A Busy Friday

I went to the graduation of the special needs kids at Brewer this morning.  It was an awesome graduation.  And Brad had a special presentation in it.  He played and sang.   Two songs.  It was rather impromptu in a way.  He was asked to sing one but was told he could sing two if he wanted to, after he got there this morning.  At the end of the graduation, people just kept coming up to Jeni and telling them how much they had enjoyed his presentation.  And he was asked to perform at the teacher's orientation in August and was told he was to definitely be included in the talent show next year (without having to audition).


After the graduation I was to go to Sister Katie's for an extended family gathering to meet her mother, who was in town for the wedding.  First,  I went to Walmart and bought cake and cookies for the lunch we were to have together. (I also bought a magazine, which I intend to read shortly.)  And I visited-- me, I actually stuck around and visited-- with them until Tim called me to come to his house to baby sit at 3PM.


The first segment of the babysitting was GREAT.   We all slept. I did not get a whole lot of sleep last night and I was "so ready" for a nap.   We had just awakened  a little while before Tim and Felicia got back from cleaning up whatever it was they were cleaning up at the new house they'll be moving into. They were already late getting the kids--Cathleen and Lexi-- to their ball game.   It was 5:30 and they were supposed to be AT THE FIELD at 5:30.  So I was asked if I minded extending my babysitting until after the game was over.


That was fine with me.


Theoretically it was fine.


Not long after they left, Daxton managed to turn off BabyFirstTV.   Now, I know nothing at all about T.V.  These new ones and their remotes totally baffle me because I do not have one and have never learned how to operate them.    But when I go to keep the babies, BabyFirstTV is ALWAYS on and Braxton LOVES it.  As long as I keep him changed, give him a bottle, and just take care of basic needs, he is fine just watching those characters.   And when I realized, really took it in, that this 5 or 6 month old child was ACTUALLY watching that T.V.  I was blown away. (He's 7 months old now.)  I can't remember when I first comprehended that it was more than a noise in the room to him.  But I think it was when they were doing something that was kind of funny and he laughed.  I looked at him to see why he'd laughed and I saw that he was actually taking in what was going on with that program.   So, evidently those people know how to gear their program to babies.... thus, Baby First T.V.




Well, there was NO Baby First T.V.   Looking high and low did not turn up a remote and I couldn't even read the stuff on the side of the screen that I thought might get me back into it.   Besides that, Daxton walked up while I was looking to see if I could figure it out and pushed a button on a machine below which turned it on so I figured that he had turned it off there and that probably had something to do with it being off, but I didn't know what else to do to get it back so I had to give up on Baby First.   Which meant Braxton WAS NOT entertained.  I was going to have to be his entertainer.   And I guess having the entertainment going constantly has him convinced he must continually be entertained because I couldn't put him down and him be happy--not until right before his parents came back.


The way he was crying made me think he was probably hungry.  So I began to reason this out.  This child is seven months old.  Surely he eats food by now.  I wonder where some is.   I opened my phone to text Felicia to find out and saw that my phone was going dead.   I did send her a text asking where the food was, but I was never able to get an answer.  Finally, I rounded up a packet of cinnamon sugar oatmeal and cooked it, put milk in it and fed him that.  He seemed to like it but I could tell he wasn't used to its consistency, even though I had stirred and stirred to get it as smooth as I could. (She had texted me back to let me know where the food was, but my phone was gone.)


So Braxton was a challenge.   And added to that,  so was Daxton.  I guess he had finally come to the place that instead of being totally unhappy that he was left with me, he decided to "make himself at home".  And he began to do the things 18 month old little boys do.  First, he reached up and got a cup one of the kids left on the table and poured the contents into the floor.   He climbed up and threw stuff off the counters into the floor.  He got into drawers and took out stuff and threw it into the garbage.  He got the mop and tried to mop and hit Braxton in the head with the handle.   

I thought it might be better to go out on the porch.  So, with Braxton in tow, we went out.  I fixed my chair so Daxton couldn't get past me into the yard and sat down.  But soon Daxton found the bucket that had all the stuff to clean the pool with on the porch so I decided we were no better off than we had been in the house-- we might as well go back in.     From the time they left at 5:30 until they returned at 7:30, I had my hands full with these two.    (I really don't think it would have been such a challenge if I could have just put Braxton down.  But without BabyFirst to entertain him, he would have none of that. So here I was just trying to keep up with Daxton's antics, while all the while carrying this 7 month baby around on my arm.)  


I learned that even a good sized lunch runs out after while.  I got hungry myself.  So I thought I would see if I could soothe Braxton with a bottle and get myself something to eat.   Thankfully, he seemed happy this time when I put him down AND GAVE HIM THE BOTTLE.  It wasn't long before he went off to sleep.  I ate a bowl of Special K.   Just after I got it fixed, I heard someone trying to open the door.  The kids were pouring into the house.   I hurried up and gobbled my cereal down.  I didn't fix a large bowl.  I intend to consider it my appetizer.   


When I was leaving Tim's at 7:45, I thought: "I left my house at 7:45 this morning to go to the graduation.  And now it's 7:45 again and I'm headed home." 


It was about 8PM when I got back home.   Jeni had supper waiting for me on the stove.  I'm glad.  But I decided to sit here and relax for a few minutes before I eat.


Then I'll be ready for my magazine.