a hard day's night

we never go out without our kids.
N-E-V-E-R!
I can count on one hand the number of times we've left them with a sitter and I've only left the baby with a non-family/friend sitter twice.
There are only a few sitter's I'd leave all three of them with.
So some of Rob's friends from work threw a little end of the school year cookout this afternoon.
He really wanted me to come with him since this is his last year at Jenkins.
So I did something crazy.
I got a sitter!
My favorite (and my kids favorite) 18 year old was available, so it was a go!
I was a little leery from the get-go because Cora is on steroids (grumpy as they come and eating like a horse) and I've never left all 3 of them. They're a handful!
But I really WANTED to get out with Rob for a couple of hours.
Our poor, poor sitter! Let me give you the rundown.

2:45 sitter gets her....cookout starts at 3.
3:15 i am still getting stuff ready and rob jumps in the shower.
3:36 we leave, but still need to make a grocery store stop to grab something to bring with us, so I jump in the driver's seat so that rob can run into the grocery store.
3:36 and 30 sec...I back into the babysitter's brand new car that she got as a high school graduation gift from her parents (oh yes..I did!)
3:37 i run back to the house nearly in tears to tell the poor girl that i wrecked into her car!
3:38-3:48 i apologize prophetically and blabber on and on about i promise insurance will cover it, we'll get it fixed this week, etc, etc, but some how con her in to staying to babysit anyway.
3:52 pull in grocery store parking lot (rob now driving) he goes in and I (still sweating) call the babysitter's mom (who's luckily also a friend and our insurance company who obviously takes the phone off the hook to give crazy customers like me a busy signal and drive them crazy on Saturdays)
4:15 we arrive at the cook out. upon our entrance rob says, "sorry we're late, my wife ran into the babysitter's car!"
4:20-7:00 a very pleasant cookout with adult conversation takes place
7:00 we leave
7:20ish- we get home
Cora is begging for food in a leotard and tutu and whining
Cade is flaunting a new "gun" that his neighborhood friend gave him and telling me like 100 things at once.
The babysitter (who I love too much to disclose her name) is wearing my t-shirt because baby Clara peed on her.
Our dog, Leia, is inside because she "got in a fight with Cade's fore mentioned 'neighborhood friend's' dog,"
Clara didn't sleep, Cora napped for 30 minutes and ate 2 popsicles, a bag of popcorn, and a package of turkey lunch meat, and Cade begged to go from one house to the next because he can't miss one single second of playtime!

I handed the poor girl her money (which could never be enough) and a photocopy of my insurance card, hugged her and sent her on her way! This is probably the only form of birth control that poor sweet girl will ever ever need!

Who's available next Saturday???