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Just because your parents don’t live in town doesn’t meant they can’t watch your kid. With some creative planning, they might even be able to babysit on a regular basis. Not full-time, of course, but maybe a few days out of the month—which can really add up if you work part-time from home and, like me, have only a small budget for child care.

My folks and I have worked out an arrangement where they travel from Cleveland to Chicago once a month and stay for the good part of a week. They make the six-hour trip on the Megabus (www.megabus.com), which travels to and from most large and midsize Midwestern cities and costs about $15 per person each way. That’s much less than what they’d spend on gas and car wear and tear if they drove themselves.

They usually arrive on a Monday afternoon and leave on a Friday. If I work eight hours the days they’re here, I get at least 24 hours of free childcare (more than half a week!) a month and they get quality time with their darling granddaughter. That saves me $240 —cutting in half my monthly babysitting costs.

The fact that my mom happens to be a retired preschool teacher definitely doesn’t hurt. My daughter has the best care while they’re here—regular playground visits, lots of reading and lively play.

I know this isn’t an ideal situation for everyone—but it’s what works for me right now. And when you have a child under two, that’s about the best you can hope for.

One thing I didn’t anticipate when I started freelancing was that work would dry up from early December to mid January because of the holidays. So now I’m scrambling to make up for lost pay. Since time is limited--and so is cash for a babysitter--I’ve had to get creative.

Last week, I made $225 just for keeping a journal for three days. I had answered an ad on craiglist seeking moms to test out products. A screener called me up and asked me questions along the lines of "Describe a product you can’t live without" and "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?"

I must have picked the right kind of tree, because I qualified for a study.

They sent me a disposable camera to take a few photos of my home, family, and friends—and a little booklet with some questions to answer. I filled out the booklet and Fed Ex’d it in a posted envelope they’d provided. The entire task took about two hours. The questions weren’t particularly intrusive--and the answers are to remain confidential to the study--so I didn’t feel too weird about responding.

They got the package on Monday. On Wednesday, I opened my mailbox--and to my amazement, there was the check for $225.

With my freelance clients, I’m usually lucky if I get paid a month after I turn in a story. I guess there’s something to be said for sharing a speck of your life with the soul-sucking capitalist machine—especially if it means paying the gas bill this month.

If they call again, I'll probably answer. Now that we don't have to worry about heat, I've got my eye on a three-month pool membership. Laps, anyone?

I’m working on a story about how child care in Cook County is often unattainable for lower- and middle-class families in Cook County. I know I’m supposed to observe the numbers from the proverbial journalistic arm’s length, but the more I read, the more my arm wants to wave a distress flag.

The statistics come from a study by Illinois Action for Children, and boy, are they telling. The North/Northwest side of Chicago, where I live, is the worst in the region with only one center child-care slot for every 63 infants.

Yes, you heard that right.

I started looking for childcare in May 2006, five months before my daughter, Jane, was born. Only a few accredited daycare centers in my area accepted infants, and they had waiting lists of 18 months to two years.

I guess that’s great for elephants, who I hear have an average gestation period of about 600 days.