How Angelic

Last night I spent a wonderful time up at Upper Canada Village. They are having a night time visit to see some beautiful lights all over the premises. Upper Canada Village is located along the St. Lawrence Seaway that borders Cornwall, Ontario and Massena, New York. I usually go during the summer months where you can explore the village and see people living the way they did in 1860. You are free to ask them questions and learn about their different talents and trades of the time.
This year I was invited (along with J&S, C&W, and my mother) by my dear Grandmother to join her in walking around the same village at night and admiring the lights. She even decided to play in the freshly fallen snow a bit. This is her special snow angel.
When we first arrived through the gate we were greeted by some carolers singing wonderfully a cappella. I stayed a little while and gave a nice applaud at the end. Then we saw a huge line for the horse drawn wagon ride so we decided to walk around the village first and maybe the line will die down when we get back.
So then our first little visit was to the town church where for the first time we were allowed to actually enter the church (in the summer you are only able to enter the foyer but today we could sit in the pews if we wanted to). So we went in and there was a gathering of people all singing Christmas carols together and ringing some jingle bells. The ladies had a piano and gave out some song sheets so we even sang along, well most of us did J did not (as usual).
After the church we headed down some of the streets and saw some very nicely decorated lights. We heard jingle bells almost everywhere we went. Finally we realized why when "Grandma almost got run over by a horse". Luckily we got her out of the way in time. I made her hold my hand for a while so that it wouldn't happen again (kind of like a time out). After walking all around we went back to see if the wagon ride was any better than before. Nope in fact it was longer than before and we had a very unhappy little girl waiting in front of us. Luckily for all of us she was on the wagon before us and we didn't have to ride with her. Whew!
Then we took a nice stroll through the gift shop. I picked up two Christmas ornaments they were both made of coloured clay one is in the shape of a Christmas tree and the other is of a stocking. The whole night was a blast even though my toes gave out during the trek. I would definitely do it all again next year. Thank you Grandma.

Cat Naps

So Christmas has come and gone and everyone is happy with all of Santa's little goodies. "Santa" brought me a digital camera for Christmas this year which I was more than pleased about. We spent the day at J and S's new place out in Richmond Ontario. I was a nice time and we were lucky to have Grandma there celebrating in the festivities with us. I think and am pretty sure that she had a good time. She was very thoughtful this year because she remembered our cats and got them a nice blanket and some treats which they ate up when they got home (yum yum). As you can see in the picture my kitty Joey is showing his pleasure with the blanket he sleeps in it all day and doesn't really share well with the other kitties (yet). I hope you all had a great time with your family's at this special time of year. I know I did and I am looking forward to seeing the little munchkins again next week.

Happy Holidays

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL....AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!!!!

A Ukrainian Christmas

I went out with some friends last night for a Christmas dinner and a get together. It was much too long since I've last seen them all and they all have new things going on in their lives as I do. One of the girls made this ornament for each of us (which means that she is probably more of a Martha than I am), it is very beautiful and I hung it on my tree when I got home (at the top so the cats can't reach it). Along with the ornament she included a paragraph on how it is associated with Christmas time. I will share it with you too.

A Ukrainian Christmas Tree has a Spider on it for good luck.
The tradition of spiders and webs on the tree is based upon the following legend:

There once was a widow, who lived in a small hut. She was very poor. One day a pinecone dropped on the floor and it took root. Her children were excited that they would have a tree for Christmas. All summer long they made plans on how they would decorate the tree. They were very poor, so poor that they didn't have anything to decorate the tree with. Despite their hard times, the children and the widow were always helpful to others in the village. The widow went to bed on Christmas Eve knowing that the tree would not be decorated. Early on Christmas morning, the woman was awakened by her children. "Mother, mother wake up and see the tree it is beautiful!" The mother arose and saw that during the night a spider had spun a web around the tree. The youngest child opened the window to the first light of Christmas Day. As the shafts of the sun crept along the floor, it touched one of the threads of the spider web and instantly the web was changed into gold and silver. And from that day forward the widow never wanted for anything.

Martha vs Rachael!

Who is the better homemaker of the two? Is it Martha the elegant craftster who is perfect in every way? Or Rachael the fun out going anything can happen entertainer?

