CREEPS

Growing up I always felt like I had so many rules to follow and I didn't understand why I had to follow them. I thought my parents were control freaks and I was so annoyed that I had to check in and let them know where I was, and all that jazz. Now all I want to do is thank them. There are so many weirdos out there, and in the last couple weeks being out downtown I have really come to notice them. Not only do they have bad pick up lines but some of them are just outrageous with their lines. I just wonder if they ever work, if some girls are so desperate that any attention is good attention. I thank my parents that I am not like that, I thank them for givig me values. I hear all of these stories like recently there was a fourteen year old girl who met a twenty two year old online and went to Vegas with him willingly. What kind of parenting is that? Be a part of your childs life, let them know you care, give them restrictions, and even when they yell and srcream and disagree with you, they will thank you later.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Dressing up is not just for kids. However once you are out of school, you should not dress up for work unless you work with children. I think it is awkward when you go into a store on Halloween and instead of a sales clerk helping you, the hulk is... how are you supposed to have a conversation with that?!
ESPECIALLY when people dress hoochie.. so gross. anyways I love Halloween and I think under the right circumstances, everyone can celebrate it.

it is your life

... live it.

Obviously if you keep up with my blog you know that I am a nanny, and that I babysit A LOT. My ideal job is a stay at home mom, but I would love to be a food critic. However I know I will probably end up working with kids. If it was economically possible I would love to fully support myself by being a full time nanny. I know as long as I am working with kids and making a difference in their lives I will be happy with what I do. It isn't work if you love it.

Food glorious food.

I probably should be telling you to make sure your child eats healthy. But I will not be that hypocritical, make sure your child eats, and do not give them crap food all the time, but let them enjoy the finer things in life. Do not assume because they are a child they do not want something or will not like it, give them options. However once the pick that is what they get, do not make them something special for dinner because they are picky, because it gets a little out of control.

 kid doesn't want steak? try it in a sandwich next time...

 stuff your chicken with basil and tomatoe, add some mozzarella, kids will love it.

 PHILLY CHEESESTEAK... need i say more?

 Asian ties.. noodles can be swapped out with asian rice noodles.

 SAUSAGE... just get it with their choice of toppings.

 INDULGE every once in awhile.

 It may seem crazy to let your kids have lobster, but give it a try, they might have fun trying to crack open the shell!

 Chocolate cake is ALWAYS a winner in my book.

Nobody has better ice cream than thrifty.

My Perfect Job

Ideally I would love to be a stay at home mom. However, with the economy, I have to think about the reality of that. I would love love love to be a food critic, because that is what I am best at. I love the way food is presented like a piece of artwork, and I love the aromas that spread through the house, but most of all I love the tastes. I love meat. I like vegetables. I love fruit. I love sweet. I love salty. I like spicy. I love desserts. I love appetizers. I love a three course meal made by my Nana more than anything in the world.

 Nothing like a blue house weekend breakfast :)

 or appetizers @ nanas before...

 easter dinner. OR

 home made thai.

 NANA MAKES THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE.

idolize...

 THE BLIND SIDE
For when I am in the mood for a tear jerker.

 MISS CONGENIALITY
Because it is when I realized she is my favorite.

THE PROPOSAL
For when I want to CRACK UP. <3

These are a few of my favorite movies. Sandra Bullock is HANDS DOWN my favorite actress. I love her and I legitimately feel like we would be friends in real life

RANT.

Private Practice used to be one of my favorite shows, until a couple weeks ago. Her is a little background before I begin my rant: Last season Dell passed away, and earlier in the season, his ex, Betsey's mom had passed away. Now parent less, Betsey had gone to stay with an aunt. This season, the aunt shows up at the practice and drops Betsey off saying she just can't keep her. WHY YOU HEARTLESS LADY?! So then given the opportunity, Violet thinks about adopting her... but given her circumstances she doesn't. No one steps up to adopt Betsey and she is taken to child services, who knows if she will be bounced around through foster parents, or given to a good family. This is the last episode I will watch of Private Practice. I lost respect for the characters, even though I know this is fictional, the writer should have a heart. Dell passed away helping Maya, and even her parents couldn't step up? REALLY? I would like to think that if I was in this situation my friends and family would step up and help me out, not just taking one for the team, but because they truly care and want to be a part of the life of my child. I know I would.

