I SAW YOUR NANNY

7:00 am: Walk in the door and head to the kitchen. Put my stuff on the bench, find a safe place for my hot coffee and I check the counter to see if Mom has prepared R and T their breakfast. If not I start pulling out cereal, yogurt, hard boiled eggs or fruit.

7:05 am: A very sleepy (and sometimes grumpy) R makes his way into the kitchen and hoists himself onto a stool and starts eating breakfast. Depending on his mood we chat about the night before or what he’s looking forward to at school that day.

7:10 am: Mom comes into the kitchen usually toting one of the babies and hands him off to me. We have a quick chat about anything important for the day that she might not have emailed me about the night before. She gives R a 5-minute warning before it’s time for carpool and she heads out to the car to warm it up, get seating organized.

7:15 am: I pull the baby out of their sleep sack, change a diaper and settle him into a bouncy seat. Give R a 2 minute warning and bolt up the stairs to grab the other baby. Back downstairs I remove the sleep sack, change the diaper and settle him into his bouncy seat. I help R with his coat, grab his backpack and gently shoo him out the door to meet mom. He waves and yells by to the babies as he’s off.

7:20 am: Get babies their milk heated up and dispensed into sippy cups then after handing them over to eagerly chatting babies I begin preparing breakfast and wondering when T is going to make his morning appearance. I spread cream cheese onto a bagel and cut it up, slice some fruit and get the bibs.

7:30 am: Babies are done with their milk and they are hungry! I settle each one into his high chair, pull a bib on them and hand out breakfast; autumn wheat soaked in milk and pears. They squeal with delight and I sit down to enjoy my coffee. T finally makes an appearance and settles down at the table with me to eat his breakfast. He asks what day it is today and what we’re doing and I remind him that it’s a school day and that after school he has a play date with his best bud. He lights up and then starts singing to the babies while eating breakfast.

7:50 am: The babies finish up, I wipe them down, and hand over a few toys and books to keep them occupied just a bit longer in their high chairs. I run upstairs, bump into dad who greets me and asks if I’d like a coffee, he’s on his way to Starbucks. I tell him no thanks I made a run on my way to work! I grab clothes for both the babies and T and head back downstairs to some anxious babies who have had enough of their high chairs.

8:00 am: I get the babies dressed while T races us to see who can get dressed first. He always wins since I have two babies to dress but he still thinks it’s hilarious every time. I place both babies in the play area that is blocked off so there are no escapees today and they happily crawl around and play. T joins them after a while and keeps the twins entertained so I can clean up the kitchen.

8:15 am: Kitchen is cleaned up, dishwasher is started! I check on the kiddos before running to the basement to get a load of laundry going. I head back up the stairs and join T and the babies in the play area. We sing the itsy bitsy spider and row row row your boat until it’s time to get ready to leave.

8:40 am: I pull the double stroller outside and make sure I have everything that I need (keys, wallet, baby toys and T’s backpack) before going back inside and zipping coats on the babies while T flips his on (a new trick, he’s so proud!) We head outside and I strap P and N into the stroller while T does a crazy dance to keep the babies laughing.

8:45 am: I lock up and we walk T to school. P and N babble the whole way there and T races back and forth because he’s so fast.

8:55 am: We arrive at school and T opens the gate so we can get in. I punch in the code to the door; park the stroller in a good spot and T waves bye to P and N. We head down to T’s classroom where he signs himself in and goes into his classroom. He waves goodbye and makes me promise I’ll try to be the first one to pick up.

9:00 am: P and N are thrilled to see me and we are ready to go home! We start our walk back but take our time because it’s beautiful outside and they enjoy being outdoors.

9:20am: We make it back home and I check diapers and put the twins into their sleep sacks and give each a snuggle before putting them in their cribs and saying good night.

9:30 am: I go back downstairs, unload the dishwasher and put away the dishes and then sit down for a few minutes and enjoy my coffee. Mom is back from carpool and we chat about the day and she gives me a few errands to run. She goes upstairs to her office and I head to the basement to swap out the laundry and keep it moving. Four boys certainly make for a lot of laundry!

10:00 am: I plug my phone in and turn some music on. I pull veggies out of the fridge and start to chop them while the water in the steamer starts to boil. I steam an assortment of veggies and poach some chicken for quick and easy and healthy meals throughout the week.

10:45 am: I have a few minutes of downtime and check my email, return some phone calls and quickly switch the laundry again.

