Consider this post a Public Service Announcement. You've been warned.
I've been babysitting since I was 13 years old. If you're counting, that's 11 years. It's an extremely effective method of birth control. Don't get me wrong; I love kids. They are loving and insightful and just plain adorable. Most of the time. However, I realize that at this point in my life, I am too selfish to be a mother. Plus, I'm extremely single. Over the course of the past 11 years, I've had many wonderful, not-so-wonderful, and interesting experiences.
In high school, before I was legally able to drive after dark, I had to have the parents drive me home after babysitting. Generally, that duty fell to the husbands. One particular experience stands out in my mind. It was late and one husband was driving me home. It was a short drive because they live just a few streets away. Sounds like an uneventful thing, right? Wrong. As soon as we pulled out of the driveway, the husband started bragging to me about the affair he was having behind his wife's back. Awkward! Luckily, we arrived at my house before I had to say anything. I politely said goodnight and try to block out the awkward moment.
Around the same time, I was babysitting two kids that lived across the street from me. Keep in mind, this is back in the day, before everyone had cell phones. (I had a pager, but that's not really the same thing. It was way lame.) The parents had recently gotten divorced after the husband had an affair with another woman from their Sunday School class. (I swear, I don't only babysit for adulterers.) The kids and I decided to play outside because it was a nice summer day. The little boy, WW, accidentally locked us out of the house. He was only 6, so I couldn't be too angry with him. I knew their mom would be home in less than an hour, so I knew we would be alright. Wrong. WW was very upset about his parents' recent divorce. He snapped. He took off running down the street. Do you know how fast 6-year-old boy can run?! I finally caught him when he lost steam at the bottom of the hill. Talk about panic. I should have asked for hazard pay.
I've decided that there are some unspoken rules for babysitting. I foolishly thought that these things were common sense, but apparently they aren't. I've decided to share a few babysitting etiquette tips for all of those parents out there.
1. Try and give your sitter an accurate estimate of when you will be home. It upsets me when parents leave me saying it will be an early night and then they roll home after midnight. I really appreciate the parents that send a courtesy text when they are on their way home. That way, I can be sure I'm not in the bathroom or something when they get home. I realize I'm being paid to be there, but what if your boss told you that your workday ended at 5pm, but he kept you at work until 8pm? Not cool.
2. Please don't expect me to do laundry or clean your house. You are paying me to take care of your children. It's difficult to do that when I'm knee-deep in your dirty clothes.
3. Be realistic of your expectations of a sitter. One mom said to me: "You know, he's starting kindergarten in a week. I realized that all of his friends know how to read and he doesn't. Can you try and teach him this afternoon? Read to him and stuff, and I'm sure it'll work." The same mom also told me: "We are going to the beach tomorrow. Our rental house has a swimming pool, but he doesn't know how to swim. You need to call our pool and see if a lifeguard can give him private lessons. By the way...he's afraid of the water. Good luck!"
4. If you want me to drive your kids all around town, consider adding gas money into what you pay me. It's the polite thing to do. Providing necessary carseats is also nice. I do happen to own a booster seat for these purposes.
5. Don't come home hammered. You aren't in college anymore, so stop drinking like you're at a frat party. Knocking over furniture as you stumble in is not classy. When you are that wasted, you tend to lose your filter and say things that you shouldn't. I once had a mom tell me: "You know, some days I don't really like my daughter." Wow. Some things should never be said out loud. Also, you suck at math when you're drunk. Calculating how much you owe me when you can't see straight isn't easy. And most of the time, you under-pay.
6. If you have 4 kids, pay accordingly.
7. If you have a unique and complicated bedtime routine, please tell me. Even if you forget, your child will still expect me to read the 4 stories, sing your made-up lullaby, say your nightly prayer, tuck them (and their 75 stuffed animals) in juuuuust right, and do it all as if I were you. You are setting me up for failure and a breakdown from your child if you keep these things a secret. It's a lose-lose situation for everyone involved.
