When Can I Go Back?

Posted: March 7, 2011 at 11:10 am

Catching up from the weekend? Check out these posts:

Back to Monday already? Boo hiss on you Monday!Sorry. I’m a little cranky because baby B woke up FIVE times last night to eat. FIVE. Nursing cuddle time a time or two at night is cute…but 5 is plain exhausting. Add in a coughing little girl (who is also potty training) and a still fussy B…I have a long day ahead. I love them dearly, but sometimes mommyhood is hard and lends itself to a little griping. Enough of all that – let’s talk the weekend.

This weekend was great because it was one of those rare weekends without any set plans. Saturday, after my great workout and getting some groceries, we headed out as a family for a few errands. We had to make a return, pick up some baby stuff, and finally get me some new shoes to wear for non-running workouts. Then, we took a pit stop at Peter’s parents’ for a quick visit.

I love that we live close to both our families. It’s nice to see the kids interact regularly with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We only got to spend a little time there though because we wanted to head out for dinner. Peter has been eyeing this new BBQ place that opened up close by for weeks now. I’m not one to turn down BBQ either so we gave it a shot last night.

We visited ‘cue – a more upscale BBQ joint with live music and homemade eats.

cue menu cue

I. Am. In. Love. This BBQ was phenomenal!!

I ordered a pulled pork sandwich on their fresh, homemade roll. The meal came with two sides so I ordered coleslaw to add to the sandwich and their special Bourbon sweet potato casserole for my other side.

cue food cue sides

The sweet potato had amazing flavor. The BBQ sauce had a perfect amount of twang. The roll. Ohhh…the roll. It made the sandwich. Basically…when can I go back?

Of course we had to finish out the night with something sweet. That’s how we do things. I had an un-pictured small butterfinger Blizzard. So, just another typical Saturday for us. Which reminds me – in my post from Friday where I discussed “cheat days” – I was in no way trying to condone having the mentality of limiting treats to one day a week. I simply hear too many people feel frustrated for having more lax eating on the weekend and wanted to share a reminder that many of us do so and it can still fit into balanced eating overall. Sorry for any confusion!

Question of the Day – How close do you prefer to live to your family? 30 minutes is perfect for us. We can easily get to each other but not be close enough for tons of random drop-ins.

Tags: ,

 
49 Comments to “When Can I Go Back?”
  1. Interesting question because I was just thinking about how sick I am of my family!

    We are leaving my parents house (in Denver) tomorrow to drive to southern california where we are moving. I am honestly excited to have some distance between my family AND B’s family for a little while, but I know that is mainly because I have lived with my parents for the last year and a half so they are driving me nuts. 😉 Otherwise, we are a close family and I think someday when we can get back to Denver and buy a house, I would want to be about 30 minutes away too. As for my fiance’s family…his mom would drive me nuts if she was in the same city so I always want to live in a different state. 🙂

  2. I actually wish we lived closer to family. I think we are too far away from Tony’s parents. It’s sad to see them get older and we are so close to them…we should probably fix that. I am glad you had a good weekend, but sad that last night was rough. Try to take some naps with them today…you still need your rest too!

  3. I am about 3 hours from my sister and my parents (who live about 45 minutes apart). I wish it was more like 1 hour, or 30 minutes, but I’m grateful to be driving distance at least!

  4. Well…I wouldn’t mind my parents in the same town, but my husband would probably say 1/2 an hour…though we both agree the 8+ hour drive is too much. While, I think that the 2 hour drive to his parents is perfect. Maybe. They still try and show up all the time, but it’s a little bit of a hurdle, though far enough that when they do come down they feel the need to stay with us a couple days. Sigh. I don’t know. You’re probably right about the 1/2 hour.

  5. Sorry you didn’t get much sleep. Definitely can make for a long day. That’s great you live so close to family. Our family is pretty much all in the same city an hour away.

  6. Lauren says:

    I went to school 8 hours away from home for 2 years, but I love being only 45 minutes away this year. It don’t go home that much, but it’s nice to have the option to go home, and have my parents close enough to come up and visit.

  7. Stacy says:

    I like being close to my family. Right now I’m anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes away and it’s perfect.
    Sorry to hear you didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night!

  8. I wish we lived about 5 hours from either of our families…perfect for weekend visits!

  9. Cue looks SO good! I’m a sucker for pulled pork.

    I live about a half hour away from my parents and in laws…but since my parents are divorced that’s 3 families to see. We try to do something really fun with each set about once a month…and at least one weekend a month we spend just with ourselves. Having them so close can be very good, or kind of annoying. I’m sure when we have kids I will be VERY appreciative though 🙂

    • Tina says:

      When kids come in the mix it does make having family close sooo nice. They’re the best babysitters. 😉

  10. My family (and the Future Husband’s) live on the other side of the country. It’s not easy, that’s for sure, but I love love love my privacy, so at least I never have to worry about random drop in either! Trying to look at the bright side of the situation!

