Home again, home again

We made it safely back home a few weeks ago to a very well taken care of house and welcome happy hour stash complete with fresh flowers and chocolate chip cookie dough from several of our dear friends. Thank goodness too, because stopping at the grocery store before we arrived wasn’t really in the cards. We snacked over fresh fruit, cheese and crackers and wine and had quite a nice and quiet homecoming.

I reentered the office the very next day and the boys stagger started school later in the week. A lot of anxiety about lockers, new friends, old friends, schedules and their academic ability, turned out to be nothing to worry about. Aeneas relished his stardom of being somewhat of a celebrity upon arrival and Patrick is loving the freedom that comes with middle school even if he’s still only about 80% at opening his locker on any given day.

Hogsback Mountain and Perrins Peak. Views from work.

We tried to keep our reentry to Durango life manageable by getting back in to things slowly, but within the first three weeks we managed to completely unpack our house, work out 3 times a week each, enroll the kids in two different schools, spend time with 4 different families, collect our bikes from our friends garages and go on a mountain bike ride, make 1 allergy and 4 dentist appointments, perform in a middle school concert, have had 5 different kids sleep over, and hosted three groups of people at our house, 2 of which were overnight

guests.

Justin and I are pretty busy with work too as there has been no down time even in our transition back home. I am in the middle of designing a 40 page magazine and with the grand opening of the newest building on campus, I have been busily planning decorations, signage and a slew of marketing materials for a successful event. Justin is organizing and hosting a workshop for 12 colleagues from all over the world in San Diego in three days in conjunction with his sabbatical research. Even though we’ve been working on all of this for months, it’s all culminating in the same week. No pressure.

So when my mom asks me when I plan to get the boys back in to piano, it’s a good thing she can’t see me roll my eyes on the other side of the phone.

Here are some takeaways from the past few weeks:

1. When hosting boys for sleepovers, just put the whole gallon of milk on the table and save yourself a lot of hassle over the ridiculous amount of refills. Yep. That’s our life now.

2. Having dentist appointments right before house guests arrive means that you will likely have extra toothbrushes on hand and can look like a “hostess with the mostest” without even thinking about it.

3. Nerf guns were the single most entertaining toy we have bought in the history of parenthood. And despite having rather delicate stemware hanging from the wall in our open house plan, we have hit but never broken a single glass from the raucous wars that are held on every square foot of our house multiple times a day here.

4. Aiming at the face in a nerf gun war is the most effective way to make a hit so don’t bother making the shoulders down rule. It’s not any fun anyway. Besides, what’s the first thing that comes around a corner?!? That’s the risk you sign up for if you play the game.

5. Giving a recipe to kids and letting them figure it out, not only keeps you out of the kitchen, but offers endless entertainment if you can manage to not blow your cover overhearing the conversations that happen.

6. If they can mess it up, they can clean it up. Character people. Building character.

We’re home, and even though it’s been busy, we have loved every minute of the chaos.

#funny #school #everydaylife #home #friends #food #fun #family #biking