So I've been hearing about this thing lately called "The Shred" from gadzillions of people and blogs and tweets.
If you haven't heard about it, it's a workout video lead by Jillian Michaels (of Biggest Loser fame) and IT IS HELL. Or so I've heard. It's a 30-day program that you do for 20 minutes a day.
20 minutes a day, that's *totally* doable, right? How intense can things get in 20 minutes?
Well, judging by the people and blogs and tweets who/that have told me about it, A LOT.
But apparently the results are amazing. So even though I've spent the last several months putting it off (y'know, cause of my knees, and not because of my supreme laziness or anything) I decided two nights ago to give the Shred a go.
Youtube was able to provide me with the first 20-minute segment, so off I went, armed with two bottles of contact solution because I didn't have weights (hey! I was creative! And those bottles are close to 5 lbs each, right? (SHHH)) and a whole lotta confidence.
Yeah.
I lasted six minutes.
Six.
Now, in my defense, I *probably* could have gone on a bit more, if only I weren't so depressed about the fact that I couldn't do 20 pushups. Cause seriously, that got me pretty down. Here I was thinking I had Nanny Muscles! I lift chunky babies! I flip kids upside down! I can do a double piggy-back (one kid on my back, one kid on my front)!
Sigh.
Six minutes.
Resigned, I went to bed. And woke up the next morning with ZOMG HURTY KNEES. They got better after some advil and brace wearing, but by last night, my right knee was hurting fairly badly again. I decided against advil and went to bed.
Well, around 1 a.m. my right knee woke me up. The fairly-bad hurt had changed to THROBBING OW OW OW, which was enough to annoy the honest-to-goodness out of me, but evidently not enough to make me get out of bed and get advil. So I propped my knee up with about 6 pillows to help reduce the swelling, and strapped both my knee braces on it, and tried to get back to sleep.
No go. I was up for a few hours with my right knee which apparently just wanted to party when I WANTED TO SLEEP. It's one thing if you're up partying yourself. It's an entirely different thing if one of your appendages wants to party and all the other appendages are silently screaming "pleeeeeeeeease JUSTGOTOBEDALREADY."
Finally I was able to drift back off to sleep, and when I woke up this morning it was feeling much better. Needless to say, I'm not going to be shredding anything anytime soon unless it's my dignity when I play kitty and cheetah with the kiddos tomorrow morning.
(If those paragraphs made no sense whatsoever, or seemed like I was on crack writing them, it's because I'm nonsensical due to LACK OF SLEEP.)
You can thank my right knee for it. And Jillian Michaels.
7.15.2009
7.13.2009
A meme for me
Kaitlyn tagged me for a meme, so here goes!
List seven things about yourself:
First of all, this is tough. I've done a bunch of these in the past on my blog, so I'm trying to find things I've never told y'all before.
1. I'm extremely blind. I've been told by two different eye doctors that I'm too blind for laser eye surgery (even some day in the distant future when I can (HAHAHA) afford it). I'm going to a new eye doc today for another evaluation, wish me luck.
2. I used to collect miniature VW bugs. Like the toy cars. And I'd name them all. At one point I think I had 60 or 70 of those bad boys hanging around.
3. I've got all of my future 18 children with George Clooney named. (What? Is it so hard to believe that I'll have 18 children? PLEASE. George and I LOVE kids.)
4. Every single person I've told one of my favorite boy names to says I'll torture the poor kid by naming him that. I just plug my ears, say "la-la-la," and tell them one of my favorite girl names. Then they launch into "WHY MUST YOU RUIN YOUR OWN CHILDREN'S LIVES BEFORE THEY EVEN HAVE A CHANCE AT LIFE?"
5. One night in August 2007, on a whim, I became an ordained minister online. No, really, I did. I have the certificate to prove it. And I'd be happy to perform your wedding, baptism, or funeral for free as long as I can blog about it.
