Santa Barbara - Wedding in Wine Country

"Mommy loves you!" I hollered at the children as they eagerly ran (Peyton) and reached (Allison) out the door in the opposite direction of my outstretched arms.   No.  They would be fine.  I was confident of that.

It was me I was worried about.  I was an emotional, overwhelmed, exhausted wreck of a mother.  I wasn't sure that I wanted the break, but I most certainly needed it.

Life has been good.  Life has been busy.  Life has been fun.  Life has been hard for me...

Our previous weeks of sleep training seemed to be futile efforts on our part.  The guilt I felt and burden I associated with handing over my almost one year old to someone else for several nights, knowing that she cries out all night long, was immeasurable.  Immeasurable and exhausting.

Since her 9-month appointment I had been trying to nurse and feed, pump and feed, supplement with extra milk and feed, as many calories in a day as Allie would consume (the pediatrician has been worried about Allie's weight gain, which, while increasing, is apparently not doing so at a pace that is statistically appropriate according to their charts), which is frustrating, and a lot of work, and just, well, exhausting.

I had also been pumping and storing extra breast milk to send along with Allie for each day we would be apart.  Six days total for the month of August.  That's a lot of extra milk.  Hats off to all you mom's out there who have done this for any length of time.  This in itself is time consuming and again, exhausting.

All this planning, packing and pumping was emotionally and physically draining.  I felt depleted; squeezed of every ounce of whatever it is that keeps me going.

Did I mention that I was EXHAUSTED?

Well, ready or not, on Friday morning of Labor Day Weekend, Grama and Grampa picked up the kids - who were more than ready and very excited for their long weekend away - and we were off to the airport, Santa Barbara bound!

With each passing mile up the road I was a bit more, open.  Not relaxed exactly, but open to the possibility of relaxing.  At the airport I sensed I was getting the jitters.  Not the nervous kind, the excited kind.  Possibility.  The weekend was full of it.  Needless to say, by the time we arrived, I was more than ready for a night (or four) off from my parental duties.  And a little bit afraid that I might actually have fun.  Fun without kids.  What's that?

The first of our 2 nights were spent with friends at a wedding in wine country: Santa Ynez Valley.  It was a nice way to ease into our vacation.  We had a great time visiting with friends and dancing the night away.  Consequently, this part of our trip did nothing to revive our energy levels due to a later than normal bedtime and the inability to sleep in past 6:15 in the morning.  It did however, jump start our social life, from 0-100, in a matter of minutes, if only for the weekend.  There's something about reuniting with old friends, connecting with new and celebrating love that lifts your spirits right up.

Wine tasting.

A well known secret - The Cold Spring Tavern.
In the mountain about midway between Santa Ynez  and Santa Barbara.
Our last stop with the newlyweds and friends before parting ways.