Well here are some quotes from both sides:

Rachael says: "Recipes are just ideas, suggestions." - seacoastonline.com
Martha says: "I think baking cookies is equal to Queen Victoria running an empire." - Oprah.com

Rachael says: "Through a series of accidents, I kept ending up in jobs I was completely unqualified for." - seacoastonline.com
Martha says: "Everybody in prison has a business plan." - New York Post

Rachael says: "Fries are very tasty at both Burger King and McDonalds, but I prefer BK." - popcrazy.com
Martha says: I'm not so interested in fast food as I'm interested in good food." - Larry King Live

Rachael says: "I'm like a bobblehead - who would take me seriously anyway?" - OK! Magazine
Martha says: "I'm oriented in the right direction all the time." - Larry King Live

Rachael says: "I'm very klutzy and not really capable of crafting or doing too many domestic things beyond making supper." - Larry King Live
Martha says: "I can almost bend steel with my mind. I can bend anything if I try hard enough. I can make myself do almost anything." - Oprah.com

Rachael says: "Yum-o!"
Martha says: "It's a good thing."

Who are you more like Rachael or Martha? Who do you think won the battle?

Happy Birthday Nugley!

Today is Nugley's birthday. He turned 5 years old today and now he thinks he can move up to the next grade at school. That's probably because he did when he was in Montessori. We had a family get together last night before Nana and Gramps had to go for their holidays. He had a great time and loved his presents. I think two of his favourites were his Maple Leafs T-shirt given by myself and a new watch given by his sister Choo Choo. he took his new watch to school today and told me everytime the long hand reached a new number. I knew at that time that his teacher was going to love this present, well maybe not. We made cupcakes yesterday to have at school today with his classmates. He was a very proud boy and I think he has grown up so much over the past year, especially since September. Going to school is important stuff for him, so he tells me. A couple of weeks ago he had his party with all his friends. His mom invited about 25 children and they all were able to make it.

She had the party at home (she's very brave) and hired a magician to put on a show. The show was about 45 minutes long and maintained the children's attention the whole time (as well as the parents). After the show Nugley told him he could come back anytime.We then celebrated a new holiday called the 12 days of Nugley. It's where Nugley gets to open a new birthday present (from the party) for the next 12 days or so. Some people celebrate Hanukkah others Christmas but we celebrate Nugley first. It made him behave during the weeks and to help get his homework done a lot easier having him know he could open a new gift. He is a great boy and I love being around him and his sister. I learn something new everyday from him.

Happy Birthday Nugley!!

Dear Santa...

I found this cool site where I could write a letter to Santa and have it turn into something fun. You should try it out to and see how it goes. Nothing serious because I think we all take too many things too seriously all the time.

Dear Santa,

I have been a good girl.

It really wasn't my faultwhat happened at Laurie's Christmas party. It was Cheyanne who spiked the punch with too much Chocolatini. I can't help it if I drank 15 glasses. It was so good --- it smelled and tasted just like vanilla.
I thought it was funny when I put Nancy's shirt on my head and danced the mambo on the table while singing "eensy weensy spider". I didn't mean to break Laurie's stereo and I don't know why Laurie would sue me for shoplifting.

I don't remember calling Scott's wife a big donkey --- even though she looked like one with red eye shadow and green lipstick!
And when I threw up on Alyson's husband's leg, it was only because I ate too much of that spaghetti.
After all that fun, I admit I was a little tired. So I fell asleep on my way home and drove my Honda Civic through my neighbours's door. I don't think that was any reason for my neighbour to call me a lazy chicken and have me arrested for assault!

So, Santa...here I sit in my jail cell on Christmas Eve, all roasted and grumpy. And I'm really not to blame for any of this round stuff. Please bring me what I want most...bail money!

Sincerely and silently yours,
Stephanie (really a nice girl)

PS it's only 93 bucks!

Decisions.....Decisions.....

