Back to....

The carefree days of summer are almost gone. We got home from our trip to Utah a little over a week ago, and since then we've been all about the "back to's:" back to work, back to the grind, back to life. With "back to school" all over the ads, on our minds, and on this month's calendar, here are some of the things we've been getting back to since arriving home.

Eric: Back to work

Eric always has good intentions of taking a few hours a day to work while we're on "vacation." Of course, we're too busy watching the kids, out having fun, or visiting family for him to really feel like he wants to pull himself away and work. But with a June graduation date that is looming nearer and nearer, Eric has a lot to do. So, we have reluctantly allowed him to stop spending every minute of every day with us. It's been hard. Believe me.

Mierae: Back to her 4-year-old behavior

I thought she was getting better. I really did. But once we got home and she wasn't being entertained by cousins and doing fun things almost every day, her behavior has troubled us again. And it has been hard facing bedtime again. It seriously is a nightmare some nights around here. Now, instead of holding out for her 5th birthday, we've had to start looking forward to when she's in all-day Kindergarten and will exhaust herself enough to collapse in bed at night without fighting us. In the meantime, we're trying to bask in all the conversations she'll have with us, without being silly, talking like a baby, or doing something to make us upset and then running away laughing about it.

Jolie: Back to wanting to wear underwear but not wanting to go on the toilet

We were NOT about to have Jolie ride in a car for three days straight, there and back, in her not-so-potty-trained state. So we bought Pull-Ups for her for the trip, and then continued using them for our entire vacation. We didn't want to risk accidents on my parents' brand-new carpet, or at someone else's home when it might never be detected. So, Jolie got even worse than she was before we left. We're trying again, but she just doesn't care. My only consolation is knowing I'm not the only mom who just hates potty training.

Robyn: Back to eating sweets

Yes, for the first half of my pregnancy, even the thought of sweets made me feel ill. No more late-night foam cups of ice cream, no desire for dessert, and not even a craving for chocolate. Sad, I know. But now that I'm feeling better, I have slowly been regaining that desire for something sweet. While we were in Utah, we had to indulge and get a pound of See's chocolates. I probably ate at least two or three of them each day on our drive home (they would have just melted anyway, right?!). And I started eating ice cream again. My new favorite flavor is chocolate chip. It's refreshing that my love of chocolate hasn't completely disappeared. :) I don't think I'll have to worry about soon gaining back those 5 pounds I lost in my first trimester!

Of course there are all those other things we're back to: I'm back to teaching flute lessons, we're back to our usual bedtime routine, and we're back to trying to organize and keep our house clean. Of all the things we've been getting back to, I've actually enjoyed doing the dishes and cleaning my house. (Eric, pick your jaw up off the floor.) Crazy, yes; but I guess once you've taken a break for so long, it's actually pleasurable to run your own home again.

We need to go on vacation more often.