A little scared.

PrairieMom wrote: Tomorrow I will be watching my friends kids for 8 hours. There will be 2 3 year olds, a 18 month old and Ally. I have never watched them for more than 4 hours before, and even in that little time I am constantly watching the clock, counting the minutes until they get to leave. Tomorrow is going to be very trying.
I have no idea how day home providers do it. I am really not looking forward to this.
I agreed to do it yesterday when I was having my little Mommy break down. DH asked me if something snapped in my brain.
I bought some crafty things to do, so hopefully that will take up some time. It will be way to cold to play out side. If you don't hear from me after tomorrow, its because I lost my mind and ran away.

luvbug00 replied: GOOD LUCK!

boyohboyohboy replied: tara i am sending you all the extra patience i can find laying around here, as well as some ingenious ways to keep all those kids happy and out of your hair.
good luck.
maybe they will take long naps...

Boo&BugsMom replied: I think you'll do a great job! Do you have any music CD's? My kiddos love to dance to the music I have. They love bean bag games too. Just keep'em busy and they'll be fine. Sending patience and good vibes and prayers your way. Hope it all goes well...I'm sure it will.

PrairieMom replied: I can deal with Ally and the 1 year old, I can even deal with Ben, but honestly, the 3 year old girl is the one I have trouble with. She is aggressive toward Ben, and Just generally rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Its better if they can play outside, but it will be completely out of the question for tomorrow.
I have finger paints and some foam shape stickers. We usually watch a movie, and will have a few snacks, but as for naps, Ally is still irregular, and Ben will take one after lunch, but I'm not sure how that will go with other kids here. The other two don't nap anymore. I really live for nap time, so I'm gonna be hurting by tomorrow evening.

coasterqueen replied: Oh boy! All I can say is GOOD LUCK.

Sorry, but anytime I agree to watch someone elses kids AND mine it turns into a nightmare and I wish I never did it. I go CRAZY.

Got any valium? Take it! J/K

Boo&BugsMom replied:
They're 1 year old don't take a nap anymore? Wow, Tanner is 4 and I make him have a quiet time even if it's just laying in his bed for 30 minutes. Maybe you can do something like that?

holley79 replied: Good Luck.

CantWait replied: Good Luck Tara. You're a brave women

Maybe while Ben is napping it can be quiet time for the other 2. They can read books by themselves, do puzzles, watch educational videos, that sort of thing.

PrairieMom replied:
Yeah. We definitely have different parenting styles. She said, "he doesn't want to nap any more". I was like I never asked my kids their opinions on the subject.
Ben Is 3 and still napping for 2 hours an afternoon.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
seriously... all of my kids have a quiet time after lunch. Up to two hours of quiet time....depending how well Naomie naps. Sometimes, she's up after an hour, but the others are still sleeping... and the older one I watch is accustomed to a quiet time after lunch too - so if he's behaving, I'll bring him down for some one-on-one time with him, we'll bake or whatever... but if he's being a little sh**, he stays i nhis quiet time until the others get up..

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Yep, my kids and my daycare kids do not get a choice. They lay down until they go to Kindergarten. That is also MY time to relax and have a quiet time. Sometimes we will keep Tanner up on the weekends. He is slowly growing out of them, but usually still needs them. I can't imagine any 1 year old not NEEDING a nap. How crazy.

Calimama replied: Good luck! Sending you lots of naptime vibes for the kids.

mom2my2cuties replied: A lot of families actually don't make thier children nap and give them earlier bedtimes. Andrea hasn't been taking naps for quite a while now except on the rare occasion and she has been going to bed a lot earlier than before. She actually sleeps better at night without her nap.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Hey Tara! How is the day going?

Kaitlin'smom replied: I missed this yesterday, I coudl not get on

anyway how is it going? I hope your not losing your mind yet.