Minus two for July

  So, my parents came from NY to take my two oldest children to stay with them for a month. They left yesterday morning and I won't see them again until August. This is my husband's dream come true. While it sounds like a nice vacation to only have my youngest boys I am actually quite sad. Besides the fact that I still have 3 kids to babysitevery day and no real "break" anyway I miss my daughter so much. Now, obviously I miss my oldest boy but as he has reached "teenagerhood" I actually need a vacation from him. Although, I'm sure I'll miss him after a while, it is a bit of relief. Not having someone to cop an attitude at me, talk back at me, roll his eyes and correct me because he so obviously knows way more at his age than I'll ever know. I used to be the "cool mom"... but I digress.
  My daughter however, is only 11 and not quite at that level yet. She is extremely intelligent and very mature for her age but not yet clouded with the hormonal storm of puberty. Plus, as my only girl we have a bond that none of my boys will ever really have with me. It's a girl thing. She is my most helpful and responsible child and basically my best friend. My husband and I work opposite hours to keep our kids out of daycare and the rest of my family is hundreds of miles away, so she is really the closest person to any adult family member I have to talk to. And every week we watch America's got Talent together and she shakes her head at me in embarrassment when I cry. Lol. I had to pull myself together when talking to my husband on the phone yesterday after explaining that I already missed her. I nearly lost it, but I pulled myself together by reminding myself that it had only been a few hours since she left and if I couldn't make it through a few hours I'd surely be committed in a week or two.
  The house seems so empty and I haven't yet mastered how to scale down from cooking for a small army. The small toilet paper roll has lasted so long, and there hasn't been a shouting match between brother and sister in over 24 hours. I have taken over walking the dog and feeding my daughter's kitten and the dishes aren't overflowing in the sink like they would be by this time. Toys are still strewn about the house but no one is here to help me pick up. I should be grateful, I'm sure the kids are having a great time and boy, am I going to save a lot of money on food this month. Still, it's just a strange feeling not to have all my children here with me. I guess I'm just going to have suck it up for the next five weeks and remember how much I am missing them next time they drive me nuts.