Quite the Day

Yesterday was a great example of why I make a good part-time-stay-home mom but am probably not totally cut out for the full-time postition without the benefits of leaving the house to be with adults at a job, even for just a little bit.

Paul is going through a very nasty phase. It's called the kicking-and-screaming-on-a-whim phase and since the kid can't talk, I couldn't even begin to tell you what sets it off. Well, okay, I can tell you the cause of most of it. Things like, oh, I don't know, the fact that his mom doesn't allow him to run away at leisure or destroy my computer with his grubby little hands. Those kind of things apparently don't sit well in the toddler mindset. So he has been a joy, pure joy, these past few days.

What started out as a playdate for Lucy (Rachel's sister) because Bill and Rachel were going to take Jack to the movies turned into a bit more. Aunt Christi and Uncle AJ thought they wouldn't mind going as well, so hey, could I watch Matt too? And you know, that kid (Matt is a couple months younger than Paul) is independent and easy-peasy. So why not, because then Paul will have a friend (because Paul is very concerned about the friendships in his life). Then Jack decided there was no way his sister and cousin were going to have a fun playdate without him, so he chose to stay at my house too.

And then guess who showed up? Those dern neighbor kids (said with a smile). Three out of the four siblings across the street sweet-talked their way into my backyard ("My mom says it's okay to come in if Andy invites me" - "No, you can't come in but you can go around to the backyard...now shoo"). The fourth one showed up right as Jack, Lucy and Matt were leaving, so he at least had a bit of common sense about his neighbor's sanity to wait. Or it could be because he's 21 months and couldn't unlock the door to get out and follow his siblings.

I was tempted to lock the back door. As in lock them all out. Not the littlest ones, mind you. But the bigger ones. They had water. They had shade. I would have tossed a box of Cheez-Its out there for nourishment. And golly, the gate was unlocked so they could have found their way to someone else's backyard.

I didn't do it. Partly because they were actually all getting along so great and having fun, even with the littlest ones. But the temptation was there. And that is why I need to go off to work 2-3 days a week.