The holiday season is flying by…December 6th already today! Not to once again defend my choice to “start early” in November, but I already feel like it just goes SO FAST. So, starting early feels like the only way I get a sufficient amount of Christmas coziness in my life. 🙂
1- In person work yesterday!
I had to go work at the hospital yesterday all day in the Transplant Clinic. I have not had to work on site in AGES. AGES!
But my co-worker and I needed to go observe a bunch of kidney transplant evals in the clinic as part of a Process Improvement project we’re working on. Long story, but there are some parts we’re trying to standardize, and we needed to see firsthand how much variation currently exists between what the different providers do and say during their patient evaluation visits.
We sat in for six different hour-long evals, all with different providers, taking detailed notes. It was rather interesting, actually, to see the variances and how some providers are just more natural at explaining/teaching than others. (Shhh, don’t repeat this, but I think the NPs/PAs actually do it better than the MDs! 😉 )
For me though, not being accustomed to actually ahem, going to work anymore, the day felt like an Ordeal. Hahaha. Had to get up, get showered and ready in clinic appropriate clothing, feed the dog, drive through a lot of rush hour/downtown campus traffic for almost 40 minutes, park in a ramp far away and freeze my tushy off walking into the hospital, then get to the actual clinic…. Whew. I was tired before we even got going. LOL.
I don’t know how people do this all the time! haha! I used to work 7 am- 7:30 pm at the hospital, so I always missed rush hour traffic.
Oh, and I didn’t even stay that late. We were done by 4:15, but it took until 5 to get home. If I had stayed until a more typical ‘5 pm’ end time, it would have been so late by the time I got home. I feel like I can barely keep our life together/ get dinner on the table when I work remote! 🤣 I’d be a lost cause if I had to be on site every day. hahaha.
On the plus side, the 4:15 p.m. view from the parking ramp out over Lake Mendota was very pretty:
2- Christmas comic #1
Okay, this one made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!
3- We made a sudden and drastic change to our spring break plans this week!
I mentioned in a recent post that we were going to Italy for spring break and that I had recently booked all our hotels and a tour.
All that was left was to book our flights. Well. I had been eyeing a particular multi-destination flight, flying Chicago to Milan, and then home from Venice to Chicago. The prices were not good, but I had thought maybe they’d drop a little, or I figured I’d “figure something out”.
Well (again), long story short, when I went to actually book them, the flight prices and itineraries were just generally terrible. Perhaps if we could be more flexible with the dates, itinerary timing, or we could just fly roundtrip instead of a multi-city route, it would be better, but with our limitations, it was tough.
After a lot of scouring the flight pages for several days, I started to have second thoughts. The flights were going to be a LOT, and options were weirdly limited. I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend that much just on flights. We are not made of money here, people! And it just seemed like, wasteful/ unnecessary.
I also had been having a few concerns about the weather in Northern Italy maybe being iffy in March. Could be fine, or, not. I liked the idea of NOT being in Italy during peak summer crowds, which honestly gives me the heebie jeebies. But Italy is also a pretty “outdoor” destination, so, I was a little unsure.
Additionally, the boys were the ones who badly wanted to go back to Italy. But I was a little concerned that their idea of “Italy” = what they have seen so far, which is…. ROME. Rome is not exactly like the rest of Italy! I think they loved the vibe, the buzz, the “aliveness” of Rome. Our itinerary of Milan, Florence/ Cinque Terre and Venice, while incredible, might not be quite as exciting for teen boys as they were thinking, you know?
SO! I consulted the rest of the fam and made an executive decision to switch our trip to….. LONDON!!
This a destination I have always known I want to get the boys to before they’re grown. I feel like London is perfect for their ages, and has that “big city vibe” that I think will be exciting for them. And, they’ve heard of so much stuff in London, which makes it all more meaningful! They’ve seen Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the London Eye and more in movies, and of course everyone has seen Buckingham Palace and there’s the whole football culture and Harry Potter and Piccadilly Circus and they know who Winston Churchill is, etc etc!
I ended up getting flights for around $700 each, which was literally half the price of what the Italy tickets were going to be ($1400…)!!!! (That’s $2,800 on flights vs $5,600. Huge difference.)
