What Should I Do? (JFF)

A spa day might be nice!
See some movies.
Finish a project with no interruptions before anyone gets home.

I would take the first 2 days and rent a bunch of movies and eat my favorite snacks and stay in my jammies and enjoy the peace and quiet. Then I the last 2 days I would probably plan a few things like movie and/or dinner with some friends to get out and have fun. Good luck!

oh, best scenario EVER!!!!!
(disclaimer- super introvert here who dances with glee at the prospect of even a few hours of nobody-in-earshot time.)
make a stack of your favorite books, including old childhood favorites, and spend hours every day lolling on the couch or in bed or under a tree wallowing in them.
make a pan of brownies and eat the whole thing. without guilt or judgment.
netflix!
go for a walk, or better yet, a hike, every day. don't take your phone. just walk, and breathe, and listen.
write one actual handwritten letter to someone you love. in cursive.
commit to not watching or listening to the news. not even once.
clean one thing on the first day and then no more for the entire four days.
take yourself out to lunch at least one day. a thumping good lunch. take one of the books with you.
write in a journal or diary every day you're alone. even if you're a regular journaler you'll be surprised at what comes out when you've got no one distracting you.
send some my way. now that i'm empty nesting i've got bags more alone time than i used to, and the ol' man is a very easy living companion. but i'd still swoon with ecstasy over the prospect of 4 totally alone days.
khairete
S.

What are the things you never do because someone in your family always objects? What are the things you don't even suggest, or that you "edit" to make them palatable to others? Make a list, and go do them! Go to the restaurants no one else likes (if you can't find a friend, take a book - I do it all the time!), order the take-out no one likes, go browse for clothes or furniture that someone else will hate. Is there a friend you rarely see whom your husband doesn't particularly adore? Is there a beach or lake that he doesn't enjoy? Can you get a trashy novel or light summer reading, and go sit on your butt to enjoy something without having to pack a lunch for everyone or ask if they are enjoying themselves? Are there meals you yearn for at home but you don't want to cook or clean up? Good - order them!

Meantime, don't make your bed, don't clean, don't do laundry! Don't "use the time" to get stuff done. Enjoy it all for yourself!

Me? I'd be doing everything I listed in the first paragraph, washing old movies at 2 AM, sleeping late, etc. I would really use the time to relax and restore my sanity.

Pizza just the way you like it, with wine. Your favorite ice cream/dessert splurge for lunch (with no sharing, no excuses/apologizing, and no need to "eat healthy lunch" first). Stay up binge watching some show you want to see. Read for HOURS uninterrupted except to refill the wine glass, or grab some more munchies. Go watch the movie of your choice, in the theater, with all the popcorn to yourself. Something no one else would *really* want to go with you to see (or go with a girl friend!).

Or, do like what I have done in the past... all of the above, plus pull out some craft that you've been meaning to get to, and leave it scattered where you work on it and no need to clean up until you are FINISHED. Eat on the sofa. Who cares?

1) Call any of your friends you haven't seen in a while and get together. I think one of the casualties of family life is adult friendships.

2) Make a list of every movie that is out and go and see the ones which interest you.

3) I don't know if you're in the burbs or in the city, but Chicago has incredible, incredible museums. Go to the Art Institute for the day. Treat yourself to a nice lunch there.

4) Take your bike out and ride along the lake.

5) Set your alarm to wake you up at dawn and watch the sun rise.

6) Turn on some music and dance!

I think, in general, get out of the house! With kids so much of getting out of the house is getting them to something, take yourself out!

And, this seems contrary to the above, but one thing I do when the Men are gone is to reorganize the places in the house which we use daily but are always a disorganized mess. Just having one drawer where all the family keys go makes getting out of the house way easier. So, look for the daily "hot spots" and do one each day for no longer than 20 minutes.

For me, at least one evening would be spent recharging with a glass of wine and a book. Maybe in the bathtub.

I would have my girlfriends over for the evening or for a sleepover so they could have drinks and not have to worry about getting home and I would go out to an expensive restaurant for a meal alone that that would be too expensive for a family of four.

ETA: I thought about going away, but I am sure you can go away any other time and get away from the rest of the family. This is the rare time you actually have the house to yourself!

take a bath!!
Enjoy the peace and quiet.
Fall clean the house - purge baby purge!!
Go to the movies!
Have lunch with a friend!

Me? I'd schedule a massage and chill for a day! then PURGE!!

ooh wow!! alone in my house for 4 days?!?!? What's a girl to do!?

I think I'd invite my girlfriends over for an inpromtu dinner! Wine and all that jazz!!

I know for one of those days, I would schedule a day at the spa: manicure, pedicure, massage, hair! A whole day devoted to me. Not having to rush home to cook dinner, take the boys to practice, etc. whew....

Now I need to talk to Tyler. Get those boys outta here! :)

Have a slumber party with your girlfriends!

Chick-flick Marathon (at the slumber party?)

Me and my girlfriends (in our 40's) get together about once every few months and watch chick flicks from our teen years...it's a lot of fun!

Enjoy your time alone!

Your music of choice played at full volume while you soak in a bubble bath. Eat ice cream straight out of the container with a spoon - you have four days to finish it. Reorganize anything you feel like working on, no rush to put it away in the evening, just pace yourself over four days. Enjoy!!

I am so jealous I can't even respond!!!!!

I just read the following book and really enjoyed it...http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27852570-broken-angels

I've been going to the pool everyday and loving it. The water was 85 degrees today.

Going to lunch and dinner with friends is always fun.

I'm also watching Homeland on Hulu and loving it. (I have a rule that I can only watch it if I am on my exercise bike or elliptical)

Do art! So fun and relaxing. If you don't think your an artist then get a book on zentangle and pens. You'll discover you have more talent than you may have thought.

Enjoy yourself!

I'd either pack up and go visit a friend or one of my sisters. Or a nice getaway somewhere with friends if they could join me. Just overnight or two.
Otherwise getting out for coffee, walks, dinner ... at a nice restaurant I haven't been to with friends.

My ultimate dream is to go to sleep and wake up when I wake up. The sound of silence would be deafening. No where to go, nothing to do. Just me and my quiet sleep. I'd wake up, hear nothing and roll over and go back to sleep. ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Go shopping, read a book, hang out with good friends, take a nice bubble bath, listen to music, do whatever makes you comfortable and enjoy your time alone :)

sounds like you get at least a whole spa day! If it were me I would go to lunch with a gal pal, go see a few movies at the dollar show or do a netflix binge on the chick flix hubby hates watching!
Have fun!! now you made all of us mamas so jelly ;-)