    Happy Monday – hang in there!

  11. Laura says:

    If y’all are BBQ fans, you should definately try Slopes! It’s our favorite spot, hands down.

    • Tina says:

      We enjoy Slopes too. That’s actually our regular BBQ joint but we tried something new. This may beat it. The sandwich did for me at least. Although Slopes wins on the coleslaw and potato salad (which Peter had). That sweet potato was sooo good though!

  12. Robyn says:

    Lucky You … BBQ! I love BBQ also and there are NO GOOD BBQ joints in our area.

    I am 8 hours away from my folks. This is WAY too far. My in-laws live in the same ranch yard. This has many advantages and a few disadvantages. I agree w/ your 30 min distance comment.

    Hope your day mellows out for you.

  13. i live about 2 hours from my family and my fiance’s family. that is a little far, but i know it could be much much worse. i agree, i don’t think i would want to live super close because i think it could get a little everybody-loves-raymond-esque with parents dropping in whenever they want.

    but it would be nice to be closer, especially once we have kids. i know i’ll want to take advantage of the free grandparent babysitters! 🙂

  14. Melie says:

    I kind of wish I lived anywhere in the same continent with my family! 🙂 Ideally I would like to live within 30 minutes as you say, but I don’t think it is happening all things considering. So I am shooting for at least being able to move back to Europe at some point.

  15. Shannon says:

    How nice that you love so close to your families! My family is about 90 minutes away. I wish we were even closer, buy I can’t complain because my husbands parents are a plane ride away and I know it makes him sad. Enjoy having your parents across town…my grandparents we 5 miles away when I was growing up and I am still super close to them.

  16. We live about 30 minutes away from both sides of the family – mine (30 minutes west), his (30 minutes east). We like being accessible but not like Everybody Loves Raymond accessible. I think when we have balance between the two sets, then we enjoy our time together without feeling too overwhelmed with visits.

  17. Heather says:

    My parents live about 30 minutes away, and I wish they lived closer!!! 15 minutes would be perfect.

    Hope you get some sleep tonight!

  18. lindsay says:

    we live close to my family. This weekend we spent time with my nieces. It was one of their birthdays. I just love it! Thankful for families!

  19. I’m in Texas and my family is in Washington State, so I don’t get to see my nieces and nephews nearly as often as I’d like! That BBQ looks amazing… my parents owned a BBQ restaurant so I’m a bit of a nazi, but that looks like it would meet my approval! 🙂

  20. We grew up living within a 30 minute radius of our grandparents and I loved that! My family now lives 12 hours (driving) away and I find that hard. We don’t have kids but I do have 2 neices and a nephew and I hate not being able to see them more often.

    I love sweet potatoes and that dish looks so sinful!!

  21. I currently live 6 hours away from my whole family. As I am getting older, I’m disliking the distance. I miss them.

  22. Stephanie says:

    It’s so weird because Ryan’s parents only live a few miles from us and my parents live over two hours away and yet I think we see my parents more often. I think part of that has to do with the 10 year age difference between my parents and his parents. I’m with you though…close for comfort…not TOO close for too much comfort. Haha. 🙂

  23. BBQ looks great! I am at college an hour away, which is perfect because I’m away but can easily drive back!

  24. Mmm good BBQ is the best!
    Right now I’m 3 hours from my family, and that feels way too far for me – I am very close with my parents, and I know that when I’m older and have kids it will be even more important for me to have them close by. I would love to be only 30 minutes away!

  25. I hope your day has been going okay with your kids being fussy! That sounds like a great weekend – I love not having any set plans. It’s perfect. We live 20 minutes away from both our parents (our parents live about 2 miles away from each other). We love it!

  26. oh I think so many people have cheat days or meals- we just all call them something different : splurges, 80/20, etc.

    I wish I lived closer to family! My fam is about 3.5 hours away, and Hubbs’ fam is 3.5 and 10 hours away… not nearly close enough to grab dinner together or hang out randomly… boo!

  27. I live about 40 minutes from my house, but I wish I lived closer!

  28. I live about 35 minutes from my parents and about 45 from my grandparents…and it is perfect. We still have time to get together and have Sunday dinners 🙂

  29. Jen says:

    5 feedings?! YIKES!!!! Sounds like a growth spurt! Good luck mama!!! *Hugs*

  30. Angela says:

    Yummm I think I’d love this restaurant! One of my favourite things about spring/summer is grilling… nothing tastes quite like it – even on the George Foreman!

  31. Rach says:

    Oh my goodness, that’s a lot of waking up in the night!

    That bbq really looks fabulous, yum!