London will also be more simplistic in that we can just stay put in one place the whole time and really deep dive explore, versus all the moving around, needing trains, etc in Italy. AND, if the weather sucks, well, it’s London. The weather is kinda supposed to suck! LOL! We’ll just hit up a museum or pub for a pint and carry on. 🙂
I went to London as a senior in high school with my AP European History class and it was awesome. It’s been a loooong time though, and Ivan has never been to England. So it should be super fun and exciting for all!!
QUESTION! Do I have any London based readers??! I feel like someone commented once and said they live in London? If so, let me know! I’d welcome any great tips, especially best things to do for teen boys!! 🙂
We’ll be there for 8 nights, March 20- 28.
4- Christmas comic #2:
Very accurate!!!! Hahaha!
5- Dog owners, a question.
What do you do with your dog when you’re away for a long time??
Charlie has been mostly granted “free range” privileges for a while now, but it is a little iffy at best. He does generally fine, but he’s definitely not 100%. He likes to hang out on the top of our couches, and once in a while, he’ll decide to chew on the cushion.
Or after many days of perfect behavior, he’ll randomly grab a decoration and start chewing on it, or even a placemat off my table. We always have to make sure to keep things picked up, but it’s never perfect. He hasn’t gone for cords lately, but that’s always in the back of my mind.
He is technically crate-trained, but he’s never really liked his crate. I put him in there sometimes during meetings and stuff, and he does fine.
Overall it’s not a huge issue, because I’m home a lot, or the boys are. But sometimes, like yesterday when I had to go to hospital, we need to be able to leave him for longer stretches, like 6+ hours. From a potty standpoint he does totally fine. But that’s a long time to be roaming the house without getting into mischief!!
We had that recent incident where he ate “something” and ended up sick. I worry that although he’s “usually” okay, it’s only a matter of time before he makes a poor decision, lol, and it could be really dangerous.
Our house is not the best set up for gating! Like I can’t just gate him in the kitchen, given the lay out. We don’t have a mudroom. Our laundry room is also my office, and is in the basement, and kind of has too many things in it he could get into.
We don’t really have space for a big X-pen, which I know many people use.
My only current idea is to gate off our main hallway to the bathroom/ bedrooms, close all the doors, and let him hang out in the hallway. I could leave him a nice dog bed and he’d have room to move around (versus being in a crate). I know he wouldn’t like not being able to look out the window, but maybe that’s just too bad. If he doesn’t want to be confined, well, maybe he should stop chewing on stuff!!! 🤷♀️
I don’t love idea of having a gate there, but it’s really the best idea I have at this point. We NEED to be able to keep him safe when we’re gone, especially for longer stretches (and when we travel, my sister-in-law watches him and he stays at our house while she’s at work).
Here’s the guilty party, in one of his favorite spots to hang out….Sigh. haha.
Any advice? I have been sort of perpetually confused since we got him as to how people, you know, leave home when they have a dog. Hahaha. We may just not have the best set up, really. We don’t have a good spot for a really BIG crate, particularly, at least on our main level.
Okay, well, this turned into a very long post about a lot of different topics! Happy Friday!
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for my new swim team sweatshirt I just got! Just in time for Asher’s first high school meet tonight.
GRATEFUL KAE 
It’s tough to have such a change in schedule and have to get ready and out the door at a certain time after not being used to that! I don’t go in every day or even most days since I’m traveling so much these days, but I go in often enough that we have it down to a science. It would be far easier if Will was more of a morning person but he is a major obstructionist in the morning so if we are running behind, it’s entirely because of him! I do look forward to next year when we just have 1 drop off! 2 drop offs is quite a hassle!
London is such a wonderful destination! Your boys will have THE BEST time. That was my first trip out of the US. I went for spring break in March of 2021 to visit some friends that were studying abroad. I loved the city so much and there are so many interesting things to do! And there are so many cool little neighborhoods to stay in, too. We stayed with our friends in their university housing, I think in the Notting Hill area which I knew all about from watching that movie in HS. I have not been back since but would love to go back there with our boys someday! I’m glad you got cheaper tickets, too. $700 doesn’t seem too bad for an international flight! A lot of my work tickets are more than that but I am obv not price sensitive. I think my ticket to Detroit was over $700 which makes NO SENSE since it’s a very short flight from one Delta hub to another. But I’m like oh well – these are the times that works for me.
