Back from Rochester

I survived another band trip! As expected, the overnight flight getting there and the 6 AM departure to return were indeed brutal - thankfully I was able to keep the babysitter all day yesterday while I slept and lazed around in an attempt to recover. I binged watched season 3 of Silicon Valley and then read the kids some books and put them to bed. I swear they - especially Theo - seem changed every time I come back from a trip. Theo seems to be taller and thinner and more articulate; Bobby seems older and more mature. It explains why parenting seems to move in slow motion when you're with the kids all the time, and then leaps ahead when you don't see them for a couple of days.

My big project this week is clearing out my much neglected office for conversion into a laundry room. I couldn't help but think of a line I once heard on Hoarders as I wiped the dust and cobwebs off my dance trophies and photos of the old time dancers - "these are things that should have a place of honor in your home; you are not treating these objects with respect". Since the kids I've used that room as a junk collector. I'm glad I have the opportunity now to sift through everything, organize it all, and treat these objects with respect again. 

Renovations begin Friday. The office, which has long been a non-insulated, cobweb-ridden enclosed porch, will be insulated, hardwood floored, dry walled, and painted; then the washer/dryer will be put in there and I'll set up a small desk for my printer and some office supplies. Then the back service porch where the washer/dryer was will be made into a small bathroom. I am prepared for my house to be torn apart and cluttered for the next month. But when it's all done everything will be neat and clean and organized...and I'll have a much-needed second toilet around here.

Here are some shots of the kids this weekend having a blast with the babysitter and my BF: