The Babysitter Test

It's been a funny day, a little sun, a little rain, a little more sun, a little more rain... We went for a short orchard walk this morning while the sun was shining. The grass was just starting to dry out and it looked like it would be a beautiful day. Ten minutes after we returned home, the thunder started.

I took Nate out to Newark for a doctor appointment this afternoon and left Troy in the charge of Ben and Hannah. James was here too so there was an adult on the premises. Hannah was making cookies and Ben was upstairs giving Ellie a bath when Troy went into the bathroom. I guess he had been in there quite a while when somebody decided to check on him. There he was, trying to clean up the mess he had made on the toilet seat, not being very successful, and crying softly "I want my mommy..."

Ahh, the "Babysitter Test"! Hannah excused herself from clean-up duty by claiming it would "contaminate" the cookies. Somebody decided since Ben was already upstairs in the other bathroom, that's where Troy should be too. Lucky Ben! Ben stood Troy in the shower and said, "You know what happens now, don't you? You wait for Martha to get home." Well, by the time I got home Troy was asleep, shirtless, on the couch. I knew something was up because the laundry was going, the bathroom window was opened, and there was a line of "doo doo" on the underside of the toilet seat. I made a quick deduction and came to the conclusion that the "Babysitter Test" had been administered. All things considered, they didn't do too bad.

Another Babysitter Test

When in the midst of childcare responsibilities I care not to leave the little ones in the charge of another, but once in a while circumstances make this necessary. Yesterday afternoon I had a bank appointment and left my little ones with Hannah (Mom was here too) who was responsible to finish lunch detail and put them all down for a nap. I would be gone close to an hour and it seemed a fairly easy task. All would have gone smoothly if not for "The Babysitter Test." (Click here to see not only this test, but the previous tests as well.)

I left the house at 12:40 pm and returned at 1:30 pm. In that time The Test had been administered and, in my humble opinion, passed with flying colors. It seems My Little Guy had an upset tummy after my departure and returned a portion of his lunch to the plate in front of him and down the front of his shirt as well. My only clue was the small pair of pants and shirt I found rinsed and hanging on the laundry bucket in my downstairs bathroom. The little ones had been tucked into bed, stories had been read, and the mess had been cleaned up. Hannah had recovered from the trauma and was sitting in my favorite, big chair working on school.

I am not quite certain as to why or how these tests are determined, nor why they often occur when I have stepped out for a moment or two, but I am grateful that my kids are brave enough to tackle the messy jobs and come up smiling.

The Babysitter Test 2

One of my "little darlings" brought two princess dresses today so that she and her friend could play dress-up. It had already been a rather loud kind of morning as these two small girls have only one volume to their voices. "You're too loud," I would say. They would look at me and continue on with their game, voices as loud and shrill as only the moment before.

Not long before lunch they decided to transform themselves into princesses. Bella wore the pink dress and Emma the blue. They twirled around, each exclaiming how beautiful they were, and spoke of who was going to marry who. (They don't quite understand that in order for a princess to marry, she must have a prince. They, in their little girl way, are not very fond of boys who only mean trouble for little girls...)

The princesses dined on grilled cheese and applesauce for lunch and afterward were busy picking up toys when one suddenly needed to go potty. I pulled her gorgeous gown up over head and sent her to the bathroom. No sooner had she closed the door than hideous screams emanated from the other side. I couldn't imagine what had happened but it sounded like she was in agony. I investigated. I found a crying child standing atop the step stool, pants around her knees, and a puddle on the floor. She was devastated.

While I knew her wet clothing needed to be removed, I knew not what to put on the child. I have no extra clothes for little girls and the extra pj's that once waited in my closet had been given to Josh for Christmas. She could not run about the house naked, nor could she sit in the bathroom until her clothes were clean and dry. I ran downstairs, threw her clothes into the washer along with whatever was left in my laundry tub and racked my brain for what to put on the child. The Princess dress. It was all that I had, it belonged to her and it would keep her covered while we read our stories and she took a nap.

Her mommy should be here soon and by then her clothes will be clean and dry. Another "Babysitter Test" passed! Phew!

The Babysitter Test.

Do you remember this game?

I am quite accustomed to small children and their messes. In the past seven months I've been drooled on, peed on, spit up on, and boogered. I've had baby poop on my cheek. (Be careful when you smell them.) I've caught a blanket full of puke, and cleaned up utter blow-outs. It's part of the joy of working in the Infant Room. Needless to say I wasn't too concerned about spending the evening with my small grandson.

I cooked his oatmeal, fed him his supper, and we played with some toys. Soon it was bath time. He's over a year so I decided to forgo the baby bath and put him right into the tub. He seemed to like the bath and didn't cry when I washed and rinsed his hair. He looked at his toys and babbled at me. I heard a small noise and thought he  must have passed a bit of gas but didn't see any bubbles... I should have paid a little more attention. Maybe I should have investigated sooner, but other than the little noise there wasn't any sign of trouble. And then I saw it. It was poop.

Even seasoned moms panic a little when there are things floating around the bathtub that shouldn't be there... I mean, it's not like you can just say, "Well, the bath's over now, I'll just get you dressed." Nope. He was contaminated and now the contaminated child had to be removed from the tub and contained, the tub drained and disinfected, the toys bleached, and the boy re-bathed. When I couldn't get the tub drain opened (It has a plug that screws into place... Recall there are "things" in the water I don't want to handle...) I had to let go of the squirming child who then found the toilet lid to be a grand toy. I had to reach into the  poop infested water over and over until I finally got the drain plug loosened. To my initial horror, half the poo went down the drain with the water. Later I was relieved and thankful I was able to wash the rest of it down as well. Then I had to pick up the contaminated child, contaminating myself even further, and find my bottle of bleach with which to disinfect the bathtub so I could re-bathe the boy. We both survived. Putting him to bed was actually more traumatic than the bath. One more Babysitter Test to my account.

