Our nanny is leaving us in October and so we are looking at our childcare options. We are interviewing a woman next week who also speaks Spanish and wants some flexibility in her schedule. So maybe we’ll put our son in preschool two or three mornings a week and have a nanny the rest of the time. Or maybe I’ll just work part-time the days we have him in preschool and full time the two days we have a nanny.

There are so many factors to consider: finances, the impact it will have on my business if I cut back (which circles back around to finances), whether or not my son is ready for out-of-home care, and of course, whether or not I’m ready to have him go! I work from home now and get to see him as much as I want. Although truthfully, the nanny takes him out for hours and hours every day so I’d probably “see” him just as much.

We’ve been touring preschools in the area, trying to find one that can continue his Spanish language instruction. There are precious few that offer that. The two closest to us are both new (one’s been in business for one year and the other is starting this fall), so they don’t have much of a track record. Should that be a concern?

I know every parent struggles with finding good childcare and worries about whether or not they’re doing the right thing so I suspect I’m in good company.

On another random note, t-shirts are on sale everywhere right now. I know that summer will be over soon (well, maybe not so soon here in Atlanta) but I like to stock up on t-shirts for the winter. I think t-shirts layered over a long-sleeved shirt look really cute and are perfect for our milder climate. So I plan to stock up (buy one size up to allow room for the shirt underneath) on some cute tees now.

Now that we’re more or less settled in the house, we’ve started to cook more. We have a perfect kitchen to cook in and a new grill; it’s been fun to break them in. What’s not been fun about the new house? Cleaning. Too many bathrooms (we tried to get the builder to get rid of one of them but the architect insisted and we caved). Fortunately for us, my husband hates to dust and I like to. But I HATE, HATE, HATE to clean floors and he doesn’t mind that at all. That just leaves the bathrooms (mostly me) and the dishes (always him).

No plans yet for the weekend. What about you?

The guys at FunnyorDie thought it’d be fun/wicked/awesome (!) to send Jewel out to a karaoke bar to sing her own songs.  She’s such a good sport and still seems so down-to-earth. I watched the video while eating breakfast this morning. Now, off to get some work done!

Enjoy:

“Honey, all my girls are good cooks. Therefore, I won’t allow you to become the exception. Love, MamMa” (Christmas, 1986)

So reads the inscription in my Better Homes and Garden cook book. My grandmother, an English teacher, had a way with words. So it was that when we found ourselves with some great ground beef and a downpour (not grilling weather), I said, “hey, let’s make a meatloaf.” The last time I tried, I used a recipe I found online from that Southern fried cook, Paula Deen. Made it. Didn’t like it. It was too . . . mushy. And didn’t use catsup! I wanted a basic meatloaf recipe and MamMa’s cookbook provided one.

It was yummy. I’ll add green pepper next time, but otherwise, perfect. My husband loved it. My friend, Vesatee, is sitting here at the table with me chowing down on some leftovers.

I have a friend, Ruthie, who used to work with me. Our office had a little cafe with a cook named James. Every now and then, he made meatloaf and Ruthie and I swooned. “Is it Meatloaf Monday?” we’d inquire giddily as we ran to the cafe. James’ meatloaf was the good ‘ol basic kind.

What is it about meatloaf? By the time I reached high school, I hated it, along with some of my mom’s other standards, like fried chicken. Once I hit my 30’s, though, I ached for some good ‘ol fried chicken, or Mom’s pot roast, or meatloaf. Incidentally, it’s times like these that I miss her. It’ s always the little things, isn’t it? I really wish I had her pot roast recipe. Lipton’s onion soup mix and all.

Christopher hung our wind chimes the other night. I’m typing in our breakfast nook looking at them, dangling, beautiful and still. It’s hot. No breeze. There are nests that look like gigantic spider webs far, far up in our trees (maybe 50 feet). Not sure if we call a tree company or pest control or just not bother at all. But then I have images of spiders dropping one by one onto the yard, or the house. Or maybe it’s not spiders but some flying insects. Whatever. It’s gross.

My dad, sister and nephew came for a visit last week. Hunter was slow to warm up, as he always is, but by the end of the visit he was happily going to Pop Pop – especially since Pop Pop indulged him in many walks “abide” (outside). My son loves to be outdoors.

But not me. Especially not with 95 degree heat, no breeze and mysterious critters growing in my trees. No thank you very much.

