Our Five Ring Circus: The Post-Vacation Blues

Monday, August 29, 2016

The Post-Vacation Blues

The grand finale of our Summer Break was spending a week at Virginia Beach! It was so nice to escape reality for a bit and enjoy a more relaxed schedule. We got home over the weekend and it was definitely a harsh reality check. Take me back!!!


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Why is it ALWAYS so hard to return home after vacation? The return to reality can be so depressing at first!
 
The past few weeks were a whirlwind. I felt like I barely had time to breathe and I sacrificed sleep repeatedly to get everything done. I had big plans to fill my blog with posts before I left and spend a few relaxing hours on vacation reading my favorite blogs but life got way too busy. I apologize for my absence but I was so overworked that I just needed to take a break from everything, including blogging. I have a date with my computer to schedule posts and catch up with my favorite blogs later this afternoon!

I literally worked from late July until my husband woke up at 4 AM last Friday morning for our trip. There was no downtime at any point. I was packing until the last minute and stayed up all night just to get things done. Our schedule was so chaotic in August that there was simply no other time left to prepare. Miraculously we managed to get on the road by 5 AM that day! Our SUV was bursting with luggage (literally) and overflowing with excitement!

Did I mention that nothing ever works out as planned? It's true! The morning before we left I woke up with a killer sore throat and a stuffy nose. By the time we left for vacation I had a fever as well. I absolutely love spending a week at the beach and I savor every moment but I ended up sick the entire time we were there. Talk about poor timing. I hardly ever get sick and it hits me during the one week each year that we go on vacation. The ocean air did help a bit and my fever broke on day three but I did spend the week congested and coughing. That was definitely a bummer but being sick at the beach is far better than being sick at home!

It's going to take me about a week to sort through my 2000+ pictures and put together a REAL vacation blog post. Despite being sick and despite the bickering by day 5 we had a great time and made some awesome memories! The beach is my favorite place and it was so hard to leave!

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Unfortunately we had to return to reality. After a VERY long drive home (Washington DC rush hour traffic is ridiculous) I spent my entire weekend unpacking, running errands to prepare for the upcoming school year and working my way through 15 loads of laundry.  A week's worth of beach laundry for a family of six is NO joke!

I'm usually so positive but I'm in a post-vacation slump right now. We have some significant changes ahead of us this week and I'm not quite ready for most of them! My husband is returning to work today, my three older kids are starting school on Wednesday and I have to take Liam to a preschool orientation on Thursday. Our new schedule is so overwhelming that I keep shutting my planner every time I sit down to schedule out next month!

Next Tuesday I will have 4 kids in school and I don't really want to face that new reality. There are a lot of drastic changes coming our way. Some changes are very good and some will just require us to adjust to a new normal. I'll be sharing many of those changes over the next two weeks along with our vacation recap. Stay tuned!


As for now I just want to return to the beach. Life is so much better there!


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Let's Be Friends!


20 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos of the kids!! I'm so sorry you were sick while at the beach. I agree better to be sick there than at home, but it still stinks. You don't look sick in the photos if it makes it better. :) I hope this sweek goes smoothly and you can enjoy these last few days before the kids go back to school.

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    1. Thank you, Jess! XOXO I can't wait to read more about your new job!

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  2. Ugh about getting sick! That happened to me a few years ago, strep throat while in Disney World! Ugh. The pictures are beautiful. I can't wait to see more. I hope you get through the post vacation slump - I definitely know how you feel!

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    1. Strep at Disney? Okay, you win!!! Thank you so much. I will hopefully get the post done by early next week!

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  3. So fun, looks like you guys had a nice time and I'm glad your feeling better at least.

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    1. It was definitely a great vacation despite my cold. Thank you!

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  4. Oh Stef, that sucks so bad that you were sick the whole time. Ugh, that seems to happen to us every single time, too. Somebody always gets sick, although, it's usually one of the kids.

    It's definitely a good thing that you took a break from everything, though. You deserve it! We all missed you while you were gone, but we all completely understand that you needed to just unplug! Good luck getting caught up on everything this week!

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    1. It happens to us, too! Last year was the only time we went on vacation without a single person getting sick!

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  5. oh what a bummer about being sick on vacation!! That is so disappointing. I'm glad you got to enjoy some it. :(

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  6. That is the WORST getting sick on vacation, especially the fever! I'm glad you still managed to make the most of it and you looked so great in your pics I would have never known you were sick :) I can't wait to read more about it and everything else!

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    1. Thank you so much, Lizzie! That's very sweet of you to say. It was still a great trip!

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  7. Praying you get through the slump friend. I am going to be turning to you for post vacation blue advice here in just a few more weeks. Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

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    1. I'll get there soon enough! I hope you have a wonderful vacation, my friend!!! XOXO

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  8. Your pictures are fabulous! So glad you got a little break from life, but major bummer you got sick!!

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    1. Thank you so much, Sarah! It was definitely a bummer but I was feeling decent by the last few days!

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  9. I'm so sorry that you were sick on vacation! But your positive attitude about the situation is spot on. I'd much rather be sick at the beach than at home. Thinking of you as you guys approach all of these changes!

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    1. Thank you, Amy! And that's exactly right...being at the beach is great no matter what!

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  10. Yay for your beach vacation! Boo for being sick! I'm happy you started feeling better a few days in! Also, although I don't have four cuties like you do, my two sweet kiddos are both heading to school, as well. I feel like I've also been hustling to get things done around here and I'm tooootally with you with changes in our day-to-day...I feel like I was just figuring it out and them BAM! It's all new and different. I'm looking forward to your upcoming blog posts from you vacation! I still have yet to post about Eliza turning 3...and that was in May! Geez, time... Slow down! ;).

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  11. So sad that you were sick the whole time! What a bummer! Looks like everyone had fun though!! Good luck with the post-vacation blues -- they are the worst!

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