Well, That Stinks!

Perhaps I should have titled this "Return of the Babysitter Test"...

The day started out alright. I took one child to VBS, and proceeded to clean my kitchen and wash the floor while the remaining child played toys. (Yes, I did remove yesterday's pretty little spider web.) A good floor scrubbing was long overdue and I feel better knowing this task has been accomplished, even if it doesn't last long. After VBS I fed four little ones lunch. Since there were three children playing toys in my living room, I decided to take Rocky upstairs for a nap. She was a little out of sorts and growled at me when I scolded her. I gave her a fresh diaper, turned the air conditioner to low, and left her howling. She eventually settled down and all was quiet. She typically takes a good nap and I knew she needed one today.

The remaining children continued to play and at about 2 pm, after much persistent asking, I filled a tub of water for them to cool off in. A little before three I went up to check on Sleeping Beauty and found her standing in the portacrib wide awake. I turned off the air conditioner which I thought smelled a bit funny and turned my attention to the child. As I lifted her from the crib, I realized the smell was not the contraption in the window, but the mess this sweet darling had left on my walls and all over the netting on the end of the bed.

I can't imagine the look that must have come over my face, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty, and I know my wall wasn't. Said child, now in tears, was put rather abruptly into the tub. Her hands were covered in ... well, ... stink. It was down her legs and she even had a chunk in her hair. Can I tell you I was not one bit happy? I really don't like poop at all and she had deliberately smeared it all over, and not just a little bit. She could have been at this for quite a while. I have never slept her upstairs before and I may never do it again.

Ah well... I am calm now, the crib is clean again (after being put into the bathtub, washed, and bleached), and little mess-maker even went home smiling. She was naked save a diaper, but smiling, and yes, I do still love her.

Full House

The flower pot was full today. In all nine children passed through my doors today. Three were grandchildren, two were school bus kids, and one came late in the day to spend the weekend. In spite of a puking episode (or two), and the time when Hannah was peed on, it was a pretty good day. There is still something about a houseful of little people that is very satisfying, if not exhausting.

There were toys scattered from one end of the house to the other (the sweet child with the pink shirt is a dumper...) from eight o'clock in the morning until mid-afternoon, but we just stepped over and around them. Play food and dishes, Beanie Babies, Fisher-Price people, and books came out to play.

We fed breakfasts, lunches, and one supper. We didn't bother trying to spell names with crackers today, it was enough to search the cupboards for lunch items. Macaroni and cheese, sliced apples, and peanut butter crackers filled the bill.

A few children took naps today, but not all of them. Hannah, who was supposed to babysit tonight, had her plans changed when one small girl's tummy decided to be uncooperative.  Cleaning up a yucky mess is no one's favorite job, but if I think of it as another "Babysitter Test" it somehow becomes a little more tolerable.

Good Day for an Ice Cube

The weather has been bitterly cold. A relentless wind blew all yesterday and into the wee hours of this morning leaving the temperatures in the low teens. We had a dusting of snow yesterday but I think it must have blown clear to New Jersey by now because there doesn't appear to be much of anything left out there. We've been keeping the fire stoked today! The temperature is up in the mid twenties now but for some reason my feet are still cold. It gives me a much greater appreciation of those who had to live in the day when heat was not so readily available and a thankful heart for warm, fuzzy slippers.

Josh stayed overnight with us last night. He has been having a bit of tummy trouble and after his morning nap he administered "The Babysitter Test" otherwise known as diarrhea. Today I am thankful for the sheet I purchased for my portable crib, a bathtub, a fresh package of baby wipes, and Hannah. (I did the cleaning up, she gave the child a bath.) I have been careful not to feed him anything questionable. He has had clear liquids (juice), banana, Froot Loops (is that cheating?), apple sauce with rice cereal, toast, and Cheerios. I told Bethany maybe she should bring home some Pedialyte. Between Josh's explosion, Troy's Lincoln log houses, and loudly barking dogs, it's been an interesting day...

Character Defects

I took a brave and fearless step last night and wrote a letter to our step study leaders. I had to do it. For me. And for those who will come after me... "One of my greatest character defects is not standing up for and advocating for Martha, and so today I am asking God to remove that defect. Today I choose, with His help, to advocate for myself in a way previously neglected, and I am starting with what transpired on Sunday morning."  In CoDA I learned that my journey to recovery is my own. I go at my own pace, in my own time. There is no "right way" to work the steps. "I emphasize progress over perfection."

Today was a good day. I went to sleep after emailing my letter last night. It was still relatively early, but I was emotionally exhausted and sleep came easy. I had a good day at work. My boss had forgotten to take the turkey roll home to be sliced yesterday, but I heard God whisper in my ear to take my Mandoline Slicer along with me this morning and the kids had turkey sandwiches after all. At my last shift in the baby room I had the pleasure of cleaning up an incredible blow-out. One I might have referred to several years ago as "The Babysitter Test." This small boy ended up in a sink of soapy water. It was that bad. Ha ha! This evening I ate dinner with my beautiful Bethany and her family and then we went for a walk around the block. Well, Jilly and I walked. Jake rode his bike and Beth was dragged around the neighborhood by her dog.

 I am okay. I am learning, and God is showing me He is still right here with me, providing for my needs, and holding me firm when strong winds threaten to knock me down and suck my strength away.

The LORD is a mighty tower where his people can run for safety--
Proverbs 18:10 CEV