Why?

Sorry for the delay on a new post.. work and everything else has been keeping me busy!


Every student has been required, at some point during their schooling to write a how-to paper. It's a dull but tedious task, as every step  in the process you're writing about is crucial. I remember my freshman year of high school when I was assigned a how to paper, we could choose whatever topic we wanted. I chose the simple and boring, 'How-to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwhich' topic; thought it would be easy to do. I wrote the essay in a matter of minutes and just knew I would get an A. Regretfully I was not thorough enough when explaining the steps to make the sandwich. I forgot to inform the reader to get the knife and spoon out of the silverware drawer in order to spread the peanut butter and jelly onto the bread. I simply went from the step of getting the bread to spreading the condiments. My teacher deducted ten points due to messy fingers as she spread the jelly and peanut butter with her fingers because of the lack of explanation on how to do it the right way with utensils.

Fortunately, this experience has made me skilled in the task of 'how-to' do things. Which is very useful when working with Ryan and Riley. Ryan is getting to the age where he can do some things on his own. Such as, put on his shoes, going potty, washing his hands, etc. Unfortunately the realization of how effective this skill would be didn't just come to me when it was time to start teaching Ryan how to do things on his own, it came to me because when he does things he isn't supposed to, for example, one day at play group, Ryan was hitting another little kid on the head with a stuffed animal. I said, "Ryan, don't hit him on the head with that, it is not a nice thing to do. You will get a time out if you don't stop." He replied with, "But Miss Megan, I am just bumping his head with it, I'm not hitting him." As I quickly scramble for the right thing to say, without laughing at how clever this little two year old can be, I finally say, "Well it isn't nice to bump his head either, don't hit, bump, or anything like that on anyone elses head or body with that stuffed animal, it will hurt them and it is not nice to hurt people. If you can't play nicely we will have to go home early." Once again he out-witted me, because he went and put down the stuffed animal and walked right over to the same child he was 'bumping' before and started 'bumping' the kids head again but this time with his hand. I said, "Ryan stop it! Now we have to go home because you aren't playing nicely and you aren't listening. I told you to stop hitting and bumping other people and you're still doing it." I'm sure you can guess what he's about to say, "But Miss Megan, I wasn't hitting him with the stuffed animal anymore?"

Do you see why it was necessary for me to implement the how-to skill in my work day?

Acceptance.

Acceptance is a difficult concept for many adults to grasp, even harder for a two year old to comprehend. So imagine how challenging it was for me this afternoon when I had to explain to Ryan why it was important for him to have a time out when he pushed his little sister down.

"But Miss Megan, I don't want a time out, I don't want to!"
   "I know you don't, I'm sorry sweetie but you pushed Riley down and that was not nice so you have to."
"But I don't want to." (Said with gasps of breath and many tears)
   "I'm sorry but you know you're not supposed to push, therefore you have to do a time out."
"But I'm not pushing her now."
   "Yes, but you are argueing with me now, and you pushed her down once already so you need a time out."
"But I don't want to."
   "Well you have to, please go stand in the corner and I'll set the timer."
"But Miss Megan I don't want to."
   "You have to Ryan, please just cooperate."
"But why do I have to?????"
   "Because I said so, and because when you push someone that's what happens, you get time outs."

(notice the bold section: even more of a reminder I am turning into my mom. post number one)

Acceptance.


After forty-five minutes of explaning to Ryan the neccessity of a time out, and the actual two minute time out, we returned to the play room and created the craft I had promised on the car ride home from playgroup.

I have always enjoyed doing creative things and using my imagination, and making things. As a little girl I would always enjoy making home made Christmas ornaments. Growing up, my mom would put every single home made ornament on the tree. I was so proud each Christmas to see something I made on our tree. So, I thought Ryan, being the imaginitive little boy he is would enjoy it as well. I put the kiddos hand prints on a small piece of white paper, ryan colored with green crayon, then we wrote their names on them and used yarn to tie a bow with them and hung them on the tree. Adorable, home made crafts are the best. I personally think it's what makes a house, a home. Not to mention, they're good memories for the future. Ten years from now they can hold their hands up to those hand prints to see how much they've grown. As a growing child I enjoyed seeing the marks on the wall of my height slowly getting taller. Now the only measuring I enjoy is when my pant size gets smaller.

Oh how things change.

Good night!

Where are the shaker trucks?

