So sorry for the delay in posting, again, but traveling over Labor Day weekend is always a challenge, especially when you have little ones in the mix.
My TGIF posting is about the kitchen and cooking-one of my favorite pastimes. I know that this good information tip requires a little forethought, but I promise that the minimal planning pays off big time in the long run.
If you are like me and you enjoy cooking, you probably keep a freezer full of dinner supplies-chicken, beef, seafood etc.-so that you can pull something out in the morning and it will defrost in time for dinner....right?
Try marinating your meats and seafood BEFORE you freeze them. It really locks in the flavor and while the meat defrosts it also marinates so that by dinner time all you have to do is cook the meat, instead of trimming it and deciding how you are going to prepare it. Plus, the extra time the meat marinates only enhances the flavor.
Although it requires a little more prep time when you initially buy the meats and freeze them, it saves you a good fifteen minutes or more when you are trying to throw dinner together on the week nights.
I personally like to buy meats in bulk (to save money) at Costco maybe once per month. I plan my shopping trip for a day when I know I will have some free time and while my son naps, I break up the chicken and meat and seafood into small portions. I put each dinner sized portions in their own Ziploc bags with a different marinade (Buffalo sauce, terriyaki, citrus, etc.) and I label it on the outside of the bag so that I can differentiate between what each item is when it comes time to defrost. As I said before, I love to cook, so I choose to make my own marinades which takes longer, but you can cut down on the prep time by buying pre-made marinades or herb rubs when they are on sale at the supermarket (there is always at least one brand of marinade or salad dressing on sale at the supermarket each week) or you can purchase them in bulk to save money. A little Italian dressing on plain chicken breasts can make some really good moist grilled chicken in the summer months.
It takes me about an hour, once every few weeks, to trim the fat, divide up these meats and seafoods and marinate them, but it stocks my freezer full of pre-marinated entrees that I can quickly defrost during the week when I am pressed for time.
As an extra bonus, I am going to share one of my favorite (and really easy) marinades with you. This marinade is excellent on chicken, but is so mild it can be used on almost any kind of meat or seafood.
-Place 1 pound of boneless, trimmed chicken into a Ziploc bag and mix with:
-1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
-fresh cracked pepper from a mill to taste (almost a full tablespoon)
-salt to taste (almost a full tablespoon)
-Oregano, fresh or dried (1 tablespoon)
-juice from 2 squeezed lemons
This is a nice light marinade that works well for chicken kebabs or grilled fish or shrimp.
Enjoy!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Recommendation Wednesdays
I recently received this email:
The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.
I so wanted the information to be true because as a parent I feel that I am now more cautious and more aware of my surroundings in general than I ever was before and traveling with kids always heightens my feelings of angst and my desire to be prepared for any situation.
To verify information like this and other snippets or facts that claim to be lifesavers or the hottest new tidbit of information, log onto http://www.snopes.com/. This website is designed to test the truthfulness of the most current urban legends that are circulating the Internet and by word of mouth.
After logging onto this website I learned that this email contained false information and that I should not depend on being able to dial 112 from a locked cell phone in case of emergency. It only took me about 30 seconds on the snopes website to debunk this urban legend and even though the information turned out to be misinformation, I feel better knowing for sure.
Hope you find this website useful as well.
The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.
I so wanted the information to be true because as a parent I feel that I am now more cautious and more aware of my surroundings in general than I ever was before and traveling with kids always heightens my feelings of angst and my desire to be prepared for any situation.
To verify information like this and other snippets or facts that claim to be lifesavers or the hottest new tidbit of information, log onto http://www.snopes.com/. This website is designed to test the truthfulness of the most current urban legends that are circulating the Internet and by word of mouth.
After logging onto this website I learned that this email contained false information and that I should not depend on being able to dial 112 from a locked cell phone in case of emergency. It only took me about 30 seconds on the snopes website to debunk this urban legend and even though the information turned out to be misinformation, I feel better knowing for sure.
Hope you find this website useful as well.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Vacation Days
One of my favorite things about my family is the fact that we have certain family traditions that we work hard to maintain. The most relaxing of these being our annual trip to the Outer Banks in the end of August for a family vacation.
My parents originally began taking my siblings and I to the Outer Banks back in 1985. The first year we went to Kitty Hawk and then we moved further down and started to spend our summers in Duck, North Carolina instead. This annual family vacation morphed over the years from one week to two weeks and we upgraded from smaller town homes further away from the beach to large sprawling houses on the beach that were so big we were all permitted to bring a friend with us on vacation.
I can't remember when exactly the vacations ended, but after about 8 or 9 years, they ceased because my older siblings left for college and came home and worked over the summer or went abroad and eventually I went away to boarding school, so late August vacations were no longer conducive to everyone's busy schedules and preparing for a new school year.
Sometime after my brother graduated college and got married he and his wife re-instituted the annual trip to the Outer Banks. They rented homes for two weeks that could accommodate everyone in the family and their spouses and we were all invited to join them. These vacations picked back up in the late 1990's- 1997 to be exact, I think. These were fabulous times. We were all older and immersed in our own lives but for one week every August we made the trek to the shores where we had spent our childhood summers. Fond memories of past summers always came flooding back and new memories were made. We lingered on the beach during the day, indulging ourselves in the luxury of uninterrupted pleasure reading. Cocktail hour usually began no later than 4pm and we all took turns cooking dinner. We would all leave the beach with a sun kissed glow and a refreshed outlook on life.
By the time we hit the new millennium, my brother and his wife had a child and my sister was engaged and I was living with the man who would later become my husband. With only one kid in the mix in 2001, things were not that different the first year or even the first two years at the beach. He was little and still slept a lot, so other than having to be a little quieter at night so that the baby could fall asleep, our family tradition of a week at the beach was not that different.
Enter 2007. By then there were three kids in the mix and 8 adults. We were all married and we were "in production" as my dad says. The houses got larger and larger every year and cocktail hour started later and later. Being on the beach no longer meant indulging in the pleasure of leisure reading (except for my husband and I who had not started reproducing yet), it involved chasing after little ones who ran around with shovels overhead as they crushed each other's sandcastles squealing with delight.
Summer 2008 marked the start of a new era at the beach. Our family vacations were complete and had come full circle. My parents were there for the week with their three grown children, their children's spouses, and their children's children-apparently I was in the early stages of my pregnancy at the beach the previous summer in August of 2007 but didn't know it until I got home and took a pregnancy test when I couldn't shake "the puking flu" that made me feel awful for weeks. The house we got this summer in Pine Island sleeps 22 people in 8 different bedrooms ( no fold out sofas here) spread out over three floors. We have a huge pool out back that is fenced in and we are less than 100 yards from the beach. There are four little monkeys, ages 6, 3, 3, and 1 running around at all times and both my sister and I are pregnant with our second and we are both having a girl. I am due around Thanksgiving and she is due around Christmas.
It is amazing to have this week together every year to regroup as a family and to see each other; plus it is nice for the little kids to grow up together and to really know their cousins. There are so many adults around and so many helpful hands on deck that everyone gets a break. The same person is not cooking dinner every night and there is always someone around to watch your kid for a few minutes so that you can take a shower. With all these wonderful things though comes rivalry. Kids are on different schedules and want different things at different times and they are forced to compromise and share which they are not necessarily used to. It is an adjustment for the adults as well. We are older and have been around each other longer and can act more maturely than the 3 year-olds can, but we too have to give in to other's whims and compromise sometimes. Maybe Dad makes the coffee a lot stronger than you are used to or your sibling does not parent their child the same way you do in similar situations, but these are all things that adults have to learn to adjust to as well as their children.
Being at a beach house can also exacerbate the situation because everyone is out of their element. Kids are not sleeping in their own beds and adults are cooking in different kitchens and having to get the lay of the land of the rental house which is never as equipped as your own home is. All of these things can make tempers flare and patience run thin. People's nerves get frayed and its easy to say things like, " Oh I would never do that" or "He would never behave like that at home, but he's on vacation...." or my personal favorite, "Oh well, I will go back to eating a healthy diet when we get back home."
