—1—
We did it! We went to New York City! Just Phillip and I, for 6 glorious days while his mom watched the kids.
Here's the conversation Phillip and I had the night before leaving:
Phillip: Relax! Why are you so antsy?
Me: We leave tomorrow. We need to pack! Or at least make a list, or get organized or something!
Phillip: ... But we don't leave until tomorrow.
Me: I'm used to traveling with the kids, when you need to pack the entire house and it takes two days.
Phillip: Well, I travel for work all the time and packing for just yourself takes 15 minutes.
Me: I don't believe you.
Phillip: All you need is a phone, underwear, and a credit card.
Me: I'm still nervous.
Phillip: Okay, then. Let's plan. What is there to plan?
Me: Lots of stuff!
Phillip: Like what?
Me: Well... I need clothes. And a pair of shoes. And... I guess that's it.
He was right, it really did take 15 minutes to pack in the morning.
—2—
My favorite things about the trip, in order of importance, were:
- Having an average wake-up time of 9:30
- Flexibility around mealtime (when we weren't hungry at lunchtime we just skipped it and NO ONE complained)
- Bringing dessert back to the hotel room and I didn't have to wash dishes or even empty the trash after I threw the packaging away
- Did I mention the hotel maid?
- Oh yeah, all the cool stuff we saw in NYC
I don't think I realized until we went away how much we needed a vacation.
—3—
I also didn't realize until we got back how nuts our life was. On my first morning back on the job, when I had to drag myself out of bed at obscene o'clock in the morning and get 3 older kids up and ready for school while taking care of the baby and the preschooler, I was in total shock. I used to do this every day?
No wonder I can never get anything done and I'm crazy.
—4—
One thing I missed while in New York was coming across really odd toy set ups and wondering what they meant or how they came to be.
I was putting away some of the 3,000 shoes scattered all over the house when I came across this happy little guy hanging out on the handle of the closet door.
Is he blasting off? Riding a horse? Doing the robot? All are distinct possibilities.
—5—
Our kids have always liked art, but have mostly kept it contained to paper and coloring books. With the exception of my oldest scratching her and her best friend's names into the side of our van with a rock when she was in kindergarten, it's been pretty smooth sailing in the art department.
Until recently. Our 3-year-old colors on everything. I've removed her penmanship from our sofa, the wall, library books, and toys around the house more times than I can count.
Her most recent discovery? That coloring on yourself when you're supposed to be napping helps to pass the time.
Wherever you go (with a marker,) there you are. |
—6—
My kids' last day of school isn't until the end of June. I don't want to talk about it.
I realize there's a law about the number of school days kids must have, but let's be honest. At this point, pretty much all they're doing is pizza parties, field trips, and in-class movies anyway.
I just want them to give me my children back and stop making us wake up at 6:30 every morning.
—7—
My 5th grader brought home a letter from the teachers explaining Battlefield Day, the culminating activity of their study on the Revolutionary War. Sounds like it's going to be a pretty cool project, but this line made me laugh:
11 comments:
Your vacation sounds amazing. We have our first vacation with no kids coming up and I'm super excited, and a little nervous because I'm a mom and I guess I don't quite know how to fully function with out someone sitting or pulling on me at all times.
My three year old just got over the coloring on yourself phase. Now the problem is that she leaves the markers and crayons hidden all over the house so the 18 month old can find them and color on whatever she'd like. Like the walls and my couch.
Reason twelvity-two that I enjoy you (and your blog) so much - you exaggerate and sound like me! In the military life we call "obscene o'clock" "dark thirty" and even if that isn't the time, getting out of bed in the morning is often a drag. Glad you enjoyed a much needed vacation, though the crazy has likely already returned.
Big time. I kind of like "dark-thirty." I struggle with what to call it when it's too early for me to be awake. "Buttcrack of dawn" is so junior high.
Washable, I hope.
Have fun on your vacation. I'm not going to lie, it'll be bizarre. If you hear screaming kids or someone yelling, "Mom! Moooooooom!" just look straight ahead and keep telling yourself, "Not my circus, not my monkeys." Enjoy eating a meal sitting down for me.
Haha, that is hilarious! No violence on the battlefield.... I am so jealous of your 6 day holiday. I am surprised your 3 year old waited so long, my toddler began that special trick at 15 months!
LOL, I love the traveling without kids packing struggle.... I just wrote about this on our blog, we're off for our first cruise ever next week and our first real vacation without the kids and we're freaking out!
We lived in a hotel when we got out job training here in China--and not having to clean the bathroom or take out the trash for 3 solid weeks were major perks! We're done with our school year on June 12th, let the countdown begin!!
Mexico, eh? Enjoy it. Eat as much as humanly possible, because that's pretty much the point of a cruise.
it took us decades to get that new york no kids trip under our belt. congrats!!
For us it'll be one decade this month, so I guess we're doing alright!
Stop bragging, luckypants.
Here's to the end of school!
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