The Nanny Blogs

Happy Birthday Cam!!!

2011-08-30T05:39:00.000-07:00

Today is Cam's 7th birthday. What an awesome kid. It's hard to believe he is only 7. I was so amazed last year when he read my birthday card! Well, I'm off to work, I can't wait for the before school birthday party. I hope he likes my presents!

Three Poems

2011-08-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

What follows are three poems inspired by BBB's math homework. He had to write a poem using number patterns. I showed him how to write a Haiku and he wrote one. Then he wanted to write another, for fun. And another. I'm so happy to share these with you. I hope his teacher loved them. Enjoy!

Football Haiku

(pattern: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables)

The wide receiver

He's going for the touchdown

Then they go for two

2nd Poem - Baseball

(number pattern: 7 words, 8 words, 7 words)

He hits the ball, then he runs

He tries to beat the throw, Out? Safe!

But wait, he's going for second - Out!

3rd Poem - Black Ops

(number pattern: 6 words, 7 words, 6 words)

He runs, he gets to base

Intruder alert! Incoming! They shoot, glass falls

Ow! Then they break into base

Back To School!

2011-08-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a summer! You must be wondering "Where have they been these last few months?" We didn't leave you. On the contrary, we have been living it up so we'll have plenty to talk about for the rest of the year.

Today was bittersweet, or as Mom (the boys' mom) would say "Sweet and Salty." It was so sad to know the baby and I wouldn't see the older boys as much. On one hand, less games, less laughter, less companionship, less everything! And on the other; less fighting and less stress. Their mom and dad took me and their baby, or Moo Shoo Chicken as he is fondly termed by most everyone in the house by now, out to breakfast to celebrate.

Cam is in second grade, his older brother, Bryce is in 4th, and Ash has gone away to begin middle school in the sixth grade. And he LOVES it! All he could talk about when he got home today was how he couldn't wait for school tomorrow. Weirdo . . .

Pokemon Love

2011-06-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

We have only had two days of summer, and I am already exhausted. The boys are fun, but sooooo hard to control when they are all together, but when I get one-on-one time with them, our experiences are infinitely richer.

Yesterday, the baby took a long nap and the two older boys were out with friends. It was just me and Cam. We spent time playing a basketball game on the Play Station 3. Not only am I FINALLY learning which buttons to push to shoot the ball and pass the ball, but I'm learning NOT to score too many points. Cam is a great coach and happy that his instructions are leading to improvement, but I definitely don't ever want to beat him in a game. That may lead to the next half-hour of our time together being devoted to calming the temper tantrum. I will forever be learning how to prevent and cure a tantrum.

All kids express frustration and anger differently. This little one needs to express himself physically. For now, we will try using a blow up thing for a punching bag. It was only seconds of punching when a smile crept along his face and the tantrum turned into a game.

Anywho, I wanted to focus this blog entry on the good times. Did anyone see the movie Monster's Inc.? To sum it up, the mosters use children's screams of fear to power their city. By the end of the film, they have learned that a child's laugh yields infinitely more power than a scream. So, instead of sneaking into children's rooms at night to scare them, they barge in with their own comedy routines in order to make them laugh. The tantrums are tough, but the good times are exhilarating.

Later that afternoon, Cam was having some alone time in his room with his Pokemon cards. I asked if I could come in and hang out, and he said I could after 5 minutes alone. When I returned, he laid out all his coolest cards. We discussed which ones were his favorite, which ones were more powerful, etc. (We did this for longer than I thought possible).

Then he held up two cards and asked me which one I thought was cuter. I thought Turtwig was cuter cause he has a little sprout coming out of his head. Cam thought Team Magna's Aron was cuter. I said Aron looked like my boyfriend's dog Dante. After a few more minutes discussing the cards, Cam gave me both cards to keep. He wanted me to have Aron so that I may be reminded of Dante when he passes. It was such a sweet and tender moment. My eyes welled. Any stress he caused me earlier was washed away in that moment.

Turtwig

Aron

Every Caregiver's Worst Nightmare

2011-06-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after the pool, the unthinkable happened: a certain little boy who was supposed to meet me on the other end of the mans locker room ditched me and the baby and took off home by himself.

