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My Mother’s Day & Birthday Surprise on Ormond Beach

Since becoming a mother, I have always thought it was unfair that my birthday (May 9th) and Mother’s Day fell on, or very near, the same day. I thought that most other moms had 2 special days throughout the year when mine was blended into one. Yes, I know it seems selfish, but I can’t help it. Fortunately, since the kids got a bit older, my most wonderful hubs of nearly 17 years has tried to make it so it doesn’t feel that way for me anymore. He is very good at surprises and somehow miraculously gets the kids to not let on that they know something.

My Mother's Day & Birthday Surprise on Ormond Beach

Throughout the years, he has surprised me with beach weekend getaways, cooked a seafood dinner for me at home (while gagging), and even a weekend at St. Augustine, FL. As much as I feel blessed, I also feel bad because it’s not something that I could do for him for Father’s Day and birthday. I do not drive (anxiety issues, but that’s for another post) and so that makes it a bit hard to get him somewhere without him knowing the destination. I usually make up for it in other ways, such as making his favorite meals and finding the perfect gifts from the kids and I. The kids have always made homemade cards and the occasional homemade gift. Those are the most special ones.

I go through major anxiety spells and have been going through one lately. There isn’t any specific thing I am stressing over and have even been to the ER a few times throughout the years because of it. I was in desperate need of a getaway of some sort, even for just one day, to relax and recharge.

My Mother’s Day & Birthday Surprise on Ormond Beach

This year, the hubs surprised me with another beach getaway, this time to Ormond Beach, FL. He had to work Saturday and so didn’t get home until almost 3 pm, so we left soon after that. I was only told to be ready to go out when he got home and to have a few extra outfits packed. The kids were acting like it was a normal day, and since I didn’t know what they knew or what was going on, I couldn’t panic & ask them if they were ready, packed, etc. When he walked through the door, he said to make sure we all had swimsuits packed and to load up the car with our stuff.

We arrived at Diamond Resort’s The Cove on Ormond Beach. We waited in the car while he went in & took care of everything. He came back to the car with a single red carnation. It was beautiful and the front desk gave it to him since it was Mother’s Day weekend for me. The whole way through the resort, I was told Happy Mother’s Day by the staff. It was so nice of them!

One funny thing that happened (which wasn’t funny at that moment) was the fact that we were trying to get into someone else’s room. I really hope no one was actually IN the room! There are 2 towers at the resort and we were not told which one our room was in or given a map of the resort, just told that it was on the 4th floor. Hubs assumed it was the one he had checked in to so that’s where we went. After trying the card key sooo many times, he decided to go back down to see what’s going on. The teen and I stayed in front of the door with all of our stuff and even tried the extra card key a few times. I remember making the comment to her that I hope it isn’t the wrong room & that we are freaking people out by trying to break in! I was actually waiting for someone to open the door and ask us what we were doing. Low and behold, hubs came back to say that we WERE at the wrong room! We had to walk over to the 2nd tower and was able to get in fine, of course.

I was amazed by the room when we entered. Hubs managed to score a Deluxe Suite (I believe it is called, I don’t even see it on their site) at an even greater price – 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with Jacuzzi bathtubs, living room, full kitchen, laundry closet, and 2 balconies. Even though we were on the side and not directly facing the beach, the balconies had a great view of it.

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Since my birthday was Monday, hubs had reserved the room until that morning. We had access to an outdoor AND indoor pool plus beach/pool towels (for an added $10/day fee), as well as lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach. The problem we had was the there was only one tower that you could pick up and drop off the towels and, of course, it was not the one we were in. You had to sign in/out each time you used them on a paper. I think they should have it in both towers and use a computer system of some sort so it can be tracked in both towers at the same time. I do not do elevators (anxiety…ugh), so having to walk down 4 floors and across the lot to another tower to get towels then go out to the pool or beach, then back again was not fun, especially when you are cold and wet & just paid $10 per day to use them. I guess we could have avoided all of that by just bringing our own but that totally slipped my mind and I didn’t even know what was going on until just before walking out the door.

