We’re back from two weeks at the beach and slowly adjusting to life back home. I’ve been having some crazy and vivid dreams. In my case, the vividness comes from being woken up in the middle of some of the dreams — I think that makes me more likely to remember them. The other night, the “long stretch” (4 hours) featured a dream about having a house in the middle of a city park in what I was telling myself was San Francisco (though it kind of looked more like Portland as I think about the geography). We were right next to a parking garage, and people were tromping through the house at all hours of the day (because it was, well, in a public park!), which led me to think this was a bad idea. Then the next dream, in the morning stretch (1.5 hours), was about my 5-year-old running off somewhere. I could not find him. He has in fact hidden in the house and not come when called, leading to some panic, but that hadn’t happened in a few months.
Anyway, good restful times. I looked back over my summer fun list, and we have been making progress. We spent two weeks at the beach, which was good for getting out of the house. Our favorite ice cream parlor was open, and we went every single night except one. Yep, that’s 13 nights of ice cream!
The baby has started eating solid food. I’m switching things up this time and doing veggies earlier and smashed up real food (like soft bananas). We are still dealing with some selective eating issues with the 5-year-old (though under duress he took a bite of apple last night…) and while I believe kids are who they are, I would like to use any window of flexibility we have to do what we can.
We did manage to go strawberry picking earlier this summer. A number of pick-your-own farms have opened with social distancing, so this was possible in mid-June. We will try peach picking in 2 weeks or so when that is available.
I have been enjoying my coffee on the porch many mornings when we’ve been home. I did a morning trail run yesterday that was lovely, though I really need to kick things into gear if I plan to run a marathon this fall (unclear if it will actually happen, though). We aren’t doing our traditional “mommy days” due to closures and my nursing the baby every 3 hours but my kids have been going to their grandparents’ home for individual overnights as a substitute.
We have been doing hikes. Yesterday we drove up to Nockamixon, which is a state park less than an hour north of here. I’m not sure how we have lived here for 9 years and not known about it, but the lake looks lovely. We did a rather hot hike but next time maybe we’ll manage to get childcare for the baby and thus be able to have two adults take 4 children on boats.
The Lego Yoda is done. My 13-year-old took a vacation hiatus from novel writing but he is now back at it. I have not started on the dollhouse, which my 8-year-old keeps reminding me about. It looks intimidating and well, easy to procrastinate.
I am going outside after dinner most nights. We’re swimming frequently in our pool (and so grateful to have it this summer). And The New Corner Office (the ebook) launches next week!
So, things are moving along. Maybe I will start on the dollhouse…
Are you having any vivid dreams these days?
I’m pregnant so I am definitely having vivid dreams. It seems like vivid dreams come with pregnancy, especially in the early months? Last night I dreamed I was at the doctor and they could not find the baby’s heartbeat. 🙁 So that was a really horrible dream. 🙁
Your 2 weeks at the beach sounds dreamy. We are going to my parents’ lake home for a week in August and I am basically living for that vacation right now. I’ve barely taken any time off this year and my husband hasn’t either so we are very ready for a full week off from work.
@Lisa – yep, weird pregnancy dreams are a thing! And I hope your vacation is relaxing. I did some work most days but not too much. That made taking 2 weeks possible.
Why not plan for a virtual marathon that you run yourself?
@omdg- I could, or maybe I’ll just aim to do a 20-mile long run at some point this fall. That would probably be the longest training run I’d do anyway.
My husband got into Boston for the rescheduled September 2020 on a charity team and has opted NOT to do the virtual option. I hope you will write about your running. I always enjoy those posts even though my fitness has shifted to include other things and less running.
This is how my husband runs marathons- plans them himself and just does them. He has zero patience for the crowds and hassle of organized marathons. It’s worked well for the last decade! He also does ultra marathons (50 miles) but does those as part of an organized race, for logistical ease and safety.
The beach sounds lovely! We live in PA as well and have been hoping to go this summer too. Which beach did your family enjoy?
@Nikki- we went to Ocean Grove. It’s just south of Asbury Park (and different from Ocean City, which is the better known beach).
Good luck with the solids. I found some of these resources useful. http://www.firststepsnutrition.org/eating-well-infants-new-mums
Yes to the vivid dreams, and I also had one about a house in San Francisco a couple of days ago. In mine, the lower level looked straight onto water, but then so did a mysterious fourth floor. And then a fifth floor popped up but some other owner of the house blocked the stairs. House dreams are recurring for me and I often wonder what they mean. In this case, probably related to me watching a couple of episodes of Monk that night.
I had been (day)dreaming about our beach vacation in Cape May but we’re still on the fence about whether to go. With a little one and a littler one, we don’t need much in the way of entertainment… But we planned the trip assuming we could use the hotel pool, and that umbrellas and chairs would be provided at the beach, and that we would eat at restaurants… If none of that is available, it seems like maybe we would do just as well to spend a few long afternoon at our local playground’s sand pit.
@Erica – we rented a house, so there wasn’t the communal beach items issue. Turns out we were the first renters of the summer too, so even less of an issue!
I really love the fun lists. This summer is challenging because we cannot travel as planned but regularily returning to my fun list and checking off items helps to plan fun adventures.
I always have extremely vivid dreams, but even more so lately. Waking up exhausted every morning!