So, we were sitting at our kids' soccer practice a couple of months ago, when a few friends of mine started saying how we should go on a girls' trip somewhere ... of course, I chimed in with "there's no way Billy will watch Alice this young!" My friends were thinking of flying somewhere or doing a bigger trip ... but ultimately, they thought just a night at a hotel on the beach would be perfect. I still thought that I would have to join them next year ... as Alice (at the time of the initial discussion) was only 2 1/2 months old. But they had settled on a date that put her near the 4 month mark ... and so, I passed the idea along to Billy. And ... he didn't totally throw it out.
He said he thought that would be okay. I wondered how he would do with three kids for two days and one night all by himself ... I knew he would be more than fine with the older two ... but Alice ... sweet, baby Allie ... she is just too small. Don't get me wrong, he is VERY good with her. He is better than he gives himself credit for ... he just prefers them to be walking ... and eating solid foods ... and probably feeding themselves! I knew all would be fine, but I worried that he would forget something that I told him or be anxiously awaiting outside of the house for my return home while the kids tore up the house inside.
But ... I decided to take his gracious goodwill and go on my girls' weekend with two of my friends from MOMs Club and my good friend, Gwendy.
The weekend started out ... in a crazy way! I got out of the house late due to some unforeseen circumstances. Upon picking up my second friend from her house, I get a text about a broken bottle ... and then ... I realized that when I showed Billy how to put together the incredibly annoying Dr. Brown bottles, he may have been watching the NBA finals at the same time. I may have said, "Billy, do you see this? Are you paying attention?" He may have answered, "Yeah, clean this, put together that, I got it." But he wasn't paying attention, and no, he did not get it. It's partially my fault for not diagramming it on paper or with photos for him (and for thinking he could possibly pay attention to me with Tim Duncan's big face stretched across the TV screen) ... and it's partially his fault for not paying attention and telling me that he "got it". In the end, it got figured out ... it only took--4 trips back and forth to the house from where he had the kids eating lunch, 2 picture texts diagramming the contents of a Dr. Brown's bottle, a few annoyed phone calls, some long descriptive texts, and a few tries getting her to drink from a different bottle.
But I have to say, he never asked me to come home ... and he figured it out, so that I could have an enjoyable weekend with my friends. We may have hit a small snafu, but it was nothing Mr. Mom couldn't handle!
As our fun commenced ... we did some lounging at the beach, lounging poolside, shopping, eating at a fancy restaurant, chit-chatting, got some massages, and spa time ... and all without one kid interrupting us or needing something ... no potty breaks, snack time fiascos, meltdowns, early wake-up calls, sand eating, loud-yelling, screaming, diaper changing ... it was very nice ... but I can't say that we didn't talk about our kids and husbands often!
We all agreed that next time, we need two nights, so we can have more beach time ... and we need to get the 80 minutes massage instead of the 50 minute massage. Other than that, it couldn't have been more perfect. It's nice to have a break once in a great while, and we enjoyed it ... and then we were really excited to get back to our families! We all snuggled a little longer at bed time and read an extra story ... just because even though our lives may feel overwhelming sometimes ... hectic ... out of control ... we love our kids more than our need for sanity, and we miss the snotty-nosed kisses and the constant need for our love and attention ... because those little angels make our lives better with each passing day.
Cheers to Girls' Weekend 2014 ... and our husbands who made it possible!
It was a gorgeous evening at the beach!
A most beautiful sunset!
Most beautiful evening on the beach ... the clouds were gorgeous against the sand and sea ... and the weather was so cool and breezy!
Our view at dinner ... those clouds are above the ocean ... which it is too dark for you to see in a picture.
Dinner selfie!
Enjoying our beach time!
Getting ready for our massages.
Love this girl! We're enjoying spa time!
Lunching at The Original Frenchy's Cafe ... mmmmmm .... poutine!
Aren't these the cutest chocolates!?! They are so beautiful ... like jewels. And they were SUPER delicious!
Our weeks have been full of many, many activities! I haven't really blogged much about what we've been up to ... I have taken a ton of pictures and posted them on Instagram and Facebook ... so I'm sure no one has felt too out of our loop. But I wanted to get a general blog up ... I have a few videos I'd like to post.
This is Colton skating ... he has improved so much! We are very proud of him. He's not the bravest of boys, but he has done so well overcoming his nervousness and trying new things! He even shows you his "skills" in the second video ... he can jump on his skates. Good job, Bubby!
We spent May getting back into the gym habit. I hit the gym every week day this month, and it has been a welcome home kind of month for me. Now that I feel like the daily gym habit is back in full swing, I need to focus on what I have been eating more closely. This past month, we did a "month of salads" for dinner. It was a little difficult thinking of that many salads to make ... but I found Pinterest to be a nice source for recipes. We had a lot of really tasty varieties, and I think we may have to try a "month of salads" again. Here are three of the 20 or so salads we ate ...