What do these weeks away teach us and our children? To be patient and communicate so that we can compromise. I feel like I also gain insight, small little glimpses, into the way my siblings parent and reminders about the way my own parents raised us and I find it both reassuring (that I am doing a good job) and encouraging. It is nice to know that other parents go through some of the same battles with their kids that I do and that I am not alone.
These vacations are really a gift in so many ways and they are a reminder of how lucky I am to have a great family that I can share this time with. Yes, there will be times on vacation when I long for my own bed or get distressed because the older kid's screaming woke up my son prematurely from a nap, but it's good for me to be reminded of what it is like to have to roll with the punches and it is also good for my son to learn this lesson from my own example.
My parents originally began taking my siblings and I to the Outer Banks back in 1985. The first year we went to Kitty Hawk and then we moved further down and started to spend our summers in Duck, North Carolina instead. This annual family vacation morphed over the years from one week to two weeks and we upgraded from smaller town homes further away from the beach to large sprawling houses on the beach that were so big we were all permitted to bring a friend with us on vacation.
I can't remember when exactly the vacations ended, but after about 8 or 9 years, they ceased because my older siblings left for college and came home and worked over the summer or went abroad and eventually I went away to boarding school, so late August vacations were no longer conducive to everyone's busy schedules and preparing for a new school year.
Sometime after my brother graduated college and got married he and his wife re-instituted the annual trip to the Outer Banks. They rented homes for two weeks that could accommodate everyone in the family and their spouses and we were all invited to join them. These vacations picked back up in the late 1990's- 1997 to be exact, I think. These were fabulous times. We were all older and immersed in our own lives but for one week every August we made the trek to the shores where we had spent our childhood summers. Fond memories of past summers always came flooding back and new memories were made. We lingered on the beach during the day, indulging ourselves in the luxury of uninterrupted pleasure reading. Cocktail hour usually began no later than 4pm and we all took turns cooking dinner. We would all leave the beach with a sun kissed glow and a refreshed outlook on life.
By the time we hit the new millennium, my brother and his wife had a child and my sister was engaged and I was living with the man who would later become my husband. With only one kid in the mix in 2001, things were not that different the first year or even the first two years at the beach. He was little and still slept a lot, so other than having to be a little quieter at night so that the baby could fall asleep, our family tradition of a week at the beach was not that different.
Enter 2007. By then there were three kids in the mix and 8 adults. We were all married and we were "in production" as my dad says. The houses got larger and larger every year and cocktail hour started later and later. Being on the beach no longer meant indulging in the pleasure of leisure reading (except for my husband and I who had not started reproducing yet), it involved chasing after little ones who ran around with shovels overhead as they crushed each other's sandcastles squealing with delight.
Summer 2008 marked the start of a new era at the beach. Our family vacations were complete and had come full circle. My parents were there for the week with their three grown children, their children's spouses, and their children's children-apparently I was in the early stages of my pregnancy at the beach the previous summer in August of 2007 but didn't know it until I got home and took a pregnancy test when I couldn't shake "the puking flu" that made me feel awful for weeks. The house we got this summer in Pine Island sleeps 22 people in 8 different bedrooms ( no fold out sofas here) spread out over three floors. We have a huge pool out back that is fenced in and we are less than 100 yards from the beach. There are four little monkeys, ages 6, 3, 3, and 1 running around at all times and both my sister and I are pregnant with our second and we are both having a girl. I am due around Thanksgiving and she is due around Christmas.
It is amazing to have this week together every year to regroup as a family and to see each other; plus it is nice for the little kids to grow up together and to really know their cousins. There are so many adults around and so many helpful hands on deck that everyone gets a break. The same person is not cooking dinner every night and there is always someone around to watch your kid for a few minutes so that you can take a shower. With all these wonderful things though comes rivalry. Kids are on different schedules and want different things at different times and they are forced to compromise and share which they are not necessarily used to. It is an adjustment for the adults as well. We are older and have been around each other longer and can act more maturely than the 3 year-olds can, but we too have to give in to other's whims and compromise sometimes. Maybe Dad makes the coffee a lot stronger than you are used to or your sibling does not parent their child the same way you do in similar situations, but these are all things that adults have to learn to adjust to as well as their children.
Being at a beach house can also exacerbate the situation because everyone is out of their element. Kids are not sleeping in their own beds and adults are cooking in different kitchens and having to get the lay of the land of the rental house which is never as equipped as your own home is. All of these things can make tempers flare and patience run thin. People's nerves get frayed and its easy to say things like, " Oh I would never do that" or "He would never behave like that at home, but he's on vacation...." or my personal favorite, "Oh well, I will go back to eating a healthy diet when we get back home."
What do these weeks away teach us and our children? To be patient and communicate so that we can compromise. I feel like I also gain insight, small little glimpses, into the way my siblings parent and reminders about the way my own parents raised us and I find it both reassuring (that I am doing a good job) and encouraging. It is nice to know that other parents go through some of the same battles with their kids that I do and that I am not alone.
These vacations are really a gift in so many ways and they are a reminder of how lucky I am to have a great family that I can share this time with. Yes, there will be times on vacation when I long for my own bed or get distressed because the older kid's screaming woke up my son prematurely from a nap, but it's good for me to be reminded of what it is like to have to roll with the punches and it is also good for my son to learn this lesson from my own example.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
TGIF
So sorry to keep you waiting, but traveling to the Outer Banks for our annual family vacation and setting up our computer took longer than anticipated, so here is Friday's post.
Great Tips For Traveling With Kids of Any Age:
1. Be Prepared. Make sure sure that your diaper bag is fully stocked with all the basic necessities like diapers, wipes, snacks, bottles, sippy cups, change of clothes etc. and that it is accessible and easy to reach when you are in the car and when you stop. Make sure that your diaper bag also includes a medicine pouch with band-aids, Motrin and other items that may prove useful if your child starts teething while on the road or accidentally gets a bee sting while at a rest stop. Put a cooler in your car as well and fill it with snacks and cold drinks for both parents and kids. This can be a real time saver while on the road and sometimes the options for where to eat are slim and not the healthiest.
2. Car Entertainment. Stock up prior to your trip on some new small toys that your child can play with while in his car seat. If you have a DVD player in your car or a portable one, purchase a new DVD for your child as well. The novelty of these new toys and new videos can be lifesavers for when you get stuck in traffic or your child just gets plain old bored and cranky from sitting in his car seat for too long.
3. Time Your Trip. If your child is on a set napping schedule, try to schedule your departure for when your child needs to nap. For example, our son naps everyday from 11am-2pm so when we need to drive a long distance somewhere, we wake up and start our day at home the usual way-breakfast, playing outside or a trip to the park to tire the little guy out and then a big snack, a bottle, and a diaper change before we get into the car to head out. Within the first fifteen minutes our son dozes off and sleeps for the first few hours of the car trip. Once our son wakes up we schedule another stop at a restaurant, a rest area with picnic tables (we pack a picnic lunch in our cooler) or a fast food joint if that is the only option. Stopping and getting out of the car, even if it is only for half an hour, does wonders for a traveling child's demeanor. Our son likes to stop and eat and stretch his legs. Lots of rest areas have grassy picnic areas where he can run around for a few minutes after lunch before getting back into the car and many McDonalds include play spaces where kids can get their energy out.
4. Plan Your Route. We all plan our route ahead of time and with all of the modern GPS technologies out there it is not hard to navigate your route. If your car does not have a navigation system in it, make sure you have a map of the area where you will be traveling and alternate routes mapped out as well in case roads are closed or there is an accident somewhere along the way. You can also plan your route according to where you will make scheduled stops. For example, when we drive REALLY long distances, like to Florida, we find malls along the way that offer a lot of resources for us when we stop. We can all get out of the car and eat at a restaurant and the stimulation of walking around a new setting with lots of new things to look at, not only gives the adults eyes a break from the monotony of driving, but for our son it is enough stimulation to keep him from getting too cranky while traveling.
