WFH Friday: Ribbed Cardigan Dress

So it’s my first time looking for a nanny. Any advice or considerations I should think about? Like how do I go about finding one? Care.com? And what things should I be looking for or setting up with respect to pay and benefits? Relatedly, if I also want to hire a mother’s helper to help with just laundry and other day-to-day things, any considerations there that I should think about it in terms of pay and benefits?

I’m so glad to see Brass Clothing featured here! They are one of my favorite brands and the team that runs it is a small group women out of Boston. I don’t care for the way they have styled it, but it also works great as a long duster or semi-buttoned on the top over white jeans! Hooray for Brass!

My oldest is eligible to start public kindergarten in the fall. I’m planning to keep him in our Montessori-light day care though instead: they run through first grade (I’m planning to send him to public for first grade). I guess I want some reassurance that this isn’t crazy? We can afford it. He’s been there since he was 18 months, has lots of friends, is learning enough to but most importantly they go outside for the majority of the afternoon. I guess my secret motivation in keeping him there is the director is very communicative and works with me any time there is an “issue”; from potty training to lately saying “bathroom words.” She helps me come up with strategies instead of just saying “your son is saying poop please punish him.” Is there any advantage to switching to kindergarten that I’m not seeing? I don’t know why I feel uncertain about this: we love our day care.

Can anyone recommend a pediatrician for a newborn in NoVA, preferably closer to Fairfax / Burke? Thanks in advance!

Welp I think my husband just sext-ed my mom? I emailed my husband and mom about something and my husband replied all with a very, um…suggestive… comment. He blames me (“you never email both of us!”) but I say it’s his fault for clicking the reply all button. At least there were no pictures involved…

Wardrobe help please. I’m newly pregnant with kiddo no. 2. I’m also supposed to be returning to the office fulltime to after Labor Day when I will be about 15 weeks pregnant. Between being just returned from maternity leave when Covid started, a bit of Covid weight gain, and anticipating showing a bit earlier since this is pregnancy number 2 I have no idea what to do about clothing when I return to the office. My office has historically been on the formal end of business casual and we have been told the dress code is remaining the same. I’m short (5’3″), currently a size 10-12 on top and a size 12-14 on bottom, make big babies (first was 9lbs), and so even with my first I was visibly pregnant by 16 weeks. That said I was still not fitting into maternity clothes super well at that point. It was a sort of awkward in between stage and I mostly wore dresses 1-2 sizes up until about 20 weeks. This time around should I assume I’ll be bigger earlier such that maternity clothes might fit at 15/16 weeks? Should I get some dresses in 1-2 sizes up from my current size? Just plan to wear maternity clothes that don’t fit that well and not care much? (This seems like the best idea but I already feel not great from the weight gain so I kind of want stuff that looks good even if that’s not the most financially sensible plan). I would also ignore this but I see work clothes are selling out because suppliers didn’t anticipate the return to work purchases.