GOOOOOAAAAALLL!!!

Documentation.

Sometimes you have the camera at the right place at the right time, but sometimes you don't. You do not need a picture of every "first"... but it is important to remember the acheievments of the ones you love. Whether you are a lexipedia and can remember in your head, or write it in a notebook, or have pictures to scrapbook. It makes it easier to help someone (your child) through a hard time when you can make a reference to the good times, and let them know that there will always be ups and downs in life and you just have t lookforward to the ups, and get through the downs. Celebrate the positive, get ice cream witha good grade, let them choose the movie... same idea goes for adults, just maybe a different kind of celebration.

drink of choice...

 WHO IS THIS KID?
I love Manny, and I think he is such a hilarious child star in Modern Family. He has an old soul and embraces it.

Sometimes I need coffee, sometimes it's tequila, just something to take the edge off of a stressful day...Or to celebrate a successful day.

Halloween

Fall is such an amazing time of the year. The air is cool and crisp, the leaves change colors, halloween costumes come out, pumpkins are carved, and halloween treats are made. There are so many fun activitites to do as a family, soend a day at the pumpkin patch with the animals and the haystacks. Ride the tractors, and go through a corn maze. Fall is the start of the holiday season, so get in the holiday spirit. My favorite fall commercial is back, the mom making haloween rice krispy treats with her daughters. LOVE IT.

time-outs

While spanking is a bit ridiculous of a punishment, i think time outs are perfectly healthy. As long as the child knows why they are being punished so they do not do it again. If your child deliberately disobeys you, time-out.  Do not let the wild rumpus go on, because you have to let them know you are in control and you make the rules. However do not use time-outs as a result to everything, you don't want them to get used to it. REWARD their good behaviors so they will want to repeat those positive actions instead of their negative ones. By rewarding you do not need to actually give them something, but just a verbal compliment of their manners will reinforce the idea in their mind. Children love when it is noticed that they have been good or done something right without being directed.

sing- sing a song.

Sing to your babies, they do not care if you have a good voice. When they are older they might care, but when they are babies, just hearing your voice is heaven. Not to mention how important it is to have music in every ones life. The little boy that I regularly watch sometimes wants to have a "dance party!" and he will turn on the ipod speakers and we just dance. I am the worst dancer on this planet, but again-they do not care, not at this age, it is just fun to experience all of these new movements and put them together with sounds.

we are family

Nana. Papa. Grandma. Grandpa. Nono. Nona. Whatever you want to call the grandparents of your children, if possible have them be a part of your children's lives. Some of my most fond memories are getting do do things at nana's house that we weren't allowed to do with mom and dad. There are a lot of things that your parents can teach your kids, that they cannot learn from you. Not to mention the connection can be so strong and it is good to have the extra support, and for your kids to have someone to go to if they (god forbid) do not want to talk to you about something.

book worm

It doesn't matter what you read to your child. Well it shouldn't have crude words or pictures... But the important part is that you are spending the time reading to them, expanding their language. Read your child the dictionary, make up your own story for some of the words, it will help them remember the word and the meaning.

happy birthday to who?

While Cake Boss is one of my favorite shows, it is also a bit ridiculous when parents order extravagant birthday cakes for their children who are turning 7. CRAZIES. Kids love candy, cake, ice cream, it does not matter if you spent $900 dollars on their cake. Buy one from Baskin Robbins, or look up a creative recipe online. Parents magazine have cute easy simple cakes that you can make at home. Also if you have your child help with making the cake it will be a whole new meaning and something they are proud of and will want to share with everyone.

