My child is not the child that gets calm and quiet when she's tired. Oh no. She's the one who gets silly-crazy-goofy which makes it all the harder to realize she's actually tired (and all the harder to get her to nap!).
We continue our teething woes. Or whatever is causing these woes. All I know is that my good little napper is gone. Gone gone gone. In her place is a wiggly, whiny, crying little girl who takes over an hour to go down and then sleeps for half the time she normally does. I used to depend on naps to get some work done but no longer. Now if I get a free moment from them I count my sweet blessings.
In fact, she's been SO bad about going down for her afternoon nap, that I am just making her skip it this afternoon so she can go to supervision with me. I am hoping she just crashes in the car on the way home. I'm going to take a book and scope out a nice covered, cool parking garage to hang out in while she finishes sleeping. If this idea fails, my back-up plan is to do a marketing sweep this afternoon with flyers and baby in a stroller and hope she sleeps then.
In other news... Daddy P is enjoying his new job and settling in. We are looking for a new house so that he has dedicated work-from-home space, but haven't found anything yet. I am slowly ramping up with clients. (Stress on slowly.) And, the nanny starts Monday! AND, the babysitter is coming Monday night for a date night babysit! She watched Kate on Wednesday while I saw a client, and although Kate was fussy Daddy P (who worked from home that day) said she seemed to handle it in stride.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Love is a battlefield
Kate after reenacting the civil war.
Kate after reenacting a zombie movie.
Kate after eating black plums.
We discovered that Kate's tendency to put her hand to her head coupled with eating black plums leads to fairly convincing blood-like streaks. So convincing in fact that Daddy P thought she had a rashy cut area above her ear yesterday after we, uh, didn't clean her up.
For you parents out there
So, here is my breakdown of the Costco, Babies R Us, Target comparison.
Diapers - Target wins! $0.14 a diaper vs. Costco's $0.22 a diaper means for a box of 200 you save about $17. And the Target Up and Up brand has cute polka dots. And so far they've held everything in, so go Target!
Wipes - Again, Target wins! Not only are Target wipes about $4 cheaper (per 700) but they are SO MUCH BETTER! If you haven't tried them, do. Daddy P is in love with them. He says they feel like fabric and clean much better.
Formula - Costco and Target tie. Here's why: Costco is cheaper ($0.35/oz instead of $0.40/oz) BUT, Baby Kate has much nicer poops on Target formula (less gross). So, we're going with Target.
Babies R Us just couldn't compete, even with their coupons which I could never remember to bring anyway.
Diapers - Target wins! $0.14 a diaper vs. Costco's $0.22 a diaper means for a box of 200 you save about $17. And the Target Up and Up brand has cute polka dots. And so far they've held everything in, so go Target!
Wipes - Again, Target wins! Not only are Target wipes about $4 cheaper (per 700) but they are SO MUCH BETTER! If you haven't tried them, do. Daddy P is in love with them. He says they feel like fabric and clean much better.
Formula - Costco and Target tie. Here's why: Costco is cheaper ($0.35/oz instead of $0.40/oz) BUT, Baby Kate has much nicer poops on Target formula (less gross). So, we're going with Target.
Babies R Us just couldn't compete, even with their coupons which I could never remember to bring anyway.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Looking for your bloomers?
If, like me, you woke up with a start at 6am to a screaming baby who got her leg stuck in the crib, and if, like me, you're trying to get her dressed in a dazed stumbling dance of incoherence, and if, like me, you are madly searching through her clothes to find the matching bloomers for the adorable brand spanking new dress you want her to wear today...
... then check the baby.
... then check the baby.
Poop on Pop
Kate's first out of diaper poop was directed at her father last week. I can't believe I forgot to share this with you all!
Daddy P was drawing Kate a bath. While he does so, he (apparently) lets her crawl around diaperless. After some crawling, she made her way over to Daddy P and pulled herself up next to him to watch the water fill up in the bathtub. When he looked down the next time, she was stomping poop into our bathroom rug. I know all this because the next thing that happened was for me to hear a yell of "HELP! COME HELP!" while I was downstairs enjoying my mommy-free time.
Yeah fun. Poop during mommy-free time.
