Getting Back

Hello, friends. I'm glad to be back. I can't believe it's been three weeks since my last post here. As you well know, I'm very active on my other blog where I write reviews for products that I test. I'm playing catch up on my writing commitments there. But as super busy as I am right now, I'm still not going to totally disregard my personal blog. :)

Anyway, thank you all for your heart-felt encouragement over my 'separation anxiety' with my kids. We've all been back from our trips since last Sunday. I've missed the boys so much I had to go pick them up from their dad's house an hour after I arrived from my trip to Colorado- no matter how tired I was. That night, I cried with joy and thanked God the two weeks of not seeing them was over.

Okay, on a happier note. I had a fabulous time both in New York City and at the Epic Summer Adventure experience in Colorado the week after that. Dan and I took tons of photos on both trips, and we sure had a hell o' good times! It was my first time in the Rocky Mountain High, so I was on top of the world the whole time. It was just perfectly amazing! ;)

Right now, I'm back to my mommy routine. The laundry doesn't look too good right now, but I'm taking it one day at a time.

How are you all? Hope everything is well.

Mixed Emotions

This morning, my two little monkeys left for Los Angeles (California) with their dad for a short two-week vacation to visit their dad's relatives. I was telling a few friends that I've been having separation anxiety over this. My boys have never left my side for this long since both of them were born. So last night while I was putting them to bed, I held both of them tight and had my mommy moment- a pang of sadness just hit me and I cried. Ugh.


I had to remind myself that this is going to be good for me and a chance to take a break being a mother and full-time caregiver to my boys. I'm sad that I won't see them for two weeks, but I just had to think that they will be alright and they will have fun where they're going.

As for me, I am taking a real break. This coming Tuesday, my wonderful and sweet boyfriend Dan is taking me and his twelve year old son Jordan to New York City for a few days. We're staying in a nice hotel within walking distance to Manhattan and all that is NYC. We'll roam around, do some shopping, maybe even go see some fun broadway show or something. The week after that, if everything fans out well as far as the scheduling and travel expenses- me and Dan will go to Colorado to experience the Western-themed four-day Epic Summer adventure getaway that I won from Mom Central. Hurray for me on that! ;)

So yeah, I guess I will be very busy the whole two weeks my adorable monkeys are gone. But right now, I admit I do have mixed emotions- a little sadness about not seeing them while they're gone, excitement over the trips to NYC and Colorado, and the feeling of relief for having two weeks of "me time".

Anyway, I am going to go get my nails done today and go check out the heart pendant jewelry I've been eyeing for some time- the start of my sweet two weeks of "ME time" ahead. I just have to look at it this way and hope that I will be happier than sad. :)

Our July 4th Holiday Weekend

Hello, my dear blogging friends!

This week has just been again, super busy for me. But I'm managing okay and I've actually been feeling more energized than before. Maybe because I had a great July 4th holiday weekend. ;)







So on July 4th, Dan and I stayed at the St Regis Hotel Washington, D.C. just two blocks from the White House and stayed there for the night. The hotel was one of those elegant, old-world style hotel. Their room rates start at $400 a night and we stayed on the deluxe one that's like $800 per night. But guess what, we didn't pay for it. Why? Dan gets these free hotel perks from one of his business reward cards. Whew, we certainly don't have $800 to spend on a luxury hotel, so it works great for us all the time! :)

Anyway, we've been wanting to do this for a while so I have a chance to tour Washington D.C. without rushing to go home and fight the traffic. As you know, D.C. is only about an hour away from where we live in Woodbridge, Virginia. But the traffic is quite horrible getting home, especially on holidays. And since we were both "kid-free" for the weekend, what perfect timing to go to D.C. than on the July 4th holiday weekend! ;)

Anyway, all day on July 4th my honey and I just roamed around Washington D.C. We took a lot of photos of the White House and other historical buildings, monuments and statues (a few photos shown here). We both enjoyed our little weekend getaway and we even had a perfect spot to watch the fireworks in between the Washingtton Monument and the Lincoln Memorial- two of the most popular spots in D.C. :)

How did your 4th go? Please share! :)

Travel-Hungry

The nice thing about me and my boyfriend Dan is that we're both travel-hungry people-always wanting to go places, lol. Even if it's just a day trip to a winery or checking out an old town with quaint shops or museums to explore, it's always an exciting activity for him and I. :D

So lately we've been considering about going for a weekend trip somewhere close by where we could just drive to it and stay for a few days. There's the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Georgia, or even Westgate in Florida. Hmmm, it's hard to pick but who knows where we end up going next? It changes with our situation with the kids and my availability. My boys are with me every other weekend and so if there are weekend travel plans that include them, we make sure it falls on the weekend that they're with me, and vice versa. So let's see where we end up going. I'm excited! :D

Hello

Whoa! The past week went by quick. Let's see...

Besides trying to get more organized around the house, my boys who were on and off with fever and coughing kept me busy all week. Running to pick them up from daycare, to the doctor, then tending to them at home. Not so much with Gabriel, but more with Jaden. He hasn't eaten well, so I had to make sure he eats so I kept him at home. Thank God yesterday he looked better and he started eating like normal again. So today they both went back to daycare. Hopefully they will be fine for the rest of the week.

