how I spent my (almost) mommy vacation

As I've mentioned, my four oldest children have been gone for a few days.  In fact, they've been gone for 10 days.  So it's been a bit of a mommy vacation.  Well, sort of.  There were still diapers and laundry and naptimes and tantrums, but having soley a 19-month-old on my hands is undeniably different from parenting five young souls.  Now that my almost vacation is drawing to an end, I thought I'd reflect on how I spent my time...

~I dropped my remaining child off at a friend's for a few hours.
That's right!  For six hours Gabe played, lunched, and napped happily at a friend's house while I was free as a bird.  I could putter, work, relax, or clean as I saw fit.  And I did a little of everything.

~I fermented food.
Sauerkraut, beets, dilly beans, pickles...you name it (nearly), I fermented it. In fact, the mason jar situation in our home became a bit dire.  You know you're doing a lot of work when there's a mason jar shortage.

~I enjoyed my shining, mostly-clean floor.
Yeah, sure, my floor got some crumbs, scrambled egg, and the like dropped on it.  But mostly it stayed lovely.  No water drips, no wiped-up kombucha smears, no popsicle drips.  Nice and shiny.

~I went to the mall.
Elise and I have mother/daughter photos coming up soon.  I finalized our clothing and all of those details.  So. Much. Fun.

~I bought myself flowers.
Sunflowers.  Because you can take a girl out of Kansas, but you can't take the Kansas out of the girl.  They were so pretty on my dining room table!

~I tried kelp noodles for the first time.
Look.  A girl can only eat so many zucchini noodles before she starts to think she's going to lose her mind.  The kelp noodles were a good experiment.  The verdict?  Pretty good.  A bit chewy, but pretty good, especially dressed up with crunchy veg and a sunuttery dressing. (HERE is the recipe, if you're interested.)

~I enjoyed the slower pace of life.
Let's face it, things slowed way down in my house.  Less laundry, less mess, less running of the dishwasher.  My husband and I took walks, watched movies, and enjoyed more quiet times together.  It was nice to slow down a bit.  Even so...

~I missed my kids desperately.
There wasn't a day when I didn't miss them, think about them, wonder what they were doing.  I missed their smiles, their hugs, and their stories.  These young fry are a huge piece of my heart, and when they're away from me like this, my heart aches.


So happy they're coming home today!