Twas the Night Before Christmas: Nautical Style

It's Christmas Eve!! I have SO much to write about and SO much to share, but time has not allowed...so those things will have to wait - suffice it to say that life has been insanely hectic (we have a new boat and moved aboard three days before Christmas!) and amazing (we have a new boat and it's Christmas!) I am prepping for a weekend of festivities so cannot give you all the details just yet but for now, we want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and share this oldie but goodie re-write of an old classic I wrote a few years back...

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the boat, 

not a creature was stirring, not even a roach.

The dry bags were hung on the davits with care, 

in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their berth, 

while visions of snorkeling filled them with mirth.

And mama in her ponytail and I in my headlamp, 

had just dropped the 'hook in a new harbor "camp".

When out on the deck there arose such a clatter, 

I sprang from the nav station to see what was the matter.

To the aft cabin I flew like a flash, 

grabbed my machete and opened the hatch.

The full moonlight sparkled and danced on the ocean, 

while our boat gently rocked with a side to side motion.

When what to my sun-tired eyes should appear, 

but a flying pirogue pulled by eight tiny deer.

With a laughing old helmsman singin' a Caribbean shtick, 

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than dolphins, his coursers they came, 

and he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Now Dasher! Now Dancer! 

Now Prancer! Now Vixen!

On Comet! On Cupid!

On Donner! On Blitzen!

From the top of the mast all the way to the clew!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away you!"

As sea birds before a wild hurricane fly, 

when met with an obstacle, take to the sky.

Over twinkling anchor lights 'round the harbor they flew

with a boat full of parts and St. Nicholas, too. 

When suddenly I heard on the cabin-top roof 

the prancing and pawing of each tiny hoof.

As I clicked off my headlamp and was turning around, 

down the companionway stairs came St. Nick with a bound!

Hawaiian shirt, bermuda shorts and waternut in hand,

his feet and his face were all covered in sand.

A sack full of provisions he had slung on his hub

and he looked like a man just returned from Sam's Club.

His eyes, how they sparkled!  His wrinkles, how cheery!

His cheeks were all sunburned, his nose was all peely!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a sail, 

the ends of his beard housed a braid, like a tail.

The stump of his Cuban cast a faint yellow glow,

but the Old Salt, he knew better than to smoke down below.

His face was all weathered, and he had a big tum, 

from a lifetime of rays and plenty of fun. 

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old Salt

and I knew right away this was not an assault.

A wink of his eye and a swig of his rum, 

soon gave me to know he was nothing but fun.

He spoke not a word, but got to work down below

And serviced our systems with the speed of a pro!

He cleaned up our terminals and replaced an old hose, 

After halving my "to-do" list, up the companionway he rose.

He jumped into his boat, to his team gave a whistle,

and away they all went like a nautical missile.

But I heard him exclaim as he sailed through the night

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

© original adaptation written by Brittany Meyers, property of Windtraveler.net

A Few of Our Favorite Things: 2016 Christmas Edition

© Tom Wang | Dreamstime.com - Santa Claus sitting on beach chairs. Christmas holiday concept.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! But for many, it can be super stressful. Christmas is not all about presents (for our girls we are sticking to the "something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read" gift giving plan to keep it simple and not make it all about "stuff"), but it is about the spirit of giving and, let's face it, getting and giving presents is so much fun! Some folks, however, are tricky to buy for and others (like me!) get stumped and need some inspiration for ideas. For those of you who can identify with one or both of those scenarios, this post is for you. I have compiled this list of tried and true products that we LOVE and use regularly if not daily.  Another bonus? Many of these items are under $50 and won't break the bank.

If you'd like to check out last year's list, here are some more ideas for the saltiest sailors in your circle.

Micro Scooter - These Swiss-designed scooters are THE BEST. Period. Our girls rip around the marina like little pros and to see their skill and confidence develop and soar has been amazing. Micro scooters are very well constructed and super durable, but the best part is how intuitive they are. You don't "steer" by using your arms, but rather leaning your body right and left, honing large motor coordination skills. We use ours every day and they are a huge hit with the other kids around the marina - in fact I think several are getting them for Christmas as a direct result of seeing ours!

The Wagon Store Folding Sport Wagon - We. LOVE. THIS. WAGON. The twins are getting quite independent these days and no longer like to sit in their stroller to stay contained, but when we hit the beach here I don't want to lug all our gear and I still like to have a way to contain the kids. Enter: this wagon. I did a ton of research on all things "wagon" and this brand consistently had the best reviews. It is collapsible and can easily be stowed on deck or in the back of a car, and it also doubles for fun when all the marina kids pull each other around in it!