I hope someone has good dog advice! I think my brother and SIL kept their dog in a kennel during the day for quite awhile until she was more mature/calm although I am sure the thought of putting sweet Charlie in a kennel for hours on end does not feel good!
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Gah, I just left a very long comment and it seems to have disappeared into thin air! Ahhhh! I hate it when that happens. I’m glad you don’t have to deal with that commute often. When you are not used to doing that, it is very hard to adjust! Getting out the house at a certain time can be quite challenging and then traffic can really impact things. I go into the office often enough that we have things down to a science although Will can be quite the obstructionist at times since he’s not a morning person AT ALL. But luckily we have some flexibility and there usually aren’t any consequences if I am not in my seat at 7:45 (my ideal arrival time). If we are cutting it close and I have an early call, Phil will drop me off at the door to my building. He’s such a great uber driver. 😉 He rarely has client calls so has more flexibility but also would like to be in his desk around 7:45ish.
London is going to be amazing!! I bet the boys will love it. There’s so much to see and do and it’s nice to not worry about moving from location to location. That is where I went for my first trip outside of the US. I went there in March 2021 to visit 2 friends that were studying abroad. I had the best time and can’t wait to take our boys there someday when they are older.
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Yay, having your own Uber driver is awesome! hahaha! I just always feel like it would be such a game changer to work at a small place where you just park outside and walk in, like a small office in an industrial park type of thing. lol! I actually occasionally wouldn’t mind working on site just because at times a change of pace would be nice, or if I just really want to focus, but the idea of driving all the way down to the hospital is SUCH a turn off. We may have some office space available in the closer and smaller east side hospital, but even there it kind of seems like a hassle. I wish they’d get some shared workspaces in an office closer to me! They do have some on the west side at a smaller building but it’s not at all convenient for my location. Obviously if I have to actually work at the hospital/clinic, well, there’s not really any way around that!
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He’s just a baby still! Hannah has free range of the house and is a perfect lady, but we definitely had her gated off in the mudroom for a long time before we got to that point. She doesn’t have the energy to chew pillows after her walks and training (and, let’s be honest, being an old dog). I think it’s tough if you don’t have a good floor plan for gating off an area, but maybe puppy proofing just one or two rooms and letting him stay in there? He will get older someday and not be so mouthy!
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Yes, I definitely think a big part of it is related to our particular house set-up! Even puppy proofing a whole room is just HARD it seems at our house! We don’t have a really large main level- upstairs is just the bedrooms and then kitchen/ sunroom/ living room but all have big wide openings and lots of stuff in them. Our laundry room (also my office) is in the basement- it does have windows, so maybe could be an option?? Hmm. I always feel funny about putting him in the basement, but it’s a finished basement and there ARE windows in that room, so it would probably be fine….
I really do hope eventually he will be like Hannah. My dogs growing up always just had the run of the house and never chewed/ate anything, which I think is partly why this has been hard for me….I’m used to dogs just being out and fine! Our dog trainer did also point out that different breeds can be different in this way. Charlie is a poodle mix, heavy on the poodle part, and they were bred for hunting she said, and often more “mouthy” than other breeds. So fingers crossed this isn’t just “how he is!” The hard thing with Charlie is that he doesn’t only pick stuff up with his mouth, he EATS IT. Like, why?! 😫
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We gated our dog in the hallway with the doors closed when he was a puppy (not super young) and it was a terrible idea. He ate our doors and was generally very unhappy. I remember reading something (after this experiment) about them needing a window. In the end it was better for everyone to leave him in his crate where he could have natural daylight. Eventually we were able to leave him out for shorter stints and then eventually for the whole work day. You just need to get past those teenage years. Maybe even get a bigger crate.
