And it’s literally just full days at home with their babies.

It’s already back to the grind again. But I do, in fact, feel refreshed after 11 consecutive days home with my babies.

This staycation fell just right on our calendars. There is a time and a place for road trips, house guests, and whatnot–but home with my precious kiddos was the place to be for this summer’s break.

Soaking up the Sun

. . . in the pool. YAS.

Poolside was where we lived for several hours every single day. At least when it wasn’t storming. Toward the end of our blissful days, it was a Saturday, and my oldest decided we should “break our record” and stay for 6 hours the next time. Five had been the longest up until then.

(Afterward, I realized we probably had more than enough).

Some days I packed a snack/lunch, in a Bogg-like bag, and it fueled us on. I mean, no one wanted to leave–not even me!–it was stunning and so grounding to exist outside.

Other days Caeden practiced shooting hoops (he is quite good, in spite of my bias) and we actually tried our hand at pickleball! (I need to do this more since I have a brief history of tennis).

Oh, and my son also said “It’s your lucky day” that time we found an abandoned–and beat up–volleyball at the pool. We bumped that about a bit.

Such fun.

Evvy and Greyson enjoyed both the big and kiddie pools. Several times I would be gliding through the waters holding on to the baby with my girlie hanging on to my back.

Every year I see massive improvement with water-confidence in both of the bigger kids. Caeden amped up his cannonballs and could even be found floating around the deep end. My heart!

And can I add–bringing sand toys to the baby pool is genius?? Water play is so fascinating at this age and having toys like these definitely multiplied the fun! (A couple moms at the pool actually inquired about where they came from!) Made me feel like I did something right, haha. (Some days I am grasping…)

We all got so much sun–which was incredible. The baby’s hair has even been turning gold at the ends! I applied coconut butter on our reddened skin whenever we got back–and come to think of it no one even peeled!

Needless to say, I wore out my kiddos. Then I felt sad when Evvy came down with a fever on Sunday during our church picnic. I didn’t realize her body was fighting off something simply because it was so hot out and she was pretty sun-kissed.

(Note: Baby girl is all better now–and is thrilled to declare in amazement from time to time, “I’m not sick anymore!” It had really knocked her out.)

Strengthening the Routines

Yes, I know, it was vacation, but I determined to channel my “inner Jocko Willink” every [weekday] morning.

I’ve been reading through this Navy SEAL’s kids’ series a second time now and had latched on to some of the habits Uncle Jake teaches his nephew, Marc.

I even listened to his podcast briefly–a friend was bringing my attention to his upcoming movie, hello–and during the interview Willink admits to working out every single day. He said something along the lines of rest days will come naturally so he just determines to do some kind of physical activity every day.

Weekends are still a break for me, though, because the schedule then is a bit more challenging. I guess I am not indeed a Warrior Kid (oof).

On the Fourth of July I was thrilled to have finished 4 weeks of an amazing 10-minute workout program. This was the first time I fully completed it after about 3 false starts. I finally have a pretty good thing going now. Inspired by desperation, honestly. It feels good to be doing something good for my health. I was so sick of feeling stuck.

This book opened my eyes to incorporating bite-sized habits that won’t wreck anyone’s life: The Lazy Genius Way.

Now that I’m been back in the office, I had to overcome the first day’s adjustment to staring at a desktop screen for hours: manifested in a fabulous headache. Which I suppose means I was thoroughly screen detoxed. The shift back to this routine is typically exhausting in its own way.

Making Time for the Soul

Overall, these 11 non-stop days at home with my kiddos allowed for less stress. I was not pressured to rush us all out the door and I felt like I could take my time my kids. This was super noticeable to me, but I tried (and am trying) not to dwell on it–even as I write this out. I can’t afford to be ungrateful for what I have as things stand.

As the sun slowly rose and the kids slept in a bit longer, I took my coffee out to the back porch to listen to the morning birds sing. Doing that was so incredibly lifegiving. I read a little bit until one of the 3 littles came out to join me and we would share sweet little conversations. Oh and hugs. Always the hugs.

Reading books for myself or even doing my devotions have been unheard of for breaks/vacations in my experience but I am thrilled to prove to myself that false.

I continued reading my devotional book and Bible after showering so when I transitioned to the kitchen for coffee and brekky I was ready to do some personal, fun reading. Whatever I did not read during the day I was able to stay up later–most nights–to pull my booklight on and plod on. I even finished a whole book within the days off!

Finding time to read for me has been so good for my soul, of late.

Savoring the Simple

Just before our vacation started our silly little oven started spazzing out and broiling things which I had no intentions of broiling.

Of course it started when my husband was on a work trip. I had a hankering for–and also a drawer full of–carrots so I made my staple carrot soufflé. Well, that turned a bit awry as the broiler did its unexpected thing. My kids usually want some soufflé but not when it looks like mommy forgot how to cook.

My oldest even made a comment about “But that’s one of your best dishes” or something along those lines. It was humbling, to say the least. I will say I am glad I had not been preparing it for some friends. Because then I would have been mortified. An audience of my own little people was lower-pressure but still saddening.

[Note: approximately a month has passed and I now have a workable oven. So bake I can do again…] I’d say it was worth waiting for.

If I had been able to bake all break (ha! See what I did there?) I would have lived on sourdough and who knows what else that maybe we would not have needed (yeah right). But I am thankful either way. A tough experience, but worth it.

I will say I made a point to keep having my usual breakfast sandwich every morning so I would have the energy I needed to keep up with our pool time and et cetera.

Those 11 days were special to Summer 2025 and I will look back on them fondly. And! Thankfully, summer is not entirely done yet!

The last time I wanted to press hard on the brakes as the seasons change was when my oldest was about to start K4. And want to guess why it’s feeling reminiscent this summer…? My daughter is going to start K4 in a few weeks and my heart is just not quite ready. Oh, it (I), will be. But for now… let the sun set as late as it can, let’s have popsicles for breakfast, and let us wear those bathing suits a bit more.

Because if I know this mama? She just “really needed this.”