A CLEAN HOUSE!
Something about having an outsider in your house 4 days/week makes you keep things more organized – I make the bed first thing in the morning, put away my shoes and Charlie’s dirty laundry, and just do general straightening up around the house. Between that and the fact that M does “light cleaning” throughout the day, I come home and our breakfast and lunch dishes are clean or loaded in the dishwasher (or the dishwasher is unloaded if it was clean!), the laundry is moved and/or folded, the rug is vacuumed, etc. Can’t beat that, AMIRIGHT? She even dusts and such on occasion (and hardcore cleaned my house before my parents arrived last weekend – WITHOUT ME ASKING), enough that Charlie randomly gave her $100 cash tip the other day because he feels like she’s better than hiring a cleaning lady. Highly appreciated on all sides.
My kids are 2 on 1 with a provider who cares about them, takes them on play dates, and interacts with them all day, PLUS SHE CLEANS.
As much as I struggled with this decision, it is the best change I’ve ever made in regards to my kids. My only regret it waiting so long to make the change. I’m so glad I got unstuck.
*ETA – every time I say “nanny” I feel all hoity toity and uncomfortable. Please keep in mind that we lucked out to find a friend of a friend here in town who is incredible and just wanted to help us out, so thanks to her flexibility with price and schedule, we are actually spending the same amount as we were before to send two kids to full time daycare!
She’s cute. Hmm what can I get untuck from… Inspired.
LOL, her oldest kid is 29 – she would love that you called her cute. It’s such a young word!
So glad its working out well with her! Sounds like you got a really good one!
so chuffed for you!!!
I so SO want a nanny but they are ridiculously expensive where I am $20/hr minimum. It’s more than I could bring in…wish I could find someone like you…guess I need to move 🙂
Phew, that is insane. $20/hr is more than I make!
OMG – can I get a nanny too? I dream of a clean house much in the same way I dream of getting invited to be on the Ellen show. Sounds fantastic – congratulations!
SO GLAD you are unstuck now 🙂 she sounds fantastic!
Awesome! We have a cleaning lady come every other week, and it is AMAZING.
Ya, we had someone come once a month while I was pregnant and it was SO DAMN NICE. I see how it could be something you depend on if it’s possible to come up with the cash to make it a priority. It takes so much stress off of my shoulders to know that someone else is scrubbing my bathroom tiles and oven. 🙂
So glad this is working out so well!! She sounds wonderful.
Haha, YUP. When my girls go to preschool in the Fall, it may be my clean kitchen floor I miss the most. 😉 A good nanny is worth their weight in gold. I’m glad you found the right match for you!
You were my inspiration to really work on finding one and give it a shot, so thank you!!!!!
We love our nanny too! The house is always clean when we come home and the kids are always so happy and well rested. We still love Taylor in daycare 2x a week for a social perspective, but boy do I prefer Nanny days! 🙂
So glad you have your nanny and found it is the perfect fit for your family!
Ya, Stella has a couple of set play date days during the week which is nice for the social aspect for sure, but it’s been working out so awesomely.
I’m glad it’s worked out that way for you. We also have a nanny, a wonderful woman who has been with our twins 4 days a week for nearly 2 years, since they were 5 1/2 months old. We haven’t noticed that our house is significantly cleaner, but she does do the boys’ laundry on the days she is there, and she has a neatness streak, so she occasionally straightens up our pantry or cabinets during naptime.
Plus, you can’t beat getting to skip daycare drop-offs and pick-ups and not having to take a day off work each time a child is sick. (And or boys get sick much less often than average since they aren’t exposed to the petri dish environment that is most daycares.)
She sounds amazing!! I love that she cleans too. I am thinking we will need to get a nanny in with baby #2 when things get really busy with me with work in January so I hope I find one like this! 🙂 Also can’t believe she has a 29 year old.. she looks so young!
Ya, she’s totally great.
Isn’t it funny how young she looks?! People never guess her true age.
This is exactly how things are with us too. Granted she’s only with us on Thursdays and Fridays so that’s plenty of time in between for the house to get cluttered again, but it’s nice that we are both off on Wednesdays to straighten up as needed. And the best part is it will help keep us motivated once our house is on the market to really keep things clean! Glad it’s working out so well for you guys!!
That’s so amazing in every way! So happy for you guys 🙂
There is so much value, I think, in your kids being in their own house, with a person who cares not just for them, but about them. I know that daycare is great, and we did it at first, but having a nanny, or staying home, was our main goal/desire. It just felt better. And yes, a clean (er) house is a major benefit. B just texted me today that our house is cleaner because I’m home and constantly picking up. If I was working and sending the kids to daycare, I’d be chasing my tail trying to keep up on laundry and dishes, etc.
I’m so glad you found such a great solution to your childcare concerns!
So glad she is working out so well for you! 🙂
I am at home with all 4 kids ages 4 months to 5 years, but I do pick up all day, dishwasher, laundry etc. My husband does all the yard work but helps a lot with the kids when he is home. That said, after my third I started having our cleaners come every 3-4 wks. We are able to afford it and while I do clean a little in between you are SO right, takes so much stress off of me!
This is awesome! Good for you!!!!!
So glad that you found an option you love. If we had a nanny you better believe I’d ask her to clean. Our babysitter will clean up kids messes though so at least I don’t usually walk in to a disaster area. My kid can trash our house.