Employ this strategies the next time you are traveling with kids and see how it makes your ride a little easier and little more enjoyable.
Great Tips For Traveling With Kids of Any Age:
1. Be Prepared. Make sure sure that your diaper bag is fully stocked with all the basic necessities like diapers, wipes, snacks, bottles, sippy cups, change of clothes etc. and that it is accessible and easy to reach when you are in the car and when you stop. Make sure that your diaper bag also includes a medicine pouch with band-aids, Motrin and other items that may prove useful if your child starts teething while on the road or accidentally gets a bee sting while at a rest stop. Put a cooler in your car as well and fill it with snacks and cold drinks for both parents and kids. This can be a real time saver while on the road and sometimes the options for where to eat are slim and not the healthiest.
2. Car Entertainment. Stock up prior to your trip on some new small toys that your child can play with while in his car seat. If you have a DVD player in your car or a portable one, purchase a new DVD for your child as well. The novelty of these new toys and new videos can be lifesavers for when you get stuck in traffic or your child just gets plain old bored and cranky from sitting in his car seat for too long.
3. Time Your Trip. If your child is on a set napping schedule, try to schedule your departure for when your child needs to nap. For example, our son naps everyday from 11am-2pm so when we need to drive a long distance somewhere, we wake up and start our day at home the usual way-breakfast, playing outside or a trip to the park to tire the little guy out and then a big snack, a bottle, and a diaper change before we get into the car to head out. Within the first fifteen minutes our son dozes off and sleeps for the first few hours of the car trip. Once our son wakes up we schedule another stop at a restaurant, a rest area with picnic tables (we pack a picnic lunch in our cooler) or a fast food joint if that is the only option. Stopping and getting out of the car, even if it is only for half an hour, does wonders for a traveling child's demeanor. Our son likes to stop and eat and stretch his legs. Lots of rest areas have grassy picnic areas where he can run around for a few minutes after lunch before getting back into the car and many McDonalds include play spaces where kids can get their energy out.
4. Plan Your Route. We all plan our route ahead of time and with all of the modern GPS technologies out there it is not hard to navigate your route. If your car does not have a navigation system in it, make sure you have a map of the area where you will be traveling and alternate routes mapped out as well in case roads are closed or there is an accident somewhere along the way. You can also plan your route according to where you will make scheduled stops. For example, when we drive REALLY long distances, like to Florida, we find malls along the way that offer a lot of resources for us when we stop. We can all get out of the car and eat at a restaurant and the stimulation of walking around a new setting with lots of new things to look at, not only gives the adults eyes a break from the monotony of driving, but for our son it is enough stimulation to keep him from getting too cranky while traveling.
Employ this strategies the next time you are traveling with kids and see how it makes your ride a little easier and little more enjoyable.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Recommendation Wednesdays
I have had a lot of friends and family members recently ask me how to find good childcare in the Washington, DC area. As a former nanny in the area I am very tapped into the local "nanny network" and below is an article I wrote to explain the methods one should take to find appropriate childcare in this city. I hope that you find it useful and that you pass it along to your friends and family.
How to Hire the Right Nanny for Your Child
Sometime after the birth of your child, you will hit a point when you need to consider hiring some professional help. For some women that means employing a full-time nanny so that the mom can return to work. For others, it means getting part-time help so that the mom can work part-time or just have some time to complete her chores and the running of her household, without always having a baby in tow.
Whatever your needs may be, it is important to take the right steps when going through the process of finding the right caregiver for your child. Of course every parent wants to hire Mary Poppins, because if you can’t be there with your child yourself, you want the next best thing and for many people, Mary Poppins is the ideal candidate. That being said, you have to realize ahead of beginning your search for the perfect nanny that there is no Mary Poppins and that if she did exist outside of the Disney movie, she would already be employed by someone else.
Common sense tells us a lot of what we need to know about finding a suitable nanny-do your research and make sure you thoroughly screen all candidates-this person will be caring for your most valued baby. Always be prepared and ask a number of questions in order to get to know the person etc. These things are obvious and what any parent would do. To really get the inside scoop on a person who you are considering hiring to watch your child you need to do the following three things.
Your first step in the hunt for a nanny should be to tap the network. Talk to friends, family, and other moms in the area and ask those people if they have a nanny and if so where did they get her? Often times this will lead to referrals. When I was a full-time nanny working in DC, I often babysat on the weekends for families other than the one that employed me as their full-time nanny. The mother would recommend me to friends of hers, or women from the neighborhood would approach me at the local park and inquire if I was interested in making some extra cash on the weekends, doing some part-time babysitting for them.
Some other great resources for tapping the network are: 1) put an ad on craigslist.com. The pre-screening can be done via an anonymous email account and from there you can do phone interviews to get to know the candidate before meeting in person. 2) Place an ad in a local paper like a Gazette or a college newspaper. Universities and colleges are huge resources of employable young people who are often looking for work and who have flexible hours. If you live close to a university or college call and ask where you should place the ad for hiring a part time sitter. Is it best to do it in the college paper or is it better to hang a flyer on campus somewhere? 3) Billboards. Make a flyer stating your needs and what you are looking for and hang it around your neighborhood on billboards at supermarkets, parks, and high schools. Again you can do interviews over the phone before meeting candidates in person. These billboards usually also have flyers made up by nannies looking for new jobs or extra weekend hours so you can take down their information and contact them if you are interested. 4) Hit the net. There are various websites that are devoted to helping you find appropriate childcare and most sites let you register and view resumes and profiles (for a small monthly fee) of candidates that are available in your area. 5) Hire an expert-if you have tapped out the local network and exercised all the contacts you have in the mom world and dislike the idea of daycare, hire an agency to help you find a nanny. Yes, this will cost you a little more money up front (a finder’s fee) but someone will do the searching for you, according to your specifications.
You may get lucky right away and get a name from a friend. Even though this is a slim chance, there is also the possibility that your friend’s nanny has other friends who are nannies and one of them may be looking for work. When I worked in DC, I had a whole group of other friends that I hung out with who were also full-time nannies. Our nanny clique organized play dates, birthday parties, trips to the zoo, and lunches. We were our own nanny network. Even if you don’t get the name of a potential candidate, at the very least you will gain valuable insight from other parents who have already had the experience of hiring a nanny. While everyone’s experience is different, getting advice from other parents can save you from making some of the mistakes that they did and it can also grant you the benefit of knowledge about what did work for them. Overall it is worth it to tap the network and complete your research on this topic before you begin interviewing candidates. You will feel more prepared and you will have a clear plan of how to hire a nanny.
Once you have decided what qualities you want your nanny to have, it is important to outline a list of questions, so that you can determine if each candidate possess those specific traits or not. While most parent know ahead of time what they consider to be the “perfect nanny” you have to remember that just like so many other things in this world, you get what you pay for. If you want Mary Poppins, you are going to have to be reasonable and realize that you will have to pay top dollar for the cream of the crop of the nanny world. Educated, experienced nannies are going to cost more. One time I interviewed with a family who was great and it was an ideal job in most respects, except that this particular family was not willingly to pay me the going rate. They felt that my time was worth a lot less and that sent a clear message to me about what it would be like to work for them. I ultimately took another job since they were not reasonable about my pay rate. For the amount of work they wanted me to do; they did not want to pay me a comparable rate for those tasks. Remember, like other jobs out there, nannies with more experience and better resumes are going to have their pick of various jobs and are going to command a higher salary than most, since their qualifications dictate that they have earned the right to do that. Do not go into the interviewing process with high hopes of finding the perfect nanny who miraculously charges $5.00 less per hour than the going rate, because you will be disappointed.
