Trouble staying home

Some days I feel like a horrible mother - and some days those feelings may be valid. Usually though I am a bit hard on myself. Doubt there are any other women who have been through this :) Yesterday wasn't my best or worst day of mothering, but I had a lot of school work to get done, J out of town, so H was feeling a little pushed to the side. He made do by playing with nearly every person in the neighborhood. I am glad he is social. So today when I told him to stay home with us he was a little miffed. We finally agreed on some outside play without friends with the agreement that he would come in if his friends invited him over to discuss it with me. I figured this way we could make the choice together. So fast forward...I am making brownies with C for New Beginnings tonight (a YW event at church that was rescheduled multiple times due to snow and school conflicts for the girls). Then I look in the yard to check on H, and he is gone. I don't panic at first thinking he may be in the basement or snuck back into his room, or maybe he went into the front yard. Check all of those places, calling for him. No answer. Start to get a little worried, but figure he may have gone to his friends houses. C goes down to find him. Sure enough he went to his friend Nate. He plays there often even though there are nearly 2.5 years between them. So then I have to break it to him that he broke the rules, and must come home. The coolest thing about this is I didn't loose my cool, and I stood firm (two things I have a hard time with sometimes when it comes to my babies). I hate doing stuff like that, but we both survived and I got to have him home with me. I can't say I didn't get back talk, crying, or whining, but again we lived. Also he lost his soccer ball today, and we got to practice prayer to have help finding it. Today was a pretty good day on the mothering scale.