perhaps if it were the same size/type as the grovery store card keytags?

I think this is the idea.

When I was 14, I was a live-in babysitter (2nd shift from 3-midnight) for a 1 year old, a 3 year old and a 6 year old.

I wasn't really left alone (well, me and my twin) because we had older sibs--my sisters were 10 and 9 years older than us and I think they started babysitting us fairly early, though. Maybe around 11 or 12. We were pretty mature. I think it very much depends on the kids and their individual personality and maturity level.

Mail server is deciding to take 5 minutes to switch between messages. May kill something.

Read over at sciffy:

Warner Brothers' consumer products division is developing a new version of the classic children's franchise Banana Splits as a multiplatform effort starting Sept. 2, with shorts and music videos airing on Cartoon Network and its Web site, as well as future DVD and CD releases and live performances, Variety reported.

Warner Brothers' consumer products division is developing a new version of the classic children's franchise Banana Splits as a multiplatform effort starting Sept. 2

I am both thrilled and horrified.

Huh.

ION, I am very gronky today. I'm just very tired and fatigued and I ache all over. My butt in particular aches a lot, especially when I walk. I thought about calling in sick, but decided to try to make it through the day anyway.

I have Ibuprophin for my butt-ache.

the thing that bothered me was at the end the girl and her FIFTEEN YEAR OLD BROTHER could not figure out how to clean up the dog's diarrhea?

Hah! This farm-boy laughs in the face of the... fifteen year old boy....

I'm thinking of doing an intervention on myself. Today is a legitimate day off. I'm not scheduled and no one expects me to be there, but it's making me incredibly anxious not being there. I blame all the overtime and general crazy making atmosphere. Today is a day off. I MUST not go to work. Yeah, we'll see how that works out.

Does primeval get better? I just watched the first episode and was kinda bored. I have the second episode recorded so I'll give that a try. The guy that plays the professor has confirmed that the glasgow accent is my one true accent though. Love. I am recording Skins to watch though tiggy.

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't know that it ever goes away.

I would agree. I still call my folks to let them know that I arrived and I'm more terrified about my 17 year old than I ever was when he was little.

Please don't tell me some pop star has recently covered that song.

Not that I know of. Maybe they're singing it in chorus at school? That would be sweet.

Le problematic shoes. Le sigh. So, so pretty... (no heel, they're flat and comfortable, for the first 10 minutes, if you're me, that is...)

Hey, wanna send this way links to other look alike shoes? Bonus points if they'll match The Dress.

I answered your poll, but the longer answer is that I started leaving him at home for short periods (corner store, moving the laundry at the laundromat to the dryer - about 10-15 minutes) when he was around 8 or 9. By the time he was 10 I was leaving him at home for half an hour.

It's so interesting for me to think about because I hadn't considered it at all before. We talked about it last night and K and I were both sort of on the same page. I guess it's hard to contemplate given N is in a clingon stage where he won't even be left in a room alone (while he is awake) without kickign up a fuss and following us into another room.

I read the NY times article about the kids left home alone, and the thing that bothered me was at the end the girl and her FIFTEEN YEAR OLD BROTHER could not figure out how to clean up the dog's diarrhea? Really? I think they just preferred not to. Of course, my mom gets dry heaves over any bodily fluid, so I had to clean up the dog vomit/diarrhea and my own vomit from a fairly young age.

I totally would have done that. And then my mom would have bopped me on the head and called me stupid and made me clean it up anyway.

I babysat for other people's kids, including babies, by 12. What where they thinking? I look at 12 year olds now and wonder how they'd handle my kids. I've never hired a sitter under 16!

When I was 12 or 13 I worked as a sitter in a racquetball club where my mom was the pro. I watched kids for an hour or two at a time while their parents worked out. Granted, there were always other adults just on the other side of the nursery door, so no big.

Shir, do you want red shoes or could you go with a neutral?

When I was maybe 8 or 9, my grandmother left me home for a little bit with my grandfather. That was too young, since he was a quadraplegic, and I was just old enough to know how little I could do if anything went wrong. Home alone, I would have been fine.