Lastly, look at interviewing candidates as a big game of match making. Not every great nanny is the right nanny for you. Finding someone who you are comfortable with and who your child is comfortable with is important and you may not feel right about every candidate. When I recently interviewed babysitters there was this one candidate, Sarah, who was great. She was experienced, getting her master’s degree in education, and she was first aid and CPR certified, but during the entire interview process she paid more attention to our lazy bulldog than she did to my son. When Sarah did ask me questions about the job, she chose to inquire about my handbag that was sitting on the counter, instead of asking anything about Bruno, the hours, the details of the job or what the pay rate was. To me her lack of interest in my son and the job I was offering seemed to bore her. She was an example of someone who looked great on paper and who had a lot of really great qualifications, but she just did not seem like what I was looking for. She may be great, but she was clearly not the right fit for my family.
Remember, some candidates may be experienced and great on paper, but may not share your views on discipline or parenting. While you don’t have to see eye-to-eye on everything, you have to feel like your nanny respects your rules of parenting and that she will enforce those rules in the same way that you would when you are not around. On the flip side, you need to be aware that a nanny may get multiple job offers from various families and that if she chooses to decline your offer of employment, it is no reflection on you, your child, or the way you parent. Finding a nanny is like finding a wedding dress, you know it when you see it. Don’t be deceived by the outward appearance of it, because it is about how well it fits and how you feel inside when you try it on.
How to Hire the Right Nanny for Your Child
Sometime after the birth of your child, you will hit a point when you need to consider hiring some professional help. For some women that means employing a full-time nanny so that the mom can return to work. For others, it means getting part-time help so that the mom can work part-time or just have some time to complete her chores and the running of her household, without always having a baby in tow.
Whatever your needs may be, it is important to take the right steps when going through the process of finding the right caregiver for your child. Of course every parent wants to hire Mary Poppins, because if you can’t be there with your child yourself, you want the next best thing and for many people, Mary Poppins is the ideal candidate. That being said, you have to realize ahead of beginning your search for the perfect nanny that there is no Mary Poppins and that if she did exist outside of the Disney movie, she would already be employed by someone else.
Common sense tells us a lot of what we need to know about finding a suitable nanny-do your research and make sure you thoroughly screen all candidates-this person will be caring for your most valued baby. Always be prepared and ask a number of questions in order to get to know the person etc. These things are obvious and what any parent would do. To really get the inside scoop on a person who you are considering hiring to watch your child you need to do the following three things.
Your first step in the hunt for a nanny should be to tap the network. Talk to friends, family, and other moms in the area and ask those people if they have a nanny and if so where did they get her? Often times this will lead to referrals. When I was a full-time nanny working in DC, I often babysat on the weekends for families other than the one that employed me as their full-time nanny. The mother would recommend me to friends of hers, or women from the neighborhood would approach me at the local park and inquire if I was interested in making some extra cash on the weekends, doing some part-time babysitting for them.
Some other great resources for tapping the network are: 1) put an ad on craigslist.com. The pre-screening can be done via an anonymous email account and from there you can do phone interviews to get to know the candidate before meeting in person. 2) Place an ad in a local paper like a Gazette or a college newspaper. Universities and colleges are huge resources of employable young people who are often looking for work and who have flexible hours. If you live close to a university or college call and ask where you should place the ad for hiring a part time sitter. Is it best to do it in the college paper or is it better to hang a flyer on campus somewhere? 3) Billboards. Make a flyer stating your needs and what you are looking for and hang it around your neighborhood on billboards at supermarkets, parks, and high schools. Again you can do interviews over the phone before meeting candidates in person. These billboards usually also have flyers made up by nannies looking for new jobs or extra weekend hours so you can take down their information and contact them if you are interested. 4) Hit the net. There are various websites that are devoted to helping you find appropriate childcare and most sites let you register and view resumes and profiles (for a small monthly fee) of candidates that are available in your area. 5) Hire an expert-if you have tapped out the local network and exercised all the contacts you have in the mom world and dislike the idea of daycare, hire an agency to help you find a nanny. Yes, this will cost you a little more money up front (a finder’s fee) but someone will do the searching for you, according to your specifications.
You may get lucky right away and get a name from a friend. Even though this is a slim chance, there is also the possibility that your friend’s nanny has other friends who are nannies and one of them may be looking for work. When I worked in DC, I had a whole group of other friends that I hung out with who were also full-time nannies. Our nanny clique organized play dates, birthday parties, trips to the zoo, and lunches. We were our own nanny network. Even if you don’t get the name of a potential candidate, at the very least you will gain valuable insight from other parents who have already had the experience of hiring a nanny. While everyone’s experience is different, getting advice from other parents can save you from making some of the mistakes that they did and it can also grant you the benefit of knowledge about what did work for them. Overall it is worth it to tap the network and complete your research on this topic before you begin interviewing candidates. You will feel more prepared and you will have a clear plan of how to hire a nanny.
Once you have decided what qualities you want your nanny to have, it is important to outline a list of questions, so that you can determine if each candidate possess those specific traits or not. While most parent know ahead of time what they consider to be the “perfect nanny” you have to remember that just like so many other things in this world, you get what you pay for. If you want Mary Poppins, you are going to have to be reasonable and realize that you will have to pay top dollar for the cream of the crop of the nanny world. Educated, experienced nannies are going to cost more. One time I interviewed with a family who was great and it was an ideal job in most respects, except that this particular family was not willingly to pay me the going rate. They felt that my time was worth a lot less and that sent a clear message to me about what it would be like to work for them. I ultimately took another job since they were not reasonable about my pay rate. For the amount of work they wanted me to do; they did not want to pay me a comparable rate for those tasks. Remember, like other jobs out there, nannies with more experience and better resumes are going to have their pick of various jobs and are going to command a higher salary than most, since their qualifications dictate that they have earned the right to do that. Do not go into the interviewing process with high hopes of finding the perfect nanny who miraculously charges $5.00 less per hour than the going rate, because you will be disappointed.
Lastly, look at interviewing candidates as a big game of match making. Not every great nanny is the right nanny for you. Finding someone who you are comfortable with and who your child is comfortable with is important and you may not feel right about every candidate. When I recently interviewed babysitters there was this one candidate, Sarah, who was great. She was experienced, getting her master’s degree in education, and she was first aid and CPR certified, but during the entire interview process she paid more attention to our lazy bulldog than she did to my son. When Sarah did ask me questions about the job, she chose to inquire about my handbag that was sitting on the counter, instead of asking anything about Bruno, the hours, the details of the job or what the pay rate was. To me her lack of interest in my son and the job I was offering seemed to bore her. She was an example of someone who looked great on paper and who had a lot of really great qualifications, but she just did not seem like what I was looking for. She may be great, but she was clearly not the right fit for my family.
Remember, some candidates may be experienced and great on paper, but may not share your views on discipline or parenting. While you don’t have to see eye-to-eye on everything, you have to feel like your nanny respects your rules of parenting and that she will enforce those rules in the same way that you would when you are not around. On the flip side, you need to be aware that a nanny may get multiple job offers from various families and that if she chooses to decline your offer of employment, it is no reflection on you, your child, or the way you parent. Finding a nanny is like finding a wedding dress, you know it when you see it. Don’t be deceived by the outward appearance of it, because it is about how well it fits and how you feel inside when you try it on.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Blips in the Road
Why is it that when you finally feel like you have a handle on things and that everything is smooth sailing you hit a bump in the road? That was my Monday and the reason I am late posting my blog, but even with the bad comes good and even though the grey clouds roll in, there is a silver lining. It took me three hours at a doctor's visit to find the silver in this grey cloud, but I got some good advice from another mom that I would like to pay forward. I hope you too find this story inspiring.
I woke up feeling energized this past Monday after having gone to bed the night before at 8:30pm-I mean I was actually asleep by 8:30pm, not reading and not watching TV in bed, but full on bedded bliss. I started my day the usual way-make coffee, feed dog, empty dishwasher, make Bruno's breakfast, return phone calls, check daily "to-do" list, throw in some laundry, take out trash etc. - and even got the privilege of taking a shower in the morning (bonus for Mommy) ,which I do not usually get to do, because I was headed out to the OB for my 6 month check up.