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Ahhh, no! Julie don’t tell me this!!! HAHA!! Well, that’s not good news. lol. I will say, in our case “maybe” it could be different, because Charlie is not a little puppy anymore (he’s 1 1/2 years now) and also, our hallway is right off our front entryway and living room. So there actually is a lot of natural light, and if he would lay right by the gate, he could even see the whole front picture window and front door window too. So maybe that would help? It did cross my mind though about the woodwork. He hasn’t ever done that, BUT I could see that if he were bored/ distressed/etc maybe he would think that was a good idea.
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I’m going to London in May! By myself though, I’ve been wanting to try solo travel and it worked out great with a few points deals for flights and hotel. I’ve been before (including a semester in college) and I was sick of waiting for schedules to line up for the family to all go. I have an extensive map of things I personally want to do but it’s absolutely not teen boy focused lol . Also when I was there March actually had a lot of beautiful sunny weather so maybe you’ll get lucky!
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Oh awesome!!! We can compare notes!! That’s really exciting! You’re so good with all the travel hacking. I hope we get lucky with the weather. But, like I said, I feel weather is slightly less problematic there than if it really sucked in Italy.
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London would be great! I really enjoyed it when I went there few years ago for work. We didn’t do much tourisms at the time but would love to follow you along.
Going to office 9-5pm sounds hard to me too nowadays. I don’t know how normal people do that and commute to home for more than 30 min. I’m lucky to be 10 min walking distance and usually leave office by 4pm. I hope this arrangement continues to work in my next job. My brain literally shuts off by 4pm.
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Yeah that’s super nice to live so close to work! What time do you usually have to get in office in the morning?
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usually around 9am but it’s totally flexible
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How exciting about London!!! I can’t wait to hear about your trip/go there myself someday.
Let’s talk dawg! We’re in exactly your situation where there really isn’t a section of the house that is 100% dog safe. We *could* crate her, and for heaven’s sake she sleeps in her crate just fine, but it gives me the icks, so we don’t crate her during the day. We’ve left her alone for 4-5 hours with full run of the house and nothing bad has happened, but also we don’t leave her very often. If we ever had to be away for a full day then I would take her to doggy daycare, but again that’s our situation and not your situation. I think that your hall with a gate is a good plan – he can’t get into anything that he shouldn’t, and it’s roomier than his crate. The only alternative would be to get an x pen/figure out how to rearrange an area of the house…yeah yeah I could do it if I had to but it would be a pain.
I do know that they grow up someday and then you can leave them alone in the house all day without giving it a second thought! But at whatever age that happens is older than Charlie and Doggo are right now.
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Yeah, I know a lot of people do utilize doggy daycare, which I’m not at all opposed to, but it just seems mostly like another hassle. I feel like we just need to have a tried-and-true option at home for when we’re away, you know? Again, he “usually” does fine- which almost makes it harder! Because on the one hand it doesn’t really feel urgent, but then he will randomly do something dumb, and then it makes the issue resurface…. I would just feel so much better if we had a little room or space that he liked and was happy to go into and I knew he couldn’t get into anything! I also feel funny about crating for a really long time. I know, I know, it’s supposed to be fine. I think if I had a bigger crate maybe? I mean his is an appropriate size for him, but it just feels like… I don’t know, weird I guess, to put him in a little box for hours on end… (Our dog trainer said it can be totally appropriate for an old enough and conditioned dog to go in a crate and that they usually just sleep anyway…).
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London will be so fun! I am excited to take my kids to Europe one day, probably when they’re high school aged, and I too have fond memories of the first time I went to Europe (Paris, in high school, and then Rome/Florence/Venice). Your boys are at such great ages to be urban tourists, I think. I feel like my 11-year-old in particular is not quite there yet ha. He does better with the more outdoor-oriented/adventurous vacations so we’ll stick with those. Speaking of, I have been meaning to circle back and tell you, since I emailed you about Costa Rica recs several months ago, that we pulled the trigger on going there for our family vacation in May/June! And we booked the same hotel as you did for La Fortuna 🙂 so thank you for the rec–I am REALLY looking forward to it. We are doing five nights in La Fortuna, which I think is the same amount of time you did, and then four nights in the Guanacaste area at a small beach town, Playa Ocotal, which I selected because it sounded like the snorkeling there is decent (the Pacific side of CR isn’t known for snorkeling, I know, especially compared to places like Belize and Honduras, but my husband absolutely loves snorkeling so I wanted to find somewhere we could at least do some). Anyway, I’m super excited, and I basically intend to just copy your entire La Fortuna itinerary because it looked SO.FUN. Unless you felt like there was something you did in La Fortuna that you didn’t enjoy as much or wish you would have done differently, in which case please let me know 🙂 🙂
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YAYYYYY! Oh I am SO excited for you guys to go to Costa Rica! I personally just loved it so so much. And I hope you have an equally wonderful experience at Los Lagos as we did! Our room was so great and the view was just incredible. The boys loved it so much.
