It had been in the works for just over 2 months but it felt like forever to finally arrive: The Great Mommy Getaway, to celebrate our 35th birthdays this year, with 2 of the best college girlfriends a girl could ask for. This past weekend, Ali, Liz and I left the dads, kids and dogs at home and escaped to Atlantic City for two nights.
Saturday morning, I prepped both kids, fed them breakfast, gave Dad a few instructions, packed myself up and kissed all goodbye. I headed towards Newark Airport to pick up Liz, who flew in from Chicago for this weekend of fun. We then drove (in slightly ridiculous traffic) to meet Ali in AC and begin our girls getaway beach weekend.
While sparing you the details so as not to make you jealous, we had lunch on the boardwalk, took many walks along the boardwalk, ate a few too many ice creams, dined in amazing, non-kid-friendly restaurants, sat by the pool (and read!) and shopped. A girl's dream come true! We slept until 9 on Sunday, which felt like a world of difference from our typical 6-or-7 am wake-ups. We actually TALKED, like real adults, and enjoyed each other's company without interruption. There was very little drinking and no gambling that occured and I have to say, it was much-needed and very appreciated break from being mommies.
Kudos goes out to the three husbands, 5 kids and 2 dogs that missed our presence this weekend, but it was a quick, easy way to feel refreshed from mommy duties and remember what it was like to have girlfriends again. Yes, I missed everyone at home, but sometimes a little break is all that is needed to rejuvenate and feel missed.
Let the planning begin for our 40th birthdays!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A Fourth to Remember
We just returned from 5 days at the beach, living in the same house as my MIL, FIL, Grandmother-in-law, SIL, BIL and their two kids (ages 5 and 2.5). We went to celebrate MIL & FIL's 40th anniversary, and quite a celebration it was.
While we arrived on Thursday afternoon and had an enjoyable afternoon and evening, the REAL fun started at 5:40 am Friday when my 2.5 yr old niece woke up screaming. Apparently she had a fever and had thrown up, and this threw our whole day into quite a nightmare. Abby woke up from the commotion (her room was next to where my niece was sleeping) and in her state of confusion, she tried getting out of her room but she locked herself IN to her room. After many attempts at having her try to unlock it (which failed b/c she was hysterical and wouldn't listen), my FIL called a locksmith who said that because it was a child locked in the room, the cops had to be called. So, at 6 am, two of Ocean Grove's finest came and were able to successfully break through the lock and get her out.
But the fun didn't stop there. At 1:45 pm, I called our dog walker Karen to check in on my third child, Sadie, who was alone in our house with the dog walker coming to walk and feed her while we were away. Karen's reaction? "What? I thought I was coming tonight!" at which point my heart stopped beating when I realized Sadie had been alone in the house with no food or walks for over 26 hours. Thank goodness Karen raced over there and Sadie was fine and there wasn't so much as a drop of pee or poop anywhere. My little furball was hungry and thirsty and happy to see her, but she was ok. I, on the other hand, was not. I cried and cried and finally calmed down when I knew she was ok and the vet reassured me that dogs were ok for 2 days without food/water.
Thankfully, the trip improved from there out. Of course there were bumps in the road - my SIL caught what my niece had and Abby somehow caught an ear infection out of nowhere - but the kids all got along and had fun. I ate too much BBQ and ice cream (the ice cream shop was literally 500 feet past our house) but between the beach, BBQs and boardwalk, we had a nice time and perfect weather. And my IL's absolutely were blown away by our gift, which was a photo album with photos and facts from every year they've been married.
But then there was Abby's lovely behavior. Just when I thought we had turned a corner with her turning 4, boy was I wrong. She was a nightmare. Whining, not listening, totally rebelling. I assume some of it was due to her early wake-ups and short (or no) naps but most of it was due to her personality. She purposely defied us in everything we asked of her, as simple as taking a family picture, getting her feet wet in the ocean or wearing certain shoes to the beach. (If you only see pics of Zach during this trip, you will know why - my pouty 4-yr old refused to smile when a camera was nearby). It was challenging, frustrating and exhausting at best.
