A Life Without

Dear A's back from holidays tomorrow. She's been off for three weeks. The first two weeks we were on a family mostly staycation. We missed Dear A but it was lovely to spend time together, sleeping in and goofing around. Last week we were both back at work, and juggling childcare. It was a challenging, and enlightening  dry-run for when, eventually, we are without a nanny.

So far I've realized:

Without a nanny, I will be at least 10lbs heavier. Since she's been gone, I've gained 4lbs. Chasing after my kids does burn calories but it's counter to the large amounts of crap food we eat when I don't have time to cook properly. And with Dear A, I can usually find 30 minutes to get some form of exercise, without having to pay for a gym with drop in childcare.

Without a nanny, the dog would be at least 10lbs heavier. Because Dear A can help manage the kids breakfasts, our dog gets at least a few minutes for a walk each morning. 


Without a nanny, my house would be at least 10lbs heavier... due to all the dust and dog and cat hair it accumulates daily. When Dear A's here, the house get swept every day, and dusted every few. With us... well lets just say even the dog is sneezing right now. I'm working on the child labour but neither one of them is there yet!

Without a nanny, my hubby'd probably be 10 lbs lighter because we'd never get any alone time so he'd probably be all about the working out etc. so he could have an affair. Well, maybe not quite, but we'd definitely get a lot less time together to re-connect and keep our marriage going.

All in all, a life without our nanny would be a lot heavier... and a lot less.

F*CK

Here's what happens when you have to beg and borrow childcare:

Tonight, K told me about "nuts."

"Its a Shhh bad word," that so-and-so's friend told him. I didn't get a clear picture of what else went down (talking to my 3 year old often reminds of my attempts to get subway directions in Turkey) but the gist implied an off colour conversation, and possibly a demonstration, with some older kids at the park. This was Day 2 of what is essentially an all week play date, because Dear A is away, and we both had to work. And now I'm left feeling annoyed, angry, and guilty.

I'm waffling between taking the next two days off to take care of him myself (which would wreak havoc on work) or having an uncomfortable and possibly ineffective (due to the hazy understanding of what really went down) conversation with the two nannies who are supervising the play date this week. Don't get me wrong, I think both are fantastic caregivers. I just think maybe the huge group care wasn't the best solution. Or maybe I'm just feeling guilty for not being at the park to help my kid navigate a situation that made him uncomfortable.

And so... F*CK!!

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Top 5 "You Didn't Know You Needed" Items for New Moms

If you've looked at my blog roll (on the side) or a few of my previous posts, you know that I'm a Yummy Mummy Club fan. This week they're sharing some Top 5 lists: Top 5 Purse Essentials When You Have Kids, Top 5 Yummy Summer Reads, which I thought were great.

Inspired I thought I'd share my own Top 5 "You Didn't Know You Needed" Items for a New Mom.

Now, I'm not thinking about big baby gifts here, I mean, the 5 things that every new mom needs to keep in her purse/diaper bag and wouldn't probably think to buy for herself. Gathered from the zillion times I've thought to myself, "Ergh. I forgot..."

Sharing on Strollers (also on Calgary CBCRadio News)

I was interviewed today about "posh" strollers and had to admit that I have four. Yes. Four. Four brand name strollers.

I realize this doesn't help the "rich spoiled mom with a nanny" perception. While I was answering the reporter's question, I kept thinking, "Don't sound like a spoiled brat! ...Do I sound like a brat?" I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out (and you can to, just listen for a piece about strollers on CBC Radio during tomorrow's News segment.) However the interview turns out, I thought I'd share my thoughts here.

When we got pregnant and started looking for a stroller, I did some research and realized a few things:

• My stroller needs were going to be different from our nanny's
• I didn't want to buy a new larger car to fit a stroller, nor could I afford one
• I had to define and stick to a budget; and
• I am a snob. 

My Nanny Makes Me Look Good

See, because I have a nanny, I have tons of free time to work out. Bwaahahaha! Just kidding! For the truth, check out my recent article on Yummy Mummy Club: You Look Good...

Nanny is Back. Mondays Suck.

Mondays suck because the nanny is back. Not because of Dear A. She's wonderful at her job. But if she is here, it means I'm not. After a weekend of piling everyone into our bed to read Grumpy Bird and picnic lunches beside the Thomas table, I will sit at my laptop while Dear A plays with  K and cuddles MC.

These days it's beyond working mom guilt to life guilt.

My kid has a Filipina accent. On Sunday...funny. On Monday...guilt.

My kid doesn't need his portable potty seat anymore. On Sunday... glad someone else deals with his shit most of the time. On Monday...guilt.

My baby will only take a bottle from Dear A. On Sunday... relief that I can crack a beer! On Monday... guilt.

Nanny Upgrade & Poll: What to do about Baby #2

So, I had our 2nd baby 4 months ago....

A baby girl. She's amazing! She's gorgeous, funny, smart and kind of looks like Winston Churchill. Amazing. I spend hours each day amazed. It means so much to me to be home to see her each day. I really missed out, going back to work so soon with K.

Luckily, this time, I've been able to structure it so I only work a few hours a day, from home, around Mini Churchill (MC)'s naps. I'm happy. She's happy. It's working. But its not going to work forever.

I've only got about 7 more months of this pseudo maternity leave leeway. And even now, I do occasionally need to leave her with Dear A so I can take a conference call or meeting. At this point MC isn't difficult. She's cuddly and I'm taking care of diaper and boob milk duty, so its mostly just fun. But, I have started to consider how to eventually transition her full-time into Dear A's care.