6. Sometimes I'm scared to drive my own car around with his bad-ass political bumper stickers. The reactions I've gotten from some people...whoo-boy, y'all. We're not in the northeast anymore, Damien.
7. I love doing memes but my very least favorite part is tagging people at the end. Because a) if you don't do the meme, I'll feel like you don't like me and get all sad because I'm needy that way, and b) what if you get annoyed if I give you the meme? I don't want you to get annoyed at me. Lord knows I have precious few readers as it is.
So I am going to BREAK THE MOLD (a.k.a., wimp out) of tagging people, and instead say what I always say: you're ALL tagged, and if you play along, let me know so I can come read yours!
List seven things about yourself:
First of all, this is tough. I've done a bunch of these in the past on my blog, so I'm trying to find things I've never told y'all before.
1. I'm extremely blind. I've been told by two different eye doctors that I'm too blind for laser eye surgery (even some day in the distant future when I can (HAHAHA) afford it). I'm going to a new eye doc today for another evaluation, wish me luck.
2. I used to collect miniature VW bugs. Like the toy cars. And I'd name them all. At one point I think I had 60 or 70 of those bad boys hanging around.
3. I've got all of my future 18 children with George Clooney named. (What? Is it so hard to believe that I'll have 18 children? PLEASE. George and I LOVE kids.)
4. Every single person I've told one of my favorite boy names to says I'll torture the poor kid by naming him that. I just plug my ears, say "la-la-la," and tell them one of my favorite girl names. Then they launch into "WHY MUST YOU RUIN YOUR OWN CHILDREN'S LIVES BEFORE THEY EVEN HAVE A CHANCE AT LIFE?"
5. One night in August 2007, on a whim, I became an ordained minister online. No, really, I did. I have the certificate to prove it. And I'd be happy to perform your wedding, baptism, or funeral for free as long as I can blog about it.
6. Sometimes I'm scared to drive my own car around with his bad-ass political bumper stickers. The reactions I've gotten from some people...whoo-boy, y'all. We're not in the northeast anymore, Damien.
7. I love doing memes but my very least favorite part is tagging people at the end. Because a) if you don't do the meme, I'll feel like you don't like me and get all sad because I'm needy that way, and b) what if you get annoyed if I give you the meme? I don't want you to get annoyed at me. Lord knows I have precious few readers as it is.
So I am going to BREAK THE MOLD (a.k.a., wimp out) of tagging people, and instead say what I always say: you're ALL tagged, and if you play along, let me know so I can come read yours!
7.11.2009
It's officially official
(Yeah, yeah, I know I said I was going through a dry spell, but I thought of something to post.)
So I have my plane ticket booked for my trip back up to DreamSchool. We've made the first (of MANY) payments. Y'all, it's officially official that I'm going back!
It's really sunk in and I can't tell you how excited I am. My living arrangements are all taken care of: I'm in a suite with five other girls, my closest friends up there. We each have our own little rooms and share a common room, kitchenette and bathroom. It's awesome! Better yet, our closest 6 guy friends have the suite next to us. GAH I can't wait!
I wanted to comment about something that Kaitlyn commented on this post. Now, a disclaimer: Kaitlyn and I talk/debate frequently either on the phone, via twitter, or text message. We disagree on a LOT of stuff, but we still have MAD love for each other. So this post is in no way attacking her at all!!! Just bringing up a discussion.
Kaitlyn said, "Hm. I stand firm that tuition should be the responsibility of the child, for the exact reason one of your parents mentioned above... You can take out loans for school. The same is not true of retirement." in response to my writing that I felt guilty for putting my parents under financial strain, which I absolutely have.
I've been a private school child all my life. Before you roll your eyes and stereotype me, let me explain why. Where I live, the public schools are, frankly, awful. The elementary and middle schools solely teach to the TAKS test, and are overfilled and often violent. High schools are much the same way, and the drop out rates are enormous. Because of this, my parents decided long ago that they would sacrifice a huge deal financially and personally so that my sister and I could go private school all the way.