Magna-Tiles Set - We have loved these for years. When it comes to toys for our girls, we look for things that are a) quality b) educational and c) easy to store. Magna tiles fit all criteria beautifully. Our girls have spent hours upon hours creating palaces, homes, cars and creations with our set. A toy that is super engaging and brain developing? YES.

Books - One thing we do not limit on our boat is books for the kids. All three of our girls LOVE books and "reading ". Some of our favorite are the Berenstain Bears, Usborne lift the flap books, Julia Donaldson books, Tod Parr books and any book that helps drive home important lessons. I will be doing an additional post on our favorite children's books soon because reading is something that is very important to our family.

Bronwen Jewelry - I have sang this jeweler praise for years now. I absolutely LOVE her stuff and if I could afford to buy it all, I would. Her handcrafted pieces are made for active women. I wear my waterweave bracelets every single day and they still look like new despite daily swimming.  I seriously cannot stress how much I love her simple, stylish work.

Wallaroo Tahiti Fedora - I love hats and have an obscene number of them. Gotta protect the skin! I have been on the hunt for a good fedora-type sun hat for over a year and I finally found them in the Wallaroo Tahiti fedora. Super well made, doesn't loose shape, and fits like a dream. I have two, one with the turquoise band and one with a taupe band and they go with just about any outfit I own. Also great for bad hair days (of which I have many!)

SCOUT Daytripper Tote - I discovered this company last year and I am not looking back. We have SO many of the SCOUT products on our boat it was hard to narrow down what to highlight, but this tote takes the cake. I have two (blue striped and the black and white pictured) and I use them every single day. They are big enough to carry all the gear I tote around for three tots, but not so big it feels like a burden. Plus, they are waterproof and do not stain! Any spills or nastiness that gets on the bag wipes right off. There are so many different colors and styles to chose from that it will be hard to select just one!

LSpace Women's Bikini Separates - Bikinis are my weakness and I have WAY too many. But, hey, I live on a boat in an island and pretty much live in swimwear. I found this brand a few months ago and holy moly, I LOVE them. They look so good on, are very well made, and all the pieces can be mixed and matched. Super cute.

Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag - I have never known Scott without this messenger bag, he has had his that long. Now that he is a bonafide businessman (albeit one that wears board shorts all day) he needed to dig this bag out as his briefcase. It goes with him everywhere and the bags are super strong, water proof and last FOREVER.

Buff Adult UV Headwear - No red necks around here! Working day in and day out in the sun means we need to protect ourselves before it gets the best of us and sometimes, sunscreen doesn't cut it. These versatile head scarves are great to keep the sun off your neck and can also be worn a bunch of different ways. They have these for both men and women and they are also great for anyone who runs, skis or does just about anything active.

Klein Canvas Zipper Tool Bags - I got Scott this set of tool bags on a whim way back in 2010 when we left on our first boat. He LOVES them. They take a real beating and have stood the test of time. Scott loves that his tools are organized and if he needs something, he just brings out one small bag instead of a huge bulky tool case. One bag holds "every day" tools (the ones we use most), another holds all his wrenches, another all the screw drivers, and so on.

O'Neill Santa Cruz Boardshort - Scott has several pairs of these and they are super comfortable, look great on, and fit well. He's very picky when it comes to how clothes fit so if the board shorts pass the Scott test, they are legit!

USB Essential Oil Ultrasonic LED Diffuser - I love diffusing essential oils in our boat for both scent and health. This little diffuser is the perfect size for our boat and runs off a USB power chord. It has a nice light option and various time settings. Add a little water, a few drops of essential oil, and your home will smell lovely!

SCOUT Hang-10 Storage Bin - I mentioned this company above and we have no fewer than five of these bins on our boat. They are foldable, super sturdy and look so much nicer than any other collapsible bin I have found. They are great for organizing toys, clothes and just about anything. Also, they are 'wipe clean' so will almost never get stained or dirty.

Cacala 100% Cotton Pestemal Turkish Towel - Yes, these are here again. We love these towels so much that it's hard to make a list of things we use and not include Turkish towels. They are thin, absorbent, quick to dry, easy to wash, take up a fraction of the space of a traditional towel and are so versatile. We use ours as bath towels, beach towels, sarongs, picnic blankets and fort-makers. They are awesome.

