Our Get Away Trip

Yesterday my husband & I traveled to Portland for our 1st romantic get away I don't know in how long. When Gerritt was born in 2007, we were pretty much tied to the house (just think of the packing nightmare - formula, bottles, clean filtered water, diapers, wipes, car seat, clothes, baby food, toys, etc). Then Sophia came along when Gerritt was just 19 months old & were were stationed home again. It has been more than 3.5 years since my husband & I had an out-of-town get away without the kids.
At my last prenatal visit, I had a long conversation with my wonderful midwife about the quality of life, taking the time to recharge & investing in my marriage. She noticed how run down & tired I was so her suggestions included regular date nights & getaways with my husband, cutting back on my work schedule (especially, stressful hospital shifts) & even quitting the hospital all together, & getting Gerritt out of my bed & sharing it with my husband instead. Interestingly enough, she sensed my strong need for independence & really encouraged me to depend more on him emotionally & financially. She emphasized that growing human beings is an important & time-consuming job & there's nothing wrong with relying on my husband more. She was so right about that. I always prided myself in having my own money (my hourly wage is actually higher than my husband's) & not having to ask for anything. But... working 4-5 days a week with 3 kids under the age of 5 will definitely be too much for me, especially with my all-giving, attachment style of mothering.
So a few weeks ago my husband & I planned our 3-day trip. First, it was going to be Victoria, Canada (it was our last romantic trip in April of 2005, right before our wedding), but then we've decided on Portland, Oregon instead. We just couldn't see ourselves spending almost a day on travel, plus the dollar doesn't buy you as much as it used to in Canada. We were able to book our 4-star hotel Monaco in downtown Portland using priceline.com for only $80/night. We had to pay $20 in hotel fees & $33/night for parking, but it was still a great deal.
First, we dropped off the kids at Korean grandma's house on Friday morning. I've been talking about Mommy & Daddy's trip to Gerritt for a few days prior to our departure. Still, he became very needy on Friday morning, pulling all the stops. He constantly asked, "Are you leaving now, Mommy?" He also kept saying he wanted to come with us. I had a hard time getting dressed because he would hug my legs & say, "I love you, Mommy!" He also announced, "I don't think you should go on your trip today, Mommy. You should go tomorrow instead." Sophia fell asleep in the car on the way to grandma's house, so after transferring her to bed, we didn't have to say goodbye. Gerritt, however, started crying right after we kissed him goodbye. He was in the middle of watching his monster truck show & we hoped we would be spared the tears. Instead of prolonging the agony & returning to comfort him, we just said we'd be back soon & headed out.
As we drove off in our car, an overwhelming feeling of relief & freedom set in. We even did a high five to each other. My husband actually had a harder time leaving than I did, "Don't you feel guilty?," "Maybe we should take him with us?" Although I've contemplated it multiple times, my answer was a firm "no." Not only would we have to pack a completely different set of things for Gerritt, but the whole trip would be about him & his schedule: "Mommy, I need to go potty," "Mommy, I am hungry," "Mommy, I am tired," etc.



Our lovely Hotel Monaco

We spent both of our mornings in Portland sleeping in & I even took a long nap in each of the afternoons. We were able to stay in the hypoallergenic room which means no smoking, non-down pillows & comforters, only "green" cleaning products, HEPA room air filters & glutein-free snacks. So, thankfully, we didn't have to put up with strange hotel smells, runny noses & watery, puffy eyes in the mornings.
We did much downtown exploring & some shopping at the Pionner Square. We also enjoyed fine dining at the Portland Prime restaurant & the Southpark Seafood Grill & Wine Bar. Mother's Bistro & Bar had the most delicious breakfast food. This restaurant even has its own cookbook, which I ordered on amazon.com. We had fun at the Portland Saturday Market where I bought a pair of beautiful handmade earrings. On the evening prior to our departure we watched the movie Thor.
We tried to restrain ourselves & call to check on the kids only once a day in the evenings. Gerritt was a good boy (except he refused to eat most of grandma's cooking), but Sophia was more work. She woke up at 3 am, undressed herself, then peed all over her bed (she does that sometimes, especially if she is wearing a one-piece zip up pajamas).
All good things must come to an end. Our get away trip was good, but I would have probably been ok with just one night at a hotel. It was hard to watch other people's kids & not miss my own, especially on the 2nd day of our vacation. The rich restaurant food got really old & made me even more nauseated. Simply walking by the famous street food carts & getting a whiff of food would bring on a wave of nausea. I started to miss my oatmeal with raisins & rice milk, strawberry kefir, yogurt, sauteed greens, grilled turkey patties & other simple foods I eat regularly at home. We had plans to visit the Washington Park, Portland's Classical Chinese Garden, Pittock Mansion & Multnomah Falls, but I had so little energy. I usually prefer more physically active vacations, but my body craved rest & sleep. I am glad I honored that. Now just a trip to buy a couple of toy gifts for Gerritt & Sophia & we are heading back home!