2: Get to Sandys 360 and the spinning class is canceled, the instructor is sick.  Still motivated I decide to workout on my own in the gym.... note to self ALWAYS have a charged i-pod in the car for moments like these! 50min. or self inflicted cardio without music is more like torture than a spinning class.
Trick #3: Always remember that if you run out of water on the boat don't then leave the water pump on! Yikes! Came back to a grumpy Mark having to do unnecessary work on the boat because I forgot the boat rules! Luckily he fixed it and I was able to shower after my work out.
Treat #1: Lazy boat day watching movies and carving pumpkins for tomorrow
Treat #2: Excited about the potential of support our fellow boaters have pledged to have candy aboard their boats so we can Trick or Treat tomorrow right in the marina! :) Boat people are such nice people!

Marley on any given day dressing up!

Well today couldn't have gone any further from those hopes!  Started off with Marley refusing to wear her costume (one of 4!) to school.  This is very unlike her, she LOVES to dress up all the time... apparently except on days when the rest of the world will be LOL I attempted that battle then quickly gave up.  Once we got to school as I predicted she saw the other kids in their costumes so she wanted hers, luckily prepared and she wore it for 5 min before I left!
Pick up went smoothly and it seemed on our drive home that the weather was going to cooperate and we would have a wonderful evening of Dockyard trick or treating.
However at 6pm all hell broke loose! I needed to run to the mini mart to get batteries for my camera and of-course that means taking everyone with me for the run.  I announced this to Marley earlier and she was fine with it but then when the time rolled round she threw a wobbly because she "didn't want Auntie Jacqui to see her without her costume on!" I tried to convince her that it was fine and she really needed a bath before we put her costume on but we didn't have time because the mini mart was closing but there was no rationalizing today.  I gave up on the batteries and settled for bath and an early dinner.  Marley screamed and cried through the whole routine! She rarely does this so my second reaction after frustration (which I realize gets us no where!) is humor.  I asked her if she could scream louder and promptly Jacob decided he was hungry NOW and chimed in with a challenging scream and attempted to keep up with his sisters crying while I prepared his formula.
Daddy came home and my girl was still at it.  By 7pm she had climbed into our bunk and was attempting sleep but still sobbing.  I tried cough medicine but that didn't work and after a bout of musical chairs opted for the children's pain relief as I think her sore throat was giving her a rough time, plus she kept grabbing her ear poor baby.  That knocked her down for about 20min.  In the mean time the heavens had opened and although Jacob was ready to go in his giraffe suit there was no way we were getting Marley out for trick or treating!

Jacob ready for his first Halloween

After a quiet 20 min at around 8:15 my girl is bouncing off the walls, feeling 90% better! Laughing cracking her usual jokes the whole nine.  Where did all this come from?!!
It didn't last too long especially once bed time was suggested and attempted. :( Not a peaceful sleep for anyone tonight.  Jacob just finished his feed and is about to doze which means I better catch it while its available myself! SLEEP!!!!!!
No treats tonight, only tricks from the rain gods and the sand man :(

Name that Noise

After a toddler filled day of gymnastics and birthday parties we arrived back in Dockyard around 9:30pm.  Marley had fallen asleep on the car ride from dinner so it was easy enough to put her down.  Jacob on the other hand had been asleep since his last feeding around 5:30pm and was due to wake up and feed (and I was hoping play for a bit) so he could settle down for a nice marathon sleep.  Oh, new parents have no such luck! We played a movie from itunes and I attempted to wake him and give him a feed but he was not having it.  After the movie and no waking I was a little more forceful and he ate about 6oz but dozed in and out through the whole feed.  I put him to bed hoping he wouldn't wake too soon after and praying that if I went to bed right away I could get maybe 6 hours.
Tonight was a particularly blowy night.  We have had bad weather all day; heavy rain this morning and strong winds building all night.  On a boat there are very distinct noises that over time you can identify and not worry about.  We are still getting used to those noises.  Finally snuggled in bed there was a low creaking almost sounding like a 'coo'.  Mark asked me if it was Jacob stirring in his bassinet.  I had to double check it wasn't him.  Soon after there was an inconsistent tapping.... the strap to the bimini that actually serves no purpose that I had ment to tie down weeks ago.  Up I got because I knew it would keep me up all night.  The worst noises are the ones you can't identify because you always think the worst.  The hull of a boat has the amazing ability to magnify any sounds from the deck, which can make it that much more frightening.  For example; a few empty baskets left on deck blowing from forward to aft can sound more like a dead body being dragged above your head than a few pieces of plastic.
Once we named most of the noises we began to sleep and sure enough poor Marley's coughing began.  That was the beginning of the long morning that has me up writing this now.  Poor thing, she just can't seem to kick this cough although it has gotten better.  We have tried everything even an old remedy of putting vapor rub on her feet and covering them with socks before bed.  She eventually came into our bunk and cried and tossed and turned for an hour or so.  Soon after she settled Jacob decided to wake to be fed.  Now he's wide awake and looking to play. :( When he finally goes back to sleep, my intent is to go with him... not sure where i'm going to rest though.... Marley is sprawled across our entire bunk, Mark retreated her her bunk and the couches are full with Jacob and all his gear as well as the weekend's laundry.  One thing is for sure, I wont let the noises bother me now!

