dec, 7th - nanny diaries....

day 297:

one of the amazing things about living in London is the incredible diversity. this was very evident when we advertised for a nanny and had responses from people who have moved from all the far-flung corners of the globe.

with the new year, also comes a return to work for me. i've put it off for as long as possible but sadly, it's time to step back on the ladder. i wrote about the the conflict of returning to work vs. staying at home, on day 211. i still haven't reconciled it in my heart but my head says that's the best thing i can do for our family.

so, after making the BIG decision it was time to find her a amazing nanny. from the 60+ responses that we received from the ad (yikes, there are aLOT of available nannies out there) I interviewed eight people: a French manny, a Colombian and a Mexican nanny and then a couple of Southern Hemisphere girls. i modified this list of interview questions from BabyCenter, changing a few and adding a couple of my own like: "What makes you angry? Do you sing? Can you give me an example of where you've shown initiative in a previous childminding position."

the diversity definitely threw up some interesting answers. some of my best came from the Parisian manny who did warn me that his English wasn't brilliant.

Me: "What's your approach to discipline for a 10 month old?"

French Manny (FM): "Pah, she's a bebe."

Me: "What's your favourite activity to do with a 10 month old?"

FM: "Pah, she's a bebe."

Me: "If Limi has an accident in the park, what do you do?"

FM: "Call 111. Non, call 222."

Me: "999?"

FM: "Yes, 999."

Me: "Limi eats Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner."

FM: "Non, only 2 meals."

Me: "No, she eats 3."

FM: "Non, 2 meals."

Me: "Um, lunch is quite small."

(that might explain why Parisians are so slim and chic....they start from a young age....)

in a parallel world, the FM would have been incredible. Limi would have picked up French, a very relaxed attitude and the other mothers would have loved me. (although the restricted diet may have been a bit severe). but we agreed that the language barrier for FM and I was never going to work out.

after eight interviews and three trials we have found a wonderful nanny from Oz. i am feeling a little better about January now.