A Weekend Without Kids...

We are very lucky.  We have never struggled trying to find a sitter for a night out or special event.  We literally have family members who might duke it out to determine who "gets" to take our boys so that J and I can have an outing.  We have never had to pay a sitter and for the most part when J and I make our departure, the boys don't even notice our absence because they love their temporary caretakers.  So...over a month ago I asked my Mom (Gigi) if she and my step-dad (Papa) would be willing to take the boys for a weekend before Little Miss Chip arrives.  Turns out they had already wondered if we might be up for that and were thrilled at the idea.  They picked the weekend and we delivered boys. :)  This past weekend was that weekend.  Gigi picked X-man and Gokey up around 2 pm on Friday and off they went...we were left with a quiet household and a few dogs.

Since X-man came along our identities have most definitely centered around the titles of "Mom" and "Dad".  Turns out we have a hard time straying from that, even when the little hoodlums aren't around! :)  J spent Friday afternoon mowing the lawn and I put a 2nd coat of paint on the boys' new bedroom.  This was a project that I started on Thursday despite everyone informing me that I was insane to try painting with two little "helpers" as my figure is slowly inching in on the affectionate phrase "as big as a house".  It actually went very smoothly and aside from X-man helping me for a few short minutes, they pretty much stayed out of my hair and I finished coat number one without any spilled paint.  When the boys left, my goal was to have the room completely finished and put back together again so that they could start fresh when they got back on Sunday.  I should mention that this is a great milestone because Gokey would be moving from the nursery into big brother's room to share, in prep for itty bitty sister's arrival.  I should also mention that I have experienced a great deal of anxiety about this transition.

On with our day...we finished up our mundane tasks, got cleaned up and went out on the town...to Red Lobster! Yes...we are exciting folks.  Had dinner, took a jaunt over to the mall to pick up a few things and then settled on a trip to Side Pockets, a local pool hall for an evening of friendly competition.  Well, the word competition should be used lightly...I really was not much competition at all.  We had a great time bantering, flirting and throwing back a few Cokes (the soft-drink, not the powder).  I think I pulled off one win out of the seven games we played...that was because J scratched on the eight ball.  Go me!  Then we very excitedly headed home for a FULL NIGHT OF SLEEP!

One of the things that I reveled in the most in our Kid Free Weekend was the element of spontaneity.  The ONLY thing we had planned and scheduled far in advance was a couple's massage at a local salon for Saturday morning.  So, we slept in (until nearly 8...never in a million years would I have ever thought I would have called that sleeping in), puttered around, got showered and dressed and went to breakfast.  We were seated around 9 a.m. with just over an hour to spare until our massage.  At 9:10 my phone rang and it was an unfamiliar number.  I answered despite the roar of the breakfast crowd surrounding me to hear a receptionist at our chosen salon ask, "are you on your way to your appointment or do we need to reschedule?"  Huh?  I politely informed her that I had scheduled the appointment for 10:15.  She informed me that they had it scheduled at 9 and then put me on hold.  I walked outside as I sat on hold, trying to disguise the steam spilling from my ears in my fuming state.  A manager got on the phone and said something to the effect of, "I don't know if you just wrote it down wrong or what, but the 10:15 appointment we have scheduled has been there for weeks."  I not as politely informed her that I had called nearly 5 weeks ago to schedule the appointment and put it on my electronic calendar while I was on the phone with the person who screwed up, and KNOW that it was at 10:15 because I had to make a special slot for it since my calendar only goes by half hour increments.  GRRRRRRRR (I was tempted to roar into the phone).  She then back-pedaled a little and apologized and said she felt bad about the "miscommunication" (whatever) and would send some compensation by mail to be used in the salon at our convenience.  Yeah...thanks.  I sullenly made my way back to my poor husband who had been so excited to experience his FIRST professional massage and broke the news and then like a silly, hormonal pregnant chick had to choke back tears as I did so.  He, of course, wasn't phased...gave me a pep-talk and we enjoyed the rest of our breakfast and a necessary grocery trip afterward (I know you are extremely jealous of our exciting lifestyle now). :)

The rest of our weekend seemed to fly by.  We finished up what we needed to on the boys room, moved the furniture back in (J had to do a little handy modifying to make things fit like we needed it to after a near panic attack from me before he once again saved the day) and then admired our great masterpiece.  Since we had a big breakfast, we had skipped lunch so we went to an early dinner and then came home and relaxed in front of a couple of movies, I fell asleep on my honey's lap during the second one and then we retired for the night.  Got up, went to church where I thanked God that we were child-free that morning as there seemed to be something in the air that caused mass chaos among all of the children present that morning and for once, it wasn't mine causing the trouble.  We hung around a little and visited afterward without someone yelling for a cookie or crying because he spilled his lemonade for the 3rd time...and then I REALLY missed them.  We went to lunch on the way to Papa and Gigi's and spent most of it gushing about how excited we were to pick up the boys.

X-man and Papa posing with the biggest fish of
the day...X-man caught this one ALL BY
 HIMSELF! :) 

When we arrived to pick up the boys, I walked into the kitchen to find Gokey sitting at the bar eating lunch.  It took him a few seconds to realize I was there, but when he did I got the biggest grin and exclamation of, "MOMMY," as he leaned in for a big, gooey kiss.  I was barely inside the door when X-man grabbed my hand and started leading me to the basement to show me what they had been up to.  It was as I was heading down the stairs I heard Gokey yell to my mom, "I done now," eager to give up lunch so we could do some snuggling.  We hung around for a while, looked at the pictures that were snapped over the weekend and listened to their adventures before we headed home.  They both passed out on the 30 minute drive across town and contentment settled in as we pulled into our Home Sweet Home. There have been a few "reprogramming" issues in the 24 hours since, but we are settling back in.  I am also proud to say that the boys did great for their first night in their new room!  Took a little while for them to settle in and decide to sleep instead of party, but then they slept through the night without even a whisper.

Time away is always good, but it also always seems to serve as a great reminder that time together is far better... :)