I am so, so lucky that my sister and I were able to do this. We both received excellent educations. I can't speak for her about this, but for me, I look back on every year of schooling with fond memories. There was no middle school hating. Sure, high school had its cattiness (especially for me being the poor kid in a high school of millionaires) but it was still an amazing experience. I am so grateful.
For college, my parents made it clear from the start that they would support me wherever I wanted to go, whatever I wanted to do. The school I fell in love with, DreamSchool, is a private college. Its yearly costs are astronomical (though, from what I understand, relatively mild compared with other private colleges). But I'm receiving an amazing education there. Because of DreamSchool's reputation, they guarantee me a job in my field (which is a dying field) within six months of graduation. The professors are excellent, the academics amazing.
I wouldn't be there without my parents' financial (and other) support. Of course I'm going into debt by going there, but my parents are easing that financial burden generously. They believe, above all, that a good education is the absolute best investment you can make in life.
My parents are willingly and happily contributing to my DreamSchool fund. Retirement will probably never happen for them (at least not full-time), but they have assured me that's okay. They want me to go to DreamSchool. They want my sister to go to any college she wants to. They want this for us. This is their gift to us. I am so, so grateful. Who cares about inheritance? They've given us the best academic start possible to our lives.
How amazing is that?
Note: this is NOT to say that all public schools are bad, or that state schools or community colleges are bad! Quite the opposite. I wish the public schools in our are could have been better. I did take a class at a community college, and it was an amazing experience.
So I have my plane ticket booked for my trip back up to DreamSchool. We've made the first (of MANY) payments. Y'all, it's officially official that I'm going back!
It's really sunk in and I can't tell you how excited I am. My living arrangements are all taken care of: I'm in a suite with five other girls, my closest friends up there. We each have our own little rooms and share a common room, kitchenette and bathroom. It's awesome! Better yet, our closest 6 guy friends have the suite next to us. GAH I can't wait!
I wanted to comment about something that Kaitlyn commented on this post. Now, a disclaimer: Kaitlyn and I talk/debate frequently either on the phone, via twitter, or text message. We disagree on a LOT of stuff, but we still have MAD love for each other. So this post is in no way attacking her at all!!! Just bringing up a discussion.
Kaitlyn said, "Hm. I stand firm that tuition should be the responsibility of the child, for the exact reason one of your parents mentioned above... You can take out loans for school. The same is not true of retirement." in response to my writing that I felt guilty for putting my parents under financial strain, which I absolutely have.
I've been a private school child all my life. Before you roll your eyes and stereotype me, let me explain why. Where I live, the public schools are, frankly, awful. The elementary and middle schools solely teach to the TAKS test, and are overfilled and often violent. High schools are much the same way, and the drop out rates are enormous. Because of this, my parents decided long ago that they would sacrifice a huge deal financially and personally so that my sister and I could go private school all the way.
I am so, so lucky that my sister and I were able to do this. We both received excellent educations. I can't speak for her about this, but for me, I look back on every year of schooling with fond memories. There was no middle school hating. Sure, high school had its cattiness (especially for me being the poor kid in a high school of millionaires) but it was still an amazing experience. I am so grateful.
For college, my parents made it clear from the start that they would support me wherever I wanted to go, whatever I wanted to do. The school I fell in love with, DreamSchool, is a private college. Its yearly costs are astronomical (though, from what I understand, relatively mild compared with other private colleges). But I'm receiving an amazing education there. Because of DreamSchool's reputation, they guarantee me a job in my field (which is a dying field) within six months of graduation. The professors are excellent, the academics amazing.
I wouldn't be there without my parents' financial (and other) support. Of course I'm going into debt by going there, but my parents are easing that financial burden generously. They believe, above all, that a good education is the absolute best investment you can make in life.
My parents are willingly and happily contributing to my DreamSchool fund. Retirement will probably never happen for them (at least not full-time), but they have assured me that's okay. They want me to go to DreamSchool. They want my sister to go to any college she wants to. They want this for us. This is their gift to us. I am so, so grateful. Who cares about inheritance? They've given us the best academic start possible to our lives.
