Comments on: Advice from the top: Marry a stay-at-home spouse or buy the equivalent.

By: Mo

Mo — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:45:01 +0000

My middle-class family has always had multiple help and, at one point, we had a competent chef, nanny, maid and full-time gardener.

But, oh, we live in a developing country so their combined salaries came to less than a tenth your house manager's. Want cheap help? Move to Kenya. ;)

By: The Family Way « Kyle Hepp

The Family Way « Kyle Hepp — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:48:58 +0000

[...] part than on a man's part. In fact, when I started googling the topic, I found a fascinating post by a professional blogger about [...]

By: Emm

Emm — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:45:48 +0000

Kudos. For knowing what you need, for obtaining it for the good of your family, and for writing about it honestly. And, from a full-time-busy SAHM with a clueless husband, thanks for the acknowledgement of what it takes to run a household and nurture a family — that is, if you're intent on doing it WELL. Love your blog – keep writing.

By: Lasivian

Lasivian — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:36:39 +0000

Perhaps if you started working to live instead of living to work you wouldn't need to hire people to take care of your life outside of the office?

I'm sure your gravestone will not say "I wish I had spent more time at the office".

By: Another Reason to Avoid Doing Housework « But I’m Not a Housewife!

Another Reason to Avoid Doing Housework « But I’m Not a Housewife! — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:00:30 +0000

[...] as Caitlin Flanagan, and Penelope Trunk have – or have had – nannies, cleaning services, and "House Managers." (And by the way, when Penelope Trunk announced that she hired a House Manager, her reader response [...]

By: JJ Wiggins

JJ Wiggins — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:58:28 +0000

Hello Penelope, I'm a little late on this conversation, having just discovered your blog- but so far I've found it insightful and referenced it in a couple of blog postings I did today. While I haven't read enough of your blog to offer an opinion on some of the other comments to this post, I can say one thing: today's modern women need to realize they can't have it all. Something's gotta give. I wrote about this in my 2008 and 2007 mother's day posts "Mothers Day for the SuperMom, parts 1 and 2) and have come to the conclusion that we each have to decide what path works best for our family. My plan was always to stop working when I started a family, but it didn't work out that way. And our family is doing just fine. I suspect yours is too... After all, that means hiring extra help (less time shopping for the kids means more time playing with them). If you, or anyone else, would like to read my supermom posts, here you go: Enjoy...

By: Dorie Morgan’s Rising Up » Honey do? Honey Don’t. » Navigating Twenty-Something Suburban Life

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:32:58 +0000

[...] the construction industry, I’ve started sending Honey Do lists to him again. Because on the days he is a stay at home husband, I can’t come home and do everything. That’s not to say that he doesn’t do things around the [...]

By: Why Comments Matter | What About Mom

Why Comments Matter | What About Mom — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:54:58 +0000

[...] can drown out the whining voices. Calculating how much your efforts are worth, monetarily, as a home manager, etc can soothe the sting of being paycheck-less. In blogging, it's okay to treat it like a [...]

By: out of focus | mad housewife

out of focus | mad housewife — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:22:25 +0000

[...] But I can't, yet, because of not knowing why I'm here, because of not having my life in focus right now. Sometimes it seems like the focus is just about to happen, and then it seems to get cloudy all over again. I think that's due not having a single forward-moving career path: at this point I would describe myself as a housewife and mother with growing side-projects. In the future, I don't know yet. It might be a bit of a housewife-disease to be unsure what you're doing and what to emphasise or focus on: you don't prioritise side-projects the way you would prioritise a full-time job, because the family stuff comes first. I don't mind that, I like it. And it's not just about childcare, it's about home management. Which is an undervalued job, even though the going rate is $50k a year. [...]

By: Alicia Anderson

Alicia Anderson — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:45:22 +0000

Your struggle is exactly why I left corporate America to start a company to help high-achieving women with children manage their overwhelming responsibilities at home. It's called Attache Services. I give women a Personal Attache, very similar to a house manager, who is there as often as the struggling, ladder climbing, super mom needs her – from 10 hours a month to 30 hours a week! Each Attache works with only one client, so they get to know all their preferences and really end up being more like a friend who is there to help out in whatever way is needed. I started this business because I needed it and couldnt find it – as a mother of 3 with a demanding role in corporate America, I needed a helper like this. My Personal Attaches serve clients in Northern VA, MD, and DC. Our website and blog have more info. Good for you for getting help.