Nannies, Parties, & Litigation: All In A Day's Work

I woke up at 7 a.m. (groan!) this morning to begin a day of interviewing part-time nannies. It went mostly well and I already have my heart set on someone. My ideal pick has two boys that are the same ages as my boys. The family seems laid back, down to earth, and very embracing of the craziness that goes along with raising boys.

Out of all the homes we visited, Ryan was most at ease here. Jacob had a rare opportunity to go on vacation with his grandparents this week so he did not get to tag along. Ryan walked right up to the boy his age and they played so nicely together. The dad was also present and I could tell he plays a big role in his kids' lives. They have a nice-sized yard that is completely fenced in. They eat chocolate (evidence was peaking out from the pantry-- I don't trust people who don't eat chocolate!). Plus, they have really awesome toys (outdoor trampoling, indoor trampoline, outdoor big toy, indoor play toy). I never realized that little things would play such a big role in making me feel at ease with a potential nanny. Out of all the places we visited, I could most easily picture my children at that home.

There may be an issue with the days they are available so I'm crossing my fingers. I really hope that it works out! Especially considering that my two weeks' notice has turned into ONE week's notice and I need someone to start in three days!

After the morning of interviews, we attended my neice's first birthday party. We met up with my parents at the party and they returned Jacob to us. As Jacob ran into the house, he made a bee-line straight for Ryan. The look on Ryan's face when he saw his big brother for the first time in four days was simply priceless. The two musketeers were reunited and they were both so very happy.

Ryan's new glasses

The party was a cute princess safari theme and the boys had fun playing with their family and with their neice's toys. Jacob had even more fun foraging for used wrapping and tissue paper (after gifts were opened) and constructing a gigantic mountain out of them. As he went around picking up used trimmings, he announced proudly, "I collect pretty bows!" Apparently, as of today, he is an amateur bow-collector.

The party fizzled down after presents were opened and we made our way back home. When we arrived, it felt great to have our whole family under the same roof again. It was especially nice to have both boys back together. They agreed.

Back to the same old games

The day flew by and at 7:00p.m., I decided I should get my butt in gear and think about what we would have for dinner. An impressive 30 minutes later, I had a full meal on the table! After realizing that my pantry is nearly bare (I haven't gone grocery shopping in two weeks), I opted for my favorite, quick meal of pasta and almost homemade sauce. I say "almost" homemade because I use canned tomatoes. Some people may think that is taboo but I find that fresh tomatoes are not always in the best shape or even in season (it's hit or miss for us- mostly miss) but you can be always be guaranteed great tasting tomatoes out of a can so long as you simmer them for a good 15 minutes. While the tomatoes simmer, I throw in fresh garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar (secret ingredient!), and freshly grated parmesan cheese. I poured the pasta sauce over whole wheat spagethi, accompanied it with chicken-artichoke sausages from Costco (amazing!), and paired it with homemade garlic breadsticks (actually and truly homemade). I whip up the breadstick dough in advance, let it rise once, shape it into breadsticks, and keep them in the freezer until I need to bake them.

As I was smack in the middle of fixing dinner, my boss texted me and asked if I had time to talk about a case. I gave him a call and we talked strategy about two motions we have pending. With one hand holding my phone and the other hand alternating between stirring the sauce, checking the breadsticks, and gesturing widly in the air to match the enthusiasm in my voice, we outlined a response to one motion and a reply to another. It was kind of surreal to talk about sanctions and court rules as I contemporaneously put dinner on the table. Did I ever mention that I love litigation?

And noow, even though the kids are in bed, I am sitting for the first time all day, and I have the entire evening to unwind on the couch, I am so worked-up and excited to put my thoughts into cleverly crafted arguments that I'm researching and briefing away instead. This is proof that I really do love litigation. I don't willingly scrifice my one hour of Facebook/Pinterest catch-up time for just anything!