I am all "pooped" out!

Hello Wonderful World!

This week's topic will make you want to have a million children and totally gross you out...

get excited!  We're talking about...POOP... YAY! :D

"Say whaaaaat?"

Oh boy, where do I even begin on such a delightful topic....

first of all, the word "poop" is quite funny.  Just say it...POOP. hehe! (as my lil' childish side giggles delightfully!)  Seriously though, who came up with such a word?

So, I need help from all Mommies, Babysitters, and other Nannies out there...

does anybody else care for kiddos that are like...obsessed with poop?  Ok, let me back up..."obsessed" might be a little exaggerated.  I don't know if it's a "boy" thing, if it's a "2-4 year old" thing, or if I have just been blessed with extra special children to nanny for...haha!  I deal with so much "shit" in one day (literally and not literally) it's exhausting!  I grew up in a household full of boys....I  nanny for a household full of boys...even my pets are boys, and I live with a boy!  And let me tell you something....boys are smelly and gross:) -i say that with much love of course-

Where does this fascination of "poo" and "doo doo" come from?

Let's start with the wonderful book...

"Everybody Poops"

I think this is a fantastic book buuuut....

Gross:)  AND did you know there are many other wonderful "poo" books out there in our world?!

Here's a few that I found...

There are probably a million other books out there but I will stop there for now:)

Seriously though guys, my day is filled with farts, burps, "boooogers", poop, and so much more!

By the end of the day my lil' "barbie-self" is so grossed out and sick of this "crap" (hehe) fo' real!

How I put up with it...I dunno.  But I do..."doo doo doo"....*sigh*

Poor Barbie Mandi...at least I keep that smile on my face though and still look fab!

 haha!

Everything with the boys right now is, "I pooped", "Ohhh hey Maaandi! Come look at this poop!", "You're a poop head!", "Do cows poop?!"....I could go on and on.  Everything is Poop, Poop, Poop.  What the crap?  I just don't get it!

Is it because Miles is going through potty training?  And everything about the "potty" is interesting right now...including bodily functions?

I mean, I guess we DO clap, cheer, and sing out of joy when he does use the potty.

Maybe he thinks that "pooping" is fun?  And a wonderful thing?  (I mean..it definitely isn't a 'bad' thing and can be quite wonderful I suppose, but that's besides the point!) 

Maybe it's just so darn fun to push the handle down and watch it go down the potty?

Maybe everybody just wants to escape to the wonderful lil' bathroom heaven each day just for a few minutes to read a good book? (speaking of which...I have never read on the potty and don't understand why people do...maybe I need to try it sometime? :) )  However, that is what a library is for....

And last of all...I guess it's just natural and I really shouldn't complain.

There's worst things in the world...right?  However, poop is so nasty!

Whoever invented it is totally "craaaay".

Even for the older boys in our world....

who doesn't love "Mr. Hanky and the Christmas Poop" from South Park?  I mean...I'm pretty sure they even have a song about him.  Goodness gracious!

Because of the kiddos I have had quite a few not so wonderful experiences with poop...

I will not go into detail because it's so close to dinner time.  But man!  Come on!  What is this "shit"?!

Let's just say...sometimes diapers don't totally do their job.  Or sometimes the potty might get missed.

Or sometimes, just sometimes you might want to touch it.  OR the best of all...sometimes it's just fun to take a nice big ol' dump in the bathtub during bath time.  *sigh* that is my favorite.  Once again...what the "crap" is with all this "shit".  I don't get it and I'm NOT ok with it.  But, I guess I have to deal with it and at the end of the day we learn the true moral of this story and it is the fact that......

SHIT HAPPENS

Peace and Much Love!

Miss Mandi...the Nanny:)

And Ps. I need to teach Brodie how to do this....

Then I'd have one less "shit" to worry about during the day ;)

One Love

HAPPY Belated VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

"Oh, Good Grief!"

The boys and I had the BEST v-day this year. 
They were the best dates a gal could ask for...let me tell ya ;)
I had to nanny them all day/evening this year so we jam packed the day with all sorts of Valentiney things.

I got them a bag full of toys and goodies (I found the cutest lil' bags at Dollar General and stuffed them full!)
We started our morning off with presents, pink pancakes with heart shaped chocolate chips, and the movie, "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown".  Then their Momma came home and took them to a party at Owen's school where they got even more treats and goodies:)  They are very loved to say the least and were on the biggest sugar high all day.  Oh boy...

In the afternoon I came back over to their house and we decorated special Valentine's for people we love.  For dinner I made them spaghetti with heart shaped garlic toast and then we ended the evening all snuggled up in jammies watching The Jungle Book (which the boys loved!).  It was a very successful vday...full of fun, laughter, and so much love! 

Here's some pictures for everybody...enjoy!

Aww...the boys got me a present!

And I got them lots of presents :)

Happy Boy

Owen!

What's the way to a boy's heart on vday?
BATMAN!!!!

And candy!

Lil' cheeser!  He's such a lil' ham:)

Miles showing the Toy Story Characters his new Percy Train

And the boys know the way to a woman's heart...jewelry and..

Chocolate!!!

"must eat...caaaandy"

Yum!

pink pancakes?!

well...ok! :)

hmm...Pink pancakes?!

My favorite V-day treat! Wine, Flowers, and a Pink Candle!

