June 28, 2004 - 8:04 p.m.

Long Time, No Write

Oops... Guess I have been a little neglectful. So much so, that my mom emailed me wondering whether I had fallen off the face of the Earth or something. :)

See what happens when a 'net-addicted homebody like me actually gets busy? :)

With all three kids out of school last week, I was pretty busy. We had several days of really nice weather, so we spent a lot of time out of the house. We went to a Children's Museum, to a playground where the kids could ride their bikes, to the pool a couple times, etc. For the most part, it was a very fun week. I don't know what has caused my attitude to change - perhaps knowing that I likely only have six months left working with the family - but I have been feeling much more positively towards the kids. I am finding them adorable and charming more than irritating, and my energy level is up which helps me be a more involved nanny - the kind who hops on the seesaw with the kids and plays games with them in the pool. I really do love these kids, but sometimes in the midst of their misbehavior, I forget that. Last week I was constantly reminded about how smart, sweet, and fun they are and how much we all like each other. I needed that.

B did have one major day of mood swings on Thursday, though, which was aggravating. He began the day in a major power struggle with me, because he wanted to wear pants and long sleeves on an 85 degree day. I finally negotiated a deal with him that he could wear what he wanted until we were headed out for the day, but not before he hit me with a pillow and told me he wished he had a different nanny. This turned out to be funny later in the day when he totally changed his tune. I was telling the kids about volunteering at the hospital, and B decided he didn't like me hanging out with the sick kids. Despite the fact that if I ever need to work on a Friday he puts up a big stink about it, he came up with all sorts of reasons why that time shouldn't be spent with the hospital patients - "But I'll miss you!" "What if Mom wants to go for a run?" "Why can't somebody else play with the kids at the hospital?" My mood was so good from the rest of the week that I pretty much laughed it off and got a kick out of it. Still, the child really needs to get over the possessiveness of every person in his life. It's absurd, and I hope it will pass. If not, he's not going to have many friends when he gets older!

Friday's volunteering shift was nearly as fun as last week's. This time the kids I encountered were almost all between a year and a half and three years old, which was a fun change. Since parents of kids that age tend to be a little more protective and involved, there wasn't as much for me to do, but the kids were really cute. And I was kept pretty busy just cleaning up, since the kids seemed primarily interested in simply taking toys out and leaving them strewn across the room. :) We'll see what this week's shift brings. I am already enjoying the variety.

The weekend was a little odd. I was supposed to go racing in these fancy go karts for a friend's birthday on Friday night. Sadly, the waiting list for the karts was so long that we decided to save that for another time. We ended up shooting pool, watching the Sox game, and grabbing a bite to eat. It wasn't the adrenaline rush we were looking forward to, but it was still fun.

Saturday I sort of frittered away the day reading, web surfing, and shopping before a D&D session in the evening. The session was a bit frustrating due to group dynamics. People were just getting impatient and cranky with one another, which led to snippiness, which I basically abhor. Ugh. Still, we got a bit of plot advancement taken care of and nobody got killed. :)

Sunday I took an impromptu trip to the beach, since it was a glorious day. I spent the afternoon at Salisbury Beach, which provided a lovely combination of pretty, natural seascapes and cheesy boardwalk arcades and gift shops. After lounging on the beach for a couple of hours and taking a brief swim in water so cold it actually hurt at first, I spent some time playing skee-ball, Centipede, Q-bert, Galaga, and similarly nostalgic games of my youth. I also tried Dance, Dance Revolution for the first time. I didn't entirely suck and enjoyed it. I wouldn't mind having a home version.

So, hope you are all satisfied that I am alive and well! This week will also probably be busy with outings with the kids, though my evenings are mostly free. This weekend, I will be spending the holiday up at the employers' lake house with a few friends. I still can't entirely believe the family agreed to let me use the lake house while I dog sit for them! I can't wait to float on a raft in the lake, go kayaking, and watch the sun set over the water. Not so much looking forward to the mosquitoes. Even blood sucking insects can't hope to dampen my enthusiasm, though, since the weekend is the beginning of my two weeks of vacation.

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flutter back - fly ahead