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The Seuss books were at the top of our recommended children’s books<\/a>…<\/p>\n We even had a Seuss Christmas tree<\/a>…<\/p>\n I mean….c’mon.\u00a0 We got wockets in our pockets without even trying.<\/p>\n So when we started this whole planning\u00a0process, we knew that the Seuss at Sea thing would be a big hit for our\u00a0boys (and for us).\u00a0 Since our kids are so little (Weston would be barely eligible for the Camp Ocean<\/a> program and LJ would have to stay with us the entire time), we knew that it would be smart to bring our own babysitters so we surprised my mom and dad by telling them that we wanted to take them on a cruise (we had ulterior motives).\u00a0 They kinda love the boys so they cleared their schedules and gave us the big thumbs up.\u00a0 It didn’t take long for us to pay for their flights so they couldn’t back out.\u00a0 You gotta lock in good babysitters\u00a0as soon as possible.<\/p>\n This past weekend, we had my parents over so that we could share with them everything we had planned for the week at sea.\u00a0 Of course, that was the perfect excuse to throw a Cruise Planning Party with a Dr. Seuss theme.\u00a0 I’m nothing if not completely predictable.<\/p>\n The plan was to woo them with red and white striped deliciousness and then when they were full and happy, tell them about the nights that they would be responsible for our three wrecking balls.\u00a0 In my head it would be\u00a0like that airline commercial where the people give the kids to the grandparents and they jump in the car,\u00a0zoom off\u00a0while the Grandpa is yelling “Don’t\u00a0leave us with the babies!”\u00a0 You know the commercial.\u00a0 I bet you guys with kids quote that one too.<\/p>\n But they were geared up to hear about the cruise and the time they were gonna have with their grandbabies!\u00a0 This is gonna be their second Carnival cruise and their first time to some of the ports.<\/p>\n Anyhoo…let’s get back to the food.<\/p>\n We served roast beast sandwiches (roast beef, white American cheese or pepperjack cheese on a Hawaiian roll), green eggs & ham (I just used food coloring for the deviled eggs), Cat in the Hat skewers (strawberries & bananas…although I have seen this with strawberries and marshmallows…but my kids would have only eaten the sweets), Hop on Popcorn, One Fish Two Goldfish, and Tuttle Turtle pie.<\/p>\n And yes, I photoshopped those words on the plate because otherwise you would never be able to read my handwriting \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n The great thing about this menu is the fact that most of the food is ready right outta the box.\u00a0 The prep time didn’t require exact cook times or a whole lot of effort.\u00a0 Everything can be prepared before hand and set on the table straight outta the fridge or the box.<\/p>\n As for decorating, the red and white color scheme is the main element so I used a striped\u00a0piece of fabric for the tablecloth.\u00a0 The Cat In the Hat hat was\u00a0a prize I won at the fair but you can buy stovetop hats at Party City or Target that look exactly like this.\u00a0 The books were obviously an element we were\u00a0including because, duh, Seuss is an author.\u00a0 And the Lorax trees are just pool noodles cut down,\u00a0wrapped with\u00a0tape around the stems and a fluffy\u00a0tissue paper ball\u00a0was tied on top.<\/p>\n We also provided my parents with a packet of information.\u00a0 It was actually great to have something written down because it helped us bring up things that otherwise we would have forgotten to talk about, details that we needed to nail down, and events that needed to be noted or decided upon.<\/p>\n Here is the list of the stuff that we included in our packets:<\/p>\n I think it was especially helpful because I have been scouring blogs, reading websites, searching through forums for tips and info on how to cruise with a baby, a toddler and a preschooler.\u00a0 Not a lot of people take that task on.\u00a0 But I am convinced that with good pre-planning, we can make this thing smoother than a\u00a0Barber Baby Bubble.\u00a0 (Only you Seuss people would get that reference….by the way…that whole book is completely memorized in my brain.)<\/p>\n Since we were all sitting there, we let Will participate by showing us the\u00a0photos of the ship slideshow.\u00a0\u00a0It was also the perfect opportunity to sift through the excursion list and\u00a0nail down what we wanted to do at each port.\u00a0 Apparently Jeremy\u00a0is very anti-parasailing….and\u00a0I, the one terrified of heights,\u00a0am trying to convince him to do it with me.<\/p>\n The boys are kinda obsessed with the idea that there will be a real Cat in the Hat on the ship.\u00a0 They don’t know that we are having breakfast with the Seuss characters and having silly foods like stacked red & white\u00a0pancakes as a special event.\u00a0 They will never want to leave.<\/p>\n One of my friends always throws planning parties for their family vacations and now I am a big believer in their value.\u00a0 There are just so many details that you might forget to talk about.\u00a0 Some of the little things (let’s buy a Groupon for parking discount at the airport, pack walking shoes for day four, yes, you will need more than one bathing suit, etc.) are really important, and minimizing those potential ‘waves’ in the plans saves us money, stress and makes us feel like we can enjoy the entire trip.<\/p>\n Plus…it’s another reason to party.\u00a0 And with this crew, having fun is our middle name.<\/p>\n So has anyone else out there cruised before with Carnival?\u00a0 Experienced Seuss at Sea?\u00a0\u00a0 Had green eggs & ham?<\/p>\n This post was created as part of my collaboration with\u00a0<\/em>Carnival<\/em><\/a>. As always, all of the opinions, thoughts, and ideas in this post are my own.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last year we started looking at cruises.\u00a0 Both Jeremy and I thought it would be a great way to celebrate …