Melia Alexander | While the Kids Are Away…

I should probably start by saying Mr. A and I don’t have kids of our own, and, for years, we’d thoroughly enjoyed the double-income-no-kids lifestyle. That all changed a short time ago when, after one phone call from across the Pacific, we went from zero to an eighteen-year-old in less than six weeks. Talk about a short gestation period!

Getting used to having our privacy invaded by a living, breathing, two-legged creature for more than a short vacation stint took some getting used to. But about the time we did, Niece was joined a couple of years later by her sister, Niece 2, who is now sixteen. (Yeah, there are days I wonder what the heck we were thinking!)

Their parents flew across the Pacific earlier this summer to take them on a three- week road trip, one they’re still on as I write this post. As much as we love our girls, the thought of being alone again made us absolutely giddy! Stupid-giddy. So giddy we weren’t quite sure what to do with ourselves kind of giddy. Then we got over that. Fast. And life reverted to what it was like BK – Before Kids.

With the nieces away, I’ve devised a list of the top five things we’re kinda getting used to again. Until their parents bring them back, anyway. (I will not think about that…I will not think about that…I WILL NOT think about that!)

1. The quiet.

Quiet, my friends, is underrated. No music blaring. No bickering. No begging to add junk food to the grocery list for the gazillionth time. BK I could hear myself think. I now remember what that’s like.

2. Eating is optional.

Or, should I say, what and where we eat are optional. Ice cream for breakfast? No problem! A glass of Cab Sauv and chocolate truffles for dinner? Sure! Pizza in bed at three in the morning? Done!

Why would we want pizza at 3 AM, you ask? Check out the next item on the list. :)

3. The freedom to get frisky whenever…wherever… however…

‘Nuff said. (Oh, come on. You all KNEW that would make it on the list, right? Right?!) :)

4. Sleeping with the bedroom door wide open.

I’m sure I don’t need to explain why, but just in case, please see number 3 above.

5. Sloughing off the adult-cape.

Let’s face it, this parenting stuff is freakin’ hard work. I mean, BK, all we had to worry about was ourselves and what we wanted/needed to do. But now, there’s all the stuff that’s gotta be done (like feed them and haul them places), then there’s all the stuff you gotta make sure they do (homework, anyone?). Not to mention the whole, setting-a-good-example thing which is a whole other blog post… Sigh.

Until the girls come home in a few days, Mr. A and I plan to live it up. Every last, precious second of it. Can you blame us?

~Melia

Giveaway

How do you like to spend “alone time” with your special someone? Leave a comment below to be entered for a chance to win a digital copy of my debut book, MERGER OF THE HEART.

About Melia Alexander

Melia Alexander is the author of sassy, sexy, fun contemporary romances, but is also fortunate to spend her week days at The Male Observation Lab (a.k.a. her job at a construction company) where she gets to observe guys in their natural habitat. Though they often behave like typical alpha males, in many instances she's seen through their personas to the heart of who they really are - the heroes of their own stories. A native of Guam, Melia traded in warm, tropical breezes for the rainy Pacific Northwest where she now resides with her husband, two amazing nieces, and three adorable kitties. She's an avid reader who also loves to watch romantic comedies - preferably with a glass of CabSauv and a box of chocolates nearby. In her free time, she's busy conquering her CrossFit fears: ring dips, power cleans, and the dreaded 800 meter run. Her family appreciates her attempts at cooking and cleaning, although she spends it mostly daydreaming about her characters, which sometimes results in a burnt meal and a half-cleaned house.

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About MERGER OF THE HEART

He’s about to acquire a whole lot more than a business…

When her grandfather dies, Jessica Adams inherits the family construction business. But there are strings attached. Big, deal-breaking strings. For one, Jessica’s grandfather was in the process of selling the company to a national firm. And two? The big wig who made the offer for Jessica’s business is none other than Daniel Spencer, her ex- lover and the father of her seven-year-old son. Only Daniel doesn’t know.

What started as a standard business acquisition has turned Daniel’s entire world―and his plans―inside out. But even as he offers her the deal of the lifetime, everything changes when he meets her son. Their son. Now Daniel is laying everything on the line to put together a much different kind of merger…if he can convince Jessica to take the biggest risk of her life.