Playing Dumb
Posted: July 24, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: Big Cat, Boss lady, children, Doc, empathy, intelligence, Mr.Man, nanny, needs, playing dumb, relationship 3 Comments
As a lifelong (and thus far natural) blonde, I have worked hard to dispel the stereotype that all blondes are dumb. And despite the rare (ok full disclosure, occasional) “Duh” moment, I believe that I do my part in elevating the perceived intelligence of my hair color. However, as a lady might with any job, I pick my moment to cash in my dumb card. How and when I choose to play dumb depends on the charge at hand. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a Hit!
Posted: July 19, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: Big Cat, captain awesome, children, funny, grocery store, humor, injury, joke, joking, laughing, Mr.Man, nanny, park, princess, swings 2 Comments
Having been a Supernanny for years now, I’ve developed the ability to hone in on a kiddo’s individual sense of humor, and adjust my stand-up accordingly. With so many different little personalities there will naturally be a grand scale of things that make them “Haha!” and I mix it up to get a chuckle out of each of them. There are, however, two main veins of comedy that are met with a laugh- ranging anywhere from a snicker to a necessary change of shorts- across the board: 1) When I joke about inflicting disciplinary pain on the kiddos, 2) When I am actually, or just pretend to be, injured.
Potty, P-O-T-T-whY? Because ya GOTTA!
Posted: July 16, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: accidents, patience, pee, pool, poop, potty, potty training, toddler 3 Comments
Ah, potty training, that inevitable bridge every child must cross. Whether they cross it without getting a little wet in the process, is a chance one must be willing to take. I have helped to potty train several children and have succeeded in my task because of a couple of other “P” words, persistence and patience.
Great Experience, Better Birth Control
Posted: July 12, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl | Tags: baby fever, becoming a mother, children, motherhood, nanny, someday family 1 Comment“After nannying for so many years, do you still want children of your own?” This is the question popped to me by most people after they hear what I do for a living, and usually asked at some point by the parents of my charges. The answer is a very enthusiastic “YES! Absolutely!” I love children, part of the reason I got into the nannying game and have stayed in it so long. I look forward to having my own children someday. However that someday, is not anytime soon. Read the rest of this entry »
Tipsy? Or Tiny?
Posted: July 9, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: babies, children, dancing, drinking, drunk, singing 9 Comments
Nick Swardson had it more right than he knows!(click here for comedy clip) After watching his standup, I got to thinking about the surprisingly accurate comparison between babies and borachos. Read the rest of this entry »
Wake Up!
Posted: July 5, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tunes | Tags: Big Cat, cheerful, morning, Mr.Man, tired 6 Comments“My theory is that when it comes to important subjects, there are only two ways a person can answer. Which way they choose, tells you who that person is. For instance, there’s only two kinds of people in the world, Beatles people and Elvis people. Now Beatles people can like Elvis, and Elvis people can like Beatles, but nooobody likes them both equally. Somewhere you have to make a choice. And that choice, tells you who you are.” –Mia Wallace (Pulp Fiction)
I couldn’t agree with Mia more, (I’m a Beatles person, by the way.) but in my opinion, an equally defining question is whether someone is a morning person, or…not a morning Read the rest of this entry »
Separation Anxiety
Posted: July 2, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: anxious, Doc, nanny, parents, separation, separation anxiety, stress 4 CommentsBeing a Supernanny affords me relationships with the kiddos that result in less tears when parents leave than the average caregiver, but by no means wipes them out completely. Even charges I have had for years, who love me, and feel comfortable being left with me for days at a time will have moments when they just don’t want parent/s to go. Sometimes it’s separation anxiety, other times it’s that combined with other factors that make it particularly rough on a child.
When I first started nannying Doc, his Aunt Aspen clued me in that he had been very sensitive to separation from his Read the rest of this entry »
“Let’s Go Fly A Kite!”…and Other Logistical Nightmares
Posted: June 28, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales | Tags: Big Cat, Doc, kite mishaps, kites, mini cooper, Mr.Man, outing, Rebel 2 CommentsAs a Supernanny, Fun is my middle name. (Actually it’s Annemarie, but for my purposes as a caregiver, we’ll go with the former.) When the kiddos have some activity in mind that they are excited about, no one is more excited than me- one less adventure for me to invent, and takes the guesswork out of the day’s activities- plus I love seeing them pumped and primed for an outing! However, just as the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so is the road to some escapades paved with catastrophe! Read the rest of this entry »
Haircut Hysteria
Posted: June 25, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: Big Cat, change, haircut, Mr.Man, nanny Leave a commentThree years ago I decided, after growing my hair out, to then chop it off for wigs for kids. It was something I’d been meaning to do for years but I had trouble letting go of my long locks. Turns out I was not the only one. Mr. Man and Big Cat (at the time 5 and 3) were livid when I told them I was cutting it short. I broke the news to them and was met with scowls and scorn for what Read the rest of this entry »
Dirt Off Your Shoulders
Posted: June 21, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: Boss lady, brave, Doc, falls, nanny, Rebel, trips 3 CommentsOne may not think of Jay-Z lyrics when it comes to child-rearing, but what can I say? The “Best rapper alive!” knows his stuff! Another of my nannying goals is to help children become self-reliant in any situation, even injury.
Now, it’s very easy for me to tell the children to buck up, now that I’m full-grown, with an increased threshold for pain, but back in the day I was anything but brave when it came to Read the rest of this entry »
Y'all Behave! 