Why don't I do this more often?

I had an amazing time in LA this past weekend! I feel kind of bad admitting it, but it was not hard at all to be baby-free for a few days. It was actually really nice to not have to constantly think about naps, meals, baby gear and time restraints (T minus 28 minutes before the meltdown commences...).

It was also nice to be an actual person again! To be someone who is more than just the childcare provider. So often, I am only asked about Z and only spoken to in reference to him. I feel like the nanny -- someone who stays out of the way except to make sure the child is fed, changed and not screaming. But this past weekend, people talked to me as if I am a real live human being with thoughts and ideas and interests of my own! No one asked about Z (other than to be polite) and we spoke about things beyond the boundaries of the playroom gate. And I was even treated like a pregnant lady -- Trisha made sure I was fed (non-stop), had ample opportunities to visit the restroom, was well-stocked with water, and took a few minutes to rest when I needed it. It was so nice to be spoiled.

Anyone who followed my Facebook statuses has an idea of what we did. Disneyland! California Adventure! FOOD! Yummy, delicious food. And massages!

I got there on Thursday night, and we headed straight out to meet up with some of Trisha's friends. I had a lot of fun acting like a grown-up and staying out late. And Trish even indulged me by stopping at the In-n-Out drive-thru on the way home. Double-double protein style with fries. Perfect.

On Friday, we spent 12 hours at Disneyland and California Adventure. Trisha works with Disney's online team, so she was able to get us in for free. We rode the rides that are pregnancy-friendly (no big kid rides for me), took lots of pictures, saw the Aladdin musical (Genie is so great), and were thankful that we did not have any children with us. After seeing the gazillion toddlers and babies who were cranky, tired, overwhelmed and/or bored, I've decided that we won't be bringing our kids there until they are old enough to handle the whole day and we have at least 2-3 adults per child.

On Saturday, we went to a chili cook-off to sample some chili and vote for Felix. We would have voted for him regardless, but he really did make the best chili there (although the truffled parmesan cheese that a competitor used was pretty good). Felix won, but he didn't get a trophy or anything. Not even a golden chef's hat! But at least now he can call it "Felix's award-winning gen-u-ine tailgate chili".

After the chili cook-off, we headed to dim sum (oh heaven) and tried to get Mark to eat chicken feet. He was game until he actually saw them. However, Rob did eat one, and Jesse managed to eat a finger (or I guess it was actually a toe). Rhona and I had no trouble eating ours, but it's nothing new to us. Everything else was delicious as well and we managed to polish off a vast amount of food. When the bill came, I was reminded once again of why I miss living in CA. Tasty tasty dim sum, and only $48 for the six of us.

Since we'd already eaten twice (not counting breakfast), it was time to relax. We went to a Chinese foot-soak/reflexology place and the rest of the group had foot soak massages while I had a glorious 40 minute back and neck massage. I would have loved the foot soak, but foot massages are a no-no for preggies unless I want to get labor started. The back rub was more than adequate though! I've been really sore in my shoulders (something to do with carrying a 25lb toddler around, maybe?), so a massage was perfect. We finished off the afternoon with some boba (lavender milk tea for me...mmmm) and then headed to Trisha's parents for dinner. I think I mentioned that I ate a lot during this trip?

I always feel like I'm right at home when I'm with Trisha's family, and this time was no different. I got to meet Marie's 3-month old son Stephen (what a cutie!) and we had ice cream cake to celebrate Phillip's birthday. I looked through old baby pictures with Trisha's grandma and saw some great pictures from her parents' recent trip to Australia and New Zealand. And of course, I ate more food. Yummy Filipino food (I can eat pancit all day).

I flew back home on Sunday in order to make it to a toddler reunion party on time. It was so nice to see my boys again (all three of them), but I'm so glad that I was able to take this trip. It's been a long time since I've been able to relax and have stress-free fun like that, and it will be a long time before I'm able to do it again.

Also, Chris did really well his first time as a single parent! He and Z had a fun time going to the zoo and visiting friends. I'm glad that they got some "man time" together!

I'll post some pics soon, but I haven't had a chance to go through them to choose a representative set. In the meantime, I need to try to catch up on my sleep!