So I am at the point in the year where I have to make a few decisions and then hope for the best. My dilemma is do I stay with the family and work in their office for them and then see the kids after school and during school holidays. I could also see about starting a career in an actual daycare setting, where I may even have my own little class with cute little people. I could also continue being a nanny for another great family although at times I don't think it's possible to find another family as good as what I have now but you never know. I am also looking at maybe going overseas to travel around a bit and to teach English as a second language. So as you can see I have a lot to think about. It seems like I have a while to make up my mind but really I don't. I'm sure that whatever decision I do make that everything will work out fine and that it was the right choice and even if it isn't that at least I tried something new and enjoyed myself. Sometimes I just wish that someone would just tell me where I am to go and then I wouldn't have to worry about it. But that is not what life is like and that is not going to happen. I will keep you all up to date on what happens.

It's Raining.....Its Pouring.....

It has been raining and pouring for I don't even know how many days now. I do know that yesterday I saw that beautiful sunshine for about 5 minutes in the morning as I am busy taking the kids to school and I also saw it set in the afternoon. So we aimed to spend as much time after school outdoors because who knew when we'd be able to do that again. They rode their bikes and ran around until we couldn't see anymore than we went inside and had some hot chocolate with marshmallows of course. Then today came and it was pouring when I left for work at 7:00. It was pouring when I had to try and get 2 little ones in the car with seatbelts on and get myself in while trying to not get too wet (NOT FUN).
Nugley only had a half day of school today and Dad was off so Dad picked Choo Choo up and I picked up Nugley and took him for lunch and to the Science and Tech Museum he had a great time we met my sister there for the afternoon. When we were leaving well what do you know it was raining again. When I get home tonight it wasn't pouring or raining until I have to get out of my car. The street outside my front door seems to have flooded too and all the cars like to speed right through the HUGE puddle and spread the rain around sometimes even on people.
I guess I shouldn't complain seeing as how Vancouver is getting it much worse than us. They are got another 50-70 mm of rain again today and it's supposed to rain there tomorrow too. It probably makes them feel more like Eeyores I know I feel like an Eeyore today sad and gloomy and depressed.

Hockey Update

So it is now November 12th 2006 and I am happy to say that my Toronto Maple Leafs are doing some of their best work I have seen in a long time, and the Ottawa Senators are doing some of their worst. I probably shouldn't brag too much about it but hey Toronto is Ottawa's number 1 rival. It'll be nice to hear the radio stations try to figure why their team is not winning so much. HA HA HA! Ok enough of that (for now). As of right now Toronto has won 11 times lost only 5 games and lost in overtime 3 times. Ottawa has won 6 times lost 9 games and lost in overtime once. To give Ottawa some credit they have played 3 less games then Toronto. But they will probably make that up this week since they are playing 4 games this week and Toronto only 2. You can definitely tell who is Canadian by asking them about hockey. I am pretty sure almost everyone here knows about it in some aspect or another.

To finish off all I have to say is GO LEAFS GO!!!!!!!!

Remember

Today is the 11th day of the 11th month, also known as Remembrance Day, and coming up will be the 11th hour where me and the rest of Canada will take some time to say thanks to all the soldiers from WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and all the peacekeepers for all they have done for us to help keep Canada safe. Today is the day where I feel very proud to be a Canadian.

During WWI (1914-1918) over 600,000 volunteers went overseas to battle and by the end of the war more than 69,000 died and 172,000 were wounded. They were very courage for taking on this task.
During WWII (1939-1945) over a million people went to serve in combat and more than 47,000 did not return.
In Korea (1950-1953) over 26,000 soldiers served and 500 died.

The poppy is the symbol for this day because of all the poppies that were growing around the graves of the fallen soldiers. During the battle of Ypres Canadian Lt.-Col. John McCrae was inspired to write a poem after seeing the poppies grow over a close friend's grave.
The first poppies were given out in Canada in 1921. Today the veterans distribute them for a donation to the Royal Canadian Legion which help the exsoldiers live today.

To end my blog today I will leave you with Lt.-Col. John McCrae's Poem

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you with failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

John McCrae 1915

Fun Times

I woke up this morning and saw that it had snowed last night and was still snowing at the moment. It is so nice and peaceful watching the snow fall especially since I didn't have to go out in the car anywhere. Although I did drop my car off at the garage to get snow tires on Friday so I am all set for the winter season and I will feel safer driving the kids around through the sometimes unplowed roads. We'll have to see how this winter is maybe we won't get as much as last season.

