Thursday, January 22, 2009

Trolling For Nannies

I am ashamed to admit that I thought way too much about what I looked like today. I searched the depths of the laundry for my "cute" jeans. I found my trendy, but comfortable sneakers. I even broke my "weekdays are for ponytails" rule and gave my hair a brushing!

All for what? Because today I was going nanny hunting! I am looking to start working part time again which has lead me on a quest to find:
  • A nanny with a sweet demeanor. Screaming drill sergeants need not apply.
  • An engaged caretaker. For example, please refrain from texting or emailing while baby is creeping into the street, eating dog poop, etc.
  • A nanny with a light touch. Picking up Noah by one arm (did you guys see that hidden nanny cam video? yikes!) is NOT ok.

Basically if he is happy and alive at the end of the day, we are good to go.

In my quest to find Noah's new nanny, I wanted to at least look like (um, fake) that I have it somewhat together. I wanted to portray "fun and responsible," and not at all d-e-s-p-e-r-a-t-e. I find people tend to want to work for you more when they think you aren't an insomniac with a dirty house. Insert hastily ironed clothing and makeup to cover dark circles.

Where would I find this magical stand-in mommy? Our community tot-park of course! The best place to see a nanny in action is when she is surrounded by kids (does this make me a stalker? probably). So after lunch I threw on my "I am totally not spying on you" sunglasses, grabbed Noah and headed to the park.

Jackpot! There were tons of kids there! I spied the potentials:

Nanny A looked promising! She was sitting with her kiddos in the sand and playing cars. They seemed to be having a great time until "Rrrrriiinnnnggg" her mobile rang and a string of "wtf!?" and "omfg!" flew out of her mouth. Ummm, no. Not someone I want my kid learning to talk from.

Nanny B was obviously overwhelmed chasing back and forth between two dogs and two kids. She was sweating and had a constant look of worry around her eyes. I don't think I could pay that poor woman enough to make it worth her while.

Nanny C I didn't even bother watching. One glance at the three shoeless kids, one playing in the fire pit and the baby eating sand made me want to pick up the kidlets and call their mama.

The best nannies I saw today seemed to be related to the kids. In fact, I think most were mommies. (I managed to sneak in a "Oh they are adorable! Are they yours?" a few times to find the answer was, "yes, they are mine." sigh.)

I refuse to give up this easily. I was a nanny for 3 years and I managed to not kill any of the 4 kids I took care of. Noah's nanny is out there and I will find her!

So I'd better throw those "I am so fun, come work for me!" jeans in the wash. Next week I'll be trolling for nannies once more.

24 comments:

Summer said...

Oh, I wish I knew someone in your area!!! My sisters in town, but lets get together next week or the week after!

♥ Braja said...

I know some good ones in London!

Lesley said...

Good luck on your search...I can imagine how difficult it can be...

jenn said...

That is so hard! Hope you find a good one. (I've never searched for a nanny, but finding a decent daycare that I feel good about is rough too.)

Claremont First Ward said...

Good luck with your quest!

Rachael Schirano \\ Rachael Schirano Photography said...

good luck with the nanny search! we will be on the hunt soon as well...

Lump said...

ooooh I hear nanny hunting is a great big process! I don't even like people taking care of my dogs! haha

Elisabeth said...

In the chicago area there is a business called Teacher Care that matches full and part-time nannies with families. Might be worth it to check out....not sure of the costs associated with this type of thing. Also, have you checked any local or regional family newspapers? There are at least two in our area that have this type of information.

I was a nanny for twins for four years and loved it! Love the kids to pieces and still keep in touch with the family. Also, do you have a local community college that you could post at? There may be college kids with early childhood background looking to make some extra money.

Hope that helps...and eases the pressure at the playground! Good luck!

SuZ said...

I wish you luck!!!

Sandy said...

Good luck! I hope you find the perfect match:)

Barking Mad! said...

This is by far one of the hardest things to do. Unfortunately I gave up and decided to put the Little Imp in Montessori three days a week. Being that I write at home, and the fact I couldn't find a nanny I was comfortable with, it ended up being the best outcome for us.

I hope you can find someone amazing...and when you do, do everything you can to keep her! Otherwise there's going to be another mom out there in her cute jeans and freshly brushed hair looking to snag her. Oh how I wish I'd learned that lesson earlier on!

Good Luck!

Auds at Barking Mad!

Mammatalk said...

Good luck on your search.I imagine that must take some work. I am sure there's a nice Mary Poppinsy one out there for ya! :-)

Tabitha Blue said...

Oh good luck on your patrol!!! Sounds like the first day was a huge bust!! I can't believe those nannies... scary.


:)
~Tabitha~

freshmommyblog.com

DiPaola Momma said...

Oh I feel for ya babe.. I can't imagine putting my little mosters..um darling in someone else's hands. Though I could be talked into it for the right book deal.. HA!

I'm sooooo honored you are following me now as I've stalked..um followed you for a while now and just heart your wit and charm. Have a great Sunday and good luck Nanny Hunting (have you considered an Au Pair service?)

Bella@That damn expat said...

Who would unfollow you after this? That's just crazy!

Oh and this reminds me of Nanny Diaries.

Amy McMean said...

ahh a used-to-nanny looking for a nanny, you know all the tricks. Seems almost unfair for the noah nannies-to-be. Good luck with your search. Hey maybe you could pitch this idea to NBC or soemthing. A nanny search reality tv show. Then you would make money while doing it. That could be your part time job. Score!

Anonymous said...

Good luck w/ your search!

I NEVER take credit as the kids are mine, that's weird!

Natalia said...

Good luck with the Nanny thing..that is never easy.

Tagged you with some blog luv today...hope you will stop by.

Have a Fab week!

tiarastantrums said...

oh good luck -

ps - I tagged you

Anonymous said...

Good luck with that! I wish I knew anything about nannies--I would help you out!

Mrs. L said...

I'm sure you'll find a good one. Good luck!

Megan said...

I used to be a nanny, too.

Good luck on your search. I hope you find the perfect one for your little guy! =)

Candice said...

That's got to be a frustrating search. I wish you the best of luck.

Oh, and I added a follow button just for you. ;) Thanks for stopping by.

I'm off to snoop around your blog some more. Love it!

Jen said...

good luck with this, I had to do it and it was a pain.