Weather-wise, it's been raining here in Virginia in the mornings for the past two weeks and my boys go to daycare every morning at 6:30AM. So yesterday afternoon I went to OshKosh (kids' clothing store) and bought them new rain jackets. Good thing they had a half off sale, so I only paid $20 each instead of $40. Whew, their clothes are actually more expensive than mine sometimes, LOL. :)

On a brighter note, I had a fantastic time with my honey (Dan) and his eleven year old son (Jordan) in Virginia Beach last weekend. I will try and post a few of our photos on a separate post with details about our fun weekend trip. Meanwhile, let me look at some rubber stamps that I want to get for Dan's office. :)

Confirmed Trip to the Bahamas :)

So happy to share to you all! :)

Dan and I are going to beautiful Bahamas and staying at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort for 5 days. Yes, same exact place at the same hotel like we wanted to do last February but we ended up in Cozumel, Mexico because we couldn't get a seat for the flight. It wasn't a total bummer, since we still enjoyed Cozumel. But I have always dreamed of basking in the beautiful beaches of the Bahamas and we're finally going. I am so so excited I couldn't wait! :)

Here are a few photos of the lovely Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort Hotel where we're staying at:





And then we also found out that the airline is seating us in First Class flight two-way so even sweeter. Believe it or not, it is a first for me to fly First-Class, so yayyy! :)

We're leaving May 21st and coming back the 26th so it will be like an extended Memorial Day weekend getaway. I have to gather my sun dresses, swimsuits, sunscreen and hat and I should be good to go.

I'll be sure to post our photos here when we get back. :)

Wordless Wednesday: Beautiful Cozumel Island

I took these shots last Saturday, February 14th at the Intercontinental Presidente Beach Resort in Cozumel Island, Mexico.. enjoy! :)







For more great photos, check out Wordless Wednesday HQ, 5 Minutes For Mom, and 7 Clown Circus.

Flight Disaster That Ended In Beautiful Cozumel Island

So Friday morning, me and my better half left Virginia for our Valentine weekend vacation to The Bahamas. Well, sadly it didn't happen. When we checked in from Charlotte, NC for our connecting flight to The Bahamas, we were told our US Airways flight was oversold and fifteen of us passengers didn't get seats at all. In short, we were told we can't make it to our destination. Imagine the pain and disappointment that caused us all? I can't even begin to tell you how upset we were. I cried. I just couldn't believe it was happening to us. We bought our tickets the first week of January. It just wasn't fair.. we felt cheated and very humiliated about it.

Anyway, to make the long story short, we had to make a quick decision to go somewhere else and make use of our "rare" time to go away. We agreed it has to be a beautiful island and not too far from Charlotte, NC where we were.

*View of the white sand beach outside our hotel room

So we ended up going to Cozumel- a beautiful white beach island in the Mexican Carribean. The only thing was that we had to wait for the next flight To Cozumel which was the next morning. So we ended up staying one night in Charlotte (with free hotel and meals). Not the best situation since we only had 3 days for the whole trip, but well.. it was better than going home and going nowhere at all.

All in all, we still had a wonderful Valentine's Day vacation. We lost one day of beach and sight-seeing enjoyment, but it was still a very unforgettable and very relaxing vacation. Cozumel is really beautiful- white sand beach, clear blue ocean, great Mexican food and yummy cocktail drinks! I loved the Intercontinental Presidente Hotel Cozumel where we stayed at. The room was very luxurious and had a fantastic oceanfront view complete with all the amenities you can imagine. I almost wished we never left, LOL. We were only there less than 2 days (too short!). So in a few months, we're planning to still go to The Bahamas. Hopefully we'll find good flight tickets on sale. And this time we'll make sure we have seat number assignments for our flight before we leave the house. Hard lesson learned.

My, I am really swamped! But it's alright...

Swamped. With emails, blog writing assignments (subjects such as wedding invitations, ellipticals, etcetera), housework, errands, things to do for the kids, getting ready for my weekend trip, etcetera, etcetera.

*Beach and Pool View of the Hotel where we're staying in Nassau Beach Resort, The Bahamas Islands

But it's all good. I'm supposed to take a deep breath and congratulate myself. At least I'm getting there. Tonight will just be about packing for my weekend trip to beautiful Nassau Paradise Island in The Bahamas Islands. Nothing too personal. But I'm really very, very excited. For the first time in almost four years since the kids were born, I have not travelled leisurely. I mean, don't get me wrong. My kids are my world. But I believe in giving yourself time alone- to relax...to do something really refreshing for yourself. Like travelling to a beautiful sunny place, relaxing at the beach, sipping a cocktail, mmmm... this trip is going to be that for me. :)

So I don't mind being swamped this week. I am really, really fine. I am a happy human being. I have beautiful treasures (my kids!) and I am travelling to a beautiful place in less than 48 hours! :)