Let's spend the afternoon in a cold hot air balloon!

I just babysat my niece and nephew. As they are such close relations and more like a brother and sister than niece and nephew, I have license to be a bit snarky when I'm babysitting them. Or so I tell myself. And I let them play alone and am not completely attentive to them all the time.

This afternoon was a bit different, because I played with both of them for a good part of it.

I was pulled at from both sides. My niece wanted me to be her "Baby" and "My dear", and my nephew wanted me to be a fellow magician and a clown with him. It was quite difficult to find the balance.

Just so I won't forget it, I'm going to write what happened between me and Sophia (my niece) as I was pretending to be her "Dear" at bedtime:

"Mama! Mama!" I say as my niece walks away from me at bedtime.

She doesn't respond and has neglected to pull up the covers, so I pull them over myself.

This brings her running back. "No, no, my deaw! (how she says "dear") You go under the covows!"

"I am going under the covers!"

"No, not like that!"

"Fine, then I won't have covers," I say grumpishly.

She runs away to see her mama, and I lay pretending to sleep. Then I wake up. "Mama, mama! I want you to snuggle me!"

Sophia runs back and slaps her hands over my mouth. "SHH, SHH! You wanna heow (hear) a stowey? (story)"

"Yes, mama!"

"Okay, okay. So theyoh (there) was a little giwohl (girl) and hehw (her) name was Tina and she was walking down the stweet and hehw (her) mama came and said, 'It's time fow bed!", so Tina went to bed and hehw mama didn't snuggle her or do anything and the baby went to bed and stopped cwying."

Then she pats me and runs away again.

How is THAT for a message to me? Be quiet and go to bed!

And then I decided I didn't want bedtime anymore and tried to get up and she pounced on me and put me back to bed again, forcibly!

How's that for a three-year-old mother? She's quite the kid!

-Tina