Kids are Gone!

My parents graciously took my kids for five days so Jace and I could have a break together. I didn't think it through until the night before. I started panicking. I've never been without my kids like this before. Our families are not close by, so babysitters are not guaranteed. I thought for sure I would melt down. The littlest one is still too little to understand what's going on. He started getting upset when he heard me talk on the phone. Kaia is having a blast with my niece. She could probably stay forever, even though she wasn't too sure if she wanted to go in the first place. Tess is ready to come home. She's the one that is always ready to say bye to mommy and daddy, but freaks out when she can't see mommy. If it weren't for these episodes, I wouldn't know how attached to me she really is.
I miss them. But not like I thought I would. I was fine. I enjoyed it. I realized alot while they were gone.
#1 I can relax when they're not here. My daughter panics alot, and I'm always on edge waiting for her next episode. When she's away, my heart beats normally.
#2 I became a different person when I'm not in my mommy role. It surprised both me and my husband. I've been in the mommy trenches since the beginning of our marriage. Tess was a honeymoon baby, and I became dehabiliting sick right away. We basically had one month of wedded bliss before our world was turned upside down. I forgot who I was. So with the kids gone, I became more free. I wasn't so rigid and nervous about safety and taking care of little feet. The things I thought I didn't like to do,  I learned I actually do enjoy doing them! Everything is so much harder to do when little feet are running around. For example, cooking. Jace normally cooks dinner for us because I'm way more exhausted by the end of the day than he is. We hardly ever bake, but I learned I do enjoy those things. We made these amazing donuts by frying biscuits and dipping it in cinnamon sugar. Delicious.
As our lives are about to return to normal soon,
Jace said he feels that he's dropping me off instead of picking up the kids.
#3 Time was our own. Or somewhat anyway. We still had three dogs, two of whom are puppies, to take care of. But at least they could be confined in their cages when we needed them to be. But even though we could basically do whatever we wanted, house projects were number one on the priorities. Even without the kids, we still were working all day and went to bed late. It's in our blood to stay busy.
#4 Jace and I were able to bond so much more without the kids. We could have fun together doing a task instead of focusing on getting the task accomplished without too much damage.
We'll be locking the bedroom door a little more from now on.
#5 I was created to be a mommy. I can't escape it. My kiddos are bonded to me so much, they were still with me even though they were miles away. I love their business; they probably got it from me.  My life is far richer and deeper with the kids around. It's such a humbling privilege to help mold and shape another soul. I take my role very seriously, and I can't wait to have them back.
Here's some pictures of what we did while the kids were gone.

 

We made biscuits from bisquick mix, added vanilla, sugar and blueberries. Shallow fried it in extra virgin olive oil until they were golden and crispy. 

We had three bowls out. One for melted butter, one for brushing on the butter, and one for dipping in cinnamon sugar.

Yum!

This is before. The walls were like a muted peach. Not our style at all.

This is the after. The quilt is from Cracker Barrel (it was designed by a 13-year-old!), and the paint is Mature Grape from Sherwin Williams. The picture doesn't do it justice.

We've added Christmas lights behind the curtains. To the left is an old couch we brought in, and threw on some sheets. We'll get something more stylish later. The room took us 3 out of the 5 days. It looks great. We love a colorful room!