How amazing is that?
Note: this is NOT to say that all public schools are bad, or that state schools or community colleges are bad! Quite the opposite. I wish the public schools in our are could have been better. I did take a class at a community college, and it was an amazing experience.
Dry spell
I'm going through a bit of a bloggy dry spell lately. Actually, I'm just exhausted! I *almost* fell asleep driving on a major highway today. THAT IS NOT GOOD. So I'm off to take a nap, and relax--these next few days will be very relaxing and chill, which is JUST what I need!
7.07.2009
The world's BEST sandwich
Okay, y'all. This is so good that I *have* to share it with you. It's completely vegan, and definitely healthy!
Nanny's World-Famous Nommy Sandwich
2 slices honey wheat bread/whole wheat bread (your choice), toasted
handful of washed greens
1/2 avocado, sliced
onion to taste
balsamic vinaigrette
Toast bread. Spread a bit of balsamic vinaigrette one one side. Top generously with greens. Layer with onion and cover with avocado slices. Finish with the other slice of bread and BAM! Delicious sandwich! It's got protein, good fat, green leafy vegetables, and whole grains. SOOOOO good!
If you'd like toruin the sandwich put on non-vegan stuff, you can add cheese or meat. But being the vegetarian-who-doesn't-eat-cheese-but-does-eat-other-dairy that I am, I like it just the way it is :)
(Side note: watch out world. Is the Nanny/College Girl diaries becoming a cooking blog?!? What the???)
Updated to add: This sandwich is equally good with roasted red pepper hummus instead of the avocado!
Nanny's World-Famous Nommy Sandwich
2 slices honey wheat bread/whole wheat bread (your choice), toasted
handful of washed greens
1/2 avocado, sliced
onion to taste
balsamic vinaigrette
Toast bread. Spread a bit of balsamic vinaigrette one one side. Top generously with greens. Layer with onion and cover with avocado slices. Finish with the other slice of bread and BAM! Delicious sandwich! It's got protein, good fat, green leafy vegetables, and whole grains. SOOOOO good!
If you'd like to
(Side note: watch out world. Is the Nanny/College Girl diaries becoming a cooking blog?!? What the???)
Updated to add: This sandwich is equally good with roasted red pepper hummus instead of the avocado!
7.05.2009
Happy 4th!
(Yeah, yeah, I made another one. Besides the fact that it's ridiculously nommy, it has red, blue, and, uh, light tan?)
7.04.2009
Non-epic fail?
So on July 3 I headed over to the Minivan Mom household to hang with her kids while she and her hubby headed out to dinner.
You may remember these kids as the ones I epically failed at while babysitting. I'm happy to report that during this babysitting sesh, there were NO broken teeth or any other injuries! WOOT!
Anyway, the kids and I had a great time. We swam, ate (some) pizza (the kids didn't really care for it, so Sam and Lucy had a lot of yogurt instead), had brownies, watched TV (they introduced me to Phineas & Ferb), played the world's longest game of Spiderman Sorry!, read books, and generally had a great time.
Oh, except for the fact that Lucy thought I was the meanest babysitter in the world after I made her spit out her gum before bed. I know, the nerve of me, right??? (Though I think she liked me the rest of the time. I did paint her nails sparkle-clear, after all.)
But the best part of the evening? While Sam was reading to Lucy and me, Bailey had left the room to do something I wasn't privy to. (This worried me slightly, but he's a wicked smaht 9-year-old, so I trusted him.) When he came back, he presented me with this:
"I didn't know if you knew this," he said, "but I'm an author. This is an original copy of my work."
Y'all.
He autographed it for me.
I'm pretty sure I swooned audibly.
Not to be outdone, Sam went off to do his own thang. When he came back, he presented me with this:
It's a picture of me standing on the side of the pool (which is the big white space), watching him swim.
