Super Nanny Nikki

I've been working this summer as a nanny for three adorable little rugrats I am happy to call my next door neighbors. Hannah, Hunter, and Harlee. It's turned out to be quite the task! You see, unlike flipping burgers or filing papers, babysitting requires you to be a full-time superhero. First, you must grow an extra appendage (preferably an arm) so that you can pour milk on cereal, comb hair, and vacuum simultaneously (and maybe a fourth for tickling or shaking a warning finger). Then you have to battle near-death experiences around every corner. ("Get off, he can't breath! That Kool-Aid is on the edge of the counter!") And a super nanny must be prepared with Disney bandaids and coloring books at all times.

And sometimes you just have to have a sense of humor :) Like these:

• When I arrived at the house this morning, the door was slightly ajar and the kids were not in their usually spots on the couch watching cartoons. I let them sleep in and decided to surprise them with waffles. (Tangent: Is there anything better to wake up to than the smell of breakfast? I love Sunday mornings for that reason, beside the fact that the smoke detector is my alarm clock on that holy occasion. We have a ridiculously sensitive fire alarm that shouts at the hint of burnt toast, well-done eggs, or once even a hair dryer. I kid you not.) ANYWAYS... alone making waffles I kept hearing the house alarm system sound briefly several times and was starting to get slightly apprehensive. However, I finished three beautiful waffles and went to wake the kids up. Hunter...was not in his bed. Hannah...was not in her bed. Nor was Harlee. Anxiously, I suspected they must all be in their mother's bed, but when that too revealed no slumbering children I got worried. I whipped out my (superhero communicator aka) cell phone to call their mom and realized she'd sent me a text. The kids, it turns out, had slept over at our other next door neighbor's house. I scrambled over there and collected them. Whew!
• We arrived back at the house and the kids got ready while I ate a waffle all by myself since they had already eaten breakfast :( I told Hannah about the alarm system and she had no explanation. Just then, it went off again and she said, "That's the waffle iron! Your waffle is done." Oh...Nikki. So bright. Soooo bright. Right?
  
• After nannying, I had the opportunity to babysit 4 more of the cutest kids on the planet. A girl and a boy 6 and 4 and two toddler twins a boy and a girl 2 years old. They are angel kids, seriously. We painted wood things, ate pizza, and played in the backyard pretending we were lions. Little Madison, one of the twins, had a little plastic watering can full of sand and a cup which she filled up for me, I went to take it when instead she threw threw all the sand on me instead. I was totally caught by surprise :)
• Jack, the 4 year old, also sang a song for me about "Cow starts with H" I reminded him that Cow starts with C and he chastised, "Shh! I'm pretending!"

Have you ever read the Amelia Bedelia stories? I thought of her today amidst all my...moments, Hannah even dug out the book and we read them to each other. Honestly, some days I feel hopeless. Sometimes I feel brainless. But then there are those funny things that happen along the way, the times when you feel on top of everything, knowing that you might be affecting these kids for the good, (and the motivation of paying for college) that give you the push you need.

I can't wait to be a mom. Um...well I can wait obviously, but it's got to be the most incredible thing on earth (and of course in heaven to be with our eternal families). Hats off to all mothers, I've only gotten a taste of what you do, but it's definitely a job for superheroes!