Call me Miss Linzie

It's Friday, and oh how I have been looking forward to this day for what seems like most of the week! Just a few hours left in the day and I will have officially completed my first week as a Nanny. They call me 'Miss Linzie'. It's kinda cute. I'd much rather be called 'Miss Linzie' than 'Nanny' or 'Dude', which they seem to use a lot. This week has actually flown by. It is somewhat nice to have a schedule, because it gives me a little something to look forward to. I know I have to wake up at 6:00am (though I don't really look forward to that part) and that the girls have to get on the bus at 7:30am. Then I have a few household chores, like starting the laundry and making the beds. Some mornings, I try to make the beds while the girls are putting on their clothing. I like getting everything done so that I can relax. Sara, the youngest one gets home from half-day kindergarten at 12:00. We fix lunch together and sit down and talk about her day. Then she is supposed to work in workbooks or do a learning game on the computer, but sometimes I just let her play with her barbies or dance to Hannah Montanna in her room. Sara is a very smart girl. She is 5 years old and when we play this trivia game after dinner, she usually gets the answers faster than the older two. Natalie and Jessica get homeat 3:30. Sara and I sit on the porch 30 minutes before and enjoy the sunshine while we wait for the bus to come. They are normaly starving and hit the pantry for a snack when they hit the front door. Then it's homework time. And after that-play time. The girls most always want to go outside. It's difficult going outside. It's not how I grew up and I'm not sure how to "play" outside with this small yard and limited space. We've been taking walks around the block amost every night. Jessica got Heely's (skate shoe thingy's) for her birthday last month and the other two normally ride their bikes. I'm already growing tired of the "walk around the block". The parents always suggest a walk around the block as if they were going to take them, and then look at me and say "Would you mind walking them a few times around the block to burn off some of this excitement?". But, it never works. The excitement only grows after setting foot outside. After play time is shower time and this is my most dreaded time of the day. The shower has two shower heads and so we stick Natalie and Sara in the shower and Jessica in the bath tub. When Natalie and Sara are together I can hardly control them. On Wednesday night, after being splashed with water over and over and screaming naked bodies running in and out of the shower (and me not being able to spank them!) I finally had to call for the mother, Lori, and ask if I could finish dinner while she finished bathing them. It's a difficult task, to shampoo and condition three kids at the same time. One is screaming because she has shampoo in her eye and the other is screaming because the other one looked at her while she was naked. I haven't figured out a good system to this madness yet, but instead of me putting shampoo and conditioner on their heads I've been pouring it in their hands and letting them do it by themselves. Hopefully soon they'll be able to take showers by themselves and I won't lose all of my hair! Finally, it's dinner time. This routine is rather difficult too, because rarely will everyone like the food on their plate and thus can cause many screaming, kicking, crying fits. Wednesday night I cooked lasagna and let the girls help. Everyone ate that night and I was super excited! I think it helped that they saw what went in the food and wanted to eat it because they helped make it. Alas, it's 8:00 and I tuck the girls in bed and shut the door to my room until the next day! Ahh...what a week.

" "Going of to find yourself" was the standar interpretation. I don't think that is really our point. We are shaped by our experiences. Our perception of job, fear, pain, and beauty are sharpeneed or dulled by the way we rub against time. My senses have become dull and this trip is an effort to sharpen them."-Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller