Mommies' night out!

I have just returned from being away from my husband and children for 30 hours and I loved every second of it! Don't get me wrong, I missed them, but it was so great to miss them for a while. I went to Houston for a weekend of shopping with 3 other mommies.

It took a while for Kelly, Heather, Jenny and I to stop pointing out all the yellow buses, construction equipment and big trucks, but after about an hour were were speaking like normal civilized adults again. Upon arriving in Houston we checked into our hotel with minimal unloading of luggage. The four of us carried on adult conversation over dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe, and spoke in complete sentences with only an occasional interruption from the waitress. We actually spent 2.5 hours at the restaurant just taking our time and enjoying the opportunity to get to know each other better. We then went back to the hotel and prepared only ourselves for bed.

In the morning we woke up when we were ready, and didn't rush to prepare breakfast or change diapers. We ate at this wonderful little bistro-like place that serves breakfast and lunch in central Houston, called Tiny Boxwoods. It was fabulous! We ate outside on the patio and had things like fresh fruit yogurt parfait, sausage spinach quiche and orange julius. Okay, yeah, so Jenny knows the chef and had the inside scoop, but I'm so glad she told us of this little diamond of a place. The next 6 hours were dedicated to nothing but shopping. We each had our own agenda and didn't have to stop unless we wanted a break. We tried on clothes in dressing rooms, all by ourselves. Imagine! No strollers or children, and still no diapers to change. As Jenny would say, "it was fabulous!"

It's so rare that moms are able to get away from being a mom, and a wife for a while, but it's so important. I was able to just be a woman for a while and enjoy time with friends and take care of only myself. I came home refreshed and ready to take on all the family tasks that I do on a normal daily basis. My attitude and perspective however had drastically improved. I think from now on, this will be an annual event (bi-annual if we can talk our hubbies into it.) :P