I didn't know right away that he went home by himself. I was calling into the locker room, making the male teenage lifeguards a little uncomfortable. They went in there and checked. No luck. I go back into the pool and I'm searching around, feeling like a huge failure. Everybody knows I lost a kid. I'm starting to panic.

So much can happen in those seconds when he is alone in the locker room, or went back into the pool, or was alone outside of the locker room. What if something happened? How would I explain this to the parents? All those horrible thoughts going on in my brain. I call the oldest brother, who has a cell phone, and he confirms that his brother is home. I'm shaking and starting to cry as I push the stroller home as fast as I can. The beach bag feels like there is an anvil in it!

I'm not sure how the best way to deal with this is. I feel like when I see him, I want to go berserk all over this little boy; what he did was soooooo serious. But despite my fury, I calmly enter the house, see him, and calmly ask him to retire to his bedroom. He can come down when his dad comes home (the three of us will talk about it together) or when dinner is ready; which ever comes first. He goes without a sound. The first sign he is guilty of deliberately leaving on his own. His brother tells me that he asked if I knew he was home, and there was no reply. Guilty!

Knowing his is safe and sound, the damn breaks and the floodgates open. My only regret is not sobbing outside his bedroom door so he can hear how scared and worried I was.

On my way to work! I know mom and dad had a talk with him. I will have a talk with him too. I'm not sure we are going to the pool today. What would you do? How would you handle that if it was your kid, or someone else's kid? Please feel free to comment and let me know. I can use all the advice/tips I can handle. Also, the parents have a little trick up their sleeve to try and scare him into good behavior. If it works out as planned, I will share it with you at the end of the week!

Last Day of School!

2011-06-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of school. I have been mostly excited, but a little bit nervous. Over the past few weeks, I've gotten mostly nervous, but I'm mostly excited again. Our life will basically look like this: Swim practice, workbooks, reading, lunch, pool and playtime, dinner, baseball.

When I got home I packed my beach bag, shaved me legs, and wondered how I will get into the pool every day this summer. I hope I can use the parent's pass. Or do I have to get a membership for the summer? I can't believe this hadn't occurred to me. Whatever, not a big deal.

Also, I'm certified in CPR/AED and First Aid for adults and children and babies!!!!!!!!

My First Baseball Game

2011-06-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

Last night I took Cam to his first baseball game of the season and he rocked it! His team won 24-17 with only 2 practices under their belt. I captured his first and last hit on my phone's camcorder. I think his first hit was a single and his last one a double. He also made an out somewhere in between but it was hard to keep my eyes on the game with my eyes on the baby too.

There is nothing cuter than watching a bunch of 5 and 6 year old boys play baseball. It's funny to see them standing in the field, motionless, picking their noses until . . . Bam! The batter hits the ball into the field and the players scramble all over the place like cute, little, uniformed cockroaches when you flip the light on. I can't believe how good they are. The coach pitches to them, but they do the rest themselves.

I played a season of soft-ball when I was about that age. It was very different from what I saw yesterday. To start, I was on a girls softball team. It was supposed to be coach-pitch, but we were so bad it became tee-ball. I don't remember the tee making it any easier.

I don't think I ever really understood the game. I'm not sure they explained it. I have only two distinct memories from that time. The first was the mantra I chanted when my team was in the field: "Please don't hit it to me. Please don't hit it to me. Please don't hit it to me!" If they did hit it to me, I'd grab the ball as fast as I could and throw it to the pitcher. It didn't matter what position I was playing in the field, or where my opponents were on the bases; I only had to remember that one thing.

My other memory comes from my turn up to bat. That was so frightening. Every time. Swinging, missing, and my mother's encouraging shouts: "Pretend it your brother's head!"

One Week Left . . . .

2011-06-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

Yikes! Am I really ready for summer? The pool is already open. This is the kids' last week. All three are on swim team. Sweet!

When I was young, I swam too! Every summer from about 8 years old to 13 yrs. I really thought I hated it back then, but I miss it. I even have swimming dreams.

I'll tell you what I am ready for . . . the best tan I've had since I was about that age! My goal every summer is to get so dark, people aren't sure if I speak English. As an adult, I've never made it out enough to make that goal. But it's the beginning of June and I'm almost half way there!