On being 'hard'

I often get a good reaction when I tell people we live on a boat.  I mean yes its not conventional but its not really all that different.  We have all the basic amenities but its funny as soon as people hear boat they can't get past the idea of wearing your bathing suit and packing a picnic basket.  We really are more civilized than that.
I am constantly explaining that we have everything 'you' have in your house.  Rooms- (Marley has her own bedroom and bathroom! Better than some kids her age), a kitchen with an oven and stove, a fridge, air-conditioning (all though Mark doesn't let me use it that often lol, T.V. (satellite if we wanted it), Internet, DVD player.... anything you can think of we have we just have it in a smaller space.
Once people get over that they still have in their minds how hard it must be.  A guy said to me yesterday while we were discussing where one might have to drive if he didn't move his taxi from the spot where it was blocking the regular road, "well you could drive your car over the grass and sidewalk there... you're hard you living in a boat and all".  I'm not really sure how my ability to drive is affected by living on a boat but in any-case I took it as a compliment.
Mark probably gets a lot more of these comments than me.  He is often accosted by people who think that he is 'making me' live on the boat with him and then tell him that I must be pretty incredible to survive living on a boat.  Haha... really its not that 'hard', I have everything everyone else has (even a flat screen TV for the first time ever!) and just a lot more stairs and small spaces than the average home.
The biggest challenge is not the actual boat its being able to get along with one another in such a small space.  There is no place to hide and sulk, you have to face your problems straight in the eye and to be honest I think that makes our relationship that much better because of it.
For everyone reading... not sure how many of you there are... can you please 'like' this or 'follow' this blog?! I mean really how I am going to get discovered if you are all reading in secret! LOL

Day Off

Yesterday Marley's nursery had a scheduled closing.  I had been wondering for a while what I was going to do with her on her day off.  I wanted to make it special because I miss having her at home.  Not that I was ever really home with her except for maternity leave but I miss her!
I decided we would take a trip to the Aquarium (she could show Jacob everything as he hadn't been yet) and then we would take Grammy and Pop Pop to the airport as they are leaving fro Virginia for a month, and then make some halloween cookies! I'm an over achiever I know LOL

sleeping babes in our bunk

The day started with a lovely lay in! (until 8:30- yes my friends without babies that is an EXCELLENT lay in!)  Then we got in the car to drive to Flatts, no one got sick but Jacob who hates the car cried the whole way until Flatts Hill.  Grammy met us at the Aquarium and we had a great time exploring everything.  My girl got her usual comments from onlookers "look at that brown berry", "check her with no shoes- real Bermudian girl!" (we did start off with shoes), "Look at the lil princess in her skirt".  I let her dress herself or at least choose what shes going to wear and some days it is quite the ensemble but I figure that fight is just not worth having.  Who cares what she wears?! Shes 2 and a half!
On the dive up I really missed Adam.  This is the kind of day he would have been a part of.  We probably would have woken him up and begged him to come with us but it would have been a blast.  He would be able to tell Marley all the things about the animals that she wanted to know.  It was a hard day without him but then again every day is.
No nap in the afternoon for either kid and we dropped the grandparents off safely at the airport before heading to nanna's to bake cookies.  I always get ahead of myself with projects like that.  Marley is still a little young to really help out the way I think she can and of course she ended up bumping her cheek on the counter while decorating the cookies! Oh well only miss-hap of a PERFECT day.