Friday Choo Choo had the day off of school so I decided to take her to the Museum of Civilization. They have a great children's museum there where the kids can actually touch and play with things from around the world. She mainly wanted to see the Totem Poles. They are soooo tall and she liked looking up high seeing the tall bird look down on her. After having some lunch we got tickets to see Deep Sea in the IMAX theatre. Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp were the narrators. We got to see what happens under the sea, there were sea urchins, coral reefs, shrimp, sea turtles, sharks, starfish, octopus, squid, jellyfish, and other creatures I don't know what they are called. She really liked it. She was a bit startled at times as I was but not enough to sit in my lap. Her dad has a great saltwater tank at home (the one that seems to always cause a flood) with a few of the creatures we saw on the screen. My favourite part was watching the sea turtles go to a cleaning station where yellow and black tangs swam close to them eating the stuff off of their shells (giving them a bath). If you have never seen an IMAX film I highly recommend it. They make you feel like you are actually there in the scene.

Halloween Time 2

So the party was yesterday and it was indeed a lot of fun lot's of kids lots of adults and lots of costumes. Some of the ones I really liked was the Paper Bag Princess, Dirty Laundry and one family came as Dora the Explorer, Boots, Diego and Swiper very cute. All the people were fun to hang out with although I was the odd one out I was the only Nanny to attend there was supposed to be another one come but I am not too sure what happened there, even the family thought she was coming oh well. Anyway the party was a blast and congrats to the hosts for doing such a great job. Can't wait until Christmas.

Halloween Time

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!

Well it's almost that time of year again where all the cute little children dress up in scary costumes. Well maybe they don't all dress like scary creatures but they do have fun. I am actually going to a Halloween party today that the family I work for is having. I have decided to dress up as a Witch but I do have to say that finding a costume that is appropriate is quite hard to do. I did manage to get a hat from the Walmart but the dress part was the hard part. I found that a lot of the adults costumes or focused on adults parties if you know what I mean. So I ended up getting a Goth type outfit that to me could be used as a witch. I also got some fake eyelashes, press on nails and some nice long curly black hair. For this party the mother asked me to bake some cupcakes and Rice Krispie squares. Cup cakes no problem they were fast and easy (I was very tempting to eat one but didn't). The Rice Krispies were another story though. Knowing that this was going to be a Halloween party she wanted some spooky types of food and treats. So the Rice Krispies were not going to be square but instead in the shape of SPIDERS, like this one...

So I tried my best, I put the blue food colouring in (which made it green instead) and I started to form the spider shapes with my hands. The Rice Krispie mix got cooled faster than I could make them so I ended up making 3 before I lost all my patience with this and was totally frustrated. I put the rest of the mix in a pan and decided to make cookie cutter shapes with it. The mom laughed when I told her how well I did. I explained that I was not Martha and probably never will be (well maybe I could dress like her for Halloween next year). So I am off to the party and I will let you all know how much fun it was when I get back.

Let me know if any of you were able to make anything (besides squares) with Rice Krispies, or tell me about your horror stories with it. It'll make me feel better.

Superstitions

Well today is the scary Friday the Thirteenth, and for you all today I have done some research on some of the different superstitions out there. Some of them will be familiar and some may be new for you, as they were for me. I will start with some of the so called "bad luck" ones. Let me know if you've heard of some of these and if you know of any other ones too.

1. Friday the 13th is a bad day because apparently

• Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday
• Noah's big flood started on a Friday
• Christ was crucified on a Friday
• 12 witches and 1 devil are usually present a Satanic ceremonies therefore Friday and 13 is a deadly combo.

2. You should never walk under a ladder because ladders make a triangle shape which is like the symbol of the Holy Trinity and walking through the Holy Trinity or a triangle is bad luck and you may be considered doing work with the devil.

3. "God Bless You" congratulates people who sneeze and expels evil from their bodies.

4. Don't spill salt because salt was precious and expensive in the middle ages. If it was spilled then you were to throw it over your left shoulder to get the evil spirits in the eye.

5. "Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home" it is considered bad luck to kill a ladybug because they represent the Virgin Mary.

