Family Friday: Temperature Control Ceramic Mug
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I laughed when I first saw that this product existed — mostly because I will literally drink any type of coffee at anytime, anywhere. I’m not picky. However, I know there are those of us who truly care about having a great cup of coffee, and one of the most common gripes about having kids is never getting to drink a hot cup anymore. I get that — the relaxation, the ritual, the enjoyment … that all goes straight out the window upon having a baby. What this product does is keeps your coffee cup hot and even allows you to control the temperature with an app on your phone. Maybe you don’t feel like you want to treat yourself to a $79.95 mug, but this also seems like a fun gift idea for the person who truly has everything. If you’ve bought it for yourself, report back on how you like it! It’s available at Amazon and Starbucks. Ember Temperature Control Ceramic Mug
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I could use some advice on hiring a babysitter. This is going to sound so silly, but how does it work? Baby is ~15 months and we’ve really only had family watch him so far or friends after we’ve already put him to bed (good sleeper, so those people only had to watch tv with our monitor nearby).
We have an event coming up, so we’ll need to hire someone to watch him and do his whole evening routine (family not in town). We have a rec from a friend, but she’s pricey. How much do we tip? Do we provide dinner since it will be in that timeframe? We’d ultimately like to get a list of people we could call if needed – how have you ladies gone about finding sitters?
This all feels so silly – I used to babysit in high school, but in a HCOL city, everything seems so different! Thanks so much for any advice.
Morning, Hive. We are considering buying a new home. We’ve been low-key watching the market in our smallish town for a long time, but haven’t found anything we really liked until now. The house we are looking at checks off probably 80-90 percent of our list and is a little over $100,000 less than paying the premium of building the perfect house. The biggest negative is that it seems that my daughter (2.5) would be the only child her age in the neighborhood at the time we move in. Of course, that could change down the road, but that isn’t a given. She is an only child, and the plan is that it will stay that way. How much would this bother you? We live in a small town and would be committed to enabling her to play with friends who don’t live nearby down the road. I never went to daycare or summer camps or whatever – my mom stayed home until I was in first grade and then worked part-time. My sister is 6 years older, so if needed, she’d watch me after school and in the summer. I spent evenings, summer days, and weekends with two girls my age who lived in my neighborhood. I hate the idea that my daughter might not have those relationships. But if I work and she’s in daycare and then after school activities, maybe it won’t really matter as much? Would love to hear what others think!
I am listing here because I know this may be a really stupid question. I’m here for advice, which includes “No.” so be nice!
Anyway, we are considering hiring a nanny for the first time. Kids will be infant, 2 and 5. 2 and 5 y/o are in part time preschool/playschool.
Is it completely out of line to either write into a contract or convey a dress code of sorts for the nanny? I don’t even know exactly what it would say, but some nanny candidates have worn:
– super high uncomfortable heels, totally not ok for schlepping babies
– low riding shorts that expose their butt (my preschooler noticed)
– yoga pants so tight her thong showed (preschooler noticed)
– low cut top where bra was visible (preschooler would have noticed but wasn’t in the room)
– dangly jewelry (this one sounds crazy to comment on but it was really over the top)
– almost “work” clothes- so nice they aren’t mess-around-with-kids clothes. And they weren’t interview clothes bc she came right from her current job. I asked how she kept them clean and she brushed it off like “oh I don’t get my hands dirty.”
Are these just signs that the person is the wrong fit, or could they be perfectly good candidates with parents that were cool with butt crack in the past? We are not yet at the reference checking stage but all of these candidates have come with full resumes of experience.
Happy weekend! Anyone have fun plans?
I’m solo-parenting the toddler and the 4-month-old for the first time this weekend and am totally terrified. Ideas for outdoor activities that occupy a 2-year-old are very welcome! Unfortunately taking extended trips out of the house is out of the question because she’s still in early stages of potty training, so we will be spending a lot of time in the yard.
Anyone have advice for Hashimoto’s and TTC? I was just diagnosed by my PCP, and have an appointment with a regular endocrinologist soon. Do I need to look for a specialized OB or reproductive endo? Any other advice? Thanks!
I probably wouldn’t say anything in the contract, but I would have no problem making a comment if a nanny showed up to work in non-work appropriate clothes.
“Hey, you might want to take those earrings and necklace off. They baby loves grabbing jewelry and it’s going to get yanked on. I wouldn’t want your ears to be hurt or the necklace damaged.”
“Hey, the kids were looking forward to a bike ride today. Did you bring tennis shoes to change into so that you can keep up? (If no) You are welcome to keep a pair here if you want a pair for walks and playground trips.”
“Hey, I love that skirt, but I was hoping that you’d do lots of tummy time with Timmy during the day. You might want something more comfortable to wear when sitting on the floor with him.”
What is your favorite place to buy men’s clothes?
My husband has a birthday coming up (and fathers day and our anniversary all in the same two weeks), so for birthday I’m going practical since he needs a few decent polo shirts for work. (I forced him to retire some beloved v old ones.) I’d normally turn to Kohls but I don’t want to mess with the credit card game they force you to play – is there a way to get good deals w/o the membership? Same with Macy’s lately, they’ve sucked. We just joined Costco but I’ve never bought clothing there before – any thoughts about their selection?
I’m recently back at work. DH is home with the baby, taking a long paternity leave. I work in a pretty relaxed, family-friendly environment (higher ed). The majority of my co-workers have kids and both moms and dads will do sick days, duck out in the middle of the day for school events, etc. I’ve been really surprised by how many people are shocked that my husband is taking a several month paternity leave and how many of my male co-workers have said “I would never do that!” And these are guys that (as far as I know) split parenting very equally, do 50% of daycare runs, packing school lunches, middle of the night wake-ups, etc. It’s just interesting to me how taking leave seems to be that last area of parenting where it’s acceptable to feel/say that the woman should be the only one who does it, or who does the vast majority of it. Our university offers 8 weeks of paid parental leave to all parents, and you can supplement it with vacation/personal days, etc., so the only difference between fathers and birth mothers is that mothers can also use sick leave. I don’t really know what my point is, I guess I just think it’s really disappointing that so few dads want to take paternity leave and I don’t know how we change that. I know the global answer is “offer better paternity leave” but in this case, it’s available and dads don’t seem to want to use it and I find that so frustrating.
Would you mind sharing the suburb (or narrow down the area if want to stay anon)? Looking generally at Boston area suburbs but haven’t found the right fit!
So…I know this is hard to answer without context…but would you spend $30-40k to do some major updating to your house with the intent that you’ll only be in the house 4-5 years and probably only get $15-20k back at sale? Our house is in dire need of some updating (like actual need, floors coming up, backsplash falling down, etc. and not just “I’d prefer wood, quartz, etc.”) It’s basically either that or move now, and we can’t find a house we like that isn’t way more money that we aren’t ready to spend.