I do tell each family when they come for an interview that I take 26-30 days off total over the course of the year, of which normally 5 or so days my daughters will offer to help watch those that may be stuck, AND I remind the parents that they are offering, this is not something they should rely on. I am only taking one full week of holidays this year and the other time off is a Thursday, Friday, week between xmas and new years, etc. I give the parents 2 weeks of unpaid vacation time as I only have one family that is full time right now, all others only come 3 or 4 days a week (most only 3) so I make sure that I am here for 3 days when taking my long weekends. I find that I accommodate them at a moments notice should they change their shifts, add a day, work late etc. I just find that I am constantly feeling like I need to defend the time off I need and deserve. It does start burning you out and this year seems to be the worst starting for sure. I want to nip this in the bud now so it does not cause any problems in the future.