Daddy P was drawing Kate a bath. While he does so, he (apparently) lets her crawl around diaperless. After some crawling, she made her way over to Daddy P and pulled herself up next to him to watch the water fill up in the bathtub. When he looked down the next time, she was stomping poop into our bathroom rug. I know all this because the next thing that happened was for me to hear a yell of "HELP! COME HELP!" while I was downstairs enjoying my mommy-free time.
Yeah fun. Poop during mommy-free time.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Finally! Hope!
Little cruiser:
People, I found one! I finally, finally, interviewed a babysitter who got on the floor and PLAYED with Kate! No no, even better, when Kate crawled to the window to talk to the dog the babysitter walked over there and crouched down (crouched down!) and talked to her about what she was looking at. Kate let her pick her up (she wouldn't let her uncle do that! uh, sorry uncle adam...) and was giggling most of the time. So, yeah, I hired her. She's going to cover next week until we get a nanny hired, and watch Kate Monday nights when Daddy P and I play competitive Christian volleyball. (Funny, right?)
Whew.
People, I found one! I finally, finally, interviewed a babysitter who got on the floor and PLAYED with Kate! No no, even better, when Kate crawled to the window to talk to the dog the babysitter walked over there and crouched down (crouched down!) and talked to her about what she was looking at. Kate let her pick her up (she wouldn't let her uncle do that! uh, sorry uncle adam...) and was giggling most of the time. So, yeah, I hired her. She's going to cover next week until we get a nanny hired, and watch Kate Monday nights when Daddy P and I play competitive Christian volleyball. (Funny, right?)
Whew.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Toothless and cranky
Little Miss decided not to nap yesterday morning. And she dropped her morning nap down to 45 minutes the two days before that. We are trying for a nap as I type, and it's sounding promising: groaning instead of yesterday's screaming. Fingers crossed.
We were thinking this might be ongoing teething, and while Daddy P and I swear her gums look more swollen and on the verge of something... well, a comparison shot really doesn't support such a claim... Alas... Can't blame her grumpiness on teething afterall.
The nanny search continues. It is down to Katherine, who we loved and Paul is excited to eat the pastries of (she is going to culinary school at night), and Milena, a woman that the other couple interviewed and really liked. Hopefully we'll get to meet her tomorrow. Juggling childcare has been really tricky this week and I'm eager to find someone so that our lives can calm down a bit. I'm interviewing a "babysitter" tomorrow, too, just to have someone who call fill in (potentially) and do date-nights.
Ah the moaning has ended. Thank goodness. That translates into 45 minutes of Mamacita time. Praise heavens.
We were thinking this might be ongoing teething, and while Daddy P and I swear her gums look more swollen and on the verge of something... well, a comparison shot really doesn't support such a claim... Alas... Can't blame her grumpiness on teething afterall.
The nanny search continues. It is down to Katherine, who we loved and Paul is excited to eat the pastries of (she is going to culinary school at night), and Milena, a woman that the other couple interviewed and really liked. Hopefully we'll get to meet her tomorrow. Juggling childcare has been really tricky this week and I'm eager to find someone so that our lives can calm down a bit. I'm interviewing a "babysitter" tomorrow, too, just to have someone who call fill in (potentially) and do date-nights.
Ah the moaning has ended. Thank goodness. That translates into 45 minutes of Mamacita time. Praise heavens.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Daddy's Girl and Nanny Troubles
Kate has decided she's a Daddy's girl. Daddy P was putting her down for a nap the other day and I offered to do it to give him a break. Well, Kate had other ideas. I took her and sat down in her chair and she started to cry and reach for the door where Daddy walked through.
So, back to Daddy she went.
We offered Nanny #2 a job. And never heard from her again.
Let me back up. Friday I call to ask a couple clarifying questions. No answer, no return call. I email. Nothin'. Saturday I call and finally get her. After talking to a friend, I decided it was important to clarify that she would be able to live on what we were offering her, which, frankly isn't much. $14 pre-tax for two babies. My cali friend was paying $12/hr for one post-tax, and my Chicago friend $14/hr for one post-tax, but it sounds like this is the Texas rate so we were going with it. But really, if she's single and this is her only job, it ain't enough to live on. I didn't want her to figure this out three months in and quit.
I bring this up and she pauses. I think I said, "I don't know if you're married or single, but Daddy P and I realize this isn't enough money to live on, and we want to make sure that you are comfortable with the wage and won't be looking for another job in a few months to compensate." Long pause. Then answers, oh, it's fine. I say, "oh, then you're hired!" She gets really excited, and thanks me, etc. I ask if she can start Monday, she says she needs a couple hours to think about it and will call me back.
