A Whole Weekend Away - WHAT?!?!

It's true. I believe that a healthy marriage fosters healthy partners, healthy kids and a healthy family. And, in my mind, one of the greatest things we can do in a marriage is take time with and for each other. For us, this means more than just date nights, although those are awesome. It also means a night or two away. That's right.

Vacations are wonderful. And, husband and I have had exactly one vacation together since AK was born. To be honest, it was a really tough five days and my enjoyment was diminished by how long it felt I was away and how much I missed her.

So, this past weekend, husband and I took two days and got away - leaving AK with her Grandma, who she lovingly calls "Maj." Maj ain't no ordinary Grandma, let's get that straight right away. Maj is fun, laughs, activities and happiness all rolled into one small little woman. Maj makes AK barely notice that her parents are gone. So, for all of us, two days is perfect.

We didn't go far - less than two hours away. But, I worried not one bit about AK - she was healthy and, based on the abundance of photos I got from Maj, she was beyond happy.

This allowed husband and I to have time...together. Just the two of us. It was delightful.

I slept in later than I have since college. Obviously, my body needed it and is thanking me now. I got a pedicure (Husband was with me, too. Don't tell him I told you). We had a wonderful lunch out. It didn't involve sippy cups, food on the floor or attempting to wrangle a toddler. And, we went to see a concert. Just the two of us.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - husband and I are amazing partners in parenting and in life. Sure, he's not perfect and sure, sometimes I'd like to hang him by his feet from the ceiling, but at the end of the day, there's no better person for me to partner with in this thing called life.

We're lucky and blessed that we have the support to take time away. We decided, this past weekend, that we are going to shoot for this same hiatus every couple of months. When should we tell Maj?!

The 10 Most Completely Rational Reasons I Am Over Summer

This is the time of year I wished we lived anywhere other than where we do:  The Desert. 

Yes, we live in Phoenix.  Did you know the only other place on earth with a climate comparable to here is the Sahara Desert?  Yep.

Come December, I'll be bragging to everyone who lives in winter that, hey, its only 65 where I live!  My "winter" jacket is just a hoodie!  But right now, not so much.

And the worst part is, even though it's mid-July, we aren't even half-way through it yet.  In my neck of the woods, we won't even see even the 90's until almost October!  Have I mention I have spent two of my four summers while living in Phoenix pregnant? 

So, in honor of my least favorite season (at least here), I give you the reasons I am ready for what's up next.

1.  I hate sweating. Seriously.  Sweating should be relegated to occurring only when one decides to do some form of moderate or intense physical activity.  And, NOT just when you step foot outdoors.  I cannot remember the last time that I didn't have even a few drops of sweat on me.  Yuck.

2. This time of year the only form of outdoor entertainment for kids must involve water.  Which means I must wear a bathing suit.  Which means I must be bathing suit ready at all times.  Enough said.

3.  Shaving.  Ok, I am not the type that doesn't shave. (No offense intended if that's you! I just prefer to.)  But, let's face it, wearing a bathing suit every single day requires a lady take certain measures.  It just gets old when you have to do that daily.  (See #2)

4.  In order to save on electric and efficiency with our air conditioning, the husband requires that all blinds and curtains remain shut all day.  There's something about living in the semi-dark all day, when it's blue skies and sunny outside, that just doesn't work for me.

5.  The Movies.  Want to know what people do all summer who live in the desert?  They go to the movies.  Think about it- it's the perfect escape.  An ice cold, dark building where you can escape to another reality for two hours.  I would like to go to the movies more and so would 3/4 of my family.  Unfortunately, the 17 month old just can't hack it yet.

6. Yard Work. Do you know what's worse than sweating just from stepping foot outside?  Having to do actual intense activity in that oven.  And, unless you're willing to get up at 4:30 am (seriously, its light out then!) to do the yard work, it's freaking hot by 8 am when you get your act together to do it.

7.  Which reminds me: the rising sun.  Out here the sun is high in the sky by 5 am.  And even with blackout curtains, somehow our kids can sense the sun is up.  So they get up.  Come winter they start sleeping in a bit, thank goodness, I just wish they would extend this year round.

8.   Seat belts.  What's the perfect recipe for a third degree burn?  A seat belt that has been baking in a car parked out in the sun.  I swear the temperature inside our car hits at least 130+ degrees these days.  My youngest mastered the word "hot" before even "Mommy".  The kids cry upon sight of their car seats knowing what's coming.  Those poor little legs.

9.  Haboobs.  Yes, this is a real word. If you know what this word means, your disdain for it probably parallels mine.  Let's just say this is the mother of all dust storms. It's apoplectic, wreaks havoc on the pool, and leaves a nice coating of dust and sand on anything and everything. 

10.  Wearing the same clothes for 7 months gets a little tiresome.  You see, we really only have 2 seasons of clothes here.  Which means our summer clothes must last from April until October.  By that time, I am basically ready to just toss everything we own and start over.        

I guess the only thing left to say is...at least we don't have to shovel any snow.  Suckas! 

BONUS: All that swimming does equal good naps. 

Fish Faces, Doodled Sidewalks, Ice Cream Kisses and a Really Messy House

It's summer.  Hell yeah.

Grilling season, pretty flowers, playgrounds, ice cream, watermelon...you get the drift. I daydream about summer all winter long.  I also live in Colorado, where winter is the norm.  When summer actually takes it sweet old time and gets here already, it's like every human being comes out of hibernation, giddy like a school girl skipping down the street.

When summer hits, I almost want to do nothing else.  I want to play.  And, now with AK entering our world - and being old enough to play - she's my perfect excuse.

Last weekend, husband went out of town. For one moment, I need to float his boat, toot his horn, blow wind in his sails (knock it off - that wasn't meant to be dirty!) He went down to my Mom's house to tackle the world's biggest honey-do list. I know.  Isn't he the sweetest?  I swoon.

Anyway, I had one task this past weekend: clean the house. It was a self-given task and it was such a lofty goal. I would have been so proud of myself had I completed it. I didn't. I didn't even come close. In fact, AK and I only messed it up more. But, holy crap, we had fun.

We made faces at the (huge!) fish in the pond at the nursery. We picked out and potted pretty new flowers for the boxes on our deck. We let ice cream melt down our hands. AK had her first corn on the cob. We went out to lunch - twice. We bought the biggest box of sidewalk chalk ever and doodled all up and down the driveway. We took several bike rides - I would say with the wind blowing through our hair. But, really, AK doesn't have any hair, so that's a moot point. And, we laughed until our cheeks hurt.

 

I hardly looked at my phone. I take that back - I took a boatload of pictures.

A while back, you may recall, I made an effort to be truly present with my daughter. I vowed to put down the devices and spend time watching her become a little person. This past weekend epitomized that goal. And, I achieved it, wildly.

When she's giggling, running, chasing and playing with reckless abandon I could care less about the dishes in the sink, the blueberries mashed into the floor or the puzzles strewn throughout the playroom. Aside from the fact that the bath towels need changing, the dog beds need cleaning and don't even get me started on the need to vacuum.

I learned a very valuable lesson this weekend: the reward of being truly present and disregarding the massive to-do list that every one of us grapples with, is indescribable. I wouldn't have traded the experiences that we created together for the world. I am so thankful that I actually listened to the little chats I had with myself - "Sarah, who cares about the house. Let it go." I let it go. But, I got it back in spades.

Three days later, I am rejoicing in the fact that my house is currently being cleaned. By someone other than me.