Bullies 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 »
Kiddos and Kitties
Posted: January 3, 2013 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales | Tags: blue eyes, Boss lady, cats, children, feline, kiddos, kittens, kitties, Rebel 2 Comments
I was nannying a few weeks ago, an evening of “babysitting” for an about bi-monthly, purely date night charge, Bruiser (one and a half year old little boy). It had been a few weeks since I had been to Bruiser’s house and with some sporadic charges there is a period of adjustment before they fully give over to my powers of play. Bruiser had a runny nose and no nap, and so I thought it best to give him some space. He had a Curious George on, and was polishing off his bottle so I took this as my cue to sit on the couch a few feet from where he was sitting on the rug. As the show unfolded I noticed that Bruiser had scooted over closer to me. After a few minutes he stood up and shuffled his way over closer. Then he glanced up at me before walking in front of me and leaning, resting his little back against my knees. (I’ve seen this slow progression happen a hundred times. Previously, it had been experienced with cats. Just as with new feline friends, it is best to approach kiddos slowly, getting nonverbal cues from them before attempting to pick them up.) I slid my hands gently under Bruiser’s armpits, smiling at him, and when he returned my smile I knew he would be ok with me lifting him onto my lap. After biding my time, he snuggled in for a nice show time cuddle and subsequent bath and bedtime both went very smoothly. Bruiser’s similarity to a certain stealthy cat got me thinking about the comparable habits of kiddos and kitties. Read the rest of this entry »
Blind Spots
Posted: November 8, 2012 Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales | Tags: blind, blind spots, blue eyes, Boss lady, disciplinary blind spots, driving, nanny cannot discipline, unable to discipline 1 Comment
Drivers have blind spots, generally located in the rear right and rear left of the vehicle. These areas make it difficult for even the best drivers to confidently make moves without an over-the-shoulder confirmation. Nannies, even super ones, have disciplinary blind spots, located in certain households, and in the shape of specific kiddos. Even the most experienced Supernanny will encounter a child/ren who make it impossible to impose discipline. There is no rhyme or reason for the assignment of a disciplinary blind spot, no criteria except the intangible power certain kiddos possess over the nannies who love them. 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 »
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 »
Y'all Behave! 