I'm going to be honest today, y'all. I really wish I had something to contribute to the Tell me About your Town linkup with Amanda. With me being gone all last month though, I had zero chance to prepare anything remotely close to being high quality. Sure, I have great places to take y'all on "blates" (the topic this month), but I have zero really good pictures, and I didn't want to half-ass anything. Hey... at least I'm honest! You should go to Amanda (Or Cassie's) pages to check out the other blate ideas from other bloggers though!
I do, however... have a confession for y'all today...
I don't like babysitting. Ok, maybe it wasn't THAT big of a confession. I also exaggerate in post titles. Oh well. Let's be clear though. I am NOT talking about my own children. That is NOT babysitting. When it's just me and my kids, that's me being a PARENT. When I have someone else's tiny humans in my house and it's my responsibility to make sure they're fed, have clean butts, and don't kill each other; That's babysitting.
I don't like it. Even before I had kids I didn't like it. I thought things would change after Zander (maybe even after Ainsley). Nope... things did not change, y'all.
My top five reasons?
5. Ainsley's Naps. Or lack thereof. When I'm babysitting, she just doesn't nap. No matter what I do to clear out the bedroom and keep the other kids occupied. She just doesn't settle enough to stay down. Sure it's not the other kids' fault... but it really annoys me.
4. Food. If you're going to promise to bring me food for your kids, please do so. Because I really don't have enough drinkable yogurts or gummy snacks to feed the neighborhood. Especially when your 6 year old eats as much as my 31 year old husband. I can't afford to feed the entire neighborhood. #SorryNotSorry. I'm not even asking you to pay for my groceries. At least tell me if you're not going to bring the food so I can prepare better.
3. Messes. Y'all, if you've seen my house prior to me staying at home full time you might not believe that I hate messes. I really hate them though, and when I have four children terrorizing my house my house looks like crap. When my kids are home with me they know the routine of cleaning up before we move onto another activity. Which leads me into #2...
2. Discipline. If I agree to watch your children, please... please for the love of all things holy, don't send them to my house if they cannot follow directions or listen. Before y'all even say it... YES, I know people parent differently, but c'mon. If I give a simple command direction of "put your shoes by the door / don't leave your shoes in the middle of the floor" and your kid just gives me a blank "deer in headlights" stare like they have no clue what I just said... there's a problem there. Teach your kids to follow direction before they stay with me. Otherwise, there will be a problem and I'm not going to sugar coat "how great your kid is". Nope, when you pick them up I'm going to tell you they don't listen and something needs to be done.
1. My sanity. I don't like feeling stressed. I don't like feeling like I don't have control. When I'm (literally) stuck in a house with snot monsters, I get a little crazy. There were a few of y'all that got text messages yesterday. Those were attempts of me trying to gain sanity back. Trying to remind myself that I'm the adult here. I mean, I know I'm the adult, but sometimes I feel like a small child forced into a corner in the fetal position. Too much? Maybe. Over exaggerating? A lot. But I stand by my statement.
In all seriousness, the only reason I ever agree to babysit is to have a favor in my back pocket. Josh and I live in a remote town. Availability of sitters we trust for our kids is limited, and should we want a date night or nice lunch just us one weekend, we need the ease of being able to have a sitter ready! Maybe it's sneaky, but I'm cheap and I don't want to use care.com or something similar.
Maybe I'm alone here. I definitely know I can't do this full time. Faith, I know you do this full time and props to you, girlfriend. This isn't for me. I won't be making income for watching kids.
My top five reasons?
5. Ainsley's Naps. Or lack thereof. When I'm babysitting, she just doesn't nap. No matter what I do to clear out the bedroom and keep the other kids occupied. She just doesn't settle enough to stay down. Sure it's not the other kids' fault... but it really annoys me.
4. Food. If you're going to promise to bring me food for your kids, please do so. Because I really don't have enough drinkable yogurts or gummy snacks to feed the neighborhood. Especially when your 6 year old eats as much as my 31 year old husband. I can't afford to feed the entire neighborhood. #SorryNotSorry. I'm not even asking you to pay for my groceries. At least tell me if you're not going to bring the food so I can prepare better.