My precious girl

Tonight is make your own pizza night at Uncle Vinni and Auntie Abbies before uncle Vinni goes back to Brazil for a bit.

Settling in

Its been almost 3 months since our little family moved fully onto Blew Horizon. As with any house it takes some time to settle in but even more so on a boat.  There has to be a place for everything as there is no extra space to leave piles of things you will get to later.  Finally our shelves for our bedroom came in so the piles of clothes without a place have now been arranged accordingly.  (and then rearranged and i'll probably rearrange them one more time!)  Things are finding their places. :)
Here is a list of some of the kinks that still need to be worked out storage wise;
1) the right size dock box.  Because we have two prams (one that is the car seat combo- great for just Jacob and I running errands or going for a stroll) and then the jogger stroller which is essential to our morning walk as it double as a skateboard for Marley depending on her mood) there is no standard size dock box that fits the strollers.  We are thinking we will probably need 2 dock boxes, one for the prams and the other for all the other miscellaneous things that are currently scattered along the dock next to our berth much to the marina managers disapproval!
2) a strong container to hold 1- 2 loads worth of laundry detergent... the tupperware ones I have tried can't withstand the laundry routine.
3) a crate that fits in the cupboard to hold the plates as they can't fit lying flat.
4) The right size baskets for Marley's clothes under her bunk.
and here is a list of the things that I have creatively found a place for and am very proud of!
1) Jacob's area- to be fair a had a little more insight from when we were on Alibi with Marley
2) use of the clothes closet space as well as storage for Mark's work clothes
3) box seats that double for dvd storage

Rock-a-by-baby

WOOHOOO! Its not even 9:00pm and I have Jacob down (hopefully for the night) in his bassinet and Daddy is putting Marley to bed in her bunk. Last night Jacob had a great sleep (almost 9 hours!) He went down at about 6pm and didn't wake until 2am; hopefully tonight we can shift that to 9pm-7am.  I've been having a rough time the last couple of month with getting up for Jacob's feeds, I just don't do well getting woken out of a sleep; I am a very light sleeper to begin with.
I am a little spoiled though and no one should really listen to my whining because Marley was an incredible baby and slept through the night (8pm-6am) almost right out of the hospital and so for the last 2 and a half months I have been complaining about Jacob who I must add never cries or is inconsolable but does get up every 4 hours.  After brunch with some other new mommies I realize I need to shut my mouth. I am complaining about NOTHING! and now look at him tonight! Sleeping like an angel.
I really put it down to the boat. Some people say i'm just lucky. Some are kind enough to say that we are calm parents so that's why our children are so easy but I put all the power into the environment we have created for them.  How could one not be calm and feel soothed when there is a gentle breeze of clean air coming in through the hatch, a slight buzz of a fan or the cradling of the hull as we slightly rock back and forth? Just writing that made me sleepy! BLISS!
Before we had Marley as new 'parents to be' we looked into all the new baby gear we would need.  We even bought an $700 baby hammock that we were sure would cure us of colicky baby screaming down the marina.  However we never used it as she really was an amazing baby. (I still have it for sale should an land lovers need a simulation of our 'nursery' for their sleepless baby).
I had a whole other topic for tonight's post but I think I will leave it for another day and enjoy the peace that is this evening.  Sleep tight all!

Jacob tonight just hours before his peaceful slumber enjoying playing on our bunk under a breezy open hatch! 

