Alright...ready for an update?

Alright so...I promised an update after the interviews so here goes (although I'm sure at this point Stef is the only one reading this and she already knows everything...oh well!)

So yesterday was my interview at Linens N Things...not the greatest thing in the world but hey, it's better than what I have right now...plus I figure even if I only work a little bit, I get a discount to decorate my apartment right?! So anyways, I went there, talked to the guy, and at the end he basically said "alright...as long as nothing comes up in your background check, you've got the job." So that was cool. He also said that they were looking for more nights/weekends so that works out perfect for me since I need a full-time day job anyways. Also, the discount is 25%...not too shabby! Now I can dec out mine and Gina's apartment in some killer stuff for pretty cheap!

Then today, I had an interview with a nanny agency-Above and Beyond Nannies. This was the one I was nervous about just because I had called a different agency and they told me I couldn't go through them because I didn't have a "straight" year of nannying (even though I have 10+ years working with kids...weird I know) so needless to say, I was a little more nervous. But I got there, filled out some paperwork, answered some questions, and then met with the lady. And let me tell you, I will be the first to tell you that I get nervous and uncomfortable in interviews but when I sat down with Erin I felt like I was talking to an old friend. It was so comfortable and she was really great and helpful! The first thing she said to me was "wow...you have excellent penmanship!" bonus! starting off on the right foot! So anyways, after that we just went over the questions I had had to answer previously, she went through my application and we basically just sat and talked for about 45 minutes.

Towards the end, she mentioned a family in Minnetonka that she thought would be a perfect fit for me but wasn't sure since I lived so far away. So she told me to get ahold of this family and just see how the drive is and if it's too much, she definitely has other families to get me in contact with. I thought it was great that she was really open and she wasn't going to be "upset" if I think the drive is too much. I mean Minnetonka is a little bit of a trek but if everything were to work out, I would consider it. Otherwise, she said she has 3-4 other families in mind and quite a few are in Woodbury which would be about a 20 minute drive even in traffic which is not bad at all! I definitely wouldn't mind that. Also, when Erin was asking me what type of family I would like to work with, I told her I wanted a family that wanted me to be out and about with the kids instead of cooped up all day. I told her about the twins from the summer and how the lesbians only wanted me to take them on a walk in the backyard and how I got stir crazy and she said that all the families she works with want their kids out doing things so that was great. I also mentioned a bunch of places that have free activities to do and she said "oh don't worry about that, all the families I work with will pay to have you take their kids to activites--they want them out and about." So I thought that was really great. I mean, there's TONS of free stuff to do but it's nice to know that if I wanted to do something that cost money once in awhile, it wouldn't be an issue.

So it definitely exceeded my expectations--I thought maybe we'd meet and it would take awhile to get everything started but she definitely knows her stuff! She didn't even have to go take a look through family files or anything...during my interview she was mentioning families that would fit with me so I thought that was great and really made me trust that I made the right decision in going with this agency.

Next (and not that anyone really cares about this but I thought it was cool)...when I asked Erin at the end how insurance/taxes/contracts with families work, she said "Basically the way I put it is I'm your agent and you're my movie star. I do all the negotiating and hammering out the details for you." I thought that was really cool. So through this nanny agency, they offer medical and dental insurance to all their nannies (full-time, part-time, temporary, summer) so that's pretty cool. That's something that was definitely a bonus and I needed! Plus, the families all go through a company for taxes so I don't have to worry about any of that (I get a W-2 at the end of the year just like you would through a "regular" company) and when it comes to contracts with families, Erin works out all the details and expectations with you and then negotiates with the family for you. She said it's easier for her to do all the negotiating (especially dealing with money, gas allowance, contribution to health insurance, etc.) for the nannies because then nothing becomes sticky between the family and the nanny which I thought was awesome! That's definitely not my strong point so I'm glad that Erin will be helping me through that!

Lastly, the thing that's great about this agency is their communication. They want you to keep in contact with them while they're finding you a family and once you've been placed with a family because they want to make sure that you're happy and that you made the right choice. They also are always there to call up if you have a problem with your family where you think you need advice or anything like that. And also, if I happen to get sick at some point, I can call them up and they have temporary nannies that can take over for me instead of the parents having to take off work so that's really great! They really seemed to cover all their bases and that's awesome!


So, basically, after almost 4 months of no job (minus nannying here and there for Joey) I get two job offers in two days! I guess it pays off to be patient? (And broke at the same time...haha...these opportunites came at the PERFECT time, let me tell you!) So...that's my exciting news =) Not much else is new...I'll keep you posted on the interviews with families...cross your fingers I find a great family that is semi-close!

Peace!