Last week, my sister, Mona, and her husband, Ben had to take a trip to Spokane, Washington for a job interview. While they were gone, I had the lovely opportunity to babysit my adorable nephews, Bridger, (2 1/2) and Carter (1 year) at their home in Madison, Wisconsin.
I arrived in Madison on Tuesday, August 25th and stayed there for a few days while Mona and Ben were still around. They left on Saturday and returned the next Tuesday. Though I was only
on my own with the kids for about 4 days, it was definitely long enough for me to gain a new appreciation for motherhood and what moms do every day.
I thoroughly enjoyed what Mona's neighbor, Jamie, described as "Moments of fun surrounded by chaos!" The little moments of giggles and laughter, singing, jumping, and playing were definitely worth getting through the just as numerous periods of crying, pooping, whining, daiper changing, and endless questions like "Can we go pick up Mommy and Daddy from the 'Olport' (airport) now?"
Bridger is at that adorable stage where he is fascinated with the world around him, and his favorite question is "Why?" which he repeats thousands of times a day. Though the endless
"Why?"s did get old after a while, it did force me to get a little creative with my answers:
Bridger: "What is that man doing with his dog?"
Aunt Val: "He's taking it for a walk."
Bridger: "Why?"
Aunt Val: "So his dog can get some exercise."
Bridger: "Why?"
Aunt Val: "So his dog doesn't get too fat."
Bridger: "Why?"
Aunt Val: "Because if his dog doesn't get exercise, it will get so fat it won't be able to leave the house."
Bridger: "Why?"
Aunt Val: "Um.... Because.... he will get SO big from eating his food and not exercising that he won't be able to fit through the door anymore."
Bridger: "Why?"
Aunt Val: "Because they don't make doors big enough for fat dogs that don't get exercise."
Bridger: "Why?"
Aunt Val: "Um...(sigh of annoyance and slight frustration)...Because.... Oh wow! Look at that!"
Bridger: "What? Where?"
Aunt Val: "I don't know, did you see something?"
Bridger: "Why is that dog pooping?"
Aunt Val: "Oh dear."
In all, I was actually quite impressed with how well the kids behaved while their parents were
away. Mona has spent a lot of time and energy helping them become accustomed to a regular schedule and it really paid off while she and Ben were away. Whenever it was time for naps, as long as I made sure to go through the regular routine before naptime, the kids went right to sleep without any more than the usual protests or requests to "read just one more book?"
We had a lot of fun making popsicles, finger painting, going to the park, kicking the soccer ball, playing with bubbles, eating, singing songs, watching Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, and what Bridger enjoyed most of all was "playing airplane" where we would "fly" to Spokane, Washington and then fly back to Wisconsin.
It wasn't all fun and games, though. Bridger kept wanting to play with his dad's golf club and would swing it all over the place, making me worried that he would whack Carter in the head or break something. I finally decided to put his interest to good use, and told him to beat out the rug with the golf club, which he was more than happy to do. :-)
Needless to say, Bridger was very excited to go to the "Olport" to pick up Mommy and Daddy on Tuesday night. Carter, on the other hand, hardly recognized Mona and turned away his shy little face every time she would look at him. After a few minutes he finally warmed back up to her.
It really was a fun experience and I'm so thankful I was available to do this for my sister. The enjoyment I got out of my time spent with these two little boys was probably worth more to me than what my sister would have had to pay for a babysitter. Though my back was very sore by the end of the 4 days from lifting 25 pound blobs of squirming little people, picking up toys, and wrestling Carter into his car seat, I must admit, that I missed being with them as soon as I got on my plane to leave. I am a little envious of mothers who get to spend all their time with little angels like these. I am looking forward to the day (someday) when I can have a few little munchkins of my own to keep me busy, tired, and thoroughly happy.
