The Sound of Music
Posted: September 25, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: austin, Big Cat, deer, do-re-mi, doe-ray-me, favorite things, julia andrews, Mr.Man, singing, sound of music, the sound of music Leave a comment
The Sound of Music is a wonderful film about family, love, integrity, joy, and, of course, music. It includes life lessons about finding who you are, being true to what is right, following your heart, family comes first, and many others. Besides being my favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, not to mention one of my favorite movies of all time, The Sound of Music has provided inspiration for some of my most memorable nannying moments. Read the rest of this entry »
Keep it Simple
Posted: September 11, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: bare necessities, Big Cat, bubble wrap, children, Doc, gift buying, Mr.Man, nanny, play, shaving cream, simple, simple fun, simple toys, toys. cardboard box 2 Comments
Being a Supernanny, I am well-versed in the toys of now. In addition to shopping for the children myself, I often do gift recon as a favor to parents when their child’s birthday is coming up, and for past nannying gigs I’ve even done the gift buying (for the kiddos and their friends) for the parent. With tons of choices, different versions, “newest” this, “better” that, bells and whistles, navigating the toy aisle in Target becomes a trip into the modern wizardry of toys. When it comes to the kiddos I nanny, as birthdays/holidays come around I opt for books, educational toys, etc. and in my day-to-day nannying duties, I know all too well, that if it’s free, it’s for me! Many times, fun and fancy blossom from very simple items. The brilliance is in the simplicity! Read the rest of this entry »
Little Radioheads
Posted: August 28, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: Big Cat, Boss lady, child appropriate radio, children, children music, children's playlist, Doc, melody, Mr.Man, music, pandora for kids, picking out music for children, playlist, Rebel 2 Comments
What kind of music someone prefers can tell you a lot about him/her. Some of the most revealing conversations I have had with friends and family have been about music, and it is through our mutual love of music, and The Doors in particular, that my fiancé Luke and I first fell in love. Music is a way to bond with people and provides a common denominator in relationships. (That, or bad taste in music can act as a red flag for someone you do not need to spend a road trip with!) Read the rest of this entry »
“Mu-sic/ Makes the Kid-dos/ Behave Bet-ter/ Yeah!”
Posted: August 24, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: Big Cat, children, chuck inglish, cool kids, jammer, Little green bag, live music capital of the world, mikey rocks, mohawk austin, Mr.Man, music, pumped up kicks, the beach boys, the beatles, the cool kids 2 Comments
It has been said that the benefits of music are incalculable. Certainly in my experience, listening to good music is on par with a good meal, a relaxing drive, a beautiful sunset, and can recall memories of when the song was first heard- how I felt, who I was with, the happiness or heartache of that specific time. Music is something that can be universal, a shared experience with hundreds and thousands of others, or individual, with someone having an extremely personal response to a piece of music. As an ardent lover of music, I try to impart my enthusiasm to my charges. Read the rest of this entry »
Say My Name
Posted: August 17, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: baby, Big Cat, calling babies by their names. proper names, funny, funny nicknames, Mr.Man, nanny nicknames, nicknames, Rebel, Snuggles Leave a comment
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, just because I’m a Supernanny does not mean I don’t make mistakes. It only means that I learn from my mistakes and hopefully become better at my job. One thing I’m always working on is referring to kiddos, particularly infants, by their given names, and not just by “baby”. It’s much harder than you think, considering that what I love most about them is their babyness- it’s the first thing that comes to mind, “Hey look, it’s a baby!” I have been working on being more mindful of this habit because it is important to refer to each child as an individual. Though I see each one as a unique person, Read the rest of this entry »
Save the Drama For Your Mama, Your Nanny’s Got Enough
Posted: July 27, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips, Tunes | Tags: acting, actress, Big Cat, blue eyes, character, dancing, Doc, drama, dramatic, handsome, Mr.Man, Rebel, singing Leave a comment
Despite my now predominantly calm, cool, and collected way, I do have a flare for the dramatic. From a very young age I loved participating in anything theatrical(even if it just meant crying for no reason). In elementary school I joined the choir and participated in any and all school theater productions(most memorably as a singing leper, 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 »
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! 