Cue another loud swoon. Are these boys not just yummy?!?
Lucy didn't give me anything, but I'm pretty sure that's because I had just made her spit out her gum. Though earlier in the evening she had told me I looked like I was 12, which I'm pretty sure is a compliment. I mean, 12-year-olds don't have wrinkles or grey hair, so it's a good thing, right?
You may remember these kids as the ones I epically failed at while babysitting. I'm happy to report that during this babysitting sesh, there were NO broken teeth or any other injuries! WOOT!
Anyway, the kids and I had a great time. We swam, ate (some) pizza (the kids didn't really care for it, so Sam and Lucy had a lot of yogurt instead), had brownies, watched TV (they introduced me to Phineas & Ferb), played the world's longest game of Spiderman Sorry!, read books, and generally had a great time.
Oh, except for the fact that Lucy thought I was the meanest babysitter in the world after I made her spit out her gum before bed. I know, the nerve of me, right??? (Though I think she liked me the rest of the time. I did paint her nails sparkle-clear, after all.)
But the best part of the evening? While Sam was reading to Lucy and me, Bailey had left the room to do something I wasn't privy to. (This worried me slightly, but he's a wicked smaht 9-year-old, so I trusted him.) When he came back, he presented me with this:
"I didn't know if you knew this," he said, "but I'm an author. This is an original copy of my work."
Y'all.
He autographed it for me.
I'm pretty sure I swooned audibly.
Not to be outdone, Sam went off to do his own thang. When he came back, he presented me with this:
It's a picture of me standing on the side of the pool (which is the big white space), watching him swim.
Cue another loud swoon. Are these boys not just yummy?!?
Lucy didn't give me anything, but I'm pretty sure that's because I had just made her spit out her gum. Though earlier in the evening she had told me I looked like I was 12, which I'm pretty sure is a compliment. I mean, 12-year-olds don't have wrinkles or grey hair, so it's a good thing, right?
7.01.2009
I'm domesticated!
Y'ALL.
I COOKED SOMETHING!!!!!!!
Or rather, I baked something. But still. This is huge. Because I CANNOT COOK TO SAVE MY LIFE.
My sister and I love reading cooking blogs (she got me hooked). One of my favorites is Monica H.'s cooking blog, Lick the Bowl Good. So many things on there just make me DROOL all over my pretty white keyboard!
A few days ago, she posted a recipe for Strawberry and Blueberry Cobbler Cake. When I saw that, my jaw dropped, and I *knew* I was going to make that.
So I did.
My first cake!
(Er, cobbler cake. But close enough!)
Now, three things happened in the cooking process to make me seriously doubt my poor cobbler cake would turn out well. And they are:
1) When getting the egg out of the carton, it broke all over the place. Bad omen?
2) When dumping (gently) the flour/baking powder/salt mixture into the blender, half of it ended up on the counter. So I had to scrape it off the counter and into the bowl. But I lost some flour/baking powders/salt mixture that way...so I was a tad worried.
3) I forgot to sprinkle sugar over the top before putting it in the oven. I was VERY worried that the cobbler cake wouldn't taste sweet, and be bitter instead from the fruit.
BUT!
It turned out so delicious!!! I cannot tell you how we oohed and aahed over this cake. And ommed and nommed. Seriously: GO MAKE THIS CAKE. NOW.
*I used less fruit than she did--about 8 halved strawberries, and 1/2 cup of blueberries. I did push the blueberries down into the batter and added more on top.
*Mine took less time to bake than hers. 10 mins on 350 degrees, and 45 mins (as opposed to an hour) on 325.
SOOOOOO good!
My pretty little cobbler cake!
I COOKED SOMETHING!!!!!!!
Or rather, I baked something. But still. This is huge. Because I CANNOT COOK TO SAVE MY LIFE.
My sister and I love reading cooking blogs (she got me hooked). One of my favorites is Monica H.'s cooking blog, Lick the Bowl Good. So many things on there just make me DROOL all over my pretty white keyboard!
