Give Parents A Break

The Air Force base has a program here called Give Parents A Break that gives you free childcare two Saturdays a month when your husband is deployed. I took all of the boys two weeks ago for the first time and Caden and William did great. They were there from 1-5. I only left Asher for about 1.5 hrs because he was not taking bottles yet and was sill really fussy. I worried about the boys the whole time I was gone, but when I picked them up they were both smiling and said they had so much fun!
So when it came time to take them yesterday I was feeling good about it and was ready to go out and enjoy my kid free afternoon. But William fell apart when we got there and they had to pull him off my leg so I could leave. He often has a hard time when I first leave, but he normally gets distracted by toys and cheers up pretty quick. I set off to go relax and get a pedicure, but called to check on him an hour later. They told me he was sitting at the table happily eating snacks with the other kids so I continued on with my plans for the afternoon. When I got back he was asleep in the corner. They told me he had cried the whole time I was gone except for when he was eating snack and that he had finally fallen asleep about 30 min ago. I was heartbroken! The poor little guy was so sad when I woke him up. If I had known he was having such a hard time I would have come and picked him up sooner. On a good note Asher did really well. He took a bottle and a short nap without much fussing! Caden of course had a wonderful time and loved playing with the other kids! He is such a social little guy!
So I don't know if the kids will all be going back when they have this program again in May...I will have to decide when the time comes. It was so nice to get out and get some things done without the kids, but I hate worrying about them. William was heartbroken, but he did recover quickly back his happy self once we got home. Maybe it will be easier next time...