I know not everyone is as lucky as we are to have both sets of grandparents living within a 40-mile radius. I think we’ve only paid someone once to babysit! Just last weekend we went to dinner and a movie (Blades of Glory…HILARIOUS) while my mother-in-law watched the girls. But you may be new to a town where you know no one and you need a reliable babysitter.

Sittercity was founded in 2001 and they have 150,000 babysitters in their network, which is searchable by zip code. They have a four-step screening process for parents.

Scroll down to the bottom of my blog and click on the Sittercity.com ad to check out their services. They even provide elder care and house and pet sitting, although the focus is always on childcare. And, if you join after clicking through my site, use the coupon code BLONDEMOM to get a 10 percent discount!

I will donate 20% of any commissions I make through the end of the year via my Sittercity.com ad to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure organization. And if you have no idea why, read this.

We like to take neighborhood walks with the girls. Sometimes we get a little crazy and bring the dogs, all 120 cumulative pounds of them. We have a one mile route in the neighborhood that we regularly take. Usually it is quite serene and a nice bit of exercise.

However, in just a matter of minutes the other night what was intended to be a leisurely after dinner stroll ended up being a comedy of errors…a 2-year-old in tears who was taken back to the house by her daddy who acquired a splitting headache en route, a 4-year-old convinced she was choking inbetween sobs and who continued to whine that she had to pee but refused to walk back home with me so she could use the restroom, a nearly 10-year-old stubborn dog who was overjoyed with the opportunity to drag aforementioned 4-year-old around the block and who demonstrated her canine joy by taking a leisurely poop on someone’s front lawn, and a 70-plus pound Akita mix who just wants to RUN LIKE THE WIND.

Ahhh, good times.

So, here is my advice on how to keep the peace during an after dinner stroll:

Give up the cute little red wagon walks for the 2-year-old and strap that girl in her jogging stroller so she is not tempted to climb out every 2 seconds and scream “NO” each time you sit her back down in said wagon.

Make sure your 4-year-old has gone to the bathroom before you head out the door.

Make sure your dogs have adequate park time so they are not tempted to poop on a neighbor’s front lawn.

Or, just stay home and have a bowl of ice cream.

p.s. I would never buy a “kiddie leash,” but let’s just say that sometimes I think the mama and daddy sanity fairy needs to drop a kiddie leash off on your front doorstep as soon as your child turns 2. That and maybe a jumbo bottle of Ibuprofen and some ear plugs. And beer. Or no, tequila. The hard stuff.

Caitlin and I went to our neighbor’s church Easter musical Sunday night. I realized pretty quickly that Caitlin’s Bible story knowledge focuses on Noah, Moses, and the other usual Old Testament Bible characters and that we have not adequately covered the resurrection, which of course is a pretty big deal. Not to mention that Caitlin most readily associates Easter with the hip hop white guy with pink ears, and I don’t mean K-Fed.

The hubby stayed at home with our little Mexican jumping bean Amelia. I knew this was the right decision when Caitlin insisted on sitting right up in front at church and when I got home and the hubby told me I’d missed out on Amelia’s nuclear explode up-the-back diaper episode.

Caitlin was very well behaved during the entire musical, which went on for nearly and hour and a half, and I reminded her that even though this was a church “play,” we needed to be quiet.

But she whispered (her “quiet” voice can be quite loud) about 500 questions during the musical.

Some of my favorites are:

Who’s Hosanna?

Why is Jesus mad?

Why are they hurting Jesus?

Is Jesus dead?

Why is Jesus in that cave?

Does Jesus sit with the dead people in heaven?

And my favorite: Is Jesus naked?

Having an almost 5-year-old intently converse with me about the meaning of life and death, not to mention her reasoning that people must wear capes in order to fly up to heaven, is pretty darn cool. That and the fact that she refers to God as Mr. God.

It reminds me of this Bible verse: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

That’s right. Do not hinder them. Even if they ask if Jesus is naked…in church.