Weekend Wanders

One of the biggest juggling acts of living on a boat with babies is organizing the weekend.  As a teacher by trade I get a big kick out of scheduling and my father being a police officer also passed down the neurotic time planning gene that makes me ever so OCD about when and where we have to be on any given weekend.  Going out for a sail and spending the night at a different anchorage each night is one of the best things about living on a boat.  You can literally move house whenever you want- minus the boxes and unpacking! This is something that Mark and I really want our kids to experience as often as we can and right now weekends and holidays are our opportunities to do this.  However, as a mommy we tend to sign our kids up for every experience that we think they might enjoy (not to mention might also wear them out!) 
So this weekend was no different than any other in that we had our regular errands to get done plus scheduled activities like 'gymnastics' and 'book babies', as well as some scheduled events such as 'pumpkin picking' and then a pumpkin carving party'.  On top of that one of my best friends is getting married so I scheduled a meeting with her to look at bridesmaids dresses and I joined a mommy group that had organized a brunch for Sun. morning.  But we MUST go out on the boat! 
So here was the run down... pretty impressive if I do say so myself.  Sat. am woke up LATE after spending the evening at dinner with my parents in Dockyard.  Therefore my original plan of a family outing to the pumpkin picking patch was scratched.  Marley and I quickly got dressed and raced to the pumpkin patch for 10:00 (the pumpkin supply was already getting low!), picked out pumpkin then got caught in the rain as we approached the car, made it to gymnastics for 10:30, met daddy and Jacob there (Jacob had a big feed so I didn't get to take him for a swim as I had planned while daddy did gymnastics), back to the boat for lunch and a nap, did the dished before daddy came back from work, took the little boat with daddy to finish work, then a cruise to Hawkins island and a swim, met friends for dinner in town and then an evening cruise back to the boat, in bed at 10:00pm. Not bad!  Sunday started with a spinning class at 8am :) then racing back to the boat to what I thought was going to be reliving Mark of daddy duty for a bit but instead they were waiting for me ready to go on a boat cruise again, went for a swim at Admiralty house, back to Dockyard in the boat for brunch at the reefs at 12 (daddy and the kids stayed out on the boat and swam some more at Admiralty and then met me later by boat in Shelly Bay), after brunch meeting on the beach to discuss dresses, then making it in time for sunset at Shelly Bay for a pumpkin carving contest and dinner.  If that doesn't make for an eventful and fun weekend I don't know that does.  BLISS!!! Where else is the world can you enjoy the water and beautiful scenery like that at the end of OCTOBER!!! :) We are blessed!

Rain Rain Go Away

Many people ask about living on a boat.  Here is one of those things that you would only understand if you live on a boat.  Weather is a tricky thing.  You see on a live aboard sailboat it is really nice to have all the hatches open and even the wind scoops up to allow the fresh air to make its way through the boat.  On Alibi I remember often feeling like we had airconditioning in the galley because if the wind direction was right and the wind scoops were up it created such an excellent breeze.  However the downside to this natural resource is the rain.  Its not just a matter of shutting the window when it looks like it might pour, or when there is a sudden onslaught of rain. Oh no it means taking down the wind scoops which are usually tangled all around themselves, removing the bug net, cursing the person who opened the hatch in the first place for tightening the bolt too tight, and finally slamming it down on your own soaking wet head because you really just didn't move fast enough.  There are four of these wonderful hatches on our boat.  One over our bunk, one over Marley's, and two in the living area, one of course in the chair where Jacob spends most of his time.  So if there is a spur of the moment rain shower it is really important that all of them close at once as dampness = instant mildew on a boat! 
Another key point when closing of the hatches is to make sure once you have recovered from your concussion after it came slamming down on our head that you lock the hatch securely because a closed hatch is not necessarily a dry one.  The locking seals it and then all your hard work will not be in vain and there will be dry bunks for all to sleep in that night. 

That brings me to my final tid bit of hatch advice.  Night time rain! ALWAYS a surprise! Because if we knew it was going to rain in the middle of the night we wouldn't have left the hatches open in the first place.  Usually it starts with a little sprinkle that lightly wakens you from slumber but in an instant you are awake startled thinking you are going under.  Quickly you have to bring yourself back into the land of the living and attempt to close everything up as fast as you can, without waking sleeping babies!  This almost always ends in concussions and babies being woken.  This more than often results finally with everyone in mom and dad's bunk until the alarm screams at 6am. 
Now do I close the hatches to go get Marley from nursery or risk it for a breezy boat when we come home? Better check out http://weather.bm for the latest!