Since I was the second appointment of the day the doctor was on time and I got to leisurely read a Fit Pregnancy Magazine ( bonus number 2 for Mommy) while I waited to be seen. All was well on the baby front. Blood pressure was good, weight gain was appropriate and not in the excessive realm and I was already thinking about all the errands and chores I was going to complete after I left the doctor's office because I had the babysitter until noon.
When the doctor came in and went through all the usual questions i didn't pause until we got to the one about "Are you experiencing any pain, vomiting, bleeding etc. etc? " I told my doctor that over the weekend I had experienced some cramping but that it always went away and was not constant.
As a precaution I was placed on the monitor anyways. At this point I was pretty much convinced that it was something silly like bad gas or indigestion, but I was happy to be strapped into the blue and pink baby belts all the same. I knew that I would feel better in fifteen minutes when the doctor told me everything was a-okay and that I should feel fine again after a large bowel movement. I kicked the recliner out and put my feet up and continued to enjoy my magazine while thinking that this minor delay at the doctor's office would still give me plenty of time to complete my chores if I left in the next half hour.
After fifteen minutes of listening to the thumping heartbeat of my baby girl the doctor came in to read the paper that the machine had spit out and I was shocked when I saw her facial expression. She pointed to the sharp peaks on the paper and said that sure enough I was having contractions at 24 weeks!
As my stomach dropped I felt a look of worry take over my face-my husband always says that I furrow my brow when I am intensely worried and I always denied it, but his time I did not fight the furrowed brow. I was instantly worried. They say your life can change in a minute and this was one of those examples. My regularly scheduled 6 month checkup at the OB was not normal-there was something happening that shouldn't be and I was freaked out.
My doctor obviously saw the alarm in my face and went into calm the patient mode. She told me about the injection I would be given that would make my heart race and flutter while relaxing my uterus so that I didn't experience any more "blips" was the word she used. They were going to keep me on the monitor for another twenty minutes or so to see how I handled the medicine. Before I had time to digest the information or ask my doctor the hundred or so questions that had formed in my head in the last 30 seconds, the nurse appeared with a needle and said, "this will sting a bit, so hold on."
The injection was put in my arm and made me feel like I had consumed 40 cups of coffee on an empty stomach. My hands were shaking and I was all jittery, there was no more indulgent reading of a magazine, only racing, frantic thoughts of terror about what was wrong with my baby. Was it the decaf Mochas I had the past few mornings as my chocolate fix? Was I not resting enough? Was my nutrition poor? How could I have let this happen to my little girl, was all I could think about for the twenty minutes I was hooked to the monitor like a dog to a tether post.
Fortunately, I responded well to the medicine and the "blips" stopped about 20 minutes after the shot-Good. I still felt like a horrible parent, though. How was I going to be good Mommy to a baby girl, my second child, if I couldn't manage the pregnancy without these kinds of "blips" in the road?
From there I was given a full work up. Exam, Ultra sound etc. to ensure that the baby was okay and that everything was still in tact in all the right places and that nothing had shifted. Good on that front as well. My nerves were shot at this point and I was filled with dread playing the "what if...." game with myself in my mind. So the contractions had stopped, but why was I having them at 24 weeks?
I didn't start to feel better about this "blip" in the road until I went into my doctor's office for the post-visit chat. When I sat down in her office, I felt like I was back in middle school and being sent to the principle's office for throwing food in the lunch room; at this point I had convinced myself that I was to blame for my thumping uterus. I was sure that it was because I was over stressed, or working too much, or trying to do too many things that this had happened.
She summarized by saying that everything looked good with the baby and that while I had to "tone things down a bit for the next few weeks," she was not overly concerned that these "blips" would be a long term problem for me. I began to feel slightly better about the situation-okay, I wasn't a failure as a mother and it wasn't my fault that my uterus was contracting at 24 weeks, these things just happened sometimes, but I still wanted to clarify that there wasn't something I was doing or eating or not doing or not eating that was causing this problem. She then asked me a series of questions as she was making notes in my chart and there was one that sealed the deal for me. My doctor asked if I worked, I paused and after I finally said "sometimes," she said, " its okay to work, you know."
In that instant I felt like she said more to me that was of value than she had said in the past two years that I had known her. She was not only telling me that it was okay to be a SAHM that works sometimes, but she was reassuring me that babies have a mind of their own -especially when in utero- and that this "blip" was not from my doing, but rather from the baby's doing and my body's doing. I was not expected to control these things, how could I? "Blips" happen, its the natural course of lthings and inevitable in everyone's lives.
After my three hour visit to the OB, I was tired and drained, but I felt inspired at the same time. Another mom had reassured me that we all hit "blips" in the road and that what makes us good parents is how we choose to deal with those "blips" and keep on going.
Yeah a three hour tour of my privates at the OB was not what I had hoped my routine 6 month visit would entail, but the important thing was that it was over and that the "blip" had been dealt with-the baby was okay ( full of personality already, she can't wait to get here), I was okay (maybe a little mentally battered, but no worse for the wear) and I got a friendly little reminder that life is not all smooth sailing all the time. There will be "blips" in the road for all of us to deal with and if we just remind ourselves that "blips" are part of life that come and go, we will enjoy the ride so much more.
I woke up feeling energized this past Monday after having gone to bed the night before at 8:30pm-I mean I was actually asleep by 8:30pm, not reading and not watching TV in bed, but full on bedded bliss. I started my day the usual way-make coffee, feed dog, empty dishwasher, make Bruno's breakfast, return phone calls, check daily "to-do" list, throw in some laundry, take out trash etc. - and even got the privilege of taking a shower in the morning (bonus for Mommy) ,which I do not usually get to do, because I was headed out to the OB for my 6 month check up.
Since I was the second appointment of the day the doctor was on time and I got to leisurely read a Fit Pregnancy Magazine ( bonus number 2 for Mommy) while I waited to be seen. All was well on the baby front. Blood pressure was good, weight gain was appropriate and not in the excessive realm and I was already thinking about all the errands and chores I was going to complete after I left the doctor's office because I had the babysitter until noon.
When the doctor came in and went through all the usual questions i didn't pause until we got to the one about "Are you experiencing any pain, vomiting, bleeding etc. etc? " I told my doctor that over the weekend I had experienced some cramping but that it always went away and was not constant.
As a precaution I was placed on the monitor anyways. At this point I was pretty much convinced that it was something silly like bad gas or indigestion, but I was happy to be strapped into the blue and pink baby belts all the same. I knew that I would feel better in fifteen minutes when the doctor told me everything was a-okay and that I should feel fine again after a large bowel movement. I kicked the recliner out and put my feet up and continued to enjoy my magazine while thinking that this minor delay at the doctor's office would still give me plenty of time to complete my chores if I left in the next half hour.
After fifteen minutes of listening to the thumping heartbeat of my baby girl the doctor came in to read the paper that the machine had spit out and I was shocked when I saw her facial expression. She pointed to the sharp peaks on the paper and said that sure enough I was having contractions at 24 weeks!
As my stomach dropped I felt a look of worry take over my face-my husband always says that I furrow my brow when I am intensely worried and I always denied it, but his time I did not fight the furrowed brow. I was instantly worried. They say your life can change in a minute and this was one of those examples. My regularly scheduled 6 month checkup at the OB was not normal-there was something happening that shouldn't be and I was freaked out.
My doctor obviously saw the alarm in my face and went into calm the patient mode. She told me about the injection I would be given that would make my heart race and flutter while relaxing my uterus so that I didn't experience any more "blips" was the word she used. They were going to keep me on the monitor for another twenty minutes or so to see how I handled the medicine. Before I had time to digest the information or ask my doctor the hundred or so questions that had formed in my head in the last 30 seconds, the nurse appeared with a needle and said, "this will sting a bit, so hold on."
