Thursday, May 27, 2010

This last weekend was pretty big for me. I had my first night away, without any children, in over six years! For Christmas this year, all the women on my dad's side of the family gave my grandma a special Ladies' Weekend trip to Rocheport, MO. From the beginning, I was planning to take Allie along. Even though I knew our activities weren't going to be very kid-friendly and there certainly weren't going to be any other kids there, I didn't think we were ready to be apart overnight. Even though I have nightweaned her and Noah several times, they are sneaky and they always manage to somehow un-nightwean themselves. So, the main reason I didn't want to leave Allie was because I was worried she'd be crying for me in the night and poor Steve would be up all night with an inconsolable baby. Also, I've never been away from her for more than three hours, so being gone for over 24 hours seemed like too big of a step.

The more I thought about it, however, the more it seemed like taking care of Allie for the whole trip would be sort of annoying, while everyone else got to relax and chat and not worry about toddlers breaking antiques and spilling wine and disrupting meals. I brought that up to Steve, and he said I should just leave Allie at home because he was sure they would all be fine. I mulled it over for weeks, going back and forth many times, but in the end I really did leave her at home!The trip was filled with shopping, good food, fun conversation, and lots of wine. We all had such a lovely time on the little vacation, and it sounds like Steve and the kids had a fine time as well. There was ZERO housework done and they ate out for every single meal, but that was A-okay with me as long as everyone was happy. I was gone for a little over 24 hours, and even though I was enjoying myself while I was away, I was so happy to be back to my little nurslings because by that time I felt like I was on the verge of exploding.
The women on the trip all made mementos for each other, which I was sort of reluctant to do at first because I thought I didn't have the time, but in the end I think it was a great, fun idea. In the picture above, we are all wearing matching aprons made by my cousin. I decided to make little bird ornaments for people to hang in their kitchens or wherever for a little bit of cheerfulness. I thought they turned out pretty well.So, I'd say the trip was a complete success and now I know I have the freedom to do something else like that in the future. Steve may be sorry he ever agreed to this!

6 comments:

Pop said...

Sounds like fun except for the two who had too much wine!

Mom said...

I'm glad it worked out so perfectly! I love the part about those sneaky little nurslings!

Hamons said...

So, your whole family is crafty? Sheesh!

Those bird ornaments are adorable, what a sweet reminder of your lovely trip. What a treasure to gather all the women together to celebrate your Grandma. Special memories were made, no doubt.

Allison said...

Sarah I'm glad everything worked out great!

I love your bird ornaments, if you don't make them for the KCAP swap maybe we can do a swap.

Abby said...

I LOVE Rocheport! How fun! I've never stayed over, but I often take a day trip for lunch at the Blufftop Bistro with friends and family from St. Louis - it's great! So happy you had a wonderful time. :)

Christina said...

Sounds like so much fun! Glad you got a little get-a-way!