Week of Babysitting

Well, I finally took the plunge and changed the name of my blog. I am hoping this inspires me to post more, and about more things, blah-dy blah. I honestly wanted the first official post of The Delightful Momnesiac to be a great "about me," or a tutorial, or a free download, or something exciting, but those dreams will become a reality in the future. For I spent my entire week watching my brother J's kids while he attends firefighter school. (By the way, only 14 more weeks, and he will officially be a fireman! This has been seven years in the making, and I couldn't be more proud to see him follow his dreams.)

So Tuesday through Friday this week I woke up at 4:50  set my alarm for 4:50 AM so I could be at my brother's by 5:30 AM. Did you know that at 5:30 AM there are people all over awake, driving, going to work, walking their dogs!?! I know. I had to see it to believe it too.

So from 5:30 AM to about 5 PM, I was babysitting an almost 7 year old sports fanatic boy, 19 month old twins (one boy and one girl), and my almost 14 month old. I was reluctant to take on this task. Let's be honest. I was forewarned that the twins can be quite the handful by more than one person. Add my own  little handful, and a 6 year old, and an early morning, and almost 12 hours away from my own home everyday, and... do I need to go on?

Luckily, my step mom is a saint, and came to help out, and  even brought me coffee every morning. I should also mention she washed all his dishes by hand everyday, and did all his laundry. And my step mom is not even related to this brother! (I promise to post a family tree one day. People love it when I draw a picture because my family is so huge. Heck, my husband still can't keep his nieces and nephews straightened out sometimes!)

Here are a couple of unedited (maybe one day) pictures of my adventures in babysitting. There are not many because

• I am still learning to take picutres of every little thing like a good blogger should,
• I still only carry my camera phone, and not an actual camera, 
• and the babies' mama doesn't like us posting pictures of the kids on Facebook, so I can only image how she'd feel about them on a blog. Hence, I am only using pics where their faces are turned or hidden.

The oldest boy and I built this awesome fort out of blankets and the kitchen table while the babies and Grandma took a nap.

Can you tell my brother is a UGA fan?

Older Brother worked diligently to ensure there was no light coming through.

It was so dark in there, I thought it was the perfect napping place.

Unfortunately, it only held his attention for about five minutes after building it, and I was forced into another game of basketball in his bedroom, instead of snoozing.

Most of the week was spent goofing around and hiding under blankets.

This is how the living room constantly looked everyday.

It didn't seem to bother them or slow them down one bit. We did our best to clean up before J stepped through the door, but it did not always happen. Do your kids dump toys out right after you/they put them away?

I loved that Addy had other babies to play with. She loved it too. She forgot all about her mommy sometimes she had such a good time. I think the other kids enjoyed her too, as I heard rumors that the twins fight and bite, but I never saw it happen while I was there.

Addy and Twin Girl enjoyed "reading" next to each other. So cute! I really wish I could have taken better pictures of this because it was so sweet.

By Friday you could definitely see a change in how all the kids interacted together, and Addy and Twin Girl were really starting to bond. That was pretty cool to witness.

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to spend so much time with my niece and nephews this past week. It's the most time I have spent with them ever, and I really did bond with them in a way I wasn't expecting. So much so, I already miss them. Seriously. They are so sweet and fun. This Aunt Jenny cannot wait to see them again!

How was your week? Has there been a time when you were reluctant or scared to do something, and turned out to be the best blessing ever?

Thanks for reading!