The secret of two

A friend of mine has a friend with 4 kids. When a friend of hers (I know, this is confusing) was freaking out and asked her what she should do, this mom's advice was simple: "Have more."

It's counterintuitive, but I got a taste of it this afternoon when Sam and I watched Alexa for a few hours. I was looking forward to seeing her, but I have to admit - I had some trepidation about managing two. However, I need the practice, obviously. So, imagine my delight when I glanced at the clock while sitting on the floor with them and TWO HOURS had gone by without me noticing it. Yes, I occasionally had to keep them from kicking each other in the head, stealing each other's food, or stepping on each other's faces (ok, Sam tried most of those things, not Alexa). BUT...the amount of energy focused on me and me alone was much less than when there was just the two of us. Suddenly, there was another living person in the room for them to turn to instead of me. I wasn't solely in charge of entertainment, education, and witty banter. Instead, Sam chuckled at just about everything that came out of Alexa's mouth, including her cheddar bunnies, and Alexa followed Sam around trying to do whatever he was doing. I know, I know. I had her for three hours, she's only a year younger than him, I haven't had her around the house from birth, yadda, yadda, yadda. The important part was that it gave me hope. I CAN mother two children and only lose my mind occasionally.