I also truly loved our La Fortuna itinerary. I can’t think of anything I would change. I would say the only big thing we didn’t get to was doing any actual Arenal volcano hikes at the national park. It was on my list, but from photos I felt like the actual hikes didn’t look “that” exciting to me (a lot of it looked like walking over lava rock, which is cool, but the trails didn’t seem particularly scenic or “rainforesty” etc. If we had had more time I still would have liked to fit that in. But otherwise I was really happy with the stuff we chose to do! Do try to make it to Rio Celeste if you can (if rainy at all check the website or they have a Facebook page where they post updates of what the water looks like- no point in going if it’s all muddy and brown. You definitely want the water to be the bright blue!). Our boys loved the ziplining, the cave tour, the guided sloth/nature tour and swimming in the hot springs pools I think the best. Also make sure at Los Lagos to go up to the lookout point at the hotel for the up close view of the volcano! Definitely Mistico Hanging Bridges is a must, too, and La Fortuna waterfall so pretty. We all enjoyed the rafting tour thing we did- if you guys are more adventurous you could do the whitewater rafting! We had my parents along so the more scenice raft float was better for us and so so beautiful.
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That’s what I thought from reading your posts (that you wouldn’t drop anything from the La Fortuna itinerary!) so I’m glad you confirmed. It really all did look awesome. I think we will have time to fit it all in since we’ll have five nights. My 11 year old is not as adventurous so I think we’ll skip rafting and doing the float. We did get him to raft in Moab, Utah last summer but the rapids were very tame and he was still nervous! Our kids both really love looking for wildlife so I think the river float will be awesome for them. I can’t wait for ziplining, the cave, the hot springs, all of it!
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London!!!! That sounds like an exciting change! My husband talked up London and I was pretty against it, but seeing all your ideas for fun things to do makes me wonder what my deal was?!?! I first went to London when I was eight and my favorite thing by far was Madame Toussaud’s wax museum. And trying Indian food for the first time! Isn’t it funny what makes an impression at eight?! I think you and your family will have a BLAST and I love that you will have a “home base.” Plane tickets are bonkers so it sounds like a very good decision on all fronts!
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Oh that’s funny! Why were you against London? lol! I think it will be a good fit for our group/ the boys’ ages! It should be a lot of fun!
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it’s me!! Regular reader and London resident – plus I have a 13-year-old son so totally in the teenage boy wheelhouse! You are going to have such a great time. Let me know if you want to connect to help with your trip. I’d be super happy to help!
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PS also a great time to visit as the UK schools don’t break up for Easter until April so won’t be too busy.
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Ah yes, that’s right! Louise! I remember now! Yes, I will definitely email you! With the holidays approaching I haven’t starting diving in to much planning yet besides flights and lodging. I have tentatively booked a place to stay in South Kensington… it was a little tricky, because my parents will be with us, so we need lodging for 6. I also don’t really love staying in a standard hotel room for 4 anymore with the boys, if I can help it (and anyway, seems in Europe many times rooms are just for 2)… and some hotels there definitely get $$$ fast! I ended up finding a nice looking 3 bedroom/ 2 bathroom apartment in South Kensington very near the South Kensington tube station, which seems like a convenient location with lots of restaurants and pubs around. But, if this seems like a bad plan for any reason, I’d welcome your feedback!
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I think that’s a good idea. Hotel rooms are small and so it’s good to have some more space. Being near the tube is good and SK is well located for most of the tourist attractions you mentioned plus it’s easy on the tube from LHR.
