My husband has gone out of town for a couple of days on business.

He used to travel frequently, and I had really become accustomed to it. Even though I had 5 children, ages 6 & under, (or 4 children and pregnant, which is harder in many ways), I found that with some small adjustments, we got along quite well "on our own", when Daddy was gone.

It was harder, of course, but with careful menu planning & shopping, and getting laundry help from my husband BEFORE the trip, and after he got home, things were much easier.

I remember when my husband changed jobs and wasn't going to be traveling any more, feeling for a while like I actually missed his trips - it was easier, in some ways, to just have the kids!

This blog entry is for any mothers with lots of little ones at home, whose husbands sometimes travel:

Besides having the laundry totalled handled before the trip, and getting all the grocery shopping done beforehand, I always felt like I could get along better if I thoroughly cleaned the house before he left.

I made sure that we had a really fun activity scheduled for every day. For instance, sometimes I'd plan one of the following activities for each day daddy was gone:

a special "tea time" with herbal tea and cookies
coloring books & a new box of crayons
making pizzas with tortillas instead of pizza dough
making homemade paper dolls
a new storybook to read
painting pictures to send to grandma
organizing toys

It really helps to have something fun to look forward to every day, when dad is gone.