LONG work weekend...

This weekend is one of the rare and wonderful weekends where my bosses take off for the weekend either for work OR pleasure, and I get the honor of watching the little angels both night and day. (There is NO sarcasam is that statement. I PROMISE! I love being with them for long weekends!)



I learned something about children many years ago...OK, I have learned a LOT about children over the years, but in recent years I learned a rather unlikely fact: Children do not become quiet and peaceful when the sun sinks into the horizon. In fact, they become CRAZY, and Wild, and LOUD!!! Man, something happens to little people when it gets dark. I kinda think that they may be part ware wolf! These adorable munchkins begin to talk in highly elevated voices; (often called yelling in certain circles), they begin to try to snuff out each others lives, and they seem to be under the impression that the house magically transforms into a race track and they into Formula One race cars! All the running, yelling, and fighting are enough to make one run screaming through the neighborhood, "CALGON, TAKE ME AWAY!!!!" It's after long weekends like these that I start to seriously consider buying stock in Excedrin and Advil!
All the same, it is so much fun!


If you take away the crazy moments, the ones where you feel yourself loosing your temper and your sanity; and relish in the bazillions of other wonderful moments, then these weekends are what I wait for. To be able to cuddle up with the little ones and sniff their freshly washed hair as we watch a favorite movie for the umpteenth time, or walk in on a few of them playing very sweetly with each other, or reading to one another. That is MAGIC!



I had better tend to my brood, they are NOT in the Magical Mode right now! PRAY FOR ME!!!



God bless and BE GOOD!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!

Glory to God in the Highest! And Peace to His People on Earth!!!

Thus was the greeting the angels gave to the lowly shepherds on that wondrous Christmas Eve more than 2000 years ago! It is the same today as it was two millenia ago. Christ has come! Emanuel is with us! It is for this reason that we celebrate this season, and rejoice in the beauty of this time. That being proclaimed, I have THIS to say: Christmas is for Kids! And by that I mean that as a grown up, (ugh! What a terrible thought!) I can totally appreciate the bliss youth afforded me. Man! All the shopping and rushing and worrying about gifts and decorating and wrapping. I'm stressing just thinking about it all, and I have an ENTIRE year until I have to do all this again!

I have wonderful Christmas memories of Mom transforming the house into a wonderland that rivaled Santa's Workshop, Dad stringing lights and cursing them the entire time, Katie and I wrapping our few meager Christmas gifts (that we purchased at school off a lunch table, none costing more than a whopping .75 cents!), and our biggest worry was if we remembered to leave milk and cookies out for Santa and carrots out for his reindeer! I so miss those days. But being surrounded by kids this time of year really reminds me of how wonderful those Christmases were, and how much Mom and Dad sacrificed to make those memories special. This year I was especially reminded of all that my parents did to make sure that my sister and I had these memories to hold on to and to want to make the same memories for our future families.

This year was a big one for all of us. Katie and Chris had their third child, a son! (See the above cutie-pie!) Mom and Dad sold a house that they loved, and built a beautiful new home, and I moved to Ponte Vedra. And we all had tight budgets, especially Katie and Chris. Those two wanted their kids to have the same Christmas memories we were blessed with, but it didn't look too promising. They managed to have a lovely Christmas, if I do say so myself, but that came after much sacrifice and worry filled nights wondering how it would all work out. Katie and I had a heart to heart about this just before Christmas day, and I thought of something that I wanted to share with anyone who may be reading this.

Kids like getting presents, of course they do! But that really isn't the end all for them. It's being with the people they love, and feeling that love. Ten years from now they more than likely won't remember the Christmas of 2007 as the year that they didn't get a lot of gifts from Santa. Rather they will remember 2007 in a string of cherished memories of Christmases past where their family was together and celebrated the birth of the Savior with zeal as they did each year. Katie, Chris and all the kids had a wonderful Christmas, none of the kids cried out on Christmas Morning, "HEY! There are WAY more fewer presents then LAST year!!!" (Note the double possitive!) They were very happy with what they had, and even happier that the people they loved were with them. One day Katie's kids are going to appreciate all that their parents did for them, but for now, it sure is fun watching them tear into those packages, ooh and aww over them, and then toss them aside for the next one! Kids make the holidays mean more, they make them special. I am so blessed to be surrounded by kids who make each day special, and filled with wonder. It is my prayer that I always be surrounded by children, and that their awe may always be my own. On that note:

May you be blessed with the JOY of the true meaning of Christmas , and the wonder of the faith of a child. And may your 2008 be filled with Faith, Family, and Friends in Christ!

Be good and God bless!

Sugar Boy

Wern's first Movie. This is Grant in Fast Forward!

Michael Buble!!!

OK, not everyone is privy to my obsession with Michael Buble. But I am obsessed! And my dear and very wise employers have decided to feed that obsession for Christmas! My very generous Christmas gift this year was tickets to the Michael Buble concert coming in February for Meghan and I. I am SO totally stoked! I can't wait!



I can promise you that more will be coming about one of my favorite topics! And pictures to boot!

A little bit of everything...

OK, OK! Don't shoot! I know that I am a terrible blogger! This was probably the best AND the worst time to start a blog, but what's a girl to do? This is the best time of year for funny little anecdotes about kids and Christmas goings ons. Christmas is ALWAYS better when little ones are around! This is the WORST time of year because no one seems to have enough time to finish all the things that need finishing before the clock runs down and time is up! Just like everyone else, I seem to have too much stuff to do, and not nearly the time to finish it all! And what little time I DO have seems to be ticking away at twice the usual speed. AGHHH!!!!


In the midst of the Christmas Marathon Rush two of my charges celebrated birthdays this week! Princess Colette turned 13!!! She is officially a teenager! I have pictures! So Colette being a cool 13 year old had a Pink & Silver theme. We made personalized ornaments as guest gifts with pink and silver polka dots all over them with their initials on them. Here's some of the extra ornaments. They had fun just hanging out and being teen aged girls. Talk about fun times! To think that she was just five when I met her is sometimes overwhelming. She was once a little girl who loved nothing more than to curl up in my lap and hear a story or cuddle, now she's totally into boys and clothes and being "cool"! Man, I'm a wreck! If I'm this bummed about somebody else's kids growing up, how bad will it be with my own?!!



Then in the same week, Grant began his ninth year which also happens to be my ninth year with the Williams Family. Grant is quite taken with pirates and requested a pirate themed bowling party. You may be wondering, "How does one combine bowling with pirating?" Well, if can be done then I will find a way to seamlessly join the two! Thus the birth of the "Buccaneer Bowling Birthday Bash"! To the right you can see Grant modeling the Buccaneer facial hair that was included in the Loot Bags as well as buccaneer bandannas, eye patches, scull and cross bones pencil toppers, and an array of other pirate necessities. Thanks to Donna's hard work and AWESOME party favors, the party was a hit, and Grant was very pleased with the results. It was every little boy's dream!






Well, I have more than enough work to keep me busy until the dawn of Christmas day, so I had best be
getting busy sewing and wrapping and other Christmasy stuff! Until next time- God bless and BE GOOD!

What I Love Caught on Video...

Howdy, all! I promised to learn how to post videos here from YouTube, and I think I have! Let's try this!





These are the videos that Warren, excuse me, he prefers to be called Wern, (why, I'll never know!) Any way, these are the videos that WERN has posted to You Tube. So I will be posting them one by one with a little explanation with each. I wish I could do them all at once in one post, but I seem to be incompetent! Sorry!

God bless and BE GOOD!

Entertaining Double Positives...

Wow! It's been a while since I posted last! I've been so busy sewing bags and trying to get some Christmas suff finished that I barely have time to sleep. Did I mention before that I have a small fashion business where I make handbags and purses, accessories and oodles of adorable baby goodies! It's called "Shananigans Bags" and here's the web site just in case you wanted to check it all out!

www.shananagisbags.com . OK, enough shameless plugs!



So, SOMEHOW the four little munchkins who are all home schooled, are completely finished with their second quarter of school. Three weeks before the next one is supposed to begin! Now, I thought it was work teaching; coersing them to be still and focus while we all did school. Boy, how I long for THOSE days! It is WAY more harder to ENTERTAIN them! Meghan, the other teacher, and I have been planning and executing a Christmas Break Camp. Man, I need a break from this Christmas Break! Could we do fractions, please? I think I'd like that much more better.

Funny story. Today in amongst all of our entertaining and art projects, we had to have an English lesson. The kids, all of them, kept using double positives. It was so cute and funny, but annoying all at the same time! We had to stop and think if there was such a thing as a double positive, but heck, there has to be! There's double negatives, so why not positives. Now you may be wondering what in Sam Hill is a double postitive, but if you're a sharp cookie like my roomie, Yvette, then you already caught two examples in the above paragraph. Give up??? OK, here's the first, then you find the second: "It is WAY more harder...". See? Two positives. We could easily branch off into a lesson on positives and negatives in Mathematics, that's the teacher in me! But those were not my fav in school and still aren't, so we won't; that's the student in me!

Peoples, I gotta sign off now. I have that second dance recital tomorrow night. I will compare and contrast the two for you in another post. HA! There's another English concept! OK, I'll stop now. OH, and I'm working on posting pictures and videos on here. I think it would be more better interesting! Ha ha!

Ta, ta! Be Blessed, and BE GOOD!

Dinners, Dancing, and teenagers, OH, MY!

In my first blog I mentioned that I was attending a dance recital for Colette. She did well! She danced her little heart out! There was more than just dancing, though. MORE? You may be asking. But yes. there was more! Dramas and high school bands and Choruses. All was done in the Christmas theme, and boy did they do it up! They all did well for middle and high schoolers!

Monica's recital was bitter sweet. It was well done and well danced. But, it was tainted by extreme sadness and tragedy. One of the dancers in Monica's class was tragically killed in a senseless car accident. She was hit by two different drivers while jogging across Kernan Blvd. So while the evening was filled with talent and amazing kids, it was still very sad. Please pray for Jordan's soul and her family during this horrible time. She was an only child with a future filled with promise and potential. They are sure to be having a difficult holiday. I'm sure they could use our prayers.

Meanwhile back at the hacienda... the boys are gearing up for a Christmas break to beat all Christmas breaks!! IT looks as though we will be having three weeks of break!!! Pray for ME! I will be running CAMP CHRISTMAS at the Williams' house! There will be Quilt making, Christmas ornament decorating, zoo and sports camps, park outings, and much, much more! It should prove to be a very busy 3 weeks! I just hope we adults survive!

Pictures will be posted!

Be Good, and God bless!

Who's Who in the Family

In my last post I mentioned that I am a nanny for a family of eight kids. And, yes, they all have the same mother and father. The next question I am always asked is, "Are you a live-in nanny?" My response is a resounding "NOOOOOOOOO. I enjoy being sane." I may as well live there some days, though. I usually work ten hour days five days a week, and an occasional weekend if their parents go out of town. My schedule is very flexible, and Donna and Chris are very generous with my time off.

When I stated working for this family I was fresh out of college. Well, I guess I should say I had just decided that I was going to take a break from my studies to "re-evaluate" the course of my future. So I was pretty young, and looking for something to pay my bills. A friend of the family suggested I call this family she knew of that was considering taking on a nanny. She knew that I had done this sort of thing before. So, I thought, "What the heck?", and called the number she gave me. The rest is history! After some time alone with six small, unfamiliar kids, I began to think about "re-evaluating" my "re-evaluation"! They were good kids, but I was seriously out numbered.

There are in order from oldest to youngest: Kaleigh, Warren, Monica, Colette, John Paul, Grant, Brian, & Celine. Whew!


-The oldest, Kaleigh, was nine at the time, and very helpful and very sweet. She is now a college gal, and working hard!
-Warren, was 7 and was completely engrossed in computer games and Legos. Come to think about it, he still is! And a very talented director of short films. He's done quite a few. I should post a couple of them on here!
-Monica, sweet, quiet Monica, was six when I met her. Nine years latter, still just as sweet, not nearly as quiet, though! I love that she talks to me and still includes us in her life. She is a jewel. I'm really proud of the young woman she is becoming.
-Colette, had just turned five when I met her. She was a spit fire. I'm big on nicknames and sweet little terms of endearment. At the time I was calling everybody "angel". Well, she she turned to me and in a matter-of-fact voice informs me "I am not an angel. Angels are pure spirits. I am a little girl." Ah, the fruits of a home school education! I agreed with her and asked what she would prefer me to call her. Her response : "Princess will do just fine." She's been the princess ever since.
-John Paul, 20 months at the beginning, wanted only his big sis, Kaleigh. If there were ever any problems or tears, just handing him over to Kales solved ALL problems! At 11 he still is a little picky, but he is the poster boy for Sports Nuts!
-Grant was just 2 weeks old when I signed on to handle this mighty brood! He was, and still is my sweetie pie! Such a good baby, he's now turning 9 and breaking my heart! In a few more years he'll be breaking a LOT of hearts!
-About 18 months latter my six became seven, when Brian joined the family. Somehow HE decided that he liked being the baby, and nothing was going to ruin his big plans of being just that, not even a baby sister! To this day, he still acts like the youngest child. Very hungry for attention, but so sweet and lovable. I just have to remind myself each time he lugs his ever growing 7 year old body up onto my lap, that the day will soon come when he won't WANT to sit and cuddle and hear funny stories about all the silly things he did as a baby and toddler!
-Last, but most definitely NOT LEAST, is Celine. She must have known that her big sis Colette already held the "princess" title, because from the moment she arrived she has been QUEEN CELINE! She loves to mother everyone, and make sure that they are doing exactly what they should be doing! At six, she even keeps her daddy in line!

So it's an even split- 4 girls and 4 boys. Of course, the girls still have the upper hand. Don't we always? I could go on FOREVER, that's partly why I started this blog. But I think I will save some matterial for another post!


Have a blessed evening, and BE GOOD!

The first of many?

OK, so at the encouragement of some friends I have decided to keep a blog of my life. Why? I have no clue. It boggles my mind that ANYONE would want to read about my sad pathetic life. But hey-give the masses what they want, right?

That being said, er- rather typed, I guess I should start out with a little about me. I'm warning you, this isn't very exciting stuff, but it's necessary.

I am a 30 something single woman eking out an existence in sunny Florida. St. Augustine is home. Always has been and always will be. I have a fierce devotion to my God and my Catholic Faith, as well as my close knit family. I have two adorable nieces and a handsome little devil of a nephew. Then there are my two kitties, Domenic and Rosie.

I have been the nanny for a fabulous Catholic family in Atlantic Beach going on nine years now. When I started working for them there were 6 munchkins, and they have grown over the years to 8. These 8 little people (some not so little any more) have changed my life, and made me a better person. My funny bone has increased by at least twice it's size, and I now tend to take all things with a grain of salt, and a pinch of sugar. I have a feeling that the majority of these posts will contain amusing anecdotes about the funny things they and my nieces do. Deuce is only 9 months old, so he doesn't do too much of the funny stuff, YET! I'm sure it won't be long now, though.

Well, I had better sign off. I have my first of 2 ballet recitals to attend before 2007 blossoms into 2008! Ahhh, the glorious dance recital!

Have a blessed evening!