6. Breaking mirrors gives you seven years bad luck.

7. Cover your mouth when you yawn because some evil spirits could enter through your mouth.

8. "Knock on Wood" it keeps the evil spirits that live in the wood from coming out to spoil your good fortune.

Now for some more pleasant/fun ones:

• If your nose itches it means that someone is thinking about you.
• If your left ear rings it means that someone is saying good things about you.
• If your right ear rings it means that someone is saying bad things about you.
• If your left hand itches it means that you are going to be rich.
• If your right hand itches it means that you are going to be poor.

Well I hope the evil spirits didn't find you on this Friday.

Hockey is Back

The 2006-2007 of Hockey has started already and tonight launches the first official Saturday Night of Hockey. I say that tonight is the official night because I know that CBC has already shown a Hockey Night in Canada game earlier this week (Toronto 6 Ottawa 0), but it's never the same without this man here. Don Cherry is one of the reasons I watch HNIC every Saturday night. I am always interested in hearing what he has to say next. He speaks his mind and is not afraid to. HNIC has been going on for 54 years and is still going on strong. It started with Foster Hewitt calling the play-by-play on the radio. Then he began broadcasting on the television. 19 years later Bob Cole took over when Hewitt's health was declining. Now we see Ron MacLean and Don Cherry discussing events and players on Coach's Corner. Bob Cole is still broadcasting the play-by-plays but in my opinion I am thinking that maybe he should pass the torch to another one. He has been here for 35 years and it is time. Tonight will be great game, but I guess it depends on which game you are watching, which game you are cheering for and where you live that will decide that. You see I cheer for the Toronto Maple Leafs (always have and always will), however I live in the Ottawa area and the Senators are playing tonight also, so CBC has decided that they will broadcast all these games regionally. Which means I could either watch the Sens game and catch Coach's Corner in the intermission or I could watch the Toronto game in French (they are playing Montreal) and hope to catch Coach's Corner. If you know me than you will know that I will be watching the Toronto game. French or English it is still just hockey. Go Leafs!

Happy Birthday

Today is Choo Choo's birthday. She turned three and is very excited about it. She has been telling everyone she sees that she is "not a baby". She doesn't need a stroller or a cart in the grocery store because she is a big girl now. We celebrated her birthday last night and she had a party with her friends on the weekend. She got lots of nice things that I get to play with also. So Happy Birthday Choo Choo. Don't grow up too fast ok?

The Waterhole

I have found this site on the internet that show a web cam focused on a waterhole in Africa. Actually it is called Nkorho Pan and is a natural water hole in Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve in South Africa. I found that Nkorho Pan is named after Nkorho bush Lodge which gets it's name from Shangaan derivative for the call of the yellow-billed hornbill, a common and unusual looking bird from the area. I am actually listening to it as we speak, and I can definetly hear these birds sing their lovely song all day long. This webcam is shown 24/7 so depending on the time when you listen you can hear and see different animals and at times during the day someone is there to focus on some of the activity they find interesting. At night all you can really hear is the bullfrogs and the crickets. Although I did manage to see an owl sitting by the edge of the waterhole looking all around. During the day I have seen a baboon and some antelope (mommies and babies). The family I work for showed this wonderful footage and they have it on their computer all during the day. There was one day when the Mom and I heard some strange noises which may have been a lion or a hyena catching their lunch it was a scary noise anyway but we couldn't see what was happening . The Mom and Dad enjoy it mainly because it reminds them of their time when they worked a year in Africa. I enjoy it because it takes me to a place I may not get a chance to visit and enjoy. You definetly need sound to take it all in the best you can.

Roast Beef

Where I live we have decided to each take a day where we are responsible for cooking the dinner meal. This way we all chip in and contribute and one of us won't have to feel like we have to do it every night. I have officially made my first roast beef dinner and it went smoothly. It was a late dinner but that happens when I have to work until 5:30 and I don't usually get home until 6:00. Cooking a roast wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I just had to make sure I didn't rush with starting some other things like the vegetables. The gravy part I'm still going to work on because it was a little bit too thick but it still tasted good. I don't mind thick gravy but not for roast beef, it should flow more than stick. I ate it though, and so did everyone else, they must have liked it because the next night they had some more as leftovers. Along with the dinner I also prepared a cherry cheesecake. We couldn't eat it until the next night though because I forgot about the "chilling" time. While doing all this I only burnt myself once, from picking up a hot dish but it wasn't too bad. Just a few choice words came out at the time. everything is fine now and I may attempt to do this again one day. Hey Thanksgiving is just around the corner. hmmm. We'll have to see. What are some of your experiences with cooking?