Also, tonight I get to take Cam to his baseball game! I am really excited. (So many exclamation points!) I hope his dad doesn't try to be nice to me and work something out so I can go home on time. I wanna take him to the game and practice with my camera! I love my job.

Books!

2011-05-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

Ash loves to read, and so do I. It's one of the coolest things we have in common. In fact, all the boys love to read, more or less. Ash loves this book series called Warriors by Erin Hunter. Ash gave me the first book in the first series called Into The Wild.

The book series is based on cat clans. It's a good vs. evil theme. I'm still in the very beginning. The prologue opens on a fight between cat clans. The RiverClan vs. ThunderClan. RiverClan wins this battle over territory when ThunderClan retreats. ThunderClan needs more warriours if it is to survive. Their leader communicates with the heavens, StarClan, who send her this message: "Fire alone can save your Clan."

Our main character, our hero, Rusty, is an indoor cat, or kittypet who dreams of hunting in the wild. One evening, the urge to pursue his dreams becomes so strong that he leaves his garden. He pushes forward into the forest despite the worried and comforting calls of his owners, the warnings of other local cats, and the danger of the forest ahead.

Not long after he leaves his garden, Rusty is attacked. He is brave and ready to fight, but the other cat backs down and introduces himself as Graypaw, a proud warrior in training for the ThunderClan.

The Kids Make Dinner!

2011-05-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

It worked out wonderfully and Ash's dinner was a hit. I must admit, I was worried he would run out of steam and leave me to cook it. But he was there for every course; he even came home early from playing with his friends to put it together.

The pasta was very good. It had a yogurt and ricotta cheese sauce with celery salt and poppy seeds in there. It was very fresh tasting. Good choice for warmer weather.

The homemade mozzarella sticks were a little gift from heaven, as was the double fudge chocolate cake! As I was taking my first bite, Bryce says to me, "Prepare to be amazed!" I'm glad he prepared me, because that first bite was so delicious, I might have fallen out of my chair.

Bryce also put on music during dinner which was the best idea. This meal really brought us together. I love cooking with them. Here are a few pics of our experience:

The Process


Mozz sticks and Russian Poppy Seed Pasta

Double Fudge Chocolate Cake!

Love Comic

2011-05-20T08:36:00.001-07:00

http://www.xkcd.com/162/

No School Smoothie Day!

2011-05-20T04:57:00.000-07:00

Today is going to be AWESOME! The boys have no school today, and mom is home too, so we will all be together!

We have ahead of us a whole day filled with No School Friday Fare starting with Baked Homemade Mini Donuts with cinnamon and sugar, then we will have Vitamix Smoothies. Ash is head chef today preparing a three course meal consisting of Homemade Mozzarella Sticks, Russian Poppyseed Pasta with veggie side, and Double Fudge Chocolate Cake for dessert! I'm drooling . . . . and so glad I owned the StairMaster this morning! And so glad I had the food channel on that day for him to run across . . .

I will be sure to take a lot of pictures of our creations today to share with you.

Playing Catch-Up

2011-05-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't been keeping up on my posts lately, as you may have noticed . . . but I'm not quitting! So much is happening with the boys lately: they have been changing and growing and with the end of school near, so is our schedule! I have been keeping notes and journals with snippets of information and happenings and news, and I still want to share them, even though our time-line may be totally messed up. Here is a quick up-to-dater, details to be filled in later . . .

Big Brother Bryce, our 3rd grader, is in minors baseball league, getting his homework done at school everyday, and researching Adidas jackets he has saved up for.

Ash (the oldest, 11 years) is in traveling baseball, graduating the fifth grade soon, and moving on to middle school! Huge changes and adjustments coming for this busy, athletic, pre-teen.

Cam (1st grade) is continuing to get right to reading, homework, and putting away lunch bag every single day after school. He also has an amazingly funky smile since he's lost 3 teeth in the past two weeks or so! He also just started baseball!

Baby V doesn't just get to sit around and look cute all day. . . he plays baseball too! He swings his bat like a pro, and has an amazing throwing arm and aim. You should see him with his little black glove on one hand, ball in the other, hitting it into his glove like a pro. Awesome.

