Future Kids...Now?

Well. This conversation threw me for a loop. A big, big loop. I was utterly confused, but really, what else in my life with these precious girls doesn't confuse me?

So Princess, Sass, and I were playing when (surprise, surprise!) I did something that neither Sass nor Princess liked. I put Elmo in time-out. I know. I'm that mean babysitter that does mean things like put Elmo in time-out. Let me tell you, this life-size Elmo doll was being tugged in two directions. Sass wanted Elmo in her room, Princess wanted Elmo in the 'puter room. As the shouts of indecision grew louder, I stepped in.

Me: "Okay. That's it. Elmo is going in time-out until you two can decide to share him."

Princes: "But Miss Mica, Elmo didn't do anything."

Sass: "Yeah Mica. Elmo was good."

Me: "However, you two can't decide where to put him, so he had to be put away. Or do you two want to go to time-out instead?"

Sass: "No. Elmo can stay in time-out."

Princess: "You know what Miss Mica? You're mean. Elmo doesn't like you. You're not a good mommy, and your son doesn't like you either."

Hm. There were several things wrong with that last statement, but I decided to control the anger issue instead of correcting her.

Me: "Princess, you need to calm down and understand I'm not punishing Elmo. I'm giving him a break to let you and Sass be able to get along. Get it?"

Princess: "Yes. But your son still doesn't like you."

At this point, I decided to let her know in what way she was wrong.

Me: "Princess, I don't have a son. And if I did, and he was fighting with his best friend over Elmo, I'd put Elmo in time-out for them too."

After she thought for a second, and this is what came out of her mouth...

Princess: "Miss Mica. Your son still doesn't like you."

Ah. So that's the future I have to hope for with my children. Good to know.

P.S. Now I know Bailey reads my blog. This is a shout-out to her. You should read her blog or her other blog. You know, all 2 of you that aren't Bailey and read this...

P.P.S. I'm going to camp with our youth group next week (as a counselor, but let's be real. I'll be the biggest kid there.), so I won't have any new conversations to share. I know. You're all upset.

Why can't I hit?

Well. Today was intriguing. It was just Sass and me since Princess had some things to do. When Sass is one-on-one, she often has the strangest conversations. Today is a beautiful example of that.

Sass: "Miss Mica. Where is Jesus?"

I have to admit, the first time she asked me this last summer I had no idea what she meant or wanted me to say, since when I said 'He's everywhere' she got mad. I had to ask her mom.

Me: "He's in your heart."

Sass: "What's He doing in there?"

Me: "Well. He helps you make good choices and makes sure you know He loves you."

Sass: "Okay."

A few minutes pass while we talk about her babies and then some puzzles. Then she says...

Sass: "Miss Mica. Why can't I hit Him?"

Me: "Hit who, sweetie?"

Sass: "Jesus. Why can't I hit Him?"

Me: "Um. Well. Why would you want to?"

Sass: "Because."

Me: "Well. You can't hit Him because He's inside your heart. So that would hurt."

It was the only thing that came to my mind. Don't judge me.

Sass: "Okay."

End of conversation. I was dumbfounded and trying not to laugh all at the same time. Turns out, she got in trouble for hitting her little brother last night, so maybe that's where it came from. I have no idea.

I love you.

This post is going to be short because I have the worst migraine. Bah. Anyway, this is maybe one of my favorite conversations I've ever had with Sass. Of course, Princess needed to chime in too.

Princess and her mom came over to meet me for the first time and make sure I'd be an okay babysitter. Sass got a little jealous that Princess and I were talking, so this ensued:

Sass: "Mica."

Me: "Sass."

Sass: "I love you."

Me: "I love you too!"

This is a typical conversation for us. I'm a touchy person and when someone says something sweet like "I love you," I feel the need to touch them. So I reached out and started scratching Sass's back.

Sass: "Mica."

Me: "Sass."

Sass: "I love you."

Me: "I love you too." I was still scratching her back, mind you.

Sass: "Good. Stop touching me."

Princess: "Um. Miss What's your name?"

Me: "Mica."

Princess: "Right. Miss Mica, I love you too."

Me: "Well, I love you too Princess."

Princess "You can scratch my back."

Ah. Nothing like love.

The Beginning

First of all, let me explain my situation. I'm a college student trying to make money in the summers. I really like kids. I really like working with kids who have special needs. There's something really satisfying about seeing them smile after a big accomplishment, helping them learn something new, and seeing them love other people. That's what led me to the summer job I currently have: Special Needs Nanny. I absolutely love what I do.

*Disclaimer: I'm not using anyone's real name but my own, since these kids aren't mine. Now that that's out of the way...*

Last summer I babysat the sweetest, sassiest little girl with Autism, Asperger's, and PDD. Basically she is on the Autism scale and has developmental delays, but she is verbal. Very verbal. She'll tell you how it is, and mostly in the sassiest way she can. Therefore, I call her Sass. I love her. I like to think she loves me too, mostly because she tells me she does every five minutes. She's turning eleven this summer. I can't believe it. She also grew about a foot between last summer and this summer. She's so tall. It would be an understatement to say I was beyond thrilled when her mom called asking me to babysit again this summer; however, this summer she asked me if I could handle not one but two girls.

Princess is Sass's best friend. She's seven and developmentally delayed. She also has a knack for spotting every single thing pertaining to baby dolls, princess crowns, stuffed animals, and dress up five minutes after walking into any environment. She's precious and loves to be girly, which is right up my ally. I just can't get over how cute she always is.

Basically, I want to chronicle my summer with these precious babies. They say the funniest things to me, which is why I want to share it with the world. Or at least the tiny portion of the world that will stumble upon this blog. Get ready, it'll be a fun ride. I promise.

Even though I know this post is about a billion words too long, I just want to give you a taste of my life. One day, Sass and I were playing because Princess wasn't there. Sass's OT (Occupational Therapist) gave her a new therapy to try and calm her down. It didn't work. At. All. She was so riled up. The only thing she could think of to do was run around the house playing Hide-and-Seek.

The great thing about playing Hide-and-Seek with Sass is that she slams doors. Loudly. So you always know exactly where she's hiding. The first time I "found" Sass, I apparently scared her. She screamed and looked at me like I was a horrible person. So, I did the only rational thing I could and decided to start knocking on the door to tell her I was about to open it without actually telling her. She loved it. At first. Then she got really mad at me for who knows what reason (I'm personally blaming it on the therapy).

Sass slamed the closet door, looked at me, pointed her long finger in my face and said:

"Now don't you dare follow me into the hallway."

So of course, I did. She dug out her play cell phone, dialed 9-1-1 and the following conversation with the pretend operator on the other end of the line.

"Hello? Emergency?"

Pause for answer.

"Yeah, this is an emergency."

Another pause.

"She keeps knockin' on the doors. You need to do somethin' about it."

Pause.

"Now."

Longer pause.

"Thank you."

Close the phone.

She turned to me, pointed that finger again, and said: "Yeah, they're coming to get you. I told 'em you was bad."

They didn't come after me, but her threats are never idle.