Bon Voyage

Here in the Florida school system there is a phrase that states, "No child Left Behind." It has something to do concerning the education of children in public schools. But here in the Webb house "No child Left Behind" takes on a whole new meaning! Poor Madden.

This past weekend Shaw had a P.E. conference that was held in Jekyll Island, Georgia. The first year he attended, we all tagged along. It wasn't the greatest mini vacation because Madden still was not walking and still took 2 naps during the day. He went to bed early so that meant we all had to be quite and go to bed early....looking back I can say....it sucked. Last year we decided to tag along again but this time Isabel offered to keep Madden in Florida and watch him. Well, it was the right move because we enjoyed every minute of our trip. While Shaw was in his conference...Brooklyn, Dallas and I biked 11 miles around the island, stopping to look at the old plantation ruins and cemetery's. We walked through the museum, frolicked on driftwood beach, played 2 rounds of mini golf....and we stayed up late and made as much noise as we wanted! This year again we tagged along and once again Isabel offered to watch Madden. Now he has grown alot in the last 2 years and he might have been enjoyable to take this year but I figured...ahhh, why bother! Isabel offered to watch him, so I accepted. And once again, we biked around the island, and did all the same things as last year and more. Plus as an added bonus...my dad tagged along with us so we got to give him the Jekyll Island tour being as he's never been there. He loved it and we all loved spending time together.

Now all my friends when they find out that I've once again gone on vacation and left Madden behind say, ahhhh.....poor little guy. BUT if they were really my friends and if they really knew how he acted in public sometimes they would instead say, ahhhh.....you made the right decision!! Mad man has been left behind to play with Nanabel when we have gone to Jekyll Island, Arizona, Michigan, Key West and I'm sure many other one night trips that I can't remember at this time.

This weekend coming up we are going on yet another mini vacation to Orlando. This one is actually for Maddens birthday. Instead of having a party this year I decided to take the family to Magic Kingdom on Saturday and then have breakfast on Sunday with all the Characters. So for this...I think we'll have to take him with us!!!

In March, 3 friends are going on a 4 night/5 day cruise and they asked me if I would go with them. Now the ironic part of this offer is that they are all teacher friends of Shaw's, yet I was the one invited!!! I'm not sure if they even asked him to go or not! But Shaw agreed that I could go with them before they even really asked me!! So on March 17th I will be saying Bon Voyage to ALL my children and heading to the high seas for some sun, drinks and relaxation.

Now here is where I really have to work my magic...on my husband! I get home from my 5 day cruise (tanned, relaxed and stress free) on a Monday. That Friday (4 days later) the kids start their Spring Break for 1 week. My sister in law,Tracy, her husband, Scott, and their 3 kids moved to Chesterton, Indiana last year and have a really big house......can you see where I'm going with this???? So I'm trying to work out details that will get us all up there for Spring Break. Now Shaw will still be teaching that week because unfortunately his break is the week after. Now the problem lies in....should I just take Brooklyn and Dallas up and leave Madden behind with Nanabel? OR.....should Nanabel AND Madden fly up with us too? Tracy is allowing all of us to invade her home for the week so that's not an issue. My brother in law, Mike, works for Alligiant Airlines, so we get tickets almost for free (we just pay the $27 tax on each ticket) so that's not an issue. The issue is.....do I really want to take Madden up there and entertain him for the week.

When I had Brooklyn I would think it was such a hassle to do anything with her. For example, go to the mall. I had to pack a diaper bag, get bottles, bring the stroller, etc. After I had Dallas...I thought, WOW having one wasn't such a big deal and I would welcome the opportunity to leave one behind and only take one to the mall. Then baby number 3 came along and well, if 2 used to be a hassle....now I welcomed having to only take 2 instead of 3 anywhere! So this is how I feel about travelling with 3 children. Two is better than three!

Growing up my family went on vacations every Spring break. Being from snowy, chilly Nova Scotia our Spring Break vacations always were down south... Florida, Memphis, New Orleans, California, Arizona. And every summer we travelled as well. If it wasn't all around Nova Scotia to different places,we flew to Vancouver, Quebec, Michigan, Maine, England. Never did my parents pick either me or my brother to go with them. It was always as a family and I look back on those vacations with the fondest memories.

So I think now that Madden has turned 3, is potty trained, speaking and not throwing his famous temper tantrums....I'll start dragging him along on all our family vacations. With our Spring Break vacation up north being planned right now, I think I'll agree to letting both Madden and Isabel go with myself, Brooklyn and Dallas. After all......she'll make a wonderful sitter for all 6 kids when Tracy and I decide we need a mommy day of pedicures and martinis!!!!