It was a cold Wednesday morning, that started the same as most work days. My alarm went off an hour before I even needed to get up, for some reason being able to hit the snooze 5-6 times before I have to get up is satisfying. Strange, I know. I finally got up, got dressed and was headed out the door. When I stepped out on my front porch, something felt different. There was a peculiar breeze that whispered to me.. change is on its way. Like a fortune cookie in nature form. I thought that the NyQuil I took for my cold the night before was still in effect.


Every Wednesday a group of ladies and their children meet at the church Ryan and Riley's family attend for a playgroup, each child brings at least two toys to share with the group. Today, Ryan brought two fire trucks and his toy cell phone to 'share' with all the other children. Usually his version of 'share' does not always match the one that is described by Mr. Webster. He never has a problem sharing the other kids toys, but sometimes he gets a little possessive, especially over his phone. Before we left the house for play group he grabbed his toy phone off the coffee table in the living room and said, "I'm going to put this in my pocket right here just like my daddy does before we run errands". I, trying to prevent a 'no that's my phone' situation, recommend we leave it at home and play with it after play group but he insists that he needs it. So I explained to him that if he takes it with him he has to share it with the other kids. We had an agreement.

I was on guard the second we walked through the church doors, ready to break up a screaming contest or pushing war if someone wanted a turn with the phone; they're a hot item with this crowd. I was pleasantly surprised to overhear Ryan asking a little girl at the church if she wants a turn with his phone because he brought it to share. His exact words, "Haley, do you want to make a call on my phone? I brought it to share with all the other kids." Not once while we were there did he have a problem with sharing. Which made it easier for me to let Riley crawl around some. But since I knew the perfect child behavior would only be temporary, I was so thankful for it while it lasted.

Soon he got a hold of one of those riding horse-sticks, where the horse head is on top of what appears to be a shortened broom stick. Ryan walks right up to another little boy, Seth, and starts hitting him right on top of the head with it. I hurry over to them and tell him to stop hitting, remind him it's not nice to hit and give him time-out warning. His response to me, "But Miss Megan, I'm not hitting him on the head! I'm just bouncing it off of his hair. That's all, so it's ok." Holding back my laughter at his cleverly explained excuse I quickly try to come back with something intelligent that shows him his 'bouncing' definition and the universal 'hitting' definition resemble each other a little too much. So, Ryan proceeds to do what any normal two year old would do, he makes the same motion with the horse as he was before when he was hitting Seth on the head except it is a mere two inches from touching his head. So, technically, he is doing what I asked but is getting dangerously close to the line. Testing the boundaries is one of his favorite hobbies. He is very skilled at knowing where we draw the line and making sure he stays right on this side of getting a time-out. Soon he tires of the horse and goes on the play with the permanent markers Pastor Allen so unthoughtfully brings down for all the kids to draw with. Oh Geez!

The car ride home from playgroup was quite entertaining. Ryan and I had a very interesting conversation:

"Miss Megan, are the shaker trucks going to be at the house when we get there?"
   "Well I don't know, Ryan, what is shaker truck?"
"It's the truck the shakes the oil really hard out of the hose and then, BOOOOM! it explodes."
   "I'm sorry sweetie, but I don't know what trucks you're talking about."
"They were at the house last week, I watched them."
   "Well I doubt they'll be there today but we can play with your trucks you have in your playroom after nap."
"Can you call the shaker trucks please?"
   "No, I don't have their number. Plus I bet they're busy working."
"But can you find the number? They're name is shaker mans."
  
At this point I'm trying to think of something to get his attention on something I actually know about, so I mention that I have a craft for us to do after his nap. Problem solved.

The children..

Wow, third post in one day! This is addicting. Good thing I've learned to multi-task, getting cleaning done, toning my legs and gluteus maximus, taking care of kiddos and writing a blog! Is there a guiness book of world records for multi-tasking? I think I'd definitely be a contender. Just wanted ya'll to have a brief description of who I spend my days with, basically what I'll be writing about on here.