Of course the wine, flowers, and candle all came after my looong day of nannying when I got home, thanks to Ben!  He made a delicious dinner as well.  What a good lil' Valentine!  Overall, the perfect day :)

And Ps. Owen wouldn't eat the pink pancakes because "Pink is a girl's color..and I am NOT a girl".  *sigh* Yep, Owen's a dude..through and through :)

We hope everybody had a lovely vday as well!

Hugs and much love,
Miss Mandi the Nanny

The Things Being A Nanny Has Taught Me...

All so very cliche but all so very true!
And for about 95% of my day I will look like this....

I cannot believe it but I have been a nanny for a year and a half now...
and the things I have learned, whew!...lemme tell ya!  Kids are crazy!
Fun...but crazy and SUPER messy:)

Pretty sure this is Miles on a typical day:)

It has by far been the most rewarding job I have ever had though.  I love every moment of it but it has definitely started to put some wear and tear on this ol' gal :)  Am I really getting THAT old?  Yikes!


I hope this isn't me yet...

Grandma Mandi?
"Nooo...I'm still young and fun...right?!"

Time truly goes by way too quickly and it's been so much fun watching these kiddos grow up and go through the many stages of life.  I still have to say my favorite age is between 6months-2 years though.  Anything before that just makes me nervous and anything after that...well, they just get sassy and beat up on me ;) haha!

Owen just turned 4years old a few weeks ago and he is all attitude and has a mind of his own.
And Miles, my sweet lil' gerber baby will be turning THREE in April!  Where did the cute lil' babies go?!  Must be time to find a new family with new babies;) haha juuust kidding.  Kinda;)

"Hey Lady..wanna be my nanny? Yeah, I'm lookin' atchu!"

When I went into this nanny thing I thought, "I got this...this is going to be sweet!  Getting paid to go to the park, color, and play all day!  No biggie."  And, don't get me wrong...we do all those things and so much more (and I swear I'm more of a kid than they are half the time and play twice as hard as they do) buuuut...there's a lot of discipline, hard work, and responsibility that comes with it all.  I also try to make sure that we have many educational experiences too and that we stay busy.  I refuse to be that babysitter who just turns on the tv (although we do watch a lot of Disney and Pixar movies...how can we not?! They are so cute!).  So, at the end of the day I am completely tuckered out.

So much for being the "Mary Poppins" I thought I could be....the kiddos have taught me that I am not perfect.  I am not Super Woman.  And, I really can't do it all.

Mandi= practically perfect in every way?! (dream on sista!)

In my mind I'd like to believe I AM Mary Poppins....except maybe a lil' more 'hip' and better clothes ;)
I mean, who doesn't like to talk to birds and fly around by just using an umbrella?!  Right?

creepy:)

weeee!!! haha!

 In reality this is me by the end of the day...

Please, just one hour of sleep?!

Sooo maybe I'm not Mary Poppins....I am just a normal college girl trying to get through these confusing (oh my god I'm a grown up and what the heck is gonna happen next) years.  

Speaking of which, I started UMKC in January and my schedule is CRAZY busy! (as if it wasn't before?!)
I LOVE UMKC and truly think it's the perfect fit for me...but it is pretty exhausting.  It feels so wonderful being back on a "real" campus again though and working towards that gosh darn degree! 

***side note: I have a paper due for my class on Friday and instead of working on it I decided to blog instead:) oops!  And I will wonder why I'm so stressed out and mad on Friday morning.  I really shouldn't procrastinate:) Maybe I really didn't learn much my first few years at college...haha!***

Anyways, working part time, nannying full time, and taking 8 hours is insane (there's no way I could do 'full time' plus I am paying for everyting outta pocket which is awful financially.  It really is practically impossible....-note to self: hello student loans in the Fall!-)  I don't sleep...like...EVER.  It's silly.  But, it's what I gotta do for now until things settle down.  I want that degree...I want to keep nannying...and I need to keep my part time job.  I don't really have too many options at the moment.  However, I will keep dreaming for the day everything in life is FREE or I win the lottery :D  That has to happen soon...right?
Dream coming true or not...this will all be worth it someday.  I have to remember that:)

Back to the main point of my blog today...
Nannying has taught me that I'm not "perfect".  That I'm only human and I really cannot "do it all".
The best thing to do is breathe, know that everything will be ok, and go play at the park instead :)
(ha! this is why I have procrastination issues and why my paper for Friday isn't completed yet!)  But really, it's ok if the laundry doesn't get done immediately or that my house isn't perfect (sorry Ben!) or that I am not always 100% a big ball of energy.  It's ok to be 'exhausted' and need to take a nap (you're never too old for nap time!)  I just have to keep doing my part and look at everything with a positive outlook.  Nannying has taught me to love and enjoy every moment in life and to appreciate the small stuff.   
-Thanks Miles and Owen for reminding me of that every day!-

Even though those boys can make me want to pull my hair out from time to time...they really do bring the biggest smile to my face and so much fun and laughter to my day!  I am very lucky and who would of thought instead of me trying to teach them how to read and tie their shoes and the little things in life...they would actually teach me a thing or two in life as well :)  Now THAT is something a $500 textbook doesn't teach you every day....that is a wonderful life lesson for free!  (Maybe some of the best things in life really are free?!  Now that is a very pleasant thought for the evening!) I like that:)

Anyways, thanks for following in my lil' nanny world for the day.
Lesson to be learned....those lil' shits are smarter than we think;) haha! (oops! can a "nanny" really say stuff like that?!)

Life is Beautiful; Life is Love!
Miss Mandi the Nanny :)