Some Craft Ideas I Found!

Thank you to Family Fun magazine, the February 2013 issue!

I will use these ideas for certain!

Sunday Blahs, Cured!

Charlie has a laugh that cheered me right up today!

I am getting super excited to see her on her THIRD birthday! A Valentines Day birthday!

Spoke Too Soon!

Nanny Family #4 is not going to happen, at least w/this family.

The dad recently got his Masters Degree  for something to do w/social work & got a job which allowed him to be at home some days & at other places on the other days. He thought he would be compensated for his "home" work & he will be, but not as much as he had thought! 

The mom is an air traffic controller & has had to work Sundays for the past 4 years or so. She finally was able to get her schedule changed to have Sundays off. This change however means less pay for their family.

Less pay = not being able to afford ME!

As much as I'd like to help them out & reduce my rate or even donate my services to them, I too have financial responsibilities which must be met, so I can't reduce my rate.

And so my search continues... March 1st is my D-Day! Will I have a new gig lined up by then? 

Coming Soon! Nanny Family #4

Yep, it's getting closer to leaving this family & going to a new one.

Update on Family #2: 

     S had a misadventure @ school yesterday. 

Some days she gets picked up @ school & comes home for lunch. Other days, she takes the bus to her old preschool to have lunch & quiet time w/her sister, A, before getting picked up. 

Well, she accidentally got in the line for the bus & didn't realize her mistake until AFTER I had been told she had taken the bus to Crayon Campus & was on my way there to pick her up! I got to the preschool only to discover that she was not on the bus! As I was thinking through my next move, her school called me & told me she was in the office, waiting for me. 

PHEW!

I picked her up from the office & apologized to her because she looked so scared. Then she told me WHY she was scared. It wasn't because she almost got on the bus by mistake. It wasn't because I wasn't there to pick her up. It was because while she was waiting for me to come get her, the secretary had her sit in the "bad kid" chair! There wasn't anywhere else for her to sit so the secretary thought she was doing S a favor by letting her sit there!

S was MORTIFIED! She has been avoiding being bad at school so she would NEVER have to go to the office to see the principal & sit in THAT chair!

Bebe Jorge has 2 HUGE top teeth & his bottom teeth are expected any day. He's crawling everywhere & climbing everything. He recognizes me now & gets very upset when I put my coat on to leave. His appetite is huge. His favorite foods besides his formula are sweet potatoes or butternut squash. 

He cannot stand green beans!

A is almost 4. She has discovered ways to get her big sister in trouble & enjoys making that happen! She was taking naps & still in diapers when I started watching them & now she's potty trained & goes to preschool. She can even write her own name! She has some jealousy when she thinks Bebe Jorge is getting more attention than she is, but it's getting better.

And this is probably the last update on this family as they are moving to southern Massachusetts. Much too far away for me to care for them, even once in a while as I do w/Families #1 & #3.

Family #4 will have their adventures & updates soon!

Snow for Carlotta!

I miss moments like these w/my kids (they are both grownups now) and I especially miss being able to enjoy moments like this w/my grandchild. 

Maybe there will be "just enough snow to play in"

(any more than that may make for dangerous driving conditions) 

during our visit on Valentines Day weekend for a certain little girls THIRD BIRTHDAY!!

I've Noticed...

Tonight, I noticed how similar each of my "Nanny Families" are, though NONE of the parents know each other! The kids of Family 1 & Family 2 did spend 1 day together, this summer.

The kids in Nanny Family #3 got these chairs for Christmas. 

Now, all of the kids in all of the families have them! Pier 1 carries them, btw.

There is at least 1 kid in each family who is electronically "gifted" & it's usually the bossiest one too. Each family has another who would rather "craft" or play board games. 

Then, there is one in each family who is just too adorable for words! 

Their toys are similar as is their bedroom setup, with bunk beds being the preferred arrangement.

Except for Bebe Jorge', ask any of them to name their top 3 foods that they like to eat for meals whenever Mom is away...

• 1. Hot Dogs
• 2. Chicken Nuggets
• 3. Pasta

Not joking! 

