Christmas is over

Well, Sweetie McPie has returned to a workaday routine, and Tim and I are on Day 3 of Home Alone: Post Christmas Blues.

But we're not blue! While we'd prefer Dad to be home with us all day, everyday, ad infinitum, we managing famously with the situation, as dealt. We are also buoyed by the fact that Dad seems to have interesting stuff to look forward to at work. And we are all strengthened by our experience this summer as a together-family.

It was a busy summer, full of travel, frisbee, and projects around the house (we rebuilt the front stairs and walkway, redecorated Constance's bedroom, and built a deck for les Mamans). Finally, in the last week or so before the Return to Work, we settled down into true Vacation territory, and began to establish a nice domestic routine. It involved plenty of strolling, some working out, playing on blankets, and delicious suppers. And plenty of this:


This routine has been serving Tim and I well this week so far. We all wake up around the same time, and enjoy a morning together with diaper changes, breakfast for all, and coffee for parents. When Dad leaves for work, Mom and Tim go for a stroll, wherein Tim sleeps and Mom parks herself in a nearby park and reads. There is playtime with Tim on the floor, chore time with Tim in the wrap (on Mom), and then more stroller-time to mellow Tim out so Mom can have a workout. Of some sort.

Details, details. Suffice to say, it's all going rather smoothly, and Tim is a charming fellow who wins my heart daily.

I do have to say, the summer of Dad being home was an incredible gift -- one that I think we'll all find to be quite lasting. It's the topic of another post (one that I doubt I'll get around to), to explain how sharing the reigns for a few months will help us be better parents together, and help me to give up control in the best possible way. (For the record, I believe that new moms, by definition, are control freaks. It's sort of necessary, but also sort of a result of how families tend to work these days...) And I haven't even gotten to reconnecting as a couple... A whole other topic!

Anyway, the fall of 2009 promises to have new and exciting adventures - travel, food, writing, some serious cuteness, and possibly even some air guitar.