Last week at this time, I was being driven around the Northern California countryside tasting different wines, from small local wineries and becoming VERY tipsy. Today, I have three kids home from school for spring break and I'm PMSing. I've been searching for Doc Brown's flux capacitor all day to send me back in time, but it hasn't been a fruitful search. Yes, last weekend I took a much needed break and flew up to San Fransisco to meet my sister, Beth, and one of my best friends, Trista, for a mom's weekend. Or as Trista dubbed it -MOMS ON THE LOOSE!
A few months ago, Trista told me she really needed to get away. She has an almost two year old, a husband who travels constantly and a full time job. She asked me if I could arrange a mom's weekend away, because I'm good like that and I, of course, was up for one myself. It's been a year since I went to Vegas and my mom batteries were slowly being drained. I asked a couple other mom friends and both my sisters, but it ended up just being the three of us, which was perfect. (Even though it would have been made better had Megan, Melissa and BethAnnDoddKoehn been there too. Next time!) We briefly talked about going to Vegas, but decided we didn't want to come back more exhausted than when we started, which is what Vegas does to you. It sucks the life force out of you more than any kid can. Even a two month old baby. Instead, we thought a relaxing vacation with wine tasting and massages was a better choice.
Don't hate us. Okay you can if you want. I would hate someone talking about doing this too, but it was awesome. It was better than awesome. It was super fucking awesome. My sister and I met at the San Fran airport and it was only 11am when we got in, so we decided why not spend the day at Fisherman's Wharf? We had no other plans for the day, other than driving to our hotel in Sonoma. That was only an hour away, so we decided to hang out in the city for the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day with temperatures in the high 60s, blue skies, and an ocean breeze. Better than perfect. I've been to San Fransisco about a half a dozen times and it is one of my favorite places on the planet, so I was more than willing to stay and play.
We had lunch on the Wharf, complete with midday martinis, because why not? Then we walked around for a couple hours buying souvenirs for our kids, sharing a hot fudge sundae at Ghirardelli and taking pictures of the beautiful views. It just doesn't get any better. Perhaps it helped that we only had ourselves to worry about too.
Trista wasn't coming in until the next day, so Beth and I drove the hour to our hotel in Sonoma. I had never been there before, but it is a cute little place with fantastic restaurants to dine in and wine tasting rooms in the center of town. We stayed at the Renaissance in town. They are owned by Marriott, but are a bit fancier than your average Marriott. There was everything at the hotel, including a spa on the grounds and a fireplace in our room. I am so thankful to my Dad who works for Marriott and can get us a discount, because the place was gorgeous, but expensive. Without my special rate we would have been staying at the Motel 6.
Sunday morning, Trista met us for breakfast and then we were off for our spa treatments, followed by a fabulous steak dinner at another fantastic restaurant. Then it was nothing but hanging out in our hotel room, chatting, laughing and enjoying more wine. Turns out there's not much of a night life in Sonoma past 9pm. That was okay though because being moms, we aren't used to being out much past 9 these days anyway.
Monday was our wine tasting tour. We booked it through a company recommended by my youngest sister, Megan. Jerry, from Wine Country Tours LLC, picked us up at 9:45 and he took us to four awesome wineries. Not your typical big wineries, but smaller ones, that had some of the tastiest wines I've ever had. If you are ever in that area for wine tasting call Jerry. He knows these wineries well and we pretty much had private tastings at each one. The people who owned the wineries were so kind and knowledgeable, and VERY generous with their tastings. It was like wine tasting at your uncle's house. Of course, after the 2nd winery, wine tasting at Boone's Farm would have been fine with me, but no, we still had some really good ones. I had quite a bit of tastes at that 2nd winery. Aaaannd this might have happened at the last winery...
Didn't I tell you I was an awesome hula hooper? Even drunk! Oh and I might have passed out for a bit on our drive back to the hotel, but who knows for sure.
The only bad part of the weekend, was waking up at 4am on Tuesday morning to get to the airport for my sister's 7am flight. We managed though. Three moms...yeah we are used to getting up when we have to. Even after drinking the entire day before. Turns out I did come home a wee bit drained. Still not as bad as after Vegas.
