Time off

I think one of the first things you learn as a mother is that you NEVER get a day off. Even if you've worked thousands of days straight without a break. Even if you've put in long hours evenings and weekends. Even if you've accrued thousands of "IOUs." Even if you're sick and your husband is taking care of the kids -- somehow they still sneak away from him and interrupt your rest.

So, Thursday night when my sister offered for my boys to sleep at her house, I was very excited. No reading stories with them? No brushing teeth? No saying, "Stop talking and playing or [insert consequence here]" a bunch of times tonight? Okay, I guess we'll let them. :)

I should clarify two things here before going on: 1) Paul is actually the one who reads stories and brushes teeth with the boys. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE him for this as it is the first time all day I feel like I get a real break from the kids; and 2) We do love our children and enjoy spending time with them ... even though this blog may feel otherwise. (Just imagine working in a job you really enjoy, but working in that job all day every day, including evenings, weekends and holidays. Oh, and your co-workers are immature and throw tantrums regularly.)

Needless to say, we were gone much of Thursday night, so we didn't fully appreciate not putting the boys to bed. We did, however, enjoy picking up Blizzards from DQ and knowing we wouldn't have to hide them when we got home. :) Oh, and I was up much of the night with Shayla, who has a fever, so I guess it wasn't truly "time off," thus proving my point of us moms not getting time off.

Last night, however, was another heavenly moment: The Father & Sons campout. Paul took the boys and headed up the canyon with my dad and my sister's boys. I went out to dinner with my mom and sisters, which was a lot of fun. (I forgot my camera -- can you believe that?) Anyway, I still had to come home and take care of fevered Shayla, but she actually slept most of the night, thus making me feel like I had the night off.

Sidenote, since I'm great at getting side-tracked: Watching TV at night without Paul just isn't the same. Usually when I fall asleep during a show and wake up just in time to see the ending, he pieces together what I missed. :) I'm still trying to figure out the show I saw (or rather missed) last night. Also, commercials for scary movies are a lot more scary when my hubby isn't home!

As I sat down to type this blog my boys arrived home sooner than expected, so I'm back on the clock ... as if I ever REALLY got off the clock. Oh, and speaking of the clock, when do I get my paycheck? ;)