Friday, March 25, 2011

Piece of Cake

Today I borrowed a baby. My kids were off to eat pizza with my dad, while my niece and I stayed at my house, slightly bored out of our minds. While I absorbed the insane quiet of my house, I momentarily remembered what it was like to only have one kid.

I suffer from Mommy amnesia, where the time before I had two kids is vague and blurry. I can't remember what its like to not have someone asking me to get them a bowl of cereal, or change the channel to cartoons, or grunt and point in Ava's case, or ask for their iPod. The time when Alana was a baby and my life was quieter and calmer seems like a distant memory.

My current life is all my brain can comprehend. The past or future don't seem to matter to me, all that exists is the two kid lifestyle I currently occupy.

When Alana was a baby my entire day revolved around keeping her entertained. It was just her and me at home, watching Little Einsteins and playing. Since we added Ava to the mix, and I have two kids who love to play together, I spend way less time entertaining children. Ava is a low maintenance woman most days, and she plays barbies with Alana in a mostly peaceful way, with the exception of some hair pulling incidents.

Sitting at home with just one baby, who doesn't ask to watch cartoons and just rolls around on the floor laughing all afternoon, I find myself wondering what to do with the day. No one is demanding anything of me, and I don't know what to do with myself. I'm free to watch 4 episodes of Sex and the City back to back, and no one has objected so far.

The time when you only have one kid is so carefree and quiet, compared to when you double it and go for two. I wish I had taken more time to enjoy myself when Alana was a baby, instead of hurrying to the next step. She was such a good baby and she's always been so sweet, I'm just grateful for her and her constant hugs and I love you Mommy!s. Life is different when you upgrade to two kids, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Even if Ava is a hair puller, she's so cute I forgive her.


Alana was pretty excited to get a new sister

Brinley, my companion for the day

2 comments:

Kerri said...

Well...I have one child but my house is far from quiet and peaceful and my free time is practically non-existent (except when Camden is napping or down for the night). But, he's a (wild, very active) toddler now and I was wondering the other day what I used to do with myself when he was a tiny, immobile baby who didn't require (demand) constant activities and interaction. I hardly remember those days. Now, I'm just focused on really trying to soak it all in and enjoy our one-on-one time, before, like you said, we rush to the "next step". I really cherish the relationship Camden and I have right now since it is just the two of us most of the day and I'm hesitant to give that up anytime soon, even though I definitely do want him to have a sibling.

Jennifer said...

One year olds are definitely more active than little ones! They keep you on your toes for sure! When its just me and AVa home I'm still pretty busy. My niece is 7 months, so she's still pretty low maintenance.

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