Home is Where ever I'm with you...

This is the type of video that not only makes us nod our head while googling the song, but also gives us an amazing look at parenting. This is a newly single dad of two little girls. He sings with her every night as a means to ease the pain of divorce for his child while building and bond and giving her tools and passion. On Ellen he said “his house has four guidelines: Family, Community, Art, and Music.” I can’t think of a better way to raise a child. I’m so grateful that my friend shared this video with me. I hope you pass it on.

Click here to learn more about Jorge and Alexa.

Click here to see more videos of them.

And here to hear the original song!

Lily Starts School Today...

Lily started school today. As a nanny, you may not think this bothers me. You may even think I would come to work and say “Less work for me. Only one baby.” But instead my heart sank and I almost cried. I started with Lily when she was teetering around and now she’s at Mommy’s Morning Out with her elmo backpack and a whole group of new friends. She is becoming a big kid. I can’t even imagine how hard this is for actual parents. I can’t wait to hear about her day at school. I hope she has a blast. That’s all.

Amazing Pictures.

My friend sent me an email this morning of ridiculous parenting pictures. Here are some of my absolute favorites.

Thanks, Dude.

I’m a bad, bad blogger. I didn’t post anything for Father’s Day. I’m Sorry. I’m sure the tie-shaped-cards found their way. I hope. Any who, I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who stops by NannyKiki. There are readers in over 10 countries!! I am beyond myself. I promise more posts ASAP.

Again, Thank you!!!!

Sunscreen + Pig tails = Summer fun!

It’s summertime! And Lily finally has enough hair for pig tails! The only problem with this, is sunburns. Up until recently I thought she would either have to wear a hat or have greasy sunscreeny hair. Or no pig tails. Her mother and I found a product from Baby Blanket at the store. (They sell a scalp sunscreen that is 45+.) But I, personally, strongly dislike it. It must have been made for bald babies. The pump is pointless because it comes out heavy anyway.  And it is extremely greasy. But after some experimenting I found that, the sunscreen with the longest name, Banana Boat® UltraMist® Sport Performance™ Clear Spray Sunscreen was the best I could find. While it slightly resembles hairspray, it’s clear and non-greasy. It leaves the hair looking normal and protects those sweet potatoes heads. Now Lily is free to have all kinds of “princess hair” through out the summer. 

*After posting this I realized that younger children may still need "baby sunscreen". Here is another option for sensitive skin. Coppertone WaterbBabies Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 and remember, doctors don't recommend sunscreen or sun for babies under the age of 6 months! :)

WubbaNub Wonders

WubbaNub Infant Toy Pacifier is brilliant. Or at least it sounds brilliant. Today, over coffee, I was talking to my friend Haley. She is a nanny as well and we love to meet up with the kids when we can. A nanny date. I had Dolly with me and I was telling Haley how she can’t seem to hold the pacifier. She wants it but her tongue automatically kicks it out of her mouth. Haley told me that one of her family members had used this product and loved it. It looks perfect! Dolly will be able to hold the animal while soothing herself with the pacifier. You can choose from a large variety of animals. I will be telling Dolly’s mom about it ASAP, but wanted to make sure I shared the information with you!

Have any of you used a WubbaNub before?


 **I had some responses concerning the possible long-term issues with WubbaNubs. Some people are against pacifiers in general. Both the dependence on something that externally soothes and the future orthodontic worries are sound arguments. Or even the possibility that the child may become attached and you now have a toddler with a toy hanging out of its mouth. I believe, like most things, it’s a personal choice. WubbaNubs, or pacifiers in general, may not be for you but I wanted to post them just in case the readers that love pacifiers were looking for options. Thank you so much for your feedback! The more this blog becomes interactive the better! It takes a village… or world wide web community.

No Pictures Please!

Recently, my friends baptized their baby boy. The father’s side of the family lives in New York and naturally; most of his family had not seen the baby yet. They took this opportunity to fly the 3,000-and-some miles to see Charles’ 4 moths old. He is cute. Damn cute. Because of the churches schedule the Baptism was at 2pm. I thought that this may be a rough time for the 4-month-old given that it is directly in the middle of prime napping time... I walked into this worried. But its one day. How bad could it be?

Bad.

There may have been 30 family members. The baby was being passed around, much to the mother’s dismay, and photos were constant. The baby HATED the flashes but the family continued. It’s just a crying baby and this moment won’t happen again. I get it. But soon the baby started to turn bright red on his arms and legs. So bad, some assumed that he was sun burned. I wondered how a baby could be so sun burned but I figure it was best to stay out of the way. I’ll see the family again soon and this is more of a family moment. Afterward, everyone harped on the mother, begging her to wake the baby so they could see him. She was completely overwhelmed and trying to be a people-pleaser but knew the baby hated every minute. After a while she pried him out of the Mother-in-laws arms. Charles caught on and whisked her and the baby up stairs.

A few days later, Jeff came home from work and said that Charles and his wife had to take the baby to the emergency room the day after the Baptism. He had broken out in a rash and hives of some sort. After every test in the book, and stressing the parents out beyond belief, the doctors gave Charles a topical cream and said the baby was just over whelmed. It went away in a few days and everything was fine but it really made me more aware of these situations. Babies will tell us how they feel.  Their bodies are tiny and they are overwhelmed easily. And mothers do know best! I wanted to share this just so that everyone hears a story like this and keeps in it the back of their mind and maybe even help some mothers feel more confident in their gut instincts.

Friday Night with the Girls

It’s been a while since I just told a funny story so I thought I’d share my Friday night with you guys.

 

I have been annoying ill for the last 6-8 weeks on and off. But Thursday through Sunday was exceptionally rough for me. I had promised Lily and Dolly’s parents that I would baby-sit for them all day Friday since their friends were in town. So from 9am until midnight I was there as promised. Coughing my brains out. So by the time their friends showed up at 6pm I was ready to get out of the house. I, in my disillusioned mind, asked to take the girls out for dinner. Lily is almost 3 and Dolly is 4 months. Lily kept saying she wanted to go to “The Dolphin” so her father gave me directions. After prying Lily away from every toy in the house we were finally in the car and on our way. We pulled up to “The Dolphin” which is actually the Bluewater Grill, a nice restaurant on the water in the South Bay. I almost choked. Me and 2 babies, at nice restaurant, during feeding time. Dear Lord. As I was getting the girls out of the car, my favorite work jeans split. Ok. Well, that seems about right. I called my boyfriend and begged him to drive as fast as humanly possible to the restaurant with jeans and save me. We had a 3o minute wait and by the time he got there we were all at our ends. Dolly had been given her bottle but had no desire to take her nap and Lily was hungry and seriously tempted by the elevator in the corner. After a quick change we were led to our table. Waitresses crowded around, telling us how beautiful "our" babies were asking questions like, “What’s their sign?” J had no idea what to do with himself. He was nervous and shocked by the amount of attention two pretty little girls can get. Literal crowds were forming as we ordered as quickly as possible and shuffled the girls back and forth, keeping the peace. And then my favorite onlooker came. The hostess came up to tell us that her brother was sitting near by with his two little boys that she was now marrying our girls off to. J was floored. Why in the world do people feel so comfortable talking to people with babies?? I had to explain to him that it’s always better to nod and smile. (See The Awkwardness) And then in the middle of our dinner the sister-in-law actually came over to meet our two little babies to see who her future daughters would be. We smiled and made light conversation. All the while realizing this night was the best form of birth control either one of us could have brought to the table. After our meal, J helped me put Lily in the car as I secured an exhausted Dolly. I kissed him goodbye and we all went on our way. The girls were in PJs and asleep within 15 minutes of getting home. All in all the night was a success and eventually J and I would love to have healthy pretty little girls of our own… but for now... we’re good.

Tiger Mom.. I'm with you.

What I’m about to say may be taken wrong, but before everyone clicks the X at the top of your screen, have patience and hear me out.

