I babysat, but didn`t really like it. I didn`t like people or kids particularly (how I got to be a teacher I`ll never know). I got paid more successively for babysitting two rowdy boys, one demure girl, a cat, and an empty house. So, I preferred the empty house, where I laid on the carpet in front of the fire and read CS Lewis and got paid the most. My sister was seven years older than me, so I never really remember being babysat either. It was mostly just the two of us hanging out. I`m sure she was taking care of me, but to my kiddo brain "we" were just mature enough to be left alone.

Go Wisconsin! I have a Facebook friend from KC who is from Milwaukee. He's following it all with great interest. When I was in grad school at UW-Madison, I lived 2 blocks from the Capital and was up there all the time! I used to use the bathrooms during the Farmers' Market each Saturday.

Do they still do that?

So you're the reason for the budget crisis that prompted all this. All that excess water usage and all. Thanks.

Oh no wait. Walker apparently made it all up afterall (those parts of it he didn't cause, anyway). You're off the hook!

In its Jan. 31 memo to legislators on the condition of the state's budget, the Fiscal Bureau determined that the state will end the year with a balance of $121.4 million.

To the extent that there is an imbalance -- Walker claims there is a $137 million deficit -- it is not because of a drop in revenues or increases in the cost of state employee contracts, benefits or pensions. It is because Walker and his allies pushed through $140 million in new spending for special-interest groups in January.

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My parents managed and worked in a bar/resturant while my brother and I were growning up. My mom worked weekend nights from 6 pm to 2 am, beginning when I was around 9 or so. For a couple of years we stayed with the next door neighbors, they had 5 kids and we were constantly back/forth anyway so it made sense. When I was 11 and my bro was 9, it was decided that we could babysit ourselves (knowing that there was always someone next door) with the caveat that we could NOT have anyone over and we had to do chores. We did that through high school. The upside was we got the money my parents were paying a babysitter and when we were in high school, we had an enviable 2 a.m. curfew (just had to beat my parents home)

I babysat other people's kids when I was 14, but then my dad made me go to work at the resturant when I was 15.5 so babysitting only lasted a year or so for me.

I totally want a cheesecake now. Damn you all (for I am at work, where there are no cheesecakes. Also in Georgia, where good cheesecake is not exactly thick on the ground.)

babysitting at 12, too. The scariest incident I had was when I was 14 or 15 and a 2 year old choked on a piece of hard candy. I knew how to give the Heimlich so I did and she was fine, but her lips turned blue really quickly! Once she was fine, I just held her and rocked back and forth and tried not to lose it in front of her.

My own babies, one on a piece of thin plastic wrap at nine months, the other on a Lifesaver at 13 months. Adulthood is not proof against accident, nor guarantor of knowing what to do. I babysat on my own starting at 12, but my mom provided daycare in our home, and I had lots of supervised experience changing diapers and occupying toddlers and preschoolers all my childhood.

um a write up..ok

Furnished room in a family home in exchange for au pair-like situation, some summer childcare and household assistance. Time and scope of assistance to be scheduled and agreed upon in advance. There would be time for a part-time job, internship, or classes. You would have shared use of kitchen, 2 living areas, yard, and a garage space. Would prefer someone who would share in family meals, but not required. Private small refrigerator could be available. No smoking or drug use. Must be ok with cats and have own car. Located in mid-cities area with easy access to Dallas or Fort Worth.

how does that sound? I am not sure if I could move out of the master bedroom to give them a private 3/4 bath. And would one ask for some help with utilities or groceries? probably not, huh?

A friend is in the gov's office for Walker's press conference. He just tweeted the crowd is blocking access to the office.

Unfortunately, too late for Valentine's Day: Tim Minchin's Statistically Accurate Love Song.

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