The "Super Nanny" Bag!

Starting off with a cute little story - one day, when I took the girls to the library, we were in the activity room where another little girl was playing.  She must have asked if I was the girls' mommy, because I told her I was their nanny.  Well, she got a funny look on her face and said "Nanny?  You don't look like a nanny."  And it turns out the only concept of a "nanny" that she had was Mary Poppins.  Well, I do have a large bag that I carry with me, but I can't pull things out of it like lamps and houseplants!

No, I can't get those large sorts of things out of my bag, but it does come in very handy.  What I've done is made a large purse-style bag with five pockets on each large side (inside) and one pocket on one of the small sides (inside).  So, I made a list of anything and everything I thought a nanny might use/need throughout the day.  Here's a list that I came up with:

Batteries (AA and AAA), Bandaids, Neosporin, Tweezers, Candy, Krazy Glue, Pens, Pencils, Pencil Sharpener, Scotch Tape, Tissues, Gum, Scissors, Needle and Thread, Quarters, Crayons, Glue Stick, Comb, Wet Wipes, Hand Sanitizer, and Lotion.  The pocket on the side hold my own personal items like a hairbrush, chapstick, etc.

I'm sure that's not a complete list.  I'm sure I'll come up with more useful items!

The pockets aren't very big, so in the main part of the bag, there is plenty of room for snacks, a picnic blanket, books, spare clothes, a jacket or a blanket.

Now, I don't currently have all of these items in my "Super Nanny" Bag, but I have a good start.  Just the other day, tweezers would have come in handy (I don't have them in my bag yet) when one of the boys got a splinter.  I do have Krazy Glue, which I used when one of the other boys broke his wooden toy snake.

I felt like a hero! Nanny to the rescue!

I also used the needle and thread when the boys were exuberantly battling with mom's throw pillows.  A major no-no!  So there was an open seam with fluff sticking out, and I managed to sew it up rather quickly.

One never knows when any of these items will come in handy, so my goal is to have them at the ready.  I have plans to make improvements to my design as well - I will make a top flap for each pocket that will either velcro or button shut, so nothing falls out, and I will label each pocket so I know what's in each one.

It's a very simple design, easy to make, so anyone, feel free to "steal" my idea and make one for yourself!

Siblings

Ah, siblings.  One of life's most complicated relationships!!  "I love you" can turn into "you are the WORST person in my life!"  in a heartbeat. It's so great to see those (rare) moments when they are playing together completely peacefully, treating each other with complete respect and fairness and kindness.  Yes, they are rare!  Treasure those moments!
  Oh, to teach kids to treat their siblings the way they want to be treated .... it's not always easy.  And they know how to push each other's buttons, that's for sure.  They can tend to treat their siblings in a way that they'd never treat a friend.  (Egad!  Really?)
   And there is sharing laughter and inside jokes, memories, and toys (sharing toys??!! yes ...) and learning to treat others with respect and work out differences.
   Twins add another aspect to the whole "sibling" issue, as they will both be going through the same phases at the same time, and like to play with the same toys, being the same age. And at the age they are, things can be pretty touchy when it comes to "that's mine!!"
   Usually, the kiddos' interactions are a mixture of getting along and ... well, not getting along.   A little bit of both comes with the territory.

   You just know when you hear wailing, that one of the kids will coming running to you with the report that "he hit me!"  or some such thing.
   Which I follow with "why?  What happened?"
    -- "I don't know!  I didn't do ANYTHING!!"   (which is rarely true)

Although "I don't know" seems to be a perfectly valid reason for "why did you kick your sister?"  :P
   
   I love the pictures I managed to get of the boys, or the girls, while they were getting along great together and I managed to say, "hey, come sit together for a minute and I'll take your picture!"  They are some of the best photos.  (I always bring my camera, but it's not easy to get kids to take a break from playing to get their picture taken.)
 

We love playing ball together!  

Ugghhhh!!  My brother makes me so MAD!!  (Don't worry, this picture's posed.)

See?  I'm happy! 

I love my sister! 

Get off of that!!! I want it to be my turn!! 

It's great to capture these moments .... 

Reading a story to his brothers 

Sharing personal space (And headphones!! A miracle!!) 

Making silly faces 

Playing and laughing 

But it can all too quickly turn into .....  

You little pest!  I'll smack you!! 

(Yes, this one's posed as well.  The boys can be "hams") 

No!  I won't stand with her!  I want my OWN picture!! 

Don't worry, though.  More often than not, in 20 minutes (or less if the kids are younger) they'll be 

right back to playing together again.  When it all comes down to it, they really do love each other 

and don't like to be apart.  

Ah, the ups and downs of Nanny Land.....

Till next time!  

Enjoy!  

Flag Spotters

While driving from the twin's house into town one day, I really NOTICED the huge American flag flying at the car dealership.  It's always been there, but for some reason - maybe because it was so sunny and breezy out - I'd never really noticed it in particular until this day.  So I pointed it out to the girls.

"What is it?" they asked.

The American flag, I told them.  We live in America.

I guess they'd never really thought about it before, or been made aware of it, young as they are.  Then they really wanted to know who lived in America.

"Do we live in America?"

Yes, you do.

"Do you live in America?"

Yes, I do.  America is a big place.  It's a big country.  It's our country, and we love America.  We want to keep it a nice place.

Well, they couldn't agree more with that idea!  That started the game of "how many American flags can we see while we drive around town?"

We ended up seeing no less that 16 American flags of various sizes around our little town that day.  We even got to see one up close!

This just goes to show, even the littlest thing, like pointing out a flag, can turn a regular day into an unforgettable day!  We even found a little tye-dyed teddy bear at this thrift shop with an American flag stitched on his belly, and now he lives in my car.  The girls still notice that enormous flag flying at the car dealership, by the way, and they'll still break into mini-versions of our "flag spotters" game.  Good times!