8. Keep your cell phone on and handy. I should be able to reach you if I need to.
I love babysitting, and I'm actually doing it right now. Don't worry, little A is fast asleep. I can see him on his video monitor, and I'm typing this on my iPad that I brought with me. I have the privilege of spending time with some very wonderful kids and I love watching them grow. I am grateful for all of the opportunities I've been given and I wouldn't change a thing. These are just a few tips that I have for all of my parent friends.
Love and baby kisses,
A
Showing posts with label babysitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label babysitting. Show all posts
1.03.2011
I miss him.
He died. Granddaddy died. And I found out via Facebook.
Let's rewind. On New Year's Eve morning, my parents decided that they were going to drive down to Alabama to be with the family and go see Granddaddy in the hospital. I wanted to go with them, but I had to babysit that night for a few hours and I wasn't feeling so stellar. My parents left in the afternoon and made their way down. I checked in throughout the day to see if they had any updates. He wasn't doing well at all. They'd found fluid in his lung and were going to try to remove it to ease his breathing. I prayed all day that he would recover and be able to ring in the new year with us. I arrived at my babysitting destination at 5:40pm. The couple was going to an early dinner and said they'd be home around 8:30pm. I called Mommy Dearest around 7:15pm to see if they'd made it to Alabama and if they had any news. I asked how Granddaddy was doing and Mommy Dearest hesitantly replied that he wasn't doing well. I texted back and forth with BFFAE about tentative plans for the night. After babysitting, I was planning on going home, changing clothes, and heading to her house. I put the little boys to bed went downstairs to the living room a few minutes before 8pm. I knew I had some time to kill before the couple got home, so I started browsing Facebook on my Blackberry. Everyone's status seemed to be about their plans for the evening and wishing everyone else a Happy New Year. Then I saw it. My cousin's wife had posted the sentence that I've been dreading my whole life, particularly this past week: Cynthina is ringing in the new year with a heavy heart. Claude (Jason's Granddaddy) passed away today. My heart sank, I burst into tears, and I almost threw up. I immediately called Mommy Dearest. She answered the phone and all I could say was, "He died, and no one told me??" As it turns out, she had called BFFAE and filled her in. The plan was for Mommy Dearest to call me once I got to BFFAE's house so that I wouldn't be alone when I got the news. Well, thanks to technology, that plan failed. My parents had been a few miles away from the hospital at 5:43pm when they got the call that Granddaddy had left us. They opted not to remove the fluid from his lung because his body couldn't take the strain and they didn't want to cause him any unnecessary suffering. I spent NYE alternating between crying, rationalizing that things happen for a reason and that he's in a better place now, being angry that I wasn't there, and trying to pack clothes for everyone to wear to the funeral. Unfortunately, my good friend Harley Chick's Grandpa had just been diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer and died the same day. And my Grandmother's brother that had been placed in the care of Hospice passed away at 1am on New Year's Day.
I need some time to catch my breath on this one, plus I may or may not have started crying while writing this.
To be continued....