Writing is a habit. The more you do it, the easier it is to do. I find that if I don’t blog for a few days, I start to run out of ideas to write about. Conversely, if I keep blogging, the ideas keep flowing.

I’ve considered myself a writer since I was about six or seven years old and was “published” in the school paper. I wrote an essay on our trip to a bread factory. I also had a poem published. I wrote poetry throughout my childhood and poetry became my personal emotional outlet for most of my life. I stopped writing about ten years ago when I decided to mostly be happy. (Real happy not the pretend happy of my twenties.) I find it difficult to write poetry unless I’m desperately sad and lonely or heartbroken.

I’ll trade happiness for heartbreak and poetry any day!

Even when I was a child, my poetry had a tinge of sadness. Consider this, written when I was around 11 years old and vacationing with my family at the Caspian Sea:

The wind blows
The sea roars
My feet are cold
on the naked floors

The sky hath grown dark
unto the sea
as the wind whispers
and wails at me

The sun has gone down
The moon has come up
My feelings are all mixed
and jumbled in a cup.

Yes, I wrote “hath.” I had just finished reading a biography of the Bronte sisters and was in a hath kind of mood. It really was storming, the floors really were bare and I had pink eye and sand in my butt from earlier in the day. All I remember of the trip was writing the poem. Which makes sense when you consider how much focus and effort it takes to concentrate one’s thoughts and express them in rhyme.

In college, a number of professors commented on my papers that I had an “easy, breezy writing style” and similar sentiments. That little bit of unsolicited praise was all it took for me to decide to become a writer. After graduation, I landed a job at an ad agency and within months became their copywriter.

I continued with jobs that required a great deal of writing until my mid-30’s. I found that writing for a living took the pleasure and joy out of writing for me. It became something I had to do instead of something I wanted/needed to do. I was a pretty good copywriter, which is to say I can write short, pithy bits. I tried to write a novel – indeed, I still have several ideas for one – but I’m just not that kind of writer. I remember being VERY excited when I first read “Tales of the City.” The whole book is mostly dialogue and short, short chapters. I thought, “Hmmm, maybe I CAN write a novel if I do it like that.” Of course, I’m not funny enough and so that dream died.

As I advanced in my career, I did less writing for work and seemed to give up writing for pleasure altogether. Until now. Blogging has become my modern-day journal, diary, place to express myself and have some fun. But there are days, like today, when I can’t think of a thing to write about. So I wrote about writing.

Yep, I hath done it.

We bought some beautiful Father’s Day cards just before we moved. I figured we’d be too busy with unpacking to get to the store so I wanted to plan ahead. I should wipe that pleased look off my place because I can’t find those cards anywhere! <sigh>

I did manage to get my dad and husband a gift, and we have a plan for his dad. So we did cover our bases there. (Thank you, Amazon.)

Are you watching the new season of So You Think You Can Dance? What do you think of the format featuring previous season “All Stars?” I love seeing some of those dancers (I’m talking to you, Allison!) but I miss the random pairings of contestants. Sometimes awkward, sometimes brilliant, pairing two contestants together to tackle new routines and choreography was always fun and interesting to watch their chemistry.

So I’m not sure I like the new format altogether. I do wish they would have the All Stars perform a group routine on Results Night. That would be cool.

I’ve been taking pictures of the new house and plan to start posting some next week. I decided to go ahead and take the pics even with the rooms half-unpacked. If I wait till everything is unpacked and decorated, it’ll never happen.

They’re still working on the house. The painters were here yesterday doing touch-ups; the flooring guys are coming today to repair some boards. The big deck staining incident continues; they have stripped most of the black stain but can’t get enough off the rails and pickets so they are replacing those next week. And then staining everything the correct color. I hope. There’s more but it’s boring and I just want it all done.

Archaeologists have discovered a leather shoe that is 5,500 years old. It’s not fancy but I assume it got the job done back in the cave man days. I read about it in the New York Times.

Also in the Times, I read that folks are beginning to wonder if parents spend too much time on their smartphones and laptops and not enough time interacting with their kid. Well, duh. Actually, it did make me think. I try to not work when I’m alone with my son in the morning but have a hard time not sneaking a peek at my RSS reader while he’s playing with his cars. But I know he looks over at me and he always sees my face buried in my phone (or Kindle). Probably not a good idea.

