6:45am: Start cooking breakfast for the kids, from the weekly menu MB put together.
7:10am: Food is ready; go upstairs, get Oldest two children up, tell them breakfast is in 30 minutes. Remind them to comb their hair and brush their teeth before coming for breakfast. Get up younger two, take them potty, brush their teeth, comb their hair. Change them into clothes for school. Take them downstairs and put on Paw Patrol while plating breakfast and setting table.
7:40am Breakfast time. Give younger two breakfast. TV off. Older two come down and sloowwwlyyy eat breakfast, while taunting and teasing younger two. I tell them to knock it off and remind them that they have X number of minutes to finish eating.
7:55am: Breakfast is over. Mad rush to get shoes on, coats, backpacks and into car. Strap in two younger ones. Make sure everyone has the appropriate homework/permission slips/lunch money.
8:10am: Drop of two older boys at school. Remind them if they have any after school activities. Tell big boys who is picking them up from school/after school activity. "Have a good day! Learn something!”
8:30am: Head home. Set up little boys with play dough or coloring pages and clean up breakfast dishes. MB comes down on her way to work. Both little boys clamor for her attention and she absentmindedly gives them hugs and kisses before grabbing some coffee and heading out the door.
9:00am: Time to run errands. Load little boys into van and strap them in. Head to Target to get new clothes for the children/the Grocery store to pick up produce and yogurt for the week. And chocolate milk. God forbid they drink ‘white’ milk.
10:00am: Quickly drop off stuff from running errands. Change little boys (per parent’s request) for daily outing. Head to museum/library story time/park/hiking trail.
11:45am/12:00pm: Home for lunch. Pop little kids onto chairs around table and hand them kinetic sand to play with (even though it’s a God awful mess and a disaster to clean up). Prep lunch. Try to remember if parents consider carrots to be a carb or a veggie. Decide that it’s a veggie which means you still need to figure out a carb for the little boys lunches. Cook up a sweet potato and call it good. Plate the food, send the little boys to wash their hands. Pick up kinetic sand, wipe table, pour milk and put plates on table. Realize that the boys are taking quite a while to wash their hands. Go in there and remind them that they need to wash their hands, not lick each other/stick their hands in the air vents.
12:45pm: Little boys eat, sorta. Didn’t they mention that they now HATE apple slices? That they don’t eat sautéed snow peas and carrots? And did they mention that the protein doesn’t taste like a protein and that they don’t think broiled chicken counts as a protein? Remind them that LOVE sautéed snow peas and carrots, and convince them that chicken is, in fact, a protein. Let them eat slowly, while they try to stretch lunch time through nap time. Kill time by singing songs and reading stories.
1:30pm: Put little boys down for their nap, after reminding them that yes, we did in fact read stories before nap. Remind littlest that today he needs to take a ‘sleeping nap’ and he is to not get out of bed until I com to get him unless it’s an emergency. Remind him that not being sleepy is not considered an emergency. Give big hugs, check for monsters, kisses on foreheads and lights out.
2:00pm: Take a deep breath. Play some non-kid music while washing dishes from lunch. Heat up my lunch. Eat slowly. Relax for 30minutes. Read/study/play piano/watch Netflix.
2:45pm: Times up! Fold laundry, place on steps for big boys to put away later. Check living room and big kids rooms for cleanliness. Pick up errant toys in living room. Make a note to remind big boys to straighten up when they get home.
3:15pm: Little boys are awake now. I go to their rooms and tell them it’s time for them to get up. Change them out of pajamas (third clean outfit for the day, **sigh**) and into a new outfit. Make sure teeth are brushed agin, comb hair again, straighten collars, loop belts, tie shoes and tuck in dress shirts. Give each boy an afternoon snack.
3:45pm: Pick up older boys from after school actives/ Big boys are dropped off from school by carpool. (Remember that you have carpool next week/week after that and make a note in bold letters to arrange for the neighbor to come watch little boys for that week during carpool hours so that they can nap.) Set up big boys with homework and a snack. Outside play for little boys, change them (AGAIN) into outdoor clothes. Play outside with little boys while keeping an eye on big boys and helping with homework.
