I am a 38yo wife, mother, friend & sister. I have been married for 17 years, and I have two children: Music (formerly Karate Kid) my 14yo son, and Drama Queen, my 12yo daughter.
I started babysitting on my own (outside of our house and away from the watchful eyes of my parents) the summer after 5th grade. My mom was back in college trying to finish up her degree, so she took me with her (the college was in a town about 10 miles away) to watch her classmate's 9mo baby. I was a very responsible and mature child, but can you imagine leaving your 9mo with a 5th grader?! That mom was either very trusting or very desperate! That's the same year I got hooked on Good Morning, America and Hour Magazine (I always felt much older than I was--maybe a little too old). There wasn't anything else to do while the baby was asleep.
I continued to babysit throughout my younger years and continued off and on during high school and college. When I could work it around my social schedule, that is. Once I got married, it never occurred to me again until I had children. I was so torn up over leaving my baby with someone else while I went to work. Because of some bills that had to be paid and the amount we owed the hospital after Karate Kid's birth (more on that Friday), I had no choice but to go back to work. Once I got all of those bills paid off and we were planning on trying for a second child, I started socking away the money so that we could pay the hospital bills right away. This time I was determined that I was going to stay home with both of my babies.
Unfortunately, The Hubster's job doesn't pay well enough for me to stay home without working. In order to bring home some money, I became a licensed home child care provider. This was the best of both worlds to me--being home with my babies and making money at the same time.
Nine years later, and I'm still at it. There are days now, though, where I start to think about working outside of our home again. I miss adult conversations. I miss the legal world (I have a degree in court reporting and worked at a law firm for years before I stayed home). I think I'm getting closer and closer to finding a different job, but I'm still not there yet.
Today, though...today was one of those days that could move me one step closer to finding other gainful employment. I got a call from the lady that was Karate Kid and Drama Queen's 1st grade teacher. I've watched her youngest daughter several times over the past couple of years when she needed someone in a pinch when her regular sitter couldn't do it. I am now going to watch her daughter the two days of the week that she doesn't go to preschool. She's a dream to watch, so it's no problem.
BUT whenever there is a new child, the energy level in the kiddos rises exponentially. They all have to talk at once, show off everything they can do, drag out every toy, try to get away with breaking the rules since the "new kid" doesn't know any better yet, raise their voices to be heard above the others, etc., ad nauseum. Today was no exception. At least one of the regulars was gone, so that cut down on the craziness just a tad.
Naptime is the best part of the day, but it was a chore to get them ready today. Out of the 6 kids here, 4 wear diapers all of the time, one wears a pull-up for a nap, and the other one wears a diaper for her nap. Only the pull-up wearer can change into them by herself. The rest have to be changed by me, and one of them has to be catheterized. Out of the 4 full-time-diaper-wearers, 3 had dirty diapers. Joy. I was ready to drop by the time I got them all settled down.
Yep, today just about did me in. Maybe I can finally convince myself to get in bed early enough that I can get a decent night's sleep for once. I'm sure everything would be much easier. In the meantime, I may be looking through the want-ads a little more often.
Posted @
2:36 PM ~
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