A
Let's rewind. On New Year's Eve morning, my parents decided that they were going to drive down to Alabama to be with the family and go see Granddaddy in the hospital. I wanted to go with them, but I had to babysit that night for a few hours and I wasn't feeling so stellar. My parents left in the afternoon and made their way down. I checked in throughout the day to see if they had any updates. He wasn't doing well at all. They'd found fluid in his lung and were going to try to remove it to ease his breathing. I prayed all day that he would recover and be able to ring in the new year with us. I arrived at my babysitting destination at 5:40pm. The couple was going to an early dinner and said they'd be home around 8:30pm. I called Mommy Dearest around 7:15pm to see if they'd made it to Alabama and if they had any news. I asked how Granddaddy was doing and Mommy Dearest hesitantly replied that he wasn't doing well. I texted back and forth with BFFAE about tentative plans for the night. After babysitting, I was planning on going home, changing clothes, and heading to her house. I put the little boys to bed went downstairs to the living room a few minutes before 8pm. I knew I had some time to kill before the couple got home, so I started browsing Facebook on my Blackberry. Everyone's status seemed to be about their plans for the evening and wishing everyone else a Happy New Year. Then I saw it. My cousin's wife had posted the sentence that I've been dreading my whole life, particularly this past week: Cynthina is ringing in the new year with a heavy heart. Claude (Jason's Granddaddy) passed away today. My heart sank, I burst into tears, and I almost threw up. I immediately called Mommy Dearest. She answered the phone and all I could say was, "He died, and no one told me??" As it turns out, she had called BFFAE and filled her in. The plan was for Mommy Dearest to call me once I got to BFFAE's house so that I wouldn't be alone when I got the news. Well, thanks to technology, that plan failed. My parents had been a few miles away from the hospital at 5:43pm when they got the call that Granddaddy had left us. They opted not to remove the fluid from his lung because his body couldn't take the strain and they didn't want to cause him any unnecessary suffering. I spent NYE alternating between crying, rationalizing that things happen for a reason and that he's in a better place now, being angry that I wasn't there, and trying to pack clothes for everyone to wear to the funeral. Unfortunately, my good friend Harley Chick's Grandpa had just been diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer and died the same day. And my Grandmother's brother that had been placed in the care of Hospice passed away at 1am on New Year's Day.
I need some time to catch my breath on this one, plus I may or may not have started crying while writing this.
To be continued....
A
12.10.2010
I take dating advice from children and that does not make me creepy.
I realize that I haven't really had anything exciting to blog about lately. Hence the posts about pie. Tonight, I actually have a funny story to share. Sit back and enjoy.
I'm sure you've realized by now that I'm a babysitter extraordinaire. Thursday night, I had the pleasure of spending time with two of my favorite little girls, Ellie Belle and Pookie. (Those are not their real names, but that's what I call them and that's what matters.) Today is Ellie Belle's 6th birthday. Happy birthday, Ellie Belle! Last night, EB casually mentioned her "boyfriend" in conversation.
Moi: So, is your boyfriend Spencer cute?
EB: Hes funny. That's what really matters.
True statement!
Moi: How do I get a boyfriend like you?
EB: You just have to wrestle with him. Then he'll want to be your boyfriend for sure. At school, I talk about how Spencer and I are going to get married.
Moi: What does Spencer think about that? (If I mention anything even remotely close to marriage to a guy, he runs for the border, changes his number, and sells his identity on Craigslist to the first bidder. Or he suddenly remembers that he's Jewish and has a deep-seeded fear of commitment and breaks up with me over the phone while I'm on vacation. I'm lucky like that.)
EB: He wants to marry me, too.
Moi: How did you get him to want to marry you already?
EB: You just have to wrestle with a boy like a hundred times and then he'll definitely agree to marry you.
Ooohhhhhh, so that's how you do it. Clearly it is easier when you're 5. When I asked her the best place to wrestle, she told me that you're only supposed to wrestle outside. If only I could make Ellie Belle's plan work for me. I have a feeling that I'd have very different results. By my tone, I'm sure you can tell that things with Golf Guy aren't exactly going as I'd hoped. I'm not really ready to get into all that and I don't want to make assumptions about it, but I'll probably share it all in another post.
Pookie is 3, and she is a firecracker. She calls me Alicagain. I've been called much worse. She got a "big girl bed" last week. It's not your standard twin size bed that kids usually transition to after a crib; it's a legit full size bed. I put her in her jammies, read her bedtime stories, tucked her in, turned off her lights and left her so I could put Ellie Belle to bed. I hear her calling out for her Mommy, so I go back in and check on her. I was caught by surprise when I opened the door. The lights were on, her jammies were in the corner, her diaper was on the floor, and she was standing naked as a jaybird in the middle of the bed. I asked her what had happened and she shrugged and said "I dunno." Priceless.
Ellie Belle kept getting out of bed and told me that she was just too excited about her birthday to be able to sleep. I told her that if she didn't go to sleep, she would never turn 6. She immediately said goodnight and stayed in bed the rest of the night. Lies work like a charm. I'm going to be such a great mom...in like 20 years. If I can ever find a boy to wrestle with and rope into marrying me. That seems very unlikely.
