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Three peas in a pod

I was chatting with a pregnant friend today (what, I have those now? apparently I do) and she asked about the nanny share. I’ll be honest, I think I’ve got the perfect set up, but as you know from previous posts we had a rocky start at finding the right fit. It took four families to find one that was just right. One didn’t go beyond the first meeting, one decided to go with their own nanny, one wasn’t the right fit age and location wise even though we really liked each other (and still meet up when we can), and obviously the last family is such a great arrangement we hope it sticks until school starts.

So what do you need to think about and look for when you’re looking for a share?

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Dainty Hands!

We’re at about 18 months since a certain someone joined our lives. And like all new parents we have our up and down moments, luckily for us, most of them are up (I think at least.) But the reality of parenthood is, it’s hard sometimes. Hormones happen, life happens. So what can a person do to help fight that off?

Let me start by saying, well before I ever got pregnant, I could go from happy go-lucky to depressed in less than a few seconds. I’ve had my struggles with depression and it can be a scary, tough, dark thing. Knowing that my mother struggled with it, I was very scared of post-partum depression. I had chosen to have a child because of the joy I thought it could bring; I didn’t want that joy sullied by depression. I didn’t want to see myself with my child wishing I wasn’t or wishing I was somewhere else, or just not caring one way or another. From the very moment I found out I was pregnant, the fear of depression lurked just over my shoulder in the peripherals of my mind.

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It's not a steal, but it was cheap.

Okay, most of you know I have been a long-time reader and sometime contributor to the Offbeat Empire. A lot of what inspires my thinking and some of my posts comes from what I read there and this post, surprisingly, was definitely one of them.

A couple weeks ago Ariel, the head of the empire, wrote an article on Offbeat Home about one of the most important tools she owns – a shopping basket a neighbor had given her ages ago. She talks about a number of the ways this little basket has been useful throughout the years. Clearly that planted a seed – It doesn’t matter if you have a kid or not, the home gets messy and you have to tidy. It was that point that got me thinking something like this would be great to have. Well this weekend we hit Borders because it’s going out of business (Chicago is losing every store but one). So we popped in after dinner and this is what we found.

$7 – A shopping basket
$20 – An elephant stool (one of those cool rolling step stools)
$60 – Two wooden high-chairs (now we don’t have to tow highchairs between homes for the nanny share)

There isn’t much time left to pick these things up at Borders, but if there’s one closing near you, it might be worth the trip. Maybe you’ll find a shopping basket for tiding up your home or as a beach tote. If you bike, maybe you can find a way to also rig it up on a rack on the back (my plan).

If they still have a highchair and you have a kid or you’re expecting one – you can probably get one of these for less than the $40 they have it listed for. While you can probably find some cheap highchairs, I doubt you’ll find a solid wooden one for less. Be sure to check them out. Double check the straps and make sure the buckles latch. If they’re broken, you might be able to replace them so investigate that and make a lower offer. You also want to make sure it’s solid with no cracks maybe you can fix that, maybe not.

If you aren’t near a closing Borders, or they’ve already sold them all, keep an eye out for any restaurants or even bars that are closing.

So here are my tips

Go check out store closing sales with an open mind and really look at what they have and think about how they might be used to solve your problems.

Read Offbeat Home if you haven’t checked it out yet, it just might inspire you.

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What's all this white stuff then?

I’m not looking for different childcare – Nanny M is magnificent, but NPN posted about childcare centers today and I read the blog. Can I just ask, seriously why in the hell would a childcare center have a 1 year wait list to get an infant into care? You would literally (and yes, I do mean literally) have to sign up with one of these places as soon as you found out you were pregnant.

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It's a big world out there (don't be scared).

Let’s start this post by saying, the Bot is happy, healthy, noming table food – she’s even had eggs now, she has 8 teeth after a long time of tooth #6 playing peek-a-boo, and she’s taken her first steps though she still prefers to walk by using objects to support her. She’s got a few words: Mama, Dada, Hi, Ba (bath), Duh (duck) and possibly a few others we haven’t actually figured out yet. She also fetches like all good dogs babies should. All these great signs say that she’s developing just the way she should be.

But for a bit, we weren’t so sure; it started at her 9 month appointment, after her regular checkup it was time for shots and a blood test for lead.

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This outfit could do with some more stripes.

It’s tough being so busy that I never have time to write about the things I want to here. But I am taking a quick moment to tell you about Mamapedia.com. A Groupon-esque site with great deals for parents with the added bonus of doing something good for schools too. (5% of each purchase goes to the school of your choice). I’m getting this up here now because their deal today is for Agoo Apparel which have the cutest little leggings! I’ve been hunting for more cute leggings for the Bot, and am snatching this deal up tout de suite, so why not share it with you too?

So go, run, get thee to Mamapedia.com and get your giddy kiddy glee on.

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Steampunk organ grinder and her clockwork monkey.

You probably thought I’d forgotten all about bringing you along on this little journey, but no! it just so happens that October is always busy for me, between celebrating my birthday and getting Halloween stuff ready to go, then tack on the craziness that ALWAYS seems to occur at work, and well, suffice it to say, I’ve been a busy momma.

So at least to get the update done, here are our fabulous Halloween costumes. I was a steampunk organ grinder (okay accordion player) and she was my clockwork monkey. While I didn’t make everything by hand, I did make my wig and hat and I altered her costume quite a bit because what was purchased was a horrible piece of junk. For her clockwork insides, I did an iron on transfer onto muslin, sewed that on then went around it with some fancy ribbon. I also attached some castinettes to her wrists so that when she clapped, she clanged her cymbals. I had to rip open her ears and stuff them cause they were so flat. Her outfit was all held together by ties that were never going to stay tied, so I sewed on some fabric velcro to the back, the neck and the hood and that managed to keep everything on nicely. To be honest, my hat took the most work and time. I would have been done 2 weeks ago if I hadn’t made it, but I love the way it turned out. It is 100% by me, pattern, fabrication, finishing and all. I did learn to use a much higher quality buckram next time. This was only the second hat I’ve made, the first being my wedding hat. Something about fall makes me want to make and wear hats.

Well, work is still crazy busy, so I’m cutting this note short, but feel free to check out our other Halloween pictures on our Flickr. Happy all saints day!

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The three of us. Jean (9 mths), Siouxzi (9 mths) and Lorelei (8 mths)

We never wanted kids. Never. It was something other people did. We were content being the cool Aunt and Uncle. I knew a few people here and there with kids and I was always happy to say “hi” if the child came and talked to me (albeit with uncomfortable child-fear exuding from me). Heck, I’d even play with them and have some fun while at it, but I was never the type to go running to a baby that just came in the room and fawn over it.

We were speeding along in our 30′s, living a cushy, double-income, no-responsibilities lifestyle and we liked it.

So I’m sure you’re wondering why the change.

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We're trying for more of this - the happy, not another baby.

We’re hitting a critical stage here in the household. The Bot is now 8 months and I’ve instilled some bad habits in her I fear – she’s not sleeping through the night at all.

We start her bath at 7:30 then nursing and a song until she’s dozed off. We would put her in the co-sleeper and that was usually about 8. She’d wake at 10:30/11pm when I went to bed and I’d nurse her again. Usually she would wake again around 3am, I’d nurse and she’d sleep until 7ish. A few times she slept through the night, but that was short lived.

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Watch out kitty, she's on the move.

I bet you’ve all been wondering what is going on out there that’s keeping the Pregonaut from checking in. Well, it’s been a couple of intense weeks that involve someone being fully mobile and more trips to the ER than any family should have (resulting in a certain sound playing on non-stop repeat in my head)…