Let’s connect when you are ready to plan some more 😁
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I love the idea of one city for a vacation. When I plan a vacation, I always want to see so many places, but then we spend too much time getting from point A to point B, and that feels kind of wasted.
Good luck with your dog situation. I don’t know what I would do in your shoes. If it’s once in a great while, I might find a doggy day care. If it’s often, and therefore would be cost prohibitive, you’ll have to find another solution. SIGH. I’ll bet you’ll be glad when Charlie outgrows this stage!
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Yes! Exactly. I do like visiting multiple destinations, but I much prefer it when I have a nice LONG trip, like on a 2+ week trip. Trying to cram it into a shorter spring break trip is not ideal and can feel chaotic. There is definitely a relief to just getting to ONE place, unpacking and being able to stay put!
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I also literally LOL’d at that first comic. And…. LONDON!!! I think that’s a PERFECT choice! The boys will love it, Ivan’s never been, there’s so much to do. I think there’s more in London that would appeal to teenagers than there is in Italy, honestly. Great, great decision.
Sorry I don’t have any dog advice! I was reading over the other comments, and it does sound like he’ll outgrow this phase, eventually.
I’m putting up my outdoor lights today. Next year I’m using your example and starting EARLY! Thanksgiving will be late again, and I have to get over this crazy notion that Christmas decs shouldn’t go up before Thanksgiving. That just doesn’t work- I want a long time to enjoy everything.
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Hahaha I read your post earlier this morning and was like, JENNY it’s already December 8th, get those lights up!! 🤣🤣
And yes, I do think that at their ages, London will be a lot more exciting and meaningful! Italy is so beautiful and amazing, but there’s definitely something a lot more “adult” about it overall. Wandering the streets, lots of old churches, etc. I’m excited to start diving into planning once Christmas is over and coming up with lists of things to see and do! The only hard thing with London is that there is SO much there, it will be impossible to see and do it all. So, we’ll definitely have to make lists and prioritize!
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I’m probably the only person to say that I crated my dogs when no one was home. I mean, I wouldn’t leave them in their crates for long periods, because someone was generally home, but for up to three or four hours. I started this with Barkley because frankly, I did not have the energy to figure out anything else – we got him at 13 weeks and my boys were 3 and 4 at the time. So if I had to be gone I’d put him in his crate with a kong with peanut butter. He really viewed his crate as a happy safe space and then as soon as I’d get ready to go out he’d go into his crate and wait for his peanut butter. Dogs sleep for so much of the day, it didn’t seem like a big deal. For his own safety, I’d gate off a room in which Charlie can’t get into trouble, if you don’t want to crate him.
When I get out my good purse, Rex immediately goes into his crate and waits for a treat. With Barkley he was young and so he was perfectly used to his crate. Rex was 1 1/2 when he came to us and only sort of crate trained. But we were consistent with making it a happy place for him to be and now he goes in there of his own volition.
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No, I don’t think you’re alone at all! I have been reading up on the topic on some dog forums on Facebook and there definitely seem to be a LOT of people that crate their dogs when they’re gone- even older dogs. Many people will comment and say things like, “My dog is 8 and we still put her in the crate when we can’t be around to supervise!” Asher’s good friend has 2 dogs and the mom told me they crate their dogs for a full work day (well, slightly less, as the boy leaves for school later than the parents, so it’s not the ENTIRE day, but basically). She also told me that when they start gathering their things, the dogs now just go in the crate and wait for their treats! So clearly they can’t be too upset by the crate idea.
I knew Rex sleeps in the crate at night but I guess I wasn’t sure what you did when you are away from home. It does make me feel better to know other people have success with this. I was texting our dog trainer the other day about it all and the crate vs hallway or other room thing and she basically said, “A dog can be conditioned to be happy pretty much anywhere, with the right work and training.” That did make me think, and it seems like it makes sense! I think most of us will put a dog somewhere once, for the first time, and of course the dog whines or freaks out, and then we’re quick to say, Ok, that didn’t work. But it’s likely more of an ongoing process… put them in, lots of positive reinforcement, treats, etc… like you said, after a while Barkley was probably like, sweet! Crate time! Peanut butter time!! lol!