Finally, I think this quick read from Real Simple on how to tell when eggs go bad is useful and worth bookmarking. I always forget the drop-it-in-water test (if it sinks, it’s probably OK) and go digging around for some Hints from Heloise printout I have that’s probably 20 years old. Next time I forget, I’ll just search my blog!

Hope you all have a great weekend! We’re heading to a soft launch of a new farmer’s market in our area and have plans to hang out with some friends. Oh, and maybe we’ll unpack a few more boxes, clear out the garage so we can get our cars in, and hang some pictures. Or maybe not. We’ll see what the munchkin wants to do. He’s such a cutie and so much fun. He’s really our favorite thing to “do.” Much funnier than any TV show (well, except maybe “Modern Family,” which is pretty darn hysterical.)

This close to closing, that is. Tomorrow is the Big Day. We were supposed to close a few weeks ago but the bank we were working with was not answering our simple questions so we started the process all over again with another bank. Our builder kindly let us go ahead and move in. So we’re in the house but it won’t be officially ours until tomorrow.

This is my first time owning a home. Chris bought our last house before we had even met. I bopped around the country so much with jobs that I never felt settled in any one place long enough to buy. So tomorrow will be my first time experiencing the sign-your-life-away phenomenon that my friends have told me about. I hope it goes smoothly. And I hope my husband took the whole day off because maybe we could go to a matinee movie or a nice lunch after the closing to celebrate.

It’s funny, as we’re getting paperwork together for the bank and are in the midst of the mortgage process, I am reading “The Big Short” by Michael Lewis, which is all about the mortgage meltdown, credit default swaps and CDOs (which sadly, I have forgotten what that stands for). It’s a compelling book (he wrote “The Blind Side”) that absolutely reads like fiction – not just because what happened is UNBELIEVABLE but also because Lewis is a gifted writer. I’m about 39% done (haha – joke for you Kindle people) and so far, I’d recommend it without hesitation. I was afraid it was going to be one of those books I “needed” to read and would be a slog, but I promise you, the author breathes so much life into his characters (er, real people) and explains the technical stuff really well that it is practically a page-turner.

Here are some totally random blogs from famous people that I find fascinating:

Jay Rayner, food critic and judge on Top Chef, writes with wit and a full arsenal of sharp critiques. How can you not love a post that begins like this:

If I see someone using a knife and fork to eat spare ribs, I just know that I will want to punch them . . . I am yet to meet a meal that absolutely demanded a trip to the cutlery drawer. It’s amazing what you can do to a risotto by scooping with the middle and index finger, and the only thing that stops me lifting up a bowl of soup to my lips is the appalled stares of others. When I’m alone, the spoon can go hang.

Delicious!

Roger Ebert’s blog is nothing short of a revelation. He writes of movies, of course, but also of current events, pop culture, his critics, and whatever else moves him. His post about his father was moving, but not overly so. I felt I really got to know him and his family reading it, and I never felt he tried to manipulate my emotions as so many writers would when writing of a departed one. His writing allowed me to feel what I wanted to feel. No easy feat.

Until the day he died, I always called him “Daddy.” He was Walter Harry Ebert, born in Urbana in 1902 of parents who had emmigrated from Germany. His father, Joseph, was a machinist working for the Peoria & Eastern Railway, known as the Big Four. Daddy would take me out to the Roundhouse on the north side of town to watch the big turntables turning steam engines around. In our kitchen, he always used a knife “your grandfather made from a single piece of steel.”

And then there’s Diana Agron, the actress who plays Quinn on Glee. Her blog isn’t wordy so much as it is a series of pictures, short posts, and videos that all add up to what I think is a great introduction to a young, creative soul in Hollywood. Here’s part of her tribute to her mom on Mother’s Day:

Mom,

I know I already wrote you something else, but this is my second note to you. You introduced me to Audrey Hepburn and I fell in love with movies, found my passion and dreams. Just like all my observations of her and her life, you demonstrate grace, compassion and humanity better than most.

I keep a folder in my RSS reader marked “fun” for blogs like these. I could just as easily mark that folder “inspirational” because I find these bloggers’ creativity and ability to communicate inspiring.

What do you read for fun? Have any interesting blogs to share with me?

Hope you all have a great weekend. We’re going to the PDK air show tomorrow. My little boy LOVES airplanes (is there a child who doesn’t?) so we are really looking forward to this.

