This week

• One more day before Jan returns from the US.  I dislike long business trips like these that take up part of the weekend as well. I'm quite used that he travels on some week days and that he's not home 1 or 2 nights a week. A week evening goes by quite quickly, time flies by commuting, picking up our toddler at daycare, getting food , playing and putting everyone in bed on time.  But an entire week is long.
  although fortunately the schedules have matched each day to have at least 2 facetime calls a day, which makes it much more easy. Simply having the opportunity to share how you day went is important!
  
• Fatigue is my new normal. As a consequence I can't profit from the fact that Kabouter goes to bed earlier since several weeks...as I go to bed earlier as well.
  
• Despite much surfing we've still not made up our mind where to go on our next vacation. We wanted to do exactly the same as last fall, but that option doesn't seem to be available.  And all other options seem less attractive. And last years we seem so indecisive when it comes to booking our vacations (unlike a weekend city trip)
  
  
• Unlike many other times when Jan is travelling and I find myself with an empty fridge and no inspiration and dusted cooking skills, I had determined this week that i'd make a better attempt to cook a variety of freshly made meals.
  I actually enjoyed brainstorming on a sort of week menu (ha, the so praised life hack of so many bloggers: a week menu.  Yep, I found it a necessity only because I didn't see any other opportunity to go grocery shopping but on Saturday).  It was fun to think of recipes and ingredients again. I used to do that daily when living in Ghent but at home Jan is our family cook.
  
  it was more reluctant that I started to cook after work while I was mostly tired and wanted to sit down. An attention seeking toddler with some tantrums didn't really help either, but I succeeded (and made deliberately too big quantities so I'd have some lazy days where I just have to heat up the left-overs).
  
  So I had schnitzel with rosemary sweet potatoes & tomatoes  / fish with a dill-lemon sauce, mashed potatoes & steamed broccoli  / chili con carne with rice.
  Still have the cheeses left-over for a planned linguine in a blue cheese sauce. 

• Fall is in the country, summer seems long forgotten. The days have been wet and grey and I'm not ready to pull out any warm clothes but my summer dresses seem so ridiculous and uncomfortable.
  And yet at the same time the pouring rain outside makes me long for a fleece, hot soup and the heating.
  
• My parents have learned how to Skype (on their newly received iPad), just in time so they can now communicate daily via this 'new technology' with us from their vacation.  Much much easier for them.