Chickens

Okay, so this doesn't really have anything to do with being a nanny, but if I wasn't nannying the girls, I never would have done what I did today, I'm sure.  Since I'm house-sitting for the family this weekend, I was being shown the "ropes" by the twins' older (7 yr old) sister, which included how to take care of the chickens.  So, two of them are not wanting to get off the nests, so they require a bit of nudging or being picked up and pulled out altogether, so they can have a few hours of running around in the yard.  Sweetie Pie was fine, a little push and she came out.  Sparkle, on the other hand, gave me a warning, threatening-sounding "baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak" as I reached for her.

Now, I've done a lot of "nature-y" things, like flipping over rocks to look for crabs, climbing around on the boulders at the beach, hiking steep woodsy trails, setting up camp, even backpacking in the Brooks Range in Alaska and having to wear a bug net over my face while trying to eat oatmeal for breakfast while there are mosquitoes getting stuck in it.  But I have NEVER reached for a chicken who is looking at me and saying "baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak" in a tone that makes me wonder if she will begin to pummel me with her hard, sharp beak.

Well, she made no move to injure me, so I rallied my courage and wrapped my hands around her, over her wings, surprised at how fluffy she was, and managed to pull her out off the nest.

Then "big sister" and I had a funny surprise - as soon as we started to walk away from the chicken coop, Sparkle ran willy-nilly across the yard with her wings sticking out precariously.  It was really funny!  She sort of waddle-ran at top speed across the grass, right past us and up onto the porch.  What a fun surprise, with me still feeling, I must admit, a tad proud of myself for the feat I'd just accomplished.
Thank you, Sparkle, for the show!  I'll be seeing you again soon.
So please don't hurt me.     : )

Outside Fun is the Best Fun

Ah, the great outdoors!  There's nothing better in my opinion, a great place for kids to play.  I should know, I grew up in it. (smile)

There's just no end to the possibilities when it comes to using your imagination, surrounded by trees and bushes, or on the beach, or by a stream, or in an open field under the bright sunshine.  Not to mention (though I'm mentioning it) the fresh air we need, as well as vitamin D and a chance to run off pent-up energy!
I loved the outdoors so much as a child, so now as a nanny I'll take any chance I get to have the kids experience that same adventure.  I'm fortunate to live in a place surrounded by nature!  There are dozens of community forestland trails here, as well as our fair share of rocky beaches.  Yes, sand is hard to come by here, but it is quite entertaining to throw rocks in the water and watch the area around the boat docking for seals!

I'm also lucky to nanny some kids who love the outdoors as much as I do!  (Not all of them, and not all the time, but more often than not.)  I only wish there were more warm, sunny days here (RAIN!! You can stop now!!)  or that the boys hadn't grown into their "I'd rather watch TV" phase.  I'm all for a great movie or show in the evenings, but it feels so much more rewarding and relaxing to me to enjoy a bit of TV if I've spent some time out and about and exerting some energy.  Being out in the warm air, and feeling it on your skin when the temperature begins to drop, and you finally feel that little shiver telling you it's finally time to go in.  Snuggle up with a blanket and put on your slippers, knowing that outside the walls of your snug house, there are trees rustling in the breeze, birds flying around singing, and the air is getting cooler still as the light changes with the approaching dusk.  Ahhh..... we all need to be aware of it all, the big world of nature.

Have a peaceful evening everyone, and get out tomorrow and enjoy God's beauty!

"Can I keep it?"

Surprise!!!

Well, I had definitely not planned to write another post this soon ... but, I got quite a surprise Monday afternoon.  The boys and their mom had a surprise of their own - two baby squirrels!  They seem to have fallen out of the big tree during a wind/rain storm the night before, and they brought them into the house to warm them up and take care of them.  I personally love squirrels, and I've never seen baby squirrels like this, with their eyes still closed and long skinny tails!  They are adorable, and the boys have gotten quite attached to them (some more than others) and are all doing a great job helping care for them.  This was an unexpected blessing for all involved!

(Now, what to do with them??  One of the boys REALLY wants to keep them .... )

Introducing Chuck and Squeak: 

March 23rd update: The baby squirrels are now at Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Here is a link to the website:  http://wolfhollowwildlife.org/

 

                                                         So cute when they're hungry!

Snuggles!

Deciphering

Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time around toddlers knows that you need to learn their language.  Sure, they most likely speak English, but it's more like "toddlerese".  Over the years I've learned to decipher some pretty interesting words.   Here is a sampling.

First off, there's the soft "fff" sound instead of sharp sounds like "dd" or "tt".
For example, if a dragon is a fagon and a trap is a fap, then a truck is a ..... yeah. That had to go, fast!

Other words I've come to understand in toddlerese:

"Tecknicky" (Technically)

"Nassaticks" (Gymnastics)

"Apopalips"  (Apocalypse)

"Toesswisssam" (Toast with jam)

and

"I'm attendy"  (I'm pretending)

Then, at times, the kids will amaze you with their perfect pronunciation of unexpected words.  For example, the 3 yr old who says "who dey" for "who's there" can say perfectly clearly the word "diagnosis."  Thank you, Doc McStuffins, for that one!

The baffling thing is, what on earth do you do when a toddler tells you something, and you just CANNOT understand the all-too-important bulk of their sentence?  They look at you with expectation and all you can say is something brilliant like "Really?" or "Okay", hoping they're not asking you if they can have/do something that you'll have to tell them no to later.  :)

Looking for bumblebees 

Fun Favorites

I love BOOKS!  I love buying books, I love reading books, I love giving books as gifts.  And I love it when the kids want me to read to them/with them.  There are some that they want to hear over and over again, both the boys and the girls.  So, this post is dedicated to those titles.  The ages of the kids that I nanny are 11, 9, 7, and 3 1/2, so there are a variety of titles.  Here is a fantastic sampling.  Enjoy!!

Happy Reading!!