#94 Stacey McGill, Super Sitter

Summary

Stacey is on a mission to convert Robert into a New York City lover. She has big plans to buy him tickets to a Broadway show, and take him out for dinner in the city for his upcoming birthday. The only trouble with that plan? Stacey doesn't heave nearly enough money to make it happen. Then, the BSC gets a call from Mrs. Cheplin, a new client. She's looking for a sitter for her two kids (8-year-old Dana and 6-year-old Adam) every day after school. Stacey jumps at the chance to take the job, even though Kristy (of course) doesn't want one of her sitters tied up with a long-term job.

Mrs. Cheplin isn't too eager to formally give Stacey the job when they first meet; she'd been expecting someone older. She changes her tune when she finds out about Stacey's diabetes, because Dana has just been diagnosed herself. Mrs. Cheplin agrees to give Stacey a one week trial period. The kids are, for the most part, nice, although Dana likes to get her own way. She also has a few diabetic reactions, but Stacey figures out pretty quickly that she's faking in order to get what she wants. Stacey wants to tell Mrs. Cheplin what she suspects, but doesn't. She also doesn't want to tell Mrs. Cheplin that the extra housework that keeps getting added to the list of things to do is almost too much for Stacey to handle, especially when Mrs. Cheplin offers Stacey another two week trial, and offers to pay her even more for the extra housework. Now, Stacey is not only on her way to getting those Broadway tickets for Robert, but she also has big plans to buy a red sports car as soon as she's old enough to drive it. Keep dreaming, Stace.....

One day, Stacey doesn't have time to get everything one Mrs. Cheplin's chore list done before she gets home. Mrs. Cheplin isn't happy...and neither is Stacey. She's running herself ragged trying to please this woman who's only noticing that things that have gone wrong, NOT the things that have gone right. This continues right through Stacey's second trial period. One day, Dana has a legitimate diabetic reaction, and Stacey has to leave the house a mess in order to get her help. Mrs. Cheplin won't even listen to Stacey at first; all she can see are the things that didn't get done. Stacey finally makes her understand what happened, but at this point, she basically had it. When the two weeks are over, Mrs. Cheplin offers her another two week trial, and Stacey turns her down. It just wasn't worth it; Stacey was falling behind in school, ignoring her friends and mother, and coming late to every BSC meeting. The money was nice, but Stacey realizes that having a well-rounded life is more important.

Also, some of the BSC charges see Kristy and Logan buying a ring downtown. They assume he's cheating on Mary Anne, so they start a smear campaign against Kristy and Logan. Poor Kristy was only trying to help Logan pick out Mary Anne's Valentine's Day gift, so the kids throw Mary Anne and Logan a Valentine's Day dinner to make up for being so awful.

Rating: 2.5

Thoughts and Things

• Mrs. Cheplin goes down in history as one of my least favorite BSC parents of all time. She needs a good kick in the pants.
• I can totally identify with Stacey when she's plotting exactly how much money she'll be making at the Cheplins', and how long it would take her to save up for different things. I can't even tell you how many times I've done that!
• No matter how hard I try, I just can't see Kristy and Logan as a couple....
• I think it's been mentioned before, but what good is Mrs. McGill's rule that Robert can come in the house when she's not there as long as they stay in the kitchen? Anything that can be done in other rooms of the house could probably be done in there.]
• Amazing that Kristy didn't fire Stacey from the BSC again for taking a job that required her to come late to meetings. Also amazing that a parent dared to schedule jobs that interfered with meeting times...