Goldfish for Dinner: Spring Break, Mommy Guilt, & Staycations

Spring Break = Mommy Guilt

No matter what we do, we always live with that mommy guilt, don't we? I talked to two different friends this week.
One stay at home mom said, "We are going to the beach. It's getting ridiculous. Every time we have a break we go somewhere. My kids are starting to think if we are out of school that means we leave on vacation."
The other said, "We stayed here. I hate I can't give my kids a vacation, but then if I don't do something fun all week, I feel like they didn't really get a Spring Break, especially as a working mom."

No matter what we do, we can't win as moms, but I guess that is just a part of this gig.

But something I learned this week. Our kids don't seem to mind either way.

The kids who stayed home and got haircuts and dental appointments were just excited to be able to sleep in and play some extra video games.

The kids who went out of town were excited to be on a new adventure!

It's us moms who are so hard on ourselves.

John didn't have any vacation days, so it was me and the boys all week long. I know my kids. I know myself. We gotta be headed out the door to our destination, where ever that may be, by 10:30 at the latest. Any later, and we are all about to claw each other's eyes out. I climb the wall, the boys start to fight or go zombie-eyed from too much screen time. It's just not a good situation.

Momma's idea of Spring Break fun. Haircuts and yogurt!

So I decided to be resourceful and use our own great city as a vacation...but wait. Don't let me mislead you. Just because I was 'off work' does NOT mean this was a vacation. This was hard work. But, just like marriage, it's work I am HAPPY to do.

(Sidenote: I would have been happier to do it if it was warmer...but that's another story. The March snow we started our week off was a great indicator of what was to come.)

Day 1 took us to Chick-fil-a where we met some friends. We then spent an hour jumping at Get Air. The boys had a friend come back to the house with them, which is AMAZING at this age. It's like they entertain each other. AND, bonus, all their toys they barely sniff at become new again when a friend is over!

We took the friend home and had just about 30 minutes before baseball practice. Little did I know that Monday was National Napping Day! These two curled up on the couch and were out within 5 minutes. Thankfully, I didn't have to wake them (don't poke the bear!!) and they woke up on their own with just 5 minutes left before we had to leave.

Just look at them!! I died when I realized they were asleep like that!

Day 2 was a little more exciting. We headed downtown to visit the Peabody Ducks. For my out of town friends, these little ducks have been a feature of the world famous Peabody Hotel since the 1930's. The waltz their way from their terrace on the roof to the fountain in the lobby at 11am every day and then back up at 5pm, and always to an admiring crowd.

My kids had never been to see the ducks! We got there about 9:30 to a huge crowd. Luckily, the duckmaster insists all kids sit along the carpet so they can all see! The ducks literally move so fast there is no such things as a good picture. I mean, if all those people were watching me walk a red carpet, I'd probably scoot along too!

We posed for some traditional Peabody lobby pictures before heading across the street to lunch.

We then headed to Bass Pro to do a little bowling. We meandered our way around the store before heading back to the bowling lanes. Sadly, there was an hour wait and we weren't willing to do that. So we took our time walking around the store. There was plenty of entertainment to fill our time!

We then ~~paid~~ to ventured up the big elevator to the top of the Pyramid. While it was a great view, it was freezing. And overpriced. But, heck, you gotta do it at least once.