Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy
@scarymommy
Latest posts by Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy (see all)
- The Disney Reveal - May 14, 2013
- Met My Match At Disney… - May 13, 2013
- Sunday’s Baltimore Sun - May 11, 2013
I babysat a lot as a teenager. A lot. My Saturday nights pretty much consisted of a standing date with George Clooney on Sisters and whatever free snacks I could score. (Not so bad, in retrospect.)
There were the good houses to babysit for and the bad houses. The good ones were stocked with Oreos and Hawaiian Punch and Cool Ranch Doritos. They had phones that I was free to use and cable stations that my folks didn’t subscribe to. The parents were laid back and funny and, most importantly, they always rounded up.
The bad houses had barren pantry’s, void of yummy treats and only milk to drink. They had educational magazines, network TV and actual stuff for me to do, once the kids were tucked away in bed. Those houses sucked, and had I not been saving my pennies for the newest Tiffany and Debbie Gibson cassettes, I would have declined those jobs in a heartbeat.
I vowed that when I was old enough to employee sitters I would be the house that sitters enjoyed coming to. I’d be the cool mom who seemed more like a friend than a boss. I’d have the best kids who were just a joy to watch. I’d offer the best snacks and fun magazines and make people yearn to sit on my couch.
Needless to say, I am not. I introduced a new sitter to the kids this week. She is wonderful and trustworthy and everything you want in a babysitter. Things were going along swimmingly until it was time for lunch. I made the kids their fruit and sandwiches and told the sitter to feel free to eat anything, opening the pantry for her. Inside, I found dry pasta, olives and baking staples. And that was it. Instantly, I realized which category my house fit into.
Sickened, I paid her an extra ten bucks to get lunch and sent her on her way– the last thing I want to be known as is that mom in the sitter circuit. I’m heading to the market before she comes back on Friday, and I’ll be leaving with Oreos, Doritos and fruit punch. Just for her.
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
I was really lucky when I used to sit as a teenager. The three places I went to regularly had really well stocked cupboards and cable. The one that didn’t have cable – well that was on a night when I had my viewing sorted on regular channels so it was all ok.
.-= Vic´s last blog ..12 Weeks, 4 Days / 10 Weeks* =-.
When I was 14 I babysat for my aunt who had just had a baby along with a toddler and then a 5 year old from 7am when she left to work until 7pm when she returned. I cooked, cleaned, made bottles, changed pampers, gave baths I did everything. I never got payed. The only thing they gave me was chicken littles from KFC that I loved. I was a stupid babysitter.
I have exactly that problem, too! We just don’t have enough crap in the house. I go and buy Coke (the liquid brown stuff, not the white powdery stuff) for the babysitter, then forget to stock up when she’s drunk it all.
Nice job getting over the block!! ;)
.-= Dani´s last blog ..The Rhododendron Race =-.
If I stocked our house with oreos…my daughter would sniff them out. She’d recognize that contraband had been brought into the house and it must be found…that or I’d eat them all before the babysitter even showed up, just sayin.
.-= Futureblackmail´s last blog ..TESTOSTERONE OVERLOAD =-.
That is the problem, isn’t it? Especially now that my youngest has discovered where the goodies are.
Ah yes, those babysitting memories (especially the TV since we didn’t have cable growing up). And now we don’t have cable at our own house. Hmm, maybe that’s why I haven’t ventured into the babysitter arena yet; I know I won’t be one of the cool moms that kids fight over to work for. Do you think I can get the cable guy out here before the weekend?
.-= Carrie Anne´s last blog ..Write a Review Wednesday: Elephant and Pig: I’m Invited to a Party =-.
When my sisters come over to babysit, I make a point of stopping at the store with them and stocking up. I use it as an additional bribe. “Look! Cash AND cookies!”
My husband thought I was crazy, when our babysitter first came over to meet my daughter- I baked her brownies, bought a bag of chips and left a chocolate bar (from switzerland that I didn’t want to eat…) on the counter. When she arrived, I was so proud of myself, introducing her to all the stuff I had for her to eat- Just then, I was informed that she was an avid swimmer and very into physical fitness. Thankfully, my kid was fantastic and fun and the ‘sitter’ had immediately become one of my daughter’s favorite people. Live and learn, then don’t make brownies!
Oh that is too funny Jill. I never babysat, so I can’t really relate. But I tell you what – I am now going to make a shopping trip for oreos before we have our sitter over again! She only comes at night, once ms foo is asleep, but I’m sure she would appreciate some snacks then too!
.-= christy´s last blog ..A little of this, a little of that… =-.
At least you’re trying… :D
.-= Marla´s last blog ..An Update =-.
I don’t recall which houses had the best treats when I babysat, but I definitely remember which one had the worse brats! You’ve inspired my blog today!
