Turning Over the Reigns

I shouldn't be blogging.

I should be hiding the porn, cleaning the toilets, clearing out the refrigerator, stashing the Magic Wand, picking up my underwear, planning dinner, and warning him not to make obscene phone calls. (Did I ever tell you about the time he told my mother to slurp, slurp, slurp?)

Is your mother-in-law on the way, Tuna Girl?

No. But good guess.

We've hired a babysitter again! Woo hoo!

I'm not sure if I can even begin to explain it, but hiring a babysitter for us is a huge deal. We went for years with only the occasional babysitter, because we just didn't know anyone. Then we'd find a good teenaged babysitter, only to have her move. Such is the military life.

But this year, I learned that a friend of a friend was running a babysitting service. I swore I would never let a stranger watch my children. But with the advent of MySpace I discovered that I could learn more about a new babysitter with one Google search than I ever could trusting the teenaged daughters of older friends. Never mind that the service does extensive background checks.

I also feel that my kids are old enough now to protect themselves. My daughter can call me on the phone if she has to.

So a whole new world has opened to us. And the sitters we've got through the service have been excellent.

For the first time in our fifth year at this school (five years! &^*%^#*!) we'll be going to a parent social. Not the most exciting night out, I know. But I don't care. It's child-free!

Except I freak out every time a sitter is on the way over. This girl will see more of my house than my houseguests have. My husband doesn't understand why he'll come home and find me on my hands and knees scrubbing the tub.

Funny though...something about having the house clean, the kids put to bed, and some adult time means I almost always end up on my knees for other reasons.

He can't complain about that.