Ninja Mommy Hacks: Life with 2 Minions and lots of wine!

I took my 7 year old and 3 year old up to Anchorage Alaska and boarded the Coral Princess Ship in Whittier- we spent 7 days going southbound to Vancouver.   Here is all of my tidbits... the good and the bad: Lets start with the good: 1) The bed is the MOST comfortable thing ever!  I wanted to take it home, my happy place was IN BED on the boat!  They even have a flyer that talks about the amazing mattresses!   (on my Christmas list) 2) Nature!  Princess does the nature of Alaska right!  The Naturalist on board (Gloeta) was amazing.  The ship brought on Rangers in Glacier Bay National Park (Where only 2 boats get to enter a day and very FEW companies have access to this National Park) there were many bridge wildlife talks, and lectures on Glaciers and Whales.   Princess does an amazing job on bringing Alaska alive to you!   (No, you do NOT need a balcony.  I had a window, and it was perfect on deck 5.   If you can afford it, great.. but I chose to spend more money on excur

There is no comparison, no way!  I will not do it... this is apples to oranges.   The big question in deciding is.. What are your "non-negotiables"?  What are you trying to get out of an Alaskan cruise? You need to fall into one of these categories for you to chose which company to go with: 1) Are you all about nature?  Do you want to dive into Alaska and immerse yourself in it?  Do your kids love nature and want to be Junior Rangers?  Do you love to CHILL and relax and be at rest for 7 days where CALM is the tone? 2) Are you all about Food, family bonding, and doing activities?   Do you LOVE food, and demand good food at all times, especially dining together at dinner over the 3 course meal?  Do you want numerous things to do together and separately every hour you are awake?   Do you want an upbeat scene with dancing, music, and bustling activity? Go with Princess if you chose #1 Go with Disney if you chose #2 Princess caters to 78 year olds!!!    Food is more b

We kicked off our Alaskan cruise with 3 days in ANC, and I fell in love with the town.   Here are my tidbits: I did NOT have a car (I did not want to travel with car seats for 10 days--I traveled alone with my 2 kids while my husband was on a deployment). Use the People Mover- the bus system. (See photo below) Google Maps tells you exactly what to do.  For a few bucks you get around.   Go Google Maps!!!!      Stay downtown!  Do not stay in MID TOWN, midtown is 5 miles inland away from the cute downtown.    If you do stay in Mid town, then chose a hotel next to the People Mover bus stops!!!!   I had a half mile walk each time we used the bus.   So go ahead and Google Maps the People Mover stops, then you will see the hotels next to the stops!  This will save you 20 minutes of walking (and worrying a moose may sneak up on you LOL).    I believe a Hilton Garden Inn was next to a stop.    The Alaska Museum has an amazing Discovery Science center. (photos below)  $7 entry fee for a d

**I get nothing for this post, I paid full price for our room. You know me, I am all about giving advice when traveling...  I hope this is helpful: July 5-7 we were at the 2nd Happiest Place in Anaheim, Great Wolf Lodge (GWL).  Holiday weekend, you would think to steer clear...NOPE!    Do it!!!!!! .. this is a GREAT vacation! Imagine a large hotel room (we upgraded to the bunk bed cabin style for the kids).  They get own section of the room in a themed bunk bed with own TV (it's a BUNK bed, just do it).    Imagine a HUGE water park with lots to do, and not long lines... because only those staying at the hotel can go to the water park.. the longest line we waited in for a tube slide was 10 minutes.    They  have a lagoon area for the tiny tots, a HUGE play slide area for the pre-schoolers, and the rest for big kids (48inches) and bigger.     Money saving tip-  get the cheaper room, and book 60+ days in advance.  I found rates for $175 a night!   That is half what I paid! Her