Because You’re Worth It

I blogged a couple weeks ago about going on a babymoon and how great it is to get one in before your child is born. I was bound and determined to go on that last vacation as a family of three and it seemed like destiny was equally bound and determined not to let it happen.

Story time at Timber Ridge Lodge

First Hubby and I had trouble finding a weekend that worked for us, he was traveling and I had my own work schedule conflicts. Once we settled on a date, all of my friends decided to do something fun that weekend.

A good friend from Philly was visiting Chicago, a great gal pal was having a birthday party and my best friend who lives in suburban St. Louis was coming to town. I wanted to cancel our babymoon.

Then Logan got sick. So sick he stayed home from daycare for two days, which *never* happens. My kid’s hacking up a lung, has a fever and I really wanted to cancel our babymoon.

Finally, it became clear that I’d have to work late on the Friday that we’d planned to leave. I proclaimed our babymoon was cancelled.

But we never picked up the phone to scrap our reservations. Largely because deep down we knew that we needed a break. We needed to hit the pause button on our crazy lives so we could catch our breath and for us that’s not possible unless you get out of Dodge.

Nevertheless I kept telling myself it was a mistake not to break our babymoon.

Friday night came and I was running even later than anticipated. After racing home, rushing through dinner and finishing off the packing, I was wound so tightly that I didn’t want to go anywhere except for bed. But I stuck with it, we were having this babymoon.

After an hour’s drive to Lake Geneva, Wis., we got to the Timber Ridge Lodge and Waterpark at 10 p.m. and Logan thought it was the greatest adventure ever. He was bouncing off the walls, the couch, the bed, everything. Finally, he passed out on the bed, Hubby went to the store to fill the suite’s kitchen and I sat on the couch as I felt the stresses of the day melt away.

The next day, we had a blast at the waterpark, spent some time in the cozy downtown area and enjoyed story time in our PJs in the hotel’s lobby with about 50 other kids. I even got a few hours of peace and quiet alone in the bedroom and that was heaven.

All in all it was a tough road to get to our babymoon, but the biggest hurdle was in my mind. And that’s how it is for many of us, we have to push ourselves hard to take time to get away. Often we decide there’s just too many other things that need taking care of, so we neglect ourselves.

Honestly, that weekend the laundry didn’t get washed, the grocery shopping wasn’t done and the house wasn’t picked up. Yet we came back feeling more rested, ready for the upcoming week and even a little closer as a family.

I’m so glad we took a break to be with just each other and I blog about this since I’m hopeful you will do the same for you and yours because you’re worth it.

Expecting a Little One? It Must Be Time For a BabyMoon

We’re going on a babymoon. “A wha?” you may ask. A babymoon, you know kinda like a honeymoon but you do it before the baby arrives. It’s so you can have one last hurrah before life as you know it drastically changes.

On a bicycle built for two in Door County, Wis.

When I was pregnant with Logan we had one, well two actually, but those where in different economic times. We couldn’t agree on what to do, Hubby wanted to do a road trip in the two-seater. I wanted to lie on a beach, which was tricky because I also didn’t want to be the beached whale surrounded by a bunch of hot sexy bods.

We took a five-hour road trip to beautiful Door County, Wis. We had a cabin a stone’s throw from Sister Bay and it was great, the cell phone coverage was just enough to eek out a 911 call if we needed it and that was it. So very relaxing. Weeks later, we hopped on a plane to Richmond, Va., rented a car, drove down the coast to Kill Devil Hills, N.C., where we rented a condo. Now *that* was wonderful, fresh seafood, walks on the beach, quiet small town. The whole nine. I remember being excited to lie on my belly again because I dug a hole in the sand for my basketball and napped.

On the beach in Kill Devil Hills, N.C.

Now that we’re preggo again, naturally we want to do another “last hurrah” before Bean arrives. Nevermind the other trips we’ve taken lately, oh no, for some reason in my Hubby and mine’s crazy minds, those didn’t count. Camping Trip No. 1 was his idea, Camping Trip No. 2 was my idea to make up for Camping Trip No. 1. And the recent visiting of family and friends in other states didn’t count either.

This trip has to be a trip just for the family for the expressed purpose of being together as a family of three. I know, I know, we get to be a family of three every day, but not someplace *else* where there’s no errands to run, phone calls and emails to return, other mind-numbing responsibilities…

What can I say? My Hubby and I have always been the work hard/play hard kind of people and I’m determined not to let my kids slow us down too much. Besides, Logan seems to love our adventures.

And honestly I’m not really sure that our next trip constitutes “playing hard” as we decided to take a swing up to the lovely, family friendly Wisconsin Dells. To the very same hotel/water park that Hubby took us after Camping Trip No. 1. But I’m excited, the place is great, the suites are awesome, I’m going to go to the spa, they deliver yummy food to your room, there’s fun activities in the area, the water park is a blast and the people who are there aren’t shaped like Hollywood starlets so I don’t mind rockin my bikini with my big ol’ belly.

You don’t hear people talking about babymoons like you used to, again, it’s the economy stupid, but the want is still there. Before, there were chats of trips to Europe, Club Med, short cruises. Now, if moms and dads take a babymoon, it’s more modest: indoor water parks, a couple nights at a nearby hotel, having grandma come over so mom and dad can spend a night away. All of this is totally fine, I’m always going to advocate that people take a break from their daily grind to simply enjoy life a bit more. It creates new memories, strengthens bonds and helps you keep focused on what’s really important: each other.