After an extended blogging vacation, I am back! Fear not!

I know before I left, I was just a mess, running to catch up everywhere. Having had the last week off to get the kids ready for their first week of school, I've managed to discover my inner whirlwind of productivity. Being back at work, however, I don't know how long that momentum will be sustained... but we shall see.

In short - Florida was great fun. We had a side trip to the Everglades where the boys (and me, shanghaied by Alex) got to hold snakes and alligators; we sampled a key lime milkshake from this awesome fruit stand called Robert is Here. My dad shocked the living daylights out of me by pulling out all the stops and throwing Alex a full-on birthday party at Dave & Buster's. I even got to joke around with my stepmother, which is nothing short of amazing. It's taken almost 20 years, but I think we've finally gotten to a point where we actually feel comfortable around one another, rather than just making nice. It's a good feeling.

We came back to Labor Day weekend and the start of school the next day. I think I was more nervous about Alex starting Kindergarten than he was. Let's take a look:

See Will's eyebrow? Yes, he is ready to pull a Sonny Corleone and break my camera.

Alex pronounces Kindergarten "Awesome"!

So yes, my boys handled separation anxiety far better than their mother. As usual. Today is my first day back at work, and I've been fretting and fussing about how Alex will handle afterschool. I know he'll be fine. I know Will is going to be fine. But it doesn't matter. Mother Guilt - never goes away, does it?

So, what else is shaking? I was a torrent of activity last week; I was able to get a start on Parents' Association goodness, I practiced my lesson plan for my upcoming Catechist duties, I knit an incredible amount and made soap. Can I just, you know, stay home and collect my regular salary? Pretty please?

Knitting. There has been much. I began a pair of yummy socks while I was on vacation - my stepmother was fascinated by the sock knitting process - and finished them shortly after arriving home. It's the Sock Hop pattern from the July 2006 issue of Creative Knitting magazine and I knit it up with the greatest yarn, received from my buddy (Not So) Cynical Knitting Gal during our Hot Sauce Swap. Wait 'til I post a picture; they are the perfect Fall socks. I thought it was just a pretty variegated yarn until I started working with it, and then I realized that it's a self-patterning yarn! It's awesome!

I also finished those Kimono Socks that I was going on and on about a few entries back. Love.

I'm working on some baby shower gifts again, but since the recipient isn't reading this blog, I can share. I'll post pictures next.

Ah, Fall. Back to school for the kids, but I still feel, after all these years, that it's a beginning for me, too. Maybe it's the promise of cooler weather coming. Maybe it is that feeling, ingrained from childhood, that it's the beginning of... something. But I do love Fall. Maybe things will really take off now.

Happy Fall, everyone!