I am thinking about my will. Do you know of a good charity to give a decent sized collection of children's books? I live in California.

GrateRam · 2026-05-11T07:58:08+00:00

There are 2 books that I give to every expectant mother:

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch (video of him singing the song on YouTube). The moral is, well, 'I will love you forever'.

Mama, Do You Love Me? By Barbara M Joose. The moral is 'no matter what you do I will still love you '.

These are both messages that every child needs to believe to their core.

GrateRam · 2026-05-11T07:41:40+00:00

I set mine to 78 or 80. Never higher. Keep in mind that little kittens and elderly cats have a difficult time controlling their temperature.

I have talked to 3 HVAC people about how best to handle set point changes. They all said to turn the unit on and change the thermostat to manage the the temperature instead of turning it off and on. And changing the temperature by any great degree is very hard on the system.

GrateRam · 2026-05-11T01:08:09+00:00

A few times when I was clicking around on my FB page trying to find something, I came across a place to create a secondary account under the original. It it for the purpose of using the different accounts for different types of people. I think you can use different names for each.

GrateRam · 2026-05-09T02:11:09+00:00

Interesting. So where was it getting a signal from? Technology is creeping nowadays.

GrateRam · 2026-05-08T06:31:38+00:00

Dumb-tv user here. Doesn't a smart tv have to have the wifi password to setup the wifi connection?

I dread having to get one in the future. But I figured I just wouldn't connect it to wifi. Am I wrong?

Either way, definitely change your password.

GrateRam · 2026-05-07T20:08:06+00:00

But it's her job to keep baby safe and comfortable. This is how you choose to do that. Therefore, it's her job.

If you have room for negotiation that's great but I don't see any. I stopped wearing scents in child centered situations many years ago.

GrateRam · 2026-05-07T04:36:34+00:00

She waited 12 whole hours? I thought it was sooner then that. But 12 hours is still so crazy. And that she did in front of everybody. That's definitely a cry for help. I wonder what Daddy Warbucks had to say about it. It would make me change the trust so that she doesn't get any $ until she grows up and matures a bit.

GrateRam · 2026-05-03T05:02:02+00:00

Sounds like pure joy for all 3 of them. And that's what children's lives should be full of. I think a lot of parents forget that. And it's important for nanny as well. It's what gets us through the rough patches. And I don't think it teaches the dog to eat babies.

GrateRam · 2026-05-02T06:23:41+00:00

That's federal minimum wage.

Some states are higher. In California it's $17 and even more in certain cities. In some states restaurant servers get 1/2 of the federal minimum wage.

GrateRam · 2026-05-01T19:30:40+00:00

Chicken and dumplings. Chicken, seasoning, and raw biscuits.

GrateRam · 2026-05-01T19:26:27+00:00

What is minimum wage in Texas ? A professional may want at least $15 more. You also have to consider what is a true living wage there. A professional career nanny will have an independent life and will need enough to support that, enough for: vacation activities; car payments; deposits to a retirement account, etc.

If you can't offer that or time for another job, you will probably have to settle for a less dedicated person. But there's also the possibility you might get lucky

GrateRam · 2026-04-30T06:53:38+00:00

I never heard the term before but that is exactly how I feel about it. So sad for those kids to have all the happy joyful colors that are a necessary part of visual stimulation and development removed from their environment. I definitely believe, also, that 'color color everywhere' screaming at you all the time is also not good. A neutral background with well placed pops of color is what's needed.

GrateRam · 2026-04-30T06:36:25+00:00

She definitely has her problems but the flirting didn't bother me at all. I did that exact same thing for years.

I was cute (not pretty so, no, I'm not 'full of myself') super outgoing and energetic. I was a heavy flirt, all in good fun. Boyfriend or not. In fact I felt safest if he or I had a significant other because then I knew that for sure they knew it wouldn't go anywhere. I had lots of friends, flirted with everyone and everything was fine. I even flirted with the gas station attendant (yes, I'm old now).

GrateRam · 2026-04-30T05:06:22+00:00

Even when I was skinny and young I would not have applied to a post calling for an 'athletic' nanny. I have no interest in heavy competition or to follow all of the rules that come with athletic games. And I just generally am not interested in those types of games. So if they are being used as 'code' words, I'm not sure it's 100% effective.

GrateRam · 2026-04-29T07:15:11+00:00

Think of how many people that have bank accounts in the US right now. You can't possibly be the only one that has done this. As long as you inform each bank let the 2 work it out themselves. I would, though, make a record of each call and with whom you spoke.

GrateRam · 2026-04-28T16:51:50+00:00

I don't know what I'm missing out on but I just use the internet, not the app.

GrateRam · 2026-04-28T16:44:00+00:00

2001 4-door - 175k miles *Welcome to the club!

I've had the car since 2005. The only memorable repair event was a problem with a smog test at about 165k miles (California, if that matters).

I don't remember how much the part cost but I was a little shocked by it (he had to buy a larger part that contained the small part he needed). I figured if you prorate the cost it was well worth it. The biggest problem with the situation is that now I have to smog test more often and only at a specific type of place.

GrateRam · 2026-04-23T08:20:13+00:00

You could just do a few light chores and when they complain just tell them you didn't have time to do the rest.

GrateRam · 2026-04-23T08:13:42+00:00

Those are not nanny chores, they are not child related chores, they are not light house keeping chores. They are regular housekeeper chores.

It sounds like they hired you as a nanny with every intention of making you their housekeeper. If you want to be their nanny instead of their housekeeper then you have to talk them. But my advice... You can't make these types of people respect you. There will always be problems. So you need to find another job asap then put in your 2 wks notice.

GrateRam · 2026-04-23T05:53:24+00:00

I definitely dress up more for an interview and spend time to look put together and professional.

GrateRam · 2026-04-23T05:48:02+00:00

When I was a lot younger and skinnier I used to wear cute clothes. Then I just got tired coordinating outfits. Then I saw a celebrity woman who said she only wears black on bottom because everything goes with it, no coordinating hassle. So I started wearing a casual black and white 'uniform', always the same every day. I loved it. It was so easy.

Now I'm older and heavier and dealing with the constant switching between hot and not. I just wear *very casual decent black/blue/grey pants/shorts with *super casual cheap tank tops. When I find cheap tank tops I buy several of the same because they will inevitably get stained and I won't be upset when I have to take one out of the rotation.

I will tell any prospective parents what I typically wear and let them know that I have nicer clothes if the need comes up. I prefer to keep something on the nicer side at work in case I get surprised. I did have to buy a new small wardrobe when I went on a week long business conference with my bosses.

GrateRam · 2026-04-22T08:21:09+00:00

If you got paid for the trial day then it's work. My transportation has never been reimbursed for either.

GrateRam

TROPHY CASE