.-= Val´s last blog ..All alone – I’m drifting on a lonely sea… =-.
First of all – love the title of your post. And also – I was THE babysitter for our entire neighbourhood when I was younger. I loved babysitting, especially and mostly because I could not wait to eat all the food the parents kept in the kitchen cupboards! I remember thinking back then, when I was a mere teenager, how excited I was to have kids one day so I could have all these snacks in our house all the time, too. I totally have always wanted kids, so babysitting was so much fun for me because I was in charge, I got to read book to the children, do crafts with them, put them to bed, and eat! Oh, it was good times. Once, my sister was babysitting and she called me in a panic because the little boy she was looking after pooed on the floor and she did not know what to do! So I went over, and helped her out.
Also? Once I had a boyfriend come to the house after the kids had gone to sleep. We were only watching TV, but still. Please don’t tell my mom, okay? Thanks.
I bride my sister. I give her a slip of paper that says IOU one care package, containing one homemade goodie of your choice. Since she in going to be a college sophomore in the fall, and hates opening an empty mailbox it works like a charm. (IT also helps that she thinks my treats are good enough for me to open a bakery)
However, I think she has about a dozen of those slips of paper, and its not even July yet – and she doesn’t go back to school until August and at this rate, I will be sending daily packages of chocolate.chip.peanut.butter.oatmeal.monster.cookies.with.m.and.m’s.
Oh – and usually the night before I know she’s going to be watching my kid, I make sure I make a pan of her favorite Double Chocolate Chip Syrup brownies. The smell alone usually gives me an extra half hour past our agreed upon time.
.-= HaB´s last blog ..Speechless on a Wednesday =-.
Shoot…that should have said BRIBE….not Bride…..
.-= HaB´s last blog ..Speechless on a Wednesday =-.
Oh, man, I remember those days. There was one house where, after the kids were in bed, they expected me to do housework. And I’m not talking, oh, make sure the kids’ toys are picked up or what have you. No, I’m talking about stuff they should have done before I got there, or stuff that wasn’t something within the expectations of a babysitter. I mean, c’mon – how many sitters have done your laundry??
You rock with getting the snacks, though. Can *I* come babysit? ;) I love Hawaiian punch. I also come with two girls who are fab for pint-sized entertainment.
The trick is for me to hide the goods until the sitter gets there… not from the kids… from myself!!
I never did any babysitting, except my brother and my mom didn’t care if I had Oreo’s. I’m not sure if I’m the cool mom to sit for or not. I haven’t had a sitter that many time. I guess I’ll have to remember this in the future.
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: Huh?! =-.
This post made me laugh…I so remember those days!! We’ve just recently started to have sitters come over that aren’t family members, so I’m going to have to keep this in mind too!
.-= Kristina´s last blog ..(Almost) Wordless Wednesday =-.
Well, if I had been your sitter, I would have been THRILLED that you actually thought about what I wanted and sent me out for lunch! So, in truth, you are not that mom at all. :)
.-= MG @ MommyGeekology.com´s last blog ..Harnessing the Power of the Internet (Shopping) =-.
I loved babysitting for the fun people because we never had that crap in my house growing up.
I will never forget the one summer that I nannied and the woman literally made me make a list of all my favorites… that was the best. Until I gained 10 lbs.
.-= ClassyFabSarah´s last blog ..Just… Blah =-.
I myself, have fond memories of my sisters and I chasing a baby sitter around the house with trash can tops and sticks! Needless to say, she didn’t come back…
This post is perfect. I too was a big sitter and had my favorite houses, and it was all about the goodies and tv.
Funny thing is, we have our sitter coming tonight and I JUST returned from the store to stock up on Cokes, Cheetos, and Oreos. Just for a 16 year old that will be here a few hours. And I ALWAYS round up, and I ALWAYS leave money for pizza, just in case.
.-= courtney´s last blog ..1 Month DOWN! =-.
I’d be the parent with the lame pantry too. I rarely keep things like candy or chips in the house (because I’ll eat them).
But really, who gives their baby sitter things to do when the kids are in bed? Now that is lame.
.-= Lady Mama´s last blog ..Swear words for parents =-.
I totally understand. I need to remember this when we get to the point of needing a babysitter for our daughter…I want to be one of those parents for sure!
.-= Mrs Soup´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – Conversations with Grammy =-.
No one ever trusted me enough to babysit their children. Probably with good reason. Although I do believe that if someone had given me money to buy my own lunch, I would have considered them one of the better parents, for sure..
.-= Crystal´s last blog ..Making Relatives at Baskin Robbins =-.
I totally ranked babysitting the exact same way. I know I ate too much when I was babysitting but those brownies and push-ups held too much allure for me. The only thing my mom had at home was Sanilac and Pecan Sandies.
what’s her number? I have tons of tasty treats in the pantry, free R rated movies and my kids go to bed at 8!!
seriously, what’s her number
ps- george was not on sisters, was he?
No way, Jose. She’s mine!
And, George was SO on Sisters AND he played a Firefighter. He was perfection!
I used to babysit for these people who had tofu and wheat germ in their fridge. AND NO TV!!! One day the mother enticed me over by telling me she made me a cheesecake. I should have known better. Yep. It was a tofu cheesecake with a wheatgerm crust.
Once I’m finally able to find a babysitter to keep Reagan, I will be that cool mom too! I think that any of us who used to do it for a “living” as teenagers knows how hard of a job it really is, and if we can find a good one (like I was, and I’m sure you were) then we’ll do whatever it takes to keep her!
.-= Tiffany @ Paging Doctor Mommy´s last blog ..What Will I Do? =-.
I ALWAYS wanted to be that house, too… the one where babysitters loved me.
I remember one family I sat for had about 500 cds and they’d let me borrow things and record them to tape! I could sneak in my non-Jesus music and get paid on top of it. They also had EVERY disney movie on DVD, pretty much.
And now that I’m an adult (really?) I want to be that house, except that my son hasn’t had a babysitter since he was about 3, and that literally happened about 4 times. I hope she liked all our dvds…. that my ex husband then kept when I moved out. Nice.
Ohhhhh, making mixes with free CDs? That would get high ranks from me.
Can I say as a former babysitter and nanny, thank you! It’s so amazing when parents make extra effort. I always had great experiences with the families that I sat for but I will never forget the one time I was discussing my job with my (then) boyfriend’s mom- I mentioned that the parents had left delicious sandwiches in the fridge for me and the kids to eat for lunch. The boyfriend’s mom turns to me aghast and says “What were they thinking, feeding the help?! If I fed my maid, she’d eat all my food every time she came over! Your employers are obviously new at this.”
Love this post. I’ve done my fair share of babysitting in my 30 years. When I was younger I loved the “junk food” houses, espeically the parents that said ANYTHING in the pantry/fridge was fair game. I still babysit to this day, but now I don’t mind the non “junk food” houses as much. I’m trying to eat healthier and lose weight and the “junk food” houses don’t help my will power at all. LOL
I am not a “cool mom” with junk food stocked cabinets. And my son screams a lot when we are not here. And he breaks things frequently. I have really bad luck with sitters. I think I need to buy some Oreos and Fruit Punch.
.-= Amber´s last blog ..Oh, Alice… the Hole goes on. =-.
Ha Ha! At least you realized your mistake before the sitter got away!!
Ah the memories you brought up with this post. I once babysat the most horrible kids (and parents) and it turned me off from a career in babysitting forever. I found a better job at the mall where I got a discount on clothes. What better place for a teenager to work!
Flash forward to today, my children are 10 years apart in age and my oldest took the Red Cross babysitting course while in Girl Scouts so I guess you could say I have the babysitting issue covered these days.
Wishing you a scent-sational Thursday!
Patty
.-= Patty Reiser´s last blog ..{POTD} Creativity =-.
LOL…I remember those days of babysitting well.
I’ve left an award for you on my blog today!
.-= Tiffany @ Paging Doctor Mommy´s last blog ..SIX New Awards! HOLY MOLY! =-.
Oh girl, I so understand. I babysat all my young aduly life too and had awesome people in nice houses and as soon as the kids passed out I was hogging up the Haagen Daaz ice cream and watching channels I never got to. BUT there was this one place that was nasty, I wouldn’t even sit on their couch and the kids were pis just like their parents. They would actually pretend to chew their vitamins but then spit them out behind the couch. I HAD to stay because it was perfect hours at the time for a rough schedule I had.
Ugh, gag. I sat for a nasty family too, but the pay was decent. I was always afraid of what I would catch on the couch.
The house I regularly sat for left one pack of stale graham crackers on the table for me each time I came. The first time, I looked for something else and was asked to please not go through the cupboards, as a snack was left for me. Ugggh. But, the money was good, as was the TV!
.-= LZ´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: View from the Top. =-.
HA!!! I remember the “good” and “bad” houses.
Now I know it should be the “healthy” and “fat and lazy and unhealthy” houses.
Mine is the latter.
Sigh.
You had me going. I thought she had eaten everything else.
Doritos? Can I sit for your kids?
Well you have always been my favorite boss. No complaints from your Chattanooga babysitter :) I miss all of you and hope you are doing well!
I am that fun mom and I do have that good house to babysit at and I always round up. I have too. I have triplet 2 year olds!
i would love to be on either list, that would mean my hubby and i were actually going out somewhere alone!!!
have fun shopping for junk food :)
.-= Lizzie´s last blog ..Zoos, Jobs, & Butts, OH MY! =-.
