Get out!

I've been told numerous times that it's important to go on "dates" with your husband.  I think it's equally as important to get away overnight without kids.  With little ones (especially nursing ones), it's not always easy to carve out the time.  It's not that my husband and I don't love spending time together, it's just not always easy to put our needs ahead of our children.  In the parenting class that we took at church while we were expecting Reagan, they said one statement that has always stuck with me:
"To be a good mother, you must be a good wife" and the same is true for men, "to be a good dad, you must be a good husband."

Some might see that as archaic. I don't.  It basically says that I CANNOT neglect my role as a wife, if I'm going to succeed as a mother.  Sometimes moms (and dads) just need to get out of the house.  Alone. In the chaos of life with kids, it's easy to get tired and not connect with your spouse.  You forget to say "I love you."  The only hands you hold are your children's in a parking lot.

When we lived with my mom and dad, we tried to go out and eat occasionally, but then my mom got sick and it was harder to find a sitter.  Plus, I've been either pregnant or nursing for 5 years, so that's hampered our attempts.  :D Honestly (and sadly), it just wasn't a priority.

So it had been a long time since we had even had a meal together, and almost FIVE years since we had gone away overnight.

But, I'm no longer nursing (Yay!), and my mom is healed (Praise God!), and she only lives 45 minutes away.  So, in the midst of trying to figure out a good gift for my husband's birthday (that happened to fall ON Thanksgiving this year), I had the brilliant idea to surprise him with a weekend away since he would have Friday off anyway.

My dad helped us secure a hotel with his timeshare rewards, and my mom agreed to come stay all weekend at our house.  I told him that we were going out for dinner in Newport Beach the day after Thanksgiving to celebrate his birthday.

My mom arrived on Friday morning (and of course we had to hit a few Black Friday sales), and then Brian went to get new tires on his car.  He wanted to get the tires done before we drove all the way down to the beach.  It worked out perfectly.  While he was getting new tires, I packed our bags.  I threw them in the garage under a blanket and did my hair and makeup.  When he got home, he said he needed to shower quickly before we left for dinner.  While he was showering, I took the bags from the garage and put them in the trunk.  We said good bye to the girls (and I grabbed his phone charger on the sly and shoved it in my purse) and took off for "dinner."  After we got to our hotel, I told him that I wasn't taking him to dinner at the Marriott, but that we were staying all weekend. He was completely surprised!

We had dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant on the water, and realized that we were done eating in less than ten minutes. It's amazing how quickly a meal goes when you don't have children with you!

The funniest part of the weekend was that we watched two movies in the hotel and they were both kid movies!

Even though things weren't "perfect" (gotta love the untimely arrival of Aunt Florence), it was nice to just exhale and enjoy each other's company.

We drank coffee in the morning, and walked around the beach.

We held hands.

We had uninterrupted conversations.

It was a weekend of rest, and we decided we would not wait five more years to get away again.  We came home refreshed and ready to be parents again.

The girls had a great weekend with Yaya and she loved the quality time with them.  It was a win-win situation all the way around!

If you haven't been out with your husband in a while, make it a priority.  You won't regret it.

The view from the lobby

This tree was not there the day we checked in but they transformed the lobby while we were there!

It was so beautiful and made me want to head home and start decorating!