gone are the days when i can leave isabella to play quietly by herself.
oh, no. this girl is trouble. you can’t turn your back for more than a second.
this is one thing i miss about having a nanny. not just the extra set of hands during that 4-8 crunch time when the kids are hungry and creanky…but the extra set of eyes.
someone to watch Isabella to make sure she doesn’t stick Daddy’s collar stays (you know those metal thingy-s that you put into collars on shirts to make the collars stay down??? well, the husband has an entire box of them…and Isabella sure loves ’em!) into the electrical sockets.
someone to make sure Isabella doesn’t attempt to walk up the steps in Joshie’s shoes.
someone to make sure she doesn’t unroll an entire roll of toilet paper and dump it all in the toilet.
someone to make sure she doesn’t ingest any of Emily’s lite-brite pieces.
someone to make sure she doesn’t find a tiny hole in our down comforter and stick her wee fingers in and pull out all the filling.
and this was all in the last week.
today she trumped them all.
i went upstairs to take Joshie up to play Lego on the computer. his 30 minutes of computer a day. he was so excited. Emily was enjoying Zach and Cody a little bit too much to have actually heard her mother when she asked that she keep an eye on her little sister while i was gone. oh no. too much to ask.
when i came down it was quiet.
suspiciously quiet.
as i walked into the kitchen i worried about what i’d find.
she had pulled my stool up against the island, climbed up and i found her left arm elbow deep into our economy-sized peanut butter jar and her left arm painting her face in Skippy. she was incredibly pleased with herself.
she smiled. pulled her hand out. took one look at them and yelled
"mommy! mess! need wipe!"
yes, bella, we need about 12 wipes to clean that mess.
my new nanny starts on sunday morning. just in time, i’d say!
song of the day: Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus:
video of the day: The Evolution of Dance. it’s an oldie but a goodie. (if you haven’t seen it, watch the whole thing…it starts to get really good at about the 2 minute mark)
come say hi at Cheaper Than Therapy. all the cool kids are doing it 🙂
i didn’t say i had it so hard. i said i could use an extra set of eyes on isabella because she’s a bit of a monkey right now.
(i meant that i don’t judge other peoples’ choices in terms of child care. or whether they work or stay at home. but i would never attack another person in a comment. why would i? that’s just plain rude. people disagree with me all the time. lots of people have opinions that are different than mine. i just don’t appreciate the comments when they come in in an attack-y way. there’s just no reason for it.)
of course i “survived” – just because i have a nanny to help me when i go to work and when i come home from work…i still have plenty of time when i have the kids and i have to juggle things. i wasn’t complaining. i was saying that it’s certainly easier to have 4 eyes watching instead of 2. does that not make sense to you? i’m not saying “woe is me, my life it tough” i try not to do that on the internet.
First of all, you put your life on the internet- by doing that you’re saying you can handle both the good and the bad comments. It’s part of the deal. Second, you don’t judge people? Please. That’s like saying you don’t eat. Everyone judges, but some people can admit it, other don’t seem to be able to.
Now, your story WAS cute and funny. And if you were talking about looking forward to having your new nanny because you were having trouble with daytime childcare, I would totally understand, even sympathize. Every mother deals with that. I drop my younger kids off at a baby sitter, you have a nanny. It works for you, that’s fine. But your comment wasn’t about childcare during work. It was about having someone watch your kids when you’re at home, and that’s what I found “funny.” I never said I was perfect. But after I pick up my kids (I have 5), I still have to do all the things you expect of your nanny, such as dishes, laundry, cleaning, plus watch my own kids. So you really don’t have it so hard.
Hope you survived to Sunday.
i knew there would be a post like this.
whatever…i was trying to tell a funny story about my kid.
yes, i have a nanny. could i live without one? certainly. i manage to do just fine when i’m on my own. but, i DO work three jobs and one of them is full time – i’d be pretty poor if i had to have all three of them in daycare. having a nanny makes sense for me and my family and our needs. it’s not so for others. unlike you, i don’t judge what others do.
you try giving me a good solution for what to do while i’m working my three jobs. shall i drop them off at your place, Julia? since you are so capable?
Why, why, why must we judge each other so harshly? I highly doubt any of us can sit on a high horse and claim to be perfect. Or anywhere close for that matter. There is no shame in admitting you can’t do it all or need help. Martyrdom does not a good mother make. Let’s just please remember that this community respects diversity. That’s why we’re here.
Funny- most parents cope with 3 kids all by themself without depending on a nanny to raise their kids… Are you going to make it all the way to Sunday?!?
I would have thrown up everywhere! I hate the smell of peanut butter more than anything in the world.
ewww peanut butter is disgusting to clean up.when my oldest daughter was 3 (day after birthday)i caught her with the ketchup bottle painting!carpet,couch,walls…and she was so proud of herself i couldn’t get mad….the other 2 girls like to make things.you wouldn’t believe what they get into.
Perhaps Isabella’s behaviour has something to do with being the third child? My baby seems to get into everything and I don’t remember my other two being that “bad”. If someone leaves anything remotely messy within her reach, you can bet she’ll get her hands on it and proceed to smear it on herself, on the walls, on the cupboards… then when she’s caught she either gives you the evil eye or a sinister smirk. The bugger’s only 17 months old!