Working Mom and the Nanny Doppelganger

Nope, not the title of a comic book... just a slice of my life.

Despite the fact that the weather hasn't been great, I went through that whole Spring - Summer - need to tidy - thing again. Sorted out the closets, cupboards, freezer etc. It was a weird one for me this year, not just because its the first time in 5 years where we haven’t just moved or aren’t about to move, but because I came face to face with a new reality after this year's big purge:

I have a thinner, fitter doppelganger.

Basically, I finally gave up and gave everything that no longer fits me post-baby to Dear A. Now I regularly get to see some of my favorite old outfits on someone who can still pull them off. Annoying.

Maybe I'm just tired, you can probably tell by the frequency of my posts lately, things are busy at home and work, but its tough to see your favorite sweater and cute shoes heading to the park to hang with your favorite little man, while you drag your laptop to the airport for another business trip.

Ok, done complaining. Thanks for listening.

Hump Day Distraction - Me!!

Guess what? I wrote an article about K's dad and its been published over at Yummy Mummy Club. So, yes, today's post is kind of self serving, but hey, its my blog, technically the whole thing is self serving!

As you've likely seen on my blogroll, I follow the Yummy Mummy Club site. Its a funny, cheeky, all-encompassing look at life as a Yummy Mummy (or aspiring Yummy Mummy.) This month they are featuring articles written by and for modern fathers that reflect the changing tide in men's attitudes and actions, especially when it comes to Daddyhood. With K cared for by his dad on paternity leave during the first 7 months of his life, this topic is near and dear to my heart.

Before I loved having our nanny, I got to love being married to a Stay At Home Dad!

From my YummyMummyClub.ca article "Passing the Dad Test":

When we were dating, and I got that warm fuzzy feeling that my husband might be The One, I started doing what any normal Type A, uber-planner would do: I wondered what he’d be like as a dad.
Ok, I did more than wonder. I made a list of criteria and then tested him against them. (What? I like lists. Leave me alone.)  Anyway, my then boyfriend of 8 months measured up pretty well... (Read More)

 Happy Hump Day!

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.