I always thought we had the best babysitter in the world (Grandma) until last week. While Grandma still ranks up there (in a large part because she’s free. Oh, and because Hadley worships the ground she walks on) Grandma now has some serious competition.
Enter: Alexis, the daughter of our lovable Type A neighbor. Alexis is so eager to join the babysitting ranks that she spends her free time googling “babysitting” and planning activities and handouts for the kids. Fer heaven’s sakes, she handed me a babysitting business card. What 12 year old has a business card? When Haddie returned home with her last week, she also gave us a typed piece of paper with the following information on it:
What Did I do Today?
When Alexis was babysitting me we had lots of fun! Tonight we:
Made butterfly puppets
Played with the kitty
Made and played with play dough
Watched TV
Danced to fun Veggie Tales music
Played with stuffed animal bunnies
Played Ring Around the Rosie
Played with Marshall
It almost brings me back to my good ol’ over-achieving days as a babysitter. If I had indeed done up a spreadsheet of our nightly activities, they would have read as follows:
Pretended to play with kids while watching Miami Vice
Put kids to bed as soon as humanly possible to free up the rest of the night
Raided kitchen cupboards for food
Talk to friends on the phone
Fell asleep on the couch. With the lights on, of course, so as to look alert and attentive when the parents finally walked through the door.
Can anyone else relate out there?….
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 