Look familiar?

Nope. Not Punta Cana.

We just got back from an extended weekend on Sanibel Island, Florida. We left Thursday afternoon and arrived back home around dinner time tonight. For Christmas, Mike's mom and dad gave us plane tickets to come visit them. Unfortunately, Mike's Mom wasn't able to join us, so we spent the time with Poppo.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the past few days:

Look at those big blue eyes!



How am I gonna eat all this cheesecake?



My boys -- too bad Robbie messed up the picture.



The girls.



A must-take photo op at The Bubble Room on Captiva Island.



My little monkeys.



The 4th Frog

A little whisper

Ok, so I said there'd be a "Great Silence." Just consider this a little whisper.

I paid $7 for 30 minutes of internet time so I could e-mail my kids. Now I have 8 minutes left, so thought I'd pop in here quickly.


After sitting on the plane for two hours and watching them de-ice and anti-ice the wings, we were definitely on our way to a little bit of island paradise called Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

The flight was pretty smooth, which is more than I can say for the bus ride from the airport to the resort. My poor sister got bus-sick (no surprise, she once puked her way from Ohio to Myrtle Beach). Thank goodness for the bathroom on the bus; though while she was in there tossing her breakfast (we kind of flew past lunch), we hit a big bump and her butt hit the bathroom door, flinging the door wide open and my sitting flying out. Funny...no one used the bathroom after she exited...

Uh oh! Less than 3 minutes on my time. Let me just say crystal blue skies, gorgeous sun, temps in the 80s, and no agendas other than be at dinner at 6:30pm. Now this is my kind of vacation!

Thursday: Apparently, this didn't post before my internet time got cut off. We hit the beach this morning. It was one of those dangerous kind of beach days because the breeze masked how really warm it was. But I was well covered in my SPF 30. We laid out and read books and drank cranberry vodka for a few hours. (Ok, I had 1 cranberry vodka that I didn't even finish entirely.) Then after lunch, I decided a little snooze was in order -- turned into a 3 hour nap!

The afternoon turned cloudy, but it's still warm. Much warmer than the single and low double digit highs at home.

I'll post pictures and more details when I return home.

To entertain you while I'm gone...

Puxatawney Phil saw his shadow...so what? By this time tomorrow, I'll be on a plane to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Leaving behind all the cold and snow, at least until Saturday night.

In case I don't get back here this week to post, I thought I'd leave you with links to some of my favorite previous posts:

• Adventures in Painting (what started it all -- be sure that you read all 3 parts)
  
  
• Babysitter wanted. Pulse required.
  
  
• Busted!
  
  
• 10 Tips for Terrible Parenting
  
  
• Eating Crow
  
  
• Wedding Vows: A Reality Check
  
  
• Monday Morning Lessons at Starbucks
  
  
• I survived the pumpkin patch...barely
  
  
• Banished!
  
  
• Dear Santa (Thanks man -- I got my wish!)
  
  
• Adventures in Bra Shopping
  
  
• Honestly Officer, part 2

Enjoy!

Warnings ahead

I'm going on a trip to the Dominican Republic this week with my sister. Yesterday, I had all my prescriptions refilled (too many for a woman my age, really) so I have them to take with me. Today, I have spent the morning (yes, after church Mom) going through the itinerary and getting my clothes and toiletries packed.

In all my preparations, I keep running into warnings:

On the prescriptions:

• Do NOT eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice at any time while taking this medication. (So much for the lure of tropical fruit.)
• Do NOT use if you are pregnant, suspect that you are pregnant, or while breastfeeding. (Whew! Safe there.)
• May cause drowsiness and dizziness. Alcohol may intensify this effect. Use care when operating a car or dangerous machines.
• Avoid prolonged or excessive exposure to direct and or artificial sunlight. (Guess I'm leaving that one home.)
• Do NOT drink alcoholic beverages when taking this medication. (So no mimosas with my morning meds?)

But it's not just the FDA looking out for my well-being. So is the travel company:

• Do NOT do a currency exchange with a stranger on the street, unless you want to get scammed and ripped off.
• Tap water in the Dominican Republic is NOT safe to drink.
• Only eat fruit you can peel yourself (Except, in my case, grapefruit).
• Do NOT stand under coconut palm trees. Falling coconuts are responsible for several deaths each year. This is not a joke. (Then why does this make me laugh?)

So I thought I'd better issue a few warnings myself:

• To the 4th Frog readers: Prepare for what I'm calling "The Great Silence." Internet access where we are going is "available for a fee in public areas." So I'm not sure how much I'm going to be online if I can't be blogging in my jammies, which is how I like to do it.
  
  
• To the teachers of my children: I will be out of the country this week. My husband will be in charge. Which means we are going for basic survival. If my children show up to school without their backpacks, lunchboxes or wearing mismatched or ill-fitting shoes, please excuse them. As Charlie said the last time I went away for a few days, "Things just don't go well when Mom's not home."
  
  
• To the Donato's pizza guys: He's got you on speed dial. Better order extra supplies.