Sunday

Well it's one of those Sundays where there is not much to do and it feels great! I am spending some time reading some blogs and catching up on how others are doing. I found this on gnarlynanny's blog and I thought I would try it out too. A good and fun way to spend an afternoon.

Rock Star Name: (pet's name and your current street name) Joey Crestway

Movie Star Name: (grandfather/grandmother name on mother's side and favourite candy) Irene Poprocks

Fly Guy/Girl Name: (first initial of last name and first 3 letters of middle name) G-Lyn

Detective Name: (favourite colour and favourite animal) Red Bear

Soap Opera Name: (middle name and city where you were born) Lynn Victoria

Star Wars Name: (first 3 letters of last name, first 2 letters of first name, first 2 letters of mother's maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in) Gorstdikan

Superhero Name: ("the" , favourite colour and favourite drink) The Red Smirnoff

Nascar Name: (first name of both your grandfathers) Jacob Edward

Futuristic Name: (name of favourite perfume/cologne and name of favourite shoes) Calvin Klein Merrell

Witness Protection Name: (mother/father's middle name) Louise Adam Reginald

Have Fun with it and let me know when you have done it too.

Autumn

Tomorrow is the first official day of Autumn. However, I am already blessed with all the colours that autumn has to bring. As I drive the kidlings to various places in the morning I see the gradual change all the trees make and then it seems like "poof" they all magically changed to bright reds , yellows and oranges. This I do have to say is my most favourite season of all. Bringing out all the sweaters that I have been longing to wear again. I've already bought a few things for Hallowe'en too. It's all very exciting! The kids can't wait to gather the leaves and place them at the bottom of their big red slide so that can fall right into them and then gather them up again. This time of the year is the best time to go on trail walks through the avrious areas and listen to the leaves crunch and the Canadian geese prepare to fly south for the winter. I remember "years ago" driving to my grandparents place (A nice place out in the country) and with my two aunts we would gather as much leaves as we could find, and there were plenty, and we would spend the whole day out in those leaves jumping, hiding, rolling. You name it and we did it. It was so much nicer then, and I try to bring some of that to these kids here. I am so happy for Autumn we should have a party to celebrate the coming of Autumn (maybe that's what Thanksgiving Day is for).

Have a happy Autumn day tomorrow and go out and do something before Jack Frost comes into our lives.

Money Money Money

I found this article today as I was browsing on the Internet about 10 jobs that pay a six-figure salary. You will be surprised to see some of these on the list.

1. Court Reporter - If you can type 200 or more words per minute, a six figure job transcribing court testimony or captioning Web casts can be had.

2. Professional Coach - About 20% of the 10,000 coaches make six-figure salaries.

3. Mine Manager - Claustrophobia aside, a profession with a median salary of $106,000 a year awaits those with the project management skills to set budgets and deadlines for mining projects, plus review and inforce safety procedures. A College degree is not always necessary.

4. Sales Person - If you have a way with people and can handle rejection, it doesn't matter if you are selling stocks, life insurance, cars or magazine subscriptions you will be making big bucks.

5. Truck Driver - Long haul drivers willing to be on the road for weeks at a time can pull in $100,000 a year, plus benefits.

6. Pressman - aka Printing Machine Operators, make as much as $32 an hour which comes to six-figures annually with overtime.

7. Tech Writer - These workers make $50 an hour to do freelance tech writing jobs.

8. Restaurant Manager - Working your way up to manager from the kitchen or wait staff can earn you $100,000 or more. Usually in higher end establishments and resorts (not Swiss Chalet).

9. Air Traffic Controller - A high stress job with a daunting training program. Many pay $100,000 to start.

10. Elementary School Principal - The US national median is $76,000 a year but those in higher income areas break the six-figure barrier.

