Hubby's Fishing Trip

I had decided not to post about my husband's absence this week in case any cyber-stalkers were out there who wanted to come figure out where I live. But, given the amount of facebook posting about my hubby's fishing trip, I think the cat is out of the bag.

While I am THRILLED that hubby gets a chance to go enjoy himself with the boys, the thought of a week on my own with all three kids was a tad terrifying. I was afraid of getting overwhelmed on day 3 and having 3 more days to go. I was afraid of becoming emotionally overwrought and screaming inanities at my children. I was afraid of spending my time silently crying in the powder room while trying to calmly say "kids, mommy needs a minute."

But, here I am on day 4 and none of those thing have come true. I'm actually...okay. It has been a good couple of days. While we all miss hubby/daddy dearly, his absence isn't resulting in anyone's heart failure.

I have a three point plan for surviving my week and I think it is helping. It is:

1 -- GO TO BED ON TIME
I really need to start heading up to my bedroom by 10 pm. I usually grab my iTouch for a half hour of You-tubing or iTunes-ing before I roll over to go to sleep. So far, I've managed to get enough sleep to be sane for the early morning wakeup calls (the Big Guy has started an early morning pattern that I don't quite understand). And I'm all caught up on lots of online comedy videos.

2 -- EAT RIGHT
I don't usually have a problem eating, but when hubby is gone my choices tend to be poor. Like having a milkshake for lunch or making the kids eggs for dinner (which I hate and so won't eat). I've been making regular old dinners in hubby's absence. Last night was Tex-Mex Casserole, which I thought was tasty but my kids threw HUGE fits about. Seriously...do they have to gag over lasagna noodles?

3 -- NO BOOK READING
While escaping into a good book sounds like a successful way to get through the week, the "me" time actually works against me. Once I start reading, I get frustrated by the interruptions...and I get a little obsessed. Soon I'm snapping at the kids to let me finish my chapter and staying up late reading (see point #1). So, no reading for me this week. I pledge to try to stay in the present with my kids and not look for ways to escape the job in front of me.

And so, Day 4 w/o hubby is looking like a nice one. The sun is shining. The kids have swimming lessons today, so we'll be busy. On Day 5 w/o hubby, my delightful MIL is taking the Big Guy for a couple of hours, so I might even be able to go out to lunch with a friend. And then hubby will be home late on Day 6. Day 6 is the day that I'll probably fall to pieces...somehow I always manage to behave myself right up until the time where I've almost made it. I wonder what that says about me?