Babysitting for Dummies

Are you new at babysitting? Do you have trouble babysitting? Do you absolutely abhor babysitting? Well, I have a few  a lot of tips for you! After I babysat four kids last night, I learned a ton of handy dandy tips (especially when it came to bedtime....*phew*).

Let's start with the first and foremost tip...

Be the Boss

You're the one watching them, therefore you make the rules. Don't let them control you. You control them.

Counting to 3

When you are watching them, if they are doing something they're not supposed to do, call them down on it. If they still don't listen, tell them they've got until you count to 3 (or whatever number you choose) to stop doing what they're doing, or they will go in time out (or whatever punishment you choose). For example, last night when I was babysitting two boys (4 and 2) and two girls (9 and 7) The 4 year old was playing the Wii and it was time for he and his brother to have a bath. When I told him that it was that time, he said a flat out no and continued playing the Wii. However, when I told him he had until I counted to 3 or else he'd go in time out, he hopped up, turned the TV off, and listened.

Remain Calm

We all know that kids can be extremely frustrating sometimes. And when they are frustrating, they most likely will not want to listen to you. But, you need to be firm yet remain calm. If you aren't firm, they will not respect you and they will know that they can get away with lots of things. If you don't remain calm and you're yelling at them or talking in an angry voice, they will become much more upset and perhaps become a bit scared. If you use the method of being firm but staying calm at the same time, they will listen and they will calm down faster.

Play with Them

Kids won't like it if you don't play with them. Don't know what to do?  You can do things like taking them outside to get some energy out, letting them cook or bake something with you, playing a memory card game,  playing 'House' (where you pretend that they are people like the Mom, Dad, daughter, son, baby, Grandma, Grandpa, etc.).

Don't Ever Listen to the Kid about Their Bedtime

This is a very, very, very important thing! I made the mistake of listening to the 9 year old about their bedtime last night. She said they all go to bed at 9:30. Mommy says they go to bed at 8:30 and the girls can read for a little while. Oops!

Start with with Two

When it's bedtime for the kids, and if you have four or more of them, it's easiest if you do two at a time. If you're saying "Girl #1 go to bed!" "Girl #2 to your room!" "Boy #1 start climbing up that ladder and into your bed!" and you're maybe trying to get a toddler in his crib, it won't work. Simply start with two kids. I started with the boys since they share a room and then ended with the girls.

 Thanks for reading Babysitting For Dummies!

I'm Back!

Well, we got back from Folly Beach, Saturday evening. Although we had a GREAT time there, it feels great to be back home again. I would tell you guys what we all did, but I have it in slide show version instead. Unfortunately though, I can't get the slide show on here, because the movie button isn't on here anymore! If any of you know if there is a way to find the movie button, please, please, please let me know.

We have had quite a busy week. Our church's VBS started Monday, and it is ending tomorrow. Instead of it being in our church though (because it's Kyle Petty's barn), it is in Becky/Renee's yards (they go to our church)! They live in a humongous  neighborhood, and their yards are very spacious. In fact, they are only two houses down from each other! Our theme this year is Joseph in Egypt. I absolutely, wholeheartedly, LOVE helping with this. I have a shop in the 'marketplace.' The people who have a shop in the marketplace have to act as if they actually live in Egypt. My shop is beading hair, doing eye makeup, and 'shaving' the boys (with a dull butter knife and olive oil!). My character's name is Jamilia and I believe in 'gods.' With some of our characters believing in the 'gods' and not the one true God, this gives the kids a chance to stand up for what they believe in and witness to us (even though in real life we all, of course, believe in the one true God).

I am so excited for this coming Friday, too! What is this coming Friday? My birthday party, of course! My actual birthday was this past Sunday (it was another great one!). My birthday party theme is Anna Gray's 14th Birthday Lake Luau. For supper, we are going to have chicken and pineapple kabobs, cantaloupe and watermelon kabobs, strawberry and banana kabobs, pasta salad, baked potatoes, and cupcakes. My grandmother was sweet enough to let us use her lake front house/pontoon/sea doo for my party. She LOVES girls too! She raised two boys (my dad and his brother, who has passed away). I will definitely make sure to post photos of my party.

Speaking of my birthday, I should tell you all how we celebrated it this passed Sunday at the beach! First off, my uncle Grayson and I both share the same birthday (Mary - Kate and Ashley and I do too!). So Sunday morning, we started off opening gifts.

From my grandparents I got: three pairs of earrings, a super cute pocket book, a fashion hat, Clinique makeup remover, and makeup remover pads.

From my aunt and uncle: An itunes gift card and some money

From my parents: My second ear piercing (I got it two weeks ago as an early b-day present) and my room makeover (we haven't actually 'done' the makeover yet, but Mom and I are going to shop for the stuff sometime soon).

After we opened our gifts, we went down to the ocean for a few hours, I got sun burnt (on my face, shoulders, back, ears, legs and arms) and then we went to Sticky Fingers for supper. So yes, it was a great birthday for both of us!

Hope you all have had a great week!

♥ Happy Blogging ♥

Welcome to Spartanwood!

If I can't go to Hollywood (yet)......Spartanwood......



is the next best thing.

Yep, 'Spartanwood' was the theme for Special Olympics this year. We had a BLAST! The kids were adorable too! The ages started from kids about 3 years alllll the way to people in their 70's. Mom and I were assigned to help with the 8-9 year old group.


They had a red carpet under that big black star. They all ADORED walking across it too. The athletes would give big smiles and wave to everyone.

Today they were Spartanwood stars. People in the crowd would reach their hands out for the athletes to touch it (like Hollywood stars do). There were even people in the front row with cameras snapping pictures as they walked by.



