Self-Portrait(s) Saturday

This weekend we are out of town visiting family. This means that I am hanging out with the Niece and Nephew AKA The Kids Who Made Me Like Kids.

I've got a series of pictures today for Self-Portrait Saturday:

Hanging on the floor with my dog children. Oh my, I love them so much.

The dogs had a tough week. After years of us knowing that we should invest the money into a dental cleaning, they finally went in for a cleaning (thanks a lot, tax refund) and came home minus some teeth. Let me explain what I mean by "some" teeth. I mean that Hannah (the one in between my legs) had two teeth taken out-- one was broken and one was rotten. Nipsy had SEVENTEEN of thirty-six teeth taken out. The vet said every time he poked one he noticed there was puss coming out of it or the dental tool just sunk right into it. When we rescued Nipsers, we knew that she had been abused, running around homeless, and malnourished.  I had no idea her teeth were so bad and I feel horrible for not getting this taken care of sooner. Poor babe. They are both on soft food while their gums heal. I wonder if Nipsy will be able to eat her regular dry food now that she is missing half of her teeth?

Now for my favorite children on this wonderful Saturday: Niece and Nephew

This Saturday night, we babysat for a few hours and I attempted to put Niece to sleep for the first time. 

I put on my She & Him Pandora station, gave her the bottle her mama left for me, and proceeded to rock her to sleep. It only took ten minutes!

My kid skills are improving. I hope I put her diaper on correctly and Mom and Dad don't wake to pee leaking out of the sides of her diaper. 

After I Googled "how to move a sleeping baby into a crib" and "which side do babies sleep on?" because I really don't know, I got up and just set her into her crib. She curled up into a little ball with her butt sticking up in the air, sighed, and was fine.

Then I spent some time with my lil' bestie, the Nephew:

This is after I resorted to us playing with my iPhone because I was so tired. How are people parents?

This little guy always makes me feel so good about myself. He makes up songs about me, follows me around, laughs at everything I do, and always ensures that someone pulls up a chair for me next to his high chair. Sure, earlier that afternoon we had to work through three meltdowns where he was being cray for no reason, but he still loved us by the end of the night. I like being an aunt.

I'm still not ready to be a parent and I don't know if I'll ever be but I think you just do stuff and you figure it out along the way-- all while hoping that you don't mess up too badly. I'm happy just holding kids, playing with them, making them say silly things, and then giving them back.

I started this post when it was Saturday and now it's Sunday. In light of this motherly post, happy Mother's Day to all pet moms and people moms, but especially to my Mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and the lovely moms-to-be (whether it's a matter of hours, days, or months) in my life.

Hi Mom, thanks for being the strongest.