3. Messes. Y'all, if you've seen my house prior to me staying at home full time you might not believe that I hate messes. I really hate them though, and when I have four children terrorizing my house my house looks like crap. When my kids are home with me they know the routine of cleaning up before we move onto another activity. Which leads me into #2...
2. Discipline. If I agree to watch your children, please... please for the love of all things holy, don't send them to my house if they cannot follow directions or listen. Before y'all even say it... YES, I know people parent differently, but c'mon. If I give a simple command direction of "put your shoes by the door / don't leave your shoes in the middle of the floor" and your kid just gives me a blank "deer in headlights" stare like they have no clue what I just said... there's a problem there. Teach your kids to follow direction before they stay with me. Otherwise, there will be a problem and I'm not going to sugar coat "how great your kid is". Nope, when you pick them up I'm going to tell you they don't listen and something needs to be done.
1. My sanity. I don't like feeling stressed. I don't like feeling like I don't have control. When I'm (literally) stuck in a house with snot monsters, I get a little crazy. There were a few of y'all that got text messages yesterday. Those were attempts of me trying to gain sanity back. Trying to remind myself that I'm the adult here. I mean, I know I'm the adult, but sometimes I feel like a small child forced into a corner in the fetal position. Too much? Maybe. Over exaggerating? A lot. But I stand by my statement.
In all seriousness, the only reason I ever agree to babysit is to have a favor in my back pocket. Josh and I live in a remote town. Availability of sitters we trust for our kids is limited, and should we want a date night or nice lunch just us one weekend, we need the ease of being able to have a sitter ready! Maybe it's sneaky, but I'm cheap and I don't want to use care.com or something similar.
Maybe I'm alone here. I definitely know I can't do this full time. Faith, I know you do this full time and props to you, girlfriend. This isn't for me. I won't be making income for watching kids.
I can totally relate! I can't stand for Claire to have play dates at our house because they always make the hugest messes! And then Claire gets super overwhelmed and can't pick it up alone. Makes me cray!
ReplyDeleteI have never done any babysitting. I would like to try but I can't see it becoming a regular thing!
ReplyDeleteI love that you said "for the love of all things holy..." I say that all the time and get weird looks. Thank you for getting me :-)
ReplyDeleteI am not a big fan of babysitting either!
ReplyDeleteHa!! Well..I know that nobody will believe me but there is something slightly different about babysitting and nannying. I don't know how it's different. Maybe vacation, the money, or just having two kids but it different. Daycare drove me nuts but nannying is different. Lol!
ReplyDeletehahaha this is actually very true. I think nanny's have more of a bond. I know Amanda @ knock on wood would agree with that. LOL
ReplyDeleteYES! Zander is forever whining about cleaning up by himself after a group of kids is here. The past few days I've gotten ZERO warning about when the kids would be picked up, so I haven't been able to prepare them to get ready and have them help clean.
ReplyDeletelol, yeah if you have great kids & it's not a regular thing I think it's ok... I'm going crazy this week though!
ReplyDeletehahaha it's because we're soul mates! I promise to be a three headed monster with you & talk all the nonsense! <3
ReplyDeleteRight?! It's just not fun. I love my own kids... aaaand that's about it. I WILL do play dates if the mom is there with me. Because then I'm not responsible for the other kids. hahaha.
ReplyDeleteAnd when you are with them every day for 8 or more hours...you are the person that teaches them discipline and respect and all that. Lol! You kinda have control over that. :)
ReplyDeletehahahaha, yes! I don't know how I ever loved it...that was my crazy 15 year old self. It's much more than we make it out to be....especially that food part! hahah
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely different watching kids in their house, not in your own! When I do that for friends it's fun and not stressful. I don't think I'd want to watch kids in my house often, too much work!