And we are ALL looking forward to summer. School is over in just a few short weeks, and swim team will fill our mornings. Everything else in the universe will fill the rest of our day . . .

Yay Vitamix!

2011-05-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

<><>I scrimped and saved and finally bought the blender of my dreams. The Vitamix. It was waiting for me at work Monday morning. And when that baby went down for a nap, I went to town in the kitchen. The first thing I made was the baby's Green Monster Smoothie. I change the recipe up from time to time, and this time I used applesauce, spinach, and banana. This is the most beautiful green color I've ever seen. Just looking at it makes me feel healthy.

<><> The next thing I did was put some Prego in the Vitamix and added a big handful of spinach and half of a small zucchini. I added my boosted sauce to the rest, warmed it up and served it with spaghetti for dinner. Unfortunately, when you mix color opposites- green and red- you will always get a less saturated, muddy color. The sauce was less pretty after I added my greens, but healthier. And the boys never noticed.

<><>For my lunch, I made a Veggie Soup. First, I diced up 1/3rd of an onion and fried it up in a small pot to carmelize it a little. I added one or two diced garlic cloves and various spices halfway through: parsley, tarragon, pepper, salt, and one other. When the onions were about halfway through yummy carmelization, I added one small diced potato and water. When they were soft and the broth was tasty, I threw them in the Vitamix with fresh spinach and zucchini. I added a little sour cream and pepper and enjoyed a tasty, hot, half-raw veggie soup! Yum!

<><>The last thing I did was make each of the boys their own personal smoothie as they came in the door from school. The first two chose strawberry banana with huge baby carrots as a boost. BBB chose banana and carrots. The loved them. I used Dole's Strawberry Banana Orange juice blend, vanilla yogurt, baby carrots, fresh strawberries and bananas and ice.

<><>

Green Monster Smoothie with Vitamix

Veggie Soup with Vitamix


Dandelion Sculpture at the Park. V's flowers fell out : (

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there. I wanted to share my delicious, fashion-infused, spiritually uplifting afternoon with my gramma and momma and thank all the moms out there who are wells of love and patience to us darn kids.

The pictures that follow show the English Tea Buffet which included various fancy yummy teas with cubed sugar, little hat petifores, a tea kettle cake, tiny sandwiches (lobster salad on croissant, chicken salad on Ezekiel Raisin Bread, cucumber and goat cheese on white bread, egg salad with asparagus on wheat bread, cold cut on rye with chutney), mini scones, date nut bread, mini mango cheesecakes, Orzo salad on spoons.

You will also see the amazing table decorations! There were between 8 and 10 tables competing for best design. My mom and her girfriend from church did one too!

What you won't see is the Vintage Hat fashion show, a sermon by a female guest speaker, and the interpretive dance. The dance was the best. A ten year old girl performed a dance to a beautiful gospel song. She was out there with her black ballerina outfit on and little bun on her head. She was beautiful to watch and her movements were so expressive.

Mom, I'm sorry you took me to dance rehearsals, put taps on my shoes, bought me the outfit, and I quit right before the recital. I bet you were furious. I love you!

Little hat petifores

Tea kettle cake


Mini mango cheesecakes and date nut bread

Sandwiches

Supernanny!

2011-05-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

I was browsing for nanny websites with tips and information for me, and I found Supernanny's website. This little section made me laugh: http://www.supernanny.co.uk/Advice/Advice-From-Kids.aspx

Yummiest Ugly Birthday Cake Ever!

2011-05-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today the kids will be celebrating their daddy's birthday. I made a birthday cake so ugly that I told everyone the baby made it. But it was soooo delicious. I love you Betty Crocker!

No School!

2011-05-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I didn't post this forever ago. This is from an awesome day within the past month. When we are all together at once, it's the most hectic yet most fun and meaningful time.

The start of the biggest living room fort ever!

. . . . almost done . . .

Brothers giving back massages

We love Crayola!

March of Dimes

2011-05-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

The afternoon in Times Square was an awesome experience for us. There was so much going on! We were so busy meeting people, signing the big Dime, walking and raising money. Not to mention all the photographs! We have never seen so many people with big cameras in one square before! (It's needless to say that Baby V was awesome on his first two plane rides. He charmed everyone despite missing meals and naps!)

