Some Auntie Lauren Time

Well, I did not clean any bathrooms or mop any floors this weekend, but I certainly stayed busy...

I have spent the past four years working full time in child care, and yet, after two days with my nephew and niece, I am completely exhausted. Perhaps it is because I don't normally have the overnight shift, perhaps they are just more work than a whole classroom full of 19 unruly 4 year olds (unlikely), or perhaps it is simply because I have spent the past week being utterly and completely lazy and have forgotten what work feels like. I think that is the most likely scenario. My sister called me Friday morning and asked if I could watch the kids overnight. After clearing my oh so busy schedule of sleeping in till noon, I readily agreed. I adore my nephew and niece, and I had a great time with them. However, I admit to being relieved when they were finally both asleep. I probably should have gone to bed early, but, naturally, I did not. Instead I made some caramel cupcakes with butterscotch frosting for my mom's birthday, watched Lord of the Rings (who can pass up the opportunity for 2 Orlando fixes in one weekend?), and started reading The People of Sparks. By the time I crawled into bed it was around 1:30 AM. My niece woke up crying around 4:30 AM. I gave her a bottle and put her back to bed, but, being the moron that I apparently am, I did not go back to sleep. I ended up staying up till nearly 6 AM. My nephew woke up around 7:30 AM, so I put him in front of the TV in my room and slept off and on for the next couple hours until my niece woke up again. I admit to being a bad aunt and letting my nephew watch way too much TV today, but hey, he had a great time. Aunties are supposed to spoil their nieces and nephews, right? They were supposed to go home tonight, but my sister isn't feeling well so we still have them. Thankfully, my parents got back from their trip today, so I have a lot more help now...ok, more like I get to be the help now instead of the main event. Grandma has kind of taken over ;)

Now I am relaxing in front of my TV, catching up on missed episodes of Monk and Psych, and reading cupcake recipes online. I have found a few that I really want to try. Check out the cupcake link at the bottom of the page for some interesting cupcake ideas.