our new babysitter
It's the beginning of a new era in the Gallagher household; we now have a live-in babysitter. I have been dreaming of this day for some time now. We took the plunge last week when we had free passes to see Intermission at The Charles downtown.
Kevin turned 13 at the beginning of January. He's a responsible kid, one who tends to rise to the occasion. We decided that the stars and planets were aligned and we would give him a try. His brother turns 10 today (Happy Birthday, Jonah!), but they fight like crazy these days, so I had some hesitation about leaving them alone--with Kevin in charge. Zoe is over her Mama-Daddy clingyness, and she loves hanging with her bro's.
So we set the terms: five bucks an hour, time rounded to the half hour. (Because money is a fabulous motivator.) You must not be mean or fight with Jonah. You have to engage Zoe and not run downstairs to get on the computer.
And it went great. We came back 2 and 1/2 hours later, having enjoyed the movie. The whole crew was on the couch, eating popcorn in the dark and watching Pirates of the Caribbean. Zoe bragged at preschool the next day about the "party" she had with Kevin. Yessssss.
Last night, we even gave him some extra responsibility--Zoe's best friend Lulu. Sean and I went out with Yunhui and Matthew to a restaurant in Greektown. Samos is a local no-frills diner kind of place, but the food was incredible. The prices were too low to be believed. For $18 a person, we had the "tour of Samos"--tzatziki and homemade pita, Greek salad, a huge plate of calamari, and this insane platter that had mounds of grilled meat. There were lambchops, gyro meat, chicken kebabs and shrimp, not to mention potatoes, dolmades and spanikopita.
When we got back, everyone was happy. Kevin collected his fee (with an extra kid premium), and requested more upcoming babysitting work.
What a fantastic, life-altering development. You must realize that when Sean and I started dating, he wound up having the kids full time only four months after we met. They were newly two and five. I moved in and that was that. We never had the usual dating/courtship most people get. We finally get to date......
Kevin turned 13 at the beginning of January. He's a responsible kid, one who tends to rise to the occasion. We decided that the stars and planets were aligned and we would give him a try. His brother turns 10 today (Happy Birthday, Jonah!), but they fight like crazy these days, so I had some hesitation about leaving them alone--with Kevin in charge. Zoe is over her Mama-Daddy clingyness, and she loves hanging with her bro's.
So we set the terms: five bucks an hour, time rounded to the half hour. (Because money is a fabulous motivator.) You must not be mean or fight with Jonah. You have to engage Zoe and not run downstairs to get on the computer.
And it went great. We came back 2 and 1/2 hours later, having enjoyed the movie. The whole crew was on the couch, eating popcorn in the dark and watching Pirates of the Caribbean. Zoe bragged at preschool the next day about the "party" she had with Kevin. Yessssss.
Last night, we even gave him some extra responsibility--Zoe's best friend Lulu. Sean and I went out with Yunhui and Matthew to a restaurant in Greektown. Samos is a local no-frills diner kind of place, but the food was incredible. The prices were too low to be believed. For $18 a person, we had the "tour of Samos"--tzatziki and homemade pita, Greek salad, a huge plate of calamari, and this insane platter that had mounds of grilled meat. There were lambchops, gyro meat, chicken kebabs and shrimp, not to mention potatoes, dolmades and spanikopita.
When we got back, everyone was happy. Kevin collected his fee (with an extra kid premium), and requested more upcoming babysitting work.
What a fantastic, life-altering development. You must realize that when Sean and I started dating, he wound up having the kids full time only four months after we met. They were newly two and five. I moved in and that was that. We never had the usual dating/courtship most people get. We finally get to date......