Mi*s K*ren

We love Miss Karen! She makes Jeff and me happy. We don't have any family in town, aside from our cousins in Cary that are as busy as we are, so we consider Miss Karen an extension of our family. Jeff and I have a new strategy for spending alone time together, and Miss Karen plays a big part in it. Instead of going out for a long date every couple of weeks or once a month, we are working on spending a little bit of time alone each week. So we aim to go out once a week for 2 hours. It's quick, but nice to be alone and is something to look forward to. We just pay for this date night when we pay Karen for her nanny time, so it's easier to hold the date and there is no money exchange to deal with on the night of the date. We usually go to dinner, but sometimes spend it running errands. My favorite date was when we took food to the art museum and had a picnic. Afterwards we got dessert, so the date only cost us $6. Tonight we are eating before we go, running an errand that we can't do with the kids, and then getting dessert. Anyway, the point is that we are thankful for Karen and how comfortable our kids are with her. She comes over and we leave without any crying. Ellen used to cry, but now she waves and tells us bye-bye. Lucas hardly looks up as we tell him bye : )

Ellen also enjoys her time with Karen M-F from 8:30-12:30. See? Karen took this yesterday during snack time...