back again

We're back in Austin, finally.
When we got home Tuesday afternoon, the boys ran to the door and Mister came SHOOTING out, his tail wagging so hard he couldn't walk straight! :-) He was happy to see us, and Joseph especially was extremely happy to see him.
I asked the boys what they were most looking forward to in coming home, and Joseph said, "Petting Mister." Brigham said, "Playing with blocks" (no surprise there, and indeed it took him only about 2 1/2 minutes to have blocks pretty much covering most of the playroom floor).
We quickly have got back into the swing of things. Piano lessons yesterday (despite only practicing a couple of times over the past 4 weeks, much to the boys' consternation) and then a trip to HEB to replenish our bare cupboards.
In the afternoon I had to go back to Houston for my month 25 MRI. I just drove out on my own (because, you know, I really didn't get enough driving in during our 3,555.5 mile journey! LOL), and it was uneventful. The nurse placed a lovely IV (she did a great job!), but it wasn't until halfway through the MRI that she realized I didn't need the contrast for this one. Oops. :-) She was very apologetic and I told her if that was the worst thing that happened to me that day, I'd be lucky. The drive home was fine. Dark. Long. I listened to "Don't Know Much About History" and felt pretty smug that I *did* know most of what the author was talking about. Go "Story of the World" history books!
Today I unpacked all the bags (except Ben's, he's a big boy and can unpack his own clothes!), and got serious thinking about lessons starting up next week. Do all homeschooling moms constantly worry and wonder if they're doing everything right? I'm not sure that my anxiety is simply a good sign that I'm staying properly engaged in this whole educating-my-kids thing, or a sign that there really is something for be to be anxious about...
This afternoon the boys harvested their first watermelon. They planted these themselves in a little patch of dirt next to our raised garden beds. They mixed up soil and dog poop (eww, and really not a great fertilizer option) a few months ago, and have been watching the little seedlings grow since then. After we got home a couple of days ago, Joseph came running inside excitedly reporting 3 big watermelons!! Well, this one wasn't *quite* ripe inside (to be honest, not ripe at all-- mostly white with only a faint blush of red around the seeds), but the boys still forged ahead and ate a bunch of it. It's amazing how much better food tastes when you grow it yourself.

Something to remember: Picnic dinner at Trailhead park tonight. The boys running around in the darkening twilight catching fireflies and bringing them back for me to see. Their sweet soft faces flushed and the edges of their hair damp with sweat.