Playing the Mom Role

   I feel like I'm in a somewhat strange position.  In some sense I feel like a mom to these little ones, but at the same time I don't feel a lot like they're "my" kids. Maybe it's because I share the "mother" title with three or four others, all who are 6 to 15 years older than I, most of whom have more baby experience (3 are moms themselves).  Also I think it's probably because I'm only with them 24 hours and then have that same amount of time off. One of the biggest things though is that I think if they were actually my kids I would probably treat them a little differently. I still love them the same of course, and play with them and such, but as far as teaching them and disciplining them I'm still learning how I should go about that. For starters I suppose it would help too if they spoke English. But as far as discipline goes, I'm not quite sure how to do things. Time outs? These seem to be popular among people but sometimes not as affective as say, a quick swat of the hands. Don't pinch him! No, don't touch that... you can't be in the kitchen, you're gonna burn yourself! And I wonder is it more important that he learns he can't throw his cup of milk on the floor? Or that he gets another glass so he drinks enough? If you can be thirsty 30 seconds later, why not just drink what I put in front of you in the first place?
  Even though they don't necessarily feel like "my" kids, I definitely feel like I'm learning what it feels like to be a mother. I can definitely relate to the things that must go through moms' heads- "More laundry?" "Mmm, thanks for spitting your medicine ALL over me- I was really hoping you'd do that." "Whoa- was that a smile?! Oh! There it is again! She just smiled at me!!" "Hmmm, can you all smell the milk spit up on me? Hope not..."  "Alright, if I go really slowly and quietly, maybe they won't notice that I le- oh, well, it was worth a shot...."  Haha, just a few of my thoughts that I can only imagine all moms have thought at one point or another. It's frustrating at times (like when you get sprayed with medicine!), but it's all soo worth it when you walk over to the crib at night and the little girl looks up at you and and smiles, just because she sees you. Definitely makes your heart melt a little. And it's so fun to imagine who they might be a few to several years down the road- I don't know if I'll be here or not, but I look forward to seeing or hearing about how they've grown :)