I think when kids are scared, they act up. My son starts kindergarten soon and he’ll be leaving the only school he remembers (he’s been at his preschool/day care for 3 years as of last week) and going somewhere where he knows no one. In the last week or so he’s been acting up a lot. Pushing our buttons, pushing the limits. I think he wants the reassurance that we’ll react like he expects, that there are limits, that he will be kept safe, that he can control something. Because he’s scared.

Your kids probably needed to reassure themselves that all was back to normal when you came home, because they’d been a little scared and lonely and worried by the change of routine when you were gone.

Re: loss of patience. No one is a saint. We all lose patience sometimes. In the overall context of their loving upbringing, mom’s occasional crabbiness is not going to adversely affect your kids. Be kind to yourself and move on. You’re fine. They’re fine. It’s OK.