A Much Needed Break

 Let me start by saying that Steve and I love our life together - an awesome kid, a beautiful (albeit work in progress) home in a great neighborhood, good jobs.  Of course, Santa Barbara isn't too shabby either.  So please don't judge me when I share that over the past few weeks we have been feeling increasingly burnt out.  The daily demands of housework, improvement projects, and full time jobs, combined with not enough sleep, had worn us down to the point where managing the basic daily tasks was a chore.  There was no energy left for the things we enjoy (you may have noticed I was suddenly absent from the blog world).   We realized we needed to get away from it all, even if only for a night, and our 4 year anniversary was the perfect excuse.  Our requirements were pretty low - all we wanted was a comfortable bed and a full night's sleep so we could start enjoying the small silly moments in our lives again - like this one this morning. (Yes, that is Elliott playing ON TOP of his toy basket.  He got there himself!)

My parents very graciously agreed to drive down and watch Elliott for the weekend (actually, they jumped at the opportunity to have him all to themselves, and strongly encouraged us to take 2 nights off).  So Saturday morning we gave my parents a quick run down on the baby details, kissed Elliott goodbye, pulled the carseat out of the car, hoped in and set out for 24 hours of relaxation in Ojai.  

The weekend went splendidly for all of us.  According to my parents, Reese missed us more than Elliott, and all of them had a great time together.

I periodically got text messages/pictures like this one from Cafe Stella:

Mom: "Elliott is doing great!  We are having lunch at Cafe Stella.  He really likes the sippy bottle!"

Mom: "It is much cooler at the beach.  Elliott is making lots of friends at the Shoreline Cafe"

I think that kid ate better than we did on our mini-vacation! 

Meanwhile our relaxing getaway to the Ojai retreat was exactly what we needed - the grounds were beautiful, the atmosphere was peaceful, the bed was comfortable, and we break re-energized us, and gave us the opportunity to appreciate the amazing life we have.

Look how relaxed and happy we look! We are four years in to our "Happily Ever After", and still going strong.

On the way home we met Elliott and my parents for another meal at the Shoreline cafe.  Elliott seems to know the menu pretty well there.  All in all, a wonderful weekend all the way around.

And now we are back, with a renewed sense of peace, energy, and the knowledge that our life is exactly as it should be.  As challenging as parenthood can be, I wouldn't trade it (or my special little guy) for anything.

Wishing you all the peace and relaxation to enjoy the small things in your life.