Babysitting

All week, I have been getting more and more nervous about my two days of toddler watching for my friend's son today and tomorrow. And no, I did not admit this to her ;)

It's not that he's a bad kid or that he doesn't get along well with Lily or Jacob - on the contrary, he's one of the nicest, most laid-back almost-two-year-olds you'd want to meet or spend time watching. I'm guessing it was a fear of the unknown.

As in, what are we going to DO all day? Sometimes, I have trouble making the time pass and keeping occupied my own two kids. How am I going to do it with THREE? Will we be stuck in the house? Will we be able to anywhere and do anything?

I know this sounds a little funny, because just a few weeks ago, we were expecting a 3rd child of our own. And yes, when I first found out I was pregnant, I had a good day or two of freaking out about the logistics of that one, too. But that quickly passed and became our new, very do-able reality. Then when we realized that wasn't going to happen, it was so hard losing our third child and and switching our heads back to a two-child reality.

Maybe it's different when the proposed extra kid is your own. You know them inside and out. You know what to expect, how to get them to sleep, what they will and won't eat, how they will tolerate an unexpected Target shopping run.

But now that the little stinker is here, dancing to Sesame Street with Jacob, while Lily continues to sleep in late, the unkown is melting away. And I'm thinking, yes, for two days, I can do this. We'll be OK.

Except for that stink that just wafted by. Boys! Get yer butts over here!