With hen do’s and impromptu girls weekends thin on the ground now most of my friends are mid 30’s there is less of an excuse to wangle a night or two away from the kids. That is unless your husband is massively indebted to you for the fact he will soon be buggering off to Brazil for 10 days (I may have mentioned this a few times).
Anyway In part payment me and one of my best friends sauntered off to Spain for 3 nights which was the longest either of us had left our children. I had wondered if we might miss them a bit – we didn’t. Here are a few tips to planning a guilt free break: –
1, Drink on the plane – revel in the fact you don’t have hand luggage stuffed full of Goodies oatey bars, a bra full of raisins and small people jumping up and down on your crotch. Consume as many small bottles of fizz as possible – just cos you can.
2, Choose your hotel wisely – we opted for a secret escape and therefore breathed a huge sigh of relief as our coach dumped the hen parties in Benidorm and drove back out again. We lucked out at a hotel with an average age of 65. It was peaceful, civilised and most importantly for the first time in our life’s we probably had the best bodies by the pool (IT COUNTS!)
3, Go all inclusive – it is near on impossible to miss your kids in the presence of a free bar. Put together a drinking schedule to get the most out of your investment and set aside a few minutes every day to stare at the gin selection.
4, Improvise – in the absence of picked onion monster munch, roll a cold nectarine from the breakfast bar over your forehead to ease hangovers. Surprisingly effective!
5, Do as little as humanly possible – think magazines by the pool with beer and that should just about cut it. Perhaps you could even delight in some proper conversation.
6, Don’t feel guilty – If you start missing your kids try writing a list of your current grievances with them. If that doesn’t work position yourself next to small children at mealtimes.
7, Bring back sweets – feelings of abandonment quickly subside with the provision of jelly snakes.
In all honesty we talked about our little ones a lot. We looked at videos and photos of them on our phones and spoke to them at bedtime every night. Three nights away seemed to be a good compromise, long enough to feel properly relaxed but not long enough to miss them in a ‘wish i was at home with you’ sort of way.
But it was certainly long enough that i felt the need to peg it home from the station with a tummy full of butterflies. You see that’s the best thing about having a bit of time out, it really helps restore the equilibrium. Seeing them again was the best feeling in the world.
**************
P.S. I have a new book OUT NOW! You can nab it on Amazon here or in your lovely local bookshop :)
Oooh, lucky woman! You guys look great :) I still think your husband is lucky to have married a really understanding woman ;)
Don’t worry Dean i am not done yet ;)) x
Haha this is brilliant! Really made me laugh out loud as all your posts do. The mini-break looks awesome. I’m kind of going to one on Friday although it’s in the hospital which won’t be nearly as much fun and I’m guessing they won’t have bars, although they will have morphine :) x
Oh no hope all is ok Jess! Get stuck into the morphine, awesome stuff :) x
That sounds utter bliss….and those photos….fab – the nectarine one is genius.
Well jel….maybe Ill send my hubby off to Qatar in four years time. Hmmmm. Maybe not!
Was lovely thanks Abby – he is still in debt though :) x
I am a little bit jealous* of three days of booze and sunbathing *ok a lot jealous
Soz for that – couldn’t help myself but!
Aw love this post Katie. Totally jealous would love a few nights away somewhere hot. I find the feeling of having some time to myself plus the feeling of seeing them again really is the best of both worlds. We are off on holiday in a couple of weeks which I know will most probably not be like a holiday with small children but we do have them booked into the kids club every morning for there hours. I am going to relax with a cocktail and a book the whole time. Bliss!
It’s all about the kids clubs!! Wow that will be the best of both worlds really – hope you guys have an amazing time :) x
Ha excuse the random comment from me above. ;) I just wrote you a massive one and it didn’t save so I was checking if you had comment moderation on. Which you don’t and means my comment was lost. Sob. Anyway the jist of it was me saying I was totally jealous but I bet it was also amazing to come home to them as well. And that we are off on holiday in a couple of weeks and I know it won’t be particularly relaxing as a family but I can’t wait. And as an extra bonus they are booked into the kids club a couple of hours a day. Lovely!
Ooops sorry my blog made you comment twice! Makes me look extra popular though so thanks ;) x
Yay girls weekend! Looks like you had a fab time – loving the tips. I have a boozy hen planned at the end of the month :-) x
High five!!! x
This is terrific news indeed! 3 days away and it only cost you the jelly snakes. Sounds like you played it perfectly with amount of time out, you look like you had a fun time – i’m away for 9 days in Sept tho dealing with older age group and have only spent 7 days apart in all those years so its bloody deserved! Thanks for nectarine idea. We’ve actually got a couple in kitchen and might put them to good use tomorrow – are they approved cure by NICE? xx ps I see those youngsters in the exercise poster are getting their drinking arms in shape.
