for your entertainment...

check out how smart Cole is! Not only does he start waving when he hears "bye" and "see ya" but he says "doggy" when he sees Jack!

Cole pointing out where Jack is...

a simply fantastic day...

Have you ever seriously considered what life looks like through the eyes of a one year old? I spend so much time with Cole that I should never be surprised with how much fun we have...but today was just something completely different. I'm not sure I'll even be able to accurately describe it...words may not do justice to how much I treasured today...

Bridget asked Stef if she would mind watching Mady for a few hours while she had a meeting so instead of bringing Cole and having to watch him plus Mady with her cast, Stef asked if I wanted to watch Cole..which, of course, the answer is always yes. So anyways, today Cole and I got basically the whole day together. We went for a walk, we played outside forever...it was simply fantastic and fantastically simple. Maybe that's why today seemed so great to me...there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary going on. It was just a regular day for Cole and luckily for me, I got to experience life through his eyes for 6 hours. How great is that?

Maybe it was finally experiencing the nice weather I'd heard so much about and being able to enjoy it (instead of hearing customers coming into work TELLING me how nice it was)...I mean, I've spent days with Cole before...what makes today so different? Maybe it had to do with the fact that I'm actively pursuing a nanny job...

Today completely reaffirmed my faith that being a nanny is what I want to do. Maybe I won't make "the big bucks". Maybe you don't consider it a real job. But am I going to have fun? Absolutely. Can I live on my own and be a nanny? Definitely. Will I be good at it? Without sounding conceited, I believe I will. The thing is there's always going to be people giving their own opinions. There's always going to be someone that says, "that's not good enough." "That's not a CAREER." "Get a real job." And I finally figured out, I have to do what I want to do...what makes me happy. No more picking a job because that's what I majored in. No more feeling bad because what I want to do doesn't fit with what other people want me to do. It's my life right? No one's got to live it but me...

By now I'm sure you're thinking "Umm....you got all that from spending one day with your nephew?" And the answer is yeah. I mean...maybe you don't understand it but that's ok. Maybe I dont' even understand it. All I know is that today was a day that can only be summed up with the word 'fantastic'.

Anyways, after my rambling, here's pictures and video from my day with Cole...your turn to see through his eyes =)

No commentary this time...just pictures!

Onto the videos...I think they speak for themselves... =)

..and back for more...

Alright...I just couldn't handle leaving the blog on a negative note. Err...post I guess. I'm trying out this whole positive, good-karma thing...and I'm kind of curious to see if it works. I figure it's been, what, almost 5 months since I got home from school and started looking for a job? Ok well I guess I didn't start looking the SECOND I got home from school...I figured I had watching Joey and the christmas season to relax from a stressful semester at school. But I DID start looking mid-January so it's been at least a solid 3 months that I've been actively looking. Or getting interviews at REALLY crappy places! (Let me tell you...please be glad I did not have this blog when I interviewed at Endeaver...that would have been some really nasty karma!)


So anyways...I figure, let's try this whole "good things come to those who wait/good karma pays off" thing...maybe it'll work out! I guess we'll know in a couple weeks if I'm employed or not!

So to make up for my horribly negative/frustrated blog yesterday, I'm going to share some pictures from today. Stef came over with Cole to hang out with Grandma B and me...Cole stayed home with G-ma and Stef and I had some lovely sister time--shopped for Cole's bday party, did some grocery shopping, and who could forget, a trip to the bank (where the I-won't-call-them-gross tellers always seem to hit on me...I'm going to leave out the normal obligatory 'ew' and replace it with a "not my type" comment). After that we went home to have some lunch with mom and luckily (for me!) Cole fell asleep on his grandma so Stef and Cole HAD to stay for the afternoon! Anyways, I got some cute pics of Cole so I'm going to share..that's a nice thing to do right?!




This first pic shows how much food Cole likes to put in his hair during lunch...



Next just so happens to be my favorite picture of the day...Cole looks ridiculously handsome! (even WITH mashed potatoes all in his face!)



I know I know...even more eating pictures! But this one is a close up so you can REALLY see all the food stuck to his face! I just couldn't help but post it...



After lunch, I got all tuckered out and fell asleep on Grandma B!



Alright, I suppose I'm about finished! Hope you all (i.e. Stef) enjoyed the pictures! Here's to a brighter tomorrow! ;)

time to catch a break...

Alright it's been a minute since I last updated...well, many minutes but you get the idea. In case you were wondering, no updates=no job offers. Yet. And I'm starting to think ever. Now, if you seem to recall, the meeting at the nanny agency went "wonderfully"...and I was supposed to be so easy to place that I would have a family within a week, two tops. Uhhh....do you see me with a family yet? Now...I don't doubt that this nanny agency is "for real"...but I'm starting to have my doubts about how many families they're actually working with...I dunno. It's like I want them to be for real because I would LOVE to find a family through them but at the same time if they are for real, why is it taking so long? Sometimes when I call and leave messages asking that they return my call, they don't...then when I call back again and ask if they got my message, April (the office manager) goes "oh yeah, you checking in?" What I want to say is "No...generally the words 'Please call me back when you get this' would imply that I would like a phone call back." Or is that too much to ask for?
Another example: Yesterday I called saying I needed to find something soon (i.e. within the next couple weeks). April goes "oh yeah! I totally understand!" and proceeds to give me some family names. I get the name of a family--both parents are doctors, they have a 4 month old--I get a phone call back from the mom today, she sounds excited, she wants to talk/meet. So I'm like awesome! Maybe something will work out...I get ahold of her after work and she says "So...the agency told you that we have a 4 month old?" "yes they did." "And they told you that we need someone to start July 1st?" "Hmm..must have left that part out." Apparantly "relatively soon" means 2 1/2 months away to April...do I have the right to be a little annoyed? Or am I just blowing things out of proportion? Ugh, I'm just starting to get frustrated...I thought I would have a family by now and at this point, I don't even have a good lead. Maybe send some good thoughts my way that SOMETHING comes around within the next week or so...I could really use some help here!

cole makes typing fun....

