I'm all for "vacationing" with the kid, but from my experience, a vacation with a child/children is not much of a vacation. Basically, you are doing all of the things you normally do (changing diapers, forcing naptime, cleaning food off the floor, etc.) but way less conveniently.
Since Mike and I have the luxury of a free and willing sitter (my mother), on occasion, we like to sieze the opportunity and go away for a night or a weekend by ourselves.
It's only happened one or two times, but oh my god, waking up at 7am and realizing you can stay in bed for the next few hours without someone demanding to turn on Sesame Street, spilling milk on the sheets and dragging your comforter on the floor to make a tent, is the stuff which "temporarily childless dreams" are made.
In other words, if the opportunity presents itself, I highly recommend you take it.
One of my longtime sponsors is a site called Poshbrood which specializes in highend travel for families— recommendations, special deals and bookings. When they contacted me to arrange a weekend vacation giveaway (one for me, one for a reader), I was a little hesitant.
You mean, pack Mazzy up for the weekend, attempt unsuccessfully to all sleep in the same room and not be able to go out or turn the TV on past 8pm at night?
Oh no no! A trip just for you and Mike!
Okay, now we're talking. Where did you have in mind?
How 'bout…THIS PLACE:
It's called the Blantyre, a Relais & Chateau Property in the Berkshires (about a three hour drive from Manhattan). Since there is no way for me to do it justice (I have not yet been there), I am just going to quote them directly:
"Lying in the heart of the Berkshires is breathtaking Blantyre, a timeless mansion recognized as one of the finest hotels in the world, where guests can experience the re-creation of life and service of a bygone era. Each of the 21 rooms has their own unique identity filled with enchanting art, fine fabrics and furnishings. The property features fine dining, an exemplary wine cellar, spa, and 117 acres of breathtaking grounds to explore including swimming, croquet, tennis, ice skating and walking trails."
Translation: MOST DEFINITELY A CHILD-FREE PLACE.
Sign me up, please!
Wanna come? (Not with me, you can bring the significant other of your choosing.)
Today, Poshbrood is giving away a weekend at the fabulously decadent Blantyre to one of my lucky readers.
The trip is for a couple on the weekend of their choice (subject to blackout dates which include holiday weekends and availability). The package includes luxurious accommodations and breakfast. Room will be assigned upon arrival and will be the HIGHEST CATEGORY AVAILABLE. Room rates go from $600-$2,000 a night and winner will get a premium room so it's easily a $3,000 package.
Time to line up a sitter (my mother is not available but nice try) and enter below!
GIVEAWAY RULES
1) Because this is a very large prize package, you must be a Mommy Shorts Facebook Fan, a Poshbrood Facebook Fan and a Blantyre Facebook Fan to enter. (I promise, it will be worth it.)
Then finish the following sentence in the comment section below: "If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is…"
2) For a second entry, leave a second comment after tweeting the following:
I entered to win a super fancy weekend getaway at the Blantyre via @mommyshorts & @poshbrood. http://bit.ly/w42y50 #valentinesday #giveaway
Winner will be announced Friday, February 24th.
Happy Valentine's Day!
UPDATE: Congratulations to Susan M! Please contact me at myshort@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize. To read more about the contest results in "Sleep Beats Sex in Unscientific Survey", click here.
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Speaking of Valentine's Day, check out Mazzy's "Deconstructed Valentine" on Babble today. This is what happens when a non-crafty mom and a toddler get together to make something special for Daddy. I'm sure he'll love it!
I’m so jealous you get to go there!! I can’t even go to the bathroom by myself without a 3 foot person following me.
If I woke up child free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is jump on the bed, cursing like a sailor, and drinking champagne out of the bottle (which would only be about three sips, because I can’t drink to save my life). Then I would run a bath, because I haven’t been able to sit in a tub since 2003. And then I would eat dessert for breakfast.
“If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is…go back to sleep!”
Awesome- hope you enjoy your weekend there:)
“If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is…go immediately back to sleep.
