Mark and I have been hanging out with my 11 year old niece and 4 1/2 year old nephew all weekend (picked them up Friday AM and return Sunday afternoon).
Lessons I have learned:
(and I am sure all of you Moms will be laughing at the non-parents that Mark and I are)
1. Teaching the 4 1/2 year old about rhyming words is a great thing in the car. Ben mentioned "fat cat". So I told him they rhymed. And we said other words - bat, sat, hat, etc. Then we rhymed with Ben - when, hen, men. I asked for a new word for us to rhyme to. Ben said "duck".
No. We WON'T rhyme to "duck". EVER.
2. Upon same 4 1/2 year old asking me what was wrong with my face (you can probably see the giant zit on my chin from wherever you are) - I explained "Auntie Margaret has a big pimple. It happens sometimes" - be prepared for him to tell the cashier at Petsmart - "Auntie Margaret has a big pimple on her face".
Gee. Thanks.
3. An 11 year old girl and her 4 1/2 year old brother are physically incapable of sitting in the backseat of the car without touching each other. EVER.
4. When you get out of the shower, and same 4 1/2 year old is sitting on the couch whimpering, and you ask what's wrong and you hear "She hit me" - you may want to ask why his sister hit him. His answer just might be "I was hitting her in the head." All the while, still whimpering.
5. Have I mentioned that an 11 year old and a 4 1/2 year old are completely and utterly incapable of not touching each other? Not just in the car, but in a restaurant, in the house, in the backyard, and pretty much anywhere else?
6. An eleven year old, a windy day and a frisbee are a bad combination. My $14 Houston Astros frisbee is now in evil neighbor's backyard. Thus making us have to do the knock on the door and ask for it back trip.
7. Spongebob Square pants (not to be confused with Spongebob Squareboobs) is on nearly 24 hours a day on SOME channel.
8. Taking kiddos to a local pond where lots of ducks hang out is a fabulous thing. Bringing the ducks bread so the kids (and who's kidding - I did it too) could feed them is a blast. Walking around the pond and seeing some eggs is amazing (although I knew it was way too cold for un-covered eggs to survive). And there was something so sweet about watching the momma duck SPRINT back after you take a few steps away from her eggs. (we stayed about 15 feet away from them to begin with. Neither of us wanted to risk Momma duck thinking we were too close. But when we backed up about 10 more feet, she ran to her eggs).
9. Taking your 4 1/2 year old nephew and 11 year old niece for an entire weekend will cause your brother and sister in law to be so happy they will pretty much promise you anything. But when it comes down to it, when you get a million kisses and hugs from the little guy and she asks for an extra hug before bed because she's "having so much fun" and thanks you over and over again for a pizza buffet dinner and quarters for video games AND sister in law tells you "i have NEVER been this relaxed...we can't thank you enough"- it's all worth it.
10. And HOLY CRAP are we tired.
Go ahead, all you mom's - laugh your butts off at us.
19 January 2008
Life's Little Lessons
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17 comments:
Childless me once babysat overnight for my friend's three kids, all under the age of 8. I thought I would die. When they came back home the next morning, I was mumbling incoherently and rocking back and forth in a corner of their living room. Well, not that bad. But it's as close as I ever got to losing my mind. There is a reason I'm childless. Hats off to all the moms and dads of the world!
I totally agree with No. 9..........It's all worth it once you hear happy much fun they had :)
As the mom of 4 can I just say that you are the best sister-in-law in the whole wide world. Imagine taking the kids for a whole weekend!
You rock!
Oh and kids always have to touch each other...it drives me CRAZY lol.
See friend, I told you it'd be cool. Save this post and remind your sister when it's you with the munchkins and you need a break. Although any kids you and Mark have, she will adore, just simply because hers will be old and bored with hanging out with mom by then.
So two more things. Muck and Luck both rhyme with Duck, you dirty mind lady.
Two - No two siblings can not touch and bug each other. It's in the code book. At least they didn't do the looking at each other thing.
truck, buck, cluck, shuck, muck.....Somebody tried to get Auntie to say a bad word. And she didn't fall for it.
Sounds like you've the "cool Aunt" thing in the bag!
My brother is 42 and I'm 32 and if we're sitting beside each other we're still incapable of leaving each other alone. Generally, I have to poke him over and over and over until he hits me...but now his wife yells at him for that, so the game has gotten even more fun!
What a good auntie you are for taking the kiddies!
He he he....
Preparation grasshoppa...
it will all come to you too one day!!!!
I gave you sumpthin' today!
(oh, and I'm surprised you didn't get any duck poop in your car from the pond expedition..I have a story for you!)
Ha! I'm laughing with you...not at you.
Sounds like such a fun weekend! You guys are a wonderful aunt and uncle!
Oh you deserve the "Most Saintliest Aunti and Uncle" award, for sure!
And hee, hee, you'll see soon enough.
Funny, but also a nice reminder to enjoy those everyday things we often forget to when we're with them 24/7.
I've had the opposite this weekend.
Glad you had a nice time!
Wow, you rock!! And those kids will have great memories of the weekend...forever.
I love having my nieces and nephews over for the weekend. I've been the cool aunt for 24 years now. Unfortunately I'm soo cool that the oldest nephew came to my house for a weekend over a year ago and never went home. Now his 15 year old sister wants me to make room for her, too.
So my advice to you: don't be too cool. It could back fire.
I have a 4 1/2 year old boy and a 2 1/2 year old girl. You want to borrow them for the weekend? I'm sure they'll teach you more lessons!!
i am sure you must have been tired after that!
I agree with Shay, the BEST sil evah!
And yes, we are laughing, but touched by how sweet you and they are.
This will all pay off. I'm one of those old aunties (not THE oldest, just old enough), single, and still cool. My baby girl niece, now in her 30s is bringing her new hubby to town for a visit next month. We are gonna rock this town. It's fun being a cool aunt!
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