Multiple Toddler Survival

This weekend, this happened at my house:

TWO toddlers in my house. That is my friend's son, Luke. He is six weeks younger than Amelia, and I managed to survive both of them for a whole 90 minutes. His parents have not been on a childless date since he was born, and I decided that this was insanity in the making. I can't have my mommy friends going insane, I need them around and with it so they keep me sane. You are probably asking yourself how it worked out.

Actually? I enjoyed it.

Don't get any ideas, Mom and Dad. It did not inspire any baby making at our house.

I did not admit the true weight of my anxiety about watching Luke to his mom because I didn't want it to add to her nervousness about leaving him. It wasn't because I didn't think I could handle him. Instead, I wanted him to have a tearless and fuss free time so his mom could feel comfortable with me babysitting him on a regular basis. Every mom needs a standby babysitter, and I am blessed enough to have mine. This mommy needs one too, and I wanted to keep Luke happy so that could happen.

You might be saying, well, couldn't you just lie if he had a hard time?

NO I couldn't. It's against the mommy honor code in my book.

I didn't need to worry about that, though, because he did great. I did learn that when he's adjusting, it's best to leave him alone. It never ceases to amaze me how different babies are from each other. If I leave Amelia with someone, they'd better cuddle and love her until she's decided that they are trustworthy, otherwise they are ousted from her loveable adults list. With Luke, the more attention I gave him, the more he stared at me like I was an oddball, which led to some brief tears five minutes later. I scooched up to the couch and left him alone, he found some toys to play with, and he was a happy boy. As long as I didn't sing 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes', that is. I knew I couldn't carry a tune, but I had no idea that it could make kids cry.

There goes my dreams of a singing career.

It took he and Amelia about an hour to really pay attention to each other. They are really cute when they play and his mother and I always joke that maybe they'll get married some day and we will have pic's of their lifetime together.

The other thing I learned was that it's almost impossible to get good pictures of two toddlers. These are the best that I could manage:

Amelia showing Luke how to best torture dog-dog.

Luke giving me the "What are YOU looking at?!" look.

Amelia too busy to cooperate for a good picture.

This one is my favorite. Luke kept trying to hold Amelia's hand and she was having none of it! Poor Luke.

Adorable! Looking forward to babysitting him again soon :)

How It's Going...

I regret that it's been a while since I posted anything, but with starting my new job this week, I've had little time to write anything. So, since no one has been able to read about my new endeavor on my blog, I've been getting a lot of texts, e-mail, phone calls and facebook posts asking me how it's going. I hate to give an overall review of a job so quickly because any workplace has it's annoyances and irritations. However, so far...

I love it.

My bosses are flexible. Everyone has been really helpful. There's no chasing children down the hallway, being cussed at by five year olds, and a couple days of week, I avoid the hectic pace of the morning routine-- make coffee, pack snacks/lunches for Amelia and I, get both of us dressed, make sure she has everything she needs for the day including diapers, extra clothes, sippy cup, toys, and other miscallaneous items, and then drag all that crap, plus my work laptop and purse out the door. Oh, and let Molly outside and feed her.

I'm kind of shocked that she's been fed consistently this week.

Really, the only bad thing that happened this week is that Amelia had a miserable time at her babysitter. In all likelihood, it was probably several things that collided to make her be a screaming, crying mess the whole time she was there. But the bottom line is, we had to pick her up early both days.

Some of you are shaking her heads, saying "Oh, Amanda, she will get used to it. You can't rescue her every time she gets upset."

I'm shaking my head back at you, saying "Oh, how you underestimate the stubborn nature of my daughter."

Let's just say that Amelia threw such a screaming fit that the sitter's neighbor complained about the 'noise'. And, she pretty much refused to eat. So, to save the sanity of everyone involved, we are on the hunt for a new sitter again. This produces a lot of stress and anxiety for me, but it also highlights how incredible my new job is... when I left early Tuesday, no one minded because I could finish the day at home. Then, on Friday, Jon took Amelia home at lunch but the internet at my work was SO SLOW. My entire day is spent on the computer, entering in student transcripts online. By 2:00 pm, I wanted to slam my laptop up against the wall. The principal wasn't in so the only 'boss' I could complain to was the superintendent. I walked halfway to her office twice and turned back around, thinking that complaining during my first week of work was probably a bad idea. But, considering that I could get twice as much work done at home, I took a deep breath and walked into her office.

I got halfway through my first sentence, and she said "Oh, yes, the internet is awful! If you want to finish the day at home, go ahead. As a matter of fact, you can work at home all next week, they are fixing such and such and I think it's going to take a while."

GRIN. I mean, after I walked out of her office, of course.

So, I have a whole week of being at home with my little love, finding her a new sitter, being productive, and avoiding the morning rush.

How's it going? It's awesome :)

The Babysitter Conundrum

I mentioned recently that I will soon have a new job. I've been pretty vague on details because it has taken a while to hash things out with my new employer. It is an online charter school to which I have applied to several different positions. Although I am a licensed school counselor, I had hoped that even if I couldn't do what I had been trained for initially, perhaps I could start in a different position then become a school counselor with them later. This is exactly how it's turning out. My position will actually be as an advisor, with the added responsibility of entering in transcripts for the academy. This is great because the added responsibility brings with it extra income. The downside is that I will have to work out of the office part time.

We are really grateful that I've A) found a job and B) found a job that eventually will lead to me working from home full time. However, because I'm working out of the office this school year, I also have to find someone to watch Amelia. Frankly, I'd rather have another root canal than search for childcare.

My two gorgeous girls <3

I think I speak for the majority of moms when I say that finding childcare is no fun. My most basic anxiety here is that I worry someone will hurt Amelia. Maybe all moms don't have this particular fear. Maybe they just worry about overall care in general. All of those worries are completely valid. As a counselor, I've worked with enough abuse and neglect cases that I cringe when I have to find a new person to watch my daughter. In addition, I watch too much TV at times, and this includes Dateline and Law & Order SVU. Nothing good can come from watching these shows, FYI. They make an already anxious person want to down a bottle of Xanax.

If we were rich, I would have just hired her last sitter as her permanent nanny. On the other hand, if we were rich, I wouldn't work. Her last sitter was patient, kind, young and energetic, and only caring for her own 2 1/2 year old during the day. It didn't hurt that her daughter LOVED Amelia. While I hated leaving my little one every day, I was comforted by the fact that she was a minute down the street, was receiving great care, and was spending time socializing with another child. And, being that I was working in a small town, it was pretty easy to verify this person's character. All I had to do was mention in passing who Amelia was staying with, and I heard how terrific she was.

Now, here we go again trying to find someone just right to watch my daughter. I can't seem to convince my mom to retire, nor can I figure out a way to convince Amelia's Aunt Mandy that quitting her job is financially feasible. Enter Facebook. Thank you, God, for making this piece of social networking not just simply a waste of many hours of my day. All I had to do was post a plea for babysitter references and someone that I've known for years and years volunteered to watch Amelia. She's six minutes away from the office. She has a little girl for Amelia to play with. Has daycare experience. Hallelujah. Of course, my mom needs to have some grandchild fun during the week to so she has claimed Wednesdays. Even better.

Guess I will save the bottle of Xanax for another time.