We have 2 kids and they are grown now, but we have always made time for us "the couple" ... yes, we are parents, but that doesn't mean (in my opinion) that we MUST forgo our alone time ... if anything, alone time with one another only strengthens the family unit as both their dad and I need to reconnect with "us" the people pre-kidlets lol!! It is wonderful for the marriage and I think this practice should be encouraged; not frowned upon ... so, our two cents ... relax, take the vacation, and have a fabulous time - you both deserve it!! :icon_biggrin:
Alicia and I leave our kids with my parents. Our kids are 8 and 6. It's nice since they only live a mere 10 mins away and even closer to the kids school. My dad takes them to and from school, it gives him something to do during the day. My parents enjoy having the kids for a week or so. Keeps them busy and active which is something they need every now and then. We miss our kids when we are gone but we need our time too. The way we look at it is that we do family vacations all the time so a little mom and dad time is allowed. We will be at TTR for 8 days this trip. We make the call home every other day just to say hi. I don't feel guilty what so ever. Some separation is good for you and the kids. If you don't take some adult time when your younger, you'll regret it when you're older and look back at the things you could of done while you're young. Go and enjoy a week by yourselves
"Alone time for the grownups is a necessity of life. We take 2 trips each summer. One for us and one as a family. Plus it gives the kiddo bonding time with grandma and grandpa without us around. " Exactly what we do.
When I was a kid, my parents occasionally went on holidays alone, and left my brother and me with our sisters or brother (they were 11 years older than us). When my older brother looked after us it was great because he'd stay at our house and rent videos / games console / get pizza in etc that my parents wouldn't normally allow. When we had to stay at my sisters house it was horrible though, she was really strict - weren't allowed to leave the bedroom until she said so, which was usually 11:30 am (she was heavy sleeper) when I'd been awake since 7am with nothing to do but stare out the window. There was nothing to do, and her husband would monopolise the TV watching sports all day which I loathe! When I was around 15 and my brother was 17 my parents started leaving us to look after ourselves most weekends when they'd go away in their caravan. That was great, because we were old enough to look after ourselves and had the freedom of a house to ourselves for the weekend. I guess my advice would be to send your kids to a relative or friend that likes them, and is going to spoil them rotten - not somebody who is doing it for your sake and not really into it. I don't have kids, but if we ever did end up with a baby, then that'd be it for Cancun and TTR for us. We don't have relatives they could stay with. There is my sister, but from experience I had staying with her there's no way I'd make my own child go through that!
Great conversation and I agree with everyone! We have 3 kids : 9,7,7 and we went away for the first time before the twins turned 1! My parents are awesome, we travel 3-4 times a year without the kids and they don't mind. We're heading to Savannah for the weekend in Feb, the moun tains in NC in March, and a friend weekend in June before TTR in July. My kids love staying with them. We also try and plan a few overnight trips with the kids throughout the year and my husband takes them to Boston every year the week after Xmas to see his family. My kids have a strong relationship with my parents, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!
We also have kids, ages 7 and 3 and have done a mom and dad trip only every year but one. It is soooooo important for us, and we can tell when its time for another one. Our kids get to stay with family they don't see as often, but have a blast with. Don't get me wrong, I'm usually a big ball of guilt and worry the night before our flight, and am often crying a bit on the plane. But, it doesn't take long (usually by the transfer ride over) and I'm good. We check in with the kids when we get there, and every other day or so. We return home a better couple and better parents because of our trip alone. Have fun!
We have 3 boys that are 4 and 2 yrs old and our youngest will be 6 months when we leave for TTR. The 2 older boys are very excited to go to their grand-parents house for what they call their vacation! They usually almost push us the door. It just takes a little more planning and packing! We will miss them dearly but we all gain so much from our vacation time so it is all worth it. When they get older they wont remember that we left them behind. They will have all the great memories of their time spent with grandparents. We also have to get a friend to watch our dog and another to farmsit for us. So when we leave we get everyone around us involved! Lol
The common theme here is you all have great support structures with grandparents being able and willing to take over. If we had that we would be visiting much more frequently. Sadly in our case the grandparents are recently retired and are acting like they are 21 again. So our roadblock is not guilt (for all the reasons mentioned above) but coverage. For April we got it and can't wait.
Yea we are the 21 again grandparents ! TTR April for us too, kids can look after their own kids! :daisy:
