Thank Heaven for 7-11

This is going to be a shorter entry (I know, you're like "thank god") because I'm waking up in 5 hours to go to an audition FINALLY!!! We're going to see how balancing auditions and picking up W from school on time works out. All I have to say is, it HAS to work out.

Today was another good day with them. I don't know how I keep getting good days with them but I think they're getting better. It was actually nice to see them today having not seen them for 3 days. I was worried about how this day was going to go because before I even left the house to pick up W I got a text from the mother saying...and I quote...."E, T will not come until next Wednesday. Pls make sure M does her homework and reading with u before bath. Bath has to be done by 6:00. They like playing in the bath tub but not more than 10 mins. See u later!"

Yikes.

I get W from school and she has that same expression on her face that she does every time she sees me at school that's a combination of, I was hoping it would be mom today but it's you, and, another day to do what? On our walk to 7-11 today a little girl screamed out her name and it was her friend who was walking a good ways behind us. The babysitter introduced herself and we found out we were all going to 7-11! I'm so glad I met another babysitter who's really nice and whom was a good distraction from the everyday routine of going to 7-11 and me getting annoyed at W wanting everything. They invited us over to their house to play for an hour and I was really excited at the thought of going somewhere other than home right away. I called the mother to ask but she didn't pick up, so homeward bound we were, but we discussed doing it on Thursday instead. The mother called me back while we were in the taxi and I asked her if we could get the girls together on Thursday after school and she said, "oh thank you, E, for making a play date with her!" and I wondered, was that something I was supposed to do all along? If so, I had no idea.

In the taxi, W asked me if I had a bully in my school. I told her about my kindergarten bully, Marqueesha, who used to suck on the tassels on my nap time mat and it drove me nuts and she knew it. I asked her if she had a bully in her class and she said yeah, and continued to tell me the bad things she does. She tugs on her jacket and throws her backpack in the hall, and I wanted to tell W to smack her in the face and tell her to leave her alone. I couldn't exactly say that, but I found myself having a really hard time explaining how to react to a bully and telling her what she should do. It felt like the perfect opportunity for me to really teach her a good life lesson and say something deep, but I was at a loss. I asked her if she told the teachers about her and she said, "yeah but they're always so busy". That made me really sad. I told her that this girl was doing these things because she wants a bad sort of attention and the best thing to do is to ignore her. I also told her to say, "I don't like when you do that, stop please" but then I thought that would make her seem like a wuss and would get her picked on more. Bullies are a tough category.

In the meanwhile, I just ordered 4 books on amazon about relationships between nannies and mothers. I'm really excited. Maybe one of those books will have some good insight on how to explain bullies to a 5 year-old.

W was really cooperative today and played with me very nicely. I am proud to announce that she put her clothes in her hamper without me even asking. I was so happy about that. She got a new jewelry making set with wooden beads so we spent some time organizing the beads into compartments by colors and shapes. If I had a suggestion she would say, "that's a good idea, E" or she would say, "I have an idea...". It was so fun playing with her today because she offered many good ideas and listened to mine.

So yeah, playtime was really nice, and then M came home. They drew together and were playing very nicely with each other which they normally do. W and I continued to make Valentine's day crafts from her crafts book. Today we made a friendship necklace which actually turned out pretty sweet. She gave the other half to M. I sort of wanted it. I have to say, I've been pretty proud of myself for being so crafty lately. Between the coloring books and the Valentine's Day crafts, I've been super duper.

Fast-forward to dinner: I was smart enough to get 2 mini bagels from a bagel shop before I picked up W and I brought an apple from home, so I actually had a "decent" dinner tonight. I sat in their room and cleaned up in between bites. When I did go check in on the girls at the dinner table, M and W were fighting over where I would sit. That was touching. I didn't really like their dinner tonight so there was nothing I wanted to pick at. Good thing for my apple and baby bagels!

I was so tired that I legit FELL ASLEEP while I was reading Harry Potter to M. My eyes were rolling back and I was slurring my speech and reading the wrong words. I honestly have no idea what I read. I was just reading sounds on the pages.

Back to normal....