My Saturday Night

*Note* Charge will from here on out be called "Goober" and Charge's cousin-(my boss's nephew) with be called "Smiley."

As a college student, I don't fit the stereotypes. I don't fit the nerdy stereotype of studying all the time, always having things done way ahead of time, always setting the curve. Nor do I fit the partying stereotype of partying every weekend, sleeping in late, and rushing to get everything done. I'm somewhere between the 2. I rush to get assignments turned in on time, but it's not because I party. I rush because I procrastinate. But all of my stuff is always turned in on time and I set the curve in my classes more often than not. Which brings me to my Saturday night.

My Saturday night involved 5 drunk parents a 3 kids. Said parents were all going out for a night on the town. 3 kids were Goober-6, Smiley-3.5 months, and Other Kid-18 months. I get there and parents are all drinking. Kids are all up, at 9:30pm. Yay for fun times. Other Kid was laid down by his mom before they left, Goober was laying on the couch watching a movie, and Smiley was sitting on his mom's lap.

Smiley's mom started this conversation with me about psycho dog. "Check this out Jen." I watch as she yells at the dog. "See how she bows down to me?" I nod. "That's how you deal with her, she doesn't do that to you. You can't be all happy with her cause then she doesn't bow down to you." I nod again, and stop listening. This conversation came out of nowhere, I had just walked in and the dog greeted me in her usual psycho dog way. I just shrugged it off, petted her, and then pushed her out of the way so I could get through the doorway. I usually don't have a huge problem with psycho dog. She gets really excited for about 5 minutes after I get there and then she settles down and lays at my feet, or goes and finds a toy, or brings me her beloved neon green ball. I've just come to accept that she's gonna be psycho for the first few minutes. I let it pass and then all is good.

Commotion is abundant after this conversation. Goober climbs up in my lap, Other Kid is screaming upstairs, Smiley is spitting up, parents are all talking at once, but not to me of course. Heaven forbid anyone talk to the babysitter about the kids she's gonna be watching. My boss fixed that with "Just let them do whatever." Yeah, that helped. So glad you told me that, I might've like--forced them to scrub the floors or something without that piece of advice. I ask, 3 times, when Smiley last ate. Smiley's mom just keeps talking to me about the dog and how incompitent I am at dealing with her. Okay, whatever. Other Kid's mom actually gives me some useful info. How to get him back down if he wakes up.

Parents all leave. Other Kid is screaming upstairs, Smiley is spitting up, and Goober is wanting my full attention. Goober says something that gets my attention: "Smiley has a bad cold and he hasn't slept since lunch time." Oh, great. Thankfully Goober is there to tell me the info that apparently none of the other parents thought was important enough to tell me. She also tells me that there's 3 bottles in the fridge for Smiley and 2 sippy cups of juice for Other Kid. At this point I'm somewhere between thankful and frusrated. Thankful that Goober is sharing this information with me. Frustrated that a 6 year old is having to tell me this.

The rest of the night went on...chaotic...but I made it through. I got Other Kid up for a little bit because he was having a freak out, Smiley was T-I-R-E-D but wouldn't sleep, and Goober laid on the couch. After 30 minutes I took Other Kid back upstairs to lay him down with the promise to Goober that I would watch the movie with her when I got back downstairs. Up to that point, I really hadn't had a chance to spend any time with her due to the 2 under 2 thing. So I come back downstairs and she's passed out on the couch. So much for quality time. Smiley was lying on his blanket, sucking on his hand and psycho dog was, well...I wasn't really sure.

I took Goober upstairs and laid her down. Heated up a bottle for Smiley, which he didn't want, walked with him for an hour before he finally crashed at 11:30pm. 11 hours and 30 minutes since he last slept. Cripes, how does he do it???? Then it was off to find the dog. Apparently the 5 drunk parents had let her out in the yard when she left. Usually not a problem, except that she hopped the fence. Great. So there I was, at midnight, calling to a dog that wasn't even mine, not being able to leave the yard because of hte kids inside, and probably pissing off the neighbors. She came back, and was promptly yelled at and put in her kennel. Yeah, I have no idea how to handle a dog. *rolls eyes*

Smiley woke up at 1 for another bottle, sucked down 7 oz. and fell back asleep. Drunk parents came home at 3. Then I got to be a chauffer. I made it home by 3:30 for 2 reasons. 1: None of the parents wanted to know how the night went and 2: Nobody was talking to me. So, I got home at 3:30 after dropping Smiley and his mom off at their house.

So, that was my Saturday night. Not quite what one would expect for a college student. But it is my life, and I wouldn't trade my night with 3 beautiful-(albeit cranky) children for the world. :)

What the Children Have Taught Me

The children have taught me that leaves are not for raking & putting in bags for the city to pick up, they are for jumping in, playing with, and making leaf people books.

The children have taught me that every season is special, and no season deserves to be disliked.

The children have taught me that taking is a walk is not about getting from point A to B, it is about enjoying the scenery, learning about nature, and collecting things.

The children have taught me that the floor really is the best place to play.

The children have taught me that cooking is not just about the end product, it's about the process.

The children have taught me that imagination is not something that can be turned off, it is on all the time and it should be used whenever possible.

The children have taught me that break dancing is still "cool."

The children have taught me that clothes are not for keeping clean, they are for getting dirty.

The children have taught me that going with the flow is sometimes the best way.

The children have taught me that patience really is a virtue.

Snow Day

I remember when I used to get excited about snow days. It meant no school for the day and I got to stay home and play all day with my 3 siblings. Now that I am a child care provider, I dread them. Snow days now mean that I will be working a full day, and usually I am working for multiple families at once. The snow day today was no exception.

I got the lovely phone call at 6am, a whole hour before I would knock my alarm off the bedside table to get it to shut up. All schools in the northern half of Michigan were closed. After some fancy phone work, I figured out a schedule for the day. I took on 2 families who agreed to me watching their children at the same time and turned down 3 other families who call me once in a blue moon. So off I was for the 12.5 hour day with absolutely no break.

I picked up 5 yr. old girl from her house and took her to family #2's house. Family #2 have a 5 yr. old boy and a 3.5 month old boy. The 5 yr. old's know each other from daycare, where I used to work, and the baby is a happy little guy who absolutely loves attention. The plan was perfect, the flaws were minimal, and I was looking forward to a good, yet tiring day. Then we got there. I find out that 3.5 month old has croup. It's not mild croup, it's not even moderate croup, no---it's severe croup. Not severe enough to put him in the hospital, but he's about one step away from being admitted. So the doctor's orders were to NOT lay him on his back at all and not let him cry. Now, he's not a big crier to begin with, so that wasn't really a problem, it was the not being able to lay him down that created a problem. I basically had one hand all day, and with two 5 yr. olds who are both vying for my attention, it was not at all easy. The only time I had possession of both of my hands was when I put the baby in the Snugli to make lunch for the 2 other kids. It wouldn't have been so bad if the baby didn't weigh 16 lbs.

So yeah, my back hurts from the Snugli, my arm hurts from carrying a baby all day, and I'm just plain tired. I am hoping beyond hope that school is in session tomorrow, because if it's not, I don't know what I am going to do. I am already booked from 8am-6:30pm, but you'd be amazed at how pissed off and rude parents can get when you won't stop your whole life just to accommodate them. Anywho, here's hoping to a full day of school tomorrow--if nothing else, just to get a mind break!