Oh sure, they'll eat almost anything I make them, but ALL of the kids say these are their top 3 foods!

Each family LOVES to hear stories from my youth & remember them better than I do! When they ask me to retell a story, they make the proper corrections! 

They love to hear stories from each of the other families too. 

All are very active kids, for the most part, no couch potatoes.

They have the same issues w/friends & each other. Such drama!

They all tell me the same jokes after which I laugh as if it were the 1st time I heard it. 

I'm about to get Nanny Family #4 soon. There are 4 kids, the most I've watched at one time since I was a teenager watching my younger siblings! 

I wonder if this family will be as alike as all the others have been? 

The Purple Lid

He has many age appropriate, kid friendly, safe toys to play with in his very well-carpeted room.

He doesn't care!

He'd rather play w/a purple lid from his activity table!

He takes it everywhere!

I've hidden it & he's found it!

A silly, plastic, purple lid. 

A funny favorite toy for a 9 month old boy who has just begun crawling, climbing & getting teeth!

 Bebe' Jorge & his toys!

Love Others, Never Made It Myself!

A fish chowder recipe from a recent Yankee Magazine article sounds so yummy & easy, I may have to experiment & try it out!

I love fish chowder but have never made it myself. I like mine w/extra fish & less potatoes. The bacon sounds like an awesome addition!

Yearly Checkup

Just returned home from my yearly physical. 

No PAP smear needed this year since last years was normal! Yay for the small things!

I did get a mammogram though. Man, once you get over your modesty issues, they squish the heck out of your boobs! OUCH! But w/the digital equipment they have nowadays, the image is super clear & the technician saw no abnormalities!

My blood work remained good in all things except my A1c. 

:(  

I'm chalking the results up to all the yummy holiday food I enjoyed, starting at Halloween & going through the New Year!

Five pounds have returned to my body from the 20 pounds I had lost over the summer. 

Got to get back on the healthy food track again.

She didn't see or hear anything wrong in my throat or lungs, though I continue to get sore throats & dry,  hacking coughs this season. Drink water & use a humidifier was her advice.

She also checked out my knee. I'm still waking up at night when turning over & aggravating my knee. Compared to the 10 (on the pain chart) I was feeling back when it first happened to the 2 I feel now, she thinks I will be all right. It's been almost a month since I injured myself & she told me to be careful w/the knee but it looks like it is getting better, so just wait it out.

I'm overdue for an eye dilation too.

Another check up in 3 months to be sure I'm back on track w/my blood sugars.

Still Looking!

My job search continues!

I did get a call from a single dad w/2 pre-teenagers who live across the street from Nanny Family #1. C was their sitter a few summers ago when they were very young. He does pay very well & I do know his kids pretty well.

However, he needed me to start THAT AFTERNOON!! 

Unfortunately,  I've promised to stay w/Nanny Family #2 until the end of February, so I had to decline. 

Who knows? Maybe the sitter he gets for now, won't work out & he'll call me again!

I've got all my "nanny" families putting the word out there that I am available & whoever gets to me first & can wait until March 1st, has the best chance of getting me & the schedule they want!

I also gave my name & number to the lead teacher @ the girls preschool. She's always turning away infants to 3 years old because thats not what she does. She's come to know me & what I do so she has promised to send some leads my way!

I've learned that the average sitter works 20 hrs a week @ $10.50 an hour. So, we'll see how that goes!

Seeking Employment

Today, I got the news that my Nanny family #2 is moving to southern Massachusetts to be closer to the new jobs they are starting in February.

While they would love to keep my services, their new location makes it impossible for me to continue caring for their children.

I have a job through January & will have some days in February when, during their move, the kids become a hinderance to them. However, as of March 4th, I will have no steady income to bring into the home.

I have "feelers" out there. I'm looking to keep my new babysitting job as close to part-time as possible w/o needing to use too much gas to get there. 

Guess this new wrinkle in my life is God's way of helping me to keep my 2013 New Years Resolution of keeping my spending under control!