No call Saturday.
Sunday afternoon I call and leave a message. No call.
Still! Tuesday! No call!
Sunday night we started the interview process again. Sadly.
Our second choice is really great and I love her, but our co-nanniers asked us to interview a few more to see if we could find someone who can work longer than just one year with us. We are doing two more interviews on Wednesday. We'll be offering SOMEONE the position AGAIN by the weekend. We've been so thankful for our friends who have been babysitting to get us through this crunch, and I'm so thankful to my flexible husband who's taking time off to babysit so I can go see clients and get my act together. Hopefully we'll get this all figured out soon!
So, back to Daddy she went.
We offered Nanny #2 a job. And never heard from her again.
Let me back up. Friday I call to ask a couple clarifying questions. No answer, no return call. I email. Nothin'. Saturday I call and finally get her. After talking to a friend, I decided it was important to clarify that she would be able to live on what we were offering her, which, frankly isn't much. $14 pre-tax for two babies. My cali friend was paying $12/hr for one post-tax, and my Chicago friend $14/hr for one post-tax, but it sounds like this is the Texas rate so we were going with it. But really, if she's single and this is her only job, it ain't enough to live on. I didn't want her to figure this out three months in and quit.
I bring this up and she pauses. I think I said, "I don't know if you're married or single, but Daddy P and I realize this isn't enough money to live on, and we want to make sure that you are comfortable with the wage and won't be looking for another job in a few months to compensate." Long pause. Then answers, oh, it's fine. I say, "oh, then you're hired!" She gets really excited, and thanks me, etc. I ask if she can start Monday, she says she needs a couple hours to think about it and will call me back.
No call Saturday.
Sunday afternoon I call and leave a message. No call.
Still! Tuesday! No call!
Sunday night we started the interview process again. Sadly.
Our second choice is really great and I love her, but our co-nanniers asked us to interview a few more to see if we could find someone who can work longer than just one year with us. We are doing two more interviews on Wednesday. We'll be offering SOMEONE the position AGAIN by the weekend. We've been so thankful for our friends who have been babysitting to get us through this crunch, and I'm so thankful to my flexible husband who's taking time off to babysit so I can go see clients and get my act together. Hopefully we'll get this all figured out soon!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Some Firsts
Here are some pics of our little baby Kate. She's got a little bit of hair at this point. Not much. But it's enough to start spiking. :)
Little miss also figured out the toilet paper roll. And, she was very pleased about it, as you can see.
Little miss also figured out the toilet paper roll. And, she was very pleased about it, as you can see.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Nanny Interviews
I can see why people use childcare.
This is freaking hard.
We've been using www.care.com to find a nanny we can nanny share with another family. (Congrats to Pam and Tim whose baby was born two days ago!) Tuesday was our start. The first called to cancel due to food poisoning. Can't argue that one. At 4:30pm, our 6pm interview called to ask very detailed questions about scheduling, and pay. At 4:50pm she called back to see if we had a cat. She's allergic. Pam and Tim do. At 5pm, our interviewer no showed. At 5:30pm we went out to dinner since we were done interviewing before we started.
Yesterday, it was just Daddy P and I interviewing. We eagerly waited for our first interviewer at 5pm. Moments before 5pm, she called to tell us she was lost. Daddy P answered. At the time, I was on my hands and knees, blood smeared up and down my foot and hand, trying to clean up a jar of baby food I had dropped. They, well, they didn't really communicate well. I took over and directed her in. A half hour later we found out the poor woman had moved here a week earlier and had gotten a little confused by the fact that streets in town have three names. Generally mapquest only clues you into one, which can be a little tricky. She was sweet. A little flustered, a little timid, but sweet and you got the feeling she genuinely liked kids.
In contrast: our 6pm interview. What words come to mind for her... chatty. Chatty about irrelevant topics? Uninterested in baby Kate. She did not try to interact with Kate at all. And she made it clear that this was just a "filler job" (her words). Ah, hm. In the middle of the interview -- I kid you not -- she said, "I should really get a job as a waitress." And then... again, totally true... out of the blue she says, "I don't do drugs. Oh, but I do drink."
