Adventures in Babysitting

Now that I'm not on an academy campus with abundant babysitters and friends all living on the same street, I have had to break down and hire a babysitter (and pay her). I had to hire someone I don't know. That's the hard part. I have always known the people who were watching my kid. Either they were students or fellow teachers or wives of staff from the school. Now we are out of the bubble an unless I want to drive an hour and back from a relatives home, I'm stuck with the kids all the time. Andy and I both have stuff going on Thursday nights and we needed a babysitter. The fear is, people who relate well to children are either nuts (and on the same emotional level as your child) or they are parents and can't get away from their own kids to babysit yours. I know there are competent non-scary sitters out there but how do you find them?

I found one. She is the daughter of a lady I know from a Bible study I attend. So she's not someone I just found online or something but... it was still hard because I don't know the lady very well but at least there was some connection. I texted the girl several times to set up her arrival and get the details ironed out. (She never did quote me a price so I just leave $10 or so on the table and it's gone when she leaves...)

From her texts, she seemed nice. When she walked in the door, I saw she was pretty. Very pretty. She proudly announced that she had been a cheerleader and my inner self rolled my eyes and wondered if I would find her making out with a football player when I came home.

I have never been more wrong. My kids love her. The morning after her first visit I awoke and realized that my kids had slept through the entire night without waking up! I almost died. It happened again the next week and every week thereafter. She is a genius! I'm thinking about setting up a nanny cam just to find out what it is that she does that keeps them in their beds and happily sleeping all night long. Every morning when Abby wakes up after B has been here, she asks for her special girl and wanders the small apartment looking for her. She gets excited when she knows B is coming and I think, I just think, God sent us someone who is totally awesome AND pretty. How lucky are we? If you are local and looking for a babysitter, I'm happy to give you her number and she has asserted that she would be happy to babysit anyone's kids that I know. She also has roommates that are presumably just as awesome as she is. I think we have hit the jackpot here, people.