My Staycation

I have LOVED my staycation this week! Yesterday I was thinking about the fact that I have never stayed home on a vacation before... unless you count my maternity leave with Quinn as the last time....9 years ago. It's been over 9 years since I've had 5 consecutive days off of work and didn't leave town. I have absolutely loved my week! I've tried to imagine what it would feel like if I stayed home all the time... surely the newness would wear off right? Is it possible to be bored at home at this stage with my kids so busy? I really doubt it. The low stress of not balancing work with life was an absolute incredible and freeing feeling though! Now the week wasn't just all butterflies and rainbows... keep reading to the end. : )

Top 5 great things from my staycation:

1. Spending more time with Madison and Quinn. Especially Quinn since Madison left for Iowa on Wednesday. He loved the "Mom and Son time" as he called it, working on this crazy airplane model that is probably more challenging to me, than to him!
(Sorry I have very few pictures with me in it!)

2. Driving Quinn and Nate to football every single day of camp... instead of having to arrange for a car pool ride! Yippee! (It's the little things). ...And getting to watch his scrimmage on Wed & Thurs too.
3. Hosting Amy, Jeff, Jenna, Mikayla, Haley as well as Scooby and Daisy (their 2 dogs) for 4 days. We always have a great time!
4. Going to the fair as much as we wanted. Six out of nine days is a record for sure!
5. Staying up late and sleeping in a few days too.

Bottom 5...
1. Tony had to work all week and really didn't get to spend much time with us at all on our staycation. He is a hard working guy and I prayed for him a lot this week, relief just has to come soon don't you think?
2. At first Cocoa loved Scooby and Daisy but by the end of their stay, she had become rather homicidal and even had a few attempted murder attempts on those poor little dog's lives! I think she saw them as rabbits or squirrels and that meant chasing and shaking. Yikes! We had to coordinate their "free time" so they could avoid each other.
3. I had some trouble with my back and leg! Occasionally I get the low back pain and leg pain and it's been acting up the last few weeks. I REFUSE to become one of my own patients (since this is the number 1 diagnosis I treat) but it was pretty miserable for a few days. Walking Cocoa (and walking at the fair) brings on numbness and burning in my legs and toes!
4. I've really missed Madison these past 4 days. I know she is having a wonderful time in Iowa but never the less, this made my bottom 5 list.
5. OK, I could only think of 4... and I'm not going to try and stretch to find something else wrong because the good by far outweighs the bad!

Now, I'm going to have to take a dose of my own medicine tomorrow morning when the alarm clock goes off... and "Be happy that I had a vacation, not feel sad that its over!" That was one of the many wise things I've learned from my mom. (Sometimes I do have to repeat that to myself over and over until I finally FEEL what I'm saying though! Ha!) Back to the real world tomorrow.

Thanks for reading. Love to all! Leah