"Honey, can you babysit?"

Last night I took a trip to Target.

No kids.  No time restraints.  No husband.

Just me.  My cart.  A credit card.  And Target.

(Let me bask in that moment for a second, again…)

I was there for a whopping hour and a half.  I perused every aisle.  Bought what I went for – formula, diapers, wet wipes, extra binkies and sippy cups.  And bought what I didn’t go for – flip flops, magazines, tank tops and even a bathing suit (praying it fits… I didn’t have the patience to try it on!).

As I was looking at some of the baby gear (high chairs and exer-saucers) for Henry (the little guy deserves some new things, right?), I noticed that a pregnant woman was next to meet checking out some of the baby swings.

Like bees to honey… us mamas started chatting.

She was 7 months pregnant with her 3rd baby.  Her first boy.  When we first started to chat – which began when she asked my recommendation on a color choice between 2 swings she was looking at – I could tell she was in a rush.

After we had chatted for about 10 minutes… she pony-ed up.

“I told my husband I wouldn’t be long gone… he’s home alone with the girls.”

Then we started to giggle.

Here she was.  Pregnant.  Rushing.  Because her husband was home alone with his daughters.

Hmm…

So she stated the obvious – “I actually asked him if he wouldn’t mind watching the girls while I popped out for a little.”  Yes, as if he IS a babysitter, not the DADDY!

Then I had to admit, I do the same thing at times.

And it’s not like I completely mean to… it’s just that whenever I go out… I always ask Matt if he can watch the boys.  The funny thing is, I KNOW he is going to be home.  I KNOW he has no plans.  So… the question should be posed, “Why am I asking?”

He doesn’t ask me to watch the boys.

And I’ll go even further.  Before even heading to Target last night, I fed the boys.  Bathed the boys.  And got the boys in their jammies.  All 4 of them.  Emptied the dryer and folded the laundry.  Even emptied the dishwasher.

Just in case…

Because (sorry, honey…) there have been times when I come home from being out, and the boys are sleeping in the clothes they had on all day.  Yes, all day.

So as my new friend and I began to stroll Target together… I couldn’t help but think how funny it was in how we connected.  Through our husbands.

The best daddys in the world… and the best husbands… but here we both were, enjoying some time out and about by ourselves – but still glued to our cell phones.  You know, just in case… !

*When I got home, I noticed blue ink on Benjamin’s face while he was sleeping in his crib.  Turns out he was trying to eat a dyed macaroni necklace that William had made for me at pre-school.  The “blue ink” was the remnants of the blue dye.  Ahh… never a dull moment.  Never a dull moment!*

AND!

I want to thank my new friends at Stop & Shop for inviting me and my mother yesterday to their event in Boston at Rialto in the Charles Hotel.  The food was delicious.  The networking was fantastic.  And the presentation was excellent.  We will be blogging more about it this week!

"Honey, can you babysit?" was last modified: July 28th, 2017 by Audrey McClelland
SHOWHIDE Comments (17)

  1. I love being able to walk through all of Target just looking at stuff. Doesn’t happen often. When the girls were young, it was the same way. But my husband would often say “no” he couldn’t watch the kids. He was not very comfortable with them when they were little. And never, ever when they were infants! He felt more capable when they were older.
    I’m glad you got to have some fun by yourself. That is so important!

  4. I figure that if I can live in the same outfit for 72 hours at a time, my boys can at least go 48! A little trick I like to call time management.

    And yes, Benjamin was sucking on a blue macaroni necklace on “daddy’s watch”, but you forgot to mention the $300 worth of Xbox games scattered about the house on “mommy’s watch” And the fun little game of “find daddy’s call of duty game before he throws all the toys out in retaliation!”

  5. I love Tarjay. I love it even more when I’m not saying “be nice to mommy. please don’t pull on that. sit down, baby.”

    But you’re right. I ask my hubby to “watch” her. Even if I have to run in the other room, I’m like “you got her?” but hey, he never asks me.

    Hmm.

    🙂

  7. It is the curse of being the mommy. It’s not really a curse, it is just in us. I just heard a talk, a child developmentalist specialist and she said mothers comfort, care, watch carefully and dads tend to not watch as closely, they get them ready for the world and we protect them from the world. Makes sense!

  9. Wow, did this post really make me say, “why HAVE I been asking?” Isn’t that interesting…..

    I envy you your trip to Tarjay! I am dying for one myself. Maybe I’ll ask my husband if…… wait, no I won’t! 🙂

  11. yup, here too. “Honey, do you mind watching the kids so I can go to walmart?” and then I take FOR-EVER and my ex-co-workers ask me all the time “where are the kids?!?!” and I say “HOME WITH DADDY” – and it’s so nicccce.

    And yeah, coming home isn’t always the best – baby’s diaper sagging to his ankles, daughter’s been playing in the sink since I left, etc. but still – an hour or two ALONE?

    priceless!

  12. What is it about Target? Whenever I get free time it is like my car instinctively knows to take me there. I haven’t ventured out leaving DH to “babysit” our 3 1/2 year old and newborn yet but I know when the time comes I’ll loose myself in the aisles and aisles of great deals and must haves!

  13. My husband is more than capable of watching the 7 kids when I need to go shopping or do something at night. But I also have made the comment of “My hubby is babysitting tonight”.

    As Moms, we are often the “last resort” {pardon the negative-sounding vibe there}, meaning that if dad doesn’t really want to change the stinky diaper, guess who gets the job… You can apply this often, to many situations, and it causes us Moms to feel like we need to ask our hubbies to take care of their own children. Even with fantastic hubbies who are supportive, caring and great with the kids.

    It has to be written in our DNA somewhere. 😉

  14. I’ve recently found myself in the position of “training” my fiance on just this subject. If he’s going to be our son’s Daddy, he’s the Daddy. I stopped asking him to watch our son the day he asked if he could call him “our” son. I do, however, say things like, “I’m leaving the room” or “I need to go to the store, do you mind if N hangs out with you?”

    I feel like it’s fair warning!

    sherry

  15. I do the same thing!! I get the kids in bed before I leave the house even though hubby is willing and capable of doing it himself. I give myself such guilt. I have got to remember he is a parent too and not just a “babysitter.”

  16. Hi there, loved your site.
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    I own a sitting service in the Cape May Area and I serviced many families in the last 11 years.
    My moms love the fact that they can go out while vacationing and feel comfortable with one of our sitters. It makes me so happy to provide them that peace of mind. I am a mother too and I know how they feel. It has been my pleasure making parent’s family vacation be a little about them too. I hope to continue this great business and good feeling for many more years to come.
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    Christine

"Honey, can you babysit?" was last modified: July 28th, 2017 by Audrey McClelland