Lessons I learned as a Nanny

I returned home from France on Thursday, September 14th. It was a bittersweet day. The kids were so cute, they were hugging me and they said how they would miss me and I told them not to tell the next Nanny how much cooler I am than her. (but I should really be telling them not to tell ME how much cooler SHE is than me) It was hard to say goodbye to them, they have been so good to me!

Good bye, bedroom.

Goodbye toilet with "small" flush and "big" flush options.

I feel like my Nanny experience was different than the experience the average nanny might have. Since it was their summer vacation, and the kids were old enough to basically take care of themselves, I felt like my job really wasn't much of  a job. But I did learn a thing or two, and it actually made me even more excited to be a real mommy some day. 

One of my main jobs was simply keeping the kids entertained, because they were home with me all day. So, in order to avoid hours of video games and television every day, I had to get creative with games and activities. It takes more effort than you might think! But we had lots of fun playing card games, building puzzles, doing crafts and sometimes baking a treat! 

It was interesting getting to know them and even taking little opportunities to teach them. I actually got to sit down with them and talk about music. I was a little concerned about some of the music they had showed me and so we looked up the lyrics and read them together. I had to explain to them what some of these songs were talking about and they were surprised because they never really payed attention to the words. (we have probably all been guilty of this at one time or another) I told them that they should look up the lyrics to the songs they listen to and make sure they are talking about good things! 

I felt like such a mom sometimes, when I would try so hard to get them to eat fruits and vegetables. Or when I had to say "That's too many cookies!". Let me tell you, they were not fans of my fruit smoothies. They actually had no concept of what a "smoothie" is. They kept calling it a "shake" and they were asking me why I was putting all these fruits into a shake with no ice-cream. 

I enjoyed reading to them, though we only read about five chapters of "Bridge to Terabithia". I always felt like they were sort of bored, and didn't really like it, until on my very last night Ryan saw the book on the table and said, "Can we PLEASE read a chapter tonight??". I was so surprised that he really wanted me to read. I guess maybe they really like it after all. 

One time, I gathered all the children and showed them my mission book and told them stories. That was fun. They helped me to learn "I need thee every hour" in French, which I played for their entire family on my guitar and sang, in French, before leaving them. It was special. We had a little mini FHE together and I showed the little video of the two boys who put silver dollars in the man's shoes. It was told by President Hinckley. They really liked it. I'm so glad they allowed me to share so much with them about the Church and gospel. 

I offered to cook dinner occasionally, I think I ended up cooking Hawaiian Haystacks, Vegetable Stir Fry, Crepes, (a variety of dinner crepes, all of which consisted of random fillings of the eaters choice) Quiche, and Chicken Enchiladas. I think the mother appreciated having a break from cooking, but my dinners definitely did not compare to hers! I'm seriously glad that I got the opportunity to cook a few times because it really sparked my interest in cooking. I realized that its actually fun, and I would love to continue experimenting with new recipes! You can be so creative with cooking/baking, I love it!

I know, this picture is super blurry, but my camera was being dumb so this is the best I got.

Playing the "candy-bar game" the night before I left

I think, of all the lessons I learned while I was in France- this one is the most important. (I'm going to copy and paste my post from FB)

After traveling around France and Switzerland for two months, I have realized even more how important PEOPLE are. I have seen A LOT of breathtaking sights and done some really cool things, yet it’s the people in my neighborhood and the memb

ers of the wards I have attended that I will miss the most and remember with fondness. It’s the love and kindness that these amazing people have given to me and the things I have learned from them. Places and things can be lovely, but they mean nothing without people!

So it’s not the Castles, the gorgeous countryside, the cute cottages or even the amazing Swiss chocolate that has made these two months so fabulous. It’s the PEOPLE. The people around us have so much more beauty and history than any place we could possibly travel to. I want to always remember to learn to love, and fill my life with PEOPLE and not be so concerned about places or things!

 My awesome new member friends from France! Wonderful people!