Babysitting Duty

Melissa and Jamie went to a conference this morning so I babysat for Violet and the puppies. After several kisses goodbye, Jamie almost had to drag Melissa out the front door. This is the first time she's left Violet awake with anyone but her Daddy. I think Melissa thought Violet would kick and scream as she walked out the door but Violet didn't seem to mind.

We spent the first part of the morning playing the Katy Perry video on the iPad and reading books plus taking every baggie and dog treat out of the drawers in the kitchen. It was storming so the puppies were hiding.

Then it was snack time. Violet starts out with several gold fish crackers in her cup but usually only eats 1 or 2 and feeds the rest to the puppies. Lola and Khloe aren't in this picture but they were standing close by waiting for the rest of the crackers.

I was dreading morning nap time since Melissa is the only one who can get Violet to sleep without taking her out for a car ride. I tried to put her to sleep in my bed - that didn't work. I went downstairs to put her in Melissa's bed - that didn't work. So I wound up rocking her until she fell asleep then stayed as still as I could for the next hour. I was taking a big risk waking her just to take this selfie.

Even though my leg and butt went numb, Violet woke up happy. After nap we both had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. I kept watching the clock counting the minutes before Melissa and Jamie would be home.

Violet even spent a lot of time on the couch reading her books. The other time was spent running from the deck to the front door and again watching the Katy Perry video. But Violet surprised me with how good she was for the 6 hours, 22 minutes and 13 seconds I had her. She was even surprised when Melissa walked in. Although I think she was punishing her because she ran to her Daddy and didn't pay that much attention to Melissa.

This is just another example of why we have kids when we're young. It doesn't seem like I exerted that much energy but my stress levels are high. I'm exhausted.