The injection was put in my arm and made me feel like I had consumed 40 cups of coffee on an empty stomach. My hands were shaking and I was all jittery, there was no more indulgent reading of a magazine, only racing, frantic thoughts of terror about what was wrong with my baby. Was it the decaf Mochas I had the past few mornings as my chocolate fix? Was I not resting enough? Was my nutrition poor? How could I have let this happen to my little girl, was all I could think about for the twenty minutes I was hooked to the monitor like a dog to a tether post.
Fortunately, I responded well to the medicine and the "blips" stopped about 20 minutes after the shot-Good. I still felt like a horrible parent, though. How was I going to be good Mommy to a baby girl, my second child, if I couldn't manage the pregnancy without these kinds of "blips" in the road?
From there I was given a full work up. Exam, Ultra sound etc. to ensure that the baby was okay and that everything was still in tact in all the right places and that nothing had shifted. Good on that front as well. My nerves were shot at this point and I was filled with dread playing the "what if...." game with myself in my mind. So the contractions had stopped, but why was I having them at 24 weeks?
I didn't start to feel better about this "blip" in the road until I went into my doctor's office for the post-visit chat. When I sat down in her office, I felt like I was back in middle school and being sent to the principle's office for throwing food in the lunch room; at this point I had convinced myself that I was to blame for my thumping uterus. I was sure that it was because I was over stressed, or working too much, or trying to do too many things that this had happened.
She summarized by saying that everything looked good with the baby and that while I had to "tone things down a bit for the next few weeks," she was not overly concerned that these "blips" would be a long term problem for me. I began to feel slightly better about the situation-okay, I wasn't a failure as a mother and it wasn't my fault that my uterus was contracting at 24 weeks, these things just happened sometimes, but I still wanted to clarify that there wasn't something I was doing or eating or not doing or not eating that was causing this problem. She then asked me a series of questions as she was making notes in my chart and there was one that sealed the deal for me. My doctor asked if I worked, I paused and after I finally said "sometimes," she said, " its okay to work, you know."
In that instant I felt like she said more to me that was of value than she had said in the past two years that I had known her. She was not only telling me that it was okay to be a SAHM that works sometimes, but she was reassuring me that babies have a mind of their own -especially when in utero- and that this "blip" was not from my doing, but rather from the baby's doing and my body's doing. I was not expected to control these things, how could I? "Blips" happen, its the natural course of lthings and inevitable in everyone's lives.
After my three hour visit to the OB, I was tired and drained, but I felt inspired at the same time. Another mom had reassured me that we all hit "blips" in the road and that what makes us good parents is how we choose to deal with those "blips" and keep on going.
Yeah a three hour tour of my privates at the OB was not what I had hoped my routine 6 month visit would entail, but the important thing was that it was over and that the "blip" had been dealt with-the baby was okay ( full of personality already, she can't wait to get here), I was okay (maybe a little mentally battered, but no worse for the wear) and I got a friendly little reminder that life is not all smooth sailing all the time. There will be "blips" in the road for all of us to deal with and if we just remind ourselves that "blips" are part of life that come and go, we will enjoy the ride so much more.
Friday, August 15, 2008
TGIF
I was fortunate enough to receive an email the other day from my mother-in-law that contained very useful information-the many uses for WD-40. I always thought this product was a "man potion" only to be used for automobile projects and fixing rusty lawnmowers, but I read the list of uses that WD-40 can serve around the house and was blown away by the practical 40+ purposes this amazing "man potion" has to offer. I am no longer a skeptic about forwarded emails from my MIL and I have a newfound respect for some of the items my husband hides in his tool shed.
For this Friday's TGIF I am going to share the list of WD-40's many uses with you in the hopes that you too will find a place for this fish oil based product in your house-well, okay, maybe the garage at least. You will not be disappointed with these tips.
Stay tuned for Recommendations Wednesdays and TGIF's every week. As my list of useful tips, tricks, recommendations and hints grows I hope that your motivation, education and preparation for parenthood continues to expand and flourish.
Amazing Uses For WD-40
1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows!
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12) Keeps ceramic/Terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.
18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car. Removed quickly, with WD-40!
20) Gives a child's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift on lawn mowers.
22) Rids kids' rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Removes splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
37) Florida's favorite use: cleans and removes Love Bugs from grills and bumpers.
38) Protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a little on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time.
40) Fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42) If you spray WD-40 on the distributor cap, it will displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
43) Keep a can of WD-40 in your kitchen cabinet over the stove. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring.
For this Friday's TGIF I am going to share the list of WD-40's many uses with you in the hopes that you too will find a place for this fish oil based product in your house-well, okay, maybe the garage at least. You will not be disappointed with these tips.
Stay tuned for Recommendations Wednesdays and TGIF's every week. As my list of useful tips, tricks, recommendations and hints grows I hope that your motivation, education and preparation for parenthood continues to expand and flourish.
Amazing Uses For WD-40
1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows!
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12) Keeps ceramic/Terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.
18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car. Removed quickly, with WD-40!
20) Gives a child's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift on lawn mowers.
22) Rids kids' rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Removes splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
37) Florida's favorite use: cleans and removes Love Bugs from grills and bumpers.
38) Protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a little on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time.
40) Fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42) If you spray WD-40 on the distributor cap, it will displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
43) Keep a can of WD-40 in your kitchen cabinet over the stove. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Recommendation Wednesdays
I was beginning to feel bad that I was taking my son to the same park day after day. I worried that we were stuck in a rut. I didn't take him to this park exclusively because it was the only one I knew about, but rather, it was clear to me that it was his favorite park out of all the ones we visit. If Bruno is happy, then I am happy and in park talk that means that we can go to this park and stay for a couple of hours, versus leaving after 30 minutes because Bruno is either bored or not interested in what the park has to offer.
Currently our daily park visits take us to the park on N. Harrison Street, off of Lee Highway in the Arlington/McLean Area. I like this park for many reasons. First of all, it is huge and spread out so my son has room to run around. Secondly, I like it because the park offers shade and sunshine as well as picnic tables. There are two large jungle gym structures that are appropriate for children ages 9 months to 10 years old as well as a sand box and lots of toys that people have donated to the park over the years. Thirdly, I like this park because the jungle gym equipment is divided up by area according to age groups so the larger jungles gyms where the 8 year-olds play are not the jungle gyms where the one year-olds play.
Bruno goes to this park every morning for about 1-2 hours and is constantly discovering new things to play with and new areas to explore. We are there so much that I am now friendly with many of the other moms that frequent this park. For example, for the first time today, Bruno discovered that there is a large hill sloping down towards the school behind the park. For half an hour he sent a toy lawn mower down the hill, retrieved it, pulled it up the hill all by himself and then sent it down again with squeals of delight filling the air. The fact that he is able to find new ways to entertain himself at the same park each day, day after day, reassures me that he is getting the stimulation that he needs and the activity that he craves even though we are frequenting the same establishment.
If you have never been to this park I encourage you to check it out with your kids in the future. Be aware though that this park is sandy so be sure your child has on play clothes that can get dirty and that he is wearing old tennis shoes or slip on shoes, such as crocs. For parents potty training their children, also be aware that this park only offers one portable potty. There is not a physical structure that houses bathrooms.
I feel so good about my daily trips to this park that it has inspired me to designate Wednesdays as my recommendation days. Each and every Wednesday I will post a recommendation on my blog. The recommendation will document one of my favorite parenthood-related resources: parks, activities, restaurants, stores, websites, etc. that are available in the Washington, DC area. I hope that you will read over them on hump day and learn about a new resource that you will share with your friends and family. I also hope that you will share your favorites with me.
Currently our daily park visits take us to the park on N. Harrison Street, off of Lee Highway in the Arlington/McLean Area. I like this park for many reasons. First of all, it is huge and spread out so my son has room to run around. Secondly, I like it because the park offers shade and sunshine as well as picnic tables. There are two large jungle gym structures that are appropriate for children ages 9 months to 10 years old as well as a sand box and lots of toys that people have donated to the park over the years. Thirdly, I like this park because the jungle gym equipment is divided up by area according to age groups so the larger jungles gyms where the 8 year-olds play are not the jungle gyms where the one year-olds play.
