Home Sweet Home

Today we packed up, said goodbye to Vegas early this morning & boarded the plane to head home. We spent the next few hours on our flight recapping the weekend & all that had occurred & before we knew it we were back in KC.

While we were heading back we all discussed how badly we needed this little break from our reality. You know it is SO important that Mama's get a break every now & then. You need it to reset. To re-energize. To miss your littles & your spouse. I used to feel a bit guilty about taking a "time-out" just for me but the older Mason gets the easier it is for me to do.

For 4 mornings I was pretty much in awe over the fact that I was able to drink HOT coffee - not lukewarm. There were times I literally laughed so hard I cried.....& peed myself. (I know you other Mama's know what I am talking about). I got to spend one-on-one time with these amazing girls who got to know me as more than just Mason's mom. I was able to get ready each day without mentally planning out what outfit to put my kid in, what is he going to eat for breakfast? were the dogs fed? was coffee made? is his T-ball shirt clean? where is his baseball glove? is today show-n-tell day at school? which hospital am I at today? am I on call tonight? do I have time to pack my lunch? Ugh - my brain never has a chance to shut off.

I was able to get dressed up to go to a dinner with friends that didn’t involve someone rubbing lotion on my legs, "helping" me blow dry my hair, asking me a 100 questions about where I'm going or with who or how many minutes until I am coming back home. I ate dinner & didn't have to worry about cutting up chicken nuggets, cleaning up spilt milk or entertaining my child with playing games on the cell phone while worrying if the food would arrive before this little 4 year old had a meltdown.

I danced to music that wasn’t Lil John or some other form of Hip-Hop & surprised myself by remembering all the lyrics to 80's & 90's songs that I had long forgotten about....or that possibly could have been the alcohol?!?

I was able to sit down & have an actual conversation with adults without being interrupted a million times by littles or having to threaten my kiddo with a time-out if they didn’t knock it off right now. I got to breathe. I got to sit in silence. I got to think.

And sadly, as quickly as it had started, the fun was over & it was time to pack up & head home. I could hardly wait to get home to my kiddo & my husband because for once I actually got a chance to miss them. I never get a chance to just miss them.

Listen up Mama's. We aren't ever given an award for being the most tired, the most stressed, the most busy, or the most likely to lose her shit because trust me - if there was an award for that I would’ve gotten it by now. SO - don't put things off. Take the vacation. Go on the girls weekend. Plan the evening date night or the weekend getaway with your husband - or for yourself! 

If the opportunity comes up for you to get out for a day either by yourself or with girlfriends for a night or even just for an hour, then run - don't walk - yourself out the door. Screw the mommy guilt that tries to consume you as you pull out of the driveway. Trust me, your kiddos will be fine. You will all survive & you will definitely all be better for it.

And do all these things knowing that if your kiddos are anything like mine, they will run to greet you when you get home, smother you in hugs and kisses, share each & every thing they did while you were away in under three minutes & be back to whining, arguing, & driving you nuts within 30 minutes which will give you all the more reason to start planning & fantasizing about your next great escape :)