I could be packing instead of blogging. I should be packing instead of blogging.

Next week is the Big Move. I’m excited, exhausted, and terrified. I obsess over weird stuff like making sure the crib is set up by bed time. I want my son to have the least amount of disruption possible. Thankfully, the nanny is staying late on the day of the move. Cuz you know what will happen, right? I will have to stand post and tell the movers where everything goes. If they ask my husband and he doesn’t know, he will come and ask me where I think it should go. So – for just one day only – I will not get to be much of a mom. More of a project manager. And I will be outsourcing Mommy to our nanny.

Oh, the guilt.

The house is not yet safety proofed. Why is that a problem? Well, the house we’re renting is tiny and all one level. The house we’ve built is three levels (when you include the finished basement where his playroom will be). So that’s TWO sets of stairs for him to climb up and FALL DOWN! We need safety gates STAT. I had a safety dude come over and do an analysis of what we need (for some reason, writing “safety dude” reminds me of the song “Safety Dance” which was performed on Glee this week). I was oh-so-ahead-of-the-game thinking I’d review those recommendations and get the gates installed (at least).

But his recommendations remain unopened because my husband and I want to go through it together and that just hasn’t happened. <sigh>

You know what else hasn’t happened? Neither one of us has gotten utilities hooked up or transferred over. I called Comcast and they told me it could be 30-45 days because it’s new construction and they aren’t sure if they can install it. OK, first of all, this is a well-established in town neighborhood. There used to be a house here that was demolished (previous lot owner did that; not us). If I had to guess, they had cable. Our house is ENTIRELY pre-wired. All they need to do is run a line to the tap, which I’ve seen them do a million times. In fact, at our last house, we had lots of problems with our service and they ran new lines not once, not twice, but THREE times. So I know this is an easy thing to do and should not take 30-45 days.

Because of this, I am going to miss “Glee” and the “American Idol” finale and really, that’s what’s keeping me up at night.

Cuz it’s all about the TV shows, right?

Ha! Wish me luck!

Did you catch my Facebook posts yesterday? I wanted to let you know about some great sales:

Zulily - If you use the code DAILYCANDYKIDS, you get an additional 25% off their already discounted prices. I bought some stuff yesterday so I can vouch that the code works but it expires TODAY so hurry! Are you familiar with Zulily? It’s a members-only online club (free and they don’t hassle you); each day they have a couple of new “shops” open with major discounts. Most of the stuff is boutique-y kids clothes or nice wooden toys, that sort of thing. I bought some cute t-shirts yesterday from Fierce Hugs. LOVE the one of the marmalade jar chasing the strawberry!

Kushies - This is the Canadian company where I’ve bought lots of footie pj’s for my son. I also really love their taffeta bibs; good size, easy to clean and modern. Two of their lines are 50% off and if you use the code FAIRYTALE, you get an additional 20% off anything in the store! I love, love, love their raincoats (see pic of my munchkin!). This code is good today through 3/11. I’m going to zip over there and buy some more bibs and Lil Aviator pants.

Red Envelope is having their spring sale, with up to 50% off on some pretty great gifts. Check out this cute handprint growth chart for $14.99 (reg. $39.95) or this stud earring trio of semi-precious stones (peridot, blue topaz, and amethyst) – on sale for $29.99 (reg. $49.95).

Follow me on Facebook or Twitter; I try to keep my friends updated the minute I see hot deals or interesting articles! Happy shopping and I hope you have a great weekend! – Sherean

Roger Ebert doesn’t miss eating. He says, “I began to replace what I had lost with what I remembered,” and tells stories of root beer with his dad, favorite diners and tuna melts. His blog is a revelation.

Also, read this profile of him on Esquire that’s burning up the blogs. Beautiful. Touching, but not in a way that will make you cry. I wouldn’t do that to you (at least not without warning you first!).

Speaking of warning you: I warned you this blog was random-y. It’s about to become more so.

From my friend, Alistair:
I got the fat part of Tuesday right.

I am BEYOND flabbergasted right now. I’m also a redhead, with all the attendant cliche-ridden tendencies . . . so feel free to picture flame coming out of my nostrils, unruly curls that look like they could shape shift into sea monsters, and of course, a voice at a decibel level that IS BEYOND HUMAN.

