I like it. I promise.

I started this post 4 days ago, but I haven't been able to finish it for some reason. Perhaps it is the 5 children in my house? Nah, it's probably that I've just been excited about the LOST finale:)
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I am doing babysitting in my home. Since then I have become aware that several of my friends and family are concerned for my well-being. Or maybe it is my sanity. Either way, I wanted to put their fears to rest.

We are not destitute, and I am not bored. Likewise, I have not lost my mind, and my own children are not being neglected. In fact, my kids actually like it. Kate's first question every morning is, "Who is coming to play today?" Will doesn't want to go to school because he misses the babies while he is gone. Ben is probably the least affected because he goes to school before they get here, but when he steps off the bus, he gives the kids hugs before he gives me one. The kids have learned great lessons about sharing, empathy, and helping because we are caring for others on a daily basis, and they have to help me do it.

And yes, we have had our moments where they are tired and want to be alone, but for the most part, they are really enjoying it.

As for me, my days are definitely more hectic. Don't be surprised if I don't return your phone calls immediately, or if I can't remember what I did yesterday. Or what my kids' names are;) But truth be told, I have always loved taking care of kids. When I was in middle school I used to sneak out of church so I could rock the babies in the nursery. Once I had a license, I spent every summer hauling other people's children to basketball practice and swimming and whatever else, basically earning peanuts.

I like kids. I just do.

So surely it's not too surprising that I have chosen to earn a little extra income babysitting. (Or providing in-home child care, as I call it when I want to remind myself that I'm not in high school anymore.)

The kids I watch are really great kids. They are funny, smart, and sweet. They love to be cuddled and read to and play peek-a-boo. (OK, well maybe not the 7 year old boy, but Ben keeps him entertained.) Their parents are great, which makes my job a whole lot easier. Most of them are toddlers, and I never have more than three at a time. Usually it's just two. I work 4-5 days a week.

And I feel like I am good at what I do. I don't mean to sound boastful. Really, I don't. But I have been doing this for 20 years. And I have parented 3 great kids for the last 7 years. Even though I am not a perfect parent (who is?) or a perfect babysitter (let's not talk about the bed-jumping or the incident involving stairs), kids generally like and listen to me. A careful balancing act.

And when I don't want to do it anymore, I will stop. I am not a martyr. I am doing this because I want to do it.

So, please don't worry for me. Don't worry about my kids. I am a big girl. A grown-up. Well, most of the time:)

Random Moments that Make Me Smile

Today I let Kate watch Handy Manny (he is a bilingual tool man, for those non-parents in the crowd). I plopped her on the couch and said, "Do you want to watch Handy Manny?" as I turned it on. Her response? She waved at Manny and said, "Hola!" (Hello, in Spanish, for those non-Spanish speakers in the crowd.) OK, so it was more like "Oh-wa!", but I will take a laugh where I can get it:)

Every time the commercial for the I-Phone comes on, Kate gets very excited and repeats "Phone! Hello?" over and over. Do you think she is dropping hints for her birthday?

Ben is my movie man. He LOVES movies. (Wonder where he gets that from?) His Dad took him to see Madagascar 2, and when he got home I asked him if it was better than the first one. He replied, "Yes, it was. In the first one, there weren't any bad guys, and the ending was both happy and sad. In the second one, there was a bad guy, and the ending was just happy. So it was definitely better." So just in case you ever wondered what is important to a 6 year old, apparently it is bad guys and happy endings.

Yesterday I was asking Will to use his fork for the bazillionth time. I pointed out that while his hands were functional, they are not utensils. He countered back, "But they are! They are really sporks. See? The fingers are the fork part, and this part (his palms) is the spoon part. Spork!" How do you even argue with that logic?

A Ben Post

I was reminiscing with Ben the other day and told him the following story.

Ben has always been a pretty easy kid. When he was a baby, he only really cried if he was hungry or tired. Or if it was about 7pm. Like many babies, Ben would get very grumpy around 7, and could scream bloody murder for an hour and no one knew why. You could walk him, rock him, read to him, whatever. Nothing helped.

Except for Jeopardy. Tim and I looked forward to 7:30 because we knew that as soon as Ben heard the Jeopardy theme song, all would be well with the world again. He would stare at that blue screen and be so happy. It was really pretty funny.

Once, my mom was keeping Ben for a couple of nights while Tim and I were out of town. She called me during one of Ben crying sessions and asked me if this was normal. She couldn't figure out what to do. I looked at my watch and said, "Turn on Jeopardy." I think that she thought I had lost my mind. How many babies like Jeopardy? And Ben didn't really watch much TV, so why would he like a game show? I finally convinced her to give it a try, and he calmed down immediately.

Running to the TV when he heard the theme song...

Saying "hi" to Alex...

Don't want to miss a single question....

These were taken when he was about a year old. He was well past the screaming stage, but he still loved his Jeopardy. For the record, he now thinks it is boring, although his Mommy still likes it. (And aren't these the cutest PJs you've ever seen?)

Moo Moo

Sounds like a cow, right?

Well, in Kate's world, it's a movie. She went to her first real-in-the-theater movie yesterday with her brothers and daddy. He took them to see Madagascar 2. (Thanks, Tim, for the mini-vacation!) Before she left, I asked her if she was excited about the movie. She did the sign for TV, and I said that it was kind of like TV, but way bigger.

Anyway, I don't think she cared much for it. It was too long for a two year old, but her big brothers thought it was awesome. When they came home, I asked her if she liked the movie, and her response was the sign for TV and then she made all these funny faces and sounds. I think she was trying to imitate the animals or something.

Later, she and I got to Skype my brother and his wife. She really liked talking to them and kept signing their names afterward. While we talked, Tim was watching Cars in the background, and she kept pointing to it and signing car and saying, "moo moo". She wanted Jacob to know we were watching a movie.

As I put her to bed, she signed car. I said, "Yes, you watched Cars tonight." She said, "Moo moo." I said, "Who did you watch the movie with?", thinking she would say Daddy. Nope, she said she watched the movie with Uncle Jacob. She told me again today. I forget that two year olds have no concept that people on the computer can't see what's on the tv behind the computer. It made me laugh. She also likes to hold things up to the telephone so Mimi can see them. Funny girl. But I am glad that in her mind, she and Uncle Jacob had quality bonding time watching a movie together.

Bugs Bunny

A couple of months ago we were in Louisville with Jacob and Alison. At the hotel, there was a big poster of Bugs Bunny in the lobby. To Ben and Will they said, "Hey look, there's Bugs Bunny!" Ben and Will said, "Yep, that's a bunny..." They had no idea who that was. We all laughed about it because obviously I have done a terrible job educating my children about American pop culture (she says sarcastically). We don't watch much tv, and it is entirely on purpose. We don't even have cable. We just pick up channels with rabbit ears. (A few months ago, Will came outside to tell me that we shouldn't let our tv become just a box. But that's another story...). We also watch a lot of tv on the internet.

Anyway, I'm not even sure they would know Bugs Bunny if we did have cable. Does that even come on any more?? Well, it came up in conversation again today, and I decided I was going to find Bugs on You Tube and relive my own childhood a bit. We found this old clip of "Bully for Bugs". My kids laughed their heads off and then asked when we could watch more.

Now, let me just say that it was just as violent as I remembered it. Guns, explosions. (At one point Will said, "Now that had to hurt!" when the bull ran head first into the anvil.) Not to mention all of the smart aleck comments from Bugs himself. But it was fun to watch something together that all three of us enjoyed. It turns out that Bugs stands the test of time for entertainment, even if he isn't very PC.