Our vacation

We are back from vacation! It was a fun trip up to Mille Lacs to share a cabin for a few days with Eric’s parents and Kaylee’s two cousins. It was hectic with three kids around – challenging with two two year olds who don’t know how to share yet. But still I have to say my niece and nephew are absolutely a delight! My niece is affectionate/cuddly, full of energy and laughs, generous with her artwork and an absolute beauty inside and out. My nephew always has a smile from ear to ear, is charming, athletic, and also has an endless supply of energy. It was fun to see how Kaylee reacted to the dynamic of two other kids. She was quieter than them during conflicts (i.e. sharing battles) but equally as insistent/feisty. We have a family full of cute, smart, energetic and fun kids! She worked hard at copying everything my nephew was doing. If they were doing chasing games, she would fall down when he would. If he stood up and brushed off his knee she would do the exact same thing. By the way, Kaylee is starting to become a heck of an actress. She can imitate any sound, facial expression and movement (it seems). I watched her fake a fall backward very convincingly. It made me realize how adept and able to do this she is, and to watch out for fake crying vs. real crying. Eric says it’s about tuning your ears to listen for the distinction. All in all, she came away idolizing her little cousins!

I cannot wait to introduce soon the new little guy into the mix! It was fun to observe how the older daughter, younger son (around the age as ours will be) dynamic worked as well. My niece is very protective of my nephew which is so cute. She would at times interpret his behavior for us or relay his message to us. My nephew looks to her for approval and for reassurance. When she disappeared from sight, he’d run around shouting her name. It was really sweet to see how much they love each other. Thank you to their Mom and Dad for letting us spend so much time with their beloved babes! I can’t wait for Kaylee to have a little brother!

The place we stayed was so gorgeous! It has a panoramic view of lake Mille Lacs. You could see the beach out one of fully-glazed walls. There was a balcony overlooking Mille Lacs from upstairs where the kids liked to catch a beach ball thrown from below. There was a pool and volleyball court (i.e. fun sand for pails/shovels when not used by players for the kids) . Everything was close and no one expected much walking from me. Very nice. My mother-in-law was an angel and cooked everything! It felt good to get away for a few days and to see Eric for a longer period of time (without his job requirements or mine in the mix).

Well I’ve got 4 weeks to go. The baby looks like it has dropped already, this does cause more pressure and the heat outside is a factor for sure in my energy level. I am not as flexible or willing to move without good reason. The swimming pool is a welcome amenity this summer. I’ve enjoyed having that during times of overheating. The weightlessness of swimming feels great! I’ve begun working on the details for my maternity leave with work and am thankful to work at such a nice, semi-flexible place! It is hard to arrange part-time work as an architect – there is not a lot of precedent for it. So I am staying “full-time” at 30 hours (my firm’s cut-off), which is 6 less than I am now – so I feel some relief about that!

One of the struggles I am dealing with as a working mother is getting dinners ready. It seems by the time I get home (I have a very long commute on top of my schedule) it’s like 6. Kaylee and Eric are so hungry that I just pop in whatever instant meal I can drum up and of course it’s gotta be toddler friendly – mac and cheese, nuggets, grilled cheese, bertolli pasta dinners and on a good night I might make some waffles from scratch. I feel like a real failure in this department lately. Esp. with being this pregnant /hot I don’t want to turn on the stove either. When I find a moment, I am going to be researching websites that specialize in recipes that can be frozen or cooked in the crock pot. I’ll let you know when I do that and what I find out. Would appreciate insights others have gotten or favorite family-friendly, expeditious recipes you may have under your belt!