    And that’s so great that you live close to family. We’re grateful to be only a couple of hours away from Christopher’s parents and my parents come through pretty frequently so we get to see them all pretty often. That’ll be nice once we have kiddos in the picture. 🙂

  32. That is so wonderful! My family is more than 2,000 miles away right now 🙁 it was a great idea when I was 19 and needed to get away, but now that we’re talking about starting a family, we’re trying to move back. Your kids are so lucky 🙂 !

  33. Taryn says:

    I love my family dearly, but they are so much better in small doses. My immediate family lives about 30-40 minutes away, and an evening with my mom every month or so is plenty! That way, she can only fit in about two hours of nagging. 😉

    Regarding mommyhood — I don’t have kids, but I know being a mom is the toughest job out there. It’s your prerogative to complain a little, and don’t ever feel guilty about it!

    P.S. That bbq place looks like pure heaven. Sign me up!

  34. Tracy says:

    Now I’m hungry! I used to live a cross-country plane ride away from my family. Now, it’s a 1-hour drive. Sometimes I want to be closer than 1 hour and other times I wish that I lived far, far, away.

  35. Dorry says:

    I’ve loved being in Dallas the past year or so, although unplanned, to be near my family! I love that I can visit my sisters and nieces. And I’m sure once we have kids, we’ll enjoy being near my parents for babysitting purposes. 🙂

  36. My girlfriend has a two year old and a 5-week old – and her husband is out to sea! I just want to go take care of her, but she’s on the other coast. So, I’m sorry you’re having a long day, too!

    As far as family, I live about ten minutes from my mom and stepdad, and it’s totally fine with me! They don’t drop in unexpectedly and I enjoy seeing them weekly.

    • Tina says:

      My heart goes out to her. I seriously admire single moms or moms with husbands who are away for long periods/frequently.

  37. Ela says:

    Glad you had a great restaurant experience and I hope you have a restful day with the kiddos (hopefully they’re tired too!)

    My husband’s daughter lives just ten minutes away, but I think he appreciates that the rest of his family is down in Oregon. I grew up with most of my family a long way off–and now they’re all even farther away, so I guess I’m used to it and okay with it.
    love
    Ela

  38. Wow–those sweet potatoes, that roll! That looks absolutely wonderful and I wish I could eat there tonight.

    I think 30 min to an hour would be a perfect distance to live from family. Right now we are 9 hours from my parents and 12 hours from my husband’s parents. It’s far, but seems close since we moved from AZ where we were 2,000 miles away!

  39. I only WISH i lived that close to family… I’m a good 12hour car ride away (plane tickets are $$$!)

  40. Lee says:

    I live 500 miles from my family and about 120 miles from Jason’s. It kind of sucks. I really wish I lived closer to them. Actually, I wish they lived closer to me. I don’t want to move!

  41. Lisa says:

    Portland is about a 3 hour drive from Seattle where most my family lives. Sometimes I wish it was closer but for the most part the distance is good. 🙂

Leave a Reply to Dorry

(required)

(required)


 

 
Catch Up With Recent Posts

Announcement Time

Posted: November 23, 2011 at 7:47 am

Well, I have had a whirlwind of a few weeks over here. I missed all of you so much! I can’t express enough gratitude for your patience while I got some important things sorted out. Some scary things. Are you ready for the announcement? Here goes! I will no longer be blogging at Faith Fitness […]

88 CommentsRead more →

Self-Love Reflection: The Road Not Taken

Posted: November 20, 2011 at 11:47 am

Hello FFF readers! Nice to meet ya! My name is Carissa and my husband and I blog at Fit2Flex.  Well, I blog…he consults! We are both certified personal trainers with a passion for healthy, active living and clean eating.  I am also studying to become a registered dietitian, a race announcer, and a runner.  Stop […]

24 CommentsRead more →

Healthier Eating For Kids

Posted: November 19, 2011 at 10:56 am

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what’s for dinner? Check out their cute "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens! As parents, we want the best for our children. We help them to feel loved. We strive to teach them […]

14 CommentsRead more →
 

Announcement

Posted: November 17, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Hey, everyone! I wanted to pop in and say I am working on some new and exciting changes.  As a result,I may not be posting as much during the coming week.  Please stay tuned for the big announcement! Love you all! And still feel free to find me on Twitter and Facebook for the time […]

21 CommentsRead more →

Where The Change Happens

Posted: November 16, 2011 at 7:54 am

It’s kind of funny. I become a certified personal trainer and the first workouts I turn to this week come from someone else. The book came in for me at the library last week and, after flipping through it, I couldn’t wait to give the circuits a go. Making The Cut includes a lot of […]

79 CommentsRead more →

From Beginning To End

Posted: November 15, 2011 at 11:53 am

Good morning! First off, thanks for the many congrats yesterday. Love you all bunches for the tons of support you have given me in so many things this year. I hope I can return a little bit of that love through this here blog as well. So yesterday I had my first parent-teacher “conference” for […]

55 CommentsRead more →