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Apologies in advance...
For yet MORE M & A stories...
M & A have never had a word for me, like "nanny" or "sitter." T & G call me their baby-sitter when they're explaining that their parents aren't home, but the little ones have never known what to call me to other people. Other kids have said to them "This is my mommy/daddy" and M & A usually say "This is my...um, my Stefanie!" Yeah, it pretty much melts my heart every time...
My boss told me the other day that the whole family was watching "Nanny 911" -- you know, the cable knock-off of "Supernanny" with British nannies who wear capes, funny hats, and ugly shoes. M & A's mom and dad asked them who their nanny was, and they responded that they didn't have a nanny. Then they told them that I am their nanny.
"Stefanie does NOT wear a cape!"
Hahahaha...
Then, later on, M said "Stefanie is not mean to us like those nannies."
:)
Their mom responded, "If you were naughty like those kids she would be!"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We were doing art projects today, and M was making his own connect-the-dot drawings, pretty much deciding what it was a picture of after he connected the dots. :) After one drawing, he asked if I could draw Mount Everest on the page (and I was pretty impressed that he came up with that!). I drew a generic-looking mountain behind his drawing.
"You can draw the track on there too, if you want," he said.
"What track?"
"You know, the broken track on Everest. From the yeti."
Yeah, he didn't want me to draw Mount Everest. He wanted me to draw the roller coaster Expedition: Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Ha.
And apparently his dots connected to form a yeti. :)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I had to wake A from her nap today (if I don't, she won't sleep at night). I rubbed her back saying, "Time to wake up, little girl..."
"I couldn't find the 'bicicycle.'"
"The what?"
"The 'bicicycle' -- you know, the Lego one. The Lego 'bicicycle.'"
"You couldn't find the Lego bicycle?"
"Yeah, the Leg-"
And then she finally woke up all the way.
"Did you dream about looking for a bicycle?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said sheepishly.
Cuteness. :)
M & A have never had a word for me, like "nanny" or "sitter." T & G call me their baby-sitter when they're explaining that their parents aren't home, but the little ones have never known what to call me to other people. Other kids have said to them "This is my mommy/daddy" and M & A usually say "This is my...um, my Stefanie!" Yeah, it pretty much melts my heart every time...
My boss told me the other day that the whole family was watching "Nanny 911" -- you know, the cable knock-off of "Supernanny" with British nannies who wear capes, funny hats, and ugly shoes. M & A's mom and dad asked them who their nanny was, and they responded that they didn't have a nanny. Then they told them that I am their nanny.
"Stefanie does NOT wear a cape!"
Hahahaha...
Then, later on, M said "Stefanie is not mean to us like those nannies."
:)
Their mom responded, "If you were naughty like those kids she would be!"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We were doing art projects today, and M was making his own connect-the-dot drawings, pretty much deciding what it was a picture of after he connected the dots. :) After one drawing, he asked if I could draw Mount Everest on the page (and I was pretty impressed that he came up with that!). I drew a generic-looking mountain behind his drawing.
"You can draw the track on there too, if you want," he said.
"What track?"
"You know, the broken track on Everest. From the yeti."
Yeah, he didn't want me to draw Mount Everest. He wanted me to draw the roller coaster Expedition: Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Ha.
And apparently his dots connected to form a yeti. :)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I had to wake A from her nap today (if I don't, she won't sleep at night). I rubbed her back saying, "Time to wake up, little girl..."
"I couldn't find the 'bicicycle.'"
"The what?"
"The 'bicicycle' -- you know, the Lego one. The Lego 'bicicycle.'"
"You couldn't find the Lego bicycle?"
"Yeah, the Leg-"
And then she finally woke up all the way.
"Did you dream about looking for a bicycle?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said sheepishly.
Cuteness. :)
Oh, the drama...
I think I mentioned that A wants to change clothes every. five. minutes.
It's cute the first time. It's a little annoying the second time.
The third time? Oh, man...
I was trying to get M and A out of the house to go to the Charlotte Nature Museum. M was ready to go, but A was mad because she didn't approve of the outfit I had picked out for her (when she decided that she didn't like the outfit Daddy had picked). She NEEDED to wear a dress. Of course, she didn't tell me this until we were all the way downstairs (and their house is big -- going upstairs to their room is practically an expedition).
