Our Babymoon

First of all, can we take a minute to recognize that this is my  1000th POST!

I can't believe I've written and published 1,000 of these bad boys. Even more so, I can't believe that so many of you have read some/most/all of them. Thank you!!!

For #1,000, let's talk about a relaxing little vacation.

As you know, over spring break Eric and I went on a little babymoon. We ditched the dog with my dad (thanks, Dad!), the kid with my mom (thanks, Mom!), and had ourselves a little couple time. It was lovely.

We dropped Ellie off at my mom's house on Thursday morning, and then drove out to Clearwater Beach for the afternoon. It was a delightfully warm day but there was a pretty enthusiastic wind coming in off the (still chilly) Gulf, so it was a bit cool for my beach-going taste. Still, it was wonderful to relax in that atmosphere. I read a book! A book that doesn't have pictures! It has chapters! And I didn't have to read it out loud a million times over! I read it quietly to myself! Now THAT is luxury.

Beach!

I quickly ended up a bit bundled. Northern friends, I do not judge you for rolling your eyes at me or directing profanity-riddled thoughts my way.

When we'd had enough of the wind, we decided to walk to Pier 60 to check out the scenery and vendors that are always there for Sunsets at Pier 60. I used to spend a good amount of time down there back when my mom lived on Clearwater Beach, but it has been years since I've been back.

Umbrellas lined up along the Pier to protect the vendors from the wind

Then we went for dinner at Crabby Bill's, where Eric did a create-a-dinner sort of thing with a couple appetizers, and I indulged my relentless pregnancy appetite with a steamer bucket. Much seafood was consumed.

Top: I think Eric is feeling a bit outdone by my meal as compared to his; his crab cake and gator nuggets

Bottom: My steamer bucket and my joy.

After dinner we walked along the beach for a bit, enjoying a lovely sunset.

Pretty, pretty!

Beach belly

My handsome husband in silhouette

Then we left the beach to go check in to the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club. We had an executive suite, which was quite nice - king bed, small living/dining area, balcony overlooking a lake and a kitchen including a mini-fridge stocked with a complimentary cheese and crackers plate. Clearly, Innisbrook knows the way to a pregnant lady's heart.

Our room: living area, bedroom, kitchen and a delicious snack.

We went back out to pick up some dessert and then spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our room.

On Friday, Eric got up early to get in a round of golf, which he will share with you himself tomorrow.

Another golf course for Eric!

As for me, I had a leisurely morning in the room until it was time for my spa appointments at 11:00. Then off I went, and was treated to a divine prenatal massage and mani/pedi. Plus, some relaxing time in between during which I continued reading my book (did I mention it doesn't have pictures and nobody was relentlessly asking "Mama read it? Mama read it?" before I started?) while sipping my lime-infused water. I also enjoyed a nice, long shower. VACATION.

Not hating this.

I wrapped up my spa morning just as Eric was finishing his round of golf, so the timing was perfect to meet up for a late lunch together. We went to the Loch Ness pool and ate at the little grill there, then spent the rest of the afternoon doing basically nothing. We camped out in some lounge chairs and read our respective books. Eric did take a break to go over to the putting green across the street, and at the end of the day we took a quick dip in the hot tub and pool. It was all so very glorious.

I spent some time during lunch pretending this strawberry-banana smoothie was really a super boozy daiquiri. Spoiler alert: pretending your non-alcoholic beverage is booze does not actually get you as drunk as you'd like.

Poolside!

I totally took a picture of Eric putting, all creeper-style through the bushes from across the street.

Great day!

As the afternoon wore on into evening, we packed it up and went back to the room to get ready for dinner. We went to a little place called Mystic Fish, which Eric heard good things about. Sure enough, dinner was excellent.

My official 25-week belly photo before dinner!

Second-time parents-to-be

Eric's dinner: Shrimp and scallop ravioli with mushroom sauce and vegetables

I had the bouillabaisse: lobster, shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and assorted fish in a saffron broth with vegetables

After dinner it was back to the room for dessert and relaxing. What a fabulous day!

On Saturday, we slept in (relatively speaking, because the term "slept in" does not mean what it used to in our pre-child days), ate some breakfast then drove out to Honeymoon Island for a morning at the beach. Once again, we did a lot of lounging and reading, plus a little walking and some checking of the basketball scores, as we were cheering on the Gators during March Madness (grumble, grumble re: the ultimate end result).

Relaxing on Honeymoon Island; sporting my orange and blue for the Gators!; and we saw dolphins!

We left in the early afternoon and picked up some lunch before heading back to the resort to spend the rest of the afternoon at the Island Pool.

FINALLY, some time to relax on this vacation, am I right?

We packed it in as we started to get hungry for dinner and went back to the room to clean up. Eric was sporting an AWESOME sunburn, which he got by using spray sunblock that didn't exactly spread out as anticipated. So, he looked like his skin was red but someone spray-painted him with white. Good times.

Before dinner we wandered around the Copperhead golf course so Eric could take a couple pictures and show me the main sites.

Happy babymooners!

We were craving wings for dinner so we ended up at Wing House, then again, back at the resort for dessert and rest. As much as we missed Ellie and were excited to see her the next day, we were sad that our vacation was drawing to a close!

As for Ellie, she spent the weekend having lots of fun at her Grammy's house. My mom sent lots of pictures of their fun times chasing chickens, watching Frozen, playing at the library for storytime, playing at a playground, and making use of the sandbox. Ellie even slept, napped and ate well, which made her mama quite happy (up until that weekend, she had always refused to nap at my mom's house!).

Silly faces at lunch on Day One

At the library for storytime

Playing in the sand

And that's a wrap for the babymoon! That Sunday morning we woke up, packed up, and checked out, but then spent the rest of the day at the Loch Ness pool with my mom, Gary and our sweet Ellie - but I'll share more of that later this week. And, as I mentioned, Eric will share a little bit about his golf outing. But this concludes our couple time - and what a great time it was! We are so glad we were able to have this time together to relax and reconnect before our lives turn crazy again!