The unbloggable

I have no food to blog about. I was totally felled yesterday by a killer stomach thing that was either food poisoning from a crappy new restaurant in our neighborhood or some rogue stomach virus that attacked only me and no one else I know.

But anyway, I read this today, commented, and then realized that it was kind of crazy for me not to have blogged about what has gone on with us lately. So, even though Michael has advised me against it, here goes.

Three Saturdays ago, we came home from an evening out to find our babysitter sleeping in the living room. This is our nanny - the one who has watched Max every day for the past six months. We woke her up, and said, "Wow, sorry we are so late. You must be tired."

Her response? "Oh, no! I had three vodka tonics and then fell asleep."

I guess my shock and dismay registered on my face, but she thought it was because I was possessive of my precious Ketel One (which I am). So, what did she say next?

"Oh, I brought my own Skye Vodka."

I was too shocked to do anything at that point, so I walked her out and then slowly came inside. I threw out the empty liter bottle of tonic that she left on my kitchen table. And then I started to figure out what the hell I would do.

On Sunday, I called our substitute nanny (who channels Mary Poppins, I swear), and confirmed that she was available for the remainder of March. Monday morning, I fired the drunk nanny. She was shocked. SHOCKED!

The new nanny has been great, but, alas, she starts a new job on Monday. Once she leaves, though, Max will start toddler school! I am very excited. The ratio is 2 to 1, so it will be very close to being at home. In fact, it is at a home - the bottom floor of a triplex. Dylan will still be at her school, but she will be sharing an afternoon babysitter with her friend Ruby. They are both thrilled.

What else... Today was a huge day. I registered my baby girl for kindergarten! She is going to a Chicago public school. It's a fine arts magnet, which is just perfect for my little drama queen. I couldn't stop tearing up as I took the tour today and then submitted all of her registration forms. The school goes through 8th grade, so this is a big deal.

Comments

[Mir]

I want to hear more about this school. (I'm demanding when I'm sick, what can I say?) Keep in mind that magnet schools are not an option where I live, so I have no experience here. You're supposed to pick an area of interest for your 5-year-old that's going to work for them until their teens? What happens if her interests change?

[Mir]

P.S. OMG passed-out nanny! ACK!

[magpie]

The drunk nanny thing is awful - and the worst part might be that she was shocked when you fired her. Good luck with the new school(s).

[Heather B.]

At first glance, before reading through, I thought you were going to say she fell asleep and you got pissed or something. And I was going to say well I fall asleep babysitting all the time, whoops!

But oh my f*cking hell. She was shocked??? I bet hearing her say that she was drunk, was one of those moments when you wished it was legal to pummel the hell out of someone.

[ikate]

OMG - It's like the Today Show/Cocktail & Playdate comment gone bad. I canNOT beleive she did this or was shocked when you fired her. Good lord!

Magnet schools are so much fun, my mom teaches in an arts magnet and they do such creative things. Dyl is going to love it!

[Lauren]

Wow. Just, seriously, wow.

Max will love preschool. Julian goes two days a week to a similar setup (small preschool in a home) and I've become really good friends with the woman who runs it. And hooray for Kindergarten! It's super fun.

[heels]

I think I would have ripped her hair out. To me, when I have a sitter, that person is my employee. If I have the ability to fire them, they work for me. That means behaving in an appropriate manner, as one would AT WORK. I don't drink on the job. It's totally unprofessional to drink on the job (unless that is your job, I guess...). And THREE vodka tonics is not a little bit!

Anyway...totally justifiable firing. And if she was really shocked then she's too oblivious to be watching children anyway, no matter how nice she might be.

[Grrrlfriend Jess]

Oh. Mah. Gaw. That is awful. Doesn't she know you hired her so YOU could have three vodka tonics, not the other way around?!

[Dad Gone Mad]

I totally agree. No nanny of mine will EVER watch my kids without at least four or five of those vodka drinks in her. "Get out, lightweight! You're dead to me!"

[ali]

i, too, have some crazy nanny issues. we are planning to fire ours tomorrow. probably about 4 months too late...short story...she's bulimic and lazy. great combo, eh? also...i am pretty sure she's making extra money on the side...erm...whoring herself out...

[Jessica]

That is pretty apalling. I was a nanny for 5 years and never once even THOUGHT about drinking on the job. Ok, maybe I thought about it, but I had a bit of common sense. I remember one time a family did offer me a beer before I was about to drive home and I refused. I think that sometimes nannies get so comfortable where they work they treat your home like their own..which should not be the case.

[kyooty]

I'm in shock! shock!

[Peggy]

I find it interesting that we sometimes hold our hired help at a higher level of expectation than ourselves.

Kind of the same way society expects teachers and other certain professions to meet an expectation outside of their work day. I remember once seeing one of my high school teachers having a drink at a supper club - and somehow that was SHOCKING- and my parents went to great lengths to steer me toward understanding that teachers are in fact, people too, and that a teacher having a drink before dinner is nothing to hold judgement about. It was a powerful moment for me- one that sticks with me in moments like this when I consider how I feel about this post.

I'm divided on this one... part of me says 'hey, you're getting paid- drinking is NEVER okay when on the clock' and part of me can admit that I've tossed back a few after my kid is snuggled into her bed asleep and all is well.

This post really made me think...

Huh. I'm wondering if I would fire her? I guess I wonder what she's been like the other 'x' number of days. Was this some type of final straw? She obviously also didn't hide it - which I can say would have made me MUCH more uneasy. She was straight up about it... but then again THAT could be taken as a bad sign... huh.

I wonder how I'll feel about this later....