So I decided to be a nice nanny and went back upstairs to pick out a dress. Unfortunately, all A wanted to wear was a little summery dress that was not appropriate for the chilly weather. I found (what I thought to be) a good compromise by getting a long-sleeved t-shirt with dark pink pants and a little pale pink skirt to go over the pants. Totally cute. I do her hair and we get ready to head back downstairs. Then the lower lip comes out. "I need a dark pink shirt." "Well, you don't have a dark pink shirt. The shirt you have on is beautiful." "No, I NEED a dark pink shirt." And so on and so forth until I laid down the law.
"A, you may not change your clothes again. This is the outfit you are wearing today."
Oh, snap.
The lower lip gets stuck out even further. Eyes tear up. A's chest tightens up and she takes a few deep breaths.
"I need my pacie (pacifier)."
(trying not to crack up at the drama) "No, pacies are only for bedtime. It is not bedtime."
More deep breaths. "I need chocolate milk."
Oh, geez.
"No, you may not have chocolate milk because we are getting ready to leave. You may have chocolate milk when we get home."
"I need Mama!"
Hahahahaha...how does a two-year-old have such DRAMA? I should add (lest I seem totally mean and heartless) that I let her wail (and wail she did!) for a minute or two, then I pulled her into my lap for a snuggle. We sat there for a couple of minutes and then she started giggling over something. All was forgiven and we headed downstairs to put some shoes on.
A turns three in a couple of weeks. 3 is the new 2, people. YAY. :)
It's cute the first time. It's a little annoying the second time.
The third time? Oh, man...
I was trying to get M and A out of the house to go to the Charlotte Nature Museum. M was ready to go, but A was mad because she didn't approve of the outfit I had picked out for her (when she decided that she didn't like the outfit Daddy had picked). She NEEDED to wear a dress. Of course, she didn't tell me this until we were all the way downstairs (and their house is big -- going upstairs to their room is practically an expedition).
So I decided to be a nice nanny and went back upstairs to pick out a dress. Unfortunately, all A wanted to wear was a little summery dress that was not appropriate for the chilly weather. I found (what I thought to be) a good compromise by getting a long-sleeved t-shirt with dark pink pants and a little pale pink skirt to go over the pants. Totally cute. I do her hair and we get ready to head back downstairs. Then the lower lip comes out. "I need a dark pink shirt." "Well, you don't have a dark pink shirt. The shirt you have on is beautiful." "No, I NEED a dark pink shirt." And so on and so forth until I laid down the law.
"A, you may not change your clothes again. This is the outfit you are wearing today."
Oh, snap.
The lower lip gets stuck out even further. Eyes tear up. A's chest tightens up and she takes a few deep breaths.
"I need my pacie (pacifier)."
(trying not to crack up at the drama) "No, pacies are only for bedtime. It is not bedtime."
More deep breaths. "I need chocolate milk."
Oh, geez.
"No, you may not have chocolate milk because we are getting ready to leave. You may have chocolate milk when we get home."
"I need Mama!"
Hahahahaha...how does a two-year-old have such DRAMA? I should add (lest I seem totally mean and heartless) that I let her wail (and wail she did!) for a minute or two, then I pulled her into my lap for a snuggle. We sat there for a couple of minutes and then she started giggling over something. All was forgiven and we headed downstairs to put some shoes on.
A turns three in a couple of weeks. 3 is the new 2, people. YAY. :)
Interrupting the hiatus...
I'm such a sporadic blogger. I seriously think about blogging at least a couple of times a day...then by the time I get home from work it escapes me and I put it off for another day...Plus with the layout I have picked out I can't blog from my iphone...darn it! :(
My life has been anything but dull, though. Last month my sister Megan and her friend Cathryn flew down from Michigan to visit us for their spring break, and while they were here we took a little vacay to DISNEY WORLD! We did all four parks -- Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios -- in just four days. Holy exhaustion. But SO much fun. Here's a few pics:
We had SO much fun. Scott and I always said that we wanted to go to Disney before we had kids so we could do what WE wanted to do and then once we have kids take them and do the things THEY want to do. As we were walking around the parks, Scott and I kept turning to each other saying "I can't wait until we have kids so we can bring them here one day!" To see kiddos experiencing the magic of Disney was a big part of it being such a great trip.