In other news, I bought Princess Fiona some light-up reindeer antlers. I'll get pictures of that soon. That may be a contributing factor in my singleness.
Hugs,
A
I'm sure you've realized by now that I'm a babysitter extraordinaire. Thursday night, I had the pleasure of spending time with two of my favorite little girls, Ellie Belle and Pookie. (Those are not their real names, but that's what I call them and that's what matters.) Today is Ellie Belle's 6th birthday. Happy birthday, Ellie Belle! Last night, EB casually mentioned her "boyfriend" in conversation.
Moi: So, is your boyfriend Spencer cute?
EB: Hes funny. That's what really matters.
True statement!
Moi: How do I get a boyfriend like you?
EB: You just have to wrestle with him. Then he'll want to be your boyfriend for sure. At school, I talk about how Spencer and I are going to get married.
Moi: What does Spencer think about that? (If I mention anything even remotely close to marriage to a guy, he runs for the border, changes his number, and sells his identity on Craigslist to the first bidder. Or he suddenly remembers that he's Jewish and has a deep-seeded fear of commitment and breaks up with me over the phone while I'm on vacation. I'm lucky like that.)
EB: He wants to marry me, too.
Moi: How did you get him to want to marry you already?
EB: You just have to wrestle with a boy like a hundred times and then he'll definitely agree to marry you.
Ooohhhhhh, so that's how you do it. Clearly it is easier when you're 5. When I asked her the best place to wrestle, she told me that you're only supposed to wrestle outside. If only I could make Ellie Belle's plan work for me. I have a feeling that I'd have very different results. By my tone, I'm sure you can tell that things with Golf Guy aren't exactly going as I'd hoped. I'm not really ready to get into all that and I don't want to make assumptions about it, but I'll probably share it all in another post.
Pookie is 3, and she is a firecracker. She calls me Alicagain. I've been called much worse. She got a "big girl bed" last week. It's not your standard twin size bed that kids usually transition to after a crib; it's a legit full size bed. I put her in her jammies, read her bedtime stories, tucked her in, turned off her lights and left her so I could put Ellie Belle to bed. I hear her calling out for her Mommy, so I go back in and check on her. I was caught by surprise when I opened the door. The lights were on, her jammies were in the corner, her diaper was on the floor, and she was standing naked as a jaybird in the middle of the bed. I asked her what had happened and she shrugged and said "I dunno." Priceless.
Ellie Belle kept getting out of bed and told me that she was just too excited about her birthday to be able to sleep. I told her that if she didn't go to sleep, she would never turn 6. She immediately said goodnight and stayed in bed the rest of the night. Lies work like a charm. I'm going to be such a great mom...in like 20 years. If I can ever find a boy to wrestle with and rope into marrying me. That seems very unlikely.
In other news, I bought Princess Fiona some light-up reindeer antlers. I'll get pictures of that soon. That may be a contributing factor in my singleness.
Hugs,
A
10.11.2010
Overboard
"I could write my name by the age of three, and I don't need anyone to cut my meat for me. I'm a big girl now, see my big girl shoes?"
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| Girls and Boys by Ingrid Michaelson {here} |
C(P)W's baby shower went well on Saturday. The food was yummy and the gifts were presh. Here's a cute picture:
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| Teeeeeeeny tiny socks! |
| C(P)W's monogram on top, and Baby A's monogram below. |
[Rewind.] Friday night, I got to hang out with one of my favorite 3-year-olds. ME is completely adorable and loves me to pieces (as I love her). I am the only non-family-member that she likes (AKA she doesn't cry when she's left with me). We play princesses, watch Dora, play dress-up with Pooh Bear, and tell silly stories. She's awesome. See what I mean?
| This is her "scary" face. |
ME: "I used to be a little girl, but now I'm a big BIG girl."
Moi: "Yes you are. You're a lady."
ME: "What's that word?"