It was one of the best weekends I've ever had. Before I left I had talked to my girls about the trip and made sure they knew they were to behave for Daddy and help him out. He was going to have to do the morning school routine for two days. Something he had never done before. He did a better job than I could have expected. The house wasn't even a complete disaster upon my return! Sure there was a ton of laundry, but he is a guy so I can't expect everything. Seriously though, I have to give all my thanks to my fantastic, awesome, willing to let me go away for 3 days husband. I am so lucky to be married to someone who is not only okay with me going away, but encourages it. PLUS he enjoys taking care of the girls alone for a couple of days. Not to mention he never has a problem with me spending the money to pamper myself. Yup, I am pretty damn lucky. Thanks baby!
For those moms out there who are cursing me right now, because you would kill for a weekend like this, but don't think you can do it, you can and you SHOULD! We all deserve a break every once in a while and as moms, whether you stay at home or work, we never get one. We are ALWAYS working. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, kids. It's a never ending cycle. It not that the dads don't have their own crosses to bear, but they seem to be able to let go and relax easier than we do. We always see something that needs to be done and we must do it NOW! Guys have no problem waiting until later. That is why going away helps, at least for me. You can't clean out that closet if you're not home, so no guilt for ignoring it.
The night before I left I had a conversation with Sonya about me going away. She kept making comments that I wanted to get away from them. Okay, while this was somewhat true I had to explain it to her so she understood the real reasons why, and didn't feel like it was because they drive me crazy. Even if that is sometimes the case.
"You know how you like going to school most of the time?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she agreed.
"But you know how you get excited for the weekend because you like having a break?"
She nodded yes.
"Well it's sorta the same thing," I told her. "I love being your mommy and taking care of you girls and daddy and everything you need, but there are times I just need a break from it. I need to not cook, clean and do everything for everyone else. Sometimes I need to do something for myself, and that will help me to be happier and be a better mommy."
"Oh. Ok," she said. She seemed to get it. And yes, I did miss them all, dammit. I always do. And they missed me and were so excited to see me. That's always a nice feeling too and something I don't ever get because we are always together.
We all need a break from whatever our day to day is, sometimes. It's harder for us moms to get that, but we need it more than anyone. Well, I think so anyway. So, any of you moms out there reading this, jealous of my fabulous weekend, go plan one yourselves. It doesn't have to be as fancy or elaborate. Just go to a hotel for a night by yourself. Your husband can handle it for ONE night. (Kristine-I'm looking at you!) If you don't have a husband as understanding as mine let him read this post to make him understand a little bit better. If that doesn't work, just promise him sex for a week straight when you come back. I promise you'll be packing your bags before you know it.
A few months ago, Trista told me she really needed to get away. She has an almost two year old, a husband who travels constantly and a full time job. She asked me if I could arrange a mom's weekend away, because I'm good like that and I, of course, was up for one myself. It's been a year since I went to Vegas and my mom batteries were slowly being drained. I asked a couple other mom friends and both my sisters, but it ended up just being the three of us, which was perfect. (Even though it would have been made better had Megan, Melissa and BethAnnDoddKoehn been there too. Next time!) We briefly talked about going to Vegas, but decided we didn't want to come back more exhausted than when we started, which is what Vegas does to you. It sucks the life force out of you more than any kid can. Even a two month old baby. Instead, we thought a relaxing vacation with wine tasting and massages was a better choice.
Don't hate us. Okay you can if you want. I would hate someone talking about doing this too, but it was awesome. It was better than awesome. It was super fucking awesome. My sister and I met at the San Fran airport and it was only 11am when we got in, so we decided why not spend the day at Fisherman's Wharf? We had no other plans for the day, other than driving to our hotel in Sonoma. That was only an hour away, so we decided to hang out in the city for the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day with temperatures in the high 60s, blue skies, and an ocean breeze. Better than perfect. I've been to San Fransisco about a half a dozen times and it is one of my favorite places on the planet, so I was more than willing to stay and play.