I tweeted. (sounds weird)
I really want to win! Baby #2 to arrive in July and a current 14 month old….Oh sweet sleep is what I need
I can’t join this contest, I was lucky enough to get one overnight in a city close to me at Christmas, but for now that is all our grandparents are able to accommodate 🙁 But if I judge by that night I can at least finish the quote … “If I had a child free night I would ” apparently drink a lot of wine, enjoy a luxurious dinner at a place with no crayons in sight, return to my hotel and enjoy time with my husband 😉 , then accidentally turn the heat up in the room so that I spend the entire night lying awake roasting to death and also being kept awake by the relentless city noises outside my window … but oddly enough even though I end up having less sleep I will actually feel more rested than when at home with one or two nightly awakenings courtesy of my kiddies!! And then Iwill rush home in the morning as need my morning hugs and kisses!!
Good luck to all who enter and congratulations Ilana and Mike on your own well deserved get away!!
I “tweeted,” I “liked,” I “friended,” …. now, I’m “commenting,” so let’s hope I do some “WINNING!”
Place looks absolutely gorgeous!!! I want a getaway not so much because my son won’t be there, but because all his toys that have turned our tiny apartment into a plastics land mine won’t be there either! Wish me luck!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is order something incredibly decadent from room service (including champagne) and then pounce my husband.
I’d wake up, get busy with Hubs, order a HUGE breakfast then eat it-IN THE BED! That’s something we never do because we bought a really expensive bed I’m a afraid of spilling stuff on it!
I liked all the players! 🙂
And I tweeted that shiz out!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is get drunk and go back to sleep. For realz.
I ‘liked’ all three of the pages.
I also just did some hardcore tweeting.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is go back to sleep.
I know, not an original idea. But dammit, it’s true! That’s what all us smart mamas would do!
have myself a drink!
I tweeted!
“If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is…”
Grin.
Because I don’t have to hit the ground running as I slap the alarm that wakes me up before everyone else to make coffee, prep breakfast, shower, dress, lay out the kids clothes, get the kids out of bed, check backpacks, make sure they actually brush their teeth (not suck the toothpaste off and leave the toothbrushes on the bathroom floor/toilet lid/behind the door), rightside-out her shirt, find last night’s homework, tie his shoe, find lost glove, pack his lunch, tie the scarf, break up a fight over who gets in the truck first, forget that I promised bagels not cereal that morning after we’re already halfway to school/birthday party/doctor’s appointment, break up a fight over who gets out of the car first, pick the kid that fell out of the truck up, hunt down a BandAid in my wallet for the barely-there scrape on his/her palm, and keep this up for the next 13 hours til they are put back to bed just in time for me to start cleaning the kitchen.
I deserve to grin first thing in the morning.
Then I deserve to follow that grin up with whatever I feel like doing next, like roll back over to sleep more, grab a book off the nightstand, grab my husband, or grab my yoga mat and sneakers for a morning all about Me for a change. which would make me grin even more.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is snuggle back into the pillows and blankets for more sleep or cozy reading time.
If I woke up child free in a hotel room the first thing I would do is enjoy the SILENCE. My little one talks from the moment her eyes pop open. I covet QUIET.
Off to tweet!!
“If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is scream for help because surely I have been kidnapped.
I know this sounds macabre, but both my parents retired in The Berkshires, and incidentally, passed away within the last few years. I think if I woke up child-free in the Berkshires (I have two year-old twin girls) I would take a walk from Blantyre down to the cematary where they are both buried and give them a proper hello/goodbye and talkin’to (sans children) and probably cry for a bit. Then go get myself a latte down the street and walk back to Blantyre. (And this, albeit, not romantic, would be a blessing for me and hopefully, make me a more functional mommy and partner) Thanks!!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is look around for the crew of Punk’d.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, I would say “thank you Shorts!” and go back to sleep!
P.S. I don’t get it if I “tweeted” it or not…hopefully I’ve entered!! Thanks!! (Was I supposed to put my full name? I feel so brain-dead!!!)
Tweeted that shizz like a canary.
I’m coming to your party.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is grab the morning paper and read all sections in bed.
I would take a nice long bath! I have a gorgeous soaking tub in my house and, since we moved in, way back in 2010, I have taken all of one lousy bath in it. Right now it’s filled with my son’s matchbox cars. So I would jump in the tub (it looks like the kind of place that has big, matchbox-free, bathtubs) and enjoy some fancy coffee.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is GO BACK TO SLEEP!!! I haven’t slept in for 5 years!!! Ahhhhh silence!!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, I would lie there and let it all sink in! Stretch my arms. Stretch my legs. Not take it for granted at all, because IT. NEVER. HAPPENS!!!
Tweeted @daiseered 🙂
F I woke up in a child free hotel room the first thing I’d do is GO back to bed!!!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is wonder who stole my child and why.
