Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Nanny Interview Questions

As we get closer and closer to the pending arrival of our babies, the to do list is getting longer and longer. We've started thinking about getting a nanny or someone to come in maybe one or two days a week to help out with the babies and do light housework. A friend of a friend of a friend has recommended someone, so we may be interviewing her soon. What kind of questions can I ask to make sure she isn't a psycho killer? I've been googling this topic and these are the questions I've come up with. Spanish is her first language - this is important to us as we want them to be bilingual - so some questions may be lost in translation but we'll give it a shot:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how weird are you? 
How would you describe an atom to my newborn twins?
Who is more responsible for original sin, Adam or Eve?
If a train leaves Los Angeles bound for Honolulu at 1:20 pm carrying 300 passengers, what time does flight 286 from Brooklyn land in New York City?
For the next 10 minutes, I will remain silent. Entertain me.
We will be giving you a Christmas bonus every year. Would you prefer ice cream or candy?
We like to let our babies scream for hours while we watch TV and drink martinis. Is this fine with you?
I do not think I am qualified to lead this interview. Actually it has become quite boring. What is your opinion?


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Shopping Mayhem

Today I decided to swing by the Babies 'R Us store and start browsing for baby things. After doing a few errands, I pulled up to the store to find hundreds of people outside with a huge sign out front: "Moving Sale - Everything 40% Off." First, I must admit I'm not much of a shopper. Actually neither Ruben nor I can be described as "brand queens." Just the other day I tossed one of Ruben's t-shirts in the trash that I'm pretty sure he has had since high school.

I was a little lost to say the least. Pregnant women were scurrying around the store like mad throwing all kinds of things in their carts while I was just trying to figure out what everything was and what I really needed. After 2 meltdowns and circling the store about 7 times, I had had enough. This whole experience reminded me of the annual Filene's Basement wedding dress sale.

I have no idea what I bought. I had to put two little outfits back that said "mommy loves me" - not sure how they ended up in my cart. I remember buying 2 mattresses for the cribs, a digital thermometer and a stuffed monkey. The rest of the stuff is still in the back of the truck. I think the rest of the shopping I will do on line.

It was something like this, except all of the women were pregnant and I was wondering around like a fish out of water: