Two Against One

When E was born a lot of people joked that we no longer outnumbered the kids. It was now a one-on-one defense. Not having more adults than kids does make it more hectic, but it's when only one adult is around that things get crazy.

M was laid out by a stomach bug today and my parents left this morning, so it was just me and the kids. The thing is, I find it really hard to take them to the park or to run errands when I'm solo parenting. L is almost 3 and E is just about 18 months. I live in fear of L making a run for it or getting lost in a store. He wants to be out of the cart, which makes E want out, as well. There's no way I can keep track of them both. At the park, L has been known to run off and leave you with no choice but to leave E and run after him. When we are together as parents, they both behave. It's like they test the weakness when we're alone.

I know that they are both still very young, but when only one of us is around, it really limits what we can do and it makes me feel like I'm a bad disciplinarian, which I am not. We ventured out briefly today to make a shopping trip to Fry's, and both kids were very good, but I didn't push my luck by going to a second store. I feel guilty for the TV watching and having to turn to TV so I can get just a few things done.

Things are looking up. M is better, poor guy, and we are annoying on going to the zoo tomorrow. Hopefully the kids will have more fun tomorrow. Also, we got the tree up and my Father Christmas collection displayed!