October 5 - The Day I Babysat

Husband texted me early in the day to tell me that his sister was offering free tickets to Screams, a local(ish) Halloween theme park. While I love Halloween, my appreciation is more of the "ohh, look at what Martha Stewart did to those pumpkins with glitter" variety. Not so much on the "Some guy is chasing me and I think I just peed myself" kind. So, despite his pleadings, I told him he could go, but I was out. I jokingly said "me and Ella (his sis's kiddo) would stay behind. Fast forward a few hours, and they decide to take me up on that offer.

Now, I haven't been a babysitter since high school. And even then, they were kids, not babies. That isn't to say I don't love babies, because I very much do. But the thought of them when their mothers aren't standing within a 10 ft radius is a little frightening. But, she's my niece. She normally is such a good baby, and she likes me and knows me enough that this should be smooth sailing, right? Umm...

My parents called and asked if me and my tow-along wanted to come for dinner and the ranger game, along with my Grandmother. Someone fixing me dinner, and the safety net of two women who raised me being close by? Be there in 5! She did so great for the first little bit, charming everyone with her baby fat rolls and big grins. But about 15 minutes in, she realized "hey...I don't really recognize this place. Or these people...what the...WAAAAHHHHH!". Or something like that. We tried to get her to eat the dinner her momma made for her (homemade applesauce, which sounded great to me). She was not having that mess. Mom to the rescue, #1 - as a grandma, she had a plethora of toys for the wee one's distraction. We tried food again, and this time mac & cheese from my plate went much better. We had only minor melt downs for awhile  (she would crawl away, all smiles, then realize I wasn't right next to her, then she'd wail. We repeated this quite a number of times). Then, the biggest test of all - bed time. She was giving me all the signals that we were a go, but oh boy, we were not. After reaching what I can only imagine is pure loathing for me and my attempts at lulling, Mom/surrogate Nana took over while I stood helplessly by. It reached a point where all I could do was laugh. After a few more back-and-forths, she finally just passed out in my mother's arms...who then passed out in the recliner. They snored together, it was cute. Also, my mom wouldn't put her down for fear of waking the sleeping bear. She continued to sniffle her in sleep for the first 10 minutes or so. I thought we were golden, as I got the message that Ella's parental units were on their way back. Until she woke up, and we repeated the "where am I and who are these scary people?!" thing. Thankfully, we were able to distract her with a puppy until they got there. I'm sure they didn't plan on their kid being awake so close to midnight, but I count it a success as she wasn't crying when they arrived. In retrospect, I have two things to say: 1) I hope that baby still likes me and that I didn't scar her for life, and 2) if/when I have a baby, I'm sequestering my mother in my house in case of emergencies, for at least a year.

Highlights:
1) We had snack day today. The theme - Asian takeout! I had great plans to make these yummy sesame meatballs...yeah, I totally phoned it in. Taste of Asia to the rescue!

2) My parents made the best comfort meal - fried chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, peas, rolls, mac & cheese, asparagus, squash. MMMMmmmmm.

3) The Rangers lost. Pretty badly, too. The best part of the game, though, is that Ella fell asleep right during the 9th inning. So, imagine a sleeping baby, and a room full of whispered cheers/boos at the television. It was comical, to say the least.

Love & Adventures in Aunthood,

K