Mom= professional althlete

The last two days we have made the ferry! For those of you who don't know, in taking a full year from work to be at home with Jacob it means big cost cuts in our household.  Things like only one "expensive social outing" each month (i.e. brunch with the girls, spa days!) and no gym membership.  Before each of my pregnancies I would get into a good gym routine and then BAM i'd get pregnant and the whole thing would go out the window.  Before Jacob I was really into spinning and went to some great classes at Magnum Force Gym with really enthusiastic spin instructors.  I REALLY got into it but getting towards 200lbs and having a kicking human inside of you is not conducive to spin classes.  Anyway my solution now is taking the ferry ride each morning from Dockyard into Hamilton and walking Marley to nursery school, although I do try and sneak in the occasional spin class here and there.  So each morning I have Jacob in the Baby Bijorn carrier and then Marley either skateboarding on the back of the pram or riding in the pram (all depending on her mood that morning!) in tow with us her lunch box, entertainment bag for the ferry and the diaper bag.  Its amazing what you must carry with you at all times with kids- however it is also inevitable you will forget the one thing you need (yesterday I forgot diapers and sure enough Jacob decided that he was comfortable enough to have a nice big bowel movement on the ferry ride TO town).
Anyway, daily from the ferry on our walk up Reid Street and then along First Ave. we get comments from various onlookers of our endeavor.  Today one guy actually stopped us in the street to tell me what a great workout I was getting and how it was extra beneficial because I was getting quality time with both my kids.  I smiled politely and tried to continue on with my 'workout' but he was like 'no lady seriously, you are really working hard!'  LOL yeah buddy I know, i'm the one carrying a 13lb baby on my front and pushing a stroller with a 30lb kid plus gear!  Soon after another admirer stopped me to give me a phamplet on good parenting.  I felt like telling her 'Go talk to that guy, he thinks i'm already doing amazing!' All the positive feedback did motivate me to break into a run on my way back into town with just Jacob in the pram.

Spent the rest of the day with Grammy and Pop Pop- getting some QT in before they go away for a month to their cabin in Virginia.  A little retail therapy is always good for the soul.
Back in Dockyard for the evening i'm starting to figure out that I need to really exhaust my toddler out before dinner and sleep time as between 6pm and 8pm on the boat have been getting too stressful to deal with and i've had one too many 'mommy moments'.  So my genius solution is make helping mommy get chores done fun!  Unfortunately my toddler is smarter than me and somehow always sees through my genius schemes to try and get things done!  It goes like this; mommy- "Hey Marley, why don't we go see  if Auntie Jacqui is at the mini mart and we can put some laundry in?!" Marley- "Uhhh No!".... Mommy-"Ok well how about we take the pram for a walk and you can help mommy with a special job?" Marley- "No thanks, pass me that pumpkin."  Finally I got her by telling her she could put all the quarters for the machine into her pumpkin.  If you know my story about my quarter collection you might guess with my luck where this is heading.  She bought into that one and we were on our merry way to do the laundry by 5:00pm.  Jacob in the baby sling, laundry in the pram and Marley in her 'running sneakers' swinging a plastic trick or treating pumpkin with the quarters in it.  I offered we take her bike for a little exercise and perhaps a diversion from the pumpkin but there was no interest.  Sure enough we start the laundry process and the quarters end up first on the ground next to the pram because she "had to take them out to put them in order" and then once in the laundry room on the floor there because she took them all out again! One or two or more fell out in the process and i'm pretty sure some ended up UNDER the machines!! GGRRRR I am not supposed to be able to do this cost effectively apparently.
Since the washing only takes 1/2 an hour I decided to keep her entertained by going back to get her bike and rallying around a little on the grass outside the gate.  Daddy came home and met us on the lawn; together we managed to get the laundry into the dryer (I had JUST the right amount of coins!) and on our way back to the dock Chris came by on a pony cart ride with his two kids.  Marley and Daddy joined them for a spin around the block pulled by Harry while I went back to the boat to feed Jacob.  THIS is marina and community living! :) Where else can you provide an impromptu pony ride for your toddler?! EXCELLENT!
The end of the race of the day finishes with Daddy managing bed time with Marley no problem- although I feel he got an easy job as she didn't nap at school today and crashed before her head even hit the pillow.  After a quick trip with Jacob to the market for 5% saving day we are sitting down to dinner and i'm icing my knee.  Yeah after a day like today I feel like a professional athlete with my worn out knees! Advice for today- Let the marathon of life continue just don't be so busy finishing the race you forget to enjoy it :)

Car sick over sea sick for this baby!