ReplyDeleteLOL I never even did babysitting as a teen. My first job was Kroger! I'm not sure a lot of people realize what it takes to feed a small army of children! hahaha
ReplyDeleteYeah, I would definitely agree! There's absolutely something different about watching kids in their own house.
ReplyDeleteEw. Well... i'm just gonna keep my mouth shut cause I know who you're talking about and you know how I feel about all of that... so, yeah.
ReplyDeleteOH YES! Nannying is SO very different. I can't place how, but it just is! Maybe it is the bond and spending all day every day with them in their environment. It's like they are your own. Babysitting every once in a while, or even once a week it totally different.
ReplyDeletebahahaha this is why I love you! At least I got free (good) coffee out of it today. And a little spending cash at the end of the week. Right? Ugh. I'm telling myself these things to make me feel better.
ReplyDeleteHi, Diana! Thanks for visiting! I'm glad you love it. xoxo!
ReplyDeleteAww that was a sweet shoutout even though you weren't able to join today. No worries, girlfriend:)
ReplyDeleteCan you believe I only babysat for the first time like 2 months ago?!
hehe I had to give a shout out! I felt really bad that I couldn't co-host this week, but Cassie is an amazing co host! Let me know if you need me for another month!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe they didn't send food! I would never do that unless someone specifically told me they had food already.
ReplyDeleteI hated babysitting when I was younger. My mom made me take a 2 day course to be "certified" and then I did it some when I was about 14-16. Once I was older, I realized that I could say no. I had just been accepting these babysitting jobs that I didn't want/need because they were for friends' of my mom's. I got a job at a deli when I was 18, which was was different, but honestly, I preferred it to a baby that cried in my arms for 2 hours (I had NO experience with babies) because the parents didn't say anything about a bedtime or putting him to sleep, which I couldn't have done anyway, and they were out past his bedtime. #thestrawthatbrokethecamelsback
ReplyDeletePreach it mama!!! I had a friend who stayed at home and she got taken advantage of a lot because of it. She was feeding half the neighborhood like you said.... people just don't think. This should hopefully inform some mamas!
ReplyDeleteI saw your photo today!! Ahhhh :) This post speaks to my heart. I don't typically babysit now, but as a teacher as well, I can totally relate. You sweet thing. And I agree with others...such a different aspect babysitting in your own home versus someone else's. I had a good friend babysitting for a few weeks in January, and I had some stern talks with my girls, provided all food, clothes, diapers, wipes, drinks, sippy cups, etc. Along with money and a gift for her!! Bless your heart <3
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand I loved babysitting - since it equals money. On the other hand? ARGGGG!!!! It drives me crazy! I like babysitting my niece and nephew for the most part. I can totally see how it would be annoying... especially seeing your pics and complaints this morning!
ReplyDeleteOh I so agree with all of this. While I have babysat all my life I am not a fan of it. I have never committed to full time baby sitter. I won't. It's stressful. I love my littles now that I watch often but they are so used to me that they listen and they really are great kids. I don't lose my ish watching them. Besides that I never ever babysit. I like my free time to myself. Selfish? Maybe, but thats my life style.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I'm not alone! haha I think it helps when it's not in your own home... it really is stressful! At least your littles aren't horrible! hahaha. and no, it's not selfish! you know what you like!!
ReplyDeleteYES! money is good... losing sanity is not! hah
ReplyDeleteYES! whenever my kids go to someone else's house when we go out, they both have stern talks. It warms my heart when I get them and the people say "they were ANGELS!" At least I know my kids behave outside of the house. hahaha.
ReplyDeleteYES. Luckily, after I posted this the kids have come w/ food and wipes and all the necessities for the rest of the week, but SHEESH! I hate feeling taken advantage of just because I'm home. ugh.
ReplyDeleteHey, at least you know it's not your calling! LOL. I never babysat as a teenager. It's absolutely not for everyone. I'm a mom and I STILL panic about watching someone else's baby. What if their schedule is outrageous??
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY! ugh. that frustrated me to no end!
ReplyDelete