Adventures in Babysitting

So, parents we are not. And even our minimal experience overseeing children still leaves us far closer to the amateur side of things than the pros. Doubt me? Just ask the nine very honest three- and four-year-old kiddos we teach each week in Sunday School. On second thought. Don't ask. They'll tell.

But, a few weeks ago we got a crash course. The title of this course was: how to take two kids under age three out to dinner and entertained for three hours. Poor Anna Beth and Chap Chapman were our trial run. Their sweet mommy asked us to fill in on a Friday night while she and their dad hosted a surprise birthday party for her brother.

Armed with great instructions from mom and all the "stuff" we would need to pull this off ... we set out - in the Chapman family's SUV with two car seats (with kids in them!) in the back. Chick-fil-a was a big hit with all. Anna Beth was such a good girl. She ate all her dinner and then enjoyed her ice cream.

Robert and her were good buddies - taking on the indoor play area after dinner.

Chap was a sweet boy too. And goodness does he eat! I was warned but had no idea he would be that into his food. Robert and I both had to keep him from consuming every piece of dinner all in one big handful.

Overall it was such a fun night, and both the kids were so well behaved and fun to be with. There were some crazy moments of fussiness and flying bits of hot dog and looks from middle-aged parents. I just knew they knew we had no idea what we were doing. But there were mostly the sweet looks from older couples and teenage girls and others who thought Anna Beth and Chap were just the cutest things - and stopped to chat and tell them so.

And then someone in the process of saying "oh, how cute," and "hey there buddy" and "isn't she just precious" called me "mom." I big loud siren went off in my head. That just didn't sound right. I opened my mouth to set things straight but decided not to correct them, figuring a blundering, "Oh, I'm not their mom. I'm just the babysitter filling in...We don't have kids yet. In fact, we've never done this before. Oh, did that hot dog just hit your face, sorry about that..." would somehow come over more alarming. They might actually act on their gut feeling and report us then.

I still have no idea how a mom does this by herself. We played man to man and it was a tight game. I have a new respect for the mothers in restaurants with their children. It's not as easy as it looks.

We had plans to AB and Chap to the Galleria for a ride on the merry-go-round in the last half hour, but both kids had knocked out by the time we drove over there. We had enough wisdom to know a few more drives around the mall would suffice until it was time to return our little buddies to their mom and dad. They sure do look cute when they're asleep.

I hope we get the chance to hang with AB and Chap again and am glad Lizbeth and Ben trusted us to care for their most prized possession. So, how did we measure up? Pass or fail? You'll have to ask Anna Beth. On second thought....don't.

V-day 2010

Our Valentine's Day was a little different than in previous years. It all started with these delicious "I Love You" cookies I picked up from Icing on the Cookie on Friday, the same day my sweet husband had flowers delivered to my office - while he was in Houston for work! He not only arranged this while he was traveling and completely out of pocket, but he also had them delivered early (Friday) so I'd get them at the office and have the thrill of flowers delivered to me since Valentine' s fell on a Sunday this year. He knows how much I love to receive flowers, and they honestly couldn't have come on a better day since that Friday was our snow day and we had a major donor event canceled at the 11th hour. It was a crazy day at the office - that my beautiful flowers made so much better. So, I got him cookies, and a miniature Wally.

Robert loves this movie....and robots. This gift was actually a pretty big hit - once I remembered to give it too him. He found it weeks before Valentine's so I had to re-hide the present and then completely forgot about it. He had to remind me to give it to him! How sad is that?

We babysat for a preciously family at church on Valentine's. See the cute pic (courtesy of Amy Henry's photography website) above of Lilian and her brother Griffin. They also have a precious baby sister Palmer. We love keeping these fun and energetic kiddos. They keep us on our toes! Griffin is a whiz, and I love Lilian because she hangs right in there with her brother. I can't wait for the next time we get to hang out with these kids. So fun!

Because we babysat on Valentine's, we celebrated ourselves the following Wednesday. Normally, we enjoy picking a unique-to-Birmingham restaurant and going out for a nice meal, the kind you only make the time (and have the budget) to do a few times every year. This year I wanted to do something different. It involved using my fine china for the first time...(ahhmm...)...ever! Yes, we have been married three+ years and I had yet to use our china. Trust me, I know how sad that is. I actually had fun setting the formal table (we NEVER eat at the table) for our special dinner - after I pulled the stickers off the bottom of the plates and other pieces!

The flowers Robert sent me were our centerpiece. I cooked one of his favorite meals - mostly made of some of his mom's best dishes that he especially loves: friend shrimp, brown rice, mac and cheese (yes, I know that's two starches, but he loves them!), bread sticks (because I have yet to gather the courage to attempt his mom's yeast rolls), and steamed broccoli.

For dessert? The cookies. (I had already eaten the "I" at this point, but don't they look great on my china?)

We actually only ate about a bite each because yours truly left them out in their box instead of storing them properly in an airtight container, and by Wednesday even these delicious cookies were dry. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.