"Me" Time

This last mother's day was wonderful.  I got to spend quality time with my family and Tony made dinner.  Because we were a little tight on cash at the time, I got an "IOU" of sorts.  Tony gave me a list of four-star hotels he thought were acceptable and told me that in the near future, he wanted to send me away for a night of me doing whatever I want.  A night without poopy diapers, meowing cats, messy rooms, waking up at random hours of the night to calm a scared baby, etc.  A night to go shopping without worrying about Audrey pulling things off the rack and waiting for the big fitting room to fit the stroller in.  A night where I didn't have to time my shopping around how long I thought Audrey could last. I was thrilled!  I think Tony could see the wear motherhood was putting on me and it was so sweet of him to give me the night off.

*PAUSE*
Let me set one thing straight before someone gets their undies in a twist here.  I L-O-V-E being a mom.  It is the most beautiful and rewarding thing I've ever done with my life, and nothing makes me happier than my cute little Audrey.  As all mothers I'm sure know, sometimes it wears on you.  Sometimes you have bad days.  Day after day after day of the same thing can be maddening, and there's nothing wrong with that.  I wouldn't trade being a mother for the world!  Everyone needs a day off every once in a while, right? :)
*END PAUSE/RANT*

So, I ended up choosing a hotel in Salt Lake, allowing me to shop 'til I dropped at City Creek.  I had been wanting to go there for quite some time, but two of the three people in our home don't really love shopping and the 45 minute drive didn't seem worth making those two people go.  It was a perfect opportunity!

I got to my hotel last night, changed, and headed over to the trax train to go to the mall.  At first it was awkward for me.  I saw a lot of little kids there, and it made me miss Audrey.  I haven't been to a mall by myself in over a year and it was like I had forgotten how to shop.  It was weird not pushing a stroller.  I was getting frustrated and couldn't find anything I liked.  I was tempted to just go buy Audrey some clothes :)  Eventually I got myself a smoothie (it was HOT outside) and sat down with a mall directory and planned out which stores I wanted to visit.  City Creek is huge, and I think the overwhelming amount of stores was part of my frustration.  After I did that I started to loosen up and I was a shopping queen!  I found so many cute things and I had so much fun.  I did text Tony probably 20 times asking what they were doing.  You can't take the mom completely out of me, haha.  I also got some strange looks as I sang the Disney Junior theme song as I browsed.  I didn't realize I was singing it out loud until another girl said to me, "I get that song stuck in my head all the time, too!"  How embarrassing.

I picked up some dinner to-go from The Cheesecake Factory, went back to my room and ate in my PJs on my king-sized bed and watched TV.  It was great.  After a nice, long, uninterrupted shower, I went to bed.  I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be able to sleep but I knew Audrey would be okay, and that helped me fall asleep quickly.  I had planned on sleeping in since I wouldn't have to be up with Audrey, but housekeeping knocked on my door at 8am.  Seriously, housekeeping.  Checkout is at noon. 

I'm finally home, but have yet to see Tony and Audrey.  They are on a daddy/daughter hike right now.  I love that they got to spend some quality time together, and it was sure nice to recharge my battery and remember what it was like to be Hollie instead of only "mama". (again, not that I wish to change that.  Just nice to remember that I'm a human still.)  I'm so excited to see both of them and give them both a big bear hug.  Tony said Audrey asked for me a lot last night.  It was our first night apart...well, ever.  She did great and she'll be fine, but I'm really excited to see her. :)