Sound Monkey Rugged Bluetooth Speaker - We love music and now we bring it wherever we go! This bluetooth speaker is super durable and the perfect size for on the go. It's waterproof and dustproof and has great sound - at full volume it can really get the party started!

MIRA 1 Liter Stainless Steel Coffee Pot & French Press - Many of you recall how much I love my Aeropress, and I still do love that. But these days, I drink a LOT of coffee and making one cup at a time is not efficient. I got this stainless steel model and I absolutely LOVE it. It makes one liter of delicious coffee and looks pretty on the counter to boot!

5 Piece Mini Utensil Set - Regular sized spatula sets take up a ton of room on a boat - this little set is the perfect size and I love the versatility of all the pieces. Another product that is used every single day on our boat.

Magic Bullet Express Mixing Set - I am on  a major smoothie kick these days and every day I have a vitamin and protein packed smoothie for lunch. This little mixer is what I use! We've had ours for over four years and it's still going strong! Super efficient and just the right size for one serving, the Magic Bullet is one powerful little gadget. I also use mine to make dressings, dips and salsas. Bonus is that it's super small and takes up very little space.

Copco 16-Ounce Reusable To Go Mug - Now that I am driving the girls to school three days a week, and since I rarely get to take a sip of my coffee until well after it is poured, I use this cup daily to not only keep my bev nice and warm, but also to be able to take it to go.

***

So there you have it! A few of our favorite things that I hope make the Holiday Season shine just a little bit brighter for you and your loved ones. Merry Christmas!

Christmas in the Caribbean: Getting into the Spirit in Paradise

I love Christmas. It is, bar none, my favorite time of year. While I'd like to say that, despite the lack of snow, it still feels very much like Christmas down here - that would be a lie. But we do have spirit! The main difference (besides the aforementioned lack of snow) is the fact that we aren't surrounded by family as we would typically be this time of year. We're not cuddled in front of a fire watching Christmas movies (possibly my favorite holiday tradition), and Scott is working like mad every single day because right now it's "peak season" down here. The snowy long drives into the homes and arms of loved ones are not in our future for a while, so instead we get to be with the family we "choose" (our friends) and we get into the spirit in other ways.

The girls and I decorated our boat with holiday crafts during our famed week of quarantine, and we're going to be making decorations for our tiny tree (compliments of our best friends, the Sunkissed Soeters) on Christmas Eve, mostly because the twins would no doubt have destroyed any construction paper ornaments we make if we'd done it any sooner. Which brings me to another point of why this year feels a little different; the twins. Haven and Mira are at that very tricky 'in-between' age where they are into EVERYTHING. Crafts are difficult (at best) to complete, and watching a Christmas movie with them? Forget about it! These babies don't sit still! Baking cookies with them? Insanity! They're too young to even understand Christmas, so there's not a ton of pressure to 'make it magical' for them not to mention the fact that we are outside, and not in our boat, 90% of their wakeful hours. Isla, however, does get it and I'm trying to keep the spirit going for her as best I can.

We were able to visit Santa before we came down (and before Thanksgiving when there were zero lines and Santa wasn't burned out). I hadn't planned on going but Isla saw him from the mall indoor play park we were at and insisted on paying him a visit. "Mommy! Do you think he will be able to come to our boat?" she asked me with pained eyes. "Of course he will," I told her. "Santa gets to visit all children." "But..." she started with a sad face, "We don't have a chimney." It was decided then and there that we'd make sure Santa knew where to find us. We went right up to him and after a little coaxing, she spoke to him, "Santa...we live on a boat and don't have a chimney. You are going to have to come through our companionway. Is that okay? Can you still come see us?" Our awesome Santa gave a hearty laugh, told his Elf to take some notes and said, "Where is your boat darling?" Isla told him that we lived on Tortola and that our boat was blue and named 'Asante'. He then told her that he used to live on a boat in Hawaii in the summers with Mrs. Claus and that he actually had a dinghy! "I will take my dinghy to your boat!" he told her with a smile. Isla's eyes lit up and she looked at me with a beaming grin. "And don't you worry," he continued, "I can get on your boat and come through your cockpit to see you. My Elf has taken notes and I will not forget you!" After that, the girls all sat on his lap and Isla told him she wanted a stuffed Hello Kitty doll for Christmas, gave him a big hug and we were on our way. The relief she felt was so obvious, I had no idea she was so worried about him not being able to visit. Point for the spontaneous Santa encounter - it was all she talked about for days. "Santa has a dinghy!" she'd excitedly tell anyone who would listen.

