A couple of months ago a mum at my children's school asked if I would mind picking her 2 kids up from school the following day and take them back to my house while she accompanied her husband to a hospital appointment. On this occasion she caught me on the hop, ambushing me on the way home from school, so I agreed, thinking I was doing her a favour and that it would not turn out to be a regular thing.
This lady lives quite close to me. She also has relatives living next door to her. I have 4 young children of my own, so I essentially ended up a house full of 6 kids aged 8 and under. They were quite raucous while they were here, basically trashed our playroom, pulling toys out, throwing crayons everywhere. They were here about two hours. It was a huge relief when the mum came to pick them up.
Anyway, I thought that would be the end of it, but a few weeks later I received a text, asking if once again I could pick the kids up the following day as husband had another appointment.
Today I received yet another text from her this afternoon, saying her husband has a check-up tomorrow. She is not going to the hospital with him but she needs to leave the house by a certain time, so she has asked if she can bring the kids round again if her husband is not back by that time. I have said I will because I don't want to make some excuse up.
AIBU to think this is overstepping the line? I struggle to tolerate my own kids at the best of times (!) but I have little interest in other people's children. I think it's a bit cheeky that I have never being given more than 24 hours notice. Plus, they would have known about these appointments at least 2 weeks beforehand. I attend hospital regularly for myself and my children, and if I am given an inconvenient appointment time (which is usually the case) I ring up and change it. I know that her husband's appointments are just standard outpatient ones. Are they keeping these appointments in the knowledge that if they leave it as late as possible to ask me, I will find it hard to say no? What would she do if I did say no? I am a SAHM so she knows I am generally around most of the time so do you think I am being taken advantage of? God knows why they aren't asking the relatives next door.
I don't want to rock the boat as her kids are in the same class as two of mine, but nor do I want to keep being her go-to source of free childcare. Any ideas on how to tackle this?