There
are really only a handful of people outside of immediate family members that
Philippe and I entrust our daughter with. Those people are made up of the wonderful
staff at her daycare and some family friends. For this reason, date nights for
us are either quite rare or we just bring her along with us. I was raised with
au pairs till I was about ten years old and so it is much easier for me to want
to trust someone to care for Valentina. Philippe on the other hand was included
on everything his parents were involved in, including date nights, vacations,
and every day decisions. Sometimes this intense family bonding of theirs still
sits wrong with me but that is a whole other can of worms I choose not to open
at this point. When we do go out just the two of us, its usually because we are
in Charlotte NC where my parents live and my mom is willing to watch her. We
will hit up our favorite eateries which are by no means fancy or worthy of an occasion
for a girl to dress up.
Thai Orchid is a favorite, for their
Mee Krob lettuce wraps, as is
Baoding for their sauteed green beans with ground pork, just to name a
few. We are very fortunate to have my parents willing to do this for us and
honestly its just what we need sometimes. There are times when I get caught up
in my emotions and social standards and I begin to question wether or not this is enough for our couple, or if
it is normal, or if we need more romance in our lives. At the end of the
day however, we are doing just fine as husband and wife and not just mommy and daddy.
We took our first and only trip away from our daughter in June of last year. My
mother took care of Valentina for five days while Philippe and I enjoyed the
beauty of Sarasota Florida, a favorite vacation spot for us. As much as I
enjoyed myself and knew that Valentina was in the best of hands (maybe better
than mine sometimes), I thought about her every single day, multiple times a
day. Something was really missing from that trip and it was the absence our little one.
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| Phil and I at an amazing restaurant overlooking Lido Key Beach on our romantic getaway last June |
Pretty soon we will have another little Chedaille running around and the
idea of asking one family member to watch the both of them is no longer an
option, it would be just too much. So we took the opportunity to go on our last
trip as a family of three this past month. We took Valentina back to Sarasota.
It was SO different than if it had just been the two of us but it was extremely
enjoyable. We saw Florida through her eyes and it really was a time to bond and
enjoy her as much as possible. We stayed in a small resort in Ruskin Florida
called
The Resort & Club at Little Harbor.
It was perfect for what we needed. It was remote but close
enough to several larger cities and beaches including Tampa, Clearwater, St.
Petersburg, Sarasota, and Anna Maria Island. Anna Maria Island by the way was a
gorgeous, laid back beach town, with such unique charm and amazing crystal
clear blue waters. I highly recommend it for a day trip.
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| Tampa Sea Aquarium |
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| The pier at Anna Maria Island |
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| Philippe enjoying what he claims to be authentic French food in Sarasota Florida |
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| Enjoying a home cooked meal in our villa at the Resort at Little Harbor |
So back to the babysitter’s role in our lives…..right now
they are not really needed. Philippe and I are in a time in our lives in which
we are building a solid future. I wish we were proud owners of our own home but
that has not happened for us yet and probably will not until we have finished
our education and chosen the right city to live in. We honestly cannot afford
too many date nights or babysitters or tropical vacations. We are fortunate
with what we are able to do and I am so blessed to know that my child has never
been deprived of anything that makes being a child special and important.
Today
Philippe and I celebrated nine years of marriage. Our civil marriage took place nine years ago
when I was only 23 years old, gosh that sounds so young. We celebrated this day
by dressing up and taking Valentina to a Japanese steakhouse for lunch,
something she had never experienced before. We exchanged cards and gifts while
Valentina ate her usual chicken fingers with smiley face French fries and we had
a wonderful time.
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| Celebrating 9 years of marriage at Kanki Japanese Steakhouse |
