Adventures with Noah

Yesterday was absolutely joyful from beginning to end, though very busy and filled with activity from the time I rolled out of bed until the time I fell back into it.  Even though it was a day off, I awoke early with Tim to see him off, and set to some chores I needed to accomplish.  This was especially true since Monday my goal was to do as little as humanly possible!  I also wanted to get everything done and out of the way so that I could fully enjoy my day out with Noah.

I try to schedule a Mom & Noah day at least once during any vacation break I get and as many times in between those as I can.  I've captured one of these days before in my post "Mom & Noah Days" which you might want to read to learn more about what they are and why I love them so!  On this day, as with all "M&N days" I let him be the boss and pick whatever he wants to do. 

For this outing, he chose to eat at Red Lobster, one his all time faves, go to a movie, and have some ice cream.  One thing was apparent from his choices, my diet would be out the window for the day!  I let him order whatever he wanted at the restaurant, including a virgin Pina Colada, which he thought made me the ultimate coolest mom ever.  We laughed and lingered over our shrimp dishes and other delights, including taking a few photos to brag and pick on Tim with later.

Our next stop was the movie theatre - and of course, I splurged and took him to "the big one" which gave us many more choices, and a bigger bill.  He picked "Diary of Wimpy Kid 2," as he's enjoyed the first one and loves the series of books.  It was a cute movie but my heart ached for him during it and I wondered if it was the best choice.  This version was all about the main character's brothers and the love/hate relationship they had.  It was another reminder of our great loss and the void that will always be present in our family.  I grieve so much for the relationship Noah lost when Austin passed.
But I choked down the tears and put on a brave face, pulling my sweet boy closer to me and enjoying the time together for what it was.

As if we'd not ingested enough calories to last us three days, we headed to Coldstone to further indulge in frozen, gooey goodness.  He picked a create your own; I opted for one of their signature creations, tweaking it a bit to ensure full peanut butter flavor.  As always, Noah enjoyed my selection better and sneaked his spoon into my bowl every opportunity.  I did break down and peek at my handy Iphone app to see how bad the dessert was and immediately lost my appetite when learning even the smallest size I chose topped well over 700 calories!  Of course, it made his day when I topped his waffle bowl with more than half of what I had left. 

The rest of our day was sprinkled with lots of laughter, hugs, and wonderful quality mom & son time.  And maybe one of the best parts was hearing him retell our adventures to Tim with enthusiasm, partly because he enjoyed making him jealous, but mostly because he thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with mom.

Girls' Night Out

Saturday afternoon I endulged in a girls' night out with my cousin. It's something we often talk about doing but life gets in the way of scheduling time together. I'm grateful she's put these plans in motion and I've looked forward to the time away and with her all week. Having girl-centered discussions in a male heavy household will be a nice change of pace.

As wives and mothers, it's natural to always put ourselves last. We feel guilty if we spend money or time on ourselves. And we shouldn't.  Life is all about balance. To be the wife and mother, friend and co-worker, and all the many hats that us women put on ourselves, it's important to take care of "me first."  Just like the emergency instructions you receive during a flight, if you don't put the oxygen mask on yourself first, you can't help those around you later.

That's sort of what a night out with other women is like for me...a bit of oxygen.  It's a time to let your hair down and relax.  To be funny and silly and not care what anyone thinks about it.  To restore yourself from the chaos of life, a busy workweek, and household responsibilities.  And that's just what we did.  We snacked on yummy food without counting calories.  We relaxed, especially with the help of a massuse Jennifer brought in!  We relived our youth listening to songs from the 80s and remembering a simpler time.

And we learned from somewhat of an expert about girl trips.  She's been taking trips with the same group of friends for years.  There's always a "big trip" each year, followed by mini road trips and even good old fashioned pajama parties.  It made me realize that you're never too old to enjoy things like this and it's something I'd love to make routine in my life too.

The point though is that there doesn't have to be an elaborate vacation planned with a large group of friends to make time for yourself.  "Me time" can be doing anything you enjoy - but making sure it's something you schedule often.  If you have to put it on a calendar to get it done, then get out those markers.  Whether you end up writing, "shopping trip!" or "read a good book" or "get a pedicure" schedule something this month that is just for you.  Something you don't normally splurge on because YOU are important and worth the time!