Nap

Nap-verb

1.  a wonderful thing

2.  sleep, in the afternoon

3.  a wonderful thing most mothers don't get a chance to do

4.  restorative rest so mothers don't become horrid to the short people

[can y'all tell I wrote those definitions myself?]

I just had Nina's kids over for the weekend (which was really great) and I took them out (okay, Q took them out, but I was there, I just don't have a captains license, minor detail, I do all the lines as long as I won't break a nail and if I will, I make the short ones do the lines) on the boat.  IT WAS THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE NAP, and so worth it.  All *5* short people napped!  And allowed a real grown up conversation!  It was pretty fantastic.

And they did not care one iota about rounding out a recent field trip to Fort McHenry. Yeah, seeing it from water made them lose memory of that lovely field trip that they had only 2 weeks ago and had told me all about the day before.  On that note, I was pretty happy that they napped.  They were up late the night before, slept in, ate the contents of my fridge  (18 eggs for 5 kids?! almost 2 lbs of bacon?! and asking for lunch by 10:30?), and were getting a little tired of each other. So the wave motion of the boat produced naps. Which was awesome.  And then they woke up. And I gave them freeze pops.  And then they started jumping on the beds.  On the boat.  I'm just not really great at math or physics, and I don't know what all the theories are named, but even I know not to jump on a bed while on a moving object (a hotel bed is a whole nother story!).  I found that out (in the exact same way) when I was 4.  So, add one head injury to the weekend. *sigh* I almost made it through with 5 injury free kids.  Ice fixed all, it was very minor. Now, all the kids know NOT to jump on boat beds, sometimes when you descend, the bed is not there...  I wonder if they will apply the same thinking to RV's?  Maybe I'll find out next summer.  If Nina will only let me kidnap her short ones for a camping trip... Hrmm... [Done! -N]

I heard about all of Nina's family secrets (okay, there aren't too many... but short young ones say funny stuff!). And, I thought it was really funny to hear that, "You're not MY mom!"  Um, yes, that is a true statement, lovely short child in my house, *but* I'm the mom around.  And that mother you are referencing, is my best friend who left you with me.  I promised I would only call IF I had to take you to the ER so your lovely parents could have a whole weekend to themselves. So you will follow my rules, which right about now include putting on swim trunks and getting in the hot tub because we just finished breakfast and hurry up because your parents will be here soon and we need to cram lots of fun/spoiling/exam week stuff in RIGHT NOW! Yup, a scuba mask was worn as well.  Completely necessary in a hot tub by the way.

Nina may hate me right now.  Her children had fun.  Lots of fun.  And only one minor head injury... bound to happen with 5 kids...  And going into exam week, super tired. And I'm pretty sure all of the clothes she packed are still at my house.  

Things I learned from her children:  

1.  Do not give them tea.  No matter how nicely they ask.  Children should not be caffeinated.

2.  Warn them about laws of physics.  Those laws apply to humans too.

3.  Procure twice as much food as you think the short people can ever eat!  They will go through a growth spurt.

4.  Wake them up in the morning.  Otherwise you will never, ever get out the door before 4 in the afternoon!  (And it's just fun since they kept you up late!)

5.  Remember to have all of them brush their teeth.  Whoops.  My bad, but by 9 at night, *I* was exhausted! (Dentists, take note, I do not condone poor oral health, but sometimes I need everyone to sleep, including me)

Lessons learned were valuable.  I hope Nina takes note, because next time it's her turn!

Cheers,

Katya

P.S.  About 10 minutes after the kids were dropped off I sort of promised a LIVE gift for Christmas (to Nina's kids, I already have a managerie).  After about 5 seconds of reflection, I had to back out of that ALL weekend.  Lizard or snake or turtle are not happening.  Or hermit crabs.  Did you know they can live about 15 years?  Yeah, I have 3...