Annual Momma's Getaway

Back in April, after Jamie and the guys went to the Masters and had a little golf getaway, Chenequa and I decided that we also deserved a vacation.  Surprisingly, our husbands agreed with very little convincing on our part and our plans were quickly arranged.  Chenequa has a 23 month old and an 8 month old so we both have our hands very full.  We love our kids dearly, but 3 days to ourselves without having to worry with bottles, diapers, or naptimes?!  To say that we were excited was an understatement and the countdown began!  I was even able to talk Jamie into letting us take his prized Jeep Wrangler which made it even more fun (as long as I promised not to drive over 65mph and not to "be careless"... as though I'm some wild college kid!) :)

The day finally arrived and on Thursday, Chenequa and I headed south towards Destin, FL.  Since I met her in Athens, we made a pit stop to visit our friend, Amanda, who had just delivered her new baby boy, Sam, one week prior.  After being on strict bed rest for preterm labor, Amanda delivered Sam 5 weeks early and despite his itty bitty appearance (around 4 1/2 lbs), he is doing amazingly well and is 100% healthy!  Alot of prayers were said for this sweet baby and his momma so it brought tears to my eyes to get to see him perfectly okay.  Its nothing short of a miracle that he was born so early and didn't even have to spend an hour in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit!

After our visit with Amanda and Sam, we hit the road and arrived in Destin around 7pm that evening.  On our way there, Chenequa's mother-in-law asked us if we felt like birds out of our cages... we found that to be so funny so it became our "slogan" for the trip.  After checking in and freshening up, we ventured out for a late dinner and didn't get to eat until 10pm... yes, we were definitely child-free!  Having had such a long day of driving, we decided to head back to the hotel for a night of uninterrupted sleep. 

The next morning, we ate a late breakfast at Another Broken Egg Cafe in Baytown Wharf in Sandestin.  It was delicious and I can't wait to eat there again when we go back as a family in a couple of months!  After stuffing our bellies with a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant (me) and an omelet filled with cheese, mushrooms, and green peppers (Chenequa), we headed out to the gorgeous beach of Sandestin.  With it being late May, the weather was PERFECT.  It was warm but a nice breeze kept us from getting too hot.  We were in heaven just relaxing in our beach chairs, listening to music, sipping on fruity drinks without a care in the world!  Of course, it's never a dull moment and shortly after getting settled into our chairs, the bottom of Chenequa's chair BUSTED and her butt landed right in the sand!  We laughed until we cried!  Chenequa joked about how that knocked her self-esteem down quite a bit however, those chairs have been in my garage for quite some time and are at least 6 years old so she shouldn't feel too bad!  After several hours in the sun, we decided to head back to our hotel to get cleaned up for dinner.  Once we had arrived in the room, I realized what a TERRIBLE job I did putting on my tanning lotion.  It said "even coverage spray" so I didn't rub it in, just sprayed it on and I had the WORST tan lines ever.  My arms and chest were spotted with places where I did and didn't get sun... it was quite a sight!  We got cleaned up and headed out for Destin Commons to do some quick shopping, each found something to wear for that evening and headed back to the hotel to change.  Our second night, we chose Louisiana Lagniappe, my absolute favorite restaurant.  I've been eating there since I was a kid and every time, I choose to have the Grouper Pontchartrain.  It is by far the very best seafood entree I have ever tasted.  And it definitely didn't disappoint!  Following our delicious dinner, we met up with one of my friends from high school.  She had flown in that evening with 3 of her college friends for a bachlorette weekend, so we all went out together.  We went to the Swamp to listen to music and (of course, dance), however, the band was far from the kind you dance to.  More like something you would head bang to...not my cup of tea, however, they did play a few songs we recognized. A DJ played during the band's breaks so we were able to get some dancing out of our systems.  After a fun (late) night, we made a Whataburger run and hit the bed.

The next morning we woke, grabbed breakfast and got out in the sun.  This time we decided to hang around the pool.  I worked really hard on trying to 'repair' some of my terrible tan lines from the previous day.  After another several hours of chatting and laying out, we got cleaned up and hit the outlet mall in Sandestin.  We both lucked up on some really cute finds from J.Crew, Nine West and Fossil.  After shopping, we headed to The Back Porch for our last dinner in Destin. 

The following morning we set out around 9am to head home to our babies and husbands.  I thoroughly enjoyed my getaway but by that time, I was ready to be back home with my family.  Three nights away was just enough; any longer would have been too much.  I owe a HUGE, GINORMOUS thank you to Jamie.  My parents were out of town until Saturday afternoon because my dad was getting chemo at Vanderbilt so Jamie took care of the kids by himself the whole time I was away.  Thankfully, the kids were perfect for him the entire time and he really enjoyed his time alone with them.  He even got Noah to school on time Friday morning.  Every time I would talk to him, he was as cool as a cucumber and he never once called me stressed out.  Can we say Super Dad?!  He even managed to do some laundry, wash dishes and have the house straightened up.  Things like that make me love him even more! :) 

Chenequa and I had the BEST time!  It's so great to be able to have some time for ourselves and that our husbands recognize that we deserve it.  I'm not sure I have laughed so much and so hard in a long time!  My kids and husband are my world and I would never ever want to go back to the way things were prior to them, however it is very nice to be able to have some "me" time.  I think that things like this allow me to be a better mother!  Since Chenequa and I planned this trip pretty quickly, none of our other friends were able to come; however, we've decided to make it an annual event so that they can make it in the future.  This is something we are definitely going to stick with for years to come because every mom needs some ME time with her friends!

And by the way, when did it become the trend to have bird feathers in your hair?!  We spotted these in several women's hair... and I'm not talking about young teenagers, I'm talking about grown women our age and older (for example, a woman in her 50's... granted she also had long gold fingernails and was sporting a gold teeny bikini).  It was almost like those hair wraps that we used to get when I was in middle school, except it was bird feathers somehow sewn in all through out the hair.  It was strange and kind of creeped me out.  I don't like snake and alligator skin on any kind of accessory... they give me the willy's and those bird feathers did the same thing!  Has anyone else see this?? 

Beach Bound!!!

First night -- Dinner at Joe's Crab Shack

Thanks to Jamie for lending us the Jeep!

"Two Birds Out of our Cage"... except we don't have bird feathers in our hair!

Beach time

Heading out our 2nd Night

Dinner at Louisiana Lagniappe

  

Last night -- Dinner at the Back Porch