Celebrate a city family every Tuesday: Today, meet the Grynbergs

Ruby Grynberg, 29, and Sebastian Grynberg, 36, cobble together their own creative solutions to the work-life puzzle.

Ruby is the owner of Salmon Bay Community Lending, a small mortgage company in Ballard. Argentina-born Sebastian is a stay-at-home dad, busy caring for their three active boys: Zacarias, 6, Alejandro, almost 5, and Mateo, 15 months. Ruby has provided an evolving set of childcare options for her employees, including on-site child care and a nanny share.

Q: Tell me about the evolution of the child care at your workplace.

RG: Less than a year after starting the business and while I was in in my first trimester, my business took off and I needed an assistant. She was perfect in every way, but we had the same due date, so we decided we'd figure it out.

Our babies were born in February 2007 and by March, we needed a new office space where we could have the babies near us for nursing but not sitting under our desks. So, we bought an office building that could accommodate a nursery space. For a year my husband was with the babies in the morning and a nanny came in the afternoon.

Lorena, the nanny, started taking them on little outings, to the Ballard Community Center and parks. One of the new loan officers adopted a 1-year-old girl from China, so now there are three babies, plus Lorena's 1-year-old daughter. Lorena picks up the kids in the morning at the office, takes them on outings and to her house during the day, and brings them back between 4:30 and 5 p.m. every day.

Q: What would you suggest to other women who work together and might like to do a nanny share?

RG: As with any goal-setting, start by dreaming up your ideal situation. Then, chances are, things will fall into place. The nanny share works out great. Plus, now the babies have true friends. Have a backup nanny if yours goes on vacation, and be flexible while everyone's figuring out the right schedule. We lucked out.

Q: Do you feel the need to meet up with other stay-at-home dads, Sebastian? Do you all try to split child care and household duties 50/50?

SG: I don't really need to meet other dads. Our family hangs out with other families at the park, and I have a lot of cooking and cleaning to do in the afternoons. Sometimes if she tries to cook, it's more work -- all those dishes!

RG: We tried sharing more of the house duties, but we make more money if I can commit to my career and not worry about house stuff. But I limit work from 8:30 to 5 every day, and evenings are family time.

Q: What and where do you like to eat with the kids?

RG: Golden City for chicken and rice. Than Brothers for pho and cream puffs -- they put the cream puffs on the table before you get your pho. It's an incentive for the kids to eat their soup. At home, it's all about the MEAT, in true Argentine fashion.

Q: Where do you like to take the kids for outings?

SG: We like to go to the nearby soccer field and let the kids kick the ball around. We go for walks over to Sunset Hill, maybe stop for ice cream at Walt's on the way home. Sometimes we go to the zoo.

RG: Mostly we stay pretty close to home. Zacarias and Alejandro take pottery classes weekly at Fayezart right around the corner. There's so much to do nearby in Ballard.

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