Stay-cay!
***And as I have promised long ago, here's a recap of our Memorial Day Staycation. 
I admit it. I was a little bummed that we didn't have any fabulous trips planned. Hearing of cruises, tropical getaways and Vegas adventurers had me envious. I longed to run away, relax on a beach and let my cares float away on warm waters with a pretty adult beverage in my hand. Ahhhh... the life.
We did have a 3 day weekend coming up and after 2 months of heavy travel for Dan, I was excited for any bit of time we had. So, we would make the most of it!
At the last minute, Dan surprised me with 2 extra days off. 5 days off?! I was thrilled to say the least!
And so, in my typical fashion, I began trying to plan out our fabulous weekend. We could go to the lake, we could go to my parent's place out in Colorado. The world was our oyster. But then, "responsible mom" thoughts clouded my judgment. I started evaluating Colorado. My thoughts whirled.
Cheap flights to Denver are relatively easy. We could pack the stroller an the car seat. He eats normal food now, so that wouldn't be a problem. But wait, there's stairs everywhere. Mental note for baby gates. Oh, and last time we shipped the pack and play we bought to mom and dad's house. Ok, we'd have to get one of those. Maybe we should just drive. How many hours in the car with a toddler?! Quickly the serene idea of the mountains became fogged with a lot of work. So maybe Hudson wasn't a good age to go to the mountains. It was mud season anyway.
My thoughts shifted to a weekend at Table Rock. My parents would be away for their anniversary, and neither of my siblings were going with their kids. Half the fun of the lake is spending time with family. We could have a nice quiet weekend by ourselves, but if we were going to be by ourselves.. that would probably be better spent at our home.
It was settled. We were going to have our very own fabulous Staycation!
I was less than thrilled. Happy of course to be spending time with my boys, but in a bit of a pouting manner defeated that I wasn't going anywhere out of town and would be staying home for a holiday weekend. Holiday weekends spent at home could be count on one hand for me! If my dad was off work, we were off in the car!
But, we would make the most of it. And amazingly, we did. Together we had the most amazing 5 days I could possibly imagine! We slept in each morning, (amazingly the Hud can now sleep in until 9 or 10!) took leisurely morning naps (or Dan and I caught up on DVR in our bed) enjoyed yummy late lunches as a family, played, shopped, took another nap in the afternoon, then settled in at home for a relaxing evening in the basement and off to sleep do it all over again. It was the most relaxed I had been in months and sipping wine in the basement cuddled up on the couch next to my Dan was almost as good as being on a beach.
One of the highlights of the weekend was Jiggle Jam. We went not one day, but TWO! The first day it was raining and so we got to experience a lot of the music, dancing inside tents sheltered from the weather. Hudson loved dancing to the music and singing along.
Easing into dancing with the raincoat...
Hud even got to hang with the Jonas Brothers
and picked up some ladies...
We had so much fun, the next day was beautiful and so we decided to explore it again. And so, we went back! This time the weather was great and we got to see all of the booths and hop from tent to tent listening to music and playing activities. Then, when our day was almost complete Dan introduced Hudson to something I never thought possible.
Back in my former life (i.e. right after law school) I worked in Crown Center and would drive by the fountains every morning and evening. I would walk past them on my way to lunch and marvel at the children playing in them, wearing practically nothing. They would slip and slide through the water, sit on the nozzles and await the water pressure to increase. Screams and giggles would fill the air, and yet, I never focused on these happy sounds. I saw it as a gross place, a cesspool of bacteria and germs. I would look at their parents sympathetically, wondering how on earth they could let their children play there. I vowed, I would never be the mom that would let their child play in a city fountain. After all, isn't that what swimming pools are for?
Fast forward a few years and a lot of life lessons later, I saw the fountains in a whole new light. Mind you, I certainly wasn't joining in with a wet t-shirt and pants, but my darling husband with his whimsical child-like spirit was all for it. Together they explored the fountains, slowly at first, and then just like the other children, he ran from fountain to fountain screaming and giggling. (Oh, and Hudson did too. :) And I stood watching, smiling, taking pictures and videos just like those moms I had once pitied. I will admit that I immediately sanitized he an Dan's hands and both were escorted to a bath/shower upon arriving home. Baby steps, right?
We had an amazing staycation. And while I cannot wait for the day that we can enjoy the beach as a family, for now, I was once again reminded of one of the most important life lessons for me. It doesn't matter where I am, with my boys, anywhere is a fantastic adventure. (Oh, and a little hand sanitizer goes a long way)
Hud staying hydrated. I love my "be prepared" Eagle Scout hubs.
The posts below contain videos of our Jiggle Jam 2011 fun. Watch out, Jiggle Jam, if we're in town again next year, we'll be back!
