My Canada AM Debut

It’s 10 a.m. on Easter Monday, and I’m working away at my treadmill desk.

Oh yeah, and I’ve already been to Toronto, appeared on national television, and driven home again.

What a morning!

I was thrilled to be asked to join a parenting panel on Canada AM this morning to chat about babysitters, along with Maureen Dennis and Chris Boddy. (I do know a lot about this topic – we left our older daughter for the first time when she was three months old, and have been using sitters regularly for nine years now.)

After quickly saying yes, my next stop was a trip to the mall with my sister-in-law for a new dress and shoes, of course! (Quite a frugal shopping spree – the dress was on sale for $30 at Suzy Shier, the shoes for $35 at Payless.)

New dress? Check! New shoes? Check! Ready for my national television debut – Monday at 7:40 on @CTVCanadaAM! pic.twitter.com/40N6Kb5TB5
— Kate Winn (@thismomloves) April 4, 2015

I set my alarm for 4:20 (of course I tossed and turned last night in anticipation, so I did not get nearly the eight hours that I usually insist on) and spent an hour getting ready at home. I left extra early, just in case, and arrived at the Scarborough studio (it’s the CTV building you can see beside the 401) before 7 a.m.

The super-friendly guest coordinator Vicky (whom I met a few years ago when I went behind-the-scenes at the show) led me to the green room (where I grabbed a quick selfie) and then I was lucky enough to get a few minutes in a makeup chair. I must have done a decent job on my own, because the makeup artist only added a bit of eye shadow, some gloss over my fave Rimmel lip crayon and some powder, which took my skin a shade darker. (I’m guessing “Irish-girl-inside-for-six-months” complexion doesn’t translate well on screen.)

Makeup done; hanging out in green room. Joining @CTVCanadaAM parenting panel to discuss babysitters at 7:40! pic.twitter.com/8BsK19DVi7
— Kate Winn (@thismomloves) April 6, 2015

At 7:40, we got to chat with the wonderful host (and my broadcasting mentor) Marci Ien for the segment, which went by very quickly (as they always do).

Here’s a link, in case you missed it: http://t.co/W7i6m6kPEQ

We’ve been so lucky with babysitters, since first my husband and then I have taught at the school, and have had excellent experiences with all of the students we’ve chosen to care for our girls (plus I now have very responsible nieces old enough to take over).

While I am pretty easygoing about some things when we have a sitter (I really don’t care how many desserts the girls have, if they remembered to brush their teeth, or even if they’re wearing pajamas in bed) but I did have to be honest on air about my neat-freak tendencies (after all, at least one of my sitters was watching!)

Our babysitter usage has actually dwindled lately, since the girls are so independent and can go places with us easily, or keep themselves busy at home when necessary (we hired a sitter many times when we were actually at home, in order to do yard work, write report cards, etc.) My younger daughter actually reminded me the other day, in a very accusatory tone, “You SAID we could have a babysitter on the March Break and we NEVER DID!”

When it comes to paying sitters, I’m really hoping that someone else who lives in a rural area of Canada like me will chime in and tell me that the parents in my community are not the cheapest babysitter-payers in the whole country (see video for details)!

Every time I try something new like this, I am overwhelmed by support from family, friends and colleagues. A parent of one of my students even sent me a message that her daughter assessed my performance as a level 4+, which is high praise indeed – though I did remind her that I would need some descriptive feedback! Thank you to everyone who helps encourage my dreams – every tweet, text and email means a lot to me.

Hey I know her…@thismomloves great job! pic.twitter.com/iYvSZEEdAj
— Andrea Condon (@StudioRed80) April 6, 2015

I had such a fantastic experience at Canada AM this morning (even if you couldn’t see my shoes on-air) and I hope to be back again! (Though perhaps not until I’ve caught up on my sleep.)