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| Beth and me in San Francisco! |
We had lunch on the Wharf, complete with midday martinis, because why not? Then we walked around for a couple hours buying souvenirs for our kids, sharing a hot fudge sundae at Ghirardelli and taking pictures of the beautiful views. It just doesn't get any better. Perhaps it helped that we only had ourselves to worry about too.
Trista wasn't coming in until the next day, so Beth and I drove the hour to our hotel in Sonoma. I had never been there before, but it is a cute little place with fantastic restaurants to dine in and wine tasting rooms in the center of town. We stayed at the Renaissance in town. They are owned by Marriott, but are a bit fancier than your average Marriott. There was everything at the hotel, including a spa on the grounds and a fireplace in our room. I am so thankful to my Dad who works for Marriott and can get us a discount, because the place was gorgeous, but expensive. Without my special rate we would have been staying at the Motel 6.
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| Trista, Beth, and me at the first winery-Kachina. Another gorgeous day! |
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| Beth, Trista and Me at the 2nd winery-MoniClaire |
Didn't I tell you I was an awesome hula hooper? Even drunk! Oh and I might have passed out for a bit on our drive back to the hotel, but who knows for sure.
The only bad part of the weekend, was waking up at 4am on Tuesday morning to get to the airport for my sister's 7am flight. We managed though. Three moms...yeah we are used to getting up when we have to. Even after drinking the entire day before. Turns out I did come home a wee bit drained. Still not as bad as after Vegas.
It was one of the best weekends I've ever had. Before I left I had talked to my girls about the trip and made sure they knew they were to behave for Daddy and help him out. He was going to have to do the morning school routine for two days. Something he had never done before. He did a better job than I could have expected. The house wasn't even a complete disaster upon my return! Sure there was a ton of laundry, but he is a guy so I can't expect everything. Seriously though, I have to give all my thanks to my fantastic, awesome, willing to let me go away for 3 days husband. I am so lucky to be married to someone who is not only okay with me going away, but encourages it. PLUS he enjoys taking care of the girls alone for a couple of days. Not to mention he never has a problem with me spending the money to pamper myself. Yup, I am pretty damn lucky. Thanks baby!
For those moms out there who are cursing me right now, because you would kill for a weekend like this, but don't think you can do it, you can and you SHOULD! We all deserve a break every once in a while and as moms, whether you stay at home or work, we never get one. We are ALWAYS working. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, kids. It's a never ending cycle. It not that the dads don't have their own crosses to bear, but they seem to be able to let go and relax easier than we do. We always see something that needs to be done and we must do it NOW! Guys have no problem waiting until later. That is why going away helps, at least for me. You can't clean out that closet if you're not home, so no guilt for ignoring it.
The night before I left I had a conversation with Sonya about me going away. She kept making comments that I wanted to get away from them. Okay, while this was somewhat true I had to explain it to her so she understood the real reasons why, and didn't feel like it was because they drive me crazy. Even if that is sometimes the case.
"You know how you like going to school most of the time?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she agreed.
"But you know how you get excited for the weekend because you like having a break?"
She nodded yes.
"Well it's sorta the same thing," I told her. "I love being your mommy and taking care of you girls and daddy and everything you need, but there are times I just need a break from it. I need to not cook, clean and do everything for everyone else. Sometimes I need to do something for myself, and that will help me to be happier and be a better mommy."
"Oh. Ok," she said. She seemed to get it. And yes, I did miss them all, dammit. I always do. And they missed me and were so excited to see me. That's always a nice feeling too and something I don't ever get because we are always together.
We all need a break from whatever our day to day is, sometimes. It's harder for us moms to get that, but we need it more than anyone. Well, I think so anyway. So, any of you moms out there reading this, jealous of my fabulous weekend, go plan one yourselves. It doesn't have to be as fancy or elaborate. Just go to a hotel for a night by yourself. Your husband can handle it for ONE night. (Kristine-I'm looking at you!) If you don't have a husband as understanding as mine let him read this post to make him understand a little bit better. If that doesn't work, just promise him sex for a week straight when you come back. I promise you'll be packing your bags before you know it.