OK? Got the picture? Here’s the story:

My car needed an oxygen sensor. The very nice guys at Toyotechs fixed it. In order to fix it, the battery had to be unplugged and whenever you unplug a battery, it takes a while for the car’s computer to reset. They told me to drive it 30-40 miles before I took the vehicle in to have its emissions tested. (Incidentally, my husband’s oxygen sensor ALSO went out in his BMW and the mechanic told him to drive it 40-100 miles, so apparently, this is “standard” for cars.)

So I drove it the required miles, took it to be tested, and it failed the “readiness” portion which means the computer isn’t ready. It hasn’t re-set yet. Chris drove his car the required miles and it passed. Harumph!

I drove it some more . . . 163 miles in total and took it back in. Again, I got a “readiness fail.” Now, my tags expired last week so I am driving around with expired tags. I did, however, go to the DMV and pay the taxes so I can at least show the cop I am TRYING.

Back to Toyotechs I went. They ran it through their computer and received a set of instructions on exactly what we need to do to re-set the computer. It has to be followed EXACTLY LIKE THIS, in this exact order. Here’s what I have to do — and before you read on — this is for real. THIS IS NOT A JOKE.

1) Drive vehicle at 40-55 mph for approximately 3 minutes (no stopping, no slowing down). No sudden acceleration.

2) Then drive it at 35-45 mph for approximately 7 minutes.

3) Car must have 1/2 – 3/4 tank of gas. No more, no less.

4) Let the car sit overnight or for 8 hours. (No pesky trips to the grocery store or pediatrician visits!)

5) Drive vehicle at approximately 45 mph for about 5 minutes.

6) Drive vehicle at approximately 25 mph for about 15 minutes, and include a minimum of two stops for approximately 30 seconds.

7) Steps 5 and 6 must be completed on smooth roads to minimize fuel sloshing.

Let the car cool.

9) Start the car, let it warm up until the engine temp is 167 or higher.

10) Run the engine at 3,000 RPM for about 10 seconds.

11) Allow the engine to idle with the A/C on for 15-50 minutes. (Which is it, Toyota? 15 or 50?)

12) Drive vehicle at 43-56 mph for a period of 3-5 minutes (no more than 5).

13) Let the engine idle for 3-5 minutes.

14) Drive vehicle at 43-56 mph for a period of 3-5 minutes again – but you cannot allow the throttle position to exceed 30% and you must avoid sudden acceleration. (How am I supposed to merge on a highway to get back up to that speed? Anybody?)

15) Let the engine idle again for 3-5 minutes.

16) Pray that the car will now pass.

There are actually more instructions to do with outside temperature (can’t be too hot or cold — like the three little bears, it must be “just right”). . . Joe at Toyotechs printed out the 5-page instructions for me. After I passed out and he revived me (a bit of redheaded exaggeration), I started racing through the possibilities. Where in the hell in Atlanta can I maintain a speed of 43-56 mph, pull over and let it idle, then somehow get back up to that speed WITHOUT ACCELERATING too fast?

Never mind that the Corolla is our only car that can fit a car seat (we can kind of cram one in the back of Chris’ car, but it’s a 2-door and not easy). Besides, he has to go to work, and I have to take the baby in for his 15-month well visit tomorrow, followed by a doctor’s appointment I have to check on my — are you ready — HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. I cannot imagine what is causing that, can you?

Oh wait, maybe it’s the CONDEMNED stove in this lemon house. (Gas company came out Monday and said the stove is causing carbon monoxide to leak.) Landlord is supposed to replace the stove. We’re still waiting.

Or maybe it’s the roaches. Landlord has sprayed but whatever he’s using, it isn’t working. We bug him about it (”bug him,” haha) all the time because we see at least one roach a day. I decided to start emailing him every day with the roach count. I hope I irritate the hell out of him because his irritation at getting daily roach count emails from me is nothing compared to MY IRRITATION AT DEALING WITH FREAKIN’ ROACHES every day.

Anyhow, back to the car. This is how great Joe at Toyotechs is. He said he’ll take my car home tonight and try and do all this. He said he has the advantage of being able to drive around with the computer to see if it passes each step. So now I just have to figure out how to get a car rental and get over there (or have them come pick me up) and get the car seat in there because today, of all days, is a day my nanny has to leave early.

So there you have it. And because you made it all the way through my rant, here’s a cute picture. Even with all this insanity, he makes me smile and keeps me sane. I know you all know what I mean.