Friday, July 17, 2009

Good things and Bad things

Tonight, Super J and I had a date night. I should have known, via one of those Murphy Law things, that those at home would have a difficult time because we had a terrific one.

Here's what we did:
  1. Went to dinner at a favorite restaurant and had a terrific meal full of new foods we don't normally get. Super fun.
  2. Went to a local park (we were in The White Giant--aka Super J's Tundra)
  3. Super J had put an air mattress on the bed of the truck and we just laid there in this amazing weather and talked and talked and talked and talked...kind of like we when we were first dating. It was so fun. And relaxing. Though the dive bombing birds sometimes were a bit of a concern, not a single one of them poo'd on us.
  4. Then we went to Sheridan's and I got a Strawberry Piña Colada Smoothie. Ohholycow. So.Good.
We both thought it was one of our very best dates, evah.

Then we got home. Oh dear.
  1. We left Miss Q with our babysitters for the very first time. She wasn't happy. We probably should have warned them that she was a little crabby today. Oh wait. I did.
  2. One of our babysitters got bit on her finger by one of the dogs we are watching (no, Bo! We do NOT bite!!!). We should have warned her NOT to pick up the dogs, but who knew to do that? She's okay, but I'm sure not thrilled with the bite.
  3. Miss Q pooped while we were away and, though we are not 100% sure, may have had a blow-out. Or, she was simply very very squirmy. Needless to say, there was a onesie in the sink with offending offerings. We should have warned them that she struggles when you change her pants. Very annoying for ALL involved.
  4. And here's the kicker of the night: Miss Q fell off the bed (!!!!!!). I guess we should have warned the babysitters that, regardless of where you *think* the mattress is (it had been pushed against the wall, so it was not squarely on the frame but instead, there was about a five inch span from mattress to the metal support bar of the frame [that, yes, Miss Q hit...ARGH!] to the floor), a squirmy baby that wants to crawls everywhere IS NOT ALLOWED ON THE BED UNATTENDED!!!!!!!!!!!! Very embarrassing for the sitter, very painful for the baby and VERY. ANNOYING. for the Mom.
But as I'm discovering, my reaction time to things like this is totally in slow motion. It's just now hitting me about what really happened. I let myself get sidetracked, but now it's like I can't keep from rehashing it in my head.

So, yeah. An interesting night. Poor Miss Q. She's fine. Don't worry. But now I'm in a dilemma. The girls (the OLDER ones, I should say) love these babysitters. And I feel bad one of them got bit, I really do. But selfishly, I gotta say, "Don't let my baby fall!" because even if you own dogs, you should know, Babysitter, better than to pick up dogs you don't know; my baby, however, doesn't know about gravity yet!

So, yeah, I'm not thrilled My BABY FELL OFF THE BED. Good heavens to betsy!

Here's the dilemma, though. I've got the same sitter booked for Tuesday, when I'm off to see Harry Potter with my beloved Super J.

What would you do?

Cancel with this sitter and get someone else? Talk to this sitter and remind her of the safety issues? What would YOU do?

I'm thinking I need to get me another Strawberry Piña Colada Smoothie and drown my sorrows.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, what a way to end a great date. (We seriously need one of those, but that's beside the point.) The babysitters...I don't know. I (the conflict-avoiding one) would probably see what happens Tuesday, to figure out if they learned anything from the incidents. As a babysitter myself, there were a lot of incidents under my watch. But, I tried to learn from all of them, and do what I could to prevent them the next time. (Sometimes, like with crazy red-headed boys, there is no preventing, only fixing after the fact.) If more dumb things happen, I wouldn't hire them back. If they can't learn from all the seriously embarrassing things that happened tonight, I'm not sure talking about it with them will even help. Some girls are just totally clueless. GOOD LUCK! If I weren't so dang far away, and I wasn't doing field work this week, I would totally watch them on Tuesday for you. Or any time, really. Just keep repeating...Hooray for an awesome date!

Shari said...

I can only make assumptions on who the sitters were...

If you had 2 there are a few options, as I learned from all those years of college math!