I admit it. I was a little bummed that we didn't have any fabulous trips planned. Hearing of cruises, tropical getaways and Vegas adventurers had me envious. I longed to run away, relax on a beach and let my cares float away on warm waters with a pretty adult beverage in my hand. Ahhhh... the life.
We did have a 3 day weekend coming up and after 2 months of heavy travel for Dan, I was excited for any bit of time we had. So, we would make the most of it!
At the last minute, Dan surprised me with 2 extra days off. 5 days off?! I was thrilled to say the least!
And so, in my typical fashion, I began trying to plan out our fabulous weekend. We could go to the lake, we could go to my parent's place out in Colorado. The world was our oyster. But then, "responsible mom" thoughts clouded my judgment. I started evaluating Colorado. My thoughts whirled.
Cheap flights to Denver are relatively easy. We could pack the stroller an the car seat. He eats normal food now, so that wouldn't be a problem. But wait, there's stairs everywhere. Mental note for baby gates. Oh, and last time we shipped the pack and play we bought to mom and dad's house. Ok, we'd have to get one of those. Maybe we should just drive. How many hours in the car with a toddler?! Quickly the serene idea of the mountains became fogged with a lot of work. So maybe Hudson wasn't a good age to go to the mountains. It was mud season anyway.
My thoughts shifted to a weekend at Table Rock. My parents would be away for their anniversary, and neither of my siblings were going with their kids. Half the fun of the lake is spending time with family. We could have a nice quiet weekend by ourselves, but if we were going to be by ourselves.. that would probably be better spent at our home.
It was settled. We were going to have our very own fabulous Staycation!
I was less than thrilled. Happy of course to be spending time with my boys, but in a bit of a pouting manner defeated that I wasn't going anywhere out of town and would be staying home for a holiday weekend. Holiday weekends spent at home could be count on one hand for me! If my dad was off work, we were off in the car!
But, we would make the most of it. And amazingly, we did. Together we had the most amazing 5 days I could possibly imagine! We slept in each morning, (amazingly the Hud can now sleep in until 9 or 10!) took leisurely morning naps (or Dan and I caught up on DVR in our bed) enjoyed yummy late lunches as a family, played, shopped, took another nap in the afternoon, then settled in at home for a relaxing evening in the basement and off to sleep do it all over again. It was the most relaxed I had been in months and sipping wine in the basement cuddled up on the couch next to my Dan was almost as good as being on a beach.
One of the highlights of the weekend was Jiggle Jam. We went not one day, but TWO! The first day it was raining and so we got to experience a lot of the music, dancing inside tents sheltered from the weather. Hudson loved dancing to the music and singing along.
Easing into dancing with the raincoat...
Hud even got to hang with the Jonas Brothers
and picked up some ladies...
We had so much fun, the next day was beautiful and so we decided to explore it again. And so, we went back! This time the weather was great and we got to see all of the booths and hop from tent to tent listening to music and playing activities. Then, when our day was almost complete Dan introduced Hudson to something I never thought possible.
Back in my former life (i.e. right after law school) I worked in Crown Center and would drive by the fountains every morning and evening. I would walk past them on my way to lunch and marvel at the children playing in them, wearing practically nothing. They would slip and slide through the water, sit on the nozzles and await the water pressure to increase. Screams and giggles would fill the air, and yet, I never focused on these happy sounds. I saw it as a gross place, a cesspool of bacteria and germs. I would look at their parents sympathetically, wondering how on earth they could let their children play there. I vowed, I would never be the mom that would let their child play in a city fountain. After all, isn't that what swimming pools are for?
Fast forward a few years and a lot of life lessons later, I saw the fountains in a whole new light. Mind you, I certainly wasn't joining in with a wet t-shirt and pants, but my darling husband with his whimsical child-like spirit was all for it. Together they explored the fountains, slowly at first, and then just like the other children, he ran from fountain to fountain screaming and giggling. (Oh, and Hudson did too. :) And I stood watching, smiling, taking pictures and videos just like those moms I had once pitied. I will admit that I immediately sanitized he an Dan's hands and both were escorted to a bath/shower upon arriving home. Baby steps, right?
We had an amazing staycation. And while I cannot wait for the day that we can enjoy the beach as a family, for now, I was once again reminded of one of the most important life lessons for me. It doesn't matter where I am, with my boys, anywhere is a fantastic adventure. (Oh, and a little hand sanitizer goes a long way)
Hud staying hydrated. I love my "be prepared" Eagle Scout hubs.
The posts below contain videos of our Jiggle Jam 2011 fun. Watch out, Jiggle Jam, if we're in town again next year, we'll be back!
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