took the kids to the park today for a picnic since their school is doing a long fall break weekend- it was absolutely crawling with kids and their caretakers. freaks me out to know that in all likelihood, one day that's going to be my life, not just my job. that more than anything tells me i'm not ready for motherhood haha. i think one of the girls was a nanny too, because she was thin and young with three kids under her care, one too small to even be out of its carrier, and she had no rings on her left hand. i wanted to ask her, but she was blonde with big sunglasses, and those kinds of women always intimidate me. guess it's a little bit of highschool lingering with me haha.

E (the girl twin i watch) is so fussy about getting messy. it's okay for her to get dirty, but if she can't get washed off when she wants to, watch out. she played in the stream and her feet were filthy, but she had to put her shoes back on to go play in the mulch, and she almost was in tears because she wanted to wash them off before she did but there was nowhere to do so. J (the boy) cried before we even left for the park because he couldn't find his pirate eyepatch to bring with him. it's funny how intensely upset kids get over the smallest things. thank goodness most people grow out of that.. though i do have some friends whose inner four-year-old comes out entirely too much, as i'm sure we all do!

i'm still having trouble meeting people here. i've been trying to use the internet, but most of the people are like 40+ minutes away, which is just a pain in the butt. plus their mom is uncomfortable with my meeting people offline (ah, the generation gap) so i'm trying to limit it. i've been here almost two months though, i'm ready to have some kinda friend base here. i've only met one guy more than once and we kinda had a thing going for a while, but i haven't heard from him in a few days and i have a feeling he's seeing someone else. ah well, what can you do.

well, snacktime calls.
later days.

So..

In an effort to help myself chronicle my experiences as a nanny as well as to inform anyone else who might be so inclined to bouts of random curiosity, I decided to create this blog.

I'm a twenty year old nanny working in the DC area on my first gig, trying to decide where to go from here- to college, to another entry-level "normal" job, or onward to another family who wants a secondary parent. When I first started here, it didn't seem like something I would ever wanted to do again, and I regretted my decision to leave everything and everyone I knew to live my life almost wholly with and for another family, but as time as gone by (I've been here almost two months) I've grown to like it. It may just be my ability to adapt to most any situation pretty quickly after a routine is established, but I don't think I'd mind doing this again, after I finish out my time here and take a summer off.

It's difficult to find a good balance between your personal discipline style and that of their parents, and to be working (albeit at different intensity levels) pretty constantly, but it's satisfying to see your relationship with both the children and your employers grow. And your bank account, haha. I haven't taken a position with a really well-off family so my wages aren't as amazing as they could be, but my bills are few, along with opportunities to spend, so it's working out nicely for me.