Lean Back
Posted: September 23, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: Boss lady, infant care, lean back, Mr. Nice Guy, nanny, Sassafras 2 CommentsI spend most of most days on my feet. Whether I’m chasing kiddos around, fixing them meals, tidying up after them, taking them from one activity to the next, nannying is a highly physical job. One of the many ways it is beneficial to me is that it prevents anything resembling a sedentary work routine. Some studies have hypothesized negative health effects resulting from sitting at a desk all day. No risk of that here! In fact, one of the most rigorous workouts I experience in a day isn’t during my post-nannying runs, but during childcare. Read the rest of this entry »
What Can You Do?
Posted: April 4, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: children, children and their bodies, funny, nose, pat your head and rub your tummy, playing nose, raise eyebrows, whistle, whistling, wink, winking 4 Comments
Kiddos’ bodies are still a mystery to them, capable of many surprises. The discovery and intrigue of their corporal containers leads the kiddos to many a revelation. I encourage them to view their bodies as vessels of endless ability! 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 »
Don’t Speak!
Posted: December 11, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: Big Cat, Boss lady, El Fuego, kiddos, kids, nanny, quiet, Rebel, Sassafras, shhh, silence is golden Leave a comment
Besides being the definitive breakup song of my middle school years, Don’t Speak is also a great dollop of nannying advice. Like Gwyn Stefani, I use my voice a lot at work. I spend my days reading to the kiddos, baby-talking to the infants, singing little ones to sleep, conversing, answering questions, giving directions; nannying is a vivacious variety of verbalization. And though the kiddos crave my words, my songs, my vocal attentions, I’ve learned that sometimes they just need me to shut up. Read the rest of this entry »
The Threshold Phenomenon
Posted: December 6, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: attitude, Doc, El Fuego, kiddos, outdoors, Rebel, Sassafras 2 Comments
There are some naturally occurring wonders that cannot be explained, only defined by their universally effective nature. Children being happier outside is one of them. I call it the Threshold Phenomenon, so named after the marked change between a restless rugrat’s immediately cheerful change to happy-go-lucky youngster when alfresco. Most “rough” days with the kiddos happen when, because of weather- the heat most often, and the cold sometimes (in Austin there’s not much of an in-between)-they are unable to go outside. Read the rest of this entry »
Fussy vs. Psycho
Posted: November 29, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: Attachment Parenting, crying, Ferber Method, fussy crying, nanny, out of control, parenting, psycho crying, serenity prayer Leave a comment
So much of nannying is getting to know the kiddos like the back of my hand; knowing their habits, understanding their personalities. This all comes with time spent with them, and of course, by speaking with their folks, who know them better than anyone. One of the most winning of wisdoms is when a caregiver can decipher the degrees of despair in a kiddo’s crying. Or, as I like to gauge it: Fuss Crying or Psycho Crying. Read the rest of this entry »
¡El Fuego!
Posted: November 27, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tunes | Tags: El Fuego, fiery, Godson, heat, hot, infant, new addition, red hair, red-haired baby 2 Comments
Introducing El Fuego!
My newest addition to Y’all Behave is my ridiculously adorable Godson, El Fuego. (Y’all may recall my reference to him in connection with an original song I penned in his honor.) I’ve begun watching him on a weekly nannying basis, plus the precious (though never enough!) Godmother/Godson time with him on the side! El Fuego is very aptly named; his fiery red hair alone begs a nickname of scorching proportions, and his need for speed is insatiable at only a few months of age! Read the rest of this entry »
Oh the Places Y’all’ll Go!: Exuma, Bahamas
Posted: October 23, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Oh the Places Y'all'll Go!, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: Bahamas, Bahamian lifestyle, blue eyes, captain awesome, Doc. Big Cat, exuma, exuma bahamas, make new friends, Rebel, relax, schedule, the exumas, vacation 4 Comments
Exciting new sporadic series: OH THE PLACES Y’ALL’LL GO!
Though the life of a Supernanny may not afford me the same standard benefits of other jobs such as insurance, PTO, etc., it more than makes up for it in the invaluable advantage of making my own hours. Because my fiancé “Mr. Luke” is only home six months out of the year (he works one month on, one month off) we make the most of his time home (spending weekends together and when possible taking trips ranging anywhere from a weekend to two full weeks). For my nannying schedule this means that every other month (when Luke is offshore) my schedule is jam-packed while I try to work as many hours as possible and fill the families’ times of need and then some: working weekends, overnights, 16 hour days going to up to 4 different homes; the alternating months (when Luke is home) I tone the workload down to a respectable 40 hours per week and take weekends off to be with my man, family, friends, and then some vacation time. Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s Dance!
Posted: October 2, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes, Uncategorized | Tags: Big Cat, captain awesome, children dancing, dance, dancing, dancing nanny, Doc, kids dancing, princess, Rebel 3 Comments
Hand in hand with singing, as part of my nannying repertoire, is dancing. I love to dance, always have, always will. It is a great outlet for energy and a wonderful way to bond with the kiddos. In some ways nannying is a lot like dancing. Supernannies leave stage fright at the door, as do dancers; people who are inexperienced with children have the same pained facial expressions and awkwardness as someone who doesn’t know how to dance. Supernannies just go with the music, and no matter the moves, feel natural. Confidence is king in nannying, just like on the dance floor. Read the rest of this entry »
Supernanny Icon: Fräulein Maria
Posted: September 28, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Supernanny Icons, Tales, Tunes, Uncategorized | Tags: bond, captain von trapp, fraulein maria, love, maria von trapp, singing, super nanny, the sound of music, von trap family, von trapp children Leave a comment
There are so many inspiring things about my job. For me, nannying is more of a calling, which brings to mind the story of a certain Supernanny, Fräulein Maria, who also found her true calling to be with a family who -until she entered their lives- had been estranged from one another. Maria’s effect on the children and their father, Captain Von Trapp is a bonding one, her sweetness and song uniting them together; the emotional climax of the film happening when the Captain hears his children singing and, overcome with his long repressed love for them, and surmounting his fears about being a father, joins them in song. Read the rest of this entry »
Y'all Behave! 