How to work without a car..

Quick, you wake up Monday morning and you have a flat tire (and by flat I mean…no air at all).You have two hours before work where you will be transporting precious cargo(aka kids). Do you get a rental (although in America you have to be 25 to rent a car..which I am not)? Do you call in sick? Do you take your roommate/parents car even though it might be an imposition to them?

…idk. All I know is I am currently in this predicament.

I drive to all of my jobs, one being about 20 miles away. But yesterday my car decided to break. I have a cracked rim which is causing the pressure in my tire to continuously go down, (I have learned a lot about cars the past two days..) which makes it pretty impossible to work. So it got me thinking..I’ve never been in this situation before. No car, no work, NO MONEY! For a poorer-than-dirt college student, no money is NO GOOD. My solution, and I don’t know if it is good, but I woke up at 4 am to take my dad to work. Then I took his truck to my work. The kids loved not being cramped in my slightly more economical car, but I spent more in gas going to work than I usually do in my car in a week…

Have you ever had car troubles on the job? How did you handle the situation? Did I do the right thing by imposing on my family to get to work? Should I have taken the day off?

 

Tell me what you think. 🙂

10 Rainy Day Activities for Kids

It doesn’t rain often enough where I live, but if it did…I would do these with the kids I nanny for!

Happy Medium Homeschooling

That Will Get Them Away from the Video Games!

Finally – warmer weather is brining rain showers. Here in the Midwest I think the last of the snow piles are creeping away like a guest who has finally realized she stayed too long. Spring has sprung and that means the inevitable rainy days where the kids might be moping around and yawning I’m bored. Cure that boredom, without resorting to letting them sit and play video games all day, with these 10 rainy day activities that will get their brains working and their creativity hopping.

1. Comics

Our boys have recently joined at comic creation class, learning about graphic novels, classic comics, and how to create their own. Check out some classics from the library like Garfield, and share in a few laughs. Then encourage your children to write their own comic strip. Our library has great books to help…

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Spotlight on Toddlers: 50 Activities for Munchkins age 1-3

Toddlers may possibly be my favorite age group when it comes to babysitting. They are adventurous, full of energy, and have the cutest little attitudes…sometimes. But when it comes to activities, there are challenges when planning age appropriate activities for them. Limited language, their need for putting EVERYTHING in their mouths, and their short attention spans make planning crafts and games difficult. BUT! Jaime from Hands On as We Grow categorized 50 toddler activities based on sensory skills, arts and crafts, exploration and other fun activities. It has been a lifesaver for me, I hope it helps you!  Take a look and enjoy!

http://handsonaswegrow.com/50-toddler-activities/

Be the Helper

Nannies: Don’t Even Strive, Just Know – They Are Your Equal

This is such a good blog on how disillusioned parents can be when they hire a nanny. Nanny’s are not second class citizens, they are not slaves and they are not “my girl”. We are independent, well rounded individuals that take care of some of the most important people around…your kids. Please always treat your nanny with respect. And nannies, don’t put up with parents that put you down.

Enjoy 🙂

strivewithpoise

I’m lucky to have a nanny, specifically a woman with her own children who seemingly loves my own like one of hers. She has been an incredible addition to our family and the dynamic between us has enabled me to soak in parenting advice from an elder that I otherwise probably wouldn’t be so receptive to. She is kind, good hearted, loving and focused and I’m lucky my son has her in his life. My own nanny is in fact just like a lot of other nannies I’ve met. It makes me wonder then why it is that some moms with and without nannies seem to think that it’s okay to treat these remarkable women (in my view, all people are in some way remarkable) like second class citizens. Frankly, I find it appalling. Case in point: my nanny had another nanny and her charge over for a play date…

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Sunday: A Day of Rest…or not!

Today my twin five year old cousins are coming over which means my usual pajamas all day-veggin’ on the couch-only getting up for food kind of day will now consist of chasing the two little munchkins around the house, going to the park, and playing hide and seek.

So while I am running around playing with my cousins, I hope you enjoy a day of rest 🙂

Coming up this week on my Nannyville:

• Spotlight on Infants: The everything guide to caring for an infant. 
• Easy Peasy Healthy recipes with STRAWBERRIES!
• Saying Goodbye to your Nanny
• Money-Whats the going rate, What you get for your money, and ways to make sure you aren’t being taken advantage of as a child care provider
• The Nanny Contract

Chocolate Orange Granola Bars…Nut-free AND Gluten-free!

Ok, one more blog for the day. Don’t these look scrumptious! Super healthy, easy to make and YUMMY! The original recipe has room for experimenting. I think I am going to make a chocolate strawberry bar and a smore inspired bar. 🙂 Enjoy!

Small Potatoes

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”  ~Charles M. Shultz

Well, we made it to Spring. But we still haven’t made it to Summer, so that means we are still packing school lunches for at least another 3 months. Oh boy.

Today we are giving the granola bar a little bit of zazz. Ya…that’s officially a word today. Zazz.

We took our basic granola bar recipe and zazzed it up with a bit of “citrusy” goodness and a happy helping of chocolate. You know those chocolate oranges by Terry’s that you whack on the table and break into wedges? If you don’t, you must track one down and try one. If you do know the orange, well…you know how good these bars are going to be! It was the Terry’s Orange that inspired these zazzy bars in the first place!

How did we…

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Oh goodness, I read this and laughed so hard. It is so true!!

Superhero of Imperfection

Before I start, let me paint you a picture of what I am doing as I type this:

I am laying on a chaise, babysitting, with a fifteen month old girl snoozing in luxury on my stomach. My neck is bent uncomfortably to accommodate the angle of recline she prefers. I have to pee SO bad, but I can’t. I am typing this blog post over her shoulder on my phone. Got that image? Okay.

You may not know this, but the Superhero of Imperfection has a superpower. It’s true- I can transform at will. Not my will, but children’s wills. You know that movie with the cars that turn into big, crime fighting, butt kicking robots when they feel like it? Yeah this isn’t cool like that- sorry. It is cool in another way though.

If you have kids or babysit, you know about our bodies’ ability to turn…

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Off the Clock!

-8am  A nanny’s job is relentless. Usually full time or live in nannies are on the clock more often than not. With the stress of the magnitude of the job sometimes it is best to just take a day off. Yup you heard me. Take a day off! So today is that day for me. I am off to Six Flags with some friends 🙂

-11pm I heard a quote recently that resonated with me. It said “sometimes the best thing you can do is separate yourself from a situation to truly help see the full picture”. Today I left the cell phone in my bag, rode some of the craziest roller coasters in the world…and didn’t worry about any of my families. Amazingly they are all where I left them haha. I realized how few days I have taken completely off since I started working full time last year. I had a great time with friends and am now super tired! Goodnight Bloggers 🙂

Help me Help you

I am always looking for feedback to help improve this site. Tell me what you are looking for in this site and I will do my best to make it happen! Check back once a week for a poll question about being a sitter. 🙂