Wow you do bloody deserve it then!! Have a fabulous time and yes of course the nectarines are approved by NICE – what do you take me for?! x
Katie, I am so incredibly jealous. Looks like you had an amazing time. As all my mates are married now, there are no hen nights on the horizon so I definitely need to get a girlie break away organized, with a plane and sun!!
Glad you had a fab time and very well deserved considering Mr Gin is off to Brazil. I’m still owed for a very boozy few days when the husband went off to Moscow to watch Man U, and he didn’t even bring me a big furry hat back :-(
yes you NEED it!!! If you are stuck i can always come with you, i like helping friends in need :) x
I am so amazingly jealous! I wish that I had the pennies / an available friend to jet off for a few days :) I can’t imagine the freedom of having whole days and nights just for myself anymore.
Glad you enjoyed it, it looks great. Xxx
Thanks lovely – it was actually surprisingly cheap. Maybe you could just get your crew to bugger off for the day and sit in a paddling pool with a bottle of gin? Pretty much the same thing :)
This is funny and lovely all rolled into one! I love how much alcohol you consumed – essential!!
Great improv with the nectarine too ha ha xx
i’m too jealous to laugh… well ok a little bit :) glad u had an awesome time. (bitch) x
Loved this, and am now looking for my chance to get a similar pass away. I feel I have two chances; Slim and Fat. And Slim’s just left town…
I am green with envy! My twice weekly jaunts to Zumba are met with sad puppy eyes and feelings of abandonment, so I’ve never experienced the paradise that you describe. Did you get a bed all to yourself without anyone creeping in in the night (although if you didn’t, perhaps here is not the forum to discuss…) Were you spared the nerve-jangling horror of the mini disco? Oh for a little slice of it!
Aw so lovely. So glad you got a good break. And glad you went all inclusive. Racking my brains though to try and remember what real conversation is! xx
I’m so jealous! I reckon it’ll be 15yrs before I’m allowed away for more than one night. Love the hangover pic. Not sure I could possibly consume that much booze anymore. Love the cute photo at the end. X
I can barely leave a reply I’m so jealous. Not that you didn’t totally deserve it. I reckon I could have even drunk more than one gin in those supportive circumstances. Foreign lager MMMMM! Lovely photos – of you and you friend, you understand, not the booze. Oh, and of your gorge boys! 8 days to go!! xxx
I actually snorted at the pic of the pensioners lifting weights. Too too funny! :) Aww, how amazing that you got a little break – you are just right Katie&it looks gorgeous. Always nice to come home too though (until the jelly snske sugar high kicks in!) Xx
Man alive. Not Fair. I wanna go on holigogs with just a drinking buddy. It looks lush – hope you had a lovely giggle. So very good for the soul. I would say your man is def still in debt for a bit ;) x
Sounds like you had a much deserved break! x
1) BEAUT LAST PICCY! 2) I love that feeling of missing them. When I go to work? I literally run into the house bab. RUN! Can’t wait for my first proper night away next week from them both xxx
You lucky thing! The most I’ve had away is one night in Paris. That’s in four years and that was for bloody work. I am building up to a few nights in New York next year though. I think I’m owed BIG STYLE! Glad you had a fab time. That’s quite some drinks collection.
I recently went to Palma for four nights with my girlfriends, too. And none of them have kids… I did get a hint of guilt, but that disappeared after three bottles of wine :) Like you I was super excited when monkey came running up to me at the arrivals hall in the airport. Hope you had a fab time.
Aw bloody lovely, my 5 days away when I went to Cannes was incredible, fun and restorative-did miss them but as you said, makes you appreciate the 360 days you’re with them x
P.S Made me laugh out loud! Loved the bit about best bodies counting-genius x
I’ve been prioritising a night or two away with the girls, since my children were small. I find an excuse to do it at least once, every year. Vital for my sanity and for the husband to know just what hard work it really is. I bet yours was glad to see you when you got home! PS thanks for the tips re: the cold nectarine. One for the memory bank ;)
I just did a girls camping weekend. It was phenomenal. I totally get all that you said here. And couldn’t have come up with a better way to describe “missing” my children.
But you could have done four days and had an even better reunion!
Pingback: Five Great Blog Posts About Parenting | Tots 100
But how do you have a conversation with friends without the constant mini conversations in between? ;) I’m off to Paris with my husband for 3 days, we’re worried our chatting will be limited, not being stretched out with “leave the cat alone”, “yes, it’s a lovely drawing”, “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes”, “Get off your sister’s head” (and repeat).
I could quite happily pack my husband off to Brazil for 10 days if it meant treats like this for me – after all ten days on my own with the kids wouldn’t feel that much different to normal (whereas three days alone with them for him would probably be a massive ask!!) X