We went grocery shopping since we had a full kitchen to save some money on going out to eat the whole time. When we got back to the room, the nerdlings broke in the master bathroom hot tub.

My Mother's Day & Birthday Surprise on Ormond Beach

Mother’s Day morning, hubs left for an almost hour ride back home to let our dog outside. Apparently he didn’t plan that part out very well. When he returned, he had a gorgeous bouquet of flowers in a vase for me. Have I mentioned how wonderful this man is yet?? The kids gave me their homemade cards that they somehow smuggled on the trip. I felt extra special.

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I didn’t get any pics of us on the beach because I didn’t want to bring anything with me besides the towel and just be in the moment to relax – no phones or anything! We didn’t spend a full day out there but we spent a few hours of Mother’s Day morning out there and it was so nice to just unplug and recharge. The water was freezing so it took a while to get used to. After some time in the beach, we relaxed under the beach umbrellas. Thank goodness we had those to use! The teen has vitiligo so has to pretty much avoid the sun and the other 2 nerdlings and I burn so easily..they are basically a MUST for us. Miraculously, NONE of us got sunburned!

After the beach, we then headed up to the room for lunch on the balconies overlooking the beach and then took a nice drive around town to check it out. We were so worn out from all the fun in the sun that we went back to the room took a little nap.

For dinner that evening, hubs ordered pizza and then he and the nerdlings cleaned up, forbidding me to even step foot into the kitchen. We went to the indoor pool afterwards and had it all to ourselves. As the day got later, the temperature outside dropped and the wind from the beach made it way too cold to go outside in the pool. The indoor one was heated and felt much better to us anyway, so we spent a few hours there.

My Mother's Day & Birthday Surprise on Ormond Beach

The beds in our room were amazing!! I had commented a few times that I would love to take the one we slept on home with us. They were so extra comfy and cozy and I actually slept great, better than I have in a very long time! I’m sure it also had to do with me feeling so calm and relaxed while there.

I spent as much time as possible on the balcony while in the room. The sound of the ocean waves was so relaxing and not once did I have that overwhelming panicky feeling. I had even brought my NaturalCare: Anxiety Relief tablets with me just in case but never felt the need to take them. Hubs and I hung out there both nights after the kids went to bed just talking and taking in the view and sounds. The resort even made it so we could stay an extra 1 1/2 hours before checkout and you can bet I spent most of that time out there. We would love to get a timeshare on the beach.

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My Mother's Day & Birthday Surprise on Ormond Beach

We arrived home sometime around 12:30 pm. It was my actual birthday but we were all so tired from all of the relaxing we did over the weekend and it was back to ‘normal’ for us. We all did our own thing and then hubs bought some fried fish and chicken with the sides for dinner. We ended the evening with another surprise…my birthday cake. Because of our eventful weekend, the kids weren’t able to make a cake so hubs bought one. They all sang happy birthday. It was a perfect ending to my Mother’s Day/Birthday extended weekend.

My Mother's Day & Birthday Surprise on Ormond Beach

This beach getaway was exactly what I, what ALL of us, needed. There was no arguing, no stress, no schedules…just relaxation and even the teen hung out with us WILLINGLY, ya’ll! I am a very blessed and thankful mama and wife.

Do you have a favorite trip or getaway? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

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Jess Benoit

Jess is a homeschooling mama of 3, wife, gamer, Whovian, Nerd

3 thoughts on “My Mother’s Day & Birthday Surprise on Ormond Beach

  • Awww how sweet and I give your husband major points for that surprise. Seems like everyone had a great time. I’m so very much like you. My birthday sometimes happen to be Mother’s Day and I have to celebrate them both. It’s my birthday today and I’m still awaiting my surprise. I’ll let you know all about it. 🙂

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  • It sounds like you had a great birthday / Mother’s Day weekend!! I love surprises and I think that it is super sweet that hubby surprised you with a little getaway. So sweet! <3

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