Spring Break

So Spring Break for both of the boys has begun... Liam had a half day of school today (Thursday since the feed seems to take a while to hit FB) and then is off Friday and Monday. Ethan's school was closed today through Tuesday. "Spring Break" isn't really meaning much for Ethan at the moment. His days are going to be mostly the same. I'm still planning on doing school work with him on Monday, if I can get Liam to not bother him while he does some lessons. But if the distraction is too big, we'll just wait until Tuesday to kick back into lessons.

Tomorrow morning, Mom is going to pick the boys up and keep them overnight. She requested to have them overnight. She also planned on getting Liam's hair trimmed before his school pictures next Wednesday. Liam is starting to look a bit like a sheep dog ;) Ethan's bangs are getting so long I'm not completely sure how he can see out through them.

I love it when Mom takes the boys overnight, but I also get really sad. I'm so used to having the little monsters around that I'm not sure what to do when they aren't here. I've never been one to want my children to go away. Yeah, I joke about it. Occasionally even beg someone to take them or to sell them to the highest bidder... but honestly, I like the little rugrats. I've known people who insist that they have to have X weekends away from their children a year. One person I knew even made a list at the start of the year pretty much saying "I don't want my children around me on these dates" and would list 2 weekends a month she wanted someone to take the kids. I'm sure she'd have shipped them off more if she could.
And really, for as much as I complain that I can't get a thing done with them under foot... I honestly don't know what to do when they AREN'T under foot. I'll have Friday afternoon, Friday evening, Friday night, and Saturday morning kid-free.... My big plans as of right now are to go to Ikea to get those magazine holders to organize my office and maybe take some allergy medicine and take a nap. Wow. Exciting! And honestly, I feel guilty about wanting to go to Ikea when the kids aren't coming with me. I'm considering doing that errand in the morning before Mom picks the kids up, just so they can go play in Smalland while I shop.
I'm just lost as to what to do without the kids around. The last 7 1/2 years they have been my entire life. Even a day away from them is just way too odd for me to be able to wrap my head around completely.

I guess in a way it's a good thing. I wasn't raised in a family who had constant babysitters. If I couldn't go somewhere with my parents, they didn't go. I did have a babysitter on occasion in my cousin Nadine (Tho I think that was more her asking to watch me than Mom asking her to watch me *lol*), and when Mom went on trips with ICES (International Cake Exploration Society), Grandma and Papa "watched" me while Dad was at work (and most of the time when he was home too since he could be quite the grump). Mom always said that she wanted me around and wanted to have me, so why would she not want to be around me?

But I can also see a big problem with this. I never really have any downtime. I don't really take anytime to take care of myself. I run until I pretty much collapse and then let the boys play video games upstairs while I sleep. Not really a good thing for me (or them more than likely).

I really should enjoy the fact that Mom is taking them overnight and do something for me. I thought about doing some cleaning, but honestly, that's something I can (and should) do when the boys are home. The weather is nice enough now to send them out back to play in the yard together while I do cleaning -- or I can set them up with a movie or a game on the wii while I clean. I should start off the day with getting a nice relaxing shower, and then do something that I can't do when I'm taking care of the boys. I know they are safe and well taken care of while she has them... and they won't drive her too insane (and if they do it's a pretty short drive). I have a cell phone on me at all times so if there is a problem, she can call me. There's really no reason why I shouldn't enjoy this.

So what should I do? Any thoughts?