Kidfree Staycation

I remember after Ez was born it was a long, loonnnggg time before Joe and I took a date night. And even longer before we spent a night away from him. All that first baby stuff about how we didn't want to let him out of our sight and we genuinely just wanted to spend all our time together as a family. Fast forward to having an almost 2 year old and an almost 4 year old and we'll take any chance for alone time that we can get. My parents and brothers were kind enough to watch the kiddos this weekend despite the fact that nearly every time they do Declan brings some kind of death illness into their house. Everyone was healthy this time around so knock on wood we finally broke that curse. Thanks Gangy, Grampa, and the uncles!

Joe and I opted for a mini staycation and decided to explore Sacramento without worrying about strollers and naptimes and carrying around a bag full of snacks at all times. After nearly four years doing this parenting gig I've kinda forgotten how light it is to travel without kids. We actually had a free hand to carry around Starbucks. #itsthelittlethings

We dropped Ez and Declan off around noon on Saturday and then came the big question: Now what?? 

We didn't have a plan but we were determined to do stuff that we wouldn't be able to do with two crazy, rascally toddlers in two. So first things first we headed straight downtown for a caffeine pick me up at a cute little cafe with homemade coconut macadamia milk. So, SO delicious. And we actually sat down and drank out of real, breakable cups. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around enjoying all the random art scattered around Sacramento, venturing into shops with tons of breakable items that we'd normally steer clear of (hello BevMo's 5 cent wine sale!!), eating at restaurants without kid's menus, and stopping to smell (and photograph) all the beautiful spring flowers. 

We also stopped by the Leland Stanford Mansion, built in the 1850s and full of tons of cool history - and breakable items. Sacramento has so many beautiful old Victorian era homes and I've always wondered what the insides looked like. This was our chance to finally wander around one and check it out. Not only was the home restored as close to its original state as possible, but it actually still had most of the original furniture as well. It was just like stepping back into the 1800s and it gave us a fun glimpse into the past. 

We capped off our evening with cupcakes, wine, and a Netflix movie. A perfectly relaxing end to a perfect day.

By Sunday we were well rested, the house was in a rarely seen state of organization, and we were so ready to hug our babies. There's nothing like a kid free day, but the reunion is always the sweetest part.