fall is here

so, school has begun, which means i have resumed babysitting. i do daycare each year to pay for my children's tuition to private christian school. normally, i watch one child full time. this year (being the princess' last year home) i decided to do two part time jobs so that i would always have at least one day a week with just my kids. it just turned out that this week, i would have both jobs today. that's my two younges (21mths & 4), a 22mth old, a five year old, and another 21mth old. normally, i take my two oldest to school before any of these kids get here. i'm a big believer in teaching kids to be independent, so mine pack their own lunches and put their clothes out the night before. that way in the a.m., i only have to supervise them getting ready and get the two little ones ready. but this morning, i get in the car and it won't start. the battery is dead. now, my husband and i keep jumper cables in both of our vehicles (i've never had to use mine). but two days ago, i loaned mine to my brother. so i don't have any. i have to call my dad to come and jump the van. (and thank goodness he could do it, i wonder if i'll reach an age where i won't need to call my dad in emergencies?) by the time he gets here and it's taken care of , two of the babysitting kids have arrived. so i load all six of them in the car (that's right, five in carseats!) and off we go. we come home just in time for child number three to arrive. it's smooth sailing for about an hour, as we play outside and read a few books. suddenly, it's time to take the five year old to kindergarten. i get everyone in the car, five more carseats, and it won't start again! i have to get everyone back in the house and make some calls to get her a ride. that accomplished, it's time for lunch for the little kids. Note to self: never make three one year olds spaghettiO's for lunch. one of the three actually ate them, messily, but he tried. the other two decided it would be more fun to fling them at each other with spoons. that lasted about 30 seconds when i cleaned them up and removed them from the table. ( i also have a firm "i am not a short order cook" rule. in this house, it's eat it or starve.) so after a few minutes of being down from the table they decided it would be worth their time to return and finish lunch. luckily, after lunch, i let the puppy in and he cleaned up all the food on the floor :) ok, one more hour till naptime! we play blocks, watch blue's clues, and only have to break up one fight. finally, they all go down for a nap. thank you Jesus for naptime! so the moral of the story is this:

Watching 5 kids under 4: $50

Spaghetti O's, carrots & apple slices for lunch: $25

Getting them all down for a nap at the same time: PRICELESS