Mommy Vacay

Time for a post about my wonderful solo vacation.  I headed to the quiet town of Gulfport, just south of Tampa Bay.  I got in really late to my BnB The Sea Breeze Manor and passed out in my beautiful room.  I woke up to a homemade breakfast of potatoes, eggs, toast and fruit.  Plus two cups of coffee...living on the edge!

The weather was not forecasted to be as warm as I would have hoped, but I headed out to the beach anyway.  I walked along the beach for a while and collected some shells to bring home to Harper.  Then I headed to the Farmer's Market they have every Tuesday.  It was so nice to stroll at my own pace without anything to worry about.

I grabbed some lunch accompanied by two beers.  Combine that with my late night and I retired to my room for a 2 hour nap.  Awesome!  That night I went to a late dinner and just relaxed in my room.

The next day was a little warmer and I was determined to spend some time on the beach.  I headed out after a yummy breakfast of cinnamon-raisin french toast with sausage to sit on the little pier.  I read Cosmo for about an hour before deciding to walk around town a little.  I grabbed a quick lunch and headed back out the beach.  By the end of the afternoon I even had a couple little spots that were pink from the sun.  Woohoo!  Evidence I had been in Florida.

For dinner I headed to Peg's.  If you're ever in Gulfport, you NEED to eat there.  They make everything fresh with local ingredients and they brew their own beer.  I had a delicious shrimp burrito and delectable chocolate cake flan.

 My whole goal for this trip was to spend two whole days doing nothing.  I was surprised how hard I found that to be.  I felt like I should be doing something, not just wasting around.  I had to keep reminding myself that the whole reason I booked this trip is so I wouldn't have anything to do.  Sure I could have stayed home, sent Harper to daycare and had two days with "nothing" to do.  That would never have worked.  This really forced me to slow down, and spend some me time.  I even got a little bored at one point, an experience I have not had the luxury of feeling in almost 3 years.

To all you women out there...if the opportunity ever comes for you to take two days off to do nothing, literally nothing, I highly recommend you take off and don't look back.

Evidence

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to go somewhere for Spring Break.  I asked around but no one was really able to go with me, so I decided I would go by myself.  After battling a little mommy guilt, I booked my trip and have looked forward to it since.  It's funny though, the multiple responses you get when you tell people you are taking a vacation by yourself.  Some people are envious, others silently judge you for leaving your family behind for a little solo break.  Personally I don't care what others think about my vacationing practices.

Turns out it was a much needed break.  This year has been so crazy with work and everything else that I'm losing my touch.  Typically my type A brain takes over when planning a vacation and I have every detail covered.  Frequently my husband has claimed "you thought of everything" when we've been on vacation.  Here are two pieces of evidence that I am in desperate need of a brain break:

• I booked my bed and breakfast for Monday-Thursday, but booked a plane ticket that didn't leave til Tuesday.  Didn't find out until I tried to check in Monday morning.
• I booked a super shuttle ride to take me to my BnB from the airport.  After 40 minutes in the van they tried to drop me off at a totally different place with an almost identical name.  Turns out I didn't verify the address I gave them and went 10 miles out of my way which added another 15 minutes to my late night journey.

These two things would have never happened to me before.   I am totally out of my element. I am so glad that I have taken these few days off because obviously I need them.  Here's to taking a much needed break from life.

Did you know....

That two years olds are allowed to ask you as many questions as they want, but if you ask them one question they retort with "why you asking me so many questions?"

That in the European and Australian versions of Dawson's Creek, the song "I Don't Want to Wait" is not the theme song.  It's some other song called "Run Like Mad."  That's the song Netflix has which ruins my viewing of the show nightly because I just want to belt out a little Paula Cole.

That if you throw out some old ratted pairs of underwear of your husbands, instead of buying some news ones, he will complain weekly about how he has to do laundry because he's out of underwear.  I don't know what his problem is...I could probably go a month without running out of underwear.  

That 8th graders who have crushes on their teachers act the same way 1st graders do.  They are mean, and mouthy and pick on you.  At least that was the explanation I got from a parent when I called to talk to her about why her son has been acting so awful in my class recently.

That the number one best motivator for getting your kid to learn how to spell is to let them do it on the iPod.  And to teach them how to spell poop.

Kansas City

Last weekend Harper and I went on what will probably be an annual trip to visit Emily, Adam and Jamie in Kansas City.  This trip was so much fun because the kids were able to play together so much.  This allowed Ems and I to hang out and talk mom stuff, life stuff, and just generally enjoy being together.

On Saturday, the kids dove right in getting out all the toys they could.  They shared really well and had a lot of fun.

After some playtime, there was a demand for cookies, so the munchkins helped dump, mix, and of course lick the beaters.  Then we bundled up and headed out for some playtime at the mall and lunch at Chic-Fil-a.  That night after the kids went to bed, we moms got a little dressed up and headed out for Martini's and girl time.

Sunday morning was waffle morning. 

After waffles was more playtime followed by a trip to the indoor swimming pool.  That was a great way to spend the morning and the kids were worn out.

After naps we took a quick trip to the park to play.

Monday morning we flew back home.  It was a great weekend!  Good thing we went then...with all the snow we wouldn't have made it this weekend!

Mode of Transportation

I don't know which would be cheaper, the horse of the Cadillac

There are still firsts

It seems that once your baby gets out of the baby stage you forget that there are still so many firsts to experience with them.  Because these firsts come less often, they are even more special and enjoyable.

Tonight we took Harper to her first hockey game.

She had a blast.  At first she was overwhelmed because it was so loud, and it was dark while they did all the pre-game intro stuff.  But once she realized that loud noise was music she could dance to, she spent the rest of the evening jumping and dancing like crazy, intermixed with some nachos, ice cream and hunting for the mascot Stinger.  She watched very little of the game, but always chimed in with a loud "Booooo" for the other team and a "You can do it guys" for the Jackets.

It was probably the best game I've been to in a long time.  The Jackets didn't win, and I didn't have any beers, but the quality time spent with Harper doing something Joe and I both enjoy really made it a great night!

What would you do....

if you were kid free for 24 hours?

Last week my sister volunteered to take Harper for an overnight visit.  So she picked H up at 5 on Friday and didn't plan on bringing her back until 4pm on Saturday.  A whole day kid free...what would we do?

Friday night I did something I haven't done in 2 years...watch TV after work.  Typically I don't get to sit down to watch any TV until around 9 pm, so I only get about an hour in.   How did I ever watch as much TV as I used to?

Then Joe and I grabbed dinner at Basi which we've been wanting to do forever, but haven't been able to get reservations because it is so small.  If you live in C-bus and haven't been there, you need to go.  Delish!

Saturday we went to brunch and lingered over coffee and the newspaper.  Then we decided to do the one thing going on in the city that we most definitely couldn't do with our kid....

We went to Sexapalooza

Think Bridal show, but instead of booths with cake vendors and DJ's, there's booths with sex toys and accessories.  Instead of a main stage with a Bridal fashion show, there's a main stage with Burlesque dancers and demo's of "sport sheets" which have velcro sections for various attachments.  Instead of caterers offering samples of their menus, there are speakers and videos giving advice and suggestions for spicing up your sex life.  I got a calendar signed by Mr. February, Georgio, in a suggestive male calendar.  We went through the sex museum which listed some of the strangest sex laws through out the world.  For example:

• Oblong, Illinois: It's punishable by law to have sex while hunting or fishing on your wedding day
  
• Cottonwood, Arizona: Couples having sex in a vehicle with flat wheels will be fined. The fine will be doubled if the sex occurs in the backseat.
  
• It's safe to make love while parked in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Police officers aren't allowed to walk up and knock on the window. Any suspicious officer who thinks that sex is taking place must drive up from behind, honk his horn three times and wait approximately two minutes before getting out of his car to investigate.

The best part of the day was debating who would be the most awkward person to run into while we were there.  My vote; parents of one of my students.

Who would you be most embarrassed to run into at a sex convention?