4:30pm: Big boys are done with homework. Tell them to get going on their chores and remind them to take their laundry up when they go to their rooms. Remind big boys to straighten up their rooms. Help little boys tidy up their rooms and make up their beds from their naps.
5:00pm: Give little boys a bath. Wash hair. Brush teeth. Blow dry hair and style according to their instructions. Move little boys to their rooms and get the big boys to get into the shower. Remind them to brush their teeth and style their hair appropriately. Dress little boys for dinner. Remind oldest that his parents do not prefer for him to wear his lime green belt/hiking boots to dinner. Talk youngest into letting you tie his bowtie for him. Adjust all children’s clothes, straighten collars, retie shoes. Wipe youngest’ face again.
5:30pm: Take all children downstairs for dinner in the Dining Room. Seat them in their chairs, help them place napkins on their laps, help the cook pour milk for the children. Quick walk through of the house. Pick up stray toys and straighten pillows.
6:00pm: Leave note on parent’s door reminding them about a permission slip that is due tomorrow or a museum membership that needs to be renewed in the next few days.
6:30pm: Let myself out, lock door, go home.
-OhTHATNanny, A Nanny for Four:I worked 12 hour days, Monday through Friday, $10 per hour worked. Ah well, lesson learnt. I NOW know that the service that I provide is worth a LOT more; I am the person who dresses, feeds, entertains, takes care of, hugs, kisses, disciplines and works right up alongside parents. I will do everything in my power to make sure your child is safe, happy, cared for, and loved.
Send your Day in the Life Submission to isynblog@gmail.com.
12 comments:
You never mentioned when parents come home. Just that you leave note for them and leave. Who cares for kids after you leave?
Wow. You definitely have your hands full with four boys. This may be an understatement but u are definitely not getting paid enough. You are in need of a raise.
@NannyDeb:
The parents arrive home between 5:00pm and 5:15pm and they eat dinner with the children after I bring the children down and get them set up at the table. I obviously do not leave the children alone.
I wasnt implying that you do. Was just curious who was there after you leave since there was no mention of parents arriving home. Am surprised they have you stay an hr after they get home and have u get kids ready for dinner.
Hmm, I find the statement that the mom "absentmindedly" hugs and kisses the kids goodbye and omission of when the parenys get home in conjunction with the closing statement quite telling about how you feel about the family you work for. At least the parents.
Why not get a new job if you so obviously resent the one you have?
That's Alot of clothes changes. I have to change my 4 yr old charge also. Pretty much after every outing. 2 or 3 outfits a day.
Way underpaid. Northern NJ....10.00 per hr for 1 child, 13.50 for two, 15.00 plus tip for any voluntary weekend work. And my pay a bit low but not my main income and there are other perks.
@Joy,
I love the children I work with and I have a healthy, professional relationship with the parents. Not all parents are super involved in their children's lives, and it shows with this family. I love working with their children and they respect me and trust me, so I really do not see a problem. You seem to have a problem with how I stated that the mother absentmindedly kisses her boys goodbye, but that is simply what happens. And my omission of the time that the parents get home was a oversight, it was not an intentional statement about anything.@
@nannyDeb,
Yeah, it was a bit odd for me as well when I first started with this family, I usually wonder through the living room/ the 4 boys rooms/ the den/ playroom/ and entertainment room looking for any stray toys or picking up pillows/blankets that the children have left laying around, then I check the big boys' school bags and make sure their is nothing in there that needs to be signed or given immediate attention. By then its usually time to go home.
You are far underpaid! I charged $15/hr for one kid (that's the average for a nanny in Brooklyn). I think you should be paid at least $20/$25. They won't find a cheaper nanny than you.
You're kinda reinforcing Joy's point with the additional comments. "Absentmindedly" is a passive-aggressive way of saying "doesn't care." And if they respect you and trust you, why betray that by saying "not all parents are super involved with their children's lives, and it shows with this family." Can you imagine how you'd feel if your employers went on some site to make unflattering comments about you?
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