Do you need something to look forward to?

[WatchingThemGrow]

We're just kinda sitting here...and I feel like I need something fun/exciting to look forward to. Everything's fine, but this feeling is eating at me. We put in a low offer on a house(at our max) and didn't even get a counter offer. Nothing else out there is worth the hassle of selling/moving. So....it looks like we're staying in our nice but very small home we've outgrown. We had to bail on our extended family vacation b/c DH didn't have any vacation time and taking a 5yo, 3yo and 2yo on vacation by myself is an oxymoron. We don't have any other trips planned - like not until this time next year when the family beach trip rolls around again. I've got nothing fun to look forward to and it is driving me crazy.

What do you do when you're feeling like this? I can't just plan a get-away b/c DH doesn't have days to take and won't for some time. (This is the one drawback about his new job - no PTO.)

[LMPC]

I am very much like this, and it's typically when I look at houses for sale in the area or plan a big trip. Even if I know nothing is going to happen soon, it helps take my mind of the banality that is life. Could you guys take a weekend trip someplace different? Just to get out of the area and get your mind off the real estate market? Maybe find a last minute weekend deal? Just thinking out loud here.

[DrSally]

How about something really small, like a fun day at the beach w/icecream and no cooking/cleaning duties.

[Giantbear]

Every night i look forward to tomorrow. Life really is that simple if you make it so. We are selling one place, buying another and are in the doldrums of escrow land, so tomorrow i look forward to a night alone with my girl while my lady has a girls night out. Tomorrow night i will look forward to the beach with family and so forth. If you spend all of your time looking to the future, you forget to enjoy the present.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I totally understand and usually jive with that outlook, giantbear. It's just this week, DS1 has been up puking/feverish a few nights, DS2 is PTing - and we all know how that goes when you've got 2 other louder/more demanding DC taking your attention from a speech-delayed PTing 2yo, and DH has been working from home every night in preparation for a 3 day trip where I'll be here 24/7 alone with all 3 DC. Each day is precious, but the days *right* now are not tons of fun. :sulkoff: In a couple weeks, we will have fewer downers, and fun stuff to look forward to hopefully.

ETA: Oh....and PMS. Maybe that's the cause of my funk, lol.

[Giantbear]

My wife struggles sometimes when things are not at their best, right now we have a sick little lady (anyone need a 4 am wakeup call?? i am sure to be up with her then) and a issues with the buy and sell, but...tomorrow is another day. I always tell her, never let the lows get you down cause they wont last forever. Why, just yesterday, as sick as dd was, she grabbed my hands and pushed them together so i would clap with her. Once the kids are healthy, time to set up a treat night when the hubby is out of town. Break a few rules for a fun family night, maybe invite the parents or inlaws or a family friend the kids love. It isnt always easy to look at the shiny side of the coin, and we all need a bad mood day now and then, but looking to tomorrow sure beats ruminating about a lousy today.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

A massage or mani/pedi. I have a massage coupon (local groupon type site), I save it for times like yours, when I just need a pick-me-up.

[jenfromnj]

I tend to be happier when I have something to look forward to, even if it's months away. I agree that maybe it would help to plan something small--even a nice day trip or some solo time. (We have no big plans right now so I am trying to come up with some small adventures for the next few months to keep things interesting!)

[KrisM]

:grouphug: I've had times like that, too.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We've been trying to book something at GWL for a few months now, but the Sat. night stays (when DH could actually be away...) are $410/nt, whereas the Sun. night stays are $210. I just can't pay those prices for that place. It's not Disney, you know!

Camping is too much of a pain right now. Can't go visit with any relatives right now...already asked my dad, costs too much to go see my mom. Need to get away, but nobody will keep all 3DC, so they have to be included in whatever we do.. and they are itching to get away also!

[rin]

Sometimes I plan vacations I'll never go on (at least not unless we win the lottery!). I go to the library and pick up a couple travel guides for places I'd love to go, plan out an itinerary of stuff I'd love to do/see, check out books about cooking in that country (and sometimes even try out recipes from them), find some authors from that country and get a few of their novels, maybe find some movies from that country. At least for me, it actually works surprisingly well!

[LD92599]

We've been trying to book something at GWL for a few months now, but the Sat. night stays (when DH could actually be away...) are $410/nt, whereas the Sun. night stays are $210. I just can't pay those prices for that place. It's not Disney, you know!

Camping is too much of a pain right now. Can't go visit with any relatives right now...already asked my dad, costs too much to go see my mom. Need to get away, but nobody will keep all 3DC, so they have to be included in whatever we do.. and they are itching to get away also!

How far is GWL from you? Would you consider the sunday night cuz you'll habe most of sunday there and head home early monday? Or take twocars? We just did sunday night toobevause the price diff was huge! Look for the 20% off codes esp in local kids coupon books (for us thats kidstuff book!).

