A little chaos can go a long way
A couple of weeks ago I agreed to watch my nephew, Seth one Monday a month. I hadn't watched him since I got pregnant with Nora, so I wasn't sure what to expect. In true Crazy Lady fashion, I jumped ahead and made a play date for Seth before I even knew how Nora would respond.
I have a friend who has a daughter a few months younger than Seth and I thought it would be a good chance to visit with her and get her out of the house. (She's a stay-at-home Mom, like me, and just now got to the place where she'll allow Izzy to be watched by someone other than herself.)
I'm happy to report that I had a blast. It was messy and loud and so fun. Sarah, my friend, seemed to be stunned that I didn't run around behind the kids picking up toys. I let Seth eat my spaghetti and he got it all over himself, the table, the dog and I didn't bat an eye. It can be cleaned up. No worries. I don't think people realize that I'm okay with kids being kids. Seth is only here one day a month and the idea of fussing at him ALL DAY LONG to put toys away seems stupid. I have to tell him "No" often enough, since he's two and a boy and he climbs and jumps and tugs on the dog all of the time.
I can't tell you how entertaining I found it to play with puzzles and run up and down the stairs. I even enjoyed having to separate the kids because they couldn't share. Apparently I really love kids. I even love having three kids under the age of three ...... for one day out of the month.
Anyway, it was fun. I'm looking forward to my next Seth visit, just him and Nora. I want to take the kids in to the yard and toss balls. I want to do a lot of things. Hopefully I'll be able to successfully put Seth down for a nap next time. Ha! (His mom sent him with a sippy cup full of red Kool-Aid and acting surprised when I said he wouldn't sleep.)
The most amazing part of the whole experience was learning that Nora is far more capable than I realized. She was so well-behaved and happy. She watched the kids and tried to mimic them. If I was playing with Seth and Nora was left to her own devices, she was fine. It was lovely. Also, she totally let Sarah hold her and feed her lunch!
That was probably the biggest shock of all.
Love it. Love her. Love life.
I have a friend who has a daughter a few months younger than Seth and I thought it would be a good chance to visit with her and get her out of the house. (She's a stay-at-home Mom, like me, and just now got to the place where she'll allow Izzy to be watched by someone other than herself.)
I'm happy to report that I had a blast. It was messy and loud and so fun. Sarah, my friend, seemed to be stunned that I didn't run around behind the kids picking up toys. I let Seth eat my spaghetti and he got it all over himself, the table, the dog and I didn't bat an eye. It can be cleaned up. No worries. I don't think people realize that I'm okay with kids being kids. Seth is only here one day a month and the idea of fussing at him ALL DAY LONG to put toys away seems stupid. I have to tell him "No" often enough, since he's two and a boy and he climbs and jumps and tugs on the dog all of the time.
I can't tell you how entertaining I found it to play with puzzles and run up and down the stairs. I even enjoyed having to separate the kids because they couldn't share. Apparently I really love kids. I even love having three kids under the age of three ...... for one day out of the month.
Anyway, it was fun. I'm looking forward to my next Seth visit, just him and Nora. I want to take the kids in to the yard and toss balls. I want to do a lot of things. Hopefully I'll be able to successfully put Seth down for a nap next time. Ha! (His mom sent him with a sippy cup full of red Kool-Aid and acting surprised when I said he wouldn't sleep.)
The most amazing part of the whole experience was learning that Nora is far more capable than I realized. She was so well-behaved and happy. She watched the kids and tried to mimic them. If I was playing with Seth and Nora was left to her own devices, she was fine. It was lovely. Also, she totally let Sarah hold her and feed her lunch!
That was probably the biggest shock of all.
Love it. Love her. Love life.
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