Adventures in Babysitting

Full disclosure:  I started this post last Wednesday.  I am just now completing it.

Babysitting has evolved greatly since I was a young'n.

First of all, I babysat for the very first time when I was 12.  I remember it clearly.  It was a snow day.  Later on, my Aunt Kris took me to the movies.  I can't remember if we saw Dear God or That Thing You Do!, but it was one of those.  Who trusts a 12 year old to babysit their small children?!?!  Now, I was a pretty responsible 12 year old.  You might be thinking it doesn't sound too insane to let a 12 year old watch some school-aged children.  These kids were 3 years old and an infant!

Secondly, back in the day babysitting consisted of the following: parents would pick me up on Friday or Saturday in the early evening, order a pizza and head off.  We would eat dinner, pop in a VHS from Blockbuster or turn on the newest Disney Channel Original Movie and settle in for a few hours of entertainment before brushing teeth and going to bed.  I thought it was the greatest gig because, let's be honest, I'd probably be eating pizza and watching a movie anyway if I had stayed home.  I could get paid for this?!

Nowadays, it's a whole different story. 

I babysit for several families, and most of them prefer that their children don't watch television.  The lazy side of me thought this was crazy at first, but it actually ends up being pretty fun.  Instead of just sitting there on our tail ends, we play games, read stories, go outside, etc.  For whatever reason, almost all the kids I babysit are boys.  I love this because I am much more competent at building Lego towers, laughing at farts, and tossing a football or baseball around than I am at pretend tea parties and dress up.  (Please don't interpret this as some massive generalization about gender stereotypes in young children.  The one girl I babysit just happens to be extremely fond of tea parties and dress up.)  And all of the kids I babysit, regardless of age or gender, are crazy smart.  Because of this, I sometimes rely on their information too much.  Like the time over spring break when I got tricked into walking "down the street" to the park and had to call my roommate an hour later when I was a mile and a half away from the kids' apartment with a 2 and 4 year old, no snacks, no water, and no willpower left to walk back.  (Amanda was a superhero that day for picking us up!)

That same day, the 2 year old pooped on me.  Not just pooped in his diaper while in my lap.  We're talking a leaky diaper and my learning that sometimes adults do, in fact, need to prepare a change of clothes for themselves in addition to a change of clothes for the small children.  

Yesterday, a different 2 year old hit me in the face and gave me a bloody nose.  

Not every day is a fun adventure.  

Today, though,was a rockstar day in the world of childcare.  I started out by packing up some supplies to bring over to my first set of kids for the day so we could do the craft I promised them the week before.  I had seen this cute craft on pinterest where you pour mix tempera paint and bubbles, and blow really big bubbles into a pie tray.  Then you can place a piece of paper on top and it will catch all the paint from the bubbles and make cool designs and stuff.

It was a flop.

Nothing showed up on the paper at all.



Before you even tell me - yes, I did mix the paint in with the bubbles too.  I just did so after taking the picture. 

I improvised. 



 

See those nice clean feet?

I did.  And these ones too.  And I saw a lightbulb go off in my brain as I remembered another stinkin pinterest craft idea.

  

Then I got to work setting up for our new attempt.

 

 

Then I explained to the boys that as soon as they were finished, I would pick them up and dump them immediately in the bathtub.  They were not allowed to let their wet painted feet touch a thing until they were in the tub. 

  

I thought my clean up plan was foolproof, but I was proven incorrect.  I ended up scrubbing footprints from the concrete balcony and the tub.  

  

The next step was to let the paint dry.



When all were dry, we busted out some markers and transformed our feet portraits into pictures of mountains,  angry creatures, and firetrucks.

Then, not being completely fulfilled with my morning of craftiness, I continued in the spirit of hands and feet while watching another child the same day.