I tweeted too =)
I tweeted!! @corpusdlc
Aaaaaand… I tweeted! Aw, yeah. Bring it, Mommy Shorts! You rock!
I would love towrite a witty dreamy statement about my ” first thing” but as I am sitting in the bathroom my feverish tiddler is demanding blues clues…so fantasy will have to wait.
“If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is… roll back over and SLEEP some more.”
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room the first thing I would do is, just like everyone else! I’d roll over and go back to sleep!!
This place looks amazing! Enjoy your stay!
If I woke up child free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is go back to sleep. 1 year old twins!
The first thing I would do is pop an ambien and go back to sleep because it’s 430 am! Why am I awake?? Oh right, I’ve been up at 430am for the better part of 17 months and I’m programmed like an insomniac robot…After that I would indulge in the television being played at full volume, a luxury given it seems to have been permanently be on ‘mute’ since, well, you know.
I hardly ever tweet anything, but this I tweeted!!!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is order room service and demand it be delivered to my bed by a shirtless Adam Levine (or a reasonable facsimile). In this hallucination, my husband is totally on board with this for me. I would then eat the giant jars of Nutella I ordered with a spoon and go back to sleep.
If I woke up in a child-free hotel room, I would take a deep breath, turn down the volume on my running “to do” list in my head and go back to bed!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is shut my eyes for another 3 hours. did i mention our 6 month old has croup? i wanna die. please whisk me away with you.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is… totally go back to sleep!
If I woke up in a child-free hotel room, the first thing I would do is look at the clock, realize that I don’t have to get up at 6am, try to go back to sleep, realize that I’m already awake, so decide to take a long hot bubble bath with a good book, followed by breakfast and a mid-morning nap. I’d probably get distracted from this plan at some point by my husband, too…
I would smile…then roll over and go back to sleep!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is close my eyes again, then open them verrrrrry slowly. I’d look to the left to make sure a little person wasn’t peering over the side wondering if “it’s a weekend?!!!”. Then I’d take a nice long breath and enjoy the moment and look forward to the day ahead with my husband, since quiet “adult times” are few and far between at this stage of the adventure! This would just be such a treat.
I tweeted!
https://twitter.com/#!/tcrowley122/status/169441756495085568
Kiss my hubby and go back to sleep!!
Totes tweeted for the extra entry https://twitter.com/#!/momUNblogger/status/169449152034516993
I would read, watch food network and then go back to sleep! Also then probably call home
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is….go to dinner! Because I would lie in bed with my hubby and sleep, cuddle and just do nothing all day long! I haven’t lounged in bed for a decade so that’s way up high in my book! And to do in such a beautiful room..heaven!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is look around the room carefully, still no child in sight? Well then, it’s mom and dad time then more sleep!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is…go on an all day bike ride in the beautiful countryside around the Blantyre (hint hint), stop for a delicious brunch then come back and nap before a relaxing bath and long nap.
these comments are hilarious.
if i woke-up in a child free room, of course i would do the dishes, the laundry and then.. oh wait? would all of those duties be gone, too like the kid?
then i would *totally* go back to sleep!
If I woke up child free in a hotel room, I would wake up the hubby next to me and have some couple time, if ya know what I mean:)
go back to bed. Then, I would wake again and get a little…frisky…. then take a shower that lasts longer than 3 minutes…then drink some coffee in peace…ahhh.
If I woke up child free in a hotel room the first thing I would do is take the longest, hottest shower I could take. It’s the small things that we miss the most. Although breakfast in bed with my honey would be a close second.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is… pinch myself, pinch myself again, and go the f**k to sleep!!! 🙂
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is open a bottle of champagne and drink it sll to myself, ok maybe I would share a sip with my husband.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is… my husband, natch.
“If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is…roll over, look out the window, then snuggle into the blankets with my honey and go back to sleep!”
I tweeted! I tweeted!
And FYI: My family lives in MA, so it’s no problem, really, no problem at all to drop them off and get to this lovely Downton Abbey type place. I really, really need a weekend with my lover (he’s also my husband) without the kids. Please, just erase all the other entries by “accident” and just count mine.
Hello? Did you hear me? Hellllooooooooooo?!
I would go back to sleep! 🙂
I would go back to sleep!!!! 🙂
Oops. Sorry for the duplicate. Guess I’m really excited about the thought of sleep!
