babsitting whirlwind
Well, I disappeared for a while, but with good reason. We babysat my sisters' five kids (at their house in Salt Lake) for two weeks while she and her husband went to Israel. So yes, having six kids yanked me out of my peaceful one-child blogging world and threw me into a whirlwind of soccer, piano and ballet lessons, mountains of laundry, every 15 minute requests for snacks, helping with homework, playgroups, birthday parties, changing double the diapers plus helping Sam wipe, cooking for 8 instead of 3, reminding kids to practice and read, shopping with anywhere from 2-4 kids, and all this while trying to stay sane. My sister Lindsay is now my hero after seeing what her life is like every day! I guess it's good kids come one at a time, instead of 5 at time.
There were definitely highlights and low-lights. First the negatives: 1) Marian and Lucy fighting all the time! What little stinkers!! (Lucy is 6 weeks younger than Marian.) I staggered their naps to minimize their awake time together. 2) Lucy throwing up. Poor Adam cleaned it up at 3 am. At least this time it was only her. Last time we babysat it was everyone except Matt (the oldest) and even Marian and Adam. 3) Marian somehow got pink eye, even though no one else did.
Now the positives: 1) Adam is amazing! He didn't have school the first week so helped a ton. And because of my meetings on Sundays in Provo, he ended up taking the kids to Sacrament Meeting alone twice!! See, he really is a super-hero. 2) Adam and I got to go on a date, utilizing Lindsay's weekly weekend babysitter and Lindsay's money! So we went to a full price movie and saw "Fireproof." It is fantastic. Go see it!! It is pro-marriage, anti-divorce, anti-pornography, and talks openly about religion. We loved it. 3) Living in a nice house with a washer and dryer for two weeks felt pretty luxurious. 4) We took the kids to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. We had a lot of fun. It does get me excited to have older kids who appreciate things like that a little more. 5) Despite the craziness of it all, it was fun to hang out with the kids. By the time we left Adam and I both felt like parents leaving our own kids. (Lucy even called me "mama" and Adam "daddy" by the end.)
Sorry, no pictures. Our camera officially died a couple weeks ago. Hopefully between my birthday and Christmas we'll be able to get a new one!
There were definitely highlights and low-lights. First the negatives: 1) Marian and Lucy fighting all the time! What little stinkers!! (Lucy is 6 weeks younger than Marian.) I staggered their naps to minimize their awake time together. 2) Lucy throwing up. Poor Adam cleaned it up at 3 am. At least this time it was only her. Last time we babysat it was everyone except Matt (the oldest) and even Marian and Adam. 3) Marian somehow got pink eye, even though no one else did.
Now the positives: 1) Adam is amazing! He didn't have school the first week so helped a ton. And because of my meetings on Sundays in Provo, he ended up taking the kids to Sacrament Meeting alone twice!! See, he really is a super-hero. 2) Adam and I got to go on a date, utilizing Lindsay's weekly weekend babysitter and Lindsay's money! So we went to a full price movie and saw "Fireproof." It is fantastic. Go see it!! It is pro-marriage, anti-divorce, anti-pornography, and talks openly about religion. We loved it. 3) Living in a nice house with a washer and dryer for two weeks felt pretty luxurious. 4) We took the kids to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. We had a lot of fun. It does get me excited to have older kids who appreciate things like that a little more. 5) Despite the craziness of it all, it was fun to hang out with the kids. By the time we left Adam and I both felt like parents leaving our own kids. (Lucy even called me "mama" and Adam "daddy" by the end.)
Sorry, no pictures. Our camera officially died a couple weeks ago. Hopefully between my birthday and Christmas we'll be able to get a new one!
Comments
PS--I still watch her "watermelon" movies regularly...she's too dang funny
Questions: any news on where you'll be this summer? What are your meetings in Provo? Another big calling? How is the singing thing going? When are your December performances?
You guys are quite the heroes! I'm sure it was crazy, but you've officially launched yourselves into first place as "Favorite Aunt and Uncle," so it was all worth it, right?
If it's any comfort, Katie's new hobby is grabbing things and shouting "mine, mine mine!" (To her credit, said objects usually ARE hers and have been confiscated . . . )
Anyway, I'm glad you have your calmer, more bloggable world back. I'm feeling the same sensation today, as Mom has Abby and Katie at the zoo and I'm home alone (with sleepy Baby Alex).
Love, Carrie