Matt's Birthday Staycation {Sans Kiddos}

This Friday Matt turns 36! To celebrate (early) we took off for a seriously overdue night away together over the 4th of July weekend...right in our backyard. No really, on Saturday we pulled out of our driveway at 12 pm and 17 minutes and 1.8 miles later we were collapsing into loungers by the hotel pool Uptown! I had to pinch myself multiple times throughout the trip to see if we were dreaming.

I am embarrassed to admit that Matt and I haven't been away overnight together since our babymoon 2.5 years ago. We've both spent nights away from the kiddos separately for bachelorette/bachelor parties, work, etc. but never together. We told each other before we had kids that we would never let this happen to us. And then it did. So after a seriously tough year, we made a commitment to shift our focus back to each other with our New Year's marriage resolution which includes monthly date nights and two weekends away together annually. So finally, we got away for the most special occasion - Matt's birthday!

When planning the weekend, it was super important to me that we stay Uptown, close to lots of walkable restaurants and that the hotel had an outdoor pool (with a bar)! The Omni had all of those things so I booked a room a few months ago and began planning the rest of our stay. 

Upon arrival we were informed that our room was not quite ready. We were an hour early so we weren't surprised that they needed a few extra minutes to prepare our room. The sweetest girl at the front desk, Kelly, assured us that it would be "worth the wait." We gladly dropped our bags behind the desk, ran downstairs for a yummy taco lunch at Vida and then grabbed some loungers by the pool.

Our room key arrived a few minutes later with our first round of blackberry margaritas and we thought it was interesting that there were multiple room numbers for the key. We weren't in any rush to go upstairs though and continued to relax at the pool alllllll day long. Maybe a little too long. Finally, after 5 hours of relaxing in the sun we decided to pack it up and check out our room.

We were super surprised to learn our room was on the top floor. And even more surprised when we got to the end of the hall and discovered we had been placed in the Presidential Suite. I'm still not sure how this even happened because we are definitely not that cool but we were SO excited and thankful to Kelly for hooking us up. Our suite consisted of multiple rooms, sitting areas, bar areas, two bathrooms, rose petals spread across the bed, windows surrounding us with spectacular Uptown views, a bottle of champagne on ice and a beautiful birthday dessert for Matt. It  was unbelievable. 

For dinner I surprised Matt with dinner reservations at Bentley's on 27. 

We had big ambitions to get drinks after dinner and stay out late but due to our pool party (and being old) we didn't quite make it past dinner and passed out super early back at the hotel. 

The next morning we SLEPT IN until 7:30 a.m. (ha!), drank coffee uninterrupted in bed and relaxed until heading to our last stop of the trip - brunch at Fahrenheit! 

It was a perfect 24 hour birthday staycation! And I would be remiss not to mention how this trip absolutely would not have been possible without the most wonderful babysitter, Ms. Jamie (and her amazing hubby too). Not only is she our date night sitter, she is Caroline's teacher and loves our kids as her own. She knows their routines, personalities, rules, temper tantrums, likes, dislikes, etc. just as well as us so we felt so comfortable sneaking away for a night. She and her hubby are rock stars and have honestly become an extension of our family to us and our babies. 

Happy early birthday, Matt!

Previous Matt celebrations: Matt's 31st Birthday // Matt's 32nd Birthday // Matt's 33rd Birthday // Matt's 34th Birthday //  Matt's 35th Birthday

Bath Time with Toddlers

Confession: I do not enjoy bath time. Well, maybe every once in a while I do, but for the most part I do not. First there is the whole process of negotiation with my kiddos to get them stripped down and into the tub (most often with Popsicle bribes), then there's an expectation of extracurricular bath time fun, followed by the torture of carefully washing two heads without getting one drop of water on their faces in the process. So yeah, wrangling two slippery toddlers during their witching hours isn't exactly my favorite activity.

Lucky for me, Matt loves bath time with the minis. And I love him for that even more. So while he makes hats out of shaving cream, finger paints masterpieces on the walls and enjoys a front row seat to the splash zone, I cook dinner until I'm called in for stage two of the bedtime routine with one of the soggy bottomed minis.