Were they friends or sisters? My mom always said if you have one girl you have a babysitter, if you have 2 you have half a sitter (since they're playing w/ eachother more than sitting). If they're sisters it may have been an issue of the younger less experienced one having been watching Miss Q at that point, and a lesson was learned.

Did it take place immediately after the squirmy diaper mess? I sometimes run into that whole issue of what do I do w/ poopy hands and a baby in a precarious position. If I pick up the baby I get poo on said baby, but if I run quick maybe I can get my hands washed whilst the baby watches the ceiling fan...

And me, as a mom, has had one of my babies fall of my bed on to the hardwood floor (and I have one of those elevated fancy annoying beds). AND I WAS STANDING RIGHT THERE! Accidents happen.

That being said, I'm sure it's harder to evaluate the circumstances since it's your baby and not someone else. I know how that goes too.

You should bring the girls by sometime to play. I've learned that those "little parents" have lots of fun when they don't have to share a baby. I don't have a strawberry pina colada smoothie, but I do have chocolate brownie ice cream and more cupcakes than I know what to do with...

Adrienne said...

Hey toots, I love how YOU of all people ask for advice. Tsk tsk -- don't you know we all come to YOU for advice?
I'd say, actually, a GOOD sign is that the BABYSITTERS told you what happened. You didn't wake up this morning, ask your girls, and hear that your Babe Q fell off the bed and cried a lot.
The b-sitting girls felt obligated to fess up, which shows some maturity. My kids' favorite babysitter is one that completely forgot one time. She felt so horrible that she has said YES and has been there on time ever since. Sometimes, that stuff works to your advantage. :) Ah, guilt!

KC Knicks said...

Oh Laurenda! I'm so sorry to hear about your babysitter blues. Too bad Miss Q was the lesson of the day. At least the dog knew to stand up for her!

Jessica said...

You've got some good advice here...
I don't know who you had, but I tend to agree with Shari about having two girls there to do it. It does totally depend on the two, but I did try leaving Bobby with some girls in the nursery during an activity at church. Let's just say I'm very thankful that Cassidy, my at the time 6 year old, was there. I was very disappointed! He may be a mama's boy, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't have tried, a lot more! And honestly, I don't think they did. I checked and believe if Cassidy hadn't been there, we may have been running to the hospital. She is much more responsible and mature than a bunch of girls put together! So thankful to have her!!!

As far as Tuesday is concern, I say really think it through and feel it out. And ask your kids what they think about how well the baby was watched.

I think to get a really good babysitter they should be trained to fit your family. When I was younger, I loved when a family did this. You invite the girl over for a daytime job. This would be when you could walk them through all the in's and out's of the home and special needs of the kids and animals. Then you leave them somewhat alone, go outside to do yard work, sew, do something you have been wanting to get done! That way if they have a question, they can come to you and ask.
I cannot tell you how much I learned from mom's doing this. A couple afternoons with the family, and I knew all the do's and don'ts, who would throw a fit over what and all the little tricks to get them to listen.
If a girl is not willing to do this then in my opinion they are not serious about babysitting. They shouldn't be offended. They should understand that you are leaving them with your most precious gifts. And, usually for them to truly get it, they have to be taught. Takes time, but totally worth it!!! Good Luck!

Katrina said...

When it happened on my watch, I was fired.

It's a parental call, I think. If you do not feel comfortable about leaving your girls with the girls, then maybe it's time to consider a new sitter. You need someone you can trust.

I like the idea of a "training," day. If you're going to go ahead and keep the babysitting duo, you might want to have a "re-training" day of sorts. Just to make sure they're up to speed.

*good thoughts*

Colton Anne said...

At least you got to enjoy your date with your spouse!

Krista said...

Wow! I didn't even have time to read all the comments. All I have to say is that you must be a waaaay better mom than I am. Both my kids fell off the bed on MY watch and poor Elise more times than she should of...on the wood floor!! I still feel bad about it, but other than being very strong willed and sometimes punching her friends in the stomach at church (this last Sunday), she seems to have no lasting effects. Anyway, good luck in your decision.
And for the record, I was way more careful as a babysitter than I am with my own....at least when it came to placing them on high objects. I know, bad mom...bad mom!