Monday

a day in the life
By Anonymous Nanny
I am a nanny for three children full time. They are ages 5, 3, and just turned 1.

7:28 - arrive at the house, knock on the door quietly, and greet the dad, who then sits down at his computer to finish watching a YouTube video. I take my book out and read a few pages.
7:32 - dad heads upstairs to get ready for work.
7:35 - mom brings T downstairs, along with his diaper and clothes for the day. She hands him to me and asks about my weekend. We chat about a few things, plans for the day, and she begins to get her breakfast ready. I begin toast for the baby and cut up a banana for him, sitting him in his high chair with a cup of milk.
7:45 - mom is done eating and heads upstairs to get L up and ready for the day. D wakes himself up, gets dressed and comes downstairs. He prefers cereal, so I pour him granola with milk and rinse grapes.
8:00 - L finally wanders downstairs, dressed and with her hair done. D is done eating and begins to play with his new favorite toy, an indoor mini golf kit. With L's toast toasting, I hand her a banana & milk and she sits down. I get T dressed for the day.
8:15 - Give L a gentle reminder to finish her breakfast, since her bus comes in less than half an hour and she tends to dawdle at the table. Dad leaves for work.
8:30 - Mom leaves for work, L finishes brushing her teeth, and I help T and D get their shoes and coats on.
8:37 - walk to bus stop, wave goodbye to L.
8:45 - back at the house, D brushes his teeth and goes potty while and I clean the kitchen from breakfast, gathering a couple diapers and a cup of water for T for our outing. T is rolling a ball and playing with his cars.
9:02 - I email Mom to let her know we're on our way out for a couple of hours.
9:20 - 11:10 - we stop by craft store, slowly perusing the aisles for fun crafts for the next few weeks. Afterwards, we go to the pet store to say hello to the puppies, fish, parrots, hamsters, etc. We also love to hit the local mall's play place, the library storytime, indoor rec centers, the zoo, and parks when it's nice out. We've had a lot of rain lately!
11:15 - arrive home and email to let mom know we're back. I help D get started on painting a wooden birdhouse, read T a book and put him down for a nap, and begin the family's dinner in the crockpot.
11:35 - while D is finishing his birdhouse, I quickly make a phone call before L comes home or the baby wakes up.
11:45 - At the exact moment I see L's bus, T begins to cry. Once she's inside and I've asked about her day, I change the baby while the older two kids play together.
12:10 - I've prepared lunch for all the kids - grilled cheese, celery w/ pb or broccoli, apple slices, cheese, milk -- some variation for the baby, who is now 12 months old. The kiddos begin to eat and I grab a hard boiled egg, which leads to a discussion about chickens and eggs, which ones we can eat, etc. Between helping clean up spills, grabbing new napkins, refilling plates, and chatting, I heat up my lunch and eat. By the time I sit down, L and D are finished eating.
12:45 - With L working on painting her birdhouse, D watching his intently hoping its dry, and T playing with a new colorful set of blocks, I begin to clean up and load the dishwasher, stopping to fix L's hair clips, wipe D's bottom, rescue T from behind a corner chair, get D some water, and comment on L's colorful painting.
1:09 - I start the dishwasher and call for the kids to get their shoes on. We are going to attempt a walk before the rain begins.
1:11 - when I stop to help D with his shoes, the baby walks the in the mudroom and comes back with one of my own. It's the first time he's done that!
1:15 - shoes on and we're out the door. I email mom to let her know we're walking around the neighborhood.
2:00 - we're back, right before the rain begins.
2:03 - I email mom to let her know we are back and escape to go to the bathroom while the kids drink their water and eat pepperoni for a quick snack.
2:06 - I come out of the bathroom to find that T dumped all the DVDs from a bookcase (his favorite thing to tear apart). I sit down and help him clean them up.
2:10 - DVDs cleaned up and both older kids occupied with random toys, I sit down and update the nanny log since I have a minute.
2:13 - L asks me to read her a chapter of a fairy book from the library. Once T sees L occupying my lap, he comes over, a bit jealous. After learning the book is boring and without pictures, he goes back to playing.
2:22 - The chapter is read, and D and L begin playing indoor mini golf. I finish the nanny log with T on my lap.
2:30 - I grab milk for the baby and escort everyone upstairs to read books. We all land in L's room and begin reading.
3:00 - rest time begins, everyone is in their respective rooms! I sit down to have a quick snack, watch a show on Netflix, or read a book.
4:00 - L's rest time is over, so she comes downstairs and helps me unload the dishwasher. T wakes up, gets a diaper change, and both kids sit down for a snack. D typically naps until his mom arrives home later in the afternoon.
4:20 - after snack time, L helps me do some picking up of toys around the house and I vacuum the living room. T is playing with a random assortment of his toys and every once in a while I rescue him from the stairs, where he tends to wander.
4:28 - L chooses to play Dominoes with me, so we begin a round. We've been playing on and off for months, halfway keeping score. After dominoes, we finish her fairy book, play with the baby who wandered over to say hello and play Memory.
5:10 - I do one last sweep of the house to make sure everything is cleaned up. I turn the crock pot from on to warm, since the food is done cooking.
5:15 - Mom is supposed to be home, but typically late. D begins to wake up and slowly wanders downstairs. L is playing with her dolls and T is hungry. I get him some peaches, a tortilla shell and milk to tide him over until dinner.
5:35 - Mom finally arrives home and I brief her on the day. I say goodbye to the kids. T clings to me and doesn't want to go to his mom, but I hand him over.
5:40 - I tell the kids I'll see them in the morning and head home!


2 comments:

Fellow Nanny said...

So you watch a movie on NetFlix while you are supposed to be working? You are on the clock for goodness sake!! They are paying you to work..not sit on your butt and watch "Avatar."

((Smiles)) You go Girl!!! :)

Anonymous said...

That was nice reading that...as a stay at home mom for three about the same age, I understand..

I also was a nanny of 4 when I was 20. The youngest were 5 and 6 so different, more driving, outings, bedtimes and school functions. I had fluctuating hours sometimes starting after lunch and going into the evening so the parents could go out, sometimes a traditional day like you wrote about. I think when a parent interviews for a nanny they should really be clear of their expectations so everyone is on the same page.