Spring Broke

So, it's spring break again.
UGH.
And somehow there are even MORE kids at my house than I planned....
.... I planned for zero.
But that's okay.
I'm only babysitting one kid for about three hours a day this week, my nephews (SQUEE!!) are awesomely good, and my step-nieces are cool too. The average age of my peers this week will be five.
Oh boy.
At least I pawned the Panther over to Nana's for a while.
He's another kid altogether.
Strangely, more needy and more attention hungry.
But he purrs. And it makes it all okay.

Big News!

JAMES GOT HIRED ONTO THE LOCAL POLICE FORCE!!!

YAY!!
**does a happy dance**
On another note, I will no longer be babysitting one of the chimps.
**does a happy dance**
Oh.
Right.
I mean *sigh.*
But seriously, it turns out that I can't hack a daily taking-care-of-someone's-child thing without it cutting into my family life. Like, I get tired of keeping him out of everything and trying to put up with his endless defiant attitude. It makes me a mean person.
And a lazy person.
Instead of one night a week that we get take-out, we have one night a week that we eat at home. UGH. There are just some children that no matter what you do, if there is no discipline at home a babysitter's job is going to be darn near impossible. The babysitter cannot be the sole disciplinarian in a child's life.
And I'm not talking about smacking him around all the time. I'm talking about trying to be in public without being hit in the face and spit at, or trying to keep him from bludgeoning the other children, or simply obeying certain rules (we don't reach over the kitchen counter and grab objects... like knives). And yes, an eighteen month old CAN back talk.
So after much thought I've come to the conclusion that a babysitter's job is to provide a safe environment for a child, meet his or her needs in an appropriate and timely manner, and MAINTAIN the discipline and character that the parents have begun to nurture in their home. Maintain, not create AND maintain to only be undone over the weekend.
So while he has his charms and is insanely cute, I must relinquish this assignment to his original owners.