Now I’m not even going to bother going into essay mode about how much I love my kids.  I do and you’ll just have to trust me on that.  But there’s something about having a couple of hours to yourself that is just so liberating that for a nano-second you half wish you could transport yourself back to the time pre-children!  Hang on a minute… don’t lynch me just yet! I said I only half wished!  And it was only for a nano-second!!!!!

My hubby is a long distance truck driver so most week days he’s away trucking around the countryside – well, the eastern seaboard anyway.  He usually gets home on a Friday arve/night and heads off again on Sunday evening or a Monday, depending on where he’s off to.  This means I pretty much live a single mother/FIFO type of lifestyle during the week.  (Kudos to all those single mums out there by the way!  It’s a mammoth job, not just physically but mentally as well and at least I get a reprieve from it all, if only just for the weekend!).

It also means that by the time the weekend comes around, I’m usually pretty tired.  Not bone-weary exhausted, but definitely ready for a 5 minute break and someone else to pick up the slack for a little bit.  Thankfully, my hubby is fantastic and we tend to spend as much time together as a family whilst he’s at some.

But when an invitation to a function or a dinner or a catch up crops up for those days during the week when he’s away, I don’t normally have the luxury to take advantage of them.  And up until recently, I couldn’t even capitalise on the weekend much either despite the fact that the hubby is home because I have been breastfeeding our six month old.  But now, in preparation for returning to work, I have had to commence mixed feeding Miss A as I don’t have the supply of breastmilk to express what she needs each day (which of course is a double edged sword as most mum’s who have to make breastfeeding v formula feeding decisions will know).

But this post isn’t about that decision (or debate!).  It’s about how the opportunity to take advantage of this formula feeding option has well and truly (and will be well and truly) exploited today and brings with it the greatest sense of liberation!

Already I have had 2.5 hours away from my family this afternoon at a Tupperware party (and anyone who knows me knows I DO NOT need anymore Tupperware!!). I could have been in and out of there within an hour but I knew most of the people present and it was just too easy to get caught up in conversation (and a sneaky glass of wine!).  It’s soooooo nice to have and adult conversation.  And to not have to keep a constant eye and an ear open.

And the best thing is that tonight, I get to experience that again! Yes, I am also going to a party sans children.  A real life, with beer and wine and music, adults only party!! Woohoo! (Cut me some slack ok – it’s the first party I’ve been to that hasn’t been a family function since I’ve had my second child over six months ago! It doesn’t take much to get me excited!)

A girlfriend and I have already conspired and as a result our husbands will combine their responsibilities and do their Daddy duty together.  Not only will that give them and the kids the chance to catch up, but it also means that when us girls are finished at the party (which we’re only planning to stay a few hours at anyway), we can come back and have a few more drinks at home.   So despite having to drive tonight, I’m simply looking forward to having a few laughs and a glass of wine with some girlfriends and not having to race back to relieve the in-laws or friends.  I know that the girls will be perfectly happy at home with their Daddy and luckily for him once they go to bed that’ll be the last he’ll have to worry about them for the rest of the night, which leaves him able to catch up with his mate in relative peace.  Between them, they can let the kids run riot til they get tired and go to bed and then they can sit down, talk shit, watch the cricket, drink a few beers and do whatever it is that blokes do when they’re on Daddy duty!

I’m sure I’ll pay for it in the morning – either with a sore head and/or ratty children or something ’cause every cause has a reaction right? Or is it every risk has it’s consequence? Or some other obscure idiom… whatever it is I’m too excited to care!

Anyway, must be off…  Someone has to go and get frocked up!!! (and sort dinner out, and get bottles ready and prepare PJs for bed and find books for story time etc etc).

How do you go about restoring your sanity after a big week? Ever feel guilty about indulging in a bit of kid-free time?