A few days ago, she posted a recipe for Strawberry and Blueberry Cobbler Cake. When I saw that, my jaw dropped, and I *knew* I was going to make that.
So I did.
My first cake!
(Er, cobbler cake. But close enough!)
Now, three things happened in the cooking process to make me seriously doubt my poor cobbler cake would turn out well. And they are:
1) When getting the egg out of the carton, it broke all over the place. Bad omen?
2) When dumping (gently) the flour/baking powder/salt mixture into the blender, half of it ended up on the counter. So I had to scrape it off the counter and into the bowl. But I lost some flour/baking powders/salt mixture that way...so I was a tad worried.
3) I forgot to sprinkle sugar over the top before putting it in the oven. I was VERY worried that the cobbler cake wouldn't taste sweet, and be bitter instead from the fruit.
BUT!
It turned out so delicious!!! I cannot tell you how we oohed and aahed over this cake. And ommed and nommed. Seriously: GO MAKE THIS CAKE. NOW.
*I used less fruit than she did--about 8 halved strawberries, and 1/2 cup of blueberries. I did push the blueberries down into the batter and added more on top.
*Mine took less time to bake than hers. 10 mins on 350 degrees, and 45 mins (as opposed to an hour) on 325.
SOOOOOO good!
My pretty little cobbler cake!
Car trouble
So Damien has been temporarily retired for the next three weeks (so my lungs can get a break), as my sister has gone off to ballet camp -- so I'll be driving her car*!
*technically, it's my Dad's car. But my sister's been driving it for the past year.
Sven is a 25-year-old bright yellow Volvo. He's a beast of a creature and I've got mad love for him, so I *totally* don't mind driving him around while my sister's gone.
Except when I have to drive on the highway.
Because when ol' Sven hits about 60 mph, his steering wheel starts vibrating like no tomorrow. I'm serious. By the time you're off the highway, your hands are numb. It's fairly unsettling. But hey: Sven's got air conditioning! It's all cool by me!
My father's solution to the vibrating Sven problem was to not drive above 55. But it turns out that other drivers on LBJ and Central Expressway get pretty torked off at you if you're slowing them down. (Who knew Dallas drivers could get aggressive?)
If I wasn't going back to DreamSchool, my parents were pretty seriously considering buying a Prius. They've been wanting one for years. That way, I could drive my mom's car, and we could sell Damien (and save my lungs & makeup). But they're so generously helping me pay for college, and their car dreams (and clothes dreams, and vacation dreams, etc.) have been put on hold.
I think I've got a bit of buyer's remorse going on. While I'm SO excited to be going back to DreamSchool, it really puts a strain on my parents financially, and there's no doubt that it's screwing me financially, too. I mean, I'll be paying back debt for the next 15 or so years.
But on the whole, I know going back to school is a good thing. For me, to get the college experience in an incredible city, and for my boy Damien to get a break from driving. Boyfriend's already racked up almost 365,000 miles, after all.
*technically, it's my Dad's car. But my sister's been driving it for the past year.
Sven is a 25-year-old bright yellow Volvo. He's a beast of a creature and I've got mad love for him, so I *totally* don't mind driving him around while my sister's gone.
Except when I have to drive on the highway.
Because when ol' Sven hits about 60 mph, his steering wheel starts vibrating like no tomorrow. I'm serious. By the time you're off the highway, your hands are numb. It's fairly unsettling. But hey: Sven's got air conditioning! It's all cool by me!
My father's solution to the vibrating Sven problem was to not drive above 55. But it turns out that other drivers on LBJ and Central Expressway get pretty torked off at you if you're slowing them down. (Who knew Dallas drivers could get aggressive?)
If I wasn't going back to DreamSchool, my parents were pretty seriously considering buying a Prius. They've been wanting one for years. That way, I could drive my mom's car, and we could sell Damien (and save my lungs & makeup). But they're so generously helping me pay for college, and their car dreams (and clothes dreams, and vacation dreams, etc.) have been put on hold.