Oh, my dear...
Tonight, two more. Cross your fingers folks, because we need someone Monday!
This is freaking hard.
We've been using www.care.com to find a nanny we can nanny share with another family. (Congrats to Pam and Tim whose baby was born two days ago!) Tuesday was our start. The first called to cancel due to food poisoning. Can't argue that one. At 4:30pm, our 6pm interview called to ask very detailed questions about scheduling, and pay. At 4:50pm she called back to see if we had a cat. She's allergic. Pam and Tim do. At 5pm, our interviewer no showed. At 5:30pm we went out to dinner since we were done interviewing before we started.
Yesterday, it was just Daddy P and I interviewing. We eagerly waited for our first interviewer at 5pm. Moments before 5pm, she called to tell us she was lost. Daddy P answered. At the time, I was on my hands and knees, blood smeared up and down my foot and hand, trying to clean up a jar of baby food I had dropped. They, well, they didn't really communicate well. I took over and directed her in. A half hour later we found out the poor woman had moved here a week earlier and had gotten a little confused by the fact that streets in town have three names. Generally mapquest only clues you into one, which can be a little tricky. She was sweet. A little flustered, a little timid, but sweet and you got the feeling she genuinely liked kids.
In contrast: our 6pm interview. What words come to mind for her... chatty. Chatty about irrelevant topics? Uninterested in baby Kate. She did not try to interact with Kate at all. And she made it clear that this was just a "filler job" (her words). Ah, hm. In the middle of the interview -- I kid you not -- she said, "I should really get a job as a waitress." And then... again, totally true... out of the blue she says, "I don't do drugs. Oh, but I do drink."
Oh, my dear...
Tonight, two more. Cross your fingers folks, because we need someone Monday!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Back Home
We arrived home on Saturday to the unfortunately familiar 100+ temperatures. Kate did well on the flight. She was exhausted, but after a quick nap on take-off refused to sleep since there was too much to see. Luckily for us there was a very nice couple sitting behind us who loved to play with Kate and kept her happy and occupied the entire time.
I am definitely a fan of Southwest after these flights. Both SW flights we were able to keep an extra seat next to us with her carseat in it so she could be strapped in for take-off and landing. And, since we are blessed with a crib sleeping baby who will NOT fall asleep anywhere else but crib and carseat, the carseat was a savior to preserve some napping on the plane.
Kate has shown a lot more interest in walking since she's been around so many little kids. She even turned one of her "standing" toys into a walker.
Now that we are back in real life, Daddy P is working. Today was his first day getting up and starting work! We interview nannies tomorrow and Wednesday and hopefully one will steal our hearts so that I can also start "work." Our friend Anne is being nice enough to babysit this week for me so I can go see my one client (woo hoo!).
We continue to tease ourselves with open houses. We saw one yesterday that was allllmost perfect. Very cheap, relative to what we've seen. A small, three bedroom house with an efficiency garage apartment (kitchen, full bath, one room), and a workshop wired with electricity. Something like that would allow both Daddy P and I to work from home, which would mean a huge savings on rent. The only downside was the relatively small house! It only had one main family room, but did have a screened in porch. The kitchen was totally redone and beautiful, but also tiny. So it's a tough one. The money we'd save on rent, and the cheap mortgage might make it possible to bump out the family room. Just not sure if we're up for such an endeavor!
I am definitely a fan of Southwest after these flights. Both SW flights we were able to keep an extra seat next to us with her carseat in it so she could be strapped in for take-off and landing. And, since we are blessed with a crib sleeping baby who will NOT fall asleep anywhere else but crib and carseat, the carseat was a savior to preserve some napping on the plane.
Kate has shown a lot more interest in walking since she's been around so many little kids. She even turned one of her "standing" toys into a walker.
Now that we are back in real life, Daddy P is working. Today was his first day getting up and starting work! We interview nannies tomorrow and Wednesday and hopefully one will steal our hearts so that I can also start "work." Our friend Anne is being nice enough to babysit this week for me so I can go see my one client (woo hoo!).