I was catching up on my Real Time with Bill Maher episodes this weekend, and I saw a brief but enlightening interview with Tiger Momma Amy Chua. I have only heard horrible things about her. Things like she calls her children garbage. Which is a lie. In fact, Kevin’s mom released a fiction novel into the Asian community at the same time that the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom was released. Majority of her press revolved around Amy Chua questions in which she hated and ran from. In my opinion she probably would have sold more books if she answered those questions and maybe it was even a cosmic way of the world telling her she needed to read that book.  ANYWAYS… There is something to be said about her outlook on raising a child. I’m not saying it’s “right” or the “only way” but I’m saying that I agree with her in the aspect that children of this generation seem to have an unwarranted amount of self-confidence and self-esteem. They are beyond proud of themselves before they even accomplish something. That is assuming they actually find it necessary to accomplish something at all. Achievement needs to come before self-esteem. I’m not sure if it’s the guilt of a dual working parent situation or if it’s just people afraid of their kids crying but it’s a freaking mess. Yes, a FREAKING MESS! Her point was eloquently put when she said something along the lines of “you can’t play Mozart if you can’t play in tune”. There has to be a balance between letting your children be creative and “who they are meant to be” and be disciplined. They have to learn respect, manners, and work ethic. Otherwise what kind of world will we have in 30 years? Not one that I want to live in.

As you all may know, I spend my mornings with a 5 year old, and every day before 8am I “hate” at least 4-5 things. Today I couldn’t even bare to speak in the child’s home because I was nauseated by how the mother was allowing her daughter to treat me. When she finally got to school she was rude to the teacher, who was trying to be as nice as possible. I took Catherine aside and said “Look, that was mean. You can’t ignore people. If you want to be known as the sweet, nice, polite girl you actually have to act sweet, nice, and polite. You can’t ignore people and be rude.” I told her to spend the day working on saying please, thank you, and no thank you and to think about treating people the way she wants to be treated. I really wanted to walk out of the job and never ever come back. In fact even my beloved Lily will say "Look KiKi! I'm so good at this! I'm so good!" all day regardless of what she is doing or how she is doing it.

My mother used to say things like “I love you but that doesn’t mean I have to like you.” and “If you don’t like me it means I’m doing my job.” I HATED her for those comments but now I see how right she is. I’m picking up a copy of Amy Chua’s book this week.

I included the interview below in case any of you are curious. ☺

Mabel's Labels

I was watching The View today and they did a little segment on what’s hot for the summer. One of the things caught my attention: Mabel’s Labels. Mabel’s Labels sells personalized wristbands that look similar to hospital bracelets or bar bands (What?! They do!).  They website lists several other types of labels available, as well. But the wristbands are water proof and can be designed to list allergies, phone numbers, and more. These are great for field trips, beach days, days at Disney World, and summer camp. I highly recommend you check it out!

Oh Hay Stranger!

I've come to realize that children have a sixth sense. They can spot a child lover a mile away. Erasing all normal fears and limitations.


This weekend my sister was in town. She was shocked by the car seats in the back of my Ford Escape. She had heard they were there but I guess it's different when you actually see a booster seat and a car seat in the back of your single little sisters car. But that was nothing compared to lunch in Malibu. Out of nowhere a little boy, Anthony (probably 21 months old), decided that we should be best friends. He later decided that we should share my chair. I humored the little boy, saying hello and hi repeatedly, but my sister made a cardinal mistake when she actually told the Malibu Mom that I was a nanny. The mom completely stopped even calling out the little boys name. So, after practicing colors and I taught him how to rip open a packet of sugar. Bon Voyage!

P.S. My sister told me I was wrong to show him how sugar comes out of a sugar packet but I have no regrets.

Sh*t My Kids Ruined . Com

http://shitmykidsruined.com/

I can not get enough of this site. So, I thought I would share. Be prepared to waste at least a solid hour clicking through photos of disasters children have left behind.

