The BSC started taking shape one day when mom was trying to find a sitter for younger brother, David Michael. (Kristy also has two older brothers, Charlie and Sam.) At the time, Mrs. Thomas was going it alone as a single mom, since Kristy's dad had walked out on the family years earlier. Anyway, Kristy watched her mom make call after call without success, and that’s when she came up with the idea for the BSC. She figured parents would love it if they could make one phone call and be guaranteed a responsible sitter. And she was right. Boy, was she right. Our dub now meets three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from five-thirty until six. During those times, parents can call to set up sitting jobs. Using our dub record book, we can figure out who's free and schedule the jobs. It’s as simple as that. The club's been a success right from the start, but Kristy couldn't leave well enough alone. She had to add more ideas, like the dub notebook, in which we each write up every job we

go on. This is my favorite thing about the BSC — not! Actually, it drives me crazy, because I'm not the world's best speller, and I'm sometimes embarrassed by my entries. Still, I have to admit that knowing the details of what’s going on in our clients' lives makes us all better sitters.

Another patented Kristy Thomas idea? Kid-Kits. Those are boxes full of toys, stickers, and games we bring along on jobs. I just redecorated mine to look like a pirate ship. Kids love Kid-Kits.

Kristy knows what kids love, since kids are a big part of her life. Her mom remarried not that long ago, and when she did, Kristy's family doubled in size. Her stepfather, Watson Brewer, happens to be a millionaire — really! And Kristy moved across town to live in his mansion. He has two kids, Karen and Andrew, from his first marriage. They live at Kristy's house every other month. Also, Kristy has a new adopted sister, Emily Michelle, who's Vietnamese. So that mansion is pretty full, especially when you add in Kristy's grandmother Nannie, who came to live mere and help out after Emily Michelle arrived, and all the pets (a puppy, a cat, two goldfish, and two part-time pets, a rat and a hermit crab).