Staycation...

I remember last year reading in Parenting magazine or some "family" mag that "staycations" were the new vacations since the recession hit. At the time I thought 'if I tell my kids we are going on a staycation they will think I am nuts' so I just didn't tell them anything and we didn't go anywhere. We just spent time at home and probably through a few pity parties for ourselves I am sure. This year things have gotten a little crazier, times are even a little tougher and of course we are also dealing with the whole "grandma died" situation. This year the kids are a year older, they have over heard and been a part of the "cutting back" conversations and they understand the term "staycation" so this year we figured, what the heck we are going to make the best of it. We live in a nice house, we have a really nice pool out back. The casita has become our new getaway since it was redecorated and grandma is no longer using it (I know that sounds horrible, and I swear I am not cold, but it's the truth, we have this darling little guest house and we are using it... it is what it is). My big girl packs her bags and takes her friends out there and they can act like they have their own apartment. They love it. They are teenagers and it gives them a freedom they have never known and I think it actually makes Allison feel a little closer to her Grandma. Tomorrow we are going to put on our bathing suits, float on rafts and listen to loud music. I like to think I have the same dance moves they do so I like to listen to the music that they do and get down right along with the teenagers... yes, this totally embarasses them but who cares we're on staycation, anything goes!

This is where you will find us for the next 3 days...

Things kinda suck right now for our family and we are dealing with it every day but we also have so much fun together. I think that is what I wanted this post to reflect. I have been blogging/facebooking lately about the changes we are going through, how hard it has been to lose my mom and quite honestly sometimes it's depressing. But seriously I am so lucky. We have so much fun together, my family. The four of us sing inappropriate Kid Rock songs at the top of our lungs together as we drive down the street. We have been playing indoor golf toss. We have two puzzles out on the kitchen table that we have been working on together. My girls and I laugh together every single day, sometimes we do spit takes we laugh so hard. (I actually just did one an hour or so ago when Allison was telling her bff a story about her boyfriend). We bake cookies, my husband has channeled his inner Betty Crocker lately and has been baking up a storm. As a matter of fact Betty is his new nick name. If you have seen my husband you will think that is even funnier. We really do have fun and we really do genuinely like each other. I think times like this can be character building and hopefully we have learned a lesson. We have learned that when times are good financially we should be saving way more than we spend and once we find a house we like just stay there, we don't always have to have the next bigger, better house in the nicer development, the last house was fine. We will get through this and we will come out the other side stronger, wiser and closer than ever. I know it. I love my family and all that we have. I will embrace the good times and think positively that something good is on the horizon.