it takes a village

The people who have helped me raise my kiddos which has allowed me to focus on my job have been a very valuable investment. 

Danielle - neighborhood kid who has grown into an incredibly smart college student (practically a big sister to my kiddos):

• the original kid “tutor” (afternoon homework helper and driver to various sport practices)
• the original summertime “too young to be their mom” babysitter - who ensured my kids got to sleep in, or go to a nearly waterpark, or host playdates, or bake cookies, or have smoothies, or put the kids through bootcamp-style conditioning workouts (since that IS her major in school), or go to movies . . . the list here could go on for a mile . . .
• the person who was NEVER mean if I ran late (up to a half-hour!) coming home from work in the evenings
• the person who would empty the dishwasher or sometimes even fold laundry - even though that was so NOT in her job duties (but was a very appreciated HELP)
• the person we had come to rely on as a family to keep the kids schedules in order and their routines and behavior expectations clearly defined
• our friend.

Sandi - Danielle’s mom, our neighbor (until she moved recently):

• the person who taught Danielle how to truly care for our kids (since Danielle did the gig before Sandi)
• the person who the kiddos became EXTREMELY attached to and never wanted her to leave, EVER.
• the. most. understanding. kind. person. (with tons of patience and a huge HEART).
• the person who took care of our house and our kids as if they were her own
• the person who energized the kiddos about their homework - really taught them to embrace projects and make the most out of them (try their hardest to make the “A”)
• the person who we quickly fell IN LOVE with and were very excited about what our kids would do with her (the summer craft projects alone would Blow Me Away when I would come home from a long day’s work)!
• the person that understood our kids, where we were in life and already knew what we had to look forward to as our kiddos grow older
• the person who would accompany us to Kenny’s Burger Joint when I didn’t want to cook (and also became a fellow regular there!)
• the special person who went on our first Girls Night Out (just Brooke, Sandi & myself) to see “Letters to Juliet” - and then late dinner at Kenny’s Burger Joint
• the person who taught us all how to travel through a difficult life change with dignity and to respect yourself enough to realize when it’s time for that change
• the person who sadly moved away to rebuild her life elsewhere (but who keeps in touch!)

AND NOW . . . 

Leigh - BRAND NEW and already making a BIG impression!!!

It’s only been two days since she’s started watching our kiddos in the afternoon and she has already made some pretty major accomplishments:

• Monday night dinner: Turkey and Rice*
• Tuesday night dinner: Tilapia and Broccoli with cheese sauce*
• Major help with the composition notebook decoration project
• Major kiddo happiness because they are a part of a HUGE gaggle of kids (not really that big, but when you’re only used to being around two . . . more seems like a lot to them) and it’s just one Big, Happy Family
• Major Parent Happiness - because like Danielle and Sandi, we know Leigh and her family really well. We feel that she’s perfect to help us transition from someone as loving as Sandi and Danielle to someone that the kids know also very well (and respect, mind, EAT HER FOOD). My son gets to HANG with one of his best buddies every afternoon - which he is SUPER HAPPY about and my daughter enjoys being a “helper” to Miss Leigh and her three year old. She’s learning babysitter skills thanks to this arrangement . . . 
• Another bonus is that Miss Leigh is a fellow Football Mom (our sons play on the same football team) and this means that my son will see that I’m not the only crazy lady on the sidelines who “can’t wait to see you make that tackle!”
• Bottom line is: we trust her. We LOVE the fact that everything else is working out so well, here (I’m in AWE of her skills in training my kids to eat REAL food!!!), but we simply needed someone we could trust to have the best interest of our kids at heart (like Danielle and Sandi did). 

If you work corporate hours (LONG hours) and you have school-age kids, then you really need that support system to know that everyone is getting what they need done and getting to wherever they are supposed to be on time. This support system allows you to be able to work with less worry which equates to better on-the-job focus. This is an investment, but I believe that it is completely essential.

Having grandparents nearby is also SUPER helpful (or those sick days that pop up out of nowhere (always on days that you have a meeting that you Just Can’t Miss) or when you have late evening meetings on the exact same nights that the hubby is also out of town. Gotta love the flexibility of their retirement!!!

Speaking of the hubby, if you have the type of job that keeps you chained to an office for really long hours, it works out pretty darn nice for your partner to have a really flexible gig. That way when the school does something not bright - like schedule new school orientation on a Thursday morning (8:30 until noon!!!), then he can cover it. (I’m not bitter - I just don’t understand how that was only a scheduling issue for ME.)

Yes - it takes a village (a LOT of help, actually!!) to get us through our hectic daily list of activities, homework, projects and dinner. It also takes special people like Danielle, Sandi and Leigh - who spend their time helping us raise our kiddos and mold them into good, respectful, well-mannered future teens. (“Teens” = “yikes!”)

*BTW, the fact that Leigh is feeding our kiddos dinner was an off-shoot from the fact that her family eats dinner WAY earlier than we EVER have (like in the FIVE O’CLOCK hour). We were THRILLED when she offered to feed our kiddos to (since she has the kiddos until much later in the evenings), but Never - EVER expected our super picky eater son to actually learn to eat MEAT (and FISH!!!!) so quickly from her dinner table. I guess the fact that his best buddy was sitting next to him gobbling up Miss Leigh’s food put a little more pressure on him to act a little older (less baby-ish) and just eat the food helped. BUT this kid (who for the majority of his LIFE has maintained that he is a “veterinarian” - which he has always used to mean “vegetarian”), sat me down after the first day at Miss Leigh’s house and told me point blank that I had never noticed that he was a MEAT EATER - and that I had just missed this fact about him (his ENTIRE LIFE!!??!!), was impressive. He’s brainwashed that he’ll love everything she feeds him. WOW.