After all of this said, you can't just take a job for the money you also have to really like what you are doing. I don't think I could ever be a truck driver because that would require me to sit down too much and I can't do that. Sure I wish I made more money but don't we all? I do know that I would never give up working with children they are too precious to me.

Camp Skits

Has anyone ever gone to a camp where you perform skits and sily things? I grew up going to church camps through the summer, mainly music camps (or as some of you may know it as "band camp"). Well this site made me think back to those days when all the cabins would put on a special skit to make fun of ourselves or staff members of the camp.

http://www.nationx.dk/coats/

What are some of your favourite camp memories?

The Richmond Fair

Today I went to the Richmond Fair. What a great day it was too. The cold air disappeared for the weekend and the sun was shining the whole time too. I am watching the kids this weekend too so that Mommy and Daddy could go away for their anniversary. They left Friday a.m. for Vermont and should return before supper on Sunday. So I took the kids to the fair. They were so excited. The rides the rides the rides. That was the only thing on their mind. So I bought a bunch of (over priced) tickets and asked what they wanted to ride on first. "Horsies Horsies!" Ok off we go to the Merry-Go-Round. It was actually quite nice and lasted quite a while. When it ended Choo Choo was very sad and cried a little, she didn't want it to end. It took a little while for her to calm down. Then they went on some motor car ride, the ferris wheel and a train. Nugly wanted to go down the big slide so he went on his own. He carried his blanket up all the stairs and down he went holding the blanket instead of sitting on it so off he went to try it again and tada it came down so much nicer. The tickets were gone and that caused another upset with Choo Choo but she got over it when I said lunch time. We went and got some nice hotdogs. Choo Choo ate the bun and that's it but I knew that was coming seeing as how she is a carb-ivore.

After lunch we ran into Sparky the fire dog and got pics taken and hugs. Then we were off to find the petting zoo (nothing was marked out for us). We found a kid section run by a nursery school which had crafts and painting and then a singer came, Mary Lambert from Kingston, ON. She was really good. She sang a song that needed children to dress up and Nugly was chosen for the sheep. He got to wear a sheep hat and a tail. There was also a pig, a chicken and a cow. When it came time to perform he had to BAAAAAA at the right time in the song then turn around and shake his little tail. It was priceless. I got lots of pics for Mom and Dad. Choo Choo realizing that Nugly was up there and she wasn't began to have another melt down. Fun times. After Mary's performance we thanked her and finally found the petting zoo, which was goats and a donkey. They were starting to get tired out so we started heading for the car taking one last look at the all the cows and dressed up horses. We all had a great time and they are both passed out up in their beds. (2 points for me).

A Bad Nanny!?!?!

I found this on topfive.com and found it quite funny. Enjoy.

The Top 5 Signs You've Hired a Bad Nanny

5. Instead of shaking the baby, she just puts it in the blender.

4. She asks for your credit card numbers so she can reach you in case of an emergency.

3. First offense for back-talk? A ten minute time-out.

Second offense? Sell 'em to the gypsies.

2. "Just look at me as a Mary Poppins with nuts."

and the Number 1 sign you've hired a bad Nanny......

1. She's supercalifragilisticexpiali-wasted.

Have a good day!

Floods

What a day today was. Busy as everyday seems to be the kids are getting better at getting up early and get out the door asap. Most days I start around 7:30 although today was a special day where I was asked to come in earlier so they could get off to a prework meeting. So I had a long day. I will tell you my typical day at work as a nanny/office helper. I end up feeding the kidlings breakfast as soon as they come down hoping that they are already dressed (not usually both of them) then wash them up and get them out the door and into my car to leave for school hopefully by 8:00 (we're getting better at it). We don't have too many meltdowns about no tv time or playtime in the a.m. I drop Nugly off at his school (full day JK) which is about a 20 min. drive in traffic to get him there hopefully before the bell rings. Then I am off to take Choo Choo to her school (half day preschool) by 9:00 (we are always on time for that one it's only about a 15 min. drive there). That's it for kids for me until lunch time so the parents asked if I would work in their office until lunch time. So off I go there where I get to relearn my alphabet by filing charts and documents in the right section (it's going to take me a little while longer to figure that out). Then I am back at the preschool to pick up Choo Choo who always has a smile on when she comes down the stairs and sees me. I take her home and give her some lunch and off she goes for a nap while I do some cleaning/kid laundry (I refuse to do the parents) and relax for a bit. She only sleeps for about an hour so it's not much time. Then I snack her and put her back in the car to go and pick Nugly up from school. When we get back I let them choose their activity (lately it's been riding bikes) and wait for mom and dad to return at about 5:30.

