back to reality

Vacation is over. We arrived back home from my family's cottage on Sunday and it has been a week fraught with transition nightmares! Poor Kennedy is not happy that she has to share Mommy for the next few weeks, since Molly is no longer in summer school and first grade doesn't start until August 31st. Both girls loved being on vacation and having Mommy, Daddy, Goomie, Poppy, The Aunties, and our family friends at their beck and call. The girls seriously flourished in all the attention and we had an amazing vacation!

We did so many amazing things with the girls this year, things we couldn't really do when they were babies. Yes, Kennedy got stung by a Jellyfish and Molly wrench her hip so bad we had to have x-rays when we came back - but those were just minor setbacks to a truly wonderful vacation. It's amazing. We didn't do anything flashy this year. There were no day trips, no carousels, not even a dinner out - but it didn't matter, I would classify this vacation as one of our Top 10! Of course, Molly still asks daily for a return trip to Disney World - and they both love the outings - but we didn't need it. We are seriously trying to conserve our finances. We just keep getting hit with unexpected expenses from all around, mostly medical in nature, unfortunately. So we made the decision to keep this vacation low-key and just about being together as a family.

We swam, we fished, we boated, we built sand castles, we collected sea shells, we tried crabbing, Molly won about 25 games combined of Chutes and Ladders and Candyland (and she didn't cheat!). We cooked real, homemade meals which we sat together as a family and had big family dinners. The girls shared a room and did get to watch part of  a DVD each night before bed. They also had limited Ipad time, especially when the grown-ups were spent or a meal needed prepping. However, they played almost continuously. They "read" stories, they colored pictures, they truly basked in the attention of their loving family.

Waiting for Poppy and the boat

Taking a walk

Dance party!

Chilling on Mommy & Daddy's Bed

Princess Kennedy

Family Cottage

Sisterly Love

Fishing with Poppy

Family Picture at the Pirate Party

Trying our hand at crabbing

Like I said, it was a great vacation, and then we came home. Daddy went back to work on Monday. Goomie and Poppy stayed on the island. The Aunties and the rest of the extended family went back to their day to day lives. And I found myself at home on Monday morning with two sleep deprived little girls, who were not adjusting to the one person cheering section when they had 5 or more all week. I also had one little trooper who couldn't walk and needed to go to the doctors and then for x-rays... It's been an intense week.

We've had therapies almost every day, and excluding an amazing and unusual speech session, all have noticed how rigid Kennedy has become. She's pretty much refusing to walk, calling out "cheerio" which seems to translate to "carry me". Molly's been slightly better in the transition, but has been sobbing at the drop of a hat and even decided to wake up at 2:45am on Wednesday - leaving me baffled as to what's going on with these two!

With all this going on, I decided we needed a break. So, after nap yesterday I packed the 2 kids in the car with a back pack of necessities and headed to Clinton to see my folks. The girls were excited to go back to the cottage and go on the boat and to see their beloved Goomie and Poppy. They were fantastic for the whole ride and helpful when we stopped at the Pie/Corn stand for dinner accompaniments. They had a great time and we got back in the car at about 7:30pm to head home. We were less then a mile from our exit when I heard and felt the tell-tale bump-a-thump-a of a flat tire. The girls don't like traffic and they were both a little freaked out. I was too, but kept my calm, called roadside and settled in for the wait. Thank goodness for the DVD player and the DVDs I had left in the car. The girls had a few little moments of terror, impatience, sleepiness and worry - but overall they were good. Molly managed to lose her 2nd tooth, but handled it like a champ. She also managed to get her arm stuck in her carseat??? We got home about 10:15 and both girls went right to bed.

So here we are - Friday morning. Daddy left early to take the car to the dealership and walk to the train station to get to work. The girls and I are meeting friends and the fabulous Tammy at the playground for a therapy session and then back for nap time. The weather is incredible and I'm hoping that after a week fraught with transition nightmares - we are back into our new normal, at least until school starts and normal takes on a new look!