Work has been good...A was pretty upset she couldn't come to Disney with us. I took Meg and Cathryn to say hi to them the day before we drove to Orlando, and A definitely tried to get in my car to come with us. Soooo cute. She got sad when we told her she couldn't go but then convinced her that her mom would miss her too much. :) She is also in a stage where she likes to wear four or five outfits a day with at least one of them being a bathing suit. M is quickly becoming all boy. He's 4 1/2, so I know he hasn't been a toddler for awhile, but I'm still shocked at how grown up he is. Last week was spring break for them, so I got some quality time with T and G too (they're usually in school while I'm there). We went to the playground and played Play-Doh and listened to heavy metal SpongeBob music (don't ask!). We had a pretty fun (and pretty un-exciting) week together...
So, as I'm typing this I have two pups leeched onto me. Cash is in my lap and Rosie could not be laying closer to me if she tried. I'll admit that I'm a little worried about when we have a baby. These two are used to being the babies. They are snuggly and needy most of the day. Our friends Jon and Rachel watched them while we were at Disney (thanks, guys!) and Rachel said that a lot of the time she had both dogs PLUS both of her kids (a toddler and an infant) on her lap all at the same time. WHAT A TROOPER. And what a glimpse into my future. :)
p.s. We're not pregnant. Yet. Not officially trying. But it will probably be soon. Yikes.
My life has been anything but dull, though. Last month my sister Megan and her friend Cathryn flew down from Michigan to visit us for their spring break, and while they were here we took a little vacay to DISNEY WORLD! We did all four parks -- Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios -- in just four days. Holy exhaustion. But SO much fun. Here's a few pics:
We had SO much fun. Scott and I always said that we wanted to go to Disney before we had kids so we could do what WE wanted to do and then once we have kids take them and do the things THEY want to do. As we were walking around the parks, Scott and I kept turning to each other saying "I can't wait until we have kids so we can bring them here one day!" To see kiddos experiencing the magic of Disney was a big part of it being such a great trip.
Work has been good...A was pretty upset she couldn't come to Disney with us. I took Meg and Cathryn to say hi to them the day before we drove to Orlando, and A definitely tried to get in my car to come with us. Soooo cute. She got sad when we told her she couldn't go but then convinced her that her mom would miss her too much. :) She is also in a stage where she likes to wear four or five outfits a day with at least one of them being a bathing suit. M is quickly becoming all boy. He's 4 1/2, so I know he hasn't been a toddler for awhile, but I'm still shocked at how grown up he is. Last week was spring break for them, so I got some quality time with T and G too (they're usually in school while I'm there). We went to the playground and played Play-Doh and listened to heavy metal SpongeBob music (don't ask!). We had a pretty fun (and pretty un-exciting) week together...
So, as I'm typing this I have two pups leeched onto me. Cash is in my lap and Rosie could not be laying closer to me if she tried. I'll admit that I'm a little worried about when we have a baby. These two are used to being the babies. They are snuggly and needy most of the day. Our friends Jon and Rachel watched them while we were at Disney (thanks, guys!) and Rachel said that a lot of the time she had both dogs PLUS both of her kids (a toddler and an infant) on her lap all at the same time. WHAT A TROOPER. And what a glimpse into my future. :)
p.s. We're not pregnant. Yet. Not officially trying. But it will probably be soon. Yikes.
Hahahahaha...
Okay, so even though I'm not active at all on it, I'm a member of Twitter, which is basically a place for short (140 characters or less) blogs. A place full of Facebook status updates, if you will. Much like Facebook, you have followers on Twitter, and people who follow you also. When you follow someone, their "tweets" show up in your feed. Even though I haven't tweeted in MONTHS, I still check in about once a day to see what people are talking about.
One of the people I follow is Ingrid Michaelson...she is one of my absolute favorite singer/songwriters and a pretty witty person (her blog is good for a laugh, too). One of her tweets made me laugh out loud today, so I thought I'd share it:
HAHAHAHAHAHA...no other words necessary... :)
One of the people I follow is Ingrid Michaelson...she is one of my absolute favorite singer/songwriters and a pretty witty person (her blog is good for a laugh, too). One of her tweets made me laugh out loud today, so I thought I'd share it:
what does corn really do for you? i mean...if it comes out exactly the same, how could it possibly be benefiting me nutritionally?
HAHAHAHAHAHA...no other words necessary... :)
Whoa...
