Can I just start by giving all the mothers out there a round of applause?!!!
I've been super busy for I have become a summer nanny. I love my physical therapy job but I wasn't getting very many hours so this was the solution. And it worked out because I can still work a little bit at Mountain Land and a little bit nanny because the parents have joint custody of the kids so it's every other week.
Let me tell you one thing: it is hard work. Holy Guacamole. This is mother training at 100% saturation. I won't bore you with the routine I've established or the chores I have them do...except for Jay's clever idea to call some of the chores "Ninja Missions". I used this to have them earn computer time. They looked at me kind of crazy but it got them to laugh and not groan about "chores" cause it sounded cool to do a ninja mission. Anyway, let me introduce you to:
Caleb- 14 years old. Likes playing on the computer a lot. He also enjoys a good book. Oh yah, and I bought some water balloons for them and he set up a booby trap which I stepped into and got soaking wet. Learned my lesson there.
Katie- 12 years. She is very much grown-up and wears make-up. She loves Justin Beiber too so we have fun blasting his music and having dance parties.
Abby- 10 years. Abby is the sweetest girl with down syndrome you will ever meet with bouts of stubbornness. She is like a 3 year old, with the added strength of an ox who also has a hard time speaking. She will mumble the words and make clicking sounds and such ending the sentence with, "Okay?!!!?"
The first few days I said "Okay" right back, ending up with her doing outrageous things like coloring on the wall and running into the street. I have learned to not agree with anything she says. I am learning some sign and doing better at interpreting what she is trying to communicate.
I have had some adventures with these kids and it has been really exhausting but fun so far. I cannot believe how hard it could really be to get kids active- it's so much easier to let them play computer or watch movies all day.
I'm sure there will be great stories to come...