This theme was right up my alley!

My mom took this pic of my two friends and their mom, and me!


This is a pic of the groups going across the 'red carpet.' The principal of Central Davidson High School announced each school group and everyone clapped and cheered for them as they walked across the red carpet.


The crowd!

Mom and my two friends mom

The mentally handicapped boy between 'Spartacus' and the principal (in the white skirt) sang the National Anthem. He did a FABULOUS job too.


They did a torch run.

Mom and me

The athletes and their *buddies

*The buddies were the kids who go to Central Davidson High, and who were assigned an athlete to help them get from place to place. There were different age groups and the buddies and their athletes were a part of the group. Along with a bunch of other people, my mom and I walked along with a group to make sure everyone stayed together


This kid was too cute! This is hilarious what he said too....

Mom: "Oh I LOVE your glasses!"

The kid: "Thanks! You gotta to be a STAR to wear these!"

Hahaha! He cracked us up.



The 50 meter race.

The girl in the yellow shirt was hilarious too. During the 50 meter race, while I was clapping and cheering some of the athletes on, she came up to me, got my hands, and started clapping them for me! It was too funny! I guess I wasn't clapping fast enough, LOL!

Mom and I love this pic.


The 'Olympic Village'

I absolutely LOVED helping with Special Olympics and hope to help with it next year! We all had a great time and ended the day on some yummy mexican food from Don Juan's.

♥ Happy Blogging ♥

A Contest Idea.....

So, there are some hospitals in need for blankets for small children. I just completed a sewing class and I thought of getting a group of ladies/girls together to sew small boys' and girls' blankets. After deciding to do that....I had the idea for a contest to do on my blog (not yet, but in a few weeks or so). I know some of you are great designers, BUT this is open to ANYONE! Anyway, I thought the contest could be something like, whoever sews/sends me the most blankets (that I will send to the hospital) will win....something.....that something I don't know yet. Any of you would be welcome to participate in this (remember I'm not doing this yet, in a few weeks or so). I thought this would be something neat to do, though. It would be for a great cause. You can be amateur or professional, and you could use any kind of blanket pattern (or just send me an 'already sewn blanket'). I would like to think that if I was in the hospital sick, that someone would be kind enough to send me a blanket out of care. Therefore, I think we could really do something big by doing this. Please, please, please, let me know if you would be interested in doing this. I will let you know in a week or so what the who plan will be for doing this.
Thanks!

~Anna Gray~ ♥

Das Not Funny! Friday...

Hello everyone! Today I am posting a Das Not Funny! Friday. If you want to know all of the rules and 'stuff' for Das Not Funny, then simply click here and that will take you to Jessica Beaver's blog (she started Das Not Funny).

So last Friday was the last day of the backyard VBS I was helping at; and two siblings came home with us after it was over. One was my brother Drake's friend Keaton (age 12), and then Keaton's younger sister, Maison (age 7). Of course, Maison wanted to play with me in my room with 'barbies'. As we were playing barbies she looked up at me and said, (here goes the dialogue):

Maison: "Did you know that a monster lives under everyone's bed?"

Me (trying not to laugh): "Monsters don't live under people's beds...that's just silly."

Maison (looking very serious): "Uh, yea they do....and that monster is Jesus."

Me (laughing): "Maison, Jesus isn't a monster."

Maison: "Yea he is. He's really big and monsters are really big."

Me: "But that doesn't mean he's a monster."

Well, that's all for today (I think). Happy Blogging and happy Friday everyone!

~A.G.~ :D :O :)

Bible School...Day 3

Whew! Bible school is fun, but it can be pretty tiring. I have no idea if you are sick to death tired of reading funny stories about VBS or not; but even if you are, here is a pretty hilarious one from today.

So today I went to my station (the leather working) and my friend Beth, of course, went to her wreath working station (about two feet away where I am). A little while into VBS these two cute girls came to do some leather working. Their names were Brianna (pronounced Bri-AH-na) and the other one's name was Mary-Kate. The conversation with them was pretty funny. It all started when Beth said, "I'm married and have four children." Remember for once again, this is ACTING; if we were living in bible times, we really could be married anyway. So, enjoy the conversation.

Me (after Beth said "I'm married with four children"): "Yes, and I'm engaged."

The two girls look shocked with wide eyes.

Mary-Kate: "Uh, I think you have to be the age of twenty before your engaged or married."

Me: "Well, here in Rome, you start thinking about marriage when you're a little younger than I am. How old are you two?"

The girls: "We are nine."

Me: "Oh! So you could be engaged right now...are you?"

The girls: "No way!!!

Brianna: "Oh yea, what's your fiance's name?"

Bring it on missy.

Me: "My fiance's name is... (sudden mind blank...quickly think of biblical name) Daniel."

Brianna: "Well what's your husbands name?" (Brianna looks at Beth).

Beth: "My husband's name is Thace." (Lucky you Beth; you had time to think and get a cool name).

Mary-Kate: "Well, what are your kids names?"

Beth quickly thinks.

Beth: "My kids are named Thace after my husband, Daniel after her fiance (she is talking about my man), Claudia after me, and Rizpah since she's my best friend."

A.K.A. Her last child is named after me; I feel honored.

Mary-Kate: "Do you have any kids?"

Me: "No, remember, I am engaged."

Brianna: "Well where's your engagement ring?"

Me: "Oh, we don't have engagement rings here in Rome."

Brianna: "I see you have earrings though."

Me: "Oh yes, my husband is a jeweler...he made them for me."

There is a lot more dialogue; but since your retinas are probably already bleeding from reading so much, I think I will stop.

~A.G.~ :D :O :)