11:10 am: I head up to wake the babies, which makes them unhappy! They fuss while getting their diapers changed and then go back to their usual happy selves. Back down the stairs we go and into the stroller to pick T up from school. N is a total chatterbox the whole way there while P takes in the sights and slowly wakes up.

11:25 am: We get to school a few minutes early, I park the babies inside and head down to get T. I chat with a friend and some of the moms while we wait for the door to the class to open.

11:30 am: When T’s name is called he bolts through the door and gives me a giant hug. We head back up to gather the babies who squeal when they see their big bro. We start our walk home and I remind T that he’s going to his play date and he is so excited he runs the rest of the day.

11:45 am: T gets dropped off at his friends’ house, waves good-bye and darts inside. I chat with the nanny and we determine a good pick up time and I say thanks and off we go!

12:00 pm: We’re back home and it’s lunchtime for P and N! I unload them from their stroller, check diapers and put them in their high chair. I quickly make lunch; today’s menu includes quesadilla, avocado, and applesauce. They scarf down the food apparently they were so hungry!

12:25 pm: After lunch is over I wipe the babies down, grab the diaper bag and N and load him into the car. I run back into the house for P, make sure to grab two pacifiers and head back to the car. We are off to a play date at the park before a quick errand for mom.

12:40 pm: We arrive at the park and P is babbling because I think he recognizes where we are and is so excited to swing. I see my friend J and her charges H and B already at the swings and we go join them. The babies are all settled into a swing and J and I have a few minutes to catch up.

1:00 pm: The babies are done in the swings so we load up our monkeys into the strollers and take a stroll around the park. Her kiddos are getting tired so after one lap we say goodbye and go our separate ways.

1:20 pm: We are back in the car and the babies are chatty! I put on some kid music and we head to the grocery store. It’s the first time I’ve taken them with me and once we get there I place them into the cart and they are so in awe that they settle back and take in the sights.

1:45 pm: With everything on our list in the cart I grab two baby food pouches and hand then over to squirmy babies who squeal with delight in this special treat. While the babies eat a little bit I pay for the groceries and load the food and then the babies into the car.

2:00 pm: Back at the house I grab P, tell N I’ll be right back and zip into the house. Up the stairs I do a quick diaper change, zip him into his sleep sack and kiss him good night. Back down the stairs and out the garage I grab N and do the same thing. Both babies are settled into their cribs and I have a feeling they’ll pass out fast.

2:15 pm: I unload groceries and mom comes into the kitchen. We eat a late lunch together and chat about this and that work related and then she asks about my wedding. We catch up a little more and then she’s off to pick up R from school and take him to soccer.

2:45 pm: I grab a soda and head downstairs to finish up the laundry and then head back upstairs to put everything but the twins stuff away. I check the time and see that I have a little bit of down time before T is coming home so I settle in to the couch and catch up on some TV.

3:15 pm: T is home from his playdate and hungry. We head to the kitchen to find a healthy snack and he settles on some yogurt and water. I sit with him while he eats and then we head to the back yard to play.

4:00 pm: T is ready to go inside and do some “work.” I find some Halloween worksheets for him to do and he practices counting and writing his letters as well as finding the right sounds. We then move on to play educational games on the ipad. He’s getting so good with letters and numbers! He now knows what every letter sounds like and seems ready for some more challenging games. I make a mental note to find some tomorrow when I have some down time.

4:30 pm: T helps me pull stuff from the fridge to get dinner started and then heads to the playroom to play trains. I slice and dice and have everything prepped for stir-fry and place everything back in the fridge so mom just has to cook it.

5:00 pm: I hear some noise from the twins so I head up stairs and find both of them standing in their cribs babbling to each other. Unzipped from their sleep sacks they get fresh diapers and we head downstairs one baby at a time. In their bouncy seats they get 5 oz. of milk and guzzle it down.

5:20 pm: We head to the play area where the babies are cruising around and playing with everything until we hear mom come in the door. T comes bolting down the stairs to talk to mom and I help her get the twins settled into their exer-saucers so she can make dinner. R and T wave goodbye and head out back to play until dinner.

5:30 pm Mom and I catch up on the boys day, run over the next day and she asks if I can stay late the next day and that Friday. I check my calendar, give her the ok and I say goodbye.

5:45 pm Kisses to each of the babies and I’m out the door and heading home.

I am really happy with my job and even though it’s busier than any nanny job I’ve ever had I love the kids which is what it’s about! (R is 6, T is 4 and the babies aren't exactly babies anymore I guess! P and N are 15 months and they sure are busy.) Mom and dad are awesome and I’m glad that we have such a great relationship!!