Houseguest

I have a babysitter coming to spend the night with the boys tonight. Annie and I are going to Ohio for my baby brother's high school graduation, so our awesome sitter Caitlin is staying here with the boys.

Because Caitlin has been babysitting for us for a couple of years -- and because she's one of 10 kids -- there's probably nothing about my house that could surprise her. But she's never spent the night before, so I'm a little nervous about making sure the house is well up to snuff.

That means I have to clean my room. She won't inherently know which crazy path to take to the bathroom in the middle of the night in order to avoid plowing through piles of clean but folded clothes. And clean sheets on the bed, especially since Robbie so kindly (and not tidily) ate a bunch of graham crackers in it last night.

Which reminds me, I need to warn her that Robbie will probably be climbing into bed with her around 2 am or so and when he does she should make him go potty before laying down.

I have to make sure there is toilet paper in all the bathrooms. TP is of course not just reserved for guests, but don't tell me you've never been in a bathroom and had to holler for someone to bring you some toilet paper because you didn't notice the roll was out.

And towels. Fresh, clean hand towels and bath towels. The ones that don't smell like they sat wet in the washing machine for too long.

Then there are the school clothes and shoes and backpacks to be laid out. And notes for breakfast in the morning. Nothing fancy -- cereal will do. If I get the time, maybe I'll make some peach cobbler. Charlie would appreciate that.

It seems like I should do something nice for Caitlin to enjoy after the boys go to bed. Maybe I'll ask if there is a Netflix instant download she'd like me to add to the queue. Or maybe just a cold Diet Coke. She's such a sweet girl that she'll probably say she doesn't need anything. Well, other than bed sheets that are not crunchy with graham cracker crumbs.