Goin' to the ATL

I'm about to embark on a much needed long weekend in Atlanta. I'm lucky enough to have a sister and brother-in-law who live there so I don't need much of excuse to fly down. Since I am going sans kids I told my sister I don't care what we do just as long as I can sleep in, no one tries to touch me, and no one whines mom at me. Hopefully it won't be hard for F and M to live with these rules!

One of the draw backs from being a stay-at-home parent is that when you do leave for a while your kids are slightly out of sorts. My kids are amazed at the fact that I'm going to leave them with their dad and that he will be actually cooking for them. For some reason they don't believe R knows how to make a meal. I find this hilarious because obviously R can cook and has cooked for them. They also are very confused on who will be getting them dressed and whether or not R can handle taking them to school. Again, obviously R can handle all of these things and has in the past, he's a very hands on dad, but the kids seem to have no concept of a day with out me. This is not the first time I've gone on a trip but apparently all those times before were so traumatizing they have blocked them out. I'm joking here.

J originally tried to convince me she should come with. Five seconds after I booked my ticket she looked at me with very forlorn, puppy dog eyes and said, "Mom, I just really wish I could see Fido and Rover again...sigh..." Fido and Rover are my sisters cats. Interesting that she thinks she is more likely to convince me to let her come with because she misses cats, not her aunt and uncle.

Yesterday A took a new tract in trying to deter me from my trip. Out of nowhere she looked at me and said, "Mom, I don't know why you are going to 'lanta. It's boring there." She has never even been to the city. J then informed her that M and F live there. A just blankly looked at her and said, "Oh, it's still boring." A the foremost authority on all things fun.

If I was a mom who was prone to guilt maybe these attempts would work on me. Lucky enough I'm not and they don't. Sure, I'm going to miss my kids, but I don't feel guilty about leaving them with their dad for a while. I'm sure when I get back I will be a better mom. It's kind of the all work and no play idea. Right now I'm a dull mom, but when I get back I'll be a fun mom again. I'm also sure that contrary to what they think, they will be fine. Things might not run quite like they do when I'm around but everyone will survive. Also, don't tell A this, but I'm positive my trip won't be boring!