THIS GIRL

IS MY LEAST FAVORITE ACTRESS, TIED WITH ANNE HATHAWAY. Anyways this is not about my dislike for her, it is about her role in the movie "AWAY WE GO". Such a good movie, I highly recommend it. She is not a very likable character in the movie and she has some parenting tactics that are just absurd. For one, she doesn't believe in strollers, for a mom on the go-strollers are a necessity. Another thing she does is practice family bed, where the children sleep in the same bed as her and her husband, even when they are intimate. I am all for co-sleeping when you have a baby, it is a great way to connect with your baby and it often helps babies sleep for longer periods of time at night, but have some limits people!

Blood.

Family. goofy. love. dislike. fights. making up. differences. similarities. smiles. tears. hugs. "Honey, life can be a ballroom dance, and it can be full of shit. Your job in both cases is to watch where you step." Family is there to back you  up no matter what. Sometimes you will fight, and disagree, but no matter what they are there. Siblings will steal eachothers clothes, but stay up all night having girl talk. There are some lines you do not cross with your family, but no matter what, they are chosen for you and you have to accept them. Family makes up who you are and what you will become, they are your support, and often your weakness. You may not want to accept your differences, but in the end, family may be all you have, and make sure you do what you need to do to keep it alive and strong. Families are sometimes just your blood, but families can be so much more than that. step-families, and blended families can become your support. Just because they are not blood family doesn't mean they cannot support you the way the rest of the family does. Families come in all different shapes and sizes, all sorts of colors and ethnicities, and that is what is so great about them. A family no matter how big or small is ONE family unit.

you've got a friend in me

For those of you who do not watch community. YOU SHOULD.

Friends are important, and it is so important to have a few really good close friends that you can rely on and talk to and trust than to have a million acquaintances that are just so-so. Those are good to have and to hang out with but you need to know who is who. Some people will have your back no mater what, some people will back stab you and change their mind about you every day. It doesn't matter if they are old or young, skinny or fat, hip or geeky, it matters about the quality of a friend they have inside. So take a minute and evaluate the importance of your friendship. "Make new friends, but keep the old-some are silver and the others GOLD."

:(

The saddest moment in my television life to date. When Denny died, I layed in bed and cried for hours. HOURS. I know, it is television and as a little boy I babysit told me "It's okay Miss Teresa, it's just a movie." I just know that things like this really happen, people go through losses like this that are so monumental and outrageous and hard to overcome I cannot even imagine. It makes me appreciate my health and my youth and all of the people around me. And at the same time it makes me so angry, why do things like this happen? Why do people die at young ages, when they are just happily married... I don't know, I can't answer that. But it sure makes me want to help everyone, and be there for people when they are going through a tough time, and to tell everyone I love that I love them ALL OF THE TIME.

toilet training

I think this would be easier to train... all you do is put the litter in there, and once they are used to it, remove it. But with a child, there is no right answer. EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT.

up up and away

 PETS. The "model family" has a mother, father, son and daughter, and a dog. Pets are unnecessary. I am not only saying this because I am not an animal person. However if you are hesitant about getting a pet, don't get one! Wait until your kids are older and more responsible and can help with the duties. Your child does not need a pet to play with. Rodents are not pets, leave them outside for the snakes. Reptiles are not pets, they are reptiles. Have a dog, a cat, or a very low maintenance beta fish (my pet of choice FRANKLIN). Do not try to be exotic with your pet, there is a whole television series on how those go wrong. Anyways I am not saying pets are bad, I am just saying be ready for the responsibility and the cost. Just because you had a child hood dog in your life doesn't mean you need a pet immediately with a child.

