A friend of mine was in a bind and needed a babysitter. With a sense of community and the promise of a good bottle of wine, I agreed to watch her two beautiful daughters for the evening.
In the beginning, Henry and the older girl watched tv in the basement, while the baby napped next to me on the couch. I had a cup of tea and was catching up on some reading, while thinking to myself, "Having three children is a total breeze."
After the kids grew bored of television and the baby woke up, a total breeze turned into "oh my god, how am I going to keep all of these children alive?!" The first problem was that I've completely forgotten how to take care of a baby. It's been a while since I've had to keep someone from choking on small objects or falling down the stairs.
They all wanted or needed my attention at the same time. Three mouths to feed. Three butts to wipe. Three million toys everywhere.
In the end--when they were all curled up together sleeping and looking adorable--I called it a success, but to those of you with three or more kids on your team I have to wonder how you do it.
I hid on the stairs while the interlopers roamed about.