On the opposite spectrum was my happy, easy-going 14-month old, who just a few days before we left finally pulled himself up to stand (yay!). Zach was the easiest baby and most well-behaved. His only issues came when mommy wasn't around or tried giving him to someone else - he is a total mama's boy. But with his boyish good looks and delicious behavior, I didn't even mind. He slept great, napped well and overall was such a pleasure to be around. I am sure he'll change soon but I am enjoying it for now. And he LOVED the beach! My little guy happily entertained himself in the sand AND ocean, having so much fun with it all. For his first official vacation, he did great. While I had previously been considering taking Abby to Disney World this fall and leaving Zach at home, I am thinking that maybe I have that backwards!
Now that we are back at home - without Cora, who is on vacation this week - I am hopeful that we all get back on track in every way. We had a great, long Fourth weekend, but now it's back to reality and hopefully, a well-behaved 4-yr old. I can only hope as much!
While we arrived on Thursday afternoon and had an enjoyable afternoon and evening, the REAL fun started at 5:40 am Friday when my 2.5 yr old niece woke up screaming. Apparently she had a fever and had thrown up, and this threw our whole day into quite a nightmare. Abby woke up from the commotion (her room was next to where my niece was sleeping) and in her state of confusion, she tried getting out of her room but she locked herself IN to her room. After many attempts at having her try to unlock it (which failed b/c she was hysterical and wouldn't listen), my FIL called a locksmith who said that because it was a child locked in the room, the cops had to be called. So, at 6 am, two of Ocean Grove's finest came and were able to successfully break through the lock and get her out.
But the fun didn't stop there. At 1:45 pm, I called our dog walker Karen to check in on my third child, Sadie, who was alone in our house with the dog walker coming to walk and feed her while we were away. Karen's reaction? "What? I thought I was coming tonight!" at which point my heart stopped beating when I realized Sadie had been alone in the house with no food or walks for over 26 hours. Thank goodness Karen raced over there and Sadie was fine and there wasn't so much as a drop of pee or poop anywhere. My little furball was hungry and thirsty and happy to see her, but she was ok. I, on the other hand, was not. I cried and cried and finally calmed down when I knew she was ok and the vet reassured me that dogs were ok for 2 days without food/water.
Thankfully, the trip improved from there out. Of course there were bumps in the road - my SIL caught what my niece had and Abby somehow caught an ear infection out of nowhere - but the kids all got along and had fun. I ate too much BBQ and ice cream (the ice cream shop was literally 500 feet past our house) but between the beach, BBQs and boardwalk, we had a nice time and perfect weather. And my IL's absolutely were blown away by our gift, which was a photo album with photos and facts from every year they've been married.
But then there was Abby's lovely behavior. Just when I thought we had turned a corner with her turning 4, boy was I wrong. She was a nightmare. Whining, not listening, totally rebelling. I assume some of it was due to her early wake-ups and short (or no) naps but most of it was due to her personality. She purposely defied us in everything we asked of her, as simple as taking a family picture, getting her feet wet in the ocean or wearing certain shoes to the beach. (If you only see pics of Zach during this trip, you will know why - my pouty 4-yr old refused to smile when a camera was nearby). It was challenging, frustrating and exhausting at best.
On the opposite spectrum was my happy, easy-going 14-month old, who just a few days before we left finally pulled himself up to stand (yay!). Zach was the easiest baby and most well-behaved. His only issues came when mommy wasn't around or tried giving him to someone else - he is a total mama's boy. But with his boyish good looks and delicious behavior, I didn't even mind. He slept great, napped well and overall was such a pleasure to be around. I am sure he'll change soon but I am enjoying it for now. And he LOVED the beach! My little guy happily entertained himself in the sand AND ocean, having so much fun with it all. For his first official vacation, he did great. While I had previously been considering taking Abby to Disney World this fall and leaving Zach at home, I am thinking that maybe I have that backwards!
Now that we are back at home - without Cora, who is on vacation this week - I am hopeful that we all get back on track in every way. We had a great, long Fourth weekend, but now it's back to reality and hopefully, a well-behaved 4-yr old. I can only hope as much!
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