Dec 07 2008
Part one: Babysitting for six kids
I remember reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day when I was a child. Truth be told I can’t tell you what it was that made him have that day, but Alexander should’ve been with me and my friend last night.
It was just a typical night of babysitting except that it was a little hectic because we had three of our regular little friends and their three cousins. Dealing with five boys ranging from three to ten and a baby girl not yet two sounds hectic, but we’ve been tag- team babysitting for eight years now.
We got there at 7 pm and the uncle was cooking up the ingridiants for tacos, a messy dinner to be sure but we had it under control. We quickly had a plan in our heads and the great thing about working with your best friend is you don’t really need to communicate; you both just fall into a pattern of how to get things done.
After the kids were done eating, the four biggest boys convened in the living room to watch a movie and the little ones bounced around in the playroom. We could hear everyone and started the task of cleaning up. She took to the task of clearing the table and sweeping up the dining room floor while I loaded the dish washer and attacked the remaining dishes (yes there were more than could fit in the washer) by hand in the sink. At 8:15, we got the kids into their pajamas, she took the baby upstairs to get her settle into her crib, and I made popcorn for the boys.
Everything was going smoothly and at nine o’clock we planned on having the boys in bed. There would be a story, maybe two, and by 9:15 we would be free to watch TV and rest after the non-stop but non eventful evening. That was the plan but you know what they say about the best laid plans of Mice and Men…
I have to give you credit. I babysat before but it was for a boy that was 10.