Mom of 3/Mom of 1

I don't remember what it was like to only have one kid. Sure, I DID only have one kid at one time. But then by the time she was 2 months old I already had another one on the way. Ella didn't get what you'd call my undivided attention for very long. She turned one and 6 days later another kid shows up and ruins the "mommy and me" time. My point is that I don't really recall what it was like to look after the needs of just one child...only one mouth to complain that they didn't like what we were having for dinner, one person trying to cram into our bed at night, one person to clean up after, etc.

This weekend gave me a glimpse into that world.

Ella and Jackson had arranged to sleep over at a friend's house for Friday night. This meant they would go home from school with said friend, so really the last time I saw them was 7:00 Friday morning. I picked up Kaley Friday afternoon and hyped up the whole "just me and you and Daddy" thing so that she wouldn't feel left out. We went home and hung out, she got to watch tv without being dictated to that The Suite Life of Zach and Cody or Wizards of Waverly Place was what would be on (like she normally is). We thought about going out to eat, but since Maho's obedience instructor was coming by at 8:30 Patrick didn't want to go out and be rushed, so we ordered pizza and chilled.

Saturday morning I woke at 5:30 with the dog as usual and Kaley wasn't far behind me. I surfed the internet and she just lounged with her head leaning against me, content with her blanket until about 7. We decided to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast and it was nice not to have kids clamoring over each other trying to "help" me. Once Patrick woke up he and Kaley went to the pool for a little while and then to the quick mart to get some drinks and we ate tacos for lunch. No arguing over what to have to eat=bliss. On the agenda? Lounging around for me while Kaley quietly played Barbies in her room. More lounging around for me while Kaley took a nap. Later, Patrick took us to a fancy dinner. And with one kid? People we smiling at us at how well behaved our child was. 

And no I didn't forget to pick up my other children. I got a phone call from the friend's mom Saturday about noon asking if they could stay 2 more nights (no school on Monday). I agreed to one more night and suddenly I had another 24 hours to pretend I was nice, calm mom of 1 instead of screaming, crazy mom of 3. Nice.

Sunday we ventured out to a new beach. It was fun since we took Maho and she loves to run around and dig in the sand. She swam some too, but the waves were kind of rough. Kaley was loving all the alone time, but soon she started asking when Ella and Jackson were going to be done with their sleepover. I had to admit, I was starting to miss them a little too. But only a little. After the beach we sat around doing nothing and then did a little more of doing nothing. I still hadn't heard from the kids at around 6 p.m so I called and said I had to do a little grocery shopping and then I would be by to pick them up. 

By 8:30 I was back to having 3 kids again. All told, I had about 58 hours of Me (well and Kaley) time. It was nice to get back to caring for just one kid, it allowed me to really focus on Kaley who often times gets swept up in the flow of 2 older siblings.

Today? Gone are the nice quiet afternoons free of bickering and constant calls of "Mama, so-and-so hit me" but you know what? Good, bad or just plain frustrating, it just isn't the same without all the commotion that 3 kids bring.