I think I've got a bit of buyer's remorse going on. While I'm SO excited to be going back to DreamSchool, it really puts a strain on my parents financially, and there's no doubt that it's screwing me financially, too. I mean, I'll be paying back debt for the next 15 or so years.
But on the whole, I know going back to school is a good thing. For me, to get the college experience in an incredible city, and for my boy Damien to get a break from driving. Boyfriend's already racked up almost 365,000 miles, after all.
6.29.2009
Baby-daddy lurve
I triple-quadruple-quintuple love this picture of my dad and me. I had it on my computer, and since today is his birfday, I thought I'd post it! I think I'm about a week old in this picture.
(you can click to make it bigger)
(you can click to make it bigger)
6.28.2009
Overnights! part deux
Today was a great day!!!
This morning we discovered that pipe cleaners can make excellent jewelry. We made bracelets, a necklace, a ring, an anklet, and two headband/crown things (one for Sam, one for Coco).
Pipe cleaner power! (my hand, Sam's hand, Ben's hand--LOVE this pic)
We also spent lots of time loving on the Puffster, of course.
Then, we took a field trip up to Joann's, a fabric/craft store, and the kids each picked out two wooden shapes to paint. (They were 99 cents each! WOOT) Next, we hit up Corner Bakery for lunch, and I once again thoroughly confused the poor people with my order. (Sourdough bread with some of the mixed green salad, onions, avocado, and balsamic vinaigrette. It always perplexes them that I want salad on my sandwich. And that I don't want meat OR cheese.)
Ben chose a soccer ball and a sun, Sam chose a puppy and a star.
(No final pictures, because they're surprises for Mommy and Daddy!)
After that, we were going to go to a park nearby that has water sprays (kind of like sprinklers) all over. So we got bathing suits on and sunscreened up, and just as we pulled up to the park, I got a text from Tracey asking if we'd like to go to an impromptu dinner/pool party at her house with Deanna and her kids. Um, yes!!! The kids were *so* excited (and, uh, SO WAS I) that we left the park without even getting out of the car and headed over :)
It was a great night with amazing friends, yummy burgers & hot dogs (mine was a veggie burger, hehe), and lots of happiness. Oh, and a LOT of flirting by a certain someone. Check out her face in this pic Tracey took!
On the way home, all three kids passed out in the car. It was so sweet looking back and seeing this...
...and this!
Of course, they woke up when we got home and were up for a while longer, but they were all still so happy that it was all good! I think all four of us are going to bed with smiles on our faces. And tomorrow, mom and dad come home! The kids are so excited! And as for me? Sure, a bit of catch up sleep will be nice, but I'm sure going to miss being with these sweet, crazy kids all the time :)
This morning we discovered that pipe cleaners can make excellent jewelry. We made bracelets, a necklace, a ring, an anklet, and two headband/crown things (one for Sam, one for Coco).
Pipe cleaner power! (my hand, Sam's hand, Ben's hand--LOVE this pic)
We also spent lots of time loving on the Puffster, of course.
Then, we took a field trip up to Joann's, a fabric/craft store, and the kids each picked out two wooden shapes to paint. (They were 99 cents each! WOOT) Next, we hit up Corner Bakery for lunch, and I once again thoroughly confused the poor people with my order. (Sourdough bread with some of the mixed green salad, onions, avocado, and balsamic vinaigrette. It always perplexes them that I want salad on my sandwich. And that I don't want meat OR cheese.)
Ben chose a soccer ball and a sun, Sam chose a puppy and a star.
(No final pictures, because they're surprises for Mommy and Daddy!)