And haha about your good purse comment! 🤣 I get you! 😉
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*I get out my good purse when I’m going out, just thought I’d clarify because that seemed weird
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An ex-Londoner here, if you still are in need of advice and suggestions, feel free to hit me up using the email attached to this comment. Always happy to share what I know.
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London will be fabulous. I can’t wait to hear what you do. G and I will be going end of April for the London Marathon—I will just be spectating.
We always put our dog outside when we are gone, but I guess that only works if you have good fences. He did used to get in a bit of mischief when he was younger. I once got home and he was throwing his half-pchewed water bucket up in the air, so we got a stainless steel one. Even now he still occasionally digs holes, but that’s mainly if his home alone after dark.
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London sounds like an excellent choice for the ages of the boys. I was in London when I did a semester abroad. I was travelling with my brother. We did some sights, but there is so much to see. I haven’t been back. We plan to visit Mini while she’s studying abroad in Florence next semester (just Coach and I). Your awareness of the flight prices has me a little wigged out, but we probably won’t travel at spring break, because who would watch the little girls? That would be a lousy break for them. We really need to hammer out the dates for our trip so I can let my families that I babysit for know.
Working out of the house all day when that isn’t your norm does sound exhausting.
I don’t have a dog, so I’m not much help there. My son lived with us for a few years after college and bought a puppy while he lived here. So, I’ve experienced the ‘oh no, what did he get into now’ thing. That’s tough (for us it was usually because Lad didn’t respect our boundaries/fell asleep on the couch and let the dog roam without any supervision. That’s how my grandmother’s very old rolling pin was chewed. Ugh.
I hope the swim meet went well.
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Beatrix had the run of the house when we left, and she just laid on the couch. I have dreams that this will be the same for Annabel, but for now, she stays in her crate in the laundry room when we leave. I make that drive going the other way AND IT IS BRUTAL.
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I’ve been to London in all seasons and have to say, March was lovely!! A little rain here and there but nothing terrible! I specifically remember having lovely, sunny days in March and taking walks in Hyde park.
And, if it rains, there are always pubs to duck into and museums. Or gawk at stuff in Harrods, or Marks and Spencer’s. Flight prices are incredibly disgusting right now but I managed to snag three flights for 2,500 this summer- July and August were much cheaper than June. (Newark-Marseille; Paris- Newark)
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I am super late to the comments but YAY I am so excited you are going to London! I have awesome memories of visiting london as a teenager. I hope you have an amazing trip, it’s such a good time to go as well because it’s outside of UK school holidays.
My only advice is don’t try to eat any Mexican food while in London – it’s getting better but is generally terrible haha!
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I am super late to the comments but YAY I am so excited you are going to London! I have awesome memories of visiting london as a teenager. I hope you have an amazing trip, it’s such a good time to go as well because it’s outside of UK school holidays.
My only advice is don’t try to eat any Mexican food while in London – it’s getting better but is generally terrible haha!
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I am super late to the comments but YAY I am so excited you are going to London! I have awesome memories of visiting london as a teenager. I hope you have an amazing trip, it’s such a good time to go as well because it’s outside of UK school holidays.
My only advice is don’t try to eat any Mexican food while in London – it’s getting better but is generally terrible haha!
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The few times I have had to get ready and do a full workday IN AN OFFICE since working from home have been so hard. How did I do that on a regular basis? EVERY DAY?! All I can say is that I’m glad I don’t have to do it anymore.
London is going to be SO GREAT, especially with your boys at the ages they are at! What a great core memory for them. ❤
We have always crated our dogs until they can be left alone for specific periods of time. My dog Dutch came to me fully trained so he was never crated, but Chip and Lucy are always crated. It’s not something you’re going to be doing daily so I think one day every now and then where he’s in his crate for a handful of hours is fine. Or maybe doing the doggy daycare thing like Birchie mentioned. But I think dogs don’t see the crate as such an evil thing – for many of them, it’s a safe place! (This may not be true for Charlie but maybe try to make it cozy in there for him? My mom puts a full-size BED in Chip and Lucy’s crates with blankets, lol.)
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