Bruno goes to this park every morning for about 1-2 hours and is constantly discovering new things to play with and new areas to explore. We are there so much that I am now friendly with many of the other moms that frequent this park. For example, for the first time today, Bruno discovered that there is a large hill sloping down towards the school behind the park. For half an hour he sent a toy lawn mower down the hill, retrieved it, pulled it up the hill all by himself and then sent it down again with squeals of delight filling the air. The fact that he is able to find new ways to entertain himself at the same park each day, day after day, reassures me that he is getting the stimulation that he needs and the activity that he craves even though we are frequenting the same establishment.
If you have never been to this park I encourage you to check it out with your kids in the future. Be aware though that this park is sandy so be sure your child has on play clothes that can get dirty and that he is wearing old tennis shoes or slip on shoes, such as crocs. For parents potty training their children, also be aware that this park only offers one portable potty. There is not a physical structure that houses bathrooms.
I feel so good about my daily trips to this park that it has inspired me to designate Wednesdays as my recommendation days. Each and every Wednesday I will post a recommendation on my blog. The recommendation will document one of my favorite parenthood-related resources: parks, activities, restaurants, stores, websites, etc. that are available in the Washington, DC area. I hope that you will read over them on hump day and learn about a new resource that you will share with your friends and family. I also hope that you will share your favorites with me.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Manic Mondays
I always feel fresh and inspired on Mondays. It is the beginning of a new week and another chance to start checking tasks off my endless to-do list. I always pack a lot into Mondays because I want to start the week off on the right foot. I feel like if I accomplish a lot on Mondays, I will set the tone for the rest of the week and continue to get a lot done each and every day, thus feeling a continued sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep plugging along.
This Monday was no different. I had a list of tasks for the day and it was two pages long, which is always a scary sign. My husband and I had been out of town all week visiting family, so in addition to being tired and having a one year-old that was slightly off schedule, we were both feeling a little disorganized, which always makes Mondays harder. How are you supposed to get up and feel fresh and recharged if you are sleep deprived and your house is a mess? Needless to say, I was looking forward to the challenge of knocking out my two page list in one crazy busy day.
My Monday was going to start off with a few meetings at my office, which is not the norm, so it also meant that I had scheduled our babysitter to come and watch Bruno from 8am until 3pm. Even though the meetings wouldn't take that long, I knew I could use the extra time for other things.
Just knowing that my son would be cared for lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders. I would still have a lot of things to get done, but knowing that I didn't have to try and juggle my one year-old as I frantically scrambled all over town somehow made the two page list of tasks seem less daunting.
I began to get an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach by the time it was 8:30am and there was still no babysitter. My husband called and left her a message on her cell phone and while we waited 15 minutes for her to call back we began the dreaded discussion-"Plan B." This is the horrible game that parents are forced to play when their childcare falls through at the last minute and they have to decide what is the best option when they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Since I am a SAHM we fortunately do not have to play this game much-this was actually our first experience with it-but that does not make it any better.
We became frantic and started calling everyone we could think of who could watch our son for a few hours so that we could at least both go to our already scheduled appointments/meetings. Finally after 20 minutes of phone calls we got lucky and my friend Robin came to our rescue. I had watched her son Mitchell in the past when they were on vacation so I didn't feel too guilty about calling in a favor. What I did begin to worry about though was my little man. This was not part of our schedule. He hadn't been to Robin's house for a play date in a while-what if he didn't remember her, or her house, or her kids? What if he wouldn't nap in his pack and play? What if he freaked out and screamed for the whole three hours?
As we packed his stuff and loaded him in the car my husband reassured me that Bruno would be fine-"Kids are more resilient than you think, Daph", he said. Besides, Bruno and Mitchell are friends, they will probably just play the whole time, I wouldn't worry about it anymore."
I tried to heed my husband's words, but as a mother you worry, it's part of your job. I no longer worried about what happened to the babysitter or why she didn't show up, I only thought about my child and if I was doing what was best for him, even though it might not have been what I originally planned.
Needless to say the "hand off" to Robin went well. I walked in and put Bruno down on the floor in her living room and he ran right into her playroom, long enough for me and my husband to slip out.
After our meetings were done, we headed back to Robin's to pick Bruno up and he was as happy as a clam. Robin said there were no tears when we left and he even napped in his pack and play for her for two hours. Not only was my son fully intact, but he was happy, and even though his schedule had gotten completely thrown off, it didn't bother him one bit because he didn't know the difference-he was too busy just being a kid.
As stressful as this manic Monday was it reminded me that sometimes it is good to mix things up a bit. How will my child ever learn to adapt to situations and roll with the punches if I never give him the chance to? As much as I like keeping him on a schedule, my husband was correct to remind me that sometimes I don't give my son enough credit, even if he is only one.
You can learn a lot from these unexpected situations that parenthood constantly presents and it's not the situations themselves that mold us as parents, but the way we handle these situations that determines the way we parent; I think we all need reminding everyone once in a while that life is not perfect and that being good parents means conveying this message to your children as best we can.
This Monday was no different. I had a list of tasks for the day and it was two pages long, which is always a scary sign. My husband and I had been out of town all week visiting family, so in addition to being tired and having a one year-old that was slightly off schedule, we were both feeling a little disorganized, which always makes Mondays harder. How are you supposed to get up and feel fresh and recharged if you are sleep deprived and your house is a mess? Needless to say, I was looking forward to the challenge of knocking out my two page list in one crazy busy day.
My Monday was going to start off with a few meetings at my office, which is not the norm, so it also meant that I had scheduled our babysitter to come and watch Bruno from 8am until 3pm. Even though the meetings wouldn't take that long, I knew I could use the extra time for other things.
Just knowing that my son would be cared for lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders. I would still have a lot of things to get done, but knowing that I didn't have to try and juggle my one year-old as I frantically scrambled all over town somehow made the two page list of tasks seem less daunting.
I began to get an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach by the time it was 8:30am and there was still no babysitter. My husband called and left her a message on her cell phone and while we waited 15 minutes for her to call back we began the dreaded discussion-"Plan B." This is the horrible game that parents are forced to play when their childcare falls through at the last minute and they have to decide what is the best option when they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Since I am a SAHM we fortunately do not have to play this game much-this was actually our first experience with it-but that does not make it any better.
We became frantic and started calling everyone we could think of who could watch our son for a few hours so that we could at least both go to our already scheduled appointments/meetings. Finally after 20 minutes of phone calls we got lucky and my friend Robin came to our rescue. I had watched her son Mitchell in the past when they were on vacation so I didn't feel too guilty about calling in a favor. What I did begin to worry about though was my little man. This was not part of our schedule. He hadn't been to Robin's house for a play date in a while-what if he didn't remember her, or her house, or her kids? What if he wouldn't nap in his pack and play? What if he freaked out and screamed for the whole three hours?
As we packed his stuff and loaded him in the car my husband reassured me that Bruno would be fine-"Kids are more resilient than you think, Daph", he said. Besides, Bruno and Mitchell are friends, they will probably just play the whole time, I wouldn't worry about it anymore."
I tried to heed my husband's words, but as a mother you worry, it's part of your job. I no longer worried about what happened to the babysitter or why she didn't show up, I only thought about my child and if I was doing what was best for him, even though it might not have been what I originally planned.
Needless to say the "hand off" to Robin went well. I walked in and put Bruno down on the floor in her living room and he ran right into her playroom, long enough for me and my husband to slip out.
After our meetings were done, we headed back to Robin's to pick Bruno up and he was as happy as a clam. Robin said there were no tears when we left and he even napped in his pack and play for her for two hours. Not only was my son fully intact, but he was happy, and even though his schedule had gotten completely thrown off, it didn't bother him one bit because he didn't know the difference-he was too busy just being a kid.
