A Very Lucky Girl

God, I'm so bilingual. Nahhhht. Another week, another check. And I haven't had to work past 4 PM yet this summer. So far, so good. This week I: corrected grammar: "She jamped!" No, she JUMPED.  made breakfast: chocolate pancakes. They asked for extra chocolate chips AND syrup. AM I mean for refusing? sat stonily when they tried to tickle me overused the word/sound "shmeh" to the point where they have begun to mimic me avoided Sister's cuddles at all costs. She is always wanting to hang on me in the heat of the day. CHILD, IT'S FAR TOO HOT FOR THAT. Learned that Pluto is officially no longer a planet Learned a continent named Oceania exists was stumped when asked, "how many movies have you seen in your life?" Overall, a pretty uneventful week in the life of A Very Lucky Nanny. Except for when I impaled my shin on rocks by the creek after our picnic lunch on Wednesday.

"I'd really like it if the Mexicans would keep the oil lids on more tightly so nothing would spill out into the Gulf of Mexico and kill the animals"--musings from Brother For those of you that missed out on the shenanigans of Brother and Sister from my summer full-time nannying experience, you can catch up here . There .  And here . Okay shameless blog promotion stops now. I'm scheduled to work for them only 6 full days during this break (the kids start school again on January 4th!? What is that madness?!), but those days already promise to provide fresh entertainment for me. And consequently, you. I walked in their door this morning (fueled with a java chip frappucino) and was immediately handed a large Christmas present. "Our elf on the shelf left this for you!" Oh no. They're one of THOSE families... (I'm still not sure where they stand on the whole is-Santa-real situation, but this wasn't a good sign. Neither were the "top secre...

This was a glorious week filled with half days. I arrived after they had finished soccer camp around noon, Monday through Wednesday, and got to leave at 5 or 5:30 every afternoon. No complaints here...except for that one time she was late when Tyler was waiting for me at home. So inconsiderate! So...to the highlights! After ferrying them around all week the gas in my tank was a little low so we drove through a 7/11. I used a credit card to pay (a concept they have yet to grasp, I believe) which caused Brother to pipe up as I drove off with a full gas tank, "um Taylor, did we pay for the gas?" No, dearest, we are gas bandits! They were all out of the lunch staples of life at home (Kraft Mac&Cheese and hot dogs) so I had to get creative. I served tacos in the shape of a dragonfly/butterfly, using fruit for the eyes and tail, on Monday and whipped up a batch of homemade macaroni and cheese on Tuesday. The tacos went well..I suppose. Although, they asked why they were sha...

The kids came back from vacation at the beach this week. I walked in on Monday morning, expecting to be bombarded with hugs and exclamations of, "we missed you!" Instead, my kids sat like two slugs in the giant bean bag until I said, "uhhh, THIS is the welcome I get?" After that they clung like a psycho ex-girlfriend.  I've made them do Rosetta stone, violin scales, and soccer drills all week. I'm always looking for time fillers. While they kicked soccer balls around I decided to use my time wisely and get a second workout in. I always hit up the treadmill before I head to their house every morning, but some extra crunches, jumping jacks, and squats never hurt anybody. The squats were a big hit. My thighs wouldn't agree, but the kids laughed and laughed at the workout I did in their driveway as they meandered around with a checkered ball.  If you act really excited about something minuscule, the whole attitude in the house is amped up. So I made a ...

So, as most of you know, I've been nannying for an 8 and 10 year old all summer. I ferry them all across town, from Frontier City to White Water Bay to Walmart for crafting supplies. So we spend some time in the car. And I am not one to drive in silence. I didn't want to expose them to 102.7 or 104.9 (the pop stations) or even 93.3 (the resident country station) so I've kept the radio tuned to 88.9 (KLOVE). I don't regret that decision for a single second. Not only does it keep them from learning songs like Usher's Scream , a song that I caught the neighbor boy singing in the house a few weeks ago that idolizes casual sex (in a really catchy upbeat way), but I could only hope that KLOVE has made an impression. And then something awesome happened a few weeks ago. We were driving home from a Walmart excursion and "Our God's Alive" by Andy Cherry was playing (one of my all-time favorites). I thought I heard someone talking in the backseat and held my br...

