Eating a meal is much more enjoyable when you have someone else to share the time with you. I have asked a friend from work to go to dinner with me this evening. We will find a nice restaurant near work so that driving over there will be easy. There are many nice places near the office and we have a choice of every type of food, from steakhouse to seafood to Italian and pretty much anything else you would like.

My favorite restaurant in the area is Alexander’s. Hands down, the food is always superb and the wait staff is highly trained and efficient. I like that they have and enforce a no cell phones in the dining room policy, too. Very classy.

Taking your kids to work doesn’t work. Cubicles are not meant for raising kids. But on site child care does work and is a great idea. Try to find a job that provides on site child care. Good luck with that. I know of only one place that does that around here - a large resort that is desperate to hire housekeeping and wait staff, and the employees do get a reduced rate.

Enter the dream of working from home and saving on child care expenses. Dream on - you can’t be 100% productive with a kid running around needing supervision, food, a playmate, someone to dress them or change their diapers, and naps are too short to cram all your work into just an hour or two.

A California mom found a way to give work at home moms some relief. She has an hourly, daily or weekly child care with offices on site. Need to meet with a client? Bring them to Cubes and Crayons, where your kid hangs out in a supervised playroom and you hang out with the client in an upscale, furnished and equipped meeting room or private office. Great idea, for those who can afford it.