We're also keeping spirit alive in other ways...Our Elf, Crispin, has followed us to the boat, and while I completely forgot to move him during our crazy week of illness, he has come back to life and been sneaking around our boat each evening, finding a new spot to hide (easier than you'd think on a small boat!) where he can watch the girls during the day and report back to Santa in the night. We listen to Christmas Carols and this morning made some Christmas cards for a few of our favorite friends and marina employees (you better believe the beach bar is getting one! Our girls are bellied up to it every day!) Darcy and I are going to do a little beach "treasure hunt" on Christmas day for the kids (our hubbies will be working) and her and I are also planning a beach pot-luck for our families and anyone else who wants to join. My cousin, Emily, is flying in to be with us and we're hoping to spend time with our good friends Jody and Peter from Where the Coconuts Grow as well. We will also be writing him a detailed note and thank you to Santa tomorrow. As well as leaving him some cookies and carrots for his reindeer.

We are also talking a lot about the "spirit" of Christmas and what it really means, namely: being with the people you love, saying "thank you" for what you have, and helping others. We don't go crazy on gifts over here, just a few small things for each girl - and they're not expecting much because we've never gone crazy for Christmas. It's all about family, friends, and love. That's what matters most. Gifts are just icing on the cake.

So that's what our Christmas will look like down here. As much as I miss the crackling fire, eggnog, jumbo cocktail shrimp and being surrounded by family in a warm and cozy home, I'm definitely happy to be here and - honestly - I don't miss the snow one bit. The beach will do me just fine!

Merry Christmas, everyone. Much love from our family to yours. May all be Merry and Bright! xoxo

Reindeer footprint decorations.

Christmas cards ready to be delivered! 

Simple ornaments strung up (out of the reach of the twins) on our indoor Christmas lights.

Some of our home-made decorations. 

Ornament colored by Mira.

Our sneaky Elf, Crispin, on the lookout for good behavior! 

Our boat as decked as we can be this year, with our tiny tree ready to be decorated tomorrow morning.

Christmas in the Caribbean

Snowbirds fill the air

Christmas in the Caribbean

Lots of presents everywhere

We don't live in a hurry

Send away for mistletoe

Christmas in the Caribbean

We got everything but snow.

- Jimmy Buffett

Merry Christmas

We hope this holiday season and all its blessings have you jumping for joy!

From our family to yours, we wish you much love and laughter today and every day and a New Year filled with happiness, good health and inner peace.  Thank you, as always, for your unwavering love, friendship, readership and support - you continue to simultaneously humble and inspire me on a daily basis.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!  May 2014 be the year of your DREAMS.

Twas the Night Before Christmas...(The Cruiser's Version)

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the boat, 

not a creature was stirring, not even a roach.

The dry bags were hung on the davits with care, 

in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their berth, 

while visions of snorkeling filled them with mirth.

And mama in her ponytail and I in my headlamp, 

had just dropped the 'hook in a new harbor "camp".

When out on the deck there arose such a clatter, 

I sprang from the nav station to see what was the matter.

To the aft cabin I flew like a flash, 

grabbed my machete and opened the hatch.

The full moonlight sparkled and danced on the ocean, 

while our boat gently rocked with a side to side motion.

When what to my sun-tired eyes should appear, 

but a flying pirogue pulled by eight tiny deer.

With a laughing old helmsman singin' a Caribbean shtick, 

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than dolphins, his coursers they came, 

and he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Now Dasher! Now Dancer! 

Now Prancer! Now Vixen!

On Comet! On Cupid!

On Donner! On Blitzen!

From the top of the mast all the way to the clew!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away you!"

As sea birds before a wild hurricane fly, 

when met with an obstacle, take to the sky.

Over twinkling anchor lights 'round the harbor they flew

with a boat full of parts and St. Nicholas, too. 

When suddenly I heard on the cabin-top roof 

the prancing and pawing of each tiny hoof.

As I clicked off my headlamp and was turning around, 

down the companionway stairs came St. Nick with a bound!

Hawaiian shirt, bermuda shorts and waternut in hand,

his feet and his face were all covered in sand.

A sack full of provisions he had slung on his hub

and he looked like a man just returned from Sam's Club.

His eyes, how they sparkled!  His wrinkles, how cheery!

His cheeks were all sunburned, his nose was all peely!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a sail, 

the ends of his beard housed a braid, like a tail.

The stump of his Cuban cast a faint yellow glow,

but the Old Salt, he knew better than to smoke down below.

