Chris left early this morning for a trip with his soccer team. He does this every spring break which means while so many of our friends are on a beach somewhere during this fun week off of school I’m just a single parent. Not. So. Fun.

Dear single parents, you deserve a standing ovation!

He won’t be home until late on Sunday and this morning I didn’t want to get out of bed. If I could have just hidden under the covers all day I would have. In fact, if we had tons of extra income right now I would have hired multiples sitters to help me through. But we don’t so I didn’t and eventually rolled myself out of bed.

Luckily my own supermom called me with a few ideas she had and so on the spur of the moment I took one of her ideas and ran with it.

By 9am the kids and I were all dressed and hitting the road to drive down to the Mastodon State Historic Site! It was awesome. We really did have a good day even though I was solo and if Daddy had been there he wouldn’t have just been trudging up the hills on the hike he would have been racing them or something. But that’s ok. We had a great day… long… but great!

9:30am: On the road with a quick stop at QT for special snacks I was hoping would buy me a quiet ride.

10:30am: Arrive at Mastodon State Historic Site and visit the museum (the kids had a blast and really wanted to learn all about those massive animals!).

11am: Start our hike on their 1/2 mile wildflower trail.

11:45am: Head over to the picnic area and playground.

12:30pm: Eat lunch at the Blue Owl in Kimswick, MO.

1:30pm: Walk around Kimswick, eat ice cream and throw rocks off a historic bridge.

2pm: Go back to the playground so Bailey can make sure she’s mastered the swinging monkey bars she had trouble with (and that Parker was quick to master… no sibling rivalry here! ha!).

2:15pm: On the road back home.

3pm: I take a quick cat nap on my bed while the kids watch tom and jerry.

3:45pm: I hop in the shower.

4:00pm: Get everyone ready for Bailey’s soccer game.

4:25pm: Go pick up Grandma so she can come to the game with us.

5:00pm: Bailey has a soccer game.

6:15pm: Stop at Chipoltle to grab dinner to go.

6:45pm: Drop Grandma off at home.

7pm: Arrive home

7:15pm: Serve a super late dinner.

7:20pm: Gather all trash and recycling, deposit into outside cans and move cans to the curb for trash day.

7:30pm: Start kid showers.

8pm: Bedtime for kiddos.

8:15pm get kitchen cleaned up, dishes washed and dining room table wiped down.

8:45pm: Upload photos from today. Cull.

9:30pm: Fold two loads of laundry and put away upstairs with a flash light so I don’t wake the kids.

10:30pm: Close up the house, turn lights off and crawl into bed to blog.

I really struggle when Chris is gone like this. I hate having to pick up all the pieces and take care of everything alone. I hate that he’s so busy he barely checks in. I hate how much the kids miss him. I hate that I tend to resent all the fun he’s having. I hate how jealous I get of all the people having wonderful breaks.

BUT.

I am so glad I got off my butt today and gave the kids a really fun+busy day! We really enjoyed ourselves and I love watching them explore new trails and new places. I love watching their eyes light up when they learn something new that they’re excited about.

Tomorrow I have a mini session so my mother-in-law is babysitting in the morning and then in the afternoon I’m thinking about going to the History Museum because very randomly there is a Mastodon and Wooly Mammoth exhibit there which would be a super cool follow-up to today’s lessons! Friday I’m considering another little adventure, Saturday I get a reprieve while the kids sleep over at my parent’s house and Sunday is church. I’m filling the days and I KNOW five days is NOTHING compared to what so many women go through… but it’s a lot for me and I just kind of hate it!

Taken at Mastodon State Historic Site! Such a cool place!