Three Short Visitors for Three Short Days

We had a three short visitors for a few days.  They came without their parents--trips to funerals in Colorado aren't kid-friendly but my house is well equipped for this sort of adventure.  We had fun and sometimes I had to really notice that it was fun because it was easy to get caught up in the mechanics as the mom.  At one point all six kids were swimming in the lake's shallow section and I panicked and said aloud "what am I doing taking six children to a lake all by myself?!!" even though they were all all safe and enjoying themselves.


Our finest moments included smooth bedtimes, great outdoor exercise, large bowls of popcorn, and efficient sandwich assembly lines.  Reasons to giggle abound when that many kids are finding their place in a home setting.  The little hobbit-like one-year old followed me around during the days yelling out "Ma!" (which would make my heart melt) and my E would follow him around correcting him in his gravelly voice  "she's not your mom!" (which would make me laugh).

Their stay was not without drama.  Al lost her tooth at 10:30 p.m due to an unfortunate incident involving her brother's elbow--later she bragged about it to her mom on the phone, but in the moment there were tears.  And getting the IPad out of the kids hands so that they would just go out and play was painful.  And nearly everyone melted down this afternoon when I set the timer and required that everyone cease playing to clean up the house.  

Speaking of drama, or at least the lack of drama, I was pleasantly surprised by how these two boys played without any problems for three days straight even with a shortage of sleep and younger siblings to annoy them.  I think J is so relieved to feel like he has a good friend here in Virginia.

And I'd do it all over again.  We love these kids.  Leaving your kids with me is the greatest compliment you could give me, really.