May 29, 2003 - 9:14 p.m.

SuperNanny To The Rescue!

Today I was SuperNanny! Able to leap small children in a single bound! Champion of good manners. Defender of maligned healthy snacks. Dispenser of justice and bandaids. Organizer of garage chaos!

Yes, some fit of insanity came over me and I went way above and beyond the call of nanny duty to sort through the junk in the garage. When I started, the side of the garage in question was a tangle of jumpropes, bicycles, rollerblades, athletic equipment, and miscellaneous junk (including a backpack style baby carrier - the family's youngest child is 4!). Now there is a bin for all the balls and lawn games, another for rollerblades, a neat row of bikes and scooters, a corner for skis, and much more room to move around. The kids should even be able to get their bikes and scooters out without injuring themselves , scratching the car, or unleashing an avalanche capable of burying a hippo. I found a ridiculous assortment of stuff buried in that small area: four bike pumps, a few mismatched mittens, swim diapers, outgrown tricylces and bike helmets, balls of every shape and size, broken croquet wickets, and even an old bottle of juice (Ew!). It was nice to get it done, though. We'll see how long it lasts, and whether the family will actually get rid of the outgrown bikes and trikes I set aside.

I hope my employers don't have a nannycam, because this afternoon I put on some music and the kids and I totally let loose and danced our brains out. I was teaching them some disco moves, including the classic Stayin' Alive diagonal finger pointing groove. We also did the hustle, the monkey, and the mashed potato, or at least my goofy interpretations of them. I was totally hamming it up for the kids' benefit, and I am sure I looked like a complete idiot. Still it was fun (as far as kids are concerned sillier is always better) and burned a few calories to boot.

I certainly needed to burn calories today, since I went out for dinner with friends at my favorite Mexican place. I could have gotten fajitas or something somewhat healthy, but I got enchiladas instead. Yummy! I also ate plenty of tortilla chips and their awesome homemade salsa. I guess I could have done worse. The chimichangas looked tempting, and I passed on the fried ice cream for dessert. :)

today's project: bike riding for the kids, garage organizing for me.

musing about: fried ice cream... I am such a glutton!

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