Adventures in Babysitting

There are a lot of things I'm not good at. I'm a terrible singer, I'm not a very good driver, and I suck at spelling. However...despite all of that, I am a darn good babysitter. This is one area where I am more than willing to toot my own horn (toot toot) I am AWESOME at babysitting. I mean, I've had close to 11 years of experience. I love kids, kids love me. But it takes more than that to rock as well as I do at babysitting.

Tonight a co-worker asked me, last minute, if I could watch her two kids (ages 8 and 6) tonight. I thought, 'why not? I'm not doing anything, and it's easy money.' So when I got there, the kids were finishing their dinners, and I allowed them to finish the episode of Wizards of Waverly Place, and watch an episode of Good Luck, Charlie. Then...we turned off the TV. We played Freeze Dance for, like, 45 minutes. They kept bringing props and costumes out into the living room, so towards the end, my rule was every time I froze the music, they would have to put something away. Then they put on a show for me (I could tell they did this quite often, as they had as choreographed a routine as an 8 year old and 6 year old could come up with). Then the little girl asked if she could paint my nails (she was not at all satisfied or impressed with my clear nail polish) but decided after painting one thumbnail a kind of orange-y coral-y color that she would rather have me paint her nails. So I did. She wanted to be surprised, so I did each one a different color...she loved it!! Then we played hide-and-seek, Mickey Mouse Yahtzee, Crazy Eights and more freeze dance. We were having a crazy dance party when their parents got home. It was my first time sitting for these kids, actually, my first time meeting them...and they wanted me to stay longer. Why?

BECAUSE I ROCK AT BABYSITTING, THAT'S WHY!!

(Although, it helps when you have great kids, like I did tonight)

Relay for Life (or the long version of why I now have bangs)

Last weekend I participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. I was on my church team...and I remember now why I only participated in three out of six Relays during my youth group days. It is not fun to not sleep for nearly 24 hours. It is not fun to walk in circles for an hour by yourself. I came home grumpy, tired, and my already scratchy throat was killing me. We did decide to cancel our young adult group for Sunday night. Mostly because we were very very tired, but also because we were very very sick of each other.

We played some games, we ate some pizza, and we listened to not one, not two but FIVE terrible karaoke renditions of Justin Bieber's 'Baby'. Some of the people in our group left after their shifts, and around 12 or 1am, there were only about four of us left to spend the whole night and cover middle of the night shifts.

This year's Relay was held at my Alma Mater; good old Mt Whitney High School. MWHS doesn't have a football field, just a track. Since football games are held elsewhere, there was no need for them to put in real bathrooms near the track, and since I have an extreme aversion to porta-potties, and the Jack-in-the-Box around the corner was closed...I decided to go home so I could use a nice, clean, non-portable toilet.

Having been outside for about 10 straight hours, walking on the track and sweating like crazy, I had no idea that I looked like a hot mess...minus the hot part. My hair was frizzing all over the place, it was not a pretty sight. Something HAD to be done. I was entering into a 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie Situation'...'If You Give a Lauren the Opportunity to Go Home she will use the restroom. When she uses the restroom, she will see her reflection in the mirror. When she sees how frazzled she looks, she will want to fix it. She will re-blow dry and straighten her hair. When she is not satisfied, she will try to put her hair in a ponytail. Once her hair is in a ponytail, she will notice something is missing. That something is bangs.'

...so far I like the bangs. But I have a love-hate relationship with them. I grow them out, I cut them. Then I grow them out, then I cut them...we'll see

The Good, The Bad, and The Confusing

The Good:

I got a job!! A part-time job, but my subbing gig at the preschool has blossomed into a permanent position. I work with the 3 year-olds from 1:30-6:00! I've got quite a few stinkers in my class (out of 11 students, 6 are only children, with whining, grabbing, and pushing tendencies.) These little ones definitely keep me on my toes, but I've got some sweet-peas as well. I am absolutely loving it so far. I come home absolutely exhausted at the end of the day, but it's a good tired. A fulfilled tired.

The Bad:

"They" say Autumn is here, but I have yet to believe "them". There has maybe been one nice day (under 90) so far this month. Add shaking walnut trees and harvesting cotton to this extreme heat, and we have had 4 'bad air days' in a row. Which means we have to call the kids in early from outside, but it also makes being outside with them absolute HELL. It is also reeking havoc on my allergies. I'm starting to think this weather might actually kill me.

The Confusing:

Last May I met this guy...we'll call him 'Evan'. I do believe I have a crush on him, and he has nearly pushed 'Jon' out of my head. It's just...this whole 'boy thing' is so hard for me. From what I know of Evan so far, I feel like we'd be a pretty good fit, I guess. He called me about a week ago (he must have gotten my number from someone, 'cause I never gave it to him) to ask what I was doing that night...but don't get too excited. He just needed me to fill in for him for something he wasn't even going to be there for. Then he texted to say that he didn't need me after all...

Daughter. Sister. Friend. Teacher.

I had another sub job today, and I filled out a W-4 form, which means I am technically not unemployed anymore!! Underemployed, yes, but unemployed? Uh-uh!

Can I just say that I absolutely love preschoolers?! I love how uncomplicated they are. I love how inquisitive they are. I love how their little minds work. The way they see things is just so precious. Everything in their world fits a certain category. Everything they know is limited to the little world that they're used to. In a preschooler's mind every classmate is a friend, every adult is called 'teacher' and apparently, every woman is a mother.

Today I got to have a conversation with a preschooler that went like this:

Her: How many babies do you have?

Me: I don't have any babies

Her: how come?

Me: Because I'm not a mommy

Her: Then what are you?

I was an adult woman who was not a mom...I think that caused her little world to expand ever so slightly. I explained to her that I am a daughter. I am a sister. I am a friend. And I am a teacher. I am a lot of things.

Working Girl

Four months have gone by and I still haven't found a job, which is really a bummer. However, a couple years ago when I was in a similar situation, I was able to pick up a few subbing jobs at a preschool. I got to play with cute little kids for a few hours and get a nice little check at the end of the month. Well...a call from the preschool director and a re-instating of my fingerprints and I've got my 'gig' back as an on-call preschool aide.

I get to work about 30 or so hours this month. Yeah, not a TON, but way better than nothing at all! I get opportunities to leave the house. I get a few dollars for my bank account. And possibly the best part, is the preschoolers themselves. I love how these little three and four year olds can tell that you're there to care for them and care about them. If you love them, they will love you back. They will crawl into your lap and then ask your name. These little sweethearts feel so comfortable with you that they will even use your arm to wipe their nose. Yes...that happened to me today.

And the crazy thing is...I still want to be a preschool teacher. I have decided that that's what I want to be when I 'grow-up'. Starting this spring I'm going to be taking Early Childhood Education classes. I just wish I'd realized this before. Like when I was still in college. So I wouldn't have to spend more money on my education...especially since I haven't finished paying for my first diploma yet.

Oh well...