I just spent the morning trying to cheer up my friend J. who�s going squirrely stuck in her house in the cold, cold weather with a busy almost-three-year-old (AJ�s friend Z.) and her three-week old baby. The hour drive to J�s house was full of music from one of my least favorite CD�s of AJ�s (which is probably why he loves it so much) � badly engineered , poorly sung electronic renditions of otherwise perfectly pleasant songs. It didn�t help that AJ wanted to hear his favorite song over and over again. We played it 5 times before I laid down the law and said we were going on. We got to the end of the CD and it started playing over again automatically, whereupon AJ whined, �But we heard this already.� God forbid he hear THAT song more than once.

AJ and Z are a joy to watch together. We walked into the house and Z grabbed AJ�s hand and they took off to play with toys that were far more exciting than we have at home. I always think AJ�s got a ridiculous number of toys until we get to J and Z�s house. New baby D slept almost the entire time we were there, much to J�s annoyance, as the fact that he never gave her a break by sleeping was part of the reason for my visit � I offered to help so she could get a few things done. Instead we both folded laundry and watched the baby sleep and the kids play. It was very relaxing and domestic and we got to talk about actually grownup subjects once in a while. Like how insane Dean�s speech sounded last night. And how a crazy woman we used to work was recently spotted on the Antiques Roadshow.

AJ and Z calmly dismantled any sense of order the house might have had upon our arrival. They took time out for a lunch of pizza and ice cream � pretty much the only meal that can guarantee they�ll both sit down for more than 5 minutes at the same time. During lunch they attempted to have an actual conversation with each other without any adult assistance. Mostly they asked questions that the other wouldn�t answer. At one point, however, Z. declared, �I think I�ll come over to your house sometime.� To which AJ responded, �Okay.� Dating is so easy when you�re two.

It was fun holding a tiny baby again. I guess I was kind of hoping that seeing a baby would give me an instant epiphany on whether I wanted to have another one. But I'm just as on the fence about it as before. They're adorable, they smell amazing (or, at least, the top half of them does), but they are a lot of work. I'm just starting to feel like I'm getting my life back. Am I ready for another one? Will AJ be okay as an only?

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