Here are some photographs from the event:

Signing the big dime

Baby V and his friends

Times Square in the early April afternoon


Me and the Baby

Sweetness

Ferris Wheel INSIDE the Toys R Us in Times Square


The New York Public Library

My lunch: Lamb Barbacoa with Mexican style corn on the cob and beans

My baby's momma: Dos Enchiladas

New York, New York!

2011-04-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today, I am off to New York City with Baby V and his mommy! She will be speaking at the March of Dimes, and the little guy will be there representing healthy babies. We will be marching, sporting purple March of Dimes t-shirts, and V will be breaking hearts left and right. I have never been to New York, so this is very exciting for me. Check back with us tomorrow night for details and photographs!

Back to the "Grind"

2011-04-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

I am soooooooooooooo happy to be back at work. (I never thought I'd think that). I didn't know how much I missed my job and the boys until today. As I pulled up to their house this morning, I saw Baby V and Triple B waiting at the door with HUGE smiles on their faces. I bolted up their driveway--couldn't wait for that baby to give me the biggest toothiest smile with arms reaching for me. But when the screen door was no longer between us, his smile faded and he turned toward his big brother.

My heart sank only a tiny bit. I thought this might happen. I swapped contacts for glasses and had cut a lot of hair off since he saw me last (and two weeks had passed), but when he saw my smile, he remembered and I got a big hug.

It's an amazing thing to realize how depressed you were when you are so happy. Needless to say, I did not reach my Spring Break Challenge. Not even close. My first week I was going strong. I made fun paintings, spent a day in the city with a friend, cleaned up the house, worked out, painted my nails, etc.

The second week was not so good. I painted a little, and ate and watched Netflix a lot. I Didn't work out much, I didn't read, I didn't go crazy cleaning the house or running errands, and I didn't talk to family or friends. I blamed it on my hormones. What else could it be?

I realized today that my Nanny Love Tank was empty! Normally, I spend all day with a happy, sweet baby who makes me laugh all the time. I'm active all day at work and I stay hydrated. When the older boys come home, we talk, play outside, and I get read to for twenty minutes a day. Then suddenly, nothing. Outside, it was just cold and clouds. Inside, stale and claustrophobic.

Anyway, I'm happy now. I can't wait to do something cool with the fine, white sand and the cool shells the boys collected for me. Thank you for coming home! I'm so happy to be back at work!

While You Are Resting, Someone Else is Progressing

2011-03-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

I heard that in an Alex Olson poem when I was in high school. I was super motivated today. I feel I accomplished exactly what I set out for. Which is good because I didn't do a darn thing yesterday! Here are two paintings for today

Free Hugs in Sondrio, Italy

2011-03-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Spring Break Blues . . .

2011-03-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sad, just a little homesick.

Today is the second day of my Spring Break. I get two weeks! I haven't had two weeks off from anything since I was unemployed. So . . .it's been about a decade! The boys are in Florida and I am so happy for them. I hope they are writing in their journals and finding cool dead things on the beach.

I actually miss work. I am so blessed to be able to say that. They are like my little brothers. I spend more waking time at their house than anywhere else. And it's so relaxed and comfortable there.

Yesterday I found myself listing off things I missed about them to Dylan and just catching him up on all the cute things Baby V does. Just a little while ago I ate a grape that looked like a tiny rear end and heard Brother C's little voice in my head say "Butt-cheeks!" and I missed him. I saw the caricature of Brother B and I missed him. On my phone, Big Brother A must have snapped a photo of himself and the baby and I missed them.

But I am keeping busy. These next two weeks are allllllllll about me. I've started my Spring Break Challenge and made two tiny paintings yesterday . Here they are . . .

I am off to a great start, but I must be more productive! I want to finish my cousin's portrait by mid-April at the latest, and I want to finish Dylan's portrait. Here is the start of Dylan's portrait. It's a big one 2' x 3'. It will be my masterpiece (when I finish it . . . ).

Found 'Em!

2011-03-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Yay! Aren't those the cutest pair of shoes on the cutest pair of tiny feet you have ever seen??