8 Things That Happen When Lisa Is On Vacation

A week from today, Lisa will be on vacation. This year, she decided to take the week after her birthday off. Like with every vacation Lisa takes off from work, and when the news gets out that she's on vacation, I'll be bombarded with the same questions...

Do you have any big plans?

Did you book a night or 2 at a hotel to get away?

Will you be heading out for the week?

Did you plan a bunch of fun stuff to do that week?

The list goes on...

I know that people mean well. When you mention the word vacation, people tend to associate that with packing several suitcases and taking off.

Or, at the very least, booking a luxury 2-day escape.

Year after year after year, our replies to these questions are generally the same.

No, we don't have big plans. We didn't book a hotel room. We're not escaping for the week. We're not overloaded with fun destinations to visit.

We're Dog Moms.

I'm a Work at Home Dog Mom. I don't take vacations or have days off.

Over the years, our decision to expand our family has come with the understanding and acceptance that we'd have to make sacrifices.

And, we have.

No. Regrets.

That means no weeklong trips or weekend trips or overnight trips.

We are more than okay with that.

In the here and now, when Lisa takes a vacation, it leans towards being unconventional. But, that doesn't mean it's not a vacation.

As Dog Moms, and with me being a Work at Home Dog Mom, we've learned to embrace the goodness that happens when Lisa is on vacation.

1. No schedule. We do things at our own pace. Aside from feeding our kids their meals and snacks and their outside time, there really isn't a schedule to follow. For us, that's a pretty big deal.

2. Sleeping in. Instead of getting up at 3:30 in the morning, we can sleep in until 7-8 a.m.

3. Staying up a bit later. Because we can sleep in a few hours later in the morning, we enjoy lots of extra family snuggle time on the sofa while catching up on our favorite Netflix shows during the evening hours.

4. The bigger projects. Our weekends are rather busy with catching up on housework and outside work. When Lisa is on vacation, we can plan on tackling the larger projects around our home that involve a couple of days. This time around, we're going to put the final touches on Our Big Bodacious Painting Project from May. That includes the paneling in the DIY Dog Mom Project workshop and our bathroom.

5. Meals. Our Monday through Friday schedule includes me getting up at 3:30 in the morning to prepare Lisa a hot breakfast, coffee, and to pack her lunch for work. Then, I prep and cook dinner for us to eat early that evening because Lisa has to eat a few hours before going to bed. When she's on vacation, I can relax a bit with food schedules.

6. I'm not up and down, up and down. When Lisa is at work Monday through Friday, it's just me and our 5 kids at home. Alone. Regardless of what I'm doing, I always make sure I know where our kids are and what they are doing. This means getting up from my desk or work table 2-3 times per HOUR. Yeah. I really do that. When Lisa is home, I don't have to do that most of the time because Lisa takes over.

7. Lots of conversations. During a typical work week, Lisa and I don't have much time for lengthy, in-depth conversations. When she's on vacation, these types of conversations happen much more often. At the table. While sitting on the front porch. When we're working on tedious projects. Other spontaneous moments throughout the day and evening.

8. Downtime. When Lisa is on vacation, we make sure to have some downtime. That includes muting the rest of the world. Unplugged. No work. It's blissful.