Grown Up Weekend

Last weekend was fantastic. We drove to Phoenix with both kids in the car, leaving late so that they would hopefully both sleep in the car. It only half worked, and we got there totally exhausted, at 3:30am. Not sounding fantastic so far? We spent a good portion of the weekend helping my parents to clean out their fridge and pantry, and packing up everything in their kitchen cabinets to get ready for their kitchen remodel which began this week. Still not sounding fantastic? Oh, and did I mention that it was about 113 degrees in Phoenix?

But, when I say that the weekend was fantastic, I am not being sarcastic. Because, there was a part in the middle where we left the boys with my parents, and Chris and I had about 28 hours (but hey, who's counting?) all to ourselves. A Grown Up Weekend, as in, grown-ups only (no kids allowed).

Boy, do I love my kids. They are freaking adorable and hilarious, and my life is so much richer because they are a part of it. And I can say that now because I got to have some time to myself where I didn't worry about them at all. And honestly, I didn't miss them one bit.

Toward the end of last week, before we headed to Phoenix, I was hitting melt down mode. The kids were trying my patience at almost every single moment. I was yelling, threatening, giving time outs, and all of those things that I hate doing with my kids because I was at the end of my rope. But I didn't know what else to do.

So, we got to Phoenix, and Chris and I BOTH slept in while my mom watched the boys. Then we went to a movie that night after putting the boys down to bed. The next morning, we left my parents' house and Chris and I both got massages. Finally, I was relaxing. We ate lunch at a restaurant without a kid's menu. We drank champagne in the middle of the day. I took a bath. We went out to dinner and a baseball game, without wondering how long the kids would be able to sit still. We watched fireworks without having to cover the kids' ears. We stayed up late listening to a live band, without worrying about having to wake up with the kids the next morning. We slept in a dark hotel room until 10am. We went out to another restaurant that didn't serve chicken nuggets. And when we saw the boys again, I was able to actually enjoy being with them. We played together in the pool. Oh, and I got to see another movie after they went to bed that night, too.

It's almost enough to make me want to move back to Arizona, to be closer to our families. Not just for the free childcare, although it really came at a time that I needed it the most. But also getting to see how much the boys love being around all of their family, it's a really special thing. And we are lucky to live close enough that we see each other frequently, but even once every month or two can be a long wait in between.

Can someone just move Phoenix a little closer to Los Angeles?