His face was all weathered, and he had a big tum, 

from a lifetime of rays and plenty of fun. 

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old Salt

and I knew right away this was not an assault.

A wink of his eye and a swig of his rum, 

soon gave me to know he was nothing but fun.

He spoke not a word, but got to work down below

And serviced our systems with the speed of a pro!

He cleaned up our terminals and replaced an old hose, 

After halving my "to-do" list, up the companionway he rose.

He jumped into his boat, to his team gave a whistle,

and away they all went like a nautical missile.

But I heard him exclaim as he sailed through the night

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

© original adaptation written by Brittany Meyers, property of Windtraveler.net

Adventures in Holidays: That Night We Almost Burned our House Down Before A Dinner Party

Clark wasn't with us last night, but had he been - he'd have felt right at home.

Otherwise known as: how not to start a dinner party.

So my parents have these great friends that they have had since forever; lovely people with a lovely family that they don't get to see that often and, needless to say, I haven't seen them in ages.  So we arranged a nice holiday dinner to catch up and make merry, as you do during this time of year.

What ensued was like a deleted scene straight out of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Our guests were scheduled to arrive at 5:30 so they could see Isla before bed.  Right before they arrived my mom decided to start a fire in the sitting room fireplace, you know - for ambience.  While we use the fireplace in the family room daily, this was the first time this season we were using the one off the kitchen.  My wonderful mother, in the midst of the hubbub of setting the table, putting finishing touches on the dinner and getting ready for our friends, forgot to open the flue, which is kind of a big deal when you start a wood burning fire in a fireplace.   

Needless to say, the house filled with thick smoke in under five minutes.  Alarms began to sound and once we couldn't stop those, more - even louder - alarms began to sound.  My mom started running around frantically trying to opening windows while fanning the smoke with a dish towel (an utterly futile effort) exclaiming "What do we do!?!?!"  I grabbed Isla who naturally began to cry seeing all the mayhem and because I didn't exactly know what to do as this isn't exactly my house, I said, "First you need to open that flue!" (she did) followed by "Do you know how to turn the alarms off?" (She did not).  We called my dad who was on his way home from work.  No answer.  We continued to open windows and - in general - run around like chickens with our heads cut off while being more or less ineffective at resolving anything.  I finally got Isla calmed and even enthralled with all the excitement around and began making phone calls to the alarm company to call off the dogs...but it was too late.  

Our lovely dinner guests arrived at our front door (which was wide open in an effort to dissipate the smoke) in the midst of this chaos and quickly sprung to action fanning smoke and opening doors before they even got their coats off.  Not five minutes later two blaring, flashing fire trucks arrived.  Neighbors curiously took to the streets to see what the ruckus was about as five decked-out fire-folk politely marched into the house.  "Hi there!" I said, "Happy holidays! Forgot to open the flue! Sorry to bother!" I continued as each one passed by.  Isla, in the meantime, kept chirping "Fire! Fire!" and smiling as they passed.  The uniformed men immediately sprung to action by opening up the house, checking for carbon monoxide and trying (unsuccessfully) to turn off the alarms. 

After about thirty minutes, the smoke finally dissipated enough for the frantic alarms to subside, the house was given the all-clear and deemed "safe" and the firemen left with a tip of their hats.  Wine was served.  

At least we didn't burn dinner.

What's your favorite National Lampoon's worthy holiday moment?  Surely we can't be the only ones?

So We Went to See Santa...

...and this happened.

We waited over an hour at the mall.  On a Monday.  In the beginning of December.  With hardly any line.  This of course made me wonder out loud to my girlfriend how in the HECK anyone would brave a Santa line with a toddler closer to Christmas and - God forbid - on a weekend.  Those of you who have or would are much nicer parents than myself because I don't think you could pay me to be near this fellow on a weekend (do you have any idea how difficult it is to keep an active toddler entertained in a line for even an hour, let alone three?!?)  Good thing too, because Isla was clearly not impressed and, judging by the photo, the feeling was mutual.  In fact, he immediately took a break after I picked Isla up off his lap.  Like, immediately.  It's got to be a little disheartening (not to mention exhausting) to be terrorizing babies and toddlers all day long.  Thank God for the three and up crowd who actually like good ol' Saint Nick and don't scream bloody murder the moment they see his face up close.

Of course I thought this was totally hysterical and this is precisely the reaction I anticipated for two reasons: 1) 99% of photos I have seen of toddlers Isla's age (or thereabouts) with Santa show children reaching various shades of crimson displaying similar levels of terror and 2) Isla's aversion to men with facial hair.

