Its day 5 and I am feeling kind of sad knowing that in just 2 days it's time to go back to the real world. My children are constantly on the move with our nanny (I swear she must be a robot to keep up with them), my hubby has found his passion in scuba diving and me...well let's just say I am in "Mummy Heaven"! Janice has become our saving grace and without her I don't think we would have been able to enjoy this resort to its fullest. We went off-property to Dunn's River Falls Tour in Ochos Rios and the kids got a little fun swimming with the Dolphins at Dolphin Cove which I may add is a little pricey but definitely worth it to see the kids happy! We even took Janice (nanny) with us and we didn't have to pay for her. We tried all restaurants the hotel has to offer which were all great! We are thinking about going into the town and trying some of the local dishes if I can ever get my lazy butt off this hammock. Everyone here is so friendly and attentive, a huge difference than what I am used to in US. No long lines at the buffet but you are waited on constantly, a girl could get used to that! So my little one (Cameron) will be celebrating his 5th b-day tomorrow and Janice has already made arrangements for a cake, balloons, face painting and a small party on the beach- I didn’t have to do a thing! I often wonder if I can sneak her back to the US with us...hmmm...there's a thought! Until next time...

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I must apologize for being so delinqiuent but you are having fun everything else seem so so trivial. I'm sipping on a mojito and swinging in a hammock while I write this blog with our free wireless access! We've been here for three days and already I feel right at home and dread the thought of ever going back. I must admit that this place has really blown us away. The hubby is off playing golf (not at the hotel about 5 mins away); the kids are off with the nanny and I have a Spa appointment in 2 hrs - life is good! So our nanny was much more than I thought she would be. Janice is so attentive, courteous and detailed. From the momenet she got those kids they have been hers every since, my husband and I are just bystanders. She took them to the pool this morning and actually went in with them! Did I mention that she was fully trained in CPR and lifesaving, so I had no worries. She kept both our kids and room clean and catered to our needs as well, which were pretty basic - take care of the kids!:) Oh my gosh...the food...INCREDIBLE!!! A wide variety for breakfast, lunch and dinner, although we are light eaters, we had lots to choose from. They have a kiddies buffet every evening at 5:30pm and then the adult/family dining starting at 6:30 pm which is plated service. The kids would much rather choose their own food. So we asked Janice to babysit the kids so me and hubby could have a private dinner on the boardwalk (overlooking the sea)- much needed. She took them to play games and then it was off to bed at 8:00pm. Janice is well worth the US$6.00/hour that we pay her for after hours services So, the Italian Restaurant is opened tomorrow and we can't resist. Adults only, we have to asked Janice ocne again to babysit...yes! This is shaping up to be a pretty awesome vacation!. Until next time, keep warm:)

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So we arrived at FDR around 1:30 pm very much exhausted but at the same excited for what's to come. My two kids were both knocked out - poor things completely exhausted from the trip. We are all starving and couldn't wait to get our hands on that Jamaican grub! We were greeted nicely as we came off the bus and were handed complimentary fruit punch, champagne and bottled water. I sent the hubby to register at the front desk while I attend to the sleeping kids, afterall everything was pre-arranged through our Travel Agent, so I didn't anticipate any problems and there were none. I couldn't take my eyes off the beautiful trees and flowers, they were everywhere - I could feel my allergies starting to act up but didn't care as I knew I packed enough medication for all of us!

After about 10 mins we were taken to our beautiful suite or should I say mini-house! It was huge and well appointed. There is no way that the kids would be missing home staying here! A separate bedroom for us and one for the kids with 2 separate beds - I was in Heaven. Jamaican paintings everywhere, DVD Players, Coffee maker (very important), IPOD Docks, just as they advertised. The suites seem to be recently renovated everything inside seemed new and just done! I put my little ones down to sleep and heard a knock on the door. I wasn't expecting anyone but there was our savior, the reason for our entire trip standing before us - her name was Janice, our nanny!

Two sleepy heads (the kids) came walking to the living room (yes, we have a living area) and was greeted with hugs by the nanny. Cameron was la ittle shy at first until she mentioned hot dogs and ice cream and Katie was still undecided. We decided all of us should go get something to eat and get to know each other better. I could tell that this was the start of a restful vacation...

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We survived our first trip with kids out of the country and the flight was as bad as I thought it would be. Cameron (4 yrs) could not keep still and was constantly kicking the chair in front of him, forcing the passenger in front us to change seats so as not to turn around and strangle him. Katie (Ms. Princess) slept most of the way and woke up in time to realize that we left her favorite doll, then it was hell to pay after that. The flight on Air Jamaica was good despite the fact that my children were driving me insane and my husband decided to give up calming them down after about 1.5 hr into the flight and left all the work to me (typical men). We arrived in Jamaica about 11am and was thrilled when there was hardly any lines at immigrations (word of advise - take a morning flight, less persons at the airport and more time to spend at your hotel).We went through customs with a breeze and were off to JTL to catch our free shuttle to the resort. My 4 yr old was finally fast asleep but my 6 yrs old was lagging behind because we forgot her favourite doll - I hope this one mistake doesn't ruin our vacation. We got onto the shuttle at about 11:45am and waited for about 15 minutes, then we were off to our dream resort. Everyone is so friendly here and always willing to help. We stopped on the way at Scotchies Restaurant for some "jerk chicken and pork" which was a little too spicy for my blood but the husband loved it! We had to try the famous red stripe beer of course, by this time the kids were fast asleep. After stopping at about 4 hotels to drop off other vacationers, we arrived at the resort about 1.5 hours later. Now time for our vacation to begin...

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So we haven't travelled since the arrival of the kids (4 & 6 yrs) and we are somewhat exciting and nervous and the same time. My 4 yrs old (Mr. Busy-body) is my major concern as he cannot sti still for 1 minute let alone almost 4 hours on a place. My 6 yr old (Princess) is too busy with her dolls to give us any trouble. I'm excited because mainlky I think we found the perfect location for our holiday. After months of researching, we narrowed it down to one location, Franklyn D. Resort & Spa, Runaway Bay, Jamaica. What basically sold us was the vacation nanny, any opportunity to get additional help with my two kids is okay with me. So you get this nanny, and apparently she takes care of the kids all day, while me and the hubby can get some well needed alone time. These nannies are trained in CPR and childcare and according to reviews I read they are very professional. I'm not sure how my two kids will react to stranger feeding, bathing and playing with them as we don't have a nanny back home but I'm corssing my fingers that they will run to her with open arms! So, I think we packed just about the whole house, so we should be okay plus they have almost everything we need at the hotel - beach towels, snorkelling gear, beahc toys and even DVD Players and IPod Docks and besides if we leave any behind, they have a giftshop. So I have the cash, sunblock, camera, batteries, swimsuits, flip-flops, medications, favourite toys, passports, tickets, credit cards and novel that I haven't been able to finish all year...I am ready to go!

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