Niagara Falls: Our First Adult Getaway Since Jett

Having a songwriter as a husband has lots of perks. One of which are trips that are paid for, or at least partially paid for. Luckily, one of Jonathan's awesome songwriter friends included him (and me) on a writer's night at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. We'd never seen the Falls, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to have a much needed adult weekend. In preparing for the trip, I realized it had been over a year since we'd had a vacation alone. And that's a really long time for what we're used to! So needless to say, we were both super excited. Canada wouldn't have been my first choice for an adult vacay, but I'm not complaining about a baby free weekend! Plus it turned out to be really fun! 

The first night, we were so stoked to be out & not have to worry about Jett (thanks, Mom!) that we just ran around the casino like a couple of crazy people who'd never been  in public before. I definitely sat at the video black jack table too long, & Jonathan definitely put way too many $20's in the slot machines. (I miiiight have put a 20 in the Sex & the City machine & got waaaay too excited when I won 16 bucks…) But it was so fun just being silly & being with each other. I'm not sure when it happened, but I realized how old I'd been feeling before. This little getaway reminded me of the crazy times we had before we had Jett. Like when we first met & I was only 18 type young. It was fun, sweet, magical, carefree & irresponsible. Exactly what we needed! 

The next day, we slooowly got out of bed & went to breakfast. We had an amazing view of the falls, which was all the more reason to stay in bed a little longer, right? Anyway, we went to breakfast…Well, I guess you could call it brunch since it was almost noon by the time we got there.  Then, we walked down to see the pretty waterfalls & take some photos, then spent most of the afternoon looking at photos & videos of Jett thinking about how much we missed him. We even went back to newborn photos. I think Jonathan might have teared up once, but don't tell him I said so ;) That's when I realized just how bad we needed time to ourselves. 

After we got ourselves together, we went to relax a little before Jonathan had to play. Oh, I forgot the best part! The people in Canada are SO nice, but at the casino, they literally treated us like we were celebrities. I mean, they escorted us to our room in a private elevator. And that was after they had the LIMO come get us at the airport. Hahaha! Not bad for a first getaway. Getting the star treatment was definitely a plus. Jonathan hates it, but I just put my sunglasses on & act like I'm somebody :) Gimme my two days, people. Speaking of, I never got to share this video of me & Amanda getting paparazzi-ed in L.A. I like to pretend they were looking for US all night and then there we were! And Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert just happened to be there too! Ha! So, that's my 2 days + 5 seconds of fame. Back on track: we were escorted (haha! it's so funny now that I think about it) down to the green room before the show with the other songwriters. And being in a room of songwriters is entertaining enough on it's own. It was fun getting to spend some time with all of them as a group. Very nice guys & a very good show.

It was so fun to see Jonathan play again too. The first 8 years of our relationship, I probably didn't go more than a week without seeing him play, & since he's slowed down & focused more on writing, I've realized how much I miss seeing him in action! And it's really amazing to see him play songs he's written that a room full of people that we don't even know are singing along. I can't imagine how proud i'll be of Jett one day, because I almost cry just thinking about how proud I am of Jonathan for working so hard. It's been so exciting to see how things all played out. When we first met, we spent most of our time drinking beer & moonshine in a trailer in Cedar Grove, Tennesse. And now we're taking limos to Canadian casinos & being escorted everywhere! Hahahahaha! Sorry about the "haha's," but I keep laughing out loud every time I think about it. So, yeah, I'm very proud & happy for him. His talent blows me away every day. But do know that I loved that trailer in Cedar Grove & wouldn't have changed a thing about those days:)

So what all this comes down to is that it really is amazing that just one night or two away was able to kind of recharge us as a couple. We always get along & rarely fight, but we've never had to put anything or anyone else before each other or our relationship. We're learning how to be parents every single day, but equally important, we're learning how to keep the love we have for each other strong so we can be even better parents for little Jetterbug. We constantly work on communication, (as we're both pretty bad at it) & we've had to learn to find a balance in every day life so we don't end up being resentful or angry at each other. It happens sometimes, but we always figure out a way to work it out. It's really hard sometimes, but it's so fun watching Jonathan as a dad. He's even better as a dad than I ever imagined! 

Moral of the story for parents: Take some time for yourself & don't feel guilty about it. It will make your relationship stronger which will make you stronger as parents, which will make your kid stronger & happier. It's good to miss your kid (or kids) & have time to remember why you fell in love in the first place. So go get to planning your getaway! You'll be happy you did! Cheers!

View from our room

Skylon Tower. A 70-something year old man walked across a tightrope from here to the top of a hotel every night. With no harness. It was terrifying.

Self portrait

So pretty

Cute husband

Pack up the Whole House! We're going on a Road Trip.

Most of my family lives in Jackson, MIssissippi, so when I feel like a road trip, I usually just throw some clothes in a bag & head down there. I learned very quickly, that with a baby, there's hours, even days of preparing for a road trip. Make sure the laundry is done, clean all the bottles, make sure we have formula, diapers, wipes, orajel, toys, baby wash, wash cloths, the pack & play, the jumperoo, & plenty of blankets. I almost felt guilty for upgrading our car to an SUV, thinking we could have gotten by with my car, but after the first trip with Jett, I quickly learned that we needed the SUV. Not everybody does, but we certainly do. We pack the whole house. Then the driving begins. What used to be a 6 hour trip somehow turns into a 7.5-8 hour trip. I knew this would happen the first time I made this trip (by myself too), so I mentally prepared for it. That's the most important thing to pack. Mental preparation. As long as I knew I would have to stop every 2-4 hours, I was fine doing it.  Patience is key here.  If you're not a patient one, I would not recommend traveling alone. It's much better when someone can crawl in the back & feed the little tooter while the car is still moving. Then we just stop for diaper changes & some play time. So here are a few things that have made traveling with a baby a little easier for our family.

1. A favorite toy or friend. Jett's happens to be the Ugly Doll named Ox. 2. A nice tote to keep all things baby in so it's easier to get all things baby out once you reach your destination. This one is from Thirty-One bags. You can have them monogrammed, and they make great gifts! 3. A sunshade will help keep the sun out of baby's eyes, but I've found that sometimes Jett likes it when I roll his window down a little, so do whatever works best for you! This is the Brica sunshade. 4. Nuby formula dispensers are awesome! I go ahead & measure out 4 scoops in each of the 3 divided sections, so when I'm ready to make him a bottle, one step is already eliminated. Another thing that helps here is to have bottles already filled with the correct amount of water. 5. Happy Squeeze baby food is very helpful on a road trip! Baby food without the spoon. Still messy, but not as bad, but you'll still need some burp cloths to tidy up. 6. I love these reusable grocery bags from reuseit.com to keep all the bottles, formula, baby food, spoons & all other things that deal with baby food. I usually pack a couple these up then put them in the thirty-one tote in the back, then keep one with 2-3 bottles filled with water & the formula dispenser in one in the back seat.

Another helpful trick is to go ahead & pre-make as many bottles as you think you may need & put them in a small cooler. I do this when I travel alone & will take the bottle out about an hour before I think Jett will be hungry. I also keep a blanket or small changing pad in the diaper bag for diaper changes along the way. I usually do the diaper change in the car, as I never know what to expect with gas station bathrooms. Gross. And finally, it's not a bad idea to put a little sunscreen on baby. You never know how much sun is getting back there, so I say better safe than sorry. 

So pack your bags, plan a family vacation & enjoy the summer! Just be prepared for an entirely different experience if you're a first time parent. Like everything parenting, it gets easier! 

Good luck and happy travels!