Thoughts on Babysitters

• What are the qualities of a good babysitter? One that will help your kids clean up their messes while you finish getting ready for your date. It also helps if the house is cleaner when you get home than it was when you left. Although, maybe it's kind of insulting that the babysitter can keep my house cleaner than I can!

• The boys' 5th birthday is in a few days. They're very excited to be 5 years old (Trevin has mentioned several times that he's "almost a grown up, now"). We have a wonderful babysitter and the boys love her, but they were VERY insulted at the thought of 'baby' sitter. "We're not babies, mommy." So we decided that instead of a babysitter, they having an 'Almost 5 year-old' sitter!

• On one hand it's reassuring when your kids are so excited about the babysitter that they are not sad when you leave. On the other hand, it's really sad.