So I was not a bit shocked when she went stiff as a board and began to scream the very instant I placed her on his lap.  Classic.  Snap, snap, snap.  The poor, exhausted photographer desperately tried to distract her from her tears and wails with jingle bells and squeaky toys but Isla would have none of it.  She was done.

For those of you who worry that our sweet girl has been scarred for life by the big man in red, fear not!  She stopped screaming as quickly as she started and for the next two hours kept chirping excitedly, "saw Santa! Lap?" as if the whole thing was this awesome, happy encounter.  When we got home and I showed her the picture with him, she pointed and smiled, "Santa! Lap?" and displayed zero distaste or malice.  In fact, she looked pretty darn excited to see the big guy in print.  Toddlers.  They never know what they want.  So, yeah, she's gonna be okay.

Speaking of photos...the above is a picture of a picture because I was not allowed one with my own camera.  Apparently times are tough in the North Pole and they need extra revenue.  A helper elf came up to us in line and asked, "Will you be buying a package or just visiting?" and, after seeing that the basic package (two 5 x 7 photos) was $20, I was all "no thanks".  But, just to check I added, "we can take pictures with our own cameras though, right?" Negative.  So, really, I paid $20 bucks to entertain my child in a line for an hour and get a picture of her screaming at the end of it.  Good times.

It was worth it, though.  The "screaming with Santa" photo is like a right of passage.  So, to me, this picture is priceless.

Ho, ho, ho!

No Place Like Home for the Holidays

Okay, so I might have a bit of a Caribbean soul in this midwestern body, but one thing is for sure:  Christmas just doesn't feel the same down island.  As someone whose holiday spirit was tenderly cultivated on twinkling lights, snow forts, caroling, cocoa, family goodness and all things "Christmas" it actually feels really, really nice to be home this time of year.  The fact that it snowed about three inches last night, well, that's just icing - or frosting, rather - on the...er...ground.

Our trip from tropics to tundra was uneventful, Isla is a now a bonafide pro at air travel and as long as I have some good snacks, a couple engaging toys (this particular happy in-flight baby was brought to you by Play-Doh, thank you Darcy!) and a book or two - she is a happy camper.  I reveled in the delights of traveling with only one as the next time we fly we will most likely have three in tow, which seems like utter madness to me.  But I digress...

The cold was obviously a shock to the system, for both of us.  When we emerged from the vestibule doors of the O'Hare Airport baggage terminal, we were blasted with a chill so biting it took our breath away.  "Cooold!" exclaimed Isla as she stopped in her tracks with wide-eyed wonder and pointed outside.  Yes, baby.  Yes it is.  But the nice thing about the cold is that there are plenty of ways to escape it and we had with us a hefty arsenal of layers with which to fend it off.  One thing, however, that I cannot seem to combat is the shock to my skin...  

We island dwellers sure take humidity and the wonderful effects it has on the epidermis for granted!  Almost instantly my lips began to chap and my skin went ashy and itchy so since we have arrived I have been slathering myself in scented massage oil after each (warm, luxurious!) shower and drinking coconut water like it's going out of style.  Isla is the same, exclaiming "itchy!" randomly throughout the day.  I am sure the fact that her limbs are not used to being clothed is a part of this as well.  I keep reapplying baby lotion to her as well but even her skin seems to be drying out.  I think our bodies simply need to re-calibrate to a drier, cooler climate, but hydration and keeping well-oiled seem to be helping a little.

We've been adjusting pretty well, to be honest.  I am happy to be home.  Isla is totally unfazed (though she has asked to go to the beach several times!) and now that grandma is around all the time, I'm old news.  It feels really great to be around family and friends and I am definitely reveling in the holiday spirit.  It's nice to wake up and not be sweaty.  To have my best friends (and their kiddos) just a phone call and a short drive away, to watch my parents and Isla bring each other so much joy.  To kick up my feet in front of a crackling fire and sip a cup of cider while chatting to my best friend on the phone.  To have access to all the benefits that a life ashore presents (and there are many).  And I feel really, really good to know I am now near proper medical care now that I am in my third trimester which is typically when things can get funky with a twin pregnancy.  (I got another glimpse of our baby girls the other day and all three of us are doing great).

So, yeah, we're all good over here.  It's all fires, family, friends and Christmas spirit at the moment so, really, how could I complain?  I am a lucky girl.  There's no place like home for the holidays, no matter how far away you roam...