[WatchingThemGrow]

How far is GWL from you? Would you consider the sunday night cuz you'll habe most of sunday there and head home early monday? Or take twocars? We just did sunday night toobevause the price diff was huge! Look for the 20% off codes esp in local kids coupon books (for us thats kidstuff book!).
That would be a good idea! It won't work for us because DH has to be on a Monday 9am conference call every week and we're 2.5 hours away from GWL. I've got codes, coupons, etc. all ready to go! Getting 3 DC up and out by 6:30 - not going to happen. Pack up the room and drive with them by myself...no way. Maybe in another year or two, but 2 of my kids still need help getting their shoes on. They're still little.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I think I'm just feeling cumulatively bummed about travel in general. We've tried to go to CO and go skiing, but I've been pg or nursing basically the past several years. When that was all over, we decided to ski in VA, and BIL/SIL were going to keep the DC for the day. DD and DS2 were up screaming the whole night long, so we came home and went to the pediatrician- double ear infections. Then we tried to go to see my family at Christmas when DS2 puked intermittently for a couple days. We bailed on the trip, then reinstated it at the last minute. When we were 30 minutes from my cousin's house, he puked again and I held to the promise I made to my half-brother whose wife was pg with their first. We turned around and drove back home - 12-13 hours altogether.

My kids are just keeping me home! They're either making it too physically difficult or to financially difficult to get anywhere. I know it will all pass so quickly, but I'm itching to go somewhere.

Maybe I should be like my step-sister who keeps winning trips (3 now!) on Regis and Kelly.

[KpbS]

Oh man! That is a serious run of bad vacation luck. Not as a substitute but maybe a mood lifter--any fun day trips to be had 1-2 hrs. away? Wake the kids up early, drive a bit, spend the day and then come home? Sometimes you just need a change of scenery and break from the routine. Hope something works out soon :hug:

[WatchingThemGrow]

Kbps, that's a good idea, just to go somewhere for the day. I'll see what DH thinks and see if there's a day we can go. He hates being outside in the summer though as he acts like he's melting.

Wish we could go kayaking. it may take hours to get the boat ready, the lunches/snacks/changes of clothes ready, but being on the water may make me feel better.

[KpbS]

Lol, that pretty much describes my DH too. He starts feeling the summertime heat around 78-80 degrees!

Kayaking/swimming/picnicing sounds very fun and like a nice break from the heat. Have you taken your DC on the water before? This coming year will be the first for DS2 (other than a short trip around the bend). He's excited :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

There's a reason I start planning ds1's b-day 5 months ahead of time. There's nothing else in that lull. :)

Beth

[egoldber]

What about a beach trip in the fall? Personally, I love the beach in the fall and it is MUCH cheaper. You could go the weekend after Labor Day. No one will be there, stay in a hotel Saturday night and have a good time. Or maybe he could take Friday off too. :)

[WatchingThemGrow]

SnuggleBuggles, that's on my to-do list now! DS1's bday is 4 months away! Just not sure I want to ask him and have to hear "is today my 4yo party?" every hour until then.

UPDATE: I remembered we had a credit from yet another butchered trip (on Expedia.) We were driving home from FL and had (4 months earlier) prebooked a room. When we called to check on the PnP, they informed us we had NO ROOM! :eek: We spent the next 3 hours hoping we had a place to stay on the last day of spring break coming up from FL! Anyway, we got a $100 credit, and I just used that (with Expedia) to book a room at the GWL for later in the summer. I purposefully picked one near a HA outlet, so DD can use a bday GC someone gave her for new back to school clothes.

Thanks for the ideas, all! Mood is lifted!

[WatchingThemGrow]

What about a beach trip in the fall? Personally, I love the beach in the fall and it is MUCH cheaper. You could go the weekend after Labor Day. No one will be there, stay in a hotel Saturday night and have a good time. Or maybe he could take Friday off too. :)
No Friday off as FIL said he REALLY needs to make sure he has enough days to go on the family trip this year. I think he was really disappointed we bailed, even though they did too.

We will book a weekend at the ILs' beach house in the fall. Free :)

[Melaine]

Yes, I do feel like I need something to look forward to or work towards. I blame it on being a SAHM. I feel like some of the satisfaction (now, there wasn't much) I once got from the workplace is lacking in my role (as much as I love it, and wouldn't leave it). I find it is very discouraging for me to NOT have something to look forward to. Even if it is a less-than-thrilling goal like painting a room or getting a new appliance. Or a day trip or a holiday, or just SOMETHING. If there isn't anything, I start to feel discouraged. There are so many big issues that are static (like that I want more children and that ain't happenin'....) that some small-scale goals or plans are needed to keep me going. I wish I was less future-focused, but I think it's my personality.

[liz]

WTG, I know exactly how you feel. I love planning vacations and going away with the family. We do 1-2 trips every year. This year we are doing some major home repairs, so I made the difficult decision to stay home this year - no taveling vacations at all. Personally, this has been an extremely difficult decision. Vacations with the kids and DH are extremely important to me- I literally plan and look forward to the next trip every year. So I feel your pain.

I totally get that same feeling of needing to have something to look forward to. One thing that has helped is planning day trips with DH and the kids - and sometimes without DH. I just need to do it, even though it can be challenging with all 3 kids. Its always worth it afterwards. Do you have any friends with/without kids who you could go on day trips? Zoos, museums, or kid activity places (a bounce house place just opened near me and they have a separate space for LO). Just some ideas, but I find even those "little" trips really help my mood and outlook.

[fivi2]

Sometimes I plan vacations I'll never go on (at least not unless we win the lottery!). I go to the library and pick up a couple travel guides for places I'd love to go, plan out an itinerary of stuff I'd love to do/see, check out books about cooking in that country (and sometimes even try out recipes from them), find some authors from that country and get a few of their novels, maybe find some movies from that country. At least for me, it actually works surprisingly well!

:yeahthat:
I do this also! I have planned so many fantasy trips. I love it!