All that to say, here are a few of our kiddos' favorite bath products and toys that make bath time with daddy more fun...

Spout Cover: So this isn't necessarily in the "fun" category but it has saved us many, many boo boos to the head. I was sold on this one because it is mildew resistant and dishwasher safe. (Whale version also available). 

Hooded Bath Towels: We have more hooded bath towels than we could possibly ever need but they are so adorable and the kids love them. I know a regular towel can get the job done but snuggling a freshly clean babe with lamb ears pretty much melts me. 

Bath Kneeler: If you're using a towel for your knees this large cushy knee pad will change your world (and save your knees). Note: we originally purchased the deluxe kneeler that came with elbow rests and pockets for soaps but hated it. It would slide all over the side and get super wet and attracted mildew. In this case, the cheap, simple kneeler is the best!

Bath Seat: I've received a lot of emails inquiring about the bath seat Thomas uses. Unfortunately the version he has was recalled a long time ago. We got ours off the black market (aka borrowed from a friend). However, the new bath seat is half the price and looks a lot easier to get your mini in and out of! 

Noodle & Boo Bath Products: So, I've blogged about my love for Noodle & Boo bath products to death so I won't cover them again. We really only splurge on these products for Christmas stockings and gifts. When we run out we use Aveeno bath products.  

Boon Frog Bath Toy Scoop: Worth every single penny of $14. This scoop mounts to the wall and literally collects all the bath toys in one scoop. 

Color Bath Dropz: Fair warning: Once you start dyeing the bath water colors you can never go back. Caroline loves to run to the tub to see what color she's bathing in each night. 

Activity Soaps:  Mr. Bubble Foam Soap (our absolute favorite!!!!!!) // Sesame Street Bubble Bath // Finger Paint Soap 

Toys: Fishing Pole // Foam Alphabet & Letters // Water Pipes // Bath Crayons // Rubber Ducks // Various Tupperware containers // Formula Scoopers // Laundry Detergent Scoopers

And I'm sure you saw this coming...

 

Would love to know your favorite bath time products!

Weekend Rewind!

I'm pretty sure my mom is the only person who reads my weekend diary posts but I love to pen our fun crazy weekends so we can look back on these memories one day (when we're more rested - ha!).

Spoiler alert: I survived the weekend with the kiddos!

On Thursday two of Matt's best friends from high school arrived for a very long weekend of golf. The three of them were all on the golf team together in high school and still get together every now and then for a round. For this trip they spent their first two days at Pinehurst, a course Matt has always wanted to play. 

On Friday they returned to Charlotte. I stocked up on lots of local brews for the evening, along with some pimento cheese and duh, pirates booty! We grilled out and let Caroline stay up as late as she could make it (9 pm'ish)! Then the guys went out on the town and I caught up on all my TV shows that Matt hates.

 

On Saturday we bounced around to as many activities as I could think of to keep the kiddos entertained. I wont bore you with all our errands but Caroline said the highlight was the Chick-fil-A indoor play place...and ice dream. 

Meanwhile, back in golf land...

On Sunday we attended a 3rd birthday party at the splash pad for our friend Douglas. My mom told me I was brave for taking both kids solo but I think the more appropriate word would be "insane." Ha.

I dressed the kiddos in their brightest swimwear and relied on help from other friends who were in attendance! Caroline was like a ping pong ball at the splash pad so I barely let Thomas down to play so I could stay on my toes keeping up with Caroline.

Pretty sure we had to have more than a dozen "we share the splash pad toys" conversations in the span of an 90 minutes. Oh, and conversations about why "we don't pour buckets of chlorinated water on brother's head."

Overall, the weekend was super fun with the kids and it was kind of nice to have them all to myself, especially Caroline who usually prefers her daddy. Late Sunday afternoon Matt walked through the door with an iced coffee and a gift certificate for a pedicure. He's the best. And that was a wrap on our weekend!