“If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is…”go into shock.
If I woke up in a chld-free room the first thing I’d do is take pictures and post them to Facebook. If discretion is the better part of valor, jealousy is the better part fo a kid-free vacation in the Berkshires.
Did my liking and my tweeting, when do I start packing?
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, I’d give a quick running over of all my “lady parts” to make sure I had shaved in the last season before rolling onto my husband.
Tweeted, Liked, etc etc….
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is roll over and fall back asleep. Then, if I woke up again, I’d probably try to force myself to fall back asleep again. Boring as it may be, uninterrupted sleep and the ability to not have anyone depending on me from the moment I wake up is what I crave most during this phase of toddlerhood. And after I finally woke I think everyone else’s ideas of champagne and fancy breakfast in bed sounds just about right too.
Just tweeted and seriously, I always want to win things, but this is something I would probably fight for:) Fingers crossed!
instantly think of my baby. Honestly, my favorite part of the day is going to into her room and seeing her big smile and little bounce: “Mommy’s here! Mommy’s here!” in her crib.
That being said, a romantic weekend would be fabulous.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is look around the room wondering where my child was. Then I’d wonder when I was waking up from the peaceful dream….
Tweet, tweet!! I tweeted!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is have a mimosa or four, breakfast in bed, then GO BACK TO SLEEP!! I haven’t had a vacation (with or without kids) in 6 years! 🙂
Every Mom deserve this kind of vacationing with no kids around.
Enjoy your day!!
Have breakfast in bed and then go back to sleep!!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is… kick my husband out of bed to go bring me breakfast in bed, and then continue to lie in bed until lunchtime, alternating between reading a book that doesn’t include pictures, and watching all the trash TV my heart desires. All of this is what I used to call “Saturday”, but none of it has happened in exactly one year and 9 days…
And… tweeted. Done. Bring on the decadent laziness.
…the first thing I would do is go back to sleep!
I tweeted. I tweeted
“If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is…” Since everyone already took my first choices (use the bathroom – alone and long bath) I guess I could give the husband attention although he did get me in the predicament in the first place.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is enjoy a nice cup of hot, hot, hot freshly-brewed coffee w/ cream in bed that won’t get knocked over by a two year old. My hubby used to bring me a cup of coffee every morning in bed before I got pregnant & I miss that.
Tweeted. BOOM!
Whooo HOOOO! You mean, I’d get adult conversation at this too? LOL! I haven’t been on vacation since my honeymoon 10 years ago, so the mere idea of being kid free is enough to create my mental Happy Place for an entire afternoon!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is go back to sleep.
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is burn my nursing bar and milk stained shirt in The Blantyre’s beautiful in-room fireplace and dance around the room singing “I’m sexy and I know it.” Wiggle, wiggle wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, yeah!
Just tweeted this giveaway! I’m a first time mom and hoping to win a much needed getaway!
I’m a three way fan! (okay, immature giggle out of the way) If I woke up child free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is… go back to sleep! Then have some “grown up” fun, and watch TV in bed (no tv in our bedroom at home) It would be amazing to win this… my hubby and I went to the Berkshires on our honeymoon, but our digs were much less desirable… what a great way to celebrate our 4 year anniversary this year!
I tweeted!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is go back to sleep.
I tweeted!
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is…
…jump the hubs *with a smile* after sleeping in but before ordering breakfast (mimosa included, please!), taking a looong uninterrupted shower and leisurely going out to enjoy the surroundings.
…try to go back to sleep but fail because of excitement, then, well…see what my husband wanted to do…
If I woke up in a child free hotel room, the first thing I would do would be to pinch myself… surely i would be dreaming! Then, after the few minutes that it would take me to realize that I did not have to fly from my bed to let the dog out, feed the dog, feed the cat, feed the tortoise, feed Oliver, dress Oliver, squeeze in a shower why oliver pounds on the glass door, dress myself and attempt to put on makeup and do my hair all while attempting to ensure Oliver does not kill himself with God knows what that I have no idea how he managed to find, forget to feed myself and drink a gallon of coffee during my drive to work, I would have a romp with my husband (I think the last time we did that we got Oliver – so maybe not) and then enjoy the silence with a nice book! I hear you read them electronically now 🙂
If I woke up child-free in a hotel room, the first thing I would do is assume I had traveled to another dimension of space and time, because my husband proposed to me at Blantyre long before we even thought about having children (true story).