How is it possible that we are halfway through the last month of 2010 already?!?! The month has flown by for us, mostly because we have a lot going on!
Cora started last week and got off to a good but slow start. She is coming off a job she's been at the past 23 years, so this is all new to her. But thankfully, Abby took to her right away as if she'd been with us for years (relief!). While she gets up to speed with Zach and our house, Jason and I have been around a bit more to guide her. I hope that this will be our last nanny for some time!
Surprisingly, Laura paid us a visit last week as well. I wasn't home at the time (lucky for her!) but Jason said she and her son knocked on our door at dinner time, came in and made themselves at home with her son going to play with Abby and she went to hold Zach right away. She apparently had tears in her eyes and asked how the kids were doing with our new nanny. She implied that her new job wasn't all that it seemed to be and she wasn't so happy. Jason didn't know if she was coming by to see if we'd offer her the job back, or to see if she wanted to come back or just to say hi, but he felt it was awkward considering she didn't feel it was necessary to tell us she'd be working in such close quarters.
Abby's been enjoying some fun kid-friendly activities such as a friend's holiday party, the off-broadway production of Annie and this past weekend, we took her to see the Radio City Rockettes. She loved taking the train to the city and being among the gizillion tourists in Rockefeller Center and along 5th Ave.
While we have been asked "who's that?" with regard to Santa, we haven't gotten the "why don't we have lights and a tree" question yet. If not this year, I am sure it will come next year!
Abby (and we) have something exciting/scary to look forward to in the coming weeks: The Diaper Fairy (younger sister of last year's Paci Fairy)will be paying us a visit to take Abby's diapers away once and for all when school lets out for the year. Our adorable, smart daughter is as stubborn as they come and refuses to use the potty, so Miss Diaper Fairy will be coming along to show her the way. We anticipate a rough few days (weeks?) but hopefully it will pay off and we'll just have one size of diapers to buy!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Love Thy Neighbor but Don't Covet Thy Neighbor's Nanny
Since last posting, Laura has left us...and started her new job just around the corner from us at our neighbor's house!!!! Yes, you read that right, and if you are even somewhat as appalled as I am, you understand my frustration. Here's the background:
As Laura's last day with us the week before Thanksgiving approached, I started finding out more about her reasons to leave, 99% of which had to do with her thinking she was working too many hours and not getting paid enough. Now I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure we are still in a recession, and last I checked, I don't get a raise from my company after just 6 months of employment! But apparently Laura's husband wasn't working so much and she needed to make more to support the family. So she told us that she had found an afternoon job working 12-6 pm 4 days a week so she could do housecleaning or something else in the mornings to make extra money. I felt badly and gave her a nice going-away present: products from work, some extra cash and a big hug with a "we'll call you for babysitting!" send-off.
Thanksgiving week came and went (my mom came to town, we ate a lot, played with the kids and had a fun week) and I stressed out over the nanny situation. I was still considering Laura's friend, Silvia, for the job, but I had reservations about her (as Laura's friend and she was asking for more money based on her previous job). I continued to field calls and screen candidates, and then, a small glimmer of hope: I was speaking with another nanny at Abby's gym class, Patricia, who Laura had become friendly with. I told her that I was looking for someone and gave her my number should she know of anyone. I got a call the next day from a woman named Cora, who said Patricia had passed along my information. With the holiday the next day, I took a few days to call Cora back but when I did, I couldn't believe I had waited so long.
Cora and I spoke briefly on Saturday morning via phone and I invited her to come to meet us that afternoon. By the time she left our house, I knew she was the One. Cora is a bit older - my guess is early 50s. She has worked at the same daycare in our town for 23 YEARS! She also babysits on the side and has a ton of references. She has been background checked, she has taken all of the childcare classes/workshops, is CPR certified, drives and lives IN MY town! Ours would be her first real "nanny" job but I know she is up for the task. We made Cora the offer and she very happily accepted and will start next week.
The day after we made Cora the offer, we found out that Laura is working for our neighbor. I also came to find out that she was soliciting business and trying to find a job at Abby's school - nice. And as if it isn't bad enough that she'll be working in my community and seeing my kids around, she won't call us back, presumably because she knows we found out and she feels guilty.
In the meantime, I let Silvia know that we couldn't hire her due to Laura's deceitfulness and I said I'd help her find a job because we did really like her, but it would not be a good idea to have Laura's friend working for us when Laura was working in the same small community. Hopefully, Silvia will pass along the message to Laura so she knows what she did was wrong - but judging by the fact that she won't return our calls and didn't come clean in the first place, she definitely knows she was wrong to do what she did.
All in all, I have a good feeling about Cora and our fresh start next week. So my kids won't grow up learning Spanish as their second language, but they'll hopefully be taken care of by a responsible, honest and caring woman who has more years of experience with children than us!
And may this be a lesson for all in the future: if you are in need of a new nanny, ask your neighbor's nanny for a referral for a friend, but don't hire their nanny as it certainly doesn't bode well for future run-ins in the neighborhood!
As Laura's last day with us the week before Thanksgiving approached, I started finding out more about her reasons to leave, 99% of which had to do with her thinking she was working too many hours and not getting paid enough. Now I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure we are still in a recession, and last I checked, I don't get a raise from my company after just 6 months of employment! But apparently Laura's husband wasn't working so much and she needed to make more to support the family. So she told us that she had found an afternoon job working 12-6 pm 4 days a week so she could do housecleaning or something else in the mornings to make extra money. I felt badly and gave her a nice going-away present: products from work, some extra cash and a big hug with a "we'll call you for babysitting!" send-off.
Thanksgiving week came and went (my mom came to town, we ate a lot, played with the kids and had a fun week) and I stressed out over the nanny situation. I was still considering Laura's friend, Silvia, for the job, but I had reservations about her (as Laura's friend and she was asking for more money based on her previous job). I continued to field calls and screen candidates, and then, a small glimmer of hope: I was speaking with another nanny at Abby's gym class, Patricia, who Laura had become friendly with. I told her that I was looking for someone and gave her my number should she know of anyone. I got a call the next day from a woman named Cora, who said Patricia had passed along my information. With the holiday the next day, I took a few days to call Cora back but when I did, I couldn't believe I had waited so long.
Cora and I spoke briefly on Saturday morning via phone and I invited her to come to meet us that afternoon. By the time she left our house, I knew she was the One. Cora is a bit older - my guess is early 50s. She has worked at the same daycare in our town for 23 YEARS! She also babysits on the side and has a ton of references. She has been background checked, she has taken all of the childcare classes/workshops, is CPR certified, drives and lives IN MY town! Ours would be her first real "nanny" job but I know she is up for the task. We made Cora the offer and she very happily accepted and will start next week.
The day after we made Cora the offer, we found out that Laura is working for our neighbor. I also came to find out that she was soliciting business and trying to find a job at Abby's school - nice. And as if it isn't bad enough that she'll be working in my community and seeing my kids around, she won't call us back, presumably because she knows we found out and she feels guilty.
In the meantime, I let Silvia know that we couldn't hire her due to Laura's deceitfulness and I said I'd help her find a job because we did really like her, but it would not be a good idea to have Laura's friend working for us when Laura was working in the same small community. Hopefully, Silvia will pass along the message to Laura so she knows what she did was wrong - but judging by the fact that she won't return our calls and didn't come clean in the first place, she definitely knows she was wrong to do what she did.
All in all, I have a good feeling about Cora and our fresh start next week. So my kids won't grow up learning Spanish as their second language, but they'll hopefully be taken care of by a responsible, honest and caring woman who has more years of experience with children than us!
And may this be a lesson for all in the future: if you are in need of a new nanny, ask your neighbor's nanny for a referral for a friend, but don't hire their nanny as it certainly doesn't bode well for future run-ins in the neighborhood!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Another Nanny Nightmare...Again
I mean, really. If someone had told me 4+ years ago before having kids that finding and keeping a nanny would be the bane of my existance, I might have either moved somewhere with a lower cost of living where I could be a SAHM, or just not had kids. I am OVER IT.
The latest debacle (if you haven't already seen it on Facebook) is that our beloved nanny, Laura, is leaving us. I am alternating between being super-pissed off and very sad. There is still some fuzziness regarding her decision to leave because I heard a few reasons from her and a few reasons from my friend's nanny (who originally introduced us). The reasons range from: shorter hours to get home for dinner and homework help to better pay (can't argue there, there is only so much we can offer her!) and Abby's behavior lately (a bit challenging but not so horrendous as to warrant a nanny leaving). It seems that she is torn up about it - she says she loves us, working for us, loves our kids, etc. But she can't stay. She is trying to get us to hire one of her friends, who we are meeting with tonight, but I am not sure I want to have a friend of hers since her reasoning is still a bit sketchy. My friend's nanny also is trying to help us out again and she apparently got a call from Laura that Laura was angry she was helping us (?!?!?). You can probably see my confusion and stress now, huh?
Needless to say, it's not exactly what I was hoping I'd have to do again, and so soon. I am dreading the adjustment period for us all, assuming we find someone we like who wants to work for us. I just want this nightmare to be over with and find someone who we trust, like and can keep until both kids are in school full time!
The latest debacle (if you haven't already seen it on Facebook) is that our beloved nanny, Laura, is leaving us. I am alternating between being super-pissed off and very sad. There is still some fuzziness regarding her decision to leave because I heard a few reasons from her and a few reasons from my friend's nanny (who originally introduced us). The reasons range from: shorter hours to get home for dinner and homework help to better pay (can't argue there, there is only so much we can offer her!) and Abby's behavior lately (a bit challenging but not so horrendous as to warrant a nanny leaving). It seems that she is torn up about it - she says she loves us, working for us, loves our kids, etc. But she can't stay. She is trying to get us to hire one of her friends, who we are meeting with tonight, but I am not sure I want to have a friend of hers since her reasoning is still a bit sketchy. My friend's nanny also is trying to help us out again and she apparently got a call from Laura that Laura was angry she was helping us (?!?!?). You can probably see my confusion and stress now, huh?
Needless to say, it's not exactly what I was hoping I'd have to do again, and so soon. I am dreading the adjustment period for us all, assuming we find someone we like who wants to work for us. I just want this nightmare to be over with and find someone who we trust, like and can keep until both kids are in school full time!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Ready...Set...Trick or Treat!
One day from now, my little man will turn 6 months old, and to celebrate, we thought it would be fun and appropriate to dress up and go trick-or-treating! (I can only imagine how much fun it would be for a kid whose birthday really falls on Halloween!)
Spoiler alert: Abby and Zach are going as a ladybug and bumblebee, or Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy from one of Abby's favorite books. We got a taste of how cute a bumblebee could be when Zach wore his costume to Barnes & Noble's dress-up storytime yesterday. He looked as sweet as honey :). And my little ladybug-to-be, who caught a school cold and kindly passed it on to her brother and mommy, is ready to rock her black and red dress, tights, turtleneck and boots on Sunday. Frankly, I haven't been this excited for Halloween in a LONG time!
Hopefully if we are all in good health and spirits, we'll make it to two parties, Stew Leonard's (trick-or-treating and free ice cream for kids in costume on Sunday!) and to our neighbors doors all before we collapse in a sugar overload. In a half-ass attempt at bribing Abby to use the potty, we already planted the seed that she will only get candy if she goes to the bathroom. We shall see how long that lasts!
I'll post pics after the weekend and I hope everyone has a fun time!
Spoiler alert: Abby and Zach are going as a ladybug and bumblebee, or Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy from one of Abby's favorite books. We got a taste of how cute a bumblebee could be when Zach wore his costume to Barnes & Noble's dress-up storytime yesterday. He looked as sweet as honey :). And my little ladybug-to-be, who caught a school cold and kindly passed it on to her brother and mommy, is ready to rock her black and red dress, tights, turtleneck and boots on Sunday. Frankly, I haven't been this excited for Halloween in a LONG time!
Hopefully if we are all in good health and spirits, we'll make it to two parties, Stew Leonard's (trick-or-treating and free ice cream for kids in costume on Sunday!) and to our neighbors doors all before we collapse in a sugar overload. In a half-ass attempt at bribing Abby to use the potty, we already planted the seed that she will only get candy if she goes to the bathroom. We shall see how long that lasts!
I'll post pics after the weekend and I hope everyone has a fun time!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The Mid-Month Review
Alas, my favorite month of the year (and not only because it's my birth month) is already more than half over! Which means that we are quickly approaching Zach's 6-month mark and the start of the oh-so-fun holiday season.
What have we been up to this month, you ask? Well, like every other family in the Northeast, we went pumpkin picking last weekend at Outhouse Orchards. Between the pony rides, hayride, swingset, fresh food, ice cream truck, band and pumpkin patch, there was more than enough for everyone to do. Unfortunately, Jason got a little ambitious when pushing Abby on the "big girl" swing and she fell off it - thankfully with just a scare for us all, nothing more.
We are also working on cleaning out our loft/office area to make a real room for poor Zach, who routinely alternates his sleeping arrangements between a pack and play in our closet and a crib (with Abby's pink sheets) in the loft. We are hoping to get a wall built ASAP so we all can go back to having our own spaces, and the kid can have some blue or green crib sheets of his own!
I celebrated my birthday night at Abby's school at storytime, where the parents took turns reading to the group and the kids enjoyed cookies and milk. Afterwards, we came home and enjoyed cake and other delicious treats.
And last, but definitely not least, last night Abby FINALLY decided to SIT on the potty again, which she hasn't done in a very long time. Nothing happened, but we are back to celebrating the baby steps in this horrific process known as potty training. And should the day ever come when she is out of diapers, we will no doubt celebrate in a very big way!
What have we been up to this month, you ask? Well, like every other family in the Northeast, we went pumpkin picking last weekend at Outhouse Orchards. Between the pony rides, hayride, swingset, fresh food, ice cream truck, band and pumpkin patch, there was more than enough for everyone to do. Unfortunately, Jason got a little ambitious when pushing Abby on the "big girl" swing and she fell off it - thankfully with just a scare for us all, nothing more.
We are also working on cleaning out our loft/office area to make a real room for poor Zach, who routinely alternates his sleeping arrangements between a pack and play in our closet and a crib (with Abby's pink sheets) in the loft. We are hoping to get a wall built ASAP so we all can go back to having our own spaces, and the kid can have some blue or green crib sheets of his own!
I celebrated my birthday night at Abby's school at storytime, where the parents took turns reading to the group and the kids enjoyed cookies and milk. Afterwards, we came home and enjoyed cake and other delicious treats.
And last, but definitely not least, last night Abby FINALLY decided to SIT on the potty again, which she hasn't done in a very long time. Nothing happened, but we are back to celebrating the baby steps in this horrific process known as potty training. And should the day ever come when she is out of diapers, we will no doubt celebrate in a very big way!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Zach Earns His Wings
Zachary earned his first set of wings this weekend when he and mommy went to Chicago! We got very lucky on several fronts when we left: it was a torrential rain and wind storm with every road leading to the airport flooded, but we made it just in time. The gate agent must have felt badly for the single mom traveling with her adorable baby and not only gave us the bulk head, but an extra seat for Zach as well (thank you Steven Webber at AA)!!! With a little assistance from fellow passengers, we got settled and Zach did great on his first flight - he ate, pooped, played and slept a little. We even landed in Chicago early, so there really is a first time for everything!
Over the weekend, we went to the cemetery to visit Zach's Grandpa Joe and Great-Grandma Faye, we met up with some friends and enjoyed the local specialties, including deep dish pizza, Dairy Queen and cheese fries. Clearly it was not a trip for anyone on a diet!
Zach met his extended family and his Grammy's close friends on Sunday when Grammy went a bit overboard with a catered party for him which included "Z" mini-cupcakes and way too much food.
All the while, Abby enjoyed some daughter/daddy (and grandparent) time, had her 3rd visit to the dentist and visited the Greenburgh Nature Center for like the 5th time this year. She and daddy also took Sadie for a much-needed grooming.
The trip home was pretty easy, though Zach was on my lap during it instead of his own seat. But we made it home in one piece and I realized how much easier it is to travel with a 5-month-old than a 3-year-old (which I never would have done when Abby was 5 months old)!
Over the weekend, we went to the cemetery to visit Zach's Grandpa Joe and Great-Grandma Faye, we met up with some friends and enjoyed the local specialties, including deep dish pizza, Dairy Queen and cheese fries. Clearly it was not a trip for anyone on a diet!
Zach met his extended family and his Grammy's close friends on Sunday when Grammy went a bit overboard with a catered party for him which included "Z" mini-cupcakes and way too much food.
All the while, Abby enjoyed some daughter/daddy (and grandparent) time, had her 3rd visit to the dentist and visited the Greenburgh Nature Center for like the 5th time this year. She and daddy also took Sadie for a much-needed grooming.
The trip home was pretty easy, though Zach was on my lap during it instead of his own seat. But we made it home in one piece and I realized how much easier it is to travel with a 5-month-old than a 3-year-old (which I never would have done when Abby was 5 months old)!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Adventures in Maryland
This past weekend, Jason and I packed up the kids and a whole lot of luggage and headed down "south," to visit friends in Maryland. Our roadtrip began Friday at 5:30 pm (yes, we chose to sit in rush hour traffic) and we arrived at our first destination just outside of Baltimore (our friends Karrie & Michael's house) around 10:15 pm. Thankfully, both kids fell asleep in the car and transferred nicely. That was the first night that Abby slept on an air mattress and she did great, other than waking up at 2 am confused about where she was!
Saturday morning we hung out with Karrie & Michael's kids at their place and then packed up everyone yet again and drove to Rockville, Maryland. Our plan was to surprise birthday girl Lauren at brunch, which went perfectly as we saw the look on her face of pure shock when she walked into the restaurant and saw us there. After enjoying some birthday cupcakes we brought down from Magnolia Bakery in NYC, we sent the husbands off with 6 kids (ages 4.5 months - 4.5 years)so that Karrie, Lauren and I could enjoy some girl time with massages. The kids also had a great time at the town fair, getting balloon animals, their faces painted and playing in a bounce house.
Saturday night was adults night out at Rosa Mexicano in National Harbor. We had a great night of perfect weather and with no children, we all were able to engage in real adult conversation for a change!
Our trip ended Sunday morning when we left early so that Lauren & Dan could get their house ready for an open house and attend a few birthday parties. Zach took his usual 30-45-minute naps throughout the day so the poor guy was exhausted at night. But all in all, it was a fun and action-packed weekend that we all enjoyed!
Next up - a mommy/son trip to Chicago next weekend (and Zach's first flight) which will be a lot of fun assuming Mommy can get through the airport and plane ride in one piece. Abby and Daddy will enjoy their time together as well, and Jason and I will be sure to compare notes about who is easier - the 5-month old or the 3-year old!
Saturday morning we hung out with Karrie & Michael's kids at their place and then packed up everyone yet again and drove to Rockville, Maryland. Our plan was to surprise birthday girl Lauren at brunch, which went perfectly as we saw the look on her face of pure shock when she walked into the restaurant and saw us there. After enjoying some birthday cupcakes we brought down from Magnolia Bakery in NYC, we sent the husbands off with 6 kids (ages 4.5 months - 4.5 years)so that Karrie, Lauren and I could enjoy some girl time with massages. The kids also had a great time at the town fair, getting balloon animals, their faces painted and playing in a bounce house.
Saturday night was adults night out at Rosa Mexicano in National Harbor. We had a great night of perfect weather and with no children, we all were able to engage in real adult conversation for a change!
Our trip ended Sunday morning when we left early so that Lauren & Dan could get their house ready for an open house and attend a few birthday parties. Zach took his usual 30-45-minute naps throughout the day so the poor guy was exhausted at night. But all in all, it was a fun and action-packed weekend that we all enjoyed!
Next up - a mommy/son trip to Chicago next weekend (and Zach's first flight) which will be a lot of fun assuming Mommy can get through the airport and plane ride in one piece. Abby and Daddy will enjoy their time together as well, and Jason and I will be sure to compare notes about who is easier - the 5-month old or the 3-year old!
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