Although today was quite a different day, Dad was off because he worked a night shift and came home mid morning and was trying to clean out or something like that (I don't know too much about it) his fish tank (now this fish tank is not just your ordinary tank with cute little goldfish in it. It is a salt water fish tank with live coral, clams, starfish, etc. and he grows his own coral and has this whole system that I don't go near) So after he did that he went and slept all afternoon just like Choo Choo did (she's a great sleeper as long as the cat doesn't stay with her). While I was making muffins with Choo Choo Dad said he had to go out for a while so I went and picked up Nugly as usual and because it was raining they got to play inside with the trains and Hot Wheels (yes Choo Choo likes that more than dolls) I sent them down and was going to join them after putting the lunch bag away but Nugly came back up very upset and mentioned something about a flood. "WHAT A FLOOD?" so I went down to check it out and yup there was a flood. Apparently the huge fish tank was overflowing somehow. OK that's fine I'll just call Dad on his cell phone. It would have been fine if only he had it on. OK so then I'll just page him. Oh what's that I hear? "beep beep beep" that's right he left his pager at home with me. OK so now I am officially panicking. So I call Mom on her cell phone Hooray I made contact. So she drops what she is doing and races home. Meanwhile I call an aquarium store to ask a) is Dad there? b) how do I stop the flood? They tell me no Dad has not come in today and to pull the plug on the pump. OK I can do that, after a half hour of trying to figure out which plug goes to which thing. AHHHHH! Mom gets home and helps with the towels and searching for THE plug. When Dad gets home ...... Boy is he in trouble as Choo Choo told him often (hee hee hee). The flood wasn't the big problem it was mainly that he didn't have any way for me to contact him. I think he learned his lesson though. And I am pretty much a pro at this now because after 3 years working here I've dealt with 4 floods.

15 YEARS!!!!

I can't believe that DiPietro has signed a contract for 15 years. That means that he will be making 4.5 million US a year until he decides to retire whether he gets hurt this year or not. That is INSANE!!!! and he is only 24 years old. I do have to say though that he is not to blame for this whole ordeal. I would definetly take it no matter what but what on earth are the Islanders thinking????? They better win the Stanley Cup with all that they have invested in this one player. In a way I hope he gets hurt (not in a bad way) just to see how they react. Maybe this is just a way for the team to get more attendance from the fans. Wouldn't it be great if you witnessed the fall of the big goalie guy? It could be as good as seeing the Stanley Cup final. No not really. I do wonder what Don Cherry has to say about all this I bet he has a lot and it will probably be his top rant of the season. Well you know he's not a Canadian. Maybe that's part of it. He doesn't want to end up getting traded at some point to a Canadian team. Who knows all I know is that it will be something to watch. And watching I will do but mainly for my Toronto Maple Leafs. First game is September 5 against their rival Ottawa Senators.

ps Do you think DiPietro is married? I would make a good hockey wife

What goes around comes around

Who knew that living all your life you would be so used to certain ways of living? Sure my ways may not always be the best ways for everyone but they are for me and I like it my way. Wouldn't you? Little things that didn't bother me so much are now really getting to me maybe it's that I'm not use to these other people's ways of living or that I am getting old and crabby. Hopefully with time this too shall pass and I'll be able to relax a bit but then would that be giving up a part of who I am? I guess when I was younger I was a lot like this and have just grown up more over the past few years. Maybe it's that I feel I should take over the "morthering" role. Maybe I should just let it be. But I can't do that because I am too stubborn. What do you think? What are some of your pet peeves?

It's a Start

This is the first blog of mine hopefully of many. I guess I will see how things go and how dedicated I can be. This is just a start and I will write more.