The Babysitter

As much as I need a break, and as much as I love to get a break, I just hate hiring a babysitter. For one thing, babysitters are hard to find and another, they are expensive!

One of Libby's classmates has a 17 year old sister who is a senior in high school, and she homeschools. She also has no boyfriend and no job. This opens up her availability and she enjoys babysitting. She says she is great with kids and her mom says so too. I'm sure she is. She babysat for us once before but she only watched Charlie. This time, I was sticking her with all three kids.

Her mom caught me at school the other day and confirmed the date and times. Then she laughed and said she has to hire a babysitter to watch her little daughter because Darby would be watching my kids. I told her to just have Darby bring Kindryn along. What's one more! She said she would do that.

Now I just created a little situation to worry about. I just invited one of Libby's little friends over at bedtime. This probably was a bad idea.

Problem: Libby still wears  pull-ups to bed. And Libby feels it is normal and has NO idea that other kids her age don't wear a "pajama diaper". What if the other little girl notices and says something to Libby? I wondered if I should tell Libby to wear panties for that one night and change her when I get home, but it would be risky and it would mean telling her that its not the norm. But, if her little friend notices she will probably tell Libby it's not normal. I don't want her to say something at school. I was really feeling weird about having another kid here at bedtime.

So, now that I've given myself something to worry about my night was complete.

When we got home last night at 11:15pm, Darby the babysitter, Kindryn and two teenage boys were sitting in the living  room watching a movie. She introduced the boys and then said she just now got the kids into bed.  Just now? OMG! Tomorrow is going to be hell!  I told her "I'm sure they were just excited to have you here." And that is probably true. The lolipop stick stuck to the carpet gave me another thought though, wonder if she sugared them up and then had to deal with the aftermath. Babysitters, listen, don't sugar up my kids unless you are on your way out the door. You don't want to deal with their sugar highs! Plural!

The movie then switched scenes and now there was a young lady sitting on a bed wearing a black piece of lingerie and talking on a phone. So I had to say it. Had to!  "Are you watching porn?"

I've never seen three teenagers get so embarrassed so fast! It was super funny! They all turned bright red and of course they fumbled with the remote and it wouldn't work and this girl in her underwear was still on the tv! They nearly died! I laughed! So glad I said that! Tormenting teens is great entertainment!

Kindryn had no idea what just happened. She looked at me and said, "Libby has a tiny bed."
I said, "Yes, she does. And her sister has a really big bed! Not fair is it?"
She shook her head.

Darby said Libby and Kindryn snuggled in the tiny bed for a while, but nobody was falling asleep like that. I asked her how the night went and she said, "Charlie was really crazy. He kept climbing everything and he tried to play with every cord he could find. He said he wants his own cord for Christmas."
"But, he's such a cool kid. I can understand everything he says and he's really funny. He sure has a good imagination.  He threw eggs on the floor but I got it cleaned up, and coins, they are everywhere."
"Gracie told me everything; she never stopped talking."
"Libby and Kindryn were really wild. They had a good time."

Well, not the best report but not bad considering there were four kids and only one babysitter. Or, three babysitters, not sure.

I told her I would drive her home and she said the boys were going to drive her, that's why they came. I asked her if she had a carseat for Kindryn and she said, "No, she doesn't need one anymore."
And I told her, "Yes, she does. She has to ride in a booster seat until  she is 8 years old. No worries, we have an extra that you can take with you and we'll get it back another day."
Darby, "Oh no, that's ok."
Me, "Yes. It's the law and there are a million cops just up the street doing a sobriety check. They are stopping every car and you'll get a ticket."
Darby, "Oh, ok. Are you sure it's ok?"
Me, "Yes, no problem.

So, I walked her out and handed her a backless booster seat from my car. We  have a spare in the garage and Keith has one in his truck too. It's always good to have an extra.

In the morning, the kids did not sleep in. The first one woke up at 6:30 and then the others got up just a few minutes after. All three were awake by 7am. They are going to bed early tonight!

Libby said, "Is Kindryn still here?"
Me, "No. She went home during the night."
Libby made a big sad face and marched away. I think she's mad.

Me, "Charlie, did you have fun with Darby?"
Charlie, "Yeah."
Me, "Tell me about it."
Charlie, "She was nice. She snuggled me."
Me, "Oh, that's nice. Did she play with you too?"
Charlie, "Yeah. Mostly she cleaned."
Me, "Cleaned? Why?"
Charlie, "I got eggs on the floor. They cracked."
Me, "Eggs? Why did you have eggs?"
Charlie, "I wanted to hold them. But they cracked when I dropped them on da floor."
Me, "Were you hungry?"
Charlie, "No. I just wanted to play with them. I had fun with Kindryn."
Me, "What'd you do?"
Charlie, "I just played wiff her."
Me, "Why are there coins everywhere?"
Charlie, "Because I did that."
Me, "Why is there toothpaste all over the bathroom?"
Charlie, "Because I wanted to go sledding."

Gracie, "Oh. Darby invited her friends over. Marcus and Zach. To help us go to bed."
Me, "Did they help?"
Gracie, "Eh. No. They just came over."
Me, "Hmmm."
Gracie, "We tried to go to bed but Kindryn was wild and crazy!"
Me, "What else did you guys do?"
Gracie, "We had a dance party! It was so much fun! Darby put on music and we all danced. It was Katy Perry. The song was called 'Roar' and I really like it!"
Gracie, "We barely watched any tv. Just Zach watched Gravity Falls."

Libby, "We got to make brownies. With frosting!"
Me, "Wow!"
Charlie, "And then we put the brownies in the freezer. They were too hot."

Me, "Did Kindryn go upstairs with you when you got your jammies on?"
Gracie, "No."
Libby, "No."
Ahhh, relief from worrying.

Now, I'm off to clean up a bathroom that is completely covered in toothpaste, which has dried into a very sticky concrete like substance. And then I need to mop the floor because there are a couple of sticky spots where raw eggs landed. And, there are coins everywhere! There's also a mop under the dining room table and a mess of brownie batter covered dishes in the sink. Who knows what else I'll find today.