We love our babysitter. Ashley is amazing. Tommy’s grandmas are great, but we know that they were great mommies, so we take it for granted that they are great grandmas. =) There’s nothing we should take for granted about Ashley. She’s taught Tommy how to say “up!” and use the baby sign language for “please,” and she sings him Bible songs and does his jack-in-the-box for waaaay longer than I do. If I leave out a basket of diapers or Tommy’s clothes to get to after I get back, she folds them and puts them away! Basically, she’s perfect.
Tonight Derek and I went to the Cardinals game with a bunch of clerks and judges from the 8th Circuit, and Ashley came over to watch Tommy. I have a suspicion that she is a better homemaker than me. Tommy was in bed without a fuss at 7:15, she reported. Why can’t I put my son to bed without a fuss at any hour of the day or night? Our kitchen was the cleanest it’s been in weeks, with a drying rack full of clean dishes and Tommy’s bib hanging to dry above. Our living room was immaculate, Tommy’s bedroom completely picked up, and peace generally holding forth at the Muller home when we arrived back half an hour ago. For this I gladly shell out $8/hour plus a tip. Ashley is one of many people that we will certainly miss when we move this summer. I wonder if I could convince her parents to let me take her along to Chicago as an au pair if I promise to homeschool her in all the same subjects she’d be doing at home.
Anyway, I used to be that kind of babysitter when I was 14–could put the kids to bed at the proper time even better than the parents, washed up the supper dishes, and put all the toys away. Now I know why parents raved about me and gave me “tips”….but I really want to know what happened to me in the last 11 years….I’m pretty sure no one would tip me for my mommy/homemaker performance these days. Clean dishes and picked up toys are a major accomplishment some days. Heck, showering by noon is a major accomplishment some days! I’m going to try to take care of Tommy as well as Ashley would for the rest of the week. Maybe he’ll go down without a fuss for me one of these nights!