After that, we were going to go to a park nearby that has water sprays (kind of like sprinklers) all over. So we got bathing suits on and sunscreened up, and just as we pulled up to the park, I got a text from Tracey asking if we'd like to go to an impromptu dinner/pool party at her house with Deanna and her kids. Um, yes!!! The kids were *so* excited (and, uh, SO WAS I) that we left the park without even getting out of the car and headed over :)
It was a great night with amazing friends, yummy burgers & hot dogs (mine was a veggie burger, hehe), and lots of happiness. Oh, and a LOT of flirting by a certain someone. Check out her face in this pic Tracey took!
On the way home, all three kids passed out in the car. It was so sweet looking back and seeing this...
...and this!
Of course, they woke up when we got home and were up for a while longer, but they were all still so happy that it was all good! I think all four of us are going to bed with smiles on our faces. And tomorrow, mom and dad come home! The kids are so excited! And as for me? Sure, a bit of catch up sleep will be nice, but I'm sure going to miss being with these sweet, crazy kids all the time :)
6.27.2009
Overnights!
So right now I'm smack-dab in the middle of doing an weekend-long nanny session for my regular nanny family, while the parents are away at quite possibly the MOST INSANE WEDDING EVER. Have I mentioned that I love these kids? Because I DO. Here's what we've been up to yesterday and today:
We started our own restaurant. Today, we *finally* decided on a name for it--Cafe Duck. I don't know why. Ask the 6-year-old.
I taught the kids how to use Photobooth on my Mac (probably one of my biggest regrets in life :) )
We made a countdown to their trip to Mexico--every night before bed, they rip off the day's number. Only 3 days to go!
Lil sweet cheeks here is pulling up on EV.ER.Y.THING!
In one of the highlights of my nanny career, THE TOOTH FAIRY CAME LAST NIGHT! She was very generous and left four shiny quarter's under Sam's pillow :)
We went on an adventure trip to Central Market to buy popsicles, toothpaste for the kids, and orange juice. I know we could have gone somewhere closer for those things, but Central Market has samples!
Did I mention I taught them how to use Photobooth? Now they hijack my computer at every opportunity!
....but sometimes I get in on the action as well :)
There's been plenty of happy baby smiles...
...and RASPBERRY KISSES!
And tonight, when the kids were feeling a bit sad missing mom and dad, I threw bedtime rules out the window and let them get out of bed for popsicles :)
(In case you were wondering, the popsicles helped the kids to feel better. And they gave me a bit of sugar energy to CLEAN UP THE KITCHEN POST-POPSICLE MESS!)
It's been a CRAZY busy but so so so fun couple of days! Oh, and I am *so* loving having the pool in the backyard for some evening swimming before dinner. The sun's not so bad, and it's a great way to end the day!
We started our own restaurant. Today, we *finally* decided on a name for it--Cafe Duck. I don't know why. Ask the 6-year-old.
I taught the kids how to use Photobooth on my Mac (probably one of my biggest regrets in life :) )
We made a countdown to their trip to Mexico--every night before bed, they rip off the day's number. Only 3 days to go!
Lil sweet cheeks here is pulling up on EV.ER.Y.THING!
In one of the highlights of my nanny career, THE TOOTH FAIRY CAME LAST NIGHT! She was very generous and left four shiny quarter's under Sam's pillow :)
We went on an adventure trip to Central Market to buy popsicles, toothpaste for the kids, and orange juice. I know we could have gone somewhere closer for those things, but Central Market has samples!
Did I mention I taught them how to use Photobooth? Now they hijack my computer at every opportunity!
....but sometimes I get in on the action as well :)
There's been plenty of happy baby smiles...
...and RASPBERRY KISSES!
And tonight, when the kids were feeling a bit sad missing mom and dad, I threw bedtime rules out the window and let them get out of bed for popsicles :)
(In case you were wondering, the popsicles helped the kids to feel better. And they gave me a bit of sugar energy to CLEAN UP THE KITCHEN POST-POPSICLE MESS!)
It's been a CRAZY busy but so so so fun couple of days! Oh, and I am *so* loving having the pool in the backyard for some evening swimming before dinner. The sun's not so bad, and it's a great way to end the day!
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