Weekend Warrior - Babysitting Edition

My sister asked me to babysit last weekend while she and her hubby went away for a three day trip.  Austin was at his "weekend warrior" training so I was left to fight my own battle with 4 kids ranging from 2 - 12 years old!  I've been contemplating my adventure of "pretend" motherhood and have gained some insights.

Probably the best picture of us... 

Here they are:

• When putting a potty training toddler to bed, be sure to put him in a diaper or pull up. When forgetting to do this (for the second time), perhaps deciding to wake him up from his nap to put on a diaper, isn't a good idea... Or maybe it is because it saved the innocent bean bag he was lying on??? Not really sure but maybe the grumpy wake-up was worth it.
• When encouraging 10-year-old boys to play kickball with their friends, set the rules before the game begins to avoid outbursts of competitive anger.   On a side note, I was trying to lighten the mood by shooting marshmallows at them when they ran to first base! Unfortunately, it didn't really soften all their hearts and ended with 2 upset boys and a game halfway finished.
• When playing tag in the swimming pool, try not to be the slowest swimmer, but if you are, make the most of it with super quick tag backs. "Shabaam! I don't care if your only 7, BOOM, Gotcha!"  Like stealing candy from a baby! haha!
• When taking the toddler to the "mountain" to go "hiking", remember not to walk too far in one direction because he might have a hard time walking all the way back... Hypothetical situation of course.
• When taking the toddler to the store try not to look suspicious like a "mother impersonator", even if you feel like it's obvious.  I kept thinking, "these people actually think this is my child!", wahahaha!...(Insert devious laughter here).
• Always bring wipes and water with you... Everywhere you go... even if you don't think you'll need them. Before you know it the toddler is "thursty" and there is snot coming out of his nose (this literally happened right after leaving the house!! Oy!)  
• Tickling children is always fun... No exceptions!
• Try to remember to go to the bathroom before you're about to burst, even if you have to leave the toddler for just a minute. Seriously, my stomach was aching because of this! It's not natural!!

On a more serious note, I couldn't be more impressed with the kids. They were good helpers and... listened... to... my... every... command... (Wahahaha!).  They even pitched in their allowance for frozen yogurt, without being asked. I thought about declining it, but since it was a responsible thing to do, I decided to encourage them to be self sufficient.

A priceless moment: At 5am the toddler woke up and I brought him into my bed to see if he'd go back to sleep, and he did. I put him on the far side of the bed. Around 7AM I woke up with him right next to me with his big eyes staring, his arm around my neck and a big smile from ear to ear! It melted my heart!  It helped me to see how cute little toddlers, in their terrible twos, can wrap their parents right around their little finger!

In the end, I felt like the weekend was a success. They did their chores, ate healthy, and went to bed at decent hours.  I even threw in some fun shenanigans, such as: candy, marshmallow fights, science experiments, swimming, redbox, frozen yogurt, hide and seek, and lots of tickling!  This experience also taught me a lot about what we can expect when we adopt.

The moral of the story: motherhood is exhausting! Luckily, it's sprinkled with silly moments, loving gestures and big smiles from ear to ear!

PS
Did I mention that the toddler decided to pee in a cup? And draw all over himself with a marker? Ya, that was exciting!