Looking for a Nanny

So we've decided to move the twins to school. It's time and I think the will both benefit from the interaction with the other kids. It has been more of an emotional decision than I thought, not to mention a ton of work to find the right fit.

Part of the process is my commitment to find Maria another family. I have two twins groups that I'm connected with and by reaching out to them I've gotten a really great response. When I posted about Maria I limited it to neighborhoods nearby and I've provided each interested Mom with strengths, weaknesses, and how we've compensated her. Maria has been able to choose the families she'd like to interview with and has 3 interviews already lined up.

One of the Mothers who requested Maria's contact information provided the potential pay rate for Maria. It was $150 less than what we're currently paying her. I let the Mom of twins know Maria's rate and I never heard back from her.

Then today on the Mother's of Twins site that I posted Maria's availability I saw a post from this same Mom "looking for a nanny." She posted the lower rate and I'll be surprised if she gets any response. I don't know why I even care. I guess because I think Maria is worth every penny and for some reason I'm offended she thinks she can find someone better for $150 less. Good luck.

OK, I've written about it and I'm over it now.

Getting the Wiggles Out

Connor and Chloe really enjoy the show Yo Gabba Gabba. They have a song that helps "get the sillies out." Between wiggling, your suppose to hold still. They get the basic concept, but sometimes the wiggling continues and sometimes we throw a blanket on our head and fall down on the floor.

Warning: this is a 2 minute video of silliness, so probably only interesting for grandmothers and other relatives who think everything the kids do is adorable.

Also, hip new dance trend, show your belly before you kick off your dance moves. I'm pretty sure it's a move like Jagger.

The Hairstyles of Chloe Swan

As Chloe's hair gets a little bit longer we have more options on how she can wear it. The standard is either a single ponytail or pigtails. This is a hairstyle I can execute, but my parts aren't always that great. I'm sure my Dad would be disappointed since when he put my hair in pigtails they were perfect and pulled super tight. He was an engineer and I wouldn't be surprised if he actually used a slide rule to get my hair perfect.

Chloe's pigtails with Mommy's messy part

Maria is great with Chloe's hair and sometimes she has some really creative styles. The other day Chloe had three ponytail braids in the morning and then after nap she had a single wavy ponytail.

Maria's parts are much more exact

Then we get the really wild multi-ponytails. I guess Maria thought Chloe needed to live up to the boots and leggings look.

Potty Treasure Chest

Last weekend, while having dining with a dear friend, she had a recommendation on potty training. Yes, my life is that glamorous and my dinner conversations that riveting. At any rate, my friend suggested a treasure chest of toys and each time someone poops or pees in the potty they get to pick a toy. Even though my Mom referred to it as "pooping for toys" I thought it was worth a try. Yesterday I bought a treasure chest and toys for each twin.

The treasure chests are stacked over the back of the toilet in the kids' bathroom. Yesterday afternoon before Maria left, we brought Connor and Chloe into the bathroom and showed them the treasure chests and explained they could pick a toy when they used the toilet, after washing their hands.

They were super excited at first and then burst into tears when I closed up the chests. They both moped around the house sobbing for about twenty minutes after explaining the treasure chests. I'm not even sure they got the concept but the did get that I showed them a bunch of toys and then closed up the boxes and put it away.

We'll see how this goes.

I'm One of Those Moms

This Saturday we decided at the last minute to head out to the Arts District for the free first Saturday. They have a ton of family friendly actives and I wanted to get the kids out to do something fun.

We headed to the Nasher and let the kids run around the sculpture garden. We wanted to get a cute shot of the twins tougher and snapped a few.

So you see the the security guard in the background, about 5 seconds after this shot was taken he came over to tell us not to let the kids climb all over the rock bench. I was one of those parents I used to talk about before I had kids. Instead of making the kids behave, I let them climb all around, disregarding their safety, while I tired to get a picture.

I did get a couple of cute shots though.