Earlier this year, my 3 best friends from college and I started talking about how fun it would be to hit the beach for a long weekend together. Now that we're all stay-at-home moms to 2 young kids, all living in different states, we don't have a lot of time to catch up. We decided a weekend in South Florida would do our souls some good. So we left our wonderful husbands in charge for 3 days and flew down to the beach for the weekend. The moment the idea arose, we decided we'd try to do something like this every year, knowing each year that any one of us might have to sit a year out due to life circumstances - new babies, family obligations, etc. So, this year, we really missed Tara, who needed to stay close to home to prepare for her lengthy holiday travels (among many other things!). Jamie, Meg and I had the most wonderful time - we slept in until 9am (3 hours past normal), collected seashells along the beach in the warm sunshine, and enjoyed some great local seafood at a couple fun restaurants. We stumbled upon a live band on our first night in town, and they were so great that we ended up staying out much later than I have in months just to enjoy the scene! It was such a refreshing trip, and I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends in my life. I really hope we can make it an annual getaway!
Meanwhile, back at home...the kids had SO much fun with
daddy! Erik really did well - 3 days on your own with 2 small kids can be a challenge. He kept them very occupied and very happy. While I was gone, Chicago got its first snowfall of the season. So, Erik was fighting the crowds at Target for new snowpants and helped the kids create our new snowman, "Carroty." I am so thankful to him for allowing me this time away. I'm grateful to have such a wonderful husband!
Earlier this year, my 3 best friends from college and I started talking about how fun it would be to hit the beach for a long weekend together. Now that we're all stay-at-home moms to 2 young kids, all living in different states, we don't have a lot of time to catch up. We decided a weekend in South Florida would do our souls some good. So we left our wonderful husbands in charge for 3 days and flew down to the beach for the weekend. The moment the idea arose, we decided we'd try to do something like this every year, knowing each year that any one of us might have to sit a year out due to life circumstances - new babies, family obligations, etc. So, this year, we really missed Tara, who needed to stay close to home to prepare for her lengthy holiday travels (among many other things!). Jamie, Meg and I had the most wonderful time - we slept in until 9am (3 hours past normal), collected seashells along the beach in the warm sunshine, and enjoyed some great local seafood at a couple fun restaurants. We stumbled upon a live band on our first night in town, and they were so great that we ended up staying out much later than I have in months just to enjoy the scene! It was such a refreshing trip, and I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends in my life. I really hope we can make it an annual getaway!
Meanwhile, back at home...the kids had SO much fun with 
daddy! Erik really did well - 3 days on your own with 2 small kids can be a challenge. He kept them very occupied and very happy. While I was gone, Chicago got its first snowfall of the season. So, Erik was fighting the crowds at Target for new snowpants and helped the kids create our new snowman, "Carroty." I am so thankful to him for allowing me this time away. I'm grateful to have such a wonderful husband!
