Babysitting

My girls had a babysitter a couple of times in Hawaii. We had friends watch them once or twice as well. They were dropped off, in a hurry, at a friend's house when I had to take their dad to the hospital once, for instance. And the twins stayed, for a day, at a fellow military family's house while I was in the hospital delivering M. As a married couple, I think their dad and I only managed to get babysitting for dates twice in the two years we were together.

When I was in the hospital with the Cub, the girls were watched by a close family friend who basically lived at our house for a few days so Papa could be at the hospital with me. That same friend has watched them for us a few times before, so we could see a movie or go to dinner. But, since the Cub was born, I've been with him almost without interruption.

Sure, I've gone to Target a few times without a single one of the tinies. Target is literally less than 2 miles away, and when I go, I have to drag everyone with me or go completely alone. Someone has to stay home with the kids. Still, I do love a chance to shop for clothes and makeup without having to repeatedly herd the kids back into an area where I can see them all.

When the girls' dad comes to take them, we are down three kids, but we still have the Cub. Granted, he doesn't complain if we go out to dinner somewhere that doesn't have chicken nuggets.

In over four months, Papa and I hadn't had any time together without the kids. Actually, the last time I'm sure we spent one-on-one time together was about 9 months ago, on our anniversary. But, I might be wrong. It's all a bit of a blur.

Then, last weekend, we had a babysitter for the first time. We found her on sittercity.com (where I found the babysitter we used in Hawaii). We interviewed her to make sure she was a good fit.

Am I the only parent who specifically looks for someone who doesn't think they're a better parent than me? Yeah, it would be cool to have a babysitter who does yoga with my kids or teaches them a second language or something. But, I worry about people who might think I'm a monster if they found out that sometimes I let my kids play in their playroom... alone *gasp*. I'm not interested in a babysitter who would judge me harshly if they came over and saw the twins playing math games or watching PBS shows in their iPad, or if I told them I sometimes leave the Cub in his crib, when he's awake, because I need to not be holding a baby constantly.

I like a sitter who has raised kids. Then you can bet they have a better idea of when to worry and what to panic about. I don't want to get a call because M won't take a nap or eat her lunch, or the Cub won't stop crying. On the other hand, if S fell out of the tree and she seems injured, or if someone threw up, I want to know.

Anyhow, we had a babysitter over for five hours, giving us enough time to drive to Eldorado Canyon Park, hike a mile out and a mile back (with some amateur attempts at bouldering thrown in), and stop for some soup in bread bowls at Panera on our way back. It was wonderful to finally be able to do a hike that wasn't flat and basically paved. Also, neither of us had been to that particular park, and we want to go back with the kids. There's a trail there that is stroller friendly, and we found out that the park has programs for kids.

When we got home, M and the Cub had taken a nap, all of the girls had eaten a snack, and everyone had gone for a walk. They were all happy and playing outside.

We'll have her back this weekend.