Weekend getaway plus meal plan

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!

We just returned home from the Cape, visiting my dear friend Missy and her husband Kirk who live out there.  What a beautiful, relaxing place it is.

The girls would have spent FOREVER in the water if we hadn't dragged their chattering teeth back to our beach blanket to get warmed up.  It was only in the low 70s and breezy, so slightly chilly, but still a glorious, sparkling day to be at the ocean!

Watching the sun set on the beach

...with a glass of wine, fish & chips

...and this silly little girl?  My favorite part.

(grainy pictures of girls having fun as it got dark and the stars came out)

Someone was shooting off fireworks down the beach as we packed up and left and we all just watched for a minute, soaking up a magical moment.

Missy is, hands down, the hostess with the mostest.  She made us delicious meals and worked so hard to make us all comfortable.  Both Missy and Kirk played and joked around lots with the girls and they were just thrilled to have such good friends.  C burst into the most gigantic tears when we told her it was time to leave.

Speaking of C, she has lately encountered a case of the "contrary Marys" as we call them.  You know how, when you're two, the answer to every question has to be "NO!"-- even when you really mean "yes"?  Well, yeah, that has been coming around in full force with her lately.  Getting ready to go anywhere or transition to the next activity has been much more tough lately.  Maybe it's because it's such a huge contrast to her usual easygoing personality, or maybe it's just because it comes at a time when I'm a bit stressed about starting homeschool and work again (she probably picks up on my stress and that fuels the fire!), but it seems to be really wearing me out and I find I have little patience for it.

And so I came into this weekend worn down, but the time away was just what the doctor ordered.  I needed to "let go" a little bit... think about something else... catch up with my dear friend... drink some wine on the beach and watch the sun set... enjoy a magical moment or two.  I'm tired now, because traveling with little kiddos is always a bit tiring, but I told Missy today that it's a "good tired".

It is also great to have a friend who has stuck with me for the entire 12 years that I have known her, even when we have lived far apart or have been insanely busy with work or kids.  Catching up with her is always like simply picking up where we left off.  The best kind of friend, right??  She's truly a remarkable person.  Thanks for de-stressing me, Missy!

What's up next for this week?  The first day of teaching {online} for me on Wednesday, continued homeschooling and ironing out of our daily schedule, meet-the-teacher morning for L at preschool, and the start of a few activities for N as well.  Not to mention a really busy work week for M as classes start up for all the teachers he advises (myself included!).  Here we go!!

...aaaaaaaand the meal plan.

Monday breakfast: leftover steel cut oats; cereal
Monday lunch: salad wraps
Monday supper: leftover spaghetti; leftover spinach & ricotta pasta

Tuesday breakfast: soaked baked oatmeal
Tuesday lunch: scrambled eggs & fresh fruit
Tuesday supper: more leftovers!  We have a lot!

Wednesday breakfast: leftover baked oatmeal; cereal
Wednesday lunch: cheese quesadillas and homemade salsa, made with garden tomatoes!
Wednesday supper: baked fish with sweet potato casserole

Thursday breakfast: poached eggs
Thursday lunch: sandwiches on soaked bread; "rabbit food"
Thursday supper: Monterey Beans and brown rice

Friday breakfast: stove top oatmeal or various breakfast leftovers
Friday lunch: Annie's Mac with garden broccoli
Friday supper: leftovers

Saturday breakfast: Daddy makes waffles!
Saturday lunch: various lunch leftovers; salads
Saturday supper: out with Zach & Piper who will be visiting!!!! or something Mexican, made at home.  I haven't decided yet.  Z & P, what's your preference?? ;-}

Here's my workout recap... it was a tough week.  A couple of really hot, humid days, which really slows me down, and I slept in and missed Tuesday's workout.  Plus generally being busy and pressed for time means I cut back the total mileage a bit.

Monday: 5.01 miles at 10:07 pace (on the treadmill)
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: 5.05 miles at 10:35 pace (hot!!! and hilly run!!!)
Thursday: 50-minute pilates workout
Friday: just over 11 miles, and I don't know what my pace was because my phone died halfway through the run!  I think about 10:45 per mile.
Saturday: off (at the Cape!)

This week will be even more busy so I anticipate that training will suffer a bit.  Hopefully I'll get back on the wagon after that!

Hope you all enjoyed the weekend, and the day off tomorrow if you have it!