I told my boss today that we're thinking about starting to try to have a baby.
That makes me freak a little bit, because it makes it real. Ahhhhh!
On a side note, A looked at me today during lunch and asked "Dinkin' what I'm dinkin'?" (Dinkin'=Thinking, FYI). Hahahaha...I love two year olds who memorize little catchphrases like that and then use them at inappropriate times. Hahahaha...
That makes me freak a little bit, because it makes it real. Ahhhhh!
On a side note, A looked at me today during lunch and asked "Dinkin' what I'm dinkin'?" (Dinkin'=Thinking, FYI). Hahahaha...I love two year olds who memorize little catchphrases like that and then use them at inappropriate times. Hahahaha...
Loss...
I should let you know first thing that this will be a fairly self-serving blog. A blog without many anecdotes but more for putting thoughts on the record...
My heart is breaking for people that I don't even know. Through a friend of mine on Facebook (actually a college friend of one of my best high school friends...follow?) I learned of a little girl, Cora, who just passed away this weekend from neuroblastoma. She was 11 months old, and they had no idea she was sick until just a few weeks before she passed. I read through her parents' entire blog, which started when Cora was born and ended with her ending her short battle with cancer, and just sat there and cried over this tremendous grief that these parents were going through.
I've been thinking about these parents so much for the past couple of days, today especially (the memorial service was this afternoon), wondering why God would allow something like this to happen and how they have managed to maintain such great faith through it all. After Cora was admitted to the hospital, they blogged nearly daily with both prayer requests and praises for the day...in the midst of such suffering they still managed to see God moving in their lives. They have clung to scripture, often posting meaningful verses, and have talked of the songs that have meant the most to them ("Mighty to Save" was one that was mentioned).
Scott and I are at the point where we're about ready to start a family, and this kind of stuff scares the crap out of me. How do you handle things like this? How do you keep going? I know the "right" thing to say (God is always faithful, God will see you through anything, God is the ultimate Comforter and Healer) and I know that all of those things are TRUE (undeniably so), but I'm still amazed at the faithfulness and steadfastness of this family. Even when you find yourself in a hole of despair, God is God, and He is always God, even when things seem terribly unjust.
*sigh* Thanks for letting me vent. I just needed to get some things out. And if you could remember the McClenahans in your prayers, I'm sure they would appreciate it. They've been cooped up in a hospital for awhile, so I'm sure now that the memorial service is over the feeling of loss may get worse before it gets better. But they are trusting in the LORD, and He will be faithful to them always.
Now go hug your kids -- if you have them...I hugged M & A a little tighter today... :)
My heart is breaking for people that I don't even know. Through a friend of mine on Facebook (actually a college friend of one of my best high school friends...follow?) I learned of a little girl, Cora, who just passed away this weekend from neuroblastoma. She was 11 months old, and they had no idea she was sick until just a few weeks before she passed. I read through her parents' entire blog, which started when Cora was born and ended with her ending her short battle with cancer, and just sat there and cried over this tremendous grief that these parents were going through.
I've been thinking about these parents so much for the past couple of days, today especially (the memorial service was this afternoon), wondering why God would allow something like this to happen and how they have managed to maintain such great faith through it all. After Cora was admitted to the hospital, they blogged nearly daily with both prayer requests and praises for the day...in the midst of such suffering they still managed to see God moving in their lives. They have clung to scripture, often posting meaningful verses, and have talked of the songs that have meant the most to them ("Mighty to Save" was one that was mentioned).
Scott and I are at the point where we're about ready to start a family, and this kind of stuff scares the crap out of me. How do you handle things like this? How do you keep going? I know the "right" thing to say (God is always faithful, God will see you through anything, God is the ultimate Comforter and Healer) and I know that all of those things are TRUE (undeniably so), but I'm still amazed at the faithfulness and steadfastness of this family. Even when you find yourself in a hole of despair, God is God, and He is always God, even when things seem terribly unjust.
*sigh* Thanks for letting me vent. I just needed to get some things out. And if you could remember the McClenahans in your prayers, I'm sure they would appreciate it. They've been cooped up in a hospital for awhile, so I'm sure now that the memorial service is over the feeling of loss may get worse before it gets better. But they are trusting in the LORD, and He will be faithful to them always.
Now go hug your kids -- if you have them...I hugged M & A a little tighter today... :)
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