Moi: "Well, lady is another kind of big girl. Mommy is a lady."
ME: "Yea, Mommy's a lady. Daddy's a lady, too."
Moi: [trying hard not to laugh] "Umm...actually, Daddy isn't a lady. He's a gentleman."
ME: "No, I'm pretty sure he's a lady all the time."
[Fast forward.] Don't you love how I ignore the logical order of things? I like it better this way. For Sunday School, I had my Youth dress up like the Disciples and reenact the Last Supper for the kids. We have a "theater" room with costumes and props, so we went digging for attire. However, there do not seem to be any actual Disciple clothes. Here's what we looked like:
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| 1. Beatles wig. 2. Fairy wings. 3. Hospital gown? 4. Purse. 5. Keyboard. |
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| There are no words to explain this. Just go with it. |
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| I was supposed to be Jesus. I look more like Miss Cleo. "Look in to me crystal ball..." (Although the "crystal ball" is the styrofoam head that the wig goes on. Same diff.) |
I'm bored with the way my blog looks, but I don't know what I want to change. Suggestions? Comments on how awesome I am?
Kthanksbye,
A
9.23.2010
I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)
"I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why"
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| Ultimate Alabama 20 No. 1 Hits {here} |
This is exactly how I feel lately. As soon as Monday morning rears it's ugly head, I'm praying for 5:01pm on Friday to hurry it's little butt up. The upside is that I enjoy all of the things that keep me busy and have me always in a hurry. However, I do love the moments where I have NOTHING to do. Those are few and far between at the moment. I long for those moments, especially right now since I have a broken foot that doesn't appreciate my constant hurrying from place to place. What keeps me so busy you ask? (I'm just going to pretend that the 2-3 of you that actually read this did ask. Humor me.)
- My full-time job. I work somewhere that I like, with people I enjoy, doing work that makes me happy. PLEASE don't assume that I'm ungrateful for being employed because that is most certainly NOT the case.
- My business. I started my own jewelry business in August and I am loving it. Orders are rolling in and I couldn't be more thrilled. However, this leads to some late nights when I have people needing a quick turn-around on an order.
- Church. I've taken over the position as the new Youth Director at my church. I don't really feel old enough to be in that position. I mean, wasn't I in Youth Group like yesterday?! This requires that I plan Sunday School and Youth Group curriculum, which can be challenging. Have you ever tried to find a meaningful topic that is also interesting and engaging?
- Kappa Alpha Theta. Joining Theta in college might have been one of the best decisions I made. I walked away with life-long friendships, great memories, and some pretty hilarious stories/pictures. Since I live just down the road (about 45 minutes) from my Alma Mater, I decided to volunteer to the the Membership Advisor for our Chapter. Keep in mind, when I decided this months ago, I was unemployed and searching for positive ways to spend my time. I'm very glad I took the position, but it's been some time since I participated in Recruitment (aka Rush). I was Recruitment Chair in 2006 (junior year) and then I was studying abroad during Recruitment senior year and missed it. It's crunch time this week, as everything kicks off tomorrow, so I'm preparing to switch back to Theta mode. (Suddenly, all of the cheers and songs from my college days have coming rushing--no pun intended--back into my head.) And there's a tiny (well, maybe bigger than that) piece of me that hopes that even as an advisor, I will get a Bid Day shirt. Is that sad?
- Babysitting. During my 6 months of unemployment, I spent a fair amount of time playing the role of Nanny for several families. (Thirty-something children, to be exact.) I loved it. I've been doing the babysitting thing since I was 13, so this is nothing new. I guess I'm considered the "cool" babysitter because I love to play games, make crafts, color, read stories, and things like that. Since I've gotten a job, I babysit less, but usually I do it at least once a week. That means my life still includes Disney Princesses, colorful band-aids, talking stuffed animals, Dora the Explorer, bedtime stories, finger painting, carpool lines, and all the great things that come with kids.
And the rant is over. Just wanted to give you a glimpse into my chaotic life. Thanks for reading!
Later gators,
A
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