We haven't been on a date night in forever, and we have absolutely no family around. Finally, I posted an ad on care.com and am going to meet with a few babysitting candidates this weekend. It will be half an hour @ each candidate because I am trying to fit 4 in after LO wakes up from his nap!

I just wanted to observe their interaction with LO, and mostly to see if they are normal looking and what their personality is like. What else should I ask? I am not hiring a nanny so it should be much more relaxed. Besides, I really want many of them on my phone so I have many back up options (especially for short notice and/or valentine's day!). I do want to come up with a "ranking" though so I have my most favorite to the least.

A friend suggested to ask how do they determine when to call the parents, so we know how do they make an emergency judgement call.

Do you hire a babysitter occasionally? What would you ask? What is important to you? Any other advices?