Every monday, wednesday and friday i babysit from 1-6. I know this doesn't seem like it's even worth mentioning to 9 to 5ers out there, but I'm on the verge of dying from boredom. It's the same routine every day. I come in, Mary
tells me that William has just had a bottle and will be ready for a nap soon, Jackson will be ready for quiet time around 2, and he can have a snack if he asks for it (which he always does--cheerios usually). I nod, she smiles, tells me to call her "if anything happens," and she's on her way. Since the kids aren't allowed to go outside, our activities are limited. Jackson immediately
tells me to ignore William, who is 10 months old, and come play trains with him. I tell him I can't, but i will in a second when I put William to sleep. We play trains for a while , then i throw the 3 year old in his room to stay for a couple of hours. Then I'm left ....for a minimum of 2 hours with absolutely nothing to do. first, i get on my phone, but i'm not really a fan of chatting on the phone, so I always regret that I called anyone in the first place. Usually I have a book, but for the past couple of weeks I've come empty handed, so i flip to the movie channels. I most likely find Risky Business (and unless Tom is jamming out to Seger, i keep flipping), A League of Their Own, Bad Boys 2, or some love story like Cold Mountain. MTV is always playing True Life, a show I despise, and since True Hollywood Story doesn't come on until 3ish, I get up from the couch and come to the computer. I facebook it, look at clothes, read blogs, email my friends abroad or in NYC, or surf the net for graduate schools. They wake up around 4 and we watch cartoons for 2 hours. I hear the alarm sound and my day is over.

I think i've made it clear that it's boring, but don't be fooled into think it's boring but easy. The hard part is staying awake. It isn't uncommon that I set an alarm on my phone just in case I were to accidentally fall asleep on the job. There have been days where i literally faught falling asleep for a good hour. You would think staying awake would be easy with a 3 year old and 10 month old. but it's not. These kids are too well behaved. Sometimes i want them to scream or cry or fight, just so my head will stop falling on my chest. They never do though. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, Jackson will get mad and scream if I refuse to play trains. But that only happens like once every two weeks. The closest I came to excitement today was when I asked Jackson if he wanted his usual snack of Cheerios and he said , "no, animal crackers." Gasp.

Another occupational hazard is trying to escape the echoes of children's songs post-babysitting. Dora the Explorer, The BackYardigans, Ozwald, you name it, I can sing it. I think I hum the tune of "64, 64, 64 zoo lane..." for at least an hour after I leave. The only time i can escape this problem is when i get in my car and holla back girl is playing. You know what i mean.

I feel like i might not be being completely fair, I'm sure that having a monotonous babysitting job should be the least of my worries, and it is. I appreciate that I have some form of income, and I do love the kids. It's just, like i said before, boring. And I can either sit and think about how bored I am, or write about it.

p.s. I dont want any messages from Jennifer Brown telling me (sarcastically) how hard my life is. ha ha.