Mondayyyyyyy.  Guys, it is the Monday-est of Mondays: a post-vacation Monday.  As you already know if we’re friends on Instagram, we spent last week in the Outer Banks – in Duck, NC – and it was a week of soaking up sun (and some rain), jumping in the clean salty Atlantic waves, digging moats and building sand castles, and reading books on our incredible deck overlooking Currituck Sound.  I’ll do a whole post on it – but it was wonderful to get away from it all and spend some time together as a family.  We realized that this trip was actually the first weeklong vacation we’ve done as just the four of us, since either of the kids were born.  We’ve slipped away for the occasional weekend getaway here and there, but anytime we’ve actually gone away for a full-length vacation, it’s been with family, friends – or both.  This was long overdue.  And while Steve had to work every day that we were at the beach, and I worked most nights after bedtime (total bummer) it was still a much-needed escape.  We hit Duck Beach every day from Monday to Friday, and on Saturday – dreary and rainy – we drove to Roanoke Island and visited the North Carolina Aquarium.  Our “turnover day” was Sunday, so we packed up the car and returned the keys to the beach house at zero dark thirty, and were back in northern Virginia by lunchtime.  We dove right back into regular life on Sunday afternoon – I cleaned the kitchen and took the little dude to a friend’s birthday party – and now there’s a loooooong week of patchy childcare looming.  But at least next weekend is Labor Day, and then – back to school!  I love summer, but I’m sort of ready.

Reading.  Finally, a busy reading week to report – thanks, vacation!  With Steve working and the kids just wanting to hang around the beach house and play most mornings, I actually churned through quite a few books this week.  First up, I finished Red, White & Royal Blue, and loved it.  As I wrote last week, the writing was perfectly serviceable, but it was really the story that shone – and it did shine.  I’m still thinking about it nearly a week later.  Next, I powered through the rest of the Katherine Mansfield stories I was reading for The Classics Club; as is the case with short stories – for me at least – some were winners but quite a few were duds.  Next up, a pressing library deadline demanded that I read Whisper Network, which is usually a recipe for not liking a book – but I loved this one.  Spent an inordinate amount of time tapping out text messages to my work friends, insisting they all go get a copy right now.  Finally over the course of Saturday evening and on our drive back from the beach, I tore through the latest Lady Georgianna mystery – always a winner for me – and ended the weekend over the earliest pages of The Tenth Muse – another library deadline, but I am really excited about this one, too.  It was an excellent week of vacation reading, all told.

Watching.  The kids have discovered that there are more Despicable Me movies and they. are. hooked.  We haven’t figured out a way to stream Despicable Me 2 yet, but they are watching the first and third in rotation and they’re OBSESSED.  I can now quote both movies at length and… I’m sort of embarrassed, but I figure I’m among friends here… I have to admit – I really kind of enjoy the Minions.

Listening.  Very little listening, actually.  Because the kids were in the car with me anytime I went anywhere this week, Daisy Jones & the Six was suuuuuuuper not happening.  I’ll get back to it this week – and maybe finish?  Anyway, all we listened to was the Decemberists, because the kids love The Mariner’s Revenge Song (#momoftheyear) and I got through about half of a The Mom Hour “More than Mom” episode on library memories while folding laundry and packing the kids’ clothes on Saturday night.

Moving.  Well, not much official exercise – or any, really.  I packed my running shoes in hopes of banging out a couple of runs in Duck, but it didn’t happen.  I was always either parenting, working, or collapsed with exhaustion.  So hopefully this week.  But it was an active week, with lots of time spent chasing the kids around the surf, pulling the little red wagon loaded with beach gear, digging holes in the sand until my arms were sore, and running up and down the four flights of stairs in our beach house multiple times a day.

Making.  I did some vacation cooking – picked up fresh seafood from Dockside ‘n Duck and made fish tacos one night, and crab and shrimp pasta another night.  The fish tacos were a hit but the pasta, not so much.  (Lots of crab shells.)

Blogging.  Another book review coming atcha on Wednesday – those Katherine Mansfield stories I mentioned above.  And then more Pacific Northwest recaps on Friday.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  Can I talk about school supplies for a minute?  We did most of our shopping before leaving for the beach, because I figured if I left it for afterwards, everything would be picked over.  This was the first year I was buying a backpack for one of the kids; their school requires the early childhood classes – preschool through kindergarten – to carry matching tote bags with the school crest.  But as a big first grader, Peanut is backpack eligible, so off we trotted to Pottery Barn Kids.  And man – their selection!  I figured I was going to have a fight on my hands with Peanut wanting one of the backpacks with licensed characters, but she trotted right up to an Outer Space themed backpack and declared that she wanted that one.  It’s a super cute and sturdy backpack and I’m kind of charmed by it, plus my nerd heart is singing to see her with her space theme.  I’ve spent a lot of the summer having anxiety over both kids’ experiences in their next grades, but this little backpack is getting me… dare I say it?… a little bit excited for fall.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?