Babysitting

Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of babysitting our neighbors' daughter.  Kevin just loves her.  She is two, so she is at least a year older than him, and very sweet.  One of my viewers (Sarah) the other day commented that in some ways the balance of being a mom becomes easier when you have two kids.  I decided to see if she was right.

She came early in the morning, and was still sleepy.  Kevin was already awake, but she seemed like she wanted to go back to sleep (and her mom told me that she commonly sleeps until 10-11, so I turned off the light and took Kevin back to our bedroom.)  Kevin didn't think he was tired, which was a good thing because about ten minutes later I heard a quiet "Mom?"  I got up, and went out to find the little girl (who we will call Angela) standing next to the front door trying to get out.  She had two large tears running down her cheeks, and my heart broke for her.

I gathered her up in my arms and brought her to where Kevin was, we read a story.  After that, she seemed to feel better.  She asked me when her Mommy was coming, and, not being one to lie to kids, I told her that her Mom would be back in a long while.  Meanwhile, while she and Kevin played in his room (to Kevin's delight) I began to get breakfast ready.

They were pretty happy for a while, and I was thinking 'This is great!'  Then I heard a quiet "Ow.  Ow."  I went to see what was happening.  Kevin was standing behind Angela just happily pulling her hair.  She just sat there and said "ow" over and over.  Quickly, I moved Kevin away and gave him a toy to play with.  After that they were fine again.  I made scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast and then we all ate together.

After breakfast, Kevin needed a nap.  I turned on a cartoon for her to watch for a few minutes while I put him to sleep, because her mother had said that she loved watching t.v.  Only five minutes later I heard her at my door saying, "mom?"  She called me that most of the day, which was endearing, but evidently she calls everyone mom.  Luckily Kevin went to sleep quickly so I could go out and give her attention.  It was difficult for me to get anything done, because she wanted a lot of attention.  I figured it was probably because her mom had just started working and she was in a strange, unknown situation.  We had a good time.  We colored and played and made a leash for a stuffed dog that she could drag around the house.

Eventually, Kevin woke up, and then we all did things together until lunch time.  Her mom called a couple times during breaks to see how she was doing, and she told her mom she was having fun, which is always good to hear.  Then, after lunch, I put Kevin to bed again, and then I went out to find that Angela was ready for a nap.  It wasn't anything she said, but when she dumped all of the crayons out, I said, "You need a nap."

She nodded and headed for Kevin's room.  He was on my bed, so she climbed into his crib and laid down.  Then, after I hummed her a few songs, she fell quickly to sleep and slept until her Dad came to pick her up.  It was a fun experience, for both me and Kevin.  Kevin loves having friends over.  He was sad when she left.

I don't know if it was any easier to get things done with Angela around, but I did have fun making punch with her and playing with toys with both of them.  More importantly, I think Angela had a good time too.