As usual: Lauren- regular font, Josh- italics (because he’s got mad parenting skills)
We became parents this past weekend. Temporarily. My friends MattE & Leslee went on a trip to Tennessee with several other couples, my parents included. So, naturally, we came down to babysit.
However, it was the first time we’d babysat as a married couple for a long weekend. I’ve watched the kids a couple days by myself, but I knew it would be very different with Josh. For starters, he wasn’t familiar with their schedule.
Small screaming children are not my strong suit.
Friday was great- productive, scheduled, the kids had a blast. Not too much t.v. Played outside. Got out of the house for dinner. Everyone was mostly cheerful. Anna, almost 3, was a little fussy… only for Lauren. She adored me.
We fell asleep, exhausted, that night.
A night light in Nathan’s room, a night light in Anna’s room, and two bright monitors in my room. bliss.
Oh, if only they were night lights instead of a PA system. Friday night, I was jolted out of a dead sleep by wailing and a loud “Miz LAWAN!” I ran into Anna’s bedroom as fast as I could in the dark, not exactly knowing what was in front of me. I soothed Anna into hiccups and small wimpers only to repeat this process 6 more times throughout the night.
I slept like a baby.
Somewhere in those 6 trips- I brought children’s ibuprofen. Anna had been pulling at her ears, saying they hurt. I couldn’t do anything for her until morning. The next day we found out she had a double ear infection. Thank the Lord, the neighbor was a doctor. With a stethoscope and ear-infection checker at her house. And antibiotics.
Double ear infections require strong medication.
Meanwhile, Josh was trying to figure out Nathan.
Oh, that child. Squirmiest thing on the planet. Found a way to spread his food to the floor at almost every meal. Scampered screaming from room to room all throughout the day. I could hear him from one end of the house to the other. Things got better after I figured out that he was deathly afraid of tickling.
That’s just a typical 4 year old boy.
All in all, it was a crazy, wild, mac and cheese and goldfish-infused weekend. Parts of it were a bit rough, but it was great to get some experience.
Not to mention, entertaining. It was great to be with these two kiddos.
Josh, we can help provide even more experience….just to be helpful, of course…. and we can even throw in a little carpool duty, soccer tournament, baseball practice, ballet lessons, homework, and take-out-the-puppy experience, with not just one, but two boys! and not just one, but two girls! What say you??
Ashley
By: Ashley on January 26, 2011
at 10:21 am
you two are awesome friends, and will remember that weekend for years to come…the “ugly beautiful” as a friend says…children are a heritage from the Lord!
and btw…we have 2 precious ones here that would love to have “substitute” parents once in a while…what do you charge
? and when are you available??
xo
Deva
By: Deva on January 26, 2011
at 10:36 am
thanks, friends! you’re helping me out with the “wait-5-or-6-years-to-do-this” argument. he’s starting to understand…
By: jhned on January 26, 2011
at 11:05 am
I have a kid you can borrow. She’s good for the most part but she can offer quite the challenge some days.
I’m glad your experience went well, even with its bumpy spots. I hope the little girl is feeling better too.
By: Victoria Martin on January 26, 2011
at 12:46 pm
Just found a minute to read this. So funny. We used to babysit when your dad was little Josh and pops was the same way. I was runniung around and he was trying to stay alive! We just loved having a TV in the house that we were because we didn’t have one. Your dad thought it was a god! He was 1
By: Gma Ned on January 29, 2011
at 9:36 pm