Did we, uh, just Onomatopoeia?!
Posted: March 19, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: burp, burping, children and their nanny, Doc, funny sounds, gas, hiccup, hiccuping, kids, miss cheryl, nanny, onomatopoeia, Rebel, scream, shriek, sneeze, toot, trip 4 CommentsI spend much of my day trying to make the kiddos laugh. Most times humor comes naturally to me, sometimes I’m hard-pressed to find the humor in a situation. Then there are days when divine intervention drops an amazing, and serially situational set of funnies my way. Read the rest of this entry »
A Rhyme Works Every Time!
Posted: February 26, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: behaving, booty, Doc, Dr. Seuss, fun with rhyming, learning lessons, nanny, Rebel, rhyme 2 Comments
When trying to teach the kiddos something, or snap them out of an attitude that needs adjusting, I often take a cue from Dr. Seuss (and poets everywhere) and rhyme out to avoid the need for a time out. Read the rest of this entry »
Disney DOs and DON’Ts: The Princesses
Posted: February 19, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: Beauty and the Beast, Belle, Cinderella, daddy issues, Disney, father figures, Feminism, Jasmine, positive message, princesses, Snow White 7 Comments
As a product of the 80’s, I grew up loving Disney. Our family had the Disney channel, I’ve been to Disney World several times, and I LOVE Disney movies. I love Swiss Family Robinson, Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, but especially all of the Disney cartoons, conceived and created in the Disney drawing studio. I miss the good ole days of Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and (my favorite) The Little Mermaid. I love these movies! They are like time machines; upon viewing one I’m reminded of the age and feeling when I first watched it. The music is always amazing and I usually cry happy tears at some point. What’s not to love? Read the rest of this entry »
Call out the Instigator
Posted: February 14, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: blame, Doc, instigate, nanny, quarrels, Rebel, sibling rivalry, Siblings, squabbles Leave a commentNannying for siblings, which is often the case, I run into a flood of familiar issues. Familiar because, as the middle child, I have experienced the clashes between both younger and older siblings. I know all too well the numerous nitpicky, negative nonsense that goes on with siblings due to proximity, personality clash, or just plain frustration. When you have siblings, you are with them day in and day out, and no matter how much you love them or how awesome they are, (none more awesome or loved than my own brother and sister, I might add) there are times when conflicts are inevitable. I see it all the time with my charges, especially with brothers —the older one is annoyed by the younger one, or the younger doesn’t want to play with the older one— the problems arrive from many different, but similar scenarios. Read the rest of this entry »
A Separate Peace
Posted: February 12, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: Boss lady, engaging children, kiddos, nanny, parallel play, playtime, Sassafras, Sassy, separate 3 Comments
As a Supernanny, I try my best to always be engaging to the kiddos. I play with them, talk to them, always trying to keep them active and excited. However, I have learned from my charges, mostly those that are only children, that sometimes kiddos, like adults, need their personal space. Read the rest of this entry »
Befriend Everyone Part II
Posted: January 24, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: bully, friends, unlikely Leave a commentBullies Beware
Posted: January 22, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: anti-bullying, blue eyes, Bullies, bully at play, Bullying, chucky doll, jammer, lou ferrigno, nanny, playscape 2 Comments
Bullying is a social issue that unfortunately plagues almost everyone at one time or another. It’s a crime on a personal level that often goes unprosecuted because it operates in a grey area. An argument may be made on both sides: one person’s “bullying” may be another person’s “joke” or cliquish behavior. I, myself, got caught up in the mean girl mentality –both as victim and perpetrator– around middle school: excluding people, speculating, just needlessly not nice things. Though my intent was never to hurt anyone, it shames me now to have ever been involved in such trivial and ultimately harsh behaviors. At the time, as perpetrator I truly didn’t think anyone cared enough about my opinion to take me seriously, let alone get their feelings hurt. (I wasn’t putting much thought or energy into the mean girl behavior, how could I possibly hurt someone?) Once I realized my behavior was truly hurtful, after being a victim of it myself, and that bullying was the case, I set about apologizing, and nipping ostracizing and victimizing in the bullying bud, as did my pals. What goes around comes around was definitely the case with me, as I had a yearlong run-in with a bully of epic proportions when I went to high school. My younger thoughtlessness paled in comparison to this girl’s malicious intent. But everything is relative, and what I participated in and instigated during my younger years was no less hurtful to the recipient. Read the rest of this entry »
Feelin’ Good Again
Posted: January 15, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: Big Cat, captain awesome, childcare, children, fake it til you make it, feelin' good again, love being a nanny, Mr.Man, nanny, nannying, nannying as therapy, nannying cheers me up, nannying makes me happy, parents, Rebel, smile, sweet, sympathy 2 Comments
For all “boo-boo”s I have kissed and made better, for all the frowns I’ve turned upside-down, and for those cloudy days I’ve brought a bit of sunshine to, there are many moments in my life that have been made better by the kiddos. Nannying, at times, has been the only way a truly terrible day has been made better. Read the rest of this entry »
Sick!
Posted: January 8, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: barf, Big Cat, Boss lady, captain awesome, children throwing up, Doc, Mr.Man, princess, Rebel, sick children, sick with the nanny, sick! shel silverstein, vomit 5 Comments
A question I get very often when people hear that I’m a nanny is, “Do you do diapers(insert disgusted nose wrinkle)?” to which I amusedly reply that, yes, I do “do diapers”. Oh, if only they knew. I’ve changed the worst diapers imaginable, though at times in the life of a Supernanny, diapers are the least of my worries. I usually concentrate the majority of my time and energy on making sure the kiddos are having fun, cared for properly, learning, and behaving well. It takes a lot of energy to make sure all of these stars align, even in the best kiddos’ homes. However, when an ailment is afoot, then my skills, sanity, and stomach are often put to the test. Read the rest of this entry »
Oh the Places Y’all’ll Go: Park City, Utah
Posted: December 18, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Oh the Places Y'all'll Go!, Tales, Tips | Tags: black, blue, enjoy, green, kiddos, nanny, Park City, Park City Utah, ski, skiers, skiing, slopes Leave a comment
A recent ski trip to Park City, Utah ended up being a few days filled with nannying wisdom! Snow skiing is a sport a gal from south Texas would not ordinarily be exposed to, except that in Miss Cheryl’s case my family went skiing several years during childhood, then in high school I took a few trips with my youth group, and in college took a couple of trips with friends and family. Still, by this year it had been at least six years since I last stepped on the slopes. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it all came back to me; just like riding a bike! Instead of relearning how to ski I was free to reflect on the many parallels between life and…well, paralleling on skis! Read the rest of this entry »
Y'all Behave! 