On Thanksgiving, Weddings, and Overnight Trips without Your Kids

By Amy

Hey friends!  How was your Thanksgiving?!  I hope you got plenty of family and delicious turkey.  Oh, and cranberry sauce.  I love that crap so much, I could eat a whole can.  In fact, when I was a kid, I would!  I'd grab a can and spoon then go to town...yum!  But, anyway...

My thanksgiving was fun!  Family, tons of little kiddios running around, fabulous food, and then, before bed, a dance party in the living room!  Good way to work off the over-eating, huh?Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday; You get all the food and family, without all the stress, decorating, and gift-giving anxiety/expense that comes with Christmas.

Since I was partying it up, I didn't end up posting anything last week.  I'm feeling like a lame-o blogger lately.  But, it's ok right?  You all know that November and December are full of family, partying, and busy-ness, so we should all be out enjoying life!  After all, I started this blog to enjoy connecting with others; it would be a shame if I miss spending time with my real-life peeps, cause I'm too busy tapping away on my laptop.  But I miss hanging out with you ladies when I post less often.  I love hearing from you through the stories you submit and the comments you post!  Yes, I'm cheesy, but I love YOU, baby!

And, guess what...This here blog is coming up on it's birthday....1 year old!  Crazy.  (Are you rolling your eyes like I do when someone tells me it's their dog's birthday?  Haha...)  I think it's even called a blog-iversary.  Hahah...oh boy.  I'm trying to think of something AMAZING to do here on SOM that will knock your socks off in celebration.  I mean, at a typical one-year-old party, you let the baby smash their face into a ginormous chocolate cake, but I'm pretty sure that smashing my laptop into a cake would be much less adorable.  And super expensive.  Hmmmm, any ideas?  A give-away?  A contest?  Maybe I'll try posting a video for the first time...But, I'm not eating a spoonful of cinnamon, so don't suggest it.  (Hahaha...go watch GloZell's cinnamon challenge if you haven't seen it.)  Maybe YOU can send a video of your best birthday party dance moves, I'll post them all, and we'll have a big virtual dance party together!  WOO!!!

So, here's something I wanted to hear your input on: overnight trips once you have a kids.

For you mommas, do you go on many overnight trips away from your kids?  Is it hard to leave them or do you love the freedom?  Do you worry about them when you're gone?  Do you feel guilty for being away?  Or is it fabulous?  Have your ever had to be away from your kids for an extended amount of time?  (hospital stay, work trip, military service, etc.) How did you stay connected?

Patrick and I went on our FIRST "just us" overnight trip since Hayden was born--and he's almost two years old!!  When he was an infant, leaving him overnight with a sitter was out of the question, cause he was a horrible sleeper for a long time, waking up many times a night (like 15 times, no exaggeration) till he was 10 months old...I couldn't ask that of anyone, not even my mom.  Plus, my husband has always been in school, so hotel stays were/are way out of the budget.  So, any trips were to visit family and of course we'd want Hayden with us for that!  But this trip was going to be a LOOOONG car ride, then a fancy wedding: both bad ideas for a toddler.  So, my momma-in-law watched Hayden, while we drove 10 hours to Bend, Oregon to see one of Patrick's best friends get married.

And It was SOO awesome.

You may say, "Sitting in the car for over 20 hours in 2 days does not sound awesome.  But, I assure you, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  (I mean aside from my minor freak-out moments when I realized that most of the other women at the wedding were dressed WAY more fancy than me, with stilettos and prom-like dresses, and I felt like an under-dressed fool in my blue cotton dress and flats....oh, and then when I could not figure out which fork to use for my salad.)  But, the wedding was SO beautiful, the food was amaze-ZING, and it was so fun to talk and dance with friends.  But the best part?  Hanging out with my hub.  That was the most un-interrupted time I've had with him for a long time.  I kept thinking, "Holy cow, you are so cool!  I forgot how much I love talking to you and just being with you!"  Haha :)

And of course, we quoted and laughed about funny things our son says and does, and called my momma-in-law several times to check-in, but, we knew he was fine so we didn't worry.  I felt oddly un-occupied at the wedding and reception; I saw other parents chasing kids and pulling them away from the decorative candles, and we were just...chatting.  Or eating.  Or dancing.  Not doing those things while simultaneously wiping noses, calming a fit, chasing a child, looking for a place to change a diaper, etc.  And we danced our bums off.  I didn't feel guilty for enjoying the trip, cause Hayden was having a lot more fun with his grandma than he would have had at a fancy wedding and on a 20 hour car trip!

Patrick and I with the bride and groom!!!  We love them!  Sorry the pic is crappy and blurry, the girl who took it apparently drank a bit too much...haha.  That was another funny part of the wedding--Patrick and I aren't usually around people drinking, since we don't drink alcohol. (We're Mormon)  I'm pretty sure the servers thought we were weirdos since we said "no thanks" every time they offered us a drink. :)  

Patrick and I with Brandon!  Check out the lodge where the wedding and reception was held.  It was SWEET!

Scotty and Brandon at our wedding three years ago!  It's nice when you like your spouses friends. :)  They're so cool!

But, I was missing him like crazy by the next day.  When we finally pulled up to our little house, we left all of our stuff in the car, ran up the stairs, and burst through the front door, dying to see our little stinker.  He smiled so big when he saw us and we all hugged and cuddled... he kept saying, "missed you!"  Oh my gosh, it was so freakin cute.  I almost cried holding him, cause he was just so sweet and funny, giving me high fives and knuckles over and over.  It's weird how you can totally enjoy a break from your kid and miss him like crazy at the same time. :)

I've decided that we need to go on more trips, just Patrick and I.  I love our busy day-to-day life, and we have so much fun with our little son, but ...MAN, it was really nice to be just my hub and I again for those 24 hours.  So at least once a year, I want to do a little overnight trip, so we can just be "us."  And, that will be enough! :)  Also, we'll appreciate our son all the more when we get back! :)

What are your thoughts?  Do you have a hard time taking trips?  What mini trips have you taken with your spouse?  Any ideas for us?  Can't be expensive, though. :)  And, for you parents, I'd love to hear about your experiences going on trips without your kiddios!

Also, any blog-iversay ideas would be appreciated.  :)

Tweet