Friday, July 13, 2012

Nanny Life - July week 2

This week we've had lots of fun, I've worked Tuesday through Friday... here are the highlights:

Tuesday -
While Miss MK enjoyed her morning nap Mr. S. and Moriah made slime with me!  They played with it  on trays at the kitchen table for about an hour - seriously amazing response :)
We also took a mid-day trip to the nearby park.  Mr. S. and Moriah set up a "store" under the play equipment and took turns selling mulch to one another.  Miss MK and Moriah also both enjoyed the swings today.


slime looks runny here, but it really firmed up as they played

Wednesday -
Mr. S. was off to a summer day camp today so the girls and I played at our apartment in the morning.
Next we were off to try a free Gymboree Play and Learn class.  While Moriah gets a "deer in the headlights" look in the midst of such a sensory overload she had fun playing after awhile.  I felt like the class was very age appropriate and well taught while staying totally fun for kids who didn't even realize all they were being exposed to.  I wish the Open Gym times were a bit less expensive ($10 per child, per session is a lot), but we may try to enroll in a class during a snowy winter month while Mr. S. is in school.  The girls would love it I'm sure.  (Gymboree Play and Learn centers offer one free class to everyone, just go online to find a location near you and sign up for the most age appropriate class)
We picked Mr. S. up from school during our normal afternoon nap time and made the commute out to their house.  The girls had later than normal naps which made the afternoon fly by!

Thursday -
The morning started with John Deere toy Gator rides for Mr. S. and Moriah... she couldn't have been more excited!  We also played outside during Miss MK's morning nap.

she LOVES rides from him on the Gator and you'd think he was a teenage boy picking up his girlfriend in a Corvette :)

Then we were all off to the library, what I thought was a bird show (I'd discussed hawks, owls, etc.) was not at all (I still don't know what I read that had me so confused).  Instead, we enjoyed seeing all sorts of exotic and nocturnal animals.  It wasn't exactly aimed at such little ones, but they watched 30 minutes of the show before we snuck out.  I'd prefer to leave early than mid-melt down with three little ones, hopefully the librarians understood!  We also hit the jack pot with all sorts of books that we haven't borrowed before and some old favorites too.

Friday -
We took a trip just down the street to the local fire station and had a fun morning visit with a fireman who showed us around.  Mr. S. LOVED it and enjoyed learning about and seeing the tools firemen use, including their thermal imaging camera, ax, flashlights, and huge hose.  We were able to see their "cubbies" with boots, uniforms, and helmets ready to go.  Mr. S. also climbed into the fire trucks for a closer look though Moriah was too uncertain to be that brave today!  Their home is in a growing suburb that's still pretty "country" so the fire station doesn't really ever seem too busy and I think the firemen were glad to have visitors to entertain.  They sent us home with fire safety booklets, crayons, tatoos, frisbees, pencil pouches, and best of all water bottles :)  It was a great and easy outing!

notice Moriah's holding his hand with a bit of uncertainty about it all!

As a little follow up to our visit we made this Five Little Firemen craft with their handprints when we went back to the house.  It's a cute keepsake sort of craft although the little ones weren't nearly as interested in it as they were in playing fireman!

This afternoon we went "down town" to the small city square to visit a local toy store.  We have fun browsing but don't often buy during these visits and it's nice to have a close afternoon outing sometimes  just to break up those after nap hours, especially if naps were non-existent or cut short for one reason or another.  The little ones I love seem to cope better when we're out and about in those times than when we're home and melt downs are quicker to come by.  The toy store is under new ownership which has brought in many new products for sale, but has also brought new employees who are much less friendly and don't seem to understand a visit just to play quite as much.  We don't visit nearly as frequently these days as a result.

1 comment:

Lauren Ross said...

I love reading about all the creative things you do with the kiddos! I get great ideas for Abby! If you ever had some spare time (because I know you have tons!) you should think about writing a guest post or two for our blog. It would be great to write about creative things you could do with kids during the summer, or hot days, or cold days, or whatever!