Although yesterday was the first day I got this up an running don't let my efficiency fool you.  It was not one of our better days. I had spend the night before up with the new baby (Jacob) who decided that he was more interested in playing than sleeping as well as checking in on Marley who had adopted another illness from nursery school.  On a boat there is no rocking chair to soothe in and the hallway is about 5 paces long.  Finally, everyone was asleep and settled at 5:45am only to have to get everyone up for the ferry by 7:30am.  Well needless to say we didn't make the ferry so we drove in.  I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and take my laundry with me as I had to take Nanna to the airport that day anyway so while I stayed east I would use her facilities.  Halfway up the ramp Marley decides she wants a snack out of her lunchbox and in true toddler form plunks herself down right in the middle of the ramp and starts digging through her lunchbox where she finds a container of cheese and crackers to begin to devour.  I'm already at the gate and then have to stop, put the laundry and all the bags down, go back get her, convince her she can have them in the car and make it to the car with everyone and everything in tow.
We made the morning commute however halfway there my child who does not get sea sick gets car sick! Poor girl threw up all over herself and because she rarely does this she is in shock at her "spitting".  We were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic so all I could give her as comfort and to clean up was one of her daddy's dirty work shirts that he had left in my car over the weekend! She was not really bothered by the fact she was covered in puke, in fact I think I was more upset than she was.  She was just worried about telling her teacher what had happened.  I did not to take her to school however and drove straight to Nanna's for a bath, and a wash down for the car as well.  As I pulled in I remembered that in all the chaos on the dock I had left the laundry at the gate for anyone to pick up.  Normally I wouldn't have been too worried however last week our pram got stolen from the dock so I called a friend and asked her to put the laundry in safe keeping for me.
We all got Nanna to the airport on time (much to her amusement) and then I was hoping we could settle back at her house for a nap (and no apparent laundry duties) before beating rush hour back West.  My children had other plans, Marley refused to eat or sleep, and Jacob took example from his sister and boycotted his nap time as well.  At my wits end I drove them back to Dockyard so at least we could make headway on the laundry only to find out after putting my washing in the washing machine we would not have enough quarters for drying! It is inevitable you are going to piss off someone in a marina when you have endless amounts of laundry from two kids and limited quarters.  Why can't we get the money card system?
We made it through the day and daddy came home around 8pm giving me a break to go to the store and de-stress.  I love going to the grocery store now, all I do is walk up and down the isles mindlessly until I've had enough time to cool down.  But all in all their weren't any real casualties and the laundry got done today. 
Must run now and have some giggle time with Jacob in his favorite spot on our bed looking up through the hatch admiring the blue tint to the room that the wind scoop provides before we go and pick up Marley from nursery.

WELCOME!

Our new home Blew Horizon, Dockyard Bermuda

I have started this blog after a few years of contemplating doing this.  Mark and I first moved onto a boat in 2006.  The Stone Rose may she R.I.P. (at the bottom of the ocean) was an incredible first boat that really threw us into the "roughing it" lifestyle but that's a whole nother blog.  Even though our first boat had its challenges we both fell in love with the lifestyle of living on boats and so when I got pregnant in 2008 we sold the Stone Rose and upgraded to Alibi.  The first year of our daughter Marlena's life was spent on Alibi and then I contemplated writing a blog through that experience however adjusting to parenthood and then going back to work early made it impossible to commit the time.  Within a year we had outgrown Alibi and our tenants in our condo moved out so we opted for land.  Our stay on land lasted longer than we had hoped with the sudden and premature death of Mark's brother Adam and then another baby on the way.  We never stopped talking about our dream to move back onto a boat and with our family growing again we knew it was something we would have to go for.  When a boat we had been looking at a year previous became more financially available to us in 2011 we seized the day and bought her.  We moved on to our new home Blew Horizon shortly after the birth of our son Jacob Adam in the summer of 2011 and here we are.

First family picture on boat with both kids

This blogs intent is to provide a living journal of our experience raising our children on boats.  It would be great if one day it takes itself to a place where it provides a little pocket change but if it never gets there I am excited about the prospect of a record of our lifestyle for my children's children to read one day.
So please ENJOY and SHARE!!!