Girlfriend Getaway

Before I got married, I loved to travel.  I mean, lots of people like to travel, but, I was passionate about it.  Traveling fed my soul.

Pre-kids, Brian and I did a fair amount of travel.  Road trips, Hawaii, East Coast, West Coast, etc. Since having kids, we've taken family vacations.  There have been a few getaways without the kids.  Brian has traveled alone for work, and, from time to time, for pleasure.  I, on the other hand, have not taken a single trip without hubby and/or kids since we wed eleven years ago.  Nada.  Not even one overnighter.  Probably not even eight consecutive hours away.

This occurred to me only recently.  

I decided it was high time to do something about it.  On the spur of the moment, I purchased a plane ticket to visit my very generous friend who lives near Washington D.C. for five days and six nights!!!

So, my husband who has never been alone with the kids for even one night, suddenly had the three oldest for nearly a week!  I'm glad to say, he rose to the occasion.

My trip was amazing.  It was massages, pedicures, movies, homemade hot fudge on ice-cream, shrimp and grits, shopping, relaxing on the couch, staying up late, sleeping in, no housework, eating out and lots and lots of chats with my good friend who I met my freshman year of college (we won't worry ourselves about how long ago that was).  It was oh so relaxing.  It was a vacation for my mind and body.  It completely fed my soul.

And, guess what?  The earth did not fall out of orbit while I was gone. My thanks to many wonderful friends and family members for making this getaway happen.  I arranged for Isaac to be watched by a different friend or Aunt each day and a babysitter came over after school to stay with the other two until Brian came home from work.  See what a difference a day shift can make?  Brian spoiled our kids with Lucky Charms and Coco Puffs, and took them to Dinosaur Park and the Treehouse Museum and the Pizza Factory in between.  

In fact, when I came home, the kids said, "Wow!  We had a great time!  You should take trips more often Mom!"  

Really?

I think I just may.

Time Warp

My baby is nine-months-old. It has officially been the fastest nine-months of my life. Time has sped by and I've barely taken any time to record the moments. Like, the sweet way Katie use to suck on her toes every time I held her feet up for a diaper change. Wow, that baby has stolen all of our hearts. Now, when I change her diaper, she's usually doing this:

Crawling away.

We rarely get to see her doing this: Sitting still.

And, on the day this photo was taken, she pulled that flower off so many times she finally succeeded in ripping it right off the clip.

Do you see the mischievous twinkle in her eye?
Let's just say the days of her napping quietly on my lap during a movie are officially over.

Katie and my mom.

At the beginning of the winter, I bought these monkey p.j.'s for Katie. The next time I saw my mom, she gave me these monkey p.j.'s for Sophie. We bought them matching jammies without knowing it.

I never knew Sophie would be this excited to have a sister.

Or, that all of us would adore this baby girl so much.