We continue to tease ourselves with open houses. We saw one yesterday that was allllmost perfect. Very cheap, relative to what we've seen. A small, three bedroom house with an efficiency garage apartment (kitchen, full bath, one room), and a workshop wired with electricity. Something like that would allow both Daddy P and I to work from home, which would mean a huge savings on rent. The only downside was the relatively small house! It only had one main family room, but did have a screened in porch. The kitchen was totally redone and beautiful, but also tiny. So it's a tough one. The money we'd save on rent, and the cheap mortgage might make it possible to bump out the family room. Just not sure if we're up for such an endeavor!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
NJ
We have spent the week in NJ so Daddy P can settle into his job. But really, NJ isn't all that, so baby Kate and I took off to CT to see our much missed friends. We hung out down by the water with Emily and Aaron on Tuesday night. Emily had Kate totally set up with every imaginable noise-making toy. She LOVED it. I told Emily she should talk into a pillow to see if Kate would recognize her voice. I think baby Kate probably listened to Emily more than Daddy P while she was inside me just because we were such good worker companions!
Next we headed to Hartford area to spend a girl's day with Krista and her two little ones. Isabella (who is 5) shared her favorite restaurant with us -- Red Robin -- and we packed the three carseats in the backseat to get there. No one was going anywhere! Being next to the two girls was also the only way that Kate would get back into the car after the long drive into CT. Isabella took to Kate right away and helped her walk, pushed her stroller, and gave her toys. It seemed to me that Kate wasn't crawling much and I attributed this to her wanting to look cool and stand around the two big girls. She hardly ever crawled, and for the first time I saw her trying to cross a gap on her feet. The little ones took a killer afternoon nap which gave Krista and I time to sit out in the sunshine and chat and relax. Then later Lily shared her favorite music video with Kate which led to the cutest dance party ever.
The evening ended with our old SYTYCD group coming over to watch the performance. Kate wore her best 80s dance clothes in honor of the event. It was sooo much fun. So sad to leave... But, leave we had to. Krista hooked us up with a ton of toys so Kate could manage the trip back, and we made it with minimal crying! It was awesome!!
Next we headed to Hartford area to spend a girl's day with Krista and her two little ones. Isabella (who is 5) shared her favorite restaurant with us -- Red Robin -- and we packed the three carseats in the backseat to get there. No one was going anywhere! Being next to the two girls was also the only way that Kate would get back into the car after the long drive into CT. Isabella took to Kate right away and helped her walk, pushed her stroller, and gave her toys. It seemed to me that Kate wasn't crawling much and I attributed this to her wanting to look cool and stand around the two big girls. She hardly ever crawled, and for the first time I saw her trying to cross a gap on her feet. The little ones took a killer afternoon nap which gave Krista and I time to sit out in the sunshine and chat and relax. Then later Lily shared her favorite music video with Kate which led to the cutest dance party ever.
The evening ended with our old SYTYCD group coming over to watch the performance. Kate wore her best 80s dance clothes in honor of the event. It was sooo much fun. So sad to leave... But, leave we had to. Krista hooked us up with a ton of toys so Kate could manage the trip back, and we made it with minimal crying! It was awesome!!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Just Like Dad
On Daddy P's first day of work, we took him to Dunkin Donuts for coffee. Kate wanted some too! Kate and I explored the local malls and parks while Daddy P worked. NJ is green but not as pretty as CT, and the houses seem to swing from huge and mansion-like, to old and run down (which are still $350+K). It's a pretty area and everyone seems really nice. Princeton itself is very cutesy (if not a bit pretentious) but we could never afford to live there.
Today we're heading to CT to see some friends and hang out. Hopefully Kate will be kind to me on the long drive. She missed her morning nap so I am hoping that will translate into sleeping in the car rather than screaming because she's tired. Fingers crossed.
We have interviews set up for nannies next week. We're in a bit of a pinch to find someone quickly, unfortunately. Hopefully one of them will "wow" us and we'll be set.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Nanny
Well, our plan was to share a nanny with some friends who will have a newborn. After they had interviewed seven in person they chose their top contenders. We interviewed the favorite and LOVED her. She was so good with Kate and had all the right answers. We called her reference and got a glowing account of her child caring skills.
And then...
We offered her the job.
And then...
She told us she just found out she is pregnant.
NOOOOO.
Back to square one. Meanwhile, my first "client" is on the 15th so we're scrambling to find someone...
And then...
We offered her the job.
And then...
She told us she just found out she is pregnant.
NOOOOO.
Back to square one. Meanwhile, my first "client" is on the 15th so we're scrambling to find someone...
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