In general, I'm a pretty competent Dad. There have been many times when I've had to one-arm it with a Nodling in one arm and a (pick one: laundry basket, frying pan, dirty diaper, random toy, some other kid) in the other.
I ain't a babysitter, I'm The Dad.
I'm not that know-nothing, nothing-doing dude who asks "Where's your mother?" with a pained look on his face every time some kid wants something non-standard, like something out of a Bill Cosby routine. (Best comedian evah, btw.)
Even so, it takes a small army to replace Mom.
My own mother and sister-in-law will be helping me with the toddlers after I shuffle Wynken, Blynken, and Nod-girl off to school so I can go to work still. There is a mountain of paperwork sitting on the counter that has to be signed for the school (medical forms, code of conduct policy, etc.) which will still be sitting there when Mrs. Nod comes back. (Sorry, hon, I know my limitations. Nobody ever died from not having their paperwork signed in the first 3 days of school.)
The Nodlings' laundry is cleaned, folded, and laid out for school tomorrow, and the toddlers, Nub and Nib, got a bath tonight because Mrs. Nod rightly concluded that I wouldn't be bothered if they stayed dirty while she was gone. But hey, look on the bright side -- they'll all have clipped nails and clean ears. :D
My Mom offered to bring us dinner, but one thing I do well is improvise meals. I'll probably make "something similar" which is a dish that is similar to something they've had before, but I've gone and substituted half the ingredients. And their mother won't be here to say they don't have to eat it. Bwahahahaha!