Favorite Things - Video Baby Monitor

When I first posted a few of my favorite things I asked for people to let me in on their must haves. I received responses with a few amazing products. The Sleep Sheep is one of my favorites but the product that I should have listed all along was the video baby monitor! This invention has saved so many mothers and nannies from opening the door at the wrong moment and ruining the likes of naptime. Of course we want to be able to see that everything is ok. Just hearing snoring or nothing at all makes us stand with the monitor up to our ear like a telephone and has lost parents hours of sleep. Quiet Sounds has a monitor available for $139. It’s really all you need, but it you are tech savvy or maybe overprotective and want a TV screen sized image of your baby sleeping those are available as well. Finally, spy gear used for a practical purpose! I suggest buying a video baby monitor at a well-known chain, such as Target. This way if it has any glitches you can have the comfort of amazing customer service.

The Awkwardness...

 

It happens all the time; people on the street, and even in gymboree,  think that I’m a young mother. I’m a small white girl in my mid-twenties walking around a nice neighborhood with a 2-year-old matching baby. We both have brown hair and green eyes so naturally people assume that I am Lily’s mother. But it’s not limited to Lily; I had the same conversations while with Kevin, an Asian baby. I think the main thing is that people have a stereotype of what a nanny looks like and frankly I’m not it. So, what do I do in these awkward moments? Well, usually I just go with it. 

If the person is someone you are only going to see for a few minutes, some times it’s not worth correcting them and then being asked your life story or making them feel awkward. Obviously, it would be creepy to take on a child as my own in some pretend world but when it comes to a grandmother at the playground talking about how she is so glad to see a mom at the play ground when all she normally sees is “day workers”… it’s better to smile and nod.

Show Me The Money

Working as a part-time nanny poses many hurdles. I would argue that the number one hurdle revolves around money.  For some unknown reason, at least to me, parents that work with “part-time” nannies are always trying to pull a fast one; whether they are aware of it or not. Here is my personal example.

I have been working with Lily’s family for over a year and a half now. When I met them Lily was about 13 months old and just learning to run around. I see them 3 days a week, every week, and have done numerous overnights with Lily. In all of this time, I have never been offered a raise. Yes, I did receive a little extra money for Christmas both years and a Starbucks gift card on my birthday but no raise. I never really expected one until baby number two came along.

Last summer, I started to feel like something was up. I mentioned the awkwardness and was told they loved me and everything was fine. A few weeks later, infant socks were on the counter and then one day a sonogram was floating around. I had a full on panic attack. I thought maybe they weren't telling me because they were thinking of firing me, or maybe they just wanted to wait until she was past the first trimester. I’ve never had a child; I don’t know how this “I’m having a baby!” thing works?! They decided to finally tell me in August when Lily’s mom was visibly 6 months pregnant . Mainly because family was coming in town for Lily’s birthday and they knew the cat would crawl out of the bag. I acted surprised.

You would think that the “we’re having another baby for you to watch” money conversation would happen soon after that, but no. It finally happened 2 weeks ago after I had watched both babies together and was not paid for it. I brought it up to Lily’s mother and she said they were trying to figure it out. I was patient. They finally decided on a $2 raise for the hours that I had both children. I basically said I thought that was ridiculous in the nicest way possible. and then came home and cried to my boyfriend. (Super mature, I know.) I’m scheduled to watch both kids next week… I really have no idea what I will be paid.

Here’s the truth: I’m AWFUL with money conversations. I avoid them all the time. My advice is to have these conversations with all of the “what if’s” when you first get started. Possibly avoiding all of the nonsense that I am currently caught in the middle of.

I love this family dearly but I feel a lack of respect at the end of the day. I have spent countless hours with Lily. I introduced Lily to her baby sister. We have recently put a car seat in my car for her and added chores into my routine. In any profession you would expect some form of a raise within a year and a half, especially if the work load doubles. Parents working with part-time nannies tend to play on the guilt of how expensive everything else is. But you must be strong!!

The moral of the story comes down to advice from You’ve Got Mail, or The Godfather depending on whom you are talking to: IT’S NOT PERSONAL IT’S BUSINESS!

So, take it to the mattresses. Get down to business. Be bold. But playing nice with these situations never gets you very far. Trust me.
 

*And for the parents out there, try to do the math. Put yourself in your nannies shoes or at least ask yourself how much your peace of mind is worth.