GREEK SALAD: We had this salad twice and once with all of the ingredients but no lettuce. Greek Salad is my favorite!
GREEN BEAN SALAD: Billy bought a bunch of fresh veggies at a farmers' market on the way home from work one night, so I made up this fresh green bean salad ... it was SO delicious!
MANDARIN SALAD: Billy really isn't a fan of my "fruit" salads, but he did well trying them all out. We had mandarin and pear with gorgonzola ... I loved them, but he only had one helping. At least he tried!
We picked peaches this month. They were SO delicious and tart! I made the best cobbler out of them ... peach, raspberry, blueberry cobbler ... mmmmmmm! Then I finished the peaches off that we didn't eat up in a peach upside down cake. That was super yummy, too. We'll have to pick peaches again next year. The season is short here in FL but well worth the effort of picking!
They had so much fun picking the peaches!
Millions of peaches ....
BEST cobbler!
I had a fabulous Mother's Day! I never blogged about it, but my kids (and Billy) went and got me flowers ... Khloe picked them out herself--a dozen hot pink roses ... doughnuts, iced decaf coffee, and a gift. They bought me a Clairsonic. I love it! It's supposed to keep you from aging too quickly, because it's thoroughly cleanses your skin properly. I don't know about all of that, but I do know that my skin is very smooth and soft ... and that feels really nice. We had a relaxing day around the house ... and then after we went on a nice family walk in the evening, Billy bought us some Chinese food for dinner ... we ended up getting it from a super delicious restaurant. Mmmmm ... I'm thinking about their veggie lo-mein right now! But what I'm most thankful for from Mother's Day this year is that I got to spend it with my THREE beautiful children. I'm so very blessed, and I couldn't have spent the day doing anything better ... the whole day with my kids (and husband) is just what I needed.
I love these kiddos!
When I ask them to smile ... sometimes, they both do this head-tilt thing ....
Pirate Khloe
We had some pool time this month ... and as per usual, it's already super hot down here in FL. Colton has been getting better this summer in such a short amount of time. Gwendy (our friend) has been encouraging him to get used to putting his head under the water again, and in just one short hour swimming with his Dad, he started to jump into the pool by himself and swim to Bill ... and swim from out in the pool to the side of the pool. He is getting more confident by the day! I sure would feel better if he would get the hang of it. He is not a danger seeker, and he thinks about what bad things might happen if he tries new things ... so he's never the first to jump off of something or do something "scary". It makes me proud to see him getting the hang of swimming. Glad to know he can let go of his fears! Khloe had fun jumping in to Daddy, too. She has been working with Gwendy to get her swimming lessons in this summer. Gwendy does such a good job with her, and she is learning a lot ... she doesn't love getting water in her eyes, but she is doing very well!
We went bowling with friends one Saturday night this month. We all had such a great time! The kids LOVED it! We'll definitely have to go bowling again soon. Even Alice had fun listening to the music at the bowling alley.
Our little bowlers!
Colton getting into it!
Every time Khloe knocked pins down, she jumped and cheered for herself. It was so cute!
Alice has been growing and changing daily. She is holding her head up high during her tummy time ... she seems uninterested in rolling over ... just like her brother! Khloe was ready to roll over right away ... Colton didn't seem to care one bit ... and neither does Alice (so far). She just loves to look at the dangling things in her gym and grab at her toys hanging all around .... she enjoys tummy time, and loves to grab at the remote (don't all kids love those!?!). She is a giggler and smiler ... just like Colton. Khloe was so inquisitive ... she looked and studied people. She observed. Colton smiled and grinned CONSTANTLY. Alice is just like him. She is so happy, smiley, and giggly. I love it! I think she might have dimples. I'm crossing my fingers ... but I think I see a dimple on the left side of her face ... I hope she takes after her Dad that way. I think she looks a lot like Colton when he was small ... sometimes, I get flashbacks. It's weird.
Two cuties.
Those eyes ....
Tummy time ...
Some more tummy time ...
We had a full weekend a few weeks back. We went to a Princess and the Frog birthday party ... and then we followed that up with Disney on Ice. The kids had a great time! Khloe still talks about the Princesses and how much fun she had. I know they are going to love Disney when we go.
Kissing a frog!
Princess Khloe
She was SO excited when the Princesses came out!
Colton held her hand as they crossed the street.
We spent some time at the park ...
This weekend, I am heading to a Girls' Weekend at the beach with my friends. I am so excited! We plan on relaxing, getting massages, swimming, seeing a movie, etc. It should be a fun weekend, and I am so thankful for Billy for taking care of the kids all weekend and allowing me this time off. What a great guy!