Ryan: He's my little bundle of intelligent joy! He's two and three quarters and will be turning three years old in January, as stated in my first post. He is recently potty trained, thank the Lord. On average, most two year olds I've met have the vocabulary, attention span and memory of just that- a two year old. Ryan is definitely advanced for his age. He puts together sentences that are 11-12 words long, if not longer!! Tell me that's not impressive?? He know's his ABC's, his numbers, his abdominals,gluteus maximus and bicepts/triceps, his colors and we're working on shapes. We're also working on expanding his vocabulary by doing a word of the week. The most recent word: 'integrity', definition: 'do the right thing, no matter what'. He carries it in his pocket everyday, takes it to school, playgroup, the park, the zoo, the museum.. any and everywhere he goes. I went to pick him up from school one day and he was sitting at the kids table in the classroom and all the other kids were in various stations playing and all the adults were standing around the table talking to him. HAHA! It was defintely a site to see.

Riley: Well she is my sweet little cuddle bug. In the four months I have been here she has grown SOOO much. The cheesy saying, 'they grow up so fast' is sooo true! I've seen her roll over, eat solids, sit up, crawl, pull herself to a standing position, and use baby signing all in that time! WOW! Looks like she'll be super intelligent just like her big brother. Riley is an endless amount of snot and slobber and sweetness. If her brother is in the room and in her sight, then good luck getting her attention! She just LOVES her big brother. We've been doing baby signing with her and she has recently began signing, milk, all done, more and eat. Can't wait till she starts talking!

These kiddos must have good genes.

My blog purpose...

The purpose of my blog is to report the unpredictable and schockingly hilarious events in my day to day with these two children, in hopes of entertaining my followers and giving all a realistic insight to the life of a nanny. To give support and tips to fellow nannies. As well as having a detailed description of the children's day to help keep their parents from missing them too much while at work. (As I want them to keep their jobs, so I can keep mine.)

In the beginning...

About four months ago I accepted a job offer that changed my life in a way that I could not have anticipated. Four months ago I became responsible for two young and growing children; Riley who is now eight months and will be one year old in February and her brother Ryan who is two and will be three years old in January. I am a nanny from 7am till 6pm Monday through Friday. It is the most rewarding and most frustrating job I have ever had, and for that I am blessed and thank God for it every day.

For those who aren't parents, or who aren't child care-givers more than likely have a false view of what a nanny really is. Other than the ridiculous shows on television, there isn't a positive insight to a day in the life of a nanny, or maybe I just got lucky with the family God chose to find me. It's not all screaming and terribly disobedient children and messes everywhere. Although those things to occur, the majority of my job is filled with happy days of helping the children grow and learn and progress in their development.

Regretfully I didn't think to start this blog on my first day with this family. I didn't even think to start it now. Due to the numerous amount of entertaining stories I have to tell after a long day or week at work my boyfriend has been urging me to start blogging about it all. I have learned more in four months than I have in my entire life about patience, perseverance, forgiveness, acceptance, integrity, being tolerant of others, the unconditional love that is from a parent/care-giver to a child. The list could continue for a while but I think you get the idea.

Let me give you a quick but thorough recap of the last four months to catch you up on a few things I've experienced and learned...

*The saying, "One day you will turn into your mother" is a factual statement.
*If you put 'new' or 'special' in front of something it becomes more appealing.
*Repetition is where it's at.
*Diapers and pull ups sometimes leak the substance it is holding.
*Children will repeat anything and everything you say.
*If you turn daily tasks into a song it is easier to gain cooperation.
*Food cut into shapes magically taste better.
*Piffle Piffle dust can cure any bump, bruise, or tummy ache.
*The importance of taking vitamins and drinking an airborne daily to prevent myself from catching the many sicknesses that children seem to come down with on a weekly basis.
*Kids take everything of yours: your food, your patience, your rest, your money, your time, your energy, your privacy, your sanity but give back an unconditional love that makes it so worth it!

Favorite quotes: (should be added to the email forward, 'out of the mouths of babes')

"Miss Megan, I'm sorry if it smells, but I need to toot." -Ryan Tyler

"Miss Megan, that truck has my PJ's!!!" -Ryan Tyler (said while pointing to truck with a dresser in the bed)

"Miss Megan, my poop is making funny noises, hehe." -Ryan Tyler (said while tooting on the potty)

"Miss Megan, integrity means doing the right thing no matter what, that's why I have it in my pocket every day" -Ryan Tyler

I know I left out a lot of things but I'm trying to fit four months into just a few paragraphs.

Progress that has been made since I began..

Ryan is potty trained and wearing big boy underwear!!! YAY!

Riley is crawling and sittin up by herself and as of this past weekend is pulling herself up to a standing position. No doubt she'll be walking by Christmas!

Hope I have captured your interest and you will return for updates and new posts :)