Oh my word. For some reason I have the munchies tonight and that graphic just made it 10x worse. YUM~~crap food!
I think I would be one of the good houses, if I ever used babysitters.
First time on your blog..funny post!
LOL! I also loved the houses that had full pantries. :)
.-= Kelly Deneen´s last blog ..Why this summer is better… =-.
Sisters. Oh man I loved that show.
i was a nanny for the most rockin house ever when i was 17. she would toss me the keys to a brand new volvo hand me $100.00 & tell me to go *entertain the kids. we had SO much fun. lol.
now, we have 6 kids & when a babysitter hears that they just go runnin ;)
My favorite house to sit for… the dad worked for McKee Foods. Their pantry was always stocked with Little Debbies… mmmmmmmm!
.-= Shannon´s last blog ..I don’t wanna hear no horror stories… =-.
Sassy is a kick ass sitter- but she likes Triscuts, swiss cheese and RANCH Dressing with PLENTY of hot sauce. She’s studying to be an anorexic. as am i. It’s not going so well.
The fact that you are even conscious of it makes you a kick ass babysitter. Most people wouldn’t care!! Get some chips and dips and lots of CHOCOLATE. Oh and ice cream and sugary cereal. These were the things I loved as a skinny, babysitting teenager!
.-= Jodi´s last blog ..Honey Do’s Workshop =-.
Dilemma is the word. I had a lot of experience babysitting too but I would never raid the pantry and they would never have offered. Times change I guess, for instance what did you charge, the going rate was .50 cents an hour in 1968.
.-= passions and soapboxes´s last blog ..Music Legend Michael Jackson Dies At 50… =-.
Oh my word. I had such a love for George Clooney on Sisters. Oh, and Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. And I’m with you on the treats. Oh yes, the treats.
My own mother always bought everyone treats when she went out. The only time I got pop and chips was when the babysitter was over. It meant I loved having babysitters. It probably also compensated the babysitter for the fact that the other food in our house was mostly bean sprouts and organic soy milk, if you get my drift. Not. Good.
.-= Amber´s last blog ..Raspberries =-.
That is the very reason I hated babysitting for my nephew! Help yourself to the…uh….saltines….or the catfood.
.-= Lizz B´s last blog ..Justin Timberlake Loves Me More and I Can Prove It =-.
I never babysat when I was growing up – not for money, at least. It isn’t that common in Italy (or at least, it wasn’t at the time) for a teen to be working, in any way. Sucks, because I woulnd’t have minded some additional pocket money at all!
I always have fresh bread, fruit, cheese, chips, cereal bars and nuts at my house, but I also usually leave $20 for the sitter to get dinner with. I don’t hire her that often, once every couple of months, so I figure a pizza or some Chinese takeout is ok for the girls. And the sitter sure didn’t seem to mind ;-)
.-= Elisa´s last blog ..I’m floored (or I will be) =-.
So funny! I always pay super good. We barely ever need to use babysitters though. I need more children just so I can get one and be a cool mom to babysit for. I am sure that will go over wonderfully with my husband : )
.-= Life with Kaishon´s last blog ..Withdrawl =-.
I felt the same way about stocking my future refrigerator. And I completely forgot that GC was on Sisters!
.-= Kate Coveny Hood´s last blog ..Very Tacky Sale for Very Lovely Bags =-.
I just couldn’t justify the poor, poor pay I got for good snacks, I was a lifeguard instead…
because obviously you wanted to trust your children in the water with me :)
Hilarious post, thanks for visiting me.
.-= anti-supermom´s last blog ..last one standing sitting =-.
Okay, so is it really possible that we really both had posts with the same title in the same week (mine was June 18), and I didn’t discover your blog until today? It’s almost creepy. Hope you’ll check out my adventures in babysitting – mine was a little different angle, but I totally know where you’re coming from. I totally want to be the mom with a full selection of carbonated sugary beverages (for the sitter, not my son) in the fridge and chocolatey/salty treats in the pantry.
.-= Laura (aka Mom2Peach)´s last blog ..in memoriam =-.
My husband (who was the boyfriend at the time) and I made a list YEARS ago of what we were going to do for our sitters whenever kids come along. Things like have a stocked pantry, print up directions for the TV, actually have coke in the house, ROUND UP, etc. I still have the list! And I plan on sticking to it! I still babysit quite often and still have the same pet peeves!
I don’t know…I guess I’m torn. I know that teens love junk food…but I’m on this kick about saving lives. There has to be better ways to satisfy cravings without giving into the stuff that will eventually ruin their lives…and the lives of our kids. I’m into healthier choices….like amazing chocolate pudding that’s actually great for you, gives you energy without the sugar crash or the added inches to the waiste line. I think my nanny would like that better in the long run. Oh, and so do my kids.