Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here,

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll def check into highschool students and teachers, great thoughts!

Hubs and I are both full time physicians working for big hospital systems where we don't control the patients or our schedules so we have no flexibility and cannot just "adjust accordingly" like some have mentioned. That would be great, going to your appt only to be told, oh sorry you can't be seen right now, your doctor is doing car pool duty, come back at 9:30-10am. Wish we would've chosen more flexible professions though esp if we had the forsight of covid!

I can’t stop laughing. What an entitled such and such. Sweet pea - I am sure you are seconds away from curing cancer - but sometimes the child you chose to bear isn’t decor you bring out when convenient for you. Pathetic.

dp pp why are you so mean? Doctors like the op don't need to "cure cancer" to do good for our society! Plus cancer is many diseases not just one! Thank you op and your dh for doing your jobs! Many people appreciate what you do.

Anonymous wrote:OP here,

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll def check into highschool students and teachers, great thoughts!

Hubs and I are both full time physicians working for big hospital systems where we don't control the patients or our schedules so we have no flexibility and cannot just "adjust accordingly" like some have mentioned. That would be great, going to your appt only to be told, oh sorry you can't be seen right now, your doctor is doing car pool duty, come back at 9:30-10am. Wish we would've chosen more flexible professions though esp if we had the forsight of covid!

I can’t stop laughing. What an entitled such and such. Sweet pea - I am sure you are seconds away from curing cancer - but sometimes the child you chose to bear isn’t decor you bring out when convenient for you. Pathetic.

Or see if they have early care

Take the bus

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Find a high school student or teacher at the schoo, who lives near you and pay them well.

As a parent of a high school student, I wouldn't be comfortable with my new driver taking small kids to school--too much risk and distraction.

This wouldn't be allowed of a brand new driver anyway.... can't drive other people outside of the family.

Anonymous wrote:You can try rubiRides..https://rubirides.com/

I love RubiRides! They saved my bacon in the 2021-22 school year. Reliable and friendly. I'm a fan.

Granted it was just for a few weeks over the summer, but I had quite a few applicants for someone to pick up my DC at a day camp that let out too early for me to do pickup. We paid $40 per day for about 80 min, which I know was exorbitant, but we really needed it and I wanted to attract someone with good compensation. This was also at the height of gas prices. People have all different kinds of job set-ups that might accommodate your need; one of the people who applied was a night nurse. I say just give a try posting here and on care.com and see what happens.

Anonymous wrote:OP here,

No way ever to an au pair again. We had a great one and then a terrible traumatic experience my kids are still processing and I have loved having my house back without worrying having to worry about another person's needs in my home.

I'll look into the nanny suggestion. To the other two physician household with the nanny, what does she do at your house during the day? Cook, clean, shop, etc? Does she have her own car or drive one of yours? How much does something like that cost if you don't mind me asking? It sounds amazing frankly!

This is PP- she tidies kitchen, washes kids clothes, cooks kids meals , picks up items from the store if she notices we’re out of something, occasionally drops off a package. Mostly though I don’t have her scheduled for specific tasks. She has her own car., we pay IRS mileage. She sees what needs to be done; when she’s finished she can relax or do personal errands as long as her phone is on and she’s available in case of emergency. Is $28 per hour + OT for around 50 hrs a week depending on our call schedules. It sometimes seems like a lot to spend but the arrangement allows us to have the jobs we have. Our kids’ schools are much closer than yours, that does add some complexity to your situation.

Advice from Single Mom in similar situation but with only 1 kid:

1. Take advantage of school provided services whenever possible, e.g. bus, extended day! Far less likely to leave you in the lurch!
2. Don’t rely on other parents unless we’ll established car pool. But get to know other parents who can help you out on the many early release days.
3. Recently when I was looking for a vacation pet sitter, I came across a few who expanded their service to do other tasks like pet transportation, errands and “child transportation”! I cannot recall the person or company (but in NoVA) but point is many dog walkers contract for a specific time period each day so you may find someone with schedule flexibility to take on kid transportation. If you go this route, fill out a contract with responsibilities and proof of insurance.
4. Job. I’m an essential employee with no ability to work from home. I’ve been stuck in an unrewarding job for years so I can commute 30 minutes from home with flexibility to pick up my kid or leave early if need be.

Good luck!

Your best bet us to pay a parent or nanny of a kid at the same school yo carpool. I used to do it for a couple of other kids when I picked up my kid, for free. It gets crazy when your kid or you are out sick. I would say $50 cash per kid each way is fair. So $500 a week.

I paid $25 with a 2 hr a day minimum (even though I really just needed the driving portion and I live in a lower income area). If I was looking for someone now, I would also offer a milage subsidy. I found a great college student on care.com. we also had a bus option but it was 2 hours each way for what should have been a 30 minute trip. I didn't feel comfortable using the bus more than twice a week due to length of ride. If you are willing to pay what the market demands, you will be able to find someone.

Anonymous wrote:OP here,

No way ever to an au pair again. We had a great one and then a terrible traumatic experience my kids are still processing and I have loved having my house back without worrying having to worry about another person's needs in my home.

I'll look into the nanny suggestion. To the other two physician household with the nanny, what does she do at your house during the day? Cook, clean, shop, etc? Does she have her own car or drive one of yours? How much does something like that cost if you don't mind me asking? It sounds amazing frankly!

Not the PP, but we have a nanny and this setup. Nanny does dropoff and pickup, kids laundry, sheets, towels. She grocery shops once a week and does package returns and takes our drycleaning. She will occasionally prep parts of dinner for me/throw in an easy crockpot meal. $35/hr plus mileage/vacation/a few other perks. It is more of a household manager position.

Is the school somewhere in NW?

My friend works as a nanny/household manager and does school runs, after-school activities, etc. During the day, she run errands (grocery shopping, dry cleaning, etc), does laundry, light cleaning, organizing, dog walking and straightening (empties dishwasher, makes lunches, etc). If the kids are sick, she is at home with them. The families she works for employ a weekly cleaner so she isn't cleaning the entire house. She is also there to let in workers like someone to install the hot water heater, exterminator, fix the internet, paint the basement, etc. In the summer, she takes kids to camps and swim team, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Find a high school student or teacher at the schoo, who lives near you and pay them well.

As a parent of a high school student, I wouldn't be comfortable with my new driver taking small kids to school--too much risk and distraction.