Seriously, I'm so pleased with it all! I was nervous that this would be a terrible mistake and I'd dread the days that I was doing it (like every time that I was in charge of my kids' preschool co-op!). But this is completely different. So here are the many reasons that I am loving babysitting:
-PAYCHECK. Not gonna lie-- I like getting paid. And it helps that they're paying me pretty well, too! Few things make me happier than the little cash register CHA-CHING noise my phone makes when I deposit a check!
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| Theo wants to eat out on the deck with the girls |
-Only 2 days a week. That's just perfect. If it was more, I'd feel trapped. And less would probably feel like a lot of effort feeling like I'm "on call" but not making much. But two days has been juuuust riiiiiiiight.
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| Theo enjoys crawling through the fort Ryder built |
-Everyone has been very flexible, which is nice. Danielle only works four days a week and her mom watches the kids the other two days, so we swap things around when one of us has something going on (like a dentist appointment or my Dad coming to visit), and that's worked really well. It's delightful working with reasonable people!
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| Two Pretty Princesses! |
-I genuinely like both Theo and Quinn. This is more important than you might think, because (despite being a mother of five) I don't necessarily like all kids. There have definitely been kids in my children's preschool co-ops that I had trouble dealing with, and that made for a pretty miserable experience for me. (I am just PRAYING that I managed to mask my feelings of dislike for those kids? Hopefully?). But Theo is an absolute sweetheart and Quinn is exactly the kind of head-strong girl that I adore. So that's been fantastic.
-Danielle and Tim (the parents) do all the hard stuff for me. They pack the kids' lunches (way better lunches than I've ever made for my kids!). They do all the picking up and dropping off (including Quinn from preschool). I just have to be here and keep them happy for a few hours.
-My kids like Theo and Quinn, too. Camille has done very well sharing Mommy with these new kids, so that's good. (That's not to say that she and Quinn don't occasionally struggle to get along-- Camille feels she should be in charge since it's her house, and Quinn thinks she should be in charge because she's older. But overall they do pretty well!) We had one day where the kids were home from school and I was babysitting and I was pretty nervous for how that would go, but it turned out to be AWESOME! The kids were so excited to have a baby around that they all clamored to help with Theo! They took turns feeding him and everything! And Quinn adores Colton and eagerly follows him everywhere, so she was thrilled to have him home with her all afternoon. When her Dad came to pick her up, she actually burst into tears because she didn't want to leave. Success!
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| Ryder did such a good job feeding Theo! |
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| So naturally Colton wanted a turn, too! |
-Someone asked me recently if I was done having babies, and I joked that I wouldn't mind having a baby when all the kids were at school, but I didn't think I could handle having a baby around once they all came home. Well, this way I get just that: a baby to play with while my kids are at school! And then as soon as they come home, I give him back to his parents!
-It gives me permission to be lazy. I know that sounds funny, but it's really true. I'm pretty driven and most days I have a checklist in my head of all the things I ought to be getting done, and those things often seem more important than sitting and reading a story to my kids or just watching them play or holding them on my lap. But since I'm getting paid to take care of these kids, then those other things are no longer a priority! So I give myself permission to sit quietly on the couch and hold Theo when he needs to snuggle. That's my job! A trip to the store can wait.
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| They love him! |
*Sidenote: the day that all the kids were out of school, we also wound up with about four extra neighborhood kids all running through the house, too. This is fine since they all play nicely together (the only extra work is just the sheer number of cups they leave all over the kitchen). The shocked look on Quinn's Dad's face when he came to pick up his own kids and kept seeing kid after kid zooming past was priceless!
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1 comment:
I'm so glad it's working out well for all of you! Sometimes those gigs that are part-time are the best; that's what I loved about my work when we were in Indiana. 12-15 hours per week, which was perfect for helping me regain my sanity but also be around for G. Also, I thought getting a paycheck would eventually get to be ho-hum, but it never did. I LOVE having that tangible way to see that my efforts are appreciated and being able to see that my paycheck paid for our groceries or rent or whatever. Contributing to our household in that way gave me a sense of value that I just don't get from being a parent.
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