As stressful as this manic Monday was it reminded me that sometimes it is good to mix things up a bit. How will my child ever learn to adapt to situations and roll with the punches if I never give him the chance to? As much as I like keeping him on a schedule, my husband was correct to remind me that sometimes I don't give my son enough credit, even if he is only one.
You can learn a lot from these unexpected situations that parenthood constantly presents and it's not the situations themselves that mold us as parents, but the way we handle these situations that determines the way we parent; I think we all need reminding everyone once in a while that life is not perfect and that being good parents means conveying this message to your children as best we can.
Friday, August 8, 2008
TGIF
Fridays always feel good to most people. Maybe it's because we know it is the end of the work week and that two days of freedom lie ahead of us. Well, most of us, anyways. Even without having to go to work, weekends are still work for parents, especially parents with little ones, but I always look forward to Fridays. Fridays have a mellow feel and for me I know my husband will be home earlier than normal which is always nice and the weekends usually involve alittle bit of a break for me in some way-a night of takeout and no cooking, getting to sleep-in just once, or a self-indulgent pedicure without a baby boy in tow.
To help spread my joy for Fridays to others, I have decided to designate Fridays as Tips and Good Information Fridays (TGIF). At the end of the week I will wrap things up by sharing some of the helpful tips or good information that I have learned throughout the prior week.
For example, this week I learned that baby powder takes sand right off of little bodies. How great is that? I now keep a bottle of baby powder on my back porch so that when my son and I get back from the beach (we live on a lake and there is a beach a block from our house) I just dump the baby powder on his feet and brush him off. It's a lot better than trying to hose him off and then having to deal with him being all wet and soggy.
Another fabulous tip that I learned this week is that dryer sheets are mosquito deterrents. Place a dryer sheet in your pocket before going to the park or heading out to that BBQ and the mosquitoes will be repelled by you. I especially like this one now because we all know how yummy pregnant ladies taste to mosquitoes and frankly the stench of the bug spray is too much for me. This method smells better and is cleaner in my opinion, plus you can use it to keep the mosquitoes away from your infants who you definitely want to avoid spraying with OFF. Just tuck a dryer sheet under the liner in their car seat and they should be bug free at the park as well.
I hope that you find these tips helpful and begin to look forward to Fridays so that you can learn new tidbits of info each and every week. Let me know what tips you like (or don't like) and why.
I will try to mix them up so that some relate to kids, some relate to the house, and some focus on you. All of them are offered as part of the Mom Machine's ongoing effort to share: motivation, education, and preparation methods with other parents and caregivers trying to navigate the world of parenthood.
Have a great weekend!
To help spread my joy for Fridays to others, I have decided to designate Fridays as Tips and Good Information Fridays (TGIF). At the end of the week I will wrap things up by sharing some of the helpful tips or good information that I have learned throughout the prior week.
For example, this week I learned that baby powder takes sand right off of little bodies. How great is that? I now keep a bottle of baby powder on my back porch so that when my son and I get back from the beach (we live on a lake and there is a beach a block from our house) I just dump the baby powder on his feet and brush him off. It's a lot better than trying to hose him off and then having to deal with him being all wet and soggy.
Another fabulous tip that I learned this week is that dryer sheets are mosquito deterrents. Place a dryer sheet in your pocket before going to the park or heading out to that BBQ and the mosquitoes will be repelled by you. I especially like this one now because we all know how yummy pregnant ladies taste to mosquitoes and frankly the stench of the bug spray is too much for me. This method smells better and is cleaner in my opinion, plus you can use it to keep the mosquitoes away from your infants who you definitely want to avoid spraying with OFF. Just tuck a dryer sheet under the liner in their car seat and they should be bug free at the park as well.
I hope that you find these tips helpful and begin to look forward to Fridays so that you can learn new tidbits of info each and every week. Let me know what tips you like (or don't like) and why.
I will try to mix them up so that some relate to kids, some relate to the house, and some focus on you. All of them are offered as part of the Mom Machine's ongoing effort to share: motivation, education, and preparation methods with other parents and caregivers trying to navigate the world of parenthood.
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Jumping In
I have been talking about starting a blog of my own since I was pregnant with my first child. It always seemed like there was never an ideal time to start a blog and before I could motivate to actually put my fingers to the keyboard I would get distracted by one of life's many tasks.
My initial hesitation was based solely on fear-what would my blog be about? What could I possibly have to say that other people would want to hear or read about? I guess I really didn't want to get started blogging until I felt like I had a purpose or direction for my posts so I let it be for a while- letting the idea come and go in and out of my mind like a recurring dream.
Now pregnant with my second child ,I had an epiphany that changed my mind for me. I was standing in my kitchen one night cleaning up after dinner when I was called it- Mom Machine- for the first time. A single friend of my husband's was staying with us for a few weeks while his place was renovated and he watched me night after night feed, bathe, and put my son to bed before preparing dinner for the adults. Promptly after finishing dinner I would clear the plates, load the dishwasher, and clean up the kitchen. I did all of these things ritualistically because they were habits, but they were also the way I concluded my evening; a way for me to wind down. I never felt like I could relax until the kitchen was clean. He was amazed at how on top of things I was and he said so. It never really struck me that I was any different from all the other SAHMs and parents across America but he insisted that I was.
After he called me Mom Machine it all hit me. I was ready to jump in and start blogging. I had a purpose for my blog. Not only do I want to share with other readers out there what it is like to balance work, family, a home life, and a marriage all at once, but I want to help other people learn to find that balance. Hopefully by reading about what is working for me at my home, other parents will be inspired to find the balance they are seeking in their own homes.
I am overly organized-almost to a fault sometimes-but I feel that I can juggle so many tasks and other peoples' needs all at once, without losing my own sanity in the process, because I am organized and I have taken the time to write down and keep track of some of the amazing tips and tricks I have developed and learned over the years.
Keep in mind that things get hectic and crazy at my house also-my son does cut teeth and get cranky and my bulldog does have anxiety problems and she occassionally pukes on the carpet if she gets too upset- but I hope to help keep myself on task with maintianing my life's balance through writing this blog and I hope to pass along some useful information to other parents dealing with some of the bumps in the road we all affectionately call PARENTHOOD.
My initial hesitation was based solely on fear-what would my blog be about? What could I possibly have to say that other people would want to hear or read about? I guess I really didn't want to get started blogging until I felt like I had a purpose or direction for my posts so I let it be for a while- letting the idea come and go in and out of my mind like a recurring dream.
Now pregnant with my second child ,I had an epiphany that changed my mind for me. I was standing in my kitchen one night cleaning up after dinner when I was called it- Mom Machine- for the first time. A single friend of my husband's was staying with us for a few weeks while his place was renovated and he watched me night after night feed, bathe, and put my son to bed before preparing dinner for the adults. Promptly after finishing dinner I would clear the plates, load the dishwasher, and clean up the kitchen. I did all of these things ritualistically because they were habits, but they were also the way I concluded my evening; a way for me to wind down. I never felt like I could relax until the kitchen was clean. He was amazed at how on top of things I was and he said so. It never really struck me that I was any different from all the other SAHMs and parents across America but he insisted that I was.
After he called me Mom Machine it all hit me. I was ready to jump in and start blogging. I had a purpose for my blog. Not only do I want to share with other readers out there what it is like to balance work, family, a home life, and a marriage all at once, but I want to help other people learn to find that balance. Hopefully by reading about what is working for me at my home, other parents will be inspired to find the balance they are seeking in their own homes.
I am overly organized-almost to a fault sometimes-but I feel that I can juggle so many tasks and other peoples' needs all at once, without losing my own sanity in the process, because I am organized and I have taken the time to write down and keep track of some of the amazing tips and tricks I have developed and learned over the years.
Keep in mind that things get hectic and crazy at my house also-my son does cut teeth and get cranky and my bulldog does have anxiety problems and she occassionally pukes on the carpet if she gets too upset- but I hope to help keep myself on task with maintianing my life's balance through writing this blog and I hope to pass along some useful information to other parents dealing with some of the bumps in the road we all affectionately call PARENTHOOD.
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