Double trouble

For a long time after Nathan was born, I really believed he would be an only child. I just didn't think I could handle more than one child. As time went by, and Nathan got older, I found my way back to my old mentality, of wanting 2 or 3 kids. We would love, someday, for Nathan to have siblings. Today, I watched my friend's daughter and for almost 7 hours, I got a sneak peek at what it's like to have more than one child. In a word... it's EXHAUSTING!!!

For the most part, it was fine. The kids entertained each other, often leaving me more free time than when I'm alone with Nathan. But there were moments when both kids were crying, both kids wanted to be held, both kids wanted to be fed, and the most overwhelming moment, when I took them outside to get some fresh air and both kids immediately ran in two complete different directions.

And when it was time to head home, and one child kept wandering toward the street, and the other kept stopping to touch every single leaf on the sidewalk, I scooped them both up and carried them back. Carrying Nathan on my hip is tiring at times. Carrying him on one hip, and another kid on the other hip... good god!

We all survived and while it certainly felt much calmer at the end of our babysitting duties, it also felt very quiet. I grew up in a house with 4 kids so there was always something going on and always someone to play with. Our house was always full of laughing, crying, playing, and screaming. I want that same craziness for Nathan...someday. Until them, I will savor my free arm and especially, my free hip!

Some of the ways we kept busy were:

Looking for ducks in the stream

Throwing leaves down the sewer grate, which is probably frowned upon

Pretending we were on Little House on the Prairie