A week by the sea

We got back this weekend form our annual week at Ocean City New Jersey. I have been going with my family since I was in 6th grade (the summer after we moved from Atlanta area to Philadelphia area). It is always a highlight of my summer and now a highlight of my kids' and Daniel's summer. Vacationing with kids can be tough, but Daniel and I had a conversation before our trip about our expectations and I really think that helped us to really enjoy the vacation and not feel stressed about the lack of schedule and late bedtimes. We basically talked about how we would deal with discipline while away, what we expect in terms of naps and bed, our mealtime expectations and we even discussed how much we would spend during our outings (which helped us to all be on the same page).

The whole week Millie said "lets go into the sea" any time she wanted to swim in the ocean. 

The highlight for me was watching my girls play in the water. Millie in particular did so well in the waves. She loved running and jumping in the waves crashing on the beach. She is my little beach babe and has always loved the water. I Remember her first summer at the Shore and she would have crawled right into the surf if we didn't stop her.

Daniel and I also did some serious boogie boarding this year as the water was way warmer than last year, I am not pregnant and there were some really really good days of waves. I love going out in the water, but due to pregnancy and having little babies, it has been several years since I have gone boogie boarding. It was so fun going out and playing in the waves. I truly can't wait until Millie is old enough to boogie board with me!

Daniel and I also got one morning out this year. We opted for a morning date instead of an evening date, reasoning that if we go in the morning we actually gain time together instead of the evening (when our kids are already in bed). So we went to the boardwalk and enjoyed breakfast at Ove and then walked along the boardwalk without kids, browsing in shops and drinking tea! It was a good break from the vacation chaos. 

Basically a typical vacation day looks like my girls waking up really early with my parents (thanks mom and dad!!) and then Rowan and I rolling out of bed around 6:40 to join them. A few mornings out of the week my dad walks all the kids over to Mallons for sticky buns, crumb cake and cinnamon buns (breakfast of champions).

Then around 8:30 or 9 we start getting ourselves ready for the beach and are usually our in the sand by 10, some days earlier though. We swim, play in the sand, sit in the shade, eat a billion and one snacks and then head back for lunch and rest time at the house.

In the afternoon my dad and sometimes my mom or another adult goes back to sit by the water in peace while the kiddos rest or play at the house. My girls took naps most days, but it was a battle every.single.day trying to get Elise to settle down.

Then we have dinner (mostly at home but we do one night out at Smitty's Clam Bar just off the Island and one night for dinner at the boardwalk). Then we have way too many sweets and try to convince the kids to sleep at some point before all the adults go crazy!

In the old days before we had 5 kids with us as a group, we use to spend the evenings playing games and watching movies. This year we didn't watch a single movie (the kids did just not the adults) and only had time for one night of games (on which we laughed so hard and stayed up way too late). But it won't be long before our kids are old enough to stay up later and play their own games independently while the adults play games. So we will treasure these years with little ones and drink lots and lots of coffee every morning to make up for the lack of sleep.

Rowan was a dream baby during the day. He is so content and flexible, but his nighttime schedule is way way off  and he got use to waking up every 1.5 to 2 hours to snuggle with mommy at night. So now we are facing the baby vacation hangover at home as we try to get him back on track. But he is my only babe who could manage going to the boardwalk late into the evening and staying up way past his bedtime without crying nonstop. He got so many snuggles all week and so much attention. I am so glad he is so well loved by my family!