I am so thankful...

There are 15 minutes left if thanksgiving, so I'm jumping on the thankful bandwagon (plus, we've already established that I love lists).

- I'm thankful for my mother, father, and grandmother. So thankful.

- Friends who support me at my best and worst.

- A new home and wonderful roommate to experience this season with.

- The simple joy Christmas music brings, no matter how I feel.

- The holidays = lots of call from old nanny families....and plenty of stories to pass to you lovely readers. Thank YOU for reading this little blog that can :)!

- I'm thankful for THIS I seriously cannot believe I get to go back to Haiti in just ONE month from tomorrow. Praise the Lord for his blessings!!!

- I am thankful for my health, not everyone is so lucky...I say that with a heavy heart, as my great uncle Mac is in the hospital with a failing liver and lungs. Things look bleak, and losing Mac would be so difficult for so many of us. Please keep him and our whole family in your prayers. May the Lord send us comfort in His plan.

Happy Thanksgiving (and in 9 minutes we can start saying MERRY CHRISTMAS)!

xoxo,
April

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Don't forget about the arts&crafts this holiday season!
Make a turkey hand with your favorite kiddos.

There are plenty of options (please note how tiny this hand is).

Of course, a turkey crown is also a necessity...

Turkey cookies. Need I say more?

Whatever you make & whatever you eat, be thankful!
xoxo,
April

happy halloween

I'm writing this at 11:50, so by the time it's posted I can safely say...

Happy Halloween!!!

I've been a busy bee lately so I haven't been able to post- I have about a million things I want to write about but of course the obvious subject is Halloween.

It's been a rough week with our students parents- and a busy week at the school. We're counting the days to Thanksgiving. I also just moved into a new place today. I feel grown up...I think. Anyway, I feel all jumbled up so I'm going to list my Halloween high points for you. I like lists. They make me calm.

1) In the last family I nannied for the 2 youngest both hated costumes. Isn't that weird? The 3yr old went as himself, his parents tried for bob the builder (can we do it? yes we can! [he didn't though]). The 6 yr old doesn't hate them, but is just now fully embracing the concept.
Random.

2) At school Friday we celebrated "FestiFall". No costumes no big parties. Just icing some cookies and using candy to make faces. OH MY GOODNESS. It was the most spectacular activity ever. My 3yr olds just sat quietly and iced their cookies. They didn't even make a mess. We're icing cookies more often in room 118.

3) We did some dancing on the carpet after cookies, to work off the sugar of course. We were gettin' our grove on to 'twist and shout' when one of our kids caught a cramp from twisting to hard. She said "my stomach hurts" but was fine a couple of minutes later. It was hilarious. I told her that happens all the time when you're such a great dancer.

Alright folks, have a happy (& safe) halloween, wear a costume, ice a cookie, and dance the night away!

xoxo,
April

P.S. It's 12:07 as I'm posting this so you can go ahead and start trick or treating!

how to make a nanny happy in 10 days

It's SEPTEMBER!!!

The arrival of fall, pumpkin spice lattes, (georgia) FOOTBALL, and for my Atlanta Braves a race for the pennant (my mom also turns 50, shhhh).

(for a nanny cooler temperatures mean kids can frolic outside and get that energy out for much longer, coffee is even better than before and Saturdays now have a whole new meaning).

It's also labor day weekend. I hope you nannies out there are not traveling with your employers. I hope you have a very adult weekend filled with intellectual conversation. If you are working take full advantage of this "last weekend of summer" with the kids. Squeeze in a tan while keeping the boogers from drowning, feed them all the ice cream they want, and if you're really bold ask for a raise (I LOVE FALL, can you tell how happy it makes me??).
I'm off to the white beaches of Destin for my first and only vacation of the summer (I will be with the kiddos I teach until 6pm tomorrow night though {dedication}). Counting the hours until I can soak up these last moments of summer & then fully welcome autumn.

Here's to the changing of seasons {in every way}.

xoxo,
April