Mom's Weekend Stay-In

Most mom's go on get-a-way's to relax for the weekend right? I did the opposite - I stayed home and sent my family away and it was AWESOME! So relaxing and I actually had a clean house for the weekend.

Friday night I sponsored the Girl's Night at my house for our church group so Dave took the kids down to his parents. He decided since he was out of town for mother's day this would be his opportunity to make it up to me by staying there for the weekend. I quickly agreed.

After the girl's night which lasted into the morning hours I watched Bride Wars on PPV and finally fell asleep on the couch at 3:30 am.

Saturday morning I planned to go garage sailing with a friend so she knocked on my door at 7:00 am and we were off. We found a few good treasures and had fun looking and then she dropped me off home around 9:00 am.

I had plans to go back to sleep but the thought of having free time and not doing anything with it just ate away at me so I hopped in the car and drove down to the "old town" area of the new city we moved to in September. I've been wanting to go down there forever, but it's a cute little Main Street USA area with quaint antique shops and quirky stores...not a place to visit with small children with sticky hands and loud voices.

My first stop was the Flying Geese Quilt shop (which was right next door the The Swing Door bar). Ohhhhh the fabrics and the quilts in there. I was salivating and I'm not even good at quilting. Then I walked across the street to a Bill's Hobby shop full of model plans, trains, kites and random little trinkets covered in a layer of dust. Then there was a room dedicated to Irish looking stuff and St. Patrick's day decorations. It was really quite odd. Next door was Bill's Suit Shop which I hope for his sake gets more business than his hobby shop. Next I stopped at Aunt Bee's Antiques which also houses the city post office. I'm loving it...LOVING IT! I live in the middle of the "OC" full of countless strip malls and upscale retail centers and yet my city still has the small town feeling of yesteryear.

I stopped in for breakfast at Quinn's Pub (another Irish theme) and had the most delish Veggie Omelet and hash browns ever! That place is on my list of places to go back to. I was at a table and as I sat there people kept walking in and would sit up at the bar to order breakfast. I felt like I was on a scene from Cheers because everyone knew each other and the waitresses called everyone by name. My waitresses name was Suzi and she called me Jenny every time she helped me. Seriously - small town feeling. LOVING IT!

I walked across the street to the Thrift store and found a few good bargains and then meandered through a few more shops like The Native American Black Crow Relaxation Center and an old house converted to an antique store. I'm telling you - this is my kind of town.

I thought of a few projects I need to do at home so I headed over to Home Depot, then to Lowe's, then to a local guy selling plants on his driveway for 2.00, then to a local nursery...I have a serious plant addiction right now! I spent the rest of the evening at home working on the yard and then picked up dinner at a Chinese restaurant and a movie from Blockbuster - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I totally fell asleep 1/3 of the way through because it was SOOO boring! I don't know what the hype is on that movie?

Dave and the kids met me at church this morning and it's really nice to have everyone home again although I have to say - having a clean and quiet house all weekend was a pretty nice treat. I never had to sweep the floor once! Now I'm ready for summer and the 2 week road trip I'm going to take the kids on through Arizona New Mexico and Texas.

If you've never had a Weekend Stay-In I highly recommend it!