Every week my mother-in-law, Lillian, drives up to look after Nathan while I take Nicholas to our Library for Todddler Story Time - or, as I sometimes call it - Absolute Chaos. This Story Time is open to children agaes 18 to 36 months... or one and a half to 3 years, and it lasts for 5 weeks. The kids listen to books being read, sing songs, and get to socialize with other kids. Going to Story Time makes me feel like a GOOD MOM because I was doing something Nick could learn from and enjoy.

Last time we did Story Time I was very, very pregnant. It was Nicholas's first time in a setting like this, and I spent most of each time trying to get Nick to sit down, to not touch the teacher's CD player, to not scream during the stories, and so on. I did a lot of getting up and dragging Nick back to the circle.

All of the other kids seemed older and were able to listen to the stories and sing along with the teacher, so I felt very much singled out and embarrassed. Plus, every single mother there kept askin when I was going to have my baby, so naturally I wanted to kick all of them in the head.

But this time around things are different. The kids all seem to be around Nicholas's age. But while Nicholas has pretty much learned to sit and listen to the stories, standing only to dance to the music, there are quite a few other toddlers who haven't gotten there yet. They run around from one side of the room to the other. Some mothers don't even try to bring these kids back to the Story Time Circle, which is very distracting.

Each time the teacher opens a book she announces the title. I find myself whispering to Nick to focus his interest on the book she is holding up. "Look Nick - Dinosaurs!" I'll whisper. Or "Ladybugs - look at the ladybugs!" The thing is, I can hear whispers just like mine being echoed through the room - every mother is whispering THE EXACT SAME THING to their very own child. "The Wiggles - we love the Wiggles!" or "The Turtle Song - You know the Turtle Song!" I know I shouldn't feel this way, but hearing the other mothers saying the same things I am saying makes me realize just how silly I sound.

While the teacher reads the book, even the children paying attention can't seem to sit still. They point and comment about the pictures on the pages, loudly. The trouble is that no one can understand what they are saying, so their comments are really lost on all of us. In fact, so many kids are talking, grunting, screaming, that I usualy can't hear a word the teacher is saying. Apparently she feels that reading in a soft voice will cause her audience to quiet down. Which makes sense, but ONLY IF THE AUDIENCE CARES. An 18 month old audience doesn't care.

The true highlight of Story Tims actually comes at the end - Free Play. The teacher opens up the closet with a bunch of toys, and the kids all get to play with puppets, giant stuffed animals, bean bags, and of course, board books. They also get to play together - as much as they DO play together at this age - which is actually really good, as long as the kids don't start fighting over the toys. Which ALWAYS happens.

Story Time lasts less than an hour, but each week I come home feeling like I've run a marathon. But no matter how chaotic it is, Nick still loves it. Even sitting still and paying attention, and I am SO glad that Lillian is willing to take the time to come up and help us out.