Playing Mommy

I always thought motherhood was really easy. Seriously, there are millions of mothers out there, and only about half of them have gone insane. So I set off with Cutie and Fatso, two of my nieces, determined to be the world's best babysitter. Turns out.....


Hours later, I'm sprawled out in bed, while Cutie and Fatso are sitting at my desk, watching Marvelous Middos Machine on my laptop. I know their Tatty doesn't like them to watch vi-ee-ohs, but under the circumstances, I don't have much of a choice.

A few fun things about spending a day with the kids:

I can recite the entire Marvelous Middos Machine Songtape. (All good deeds should be done right away!) This, of course is courtesy of a very knowledgable young lady. ("No, SD, I don't like Lipa! No! Don't like shwekey either!)

I can't move my left arm...she ain't called fatso for nothing. And Cutie was insulted that I didn't have a double stroller for her, so we compromised: I carried her for five blocks, then she walked for one...

Joy can be found in the simplest things. Telling kids that FAO Schwartz is a toy museum is an old trick. Following that train of logic, the American Doll Place is a wonderful doll museum. We were nervous that they'd catch on and demand everything and anything, but I was amused and amazed that the kids were thrilled to run up and down the stairs, and take pictures of the dollies. I can't help but wonder how much happier we'd all be if we could learn to enjoy the little things....just like the little ones.

Kids rebound so quickly. They race around, fall flat on their face, cry for a minute, then they get up, smile and continue playing.

Kids are not easy to fool. I told my niece that I'd get her a small milkshake. That didn't work. "No, I need a big one cuz I'm so big!" it's hard to argue with such logic...

My day was exhausting, and I'm ready to give up. But then, I had to stop midway through writing this to pick up Fatso, who had fallen on the floor. She snuggled up in my arms, her thumb firmly in her mouth, her eyes closed, her arms wrapped around me. Then I knew...motherhood is tough, kids are tough, but all good things come at a price.

See you later....I'm off to play with the kids again!


(Please note: if this post seems like it was written by a person who was half asleep...it was. Excuse me. I played mommy today.)