I am about to do something I said I would never do. I am happy with my decision, but I am constantly second guessing my choice. I am also very nervous, as this decision affects my entire family. I sometimes think my children will never forgive me. Can I live with that?
Enough with the dramatics. I was notified April 1st (yes, April Fool’s Day of all days), that I had chosen to be one of the bloggers to win a trip with Allegiant Air. I was in complete shock. Me, with this lil’ ol’ blog in this tiny corner of the blogosphere, was chosen out of so many amazing bloggers.
After the initial shock passed, I got into my planner zone. Could I make this work? My life is insane, I have 5 kids! Could I take my husband on this trip? Can we really leave that many kids behind?
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Why I Went To Disney Without My Kids
And I haven’t shared the best part, it involves a visit to Disneyland. So here is where the ‘something I said I would never do’ comes into play. I always said I would never go on vacation without my kids. Here is a bit about why:
Money doesn’t grow on trees.
Vacations cost money, and lots of it. I always said I would not spend vacation money on just myself and my husband to travel, but I would rather save that money and eventually use it for us all to go together.
I will miss them.
That’s right, I love my kids. Big surprise, I know. As much as most days I need a break, I miss them after being gone for only 12 hours. I cannot fathom the idea of 4 days without them.
They will be mad.
My kids will be well taken care of. They will likely receive better care than they do when they are with me. But I am going to Disneyland. And they are dying to go to Disneyland.
The poor person left to care for them.
My parents have (kinda) agreed to keep the kids. 2 will be in school full time, but that leaves 3 at home. Not to mention the driving to and from activities. My job is hard. I don’t doubt it can be done, but I do feel sorry for the one left to do it.
Those are the reasons I could come up with as to why I shouldn’t go on vacation without the kids. I have mentally overcome 1, 3 and 4 and I think 2 will happen, and I just need to move on.
We leave in 3 weeks. We will fly with Allegiant to California. We have graciously been given a rental car and hotel stay and will be checking out Disneyland, Medieval Times® Dinner & Tournament, FiRE + iCE Grill Bar and enjoy a Southern California s’mores experience at The Hilton.
There is no doubt that my husband and I need this trip. We have been married 9 years (today actually) and have had 5 kids in that time. We are adoptive, biological and foster parents. We have not had a trip alone since we had ONE kid, 7 years ago.
I would love to hear some affirming words from some of you. Do you vacation without kids? What is the hardest part?
Follow along with me on this trip with #totstravels and please follow @anaheim_oc and @allegianttravel on Twitter.
Sounds like fun. 😀 Before I had kids, I would have said “No way” to vacationing without them, but now I think a break is a great sanity preserver. We’ve taken a handful of weekends away and of course the big trip to San Diego that I wrote about–it wasn’t exactly a vacation, my husband was there for work and I went to visit him, but it was still a vacation for me. And it was awessssssome. :]
your parents must be wonderful people.
I went on vacation when Al was 11 months old. He was with his grandparents and had a great time however, HE HAD GONE FROM CRAWLING TO WALKING AND I MISSED IT. I obviously still carry this around with me and he’s 42 now! I had an awesome time in Spain with 2 other couples and I would do it again. You need to recharge. Remember the instructions when flying? You need to put your O2 mask on so you don’t faint and can’t look after your kids.