I'm more than halfway through the summer of learning that I probably don't want kids. I love being able to give these children back to their parents at the end of the day. It's my favorite part. Especially since this week was sass city in this household (I'm reluctant to say that I could be the cause of this...I'm pretty free with my sarcastic conversations). Regardless, it pissed me off.  We started off the week with a surprise visit from pest control. I was unsure if he was there for the vermin or the children (they seem to synonymous this week), but either way I had not been informed of his impending arrival. So when a strange looking man showed up on the front porch, I was wary. I felt bad for being so suspicious, but his opening words were, "So how's everything looking inside?" No mention of his occupation. Um, things are great sir, thanks...move along. He saw the terror-stricken look on my face and recognized his blunder. "Oh! I'm...

I have not been in the mood for immature shenanigans this week. I think lack of sleep is catching up with me and breeding irritability. Unfortunately, the kids are up and at 'em within minutes of my arrival at 7:45 AM every morning. I creep into the house and shut the front door as quickly as possible, removing my shoes, and whispering to talk to their mother, hoping to catch a few more childless seconds. Twice this week she assured me that they had stayed up late and would more than likely sleep in. Both times one or the other kid woke up within 3 minutes of being issued this statement.  On one of these mornings Brother quickly realized that I wasn't going to be engaging in any sort of activity before 9 AM (I cuddle up on their giant bean bag as soon as I arrive and definitely plan on investing in something of the sort when I move out of the dorms) and resigned himself to some Wii time. He tried to play a Hot Wheels racing game and the disc wouldn't read. He brought it ...

Week three is complete. Only 2 more weeks left until my entire week off. I'm a little bit excited about 7 whole days dedicated to just being 20. Because I've figured out that the trick to making nannying enjoyable for everyone is to act their age--to a point. If I put myself into a 9 year old mindset (the mean of their ages), then I don't mind playing play dough nearly as much.  On Monday I took the kids to Frontier City. This was my first time there. I suggest a motion to rename it Jank City. Every single ride creaked. The very first one was a Splash Mountain wannabe, where you rode in a rickety log flume around a riveting creek until plunging over a drop. I clutched the handle bars  until my knuckles turned white and gritted my teeth as the less-than-stable log made its agonizing ascent to the top of the drop. I used to love roller coasters! And I think I still do...I just have an aversion to the ones that aren't reassuringly, positively safe. I couldn't stop t...

These kids are so out of my league. I had enough material for an entire post just after Monday of this week. But I saved everything up for a mega post. And I plan to make it a weekly thing. This was the week of the soccer mom. I literally took Brother to soccer practice every morning and watched him from the bleachers with Sister. It is unreal how much more cautious you become with other children in the car. I asked my mom if she still feels like that when me and Oakes are in the car. She said no. I guess Oakes and I's value decreased as we got older... I kept both hands at ten and two. The radio at an acceptable decibel. And constantly checked all the mirrors. Monday. The kids greeted me with a "we missed you over the weekend!" when I arrived on Monday morning. It was adorable. But their constant chatter was not. I brought Advil for the rest of the week. We had our first casualty. It was my own. It's all fun and games until an 8 year old crash lands on your foo...

I started my new job on Friday. I'll be spending June and July with two precocious kids. We have big plans of tearing apart Frontier City, White Water Bay, and crafting til Hobby Lobby runs out of glue. This is my first experience with consistent babysitting. It's like a real job; 7:45 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. But it's got a lovely real paycheck to go along with it. Which is awesome cuz Tyler's birthday is coming up and I have NO idea what he's getting yet... The kids are boy and girl, 8 and 10 years old. They are probably the most well-behaved children I've ever met. Not to mention, SMART! I met them for the first time at the end of Christmas break so that the parents could make sure I wasn't an axe murderer in disguise and the oldest (the boy) casually wove several SAT words into conversation on our way to the park. I stared in awe. They refer to each other as "brother" and "sister." As in, "sister, let's swim!"...