Post-vacation Hangover

We're back from our vacation, and I've nearly recovered from the post-vacation. Once we returned from Vancouver, I gave Dear A the rest of the week off.

Because my dear hubby was off doing army stuff, I had K to myself for 5 straight days. Day 1: Awesome. I missed him sooo much after a week away that even the tantrums were endearing. By Day 3 the novelty had worn off and I was trying to remember why leaving my parents in charge had seemed like such a good idea. While we were gone, the grandparents decided that K should have fresh cooked turkey sausage with his breakfast. Thanks for setting that bar Mom and Dad.... 2 days into toast and eggs with me and K was asking to call his grandparents first thing in the AM. I suspect, to cajole them into bringing him the good food.

Anyway, TGIM. Dear A's back and we're slowly getting K used to the fact that he has parents again.

*Photo Footnote: Unlike the grandparents, my brother and sister-in-law were the kind of babysitters I like. They roped K into child labour as soon as they got him!

In My Mind, I'm Much More Important

K woke up to his grandparents today.  Its Day 1 of our vacation, and K's home with his Didi (grandma) and Dadu (grandpa.)

I was so worried about K's potential morning meltdown that I wrapped up 6 surprises for him, one for each morning we're gone. Each bag is numbered, and I explained that when he opens #6, we'll come home. Inside the surprises range from a inflatable "Diego" to giant sunglasses. (Thank goodness for the Dollar Store!)

All that effort, time and care... for naught. K woke up this morning, asked for me, cried for about 20 seconds and then completely forgot about us when he got his bottle and Thomas the Train.

When I called home around 8:30am. He said "Hi Momma" and "Thank you, lub you." and then gave the phone back to his Dadu so he could finish breakfast.

I guess, that's that. I'm on vacation. K's fine with his grandparents and Dear A. Talk to you in a week!

Nanny vs. Granny

I just wrote a 3 page email to my mom. No, it wasn’t a tirade about some angsty part of our mother-daughter dynamic or a Hallmark-esque love letter. It was instructions - my parents are sleeping over this weekend, taking care of K, during Dear A’s hours off, while we attend a wedding out of town.

Yes, we had originally planned on taking K, and Dear A, with us. (Click here for a refresher.) Its turned out to be more of a grown up wedding and we couldn’t see the point of dragging K and Dear A with us, just to not see them all weekend.

Anyway, about a page and a half into my notes on how to turn on the Video On Demand for K's allotment of "Thomas the Tank Engine" and "Wonderpets," I realized how odd it was that my parents needed instructions for their own grandkid.

Friday’s FAQ – Drive By’d Nanny Returns

That ‘Drive-by Nannying’ came back to haunt us yesterday and brought with it an etiquette question to rival poor Laurie’s headache from a few weeks back.

About a month ago I wrote about an awkward Nanny Playdate where someone who’d used a Toronto agency brought their nanny by our house to meet Dear A and make friends.  (Click here for a refresher) I thought it was awkward then, little did I know….

At that point, I was trying to be big about it, thinking that they had come to me because I’m writing this blog, because I’d set myself up as an "expert". Turns out, that's not the case. They don’t follow the blog and I haven’t heard a peep from them since.

We did hear from the nanny though:

Hump Day Distraction - Kula Kilps for Skinnies

** SUPER EXTRA BONUS!! Kula Klips has just offered IWMN readers a 20% discount for the rest of May!! Enter 'sale20' as a promo code at checkout. Yippee!!**

My K is long and lean. I'm in awe of his ab muscles, you can't pinch an inch on the kid. I remember having that body type... waayy back when. Anyway, if you have a skinny kid, you've likely run into the whole flood pants vs low riders issue. K's pants are either too short or too baggy on the waist. Correction - they were! We now use the buckled belts from Kula Klips. They work really well and are super cute! I highly recommend them.

Sorry about the short post today. Work is crazy, we're about to leave on vacation and I used some of my magnificent but limited brain power to submit an article to The Yummy Mummy Club for June's Daddy Month.

Nanny Saves Mother's Day

I was feeling pretty sorry for myself today. Let’s just say the day involved way more work and arguing that I had envisioned. The Terrorist Twos are raging in our house.

Just before we were sitting down to a total cop out, feeling sorry for myself, fast-food dinner, our nanny, Dear A, came to wish me a happy Mother’s Day. She gave me a simple card that blew me away; inside, she thanked me for being a great friend, sister and mother to her.

WTFriday? Nanny and the $5000 pots

Today's Friday FAQ is more of a WTF?!! A reader passed on this little tidbit and I wanted to share:

Apparently, several nannies in our area have been solicited to buy $5000 cooking pots. While I'm not questioning the quality of the pots, I'm sure they're very shiny(?!) I was shocked that nannies are being convinced to lay down $145/month for 7....yes .....7 years for the set. 

In the News - What's a Stay at Home Mom (or Nanny?) Worth?

Interesting article in today's NYTimes.com critiquing Salary.com's annual press release evaluating the market value of a Mom:

Mother's Pay by Nancy Folbre, Economix

After the reading the article, the part that stuck with me - besides the headache I gave myself when I tried to figure out Ms Folbre's numbers and how that might work in Canadian dollars - is the intrinsic value provided by a parent or trusted caregiver. As a NEWMom I'm recognizing that the care, love, and attention Dear A,  K's dad and I provide for K is priceless, and this seems to resonate with a few readers of this blog too (see yesterday's post and comments.)

A few other takes on the article:
A Mother's Worth - The Mama Bee
Happy Mother's Day: Survey says moms worth six figures

The NEWMom Manifesto

Watch out world, I’m taking a stand! I’m claiming today the beginning of a NEWMom world! What’s a NEWMom you ask?

A NEWMom is a Nanny Enabled Working Mom. We’re not new, per se, but we’re living a new reality. We aren’t the flaky absent parents from Mary Poppins, or cute but clueless dads from The Nanny or Nanny McPhee. We are rich, 'comfortable', or struggling. We are married, single, divorced or somewhere in between. We are entrepreneurs, public servants, workerbees. We are working moms (and dads) who made the emotional and financial choice to hire a nanny for our kids in order to attain some semblance of work/life balance.

Why the new assertion? Honestly, I’m tired of the bullsh*t I’ve seen lately and don't want to perpetuate it.