Getting Refreshed

Tony and I took this rare opportunity to go out of town for Valentine's weekend to "be alone". Betsy's Lovey (my mom) offered to keep Betsy for the weekend so we could go do something. I was kinda torn..yes, I totally wanted to go out of town and just have some adult time but at the same time, I did not want to go two nights without Betsy. Even though it is my mom, and Betsy is totally in love with her, it was hard for me to leave her. Of course, Betsy didn't care. She whined when we started saying bye-bye but NOT because we were leaving, but because she was afraid her Lovey was leaving. HAHA! What a character she is!

I am not one of those people who say, "I can NEVER leave my child". It bothers me to hear parents say they never go a night without their child and refuse to leave them with anyone. I think that is really sad. I believe that every parent should have some "time away" just to go be alone. I believe every marriage should keep having "date nights" and be childless for a night. It doesn't make me love my child any less because I need a break. I ONLY leave Betsy with my mom or my dad/stepmom so she only stays with close family. She absolutely loves each with all her heart so it's not like she cries for us or even cares that we are gone for the night. I am comfortable enough as a parent to admit I need to step away from being a parent every once in a while and have "me" time. I also think it's healthy for the child to be around someone besides mom and dad periodically. It's a little refresher for everyone. Okay, off my soapbox..

So Betsy stayed with her Lovey while Tony and I packed up and went to Dallas for the weekend. We used to go to Dallas all the time when we were dating but hadn't been back there in quite some time. We soooooo needed this mini-vacation and really felt refreshed coming home. We had been stressed out about a few things before we left so this was something we really needed. It was nice to just have quiet dinners alone and spend quality time together. Of course we brought back a million shopping bags...all for Betsy! She is so much fun to shop for!

We couldn't get home quick enough to find Betsy STILL not ready to leave her Lovey's house. We got there during Betsy's nap time and when she woke up and found us there, she still ran to her Lovey to snuggle. Hmmmph! That's okay with me though. I would rather her do that as to cry anytime we leave her sight. All in all, the weekend was a blast for everyone. Tony and I had a great time away and Betsy had a great time without mommy and daddy!

Here are some pictures of Betsy playing at her Lovey's house (That is our dog, June, that my mom was nice enough to keep also!)









And just for fun..here is a picture of Betsy last year at Valentines. She was 5 months old. What a difference a year makes...