Happy Fall Break! My daughters are out of school from now until November 26th. What typically happens during a long school break is that my husband and I, who run our business out of our home, juggle the necessary work load and child care responsibilities. By break’s end, our nerves are frazzled.
 
This time, I’m excited to have the help of a nanny! It has been at least 3 years since I’ve had hired help, and honestly didn’t know where to start looking. A quick google search lead me to Care.com specializing in child care, pet sitters, housekeepers and more! There is no cost to sign-up, post your job, and receive responses. There is a fee for premium membership which allows you to contact job candidates. You can pay per month, and cancel at any time. About 2 days after I posted my job, Care.com emailed me a 20% off code, and that is when I upgraded my membership. Within 24 hours of posting my job, I had 2 candidates, and by week’s end I had a total of 6 caretakers apply for the job. Care.com makes it easy to turn down nannies with their “No Thanks” button and form letter, and easy to hire your nanny with their “Add To My Team” button.
 
After meeting with Lisa, we knew she would be the perfect fit for our family. We were able to interview her on Saturday, and she started working for us today.
 
Two hours after her arrival, she and the girls had already played Apples To Apples, Go Fish, a memory/matching game, dominoes, and colored with chalk outside. Now they have had lunch, drawn Thanksgiving pictures, played twister, and are painting.
 
For as little as $5.00 per hour, you can have help too. Whether you’re looking for a babysitter, a nanny, a pet-sitter, a housekeeper, give Care.com a try!
 

Tags: babysitter, care, childcare, fall break, help, nanny, pet sitter, provider, qualified, school break, tutor | Category IMO | 6 Comments

What a treat to be featured at Pinstrosity today!
 
Pinstrosity is an addicting website displaying Pins that don’t turn out exactly as planned. The engaging site is the brainchild of Emilee and Marquette. I hope you’ll stop by, say hello, and check out their posts.
 
For those wanting to know, I made the magazine at MagCloud. You can download a template, create 20 or more pages (increase in increments of 4), upload your pdf file to their site, and place your order. They also have the option of creating a downloadable version of your magazine for e-readers. Plus they allow you to generate sales of your magazines.
 
The cost of the project was around $4.00 (not including shipping). A larger version I made for our family vacation to Disneyland cost around $6.00. The magazine is a fun alternative to photo books which tend to run upwards of $20.
 

 
• Have you had a Pin Win or Fail?
• Will you create your own magazine?

Tags: Birthday, fail, gift, magazine, memories, pin, pinstrosity, pinterest, win | Category IMO | 4 Comments

I made this for lunch yesterday, and enjoyed it so much, I made it again for dinner.
 
Ingredients
• 1 wedge apple, diced
• 2 baby carrots, shredded
• 1/2 cup lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 can tuna (drained)
• 1 Tbsp Annie’s Naturals Cowgirl Ranch Dressing
• 6 leaves fresh parsley, torn into small pieces (optional)
 
Directions
Combine ingredients in bowl. Eat.
 
252 Calories.
 
Is anyone else getting ready for bathing suit season? What are your favorite, healthy recipes?

Tags: diet, healthy, recipe, salad, tuna | Category Recipes | 12 Comments