Ya-Ya Hoo-Rah!

Motherhood is my biggest and best accomplishment EVER. My children are my heart and soul. They truly are my everthing. And when I say everything, I do mean everything. While I love being a mother, sometimes it encompasses me... and it's almost as if I get to the point of wondering if there is anything more to me as a person. My biggest struggle as a mother has always been letting motherhood define me. A few weeks ago, we all know my girls and I all felt like we were in a rut and called to order a quick girl's weekend.

The last time I wrote, you might have thought I was crazy because I was stressed about what to wear for a night out. O.k... So maybe I was being a little over the top, but to me, it was a big deal. When your "regular" life consists of hot dates to Wally World and playdates at Pump It Up, one begins to wonder if they even know how to act in an adult public place. Or at least I do...

This past weekend, my besties and I gathered for a weekend, and I was brought back to life. We realized we are way more than just mamas. We had a weekend of doing straight up normal things... but without children. We shopped at the mall without having to spend an hour at the play area and having to ride the carousel. Heck, we even had our chins threaded... six bucks goes a long way.:) We ate out without having to entertain anyone... there were no crayons, no crackers, or bathroom trips just as my food arrived. We checked into a hotel and took afternoon naps and showers in peace. And let me tell ya, it was n-i-c-e.

We began a wild night out by stopping by the ABC store. My best friend will tell you that she was carded... but in all reality she chucked her driver's license at the ABC employee. When he commented there was no way she was that old, she took her hand and massaged his... and in that very moment, I realized, we are Cougars.

We primped and got ready for a night out and hit the town. After tons of drinks, we danced and pranced around the bar careful not to do anything to let our spanx show. We ordered men to buy us drinks... and it worked. The next morning, we asked my brother's new girlfriend if she liked going out with us... To which she replied, "Yeah, you guys were so funny." Hmmm.... I'm not sure how we feel about that one. I think we were going for cool, hip, maybe even good times. I'd even take young at heart. But we got funny. It's all good. For the night we were belligerent partiers hanging out with old friends. And it was fun(ny).

The next day, we couldn't hang any more, so we ate out twice and spent the night in our hotel in comfy jammies nursing hangovers. We laid on the beds (all five of us) and played the question game. Before the night was over, after tons of reminiscing, we even had our funerals planned out. Morbid, I know. But at least now, my friends know I want daisies... and they better be in their purple dresses and black hats with netting.

After a morning brunch with our families, antiquing in Lucketts, and eating out yet again, we ended the night in front of the computer making plans to run a Disney Half-Marathon. We'll see how that goes. But in that moment, we felt like we could accomplish anything. In our heads, we were even runners.

All it took was a weekend with my girl's to make me realize that I am me. I'm something besides a mother and I have a life. And I hope that more than anything they realized that I am a friend. I know that they are mine... because Girls weekend was a success.

Tomorrow, now that my liver has detoxed out, I've eaten to my heart's desire, laughed, cried, and done everything in between, I'm ready to return to my favorite role... motherhood. I will be taking care of my kiddos, lacking my put together outfits, babbling about how I need to lose weight, and going crazy trying to keep my kids entertained when it's dark at five at night. But most importantly, I'll be appreciating, cherishing, and loving every second of it.

Mission accomplished.