if you feel guilty accepting the money, maybe you could ask her to watch your kids sometimes.  it was a different situation because she wasn't really a "friend" and i watched ian before and after school, but when ian's mom asked me to watch her other child sometimes and then started asking me to watch both of them at night so they could go out, i refused to take money but just said something like "that's okay, you can take mine some time if it makes you feel better."  then the one time i asked, she said no but she never asked me again!  then at least you know if it's a favor between friends or if she is perceiving you as an easy way to get her kid watched...  of course with a friend it's different but it might be worth a shot.  unless you'd prefer just to get paid but keep that in mind if she starts asking you to watch her during non-daycare hours...

 

well you have a cold and at least one small kid there.  i have no excuse.  i started cleaning out the gift closet which is really the "junk" closet and have it sorted into 4 piles.  at least there's not much more than the 4 categories in there but it was really crammed and disorganized.  about twice a year i go thru it and at least group the stuff that ends up in there.  i find things i've been missing!  anyway i have a pile of gifts that need to go to erik's room, which is my christmas "staging area" as scott calls it.  i normally use the hall guest bathroom once the presents outgrow the gift closet but angel still lives in there at night.  and erik's room is pretty empty.  i also have a pile of stuff i'm not ready to part with in case i find a use for it (all decorating stuff that i've taken from one place and don't have a place for but still like it) and a pile of novelty things for parties and holidays like leprechaun hats and easter grass and miscellaneous stuff like streamers.  i'll probably throw the holiday stuff in the attic and keep the generic party stuff in the gift closet still.  the other pile is the dreaded "miscellaneous junk that belongs elsewhere in the house" but it is not too too bad.  some i will throw out.  there's not too much that i need to find a place for.

 

so that distracted me to come on here and update my christmas list with the things i found for the kids that i'd forgetten about.  just a few shirts - i bought b&c camo shirts since they outgrew theirs and have been asking for the past few years for new ones to dress in when they play army.  forgot about those and also some miscellaneous generic gifts that i probably won't use this year - re-gifting stuff or stuff i got free or super cheap and put aside to give away.  i'll hold them a few years - one is a box of notecards that i can't remember if i already gave to someone since i bought a few sets of the same ones and it would be embarrassing to give them to the same teacher twice!  i did find three little ceramic dishes that i gave out last year filled with candy - i saved about 9 but 6 are damaged from my car accident - why didn't i throw them away?  so i'll toss those and give out the remaining 3 with candy in them to teachers - i don't think i gave them away to teachers last year but just in case i won't give them to the teacher braeden has every year, his gifted teacher.  i won't give her the notecards either just in case! :-)

 

i need to at least get the christmas stuff put away in erik's room before the kids get home plus any tempting stuff that they might get into.