Everyone Thursday: Boxed Bar Pendant Necklace

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Boxed Bar Pendant NecklaceThese linear pendant necklaces have been around for a few years now, but they still look refreshing to me — I like the wider line, the lack of bling, and the general cool factor. I like that this one is a 16″ length with a 2″ extender, which I think gives you a lot more options. The necklace the $68 at Nordstrom, available in both silver and gold. Argento Vivo Boxed Bar Pendant Necklace (L-2)

Sales of note for 1/16:

(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)

And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interestworking mom questions asked by the commenters!

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What’s up, just wanted to tell you, I loved this blog post.
It was practical. Keep on posting!

Necessary to get the specific breastpump bottle coolers? My insurance only covers the actual pump – got plenty of bottles, can I just use a regular old cooler w/ ice packs? or should I go ahead and buy the specialized coolers?

We live in the suburbs of a large Southern city and we pay $10-12 an hour. And I usually round up. Plus have a few things to eat/drink in the house for the sitter.

I’m in a relatively low COL area in the western U.S., and going rate around here is $7-8 per hour. I do that then round up to the nearest $10.

I need help trying to figure out what to pay a sitter. Our toddler nephew will need a sitter for a Saturday night while his parents are visiting us. A coworker’s college-age daughter has volunteered to do and said between $5-10 is what she usually asks for, but whatever we think is fine. That seems so low to me – that’s what I made for babysitting back in the late 90s! I grew up in a HCOL area and no longer live in one, but I don’t want to cheap out. Her dad and I earn the exact same salary (yay, government) and I was planning on giving her $15. Does this seem okay? I don’t want to make her angry because if we can get a baby to stick I’d like to use her as a sitter someday.

Ugh, so we are about three months into a nanny, and I’m struggling with whether she’s the right fit for us. There are a whole bunch of issues, some little – some more frustrating – but nothing really rising to the level of “fireable.” Things like – there is a language barrier, so nuanced instructions aren’t understood or followed; she is very focused on the upkeep of the house, sometimes over the care/attention to my son (he’ll be in a bouncy while she cleans the playroom, for instance); and doesn’t seem super in tune with my guy’s signals (he’ll be fussing b/c he’s clearly tired and she’ll stick him in the bouncer, not get him down for a nap). I observed all of this in her first few weeks, but assumed it was related to being new. I just spent a day at home with her, and don’t think things have changed much. We had a nanny for my older son, and she definitely did things we didn’t love – but she was so warm and engaging with him, that it didn’t bother me as much (so it’s not really a case of just not liking that someone else is caring for my child). She’s also a little older, and doesn’t really take him out for walks, etc. which I feel like will be more important as he gets older.

But, I sort of feel paralyzed with indecision here. This is someone’s livelihood, and she really does seem to care for my son. I’ve never had to terminate someone, and she has a great track record of employment. Terminating her would be a big blow (especially as she is older, and I know the transition away from her last family – over 10 years – was difficult). I would have no issues with recommending her – she’s wonderful, I just don’t think she’s the right fit for our family. It’s making it incredibly hard to move forward. I also am reading nanny ads, and thinking that the accolades written in other nanny ads would apply to our current nanny. That is – I’m having a hard time trusting my gut about whether our situation could improve. Any advice or experience would be helpful here.

Hi ladies – ready for some shopping help?
I need a nursing-friendly cocktail dress to wear to weddings this summer. I am 5’1”, so petite styles would be helpful – but they are rare!

Payment question: My cousin has agreed to watch my 7-month-old baby during my sister-in-law’s wedding. My husband and I are both in the wedding, so my cousin will spend the day with us and tend to the baby when we’re otherwise busy with wedding stuff.

I want to pay her something, but I’m not sure how much. She seems excited to do it and spend some time with the baby. We’re a fairly close family and enjoy doing favors for each other. On the other hand, she’s devoting an entire Saturday to this, and I know that tending to a 7 month old baby can be exhausting! She’s a working professional with a good income, so I know she’s not doing it for income purposes. She’ll be with us approximately 9-10 hours that day, and we’ll transport her to and from the wedding with us. Any ideas on how much we should give her to show our thanks for her help?

I’m panicking a little about how much this kid is costing already. My husband and I just did our registry completion and with the discount we are going to wind up spending nearly $1,000. We tried to be judicious and get only the things we truly think we will need for us and daycare, and put off buying things that we don’t need for the immediate future. Are these just startup costs? I know we’re going to have regular expenses for diapers and I’m sure we’ll need to buy clothes over the next several months, but how much is reasonable to expect to spend on a baby in their first year (excluding daycare)?

Can there be a national PSA to educate people on not asking women when they are due (eight months ago, thank you!) Women seem to be the worst offenders. It was one thing when I was huge and it was quite obvious, but now it’s rather demoralizing. I’m actually a few pounds below my pre pregnancy weight but carrying twins to term did a number on my stomach. I don’t think I have DR but I have to be always conscious of “sucking it in” which is no fun
On a related note, favorite styles to minimize a stomach pooch without seeming to be trying to hide a pregnancy. Bonus points for machine washable and pumping friendly.

Quick kid-stuff question: My niece, who’s five, has been taking dance for a few months and has a recital coming up; her parents invited us to come. But it is at the city’s “civic auditorium” and adult tickets are $21 a piece, and apparently there’s enough of a risk of a sell-out that the “dance moms” have to gather money and go wait in line the day they go on sale to make sure that they get one (this auditorium seats 2500, and is host to real events – concerts and sporting events and that sort of thing).

This is nuts, right? I don’t remember my little kid dance recitals too well, but as far as I can remember, they were in school auditoriums or similar, and, maybe, it was a couple of bucks at the door to get in. I really, really don’t want to spend $50+ (we’d have the expense and hassle of downtown parking to boot) for the family to go see a bunch of preschoolers dance. Niece’s family is far less financially comfortable than mine, so I feel pretty bad complaining about money, and yes, it’s money that we could spare, but I can think of so, so many better things to do with it. (Plus, while I love my niece, I’ll admit that the whole thing doesn’t exactly sound like a great way to spend an evening.)

I’m not a bad aunt to say “Hey, sorry, we can’t make it, but we can’t wait to see pictures!” right?

Very pretty!

I just finished reading “French Kids Eat Everything” and really enjoyed it. I really liked the in-depth exploration of how a family changed its food culture and lifestyle dramatically but sustainably. I would love to read similar books – any ideas? I have already read Bringing Up Bebe, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and Dinner, A Love Story. Thanks!