The cutest couple in my life. Never had a pet, or a child. Just LOVE.

work overload

Being a mom is a full time job. So god forbid you have work, school, or just keeping a house in order while doing it all. Super mom is a term I have come to like, and many of the families I work for have "supermoms". I think that working and being a mother is very hard. I salute mothers who do it, especially mothers with little or no support. However I LOVE that some people have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom, and being there for all the moments that are documented and scrapbooked. Anyways no matter what a mom does, all moms need a break every once in awhile. A night with her husband, a night out with girls, or even just an uninterupted night at home. It may feel like your child is running your household, they probably are. But mama bear needs her time too. Don't wait until you explode to make time for yourself, and do not feel guilty either.

kangaroo

 Alex Karev, Grey's Anatomy, holding a premature baby and giving her enough warmth to raise her body temperature.

This medical theory comes from the idea of a kangaroo, and that if a premature baby comes out it may just need the comfort of their mother (skin to skin) to help her through this hard time. In this case the mother was unaailabke because of her injuries so Karev naturally stepped in. We learned about this in class today and there was discussion of appropriateness of a doctor stepping in and doing this, but I think if I was unavailable and it would help my baby, I would be all for it. This is not just for premature babies, you can take your full term child and hold them skin to skin for a connection that is deeper than just holding them.

This brings me to another point- All babies need to be held. The most common time babies are held is when their mother is nursing. Over the holidays last year I stepped in and babysat for a family I do not know while their nanny was out of town. When it came to feeding time, I fed one and then the other so they could feel love and feel that I was nurturing them while feeding. Both babies were very fussy and squirming when I was feding them. This is when the mother came home, her reply to this was, "They aren't used to being held." I was so distraught I was holding back tears, a baby not used to being held? I urged for more of a respnse, and she said it is just difficukt because there were two of them. I didn't want to intrude on her parenting skills but I still think about it to this day. I nanny for twins and I like to think I give them as much love as possible, and I know that their parents do. So it kills me when parents who have th opportunity to show their babies how much they love them do not take advantage of it. Hold your babies, hg your babies, love your babies.

word.

 scrabble- best game ever.

 beach towel scrabble

WORDS WITH FRIENDS

I think this is by far my favorite app on my iphone and I play addictively. I also play scrabble as much as posible. I do not always win, but I love when I do. I love finding out new words, and those tripple word scores... I know, weird, but it really makes me happy and helps me to relieve my stress. I have the original scrabble board, the pink spinning one, the scrabble towel, scrabble SLAM, and words with friends. I guess I just like words? Parents- game night is a fun way to get your kids to interact with you, BUT do not force it. Play different games, some educational, and some just plain fun ones, and eventually they will join in.

cheers

Recently I have had two encounters with kids that I work with talking about alcohol. While some people may say not to drink in front of your children, I disagree. It is perfectly acceptable as long as you are not getting smashed. I was watching four kids oone afternoon, and a bunch of adults took a limo out to lunch. The youngest one asked where the limo went and I responded, "It took your parents and their friends to go have lunch" his reply, "and vodka". I couldn't help but crack up. As long as chldren know that it is NOT something that they should have, it is perfectly acceptable. Today while watching children I was pouring myself a diet coke, one mistakenly thought it was wine and said, "Teresa drink wine- wine not for kids- wine for teresa's mommies and daddies..." and her brother responded, "Teesa love wine". Both true statements. Anyways, have fun, have a drin with dinner,just make sure your kids are your number one priority, obviously.

single parents...

 Jasmine only has a father...

 Cinderella a stepmother..

 Mufasa passes away..

 Snow white has the dwarfs...

 Ariel has her father...

 Belle has Maurice...

 Aurora is taken from her parents to live with her fairy godmothers...

Tatiana loses her father...

We all know that fifty percent of marriages end in divorce, but is there no hope? With the exception of Mulan and myself, Disney princesses are not brought up by a mother and a father. There are not very many successful long lasting marriages to set a good example for our youth. We all know that people lose parents, whether to death or divorce, and gain family from remarriages but can we switch it up every once in awhile? When you say for better or for worse, mean it. There is nothing stronger than a bond with your child, and that will last longer than any love, or any marriage, but that doesn't mean it has to.