Ok...so maybe no one will find this as funny as I do...but that's okay...I think it's hilarious. Stefanie and I were talking to each other online today and Cole decided that he had a few things to say.

(Note: sstraka25 is, obviously, stefanie...which would make me the other one, lemonielynn) Oh...and Cole's contribution is bolded...that way you can easily see just how much he had to say...

LeMoNieLyNn: my headache was so bad last night i went to bed at 10:30, when was the last time i did THAT?
sstraka25: I was in bed at 945
sstraka25: 1`~
sstraka25: that was your godson
LeMoNieLyNn: oh good thing i didn't text you then...i almost did at 1030 to ask how lame i was
LeMoNieLyNn: haha hi cole bear!
sstraka25: azzazazazaZzz
sstraka25 : zz
sstraka25: z
LeMoNieLyNn : aldfjafkjda;kgjaek;g
LeMoNieLyNn: tell him that means auntie loves him
sstraka25: ZASRWQA
LeMoNieLyNn: lol
sstraka25: 1``1
sstraka25: 1111`AZSsxsS
LeMoNieLyNn: http://lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/a/aunt.htm
LeMoNieLyNn: do that when you talk to cole about me
sstraka25: SZAsaaaaaaaaaaaAaazsas`
sstraka25: ok
LeMoNieLyNn: it's easy!
sstraka25: i FORGOT TO LOOK IT UP
sstraka25: aaaaaaaaaaaaasxas
LeMoNieLyNn: lol
sstraka25: thank you
sstraka25: zzzzzzza1qqq111111111111111111111111111
LeMoNieLyNn: oh cole
sstraka25: ssssssq
sstraka25: ok annoyed yet? cause I am
LeMoNieLyNn: lol
sstraka25: HES HITTING BUTTONS WHILE WATCHING BLUES CLUES
sstraka25: hahaha
LeMoNieLyNn: does he keep hitting the caps lock or is that you?
sstraka25: he does
LeMoNieLyNn: lol


Notice that Stefanie and I continued talking throughout Cole's typing anyways...we're just that cool.

And to end on a completely fitting note:

LeMoNieLyNn: you're going to love my new blog entry
sstraka25: I HAVE TO READ IT

I think the CAPS LOCK has Cole's name all over it...

Alright...ready for an update?

Alright so...I promised an update after the interviews so here goes (although I'm sure at this point Stef is the only one reading this and she already knows everything...oh well!)

So yesterday was my interview at Linens N Things...not the greatest thing in the world but hey, it's better than what I have right now...plus I figure even if I only work a little bit, I get a discount to decorate my apartment right?! So anyways, I went there, talked to the guy, and at the end he basically said "alright...as long as nothing comes up in your background check, you've got the job." So that was cool. He also said that they were looking for more nights/weekends so that works out perfect for me since I need a full-time day job anyways. Also, the discount is 25%...not too shabby! Now I can dec out mine and Gina's apartment in some killer stuff for pretty cheap!

Then today, I had an interview with a nanny agency-Above and Beyond Nannies. This was the one I was nervous about just because I had called a different agency and they told me I couldn't go through them because I didn't have a "straight" year of nannying (even though I have 10+ years working with kids...weird I know) so needless to say, I was a little more nervous. But I got there, filled out some paperwork, answered some questions, and then met with the lady. And let me tell you, I will be the first to tell you that I get nervous and uncomfortable in interviews but when I sat down with Erin I felt like I was talking to an old friend. It was so comfortable and she was really great and helpful! The first thing she said to me was "wow...you have excellent penmanship!" bonus! starting off on the right foot! So anyways, after that we just went over the questions I had had to answer previously, she went through my application and we basically just sat and talked for about 45 minutes.

Towards the end, she mentioned a family in Minnetonka that she thought would be a perfect fit for me but wasn't sure since I lived so far away. So she told me to get ahold of this family and just see how the drive is and if it's too much, she definitely has other families to get me in contact with. I thought it was great that she was really open and she wasn't going to be "upset" if I think the drive is too much. I mean Minnetonka is a little bit of a trek but if everything were to work out, I would consider it. Otherwise, she said she has 3-4 other families in mind and quite a few are in Woodbury which would be about a 20 minute drive even in traffic which is not bad at all! I definitely wouldn't mind that. Also, when Erin was asking me what type of family I would like to work with, I told her I wanted a family that wanted me to be out and about with the kids instead of cooped up all day. I told her about the twins from the summer and how the lesbians only wanted me to take them on a walk in the backyard and how I got stir crazy and she said that all the families she works with want their kids out doing things so that was great. I also mentioned a bunch of places that have free activities to do and she said "oh don't worry about that, all the families I work with will pay to have you take their kids to activites--they want them out and about." So I thought that was really great. I mean, there's TONS of free stuff to do but it's nice to know that if I wanted to do something that cost money once in awhile, it wouldn't be an issue.

So it definitely exceeded my expectations--I thought maybe we'd meet and it would take awhile to get everything started but she definitely knows her stuff! She didn't even have to go take a look through family files or anything...during my interview she was mentioning families that would fit with me so I thought that was great and really made me trust that I made the right decision in going with this agency.

Next (and not that anyone really cares about this but I thought it was cool)...when I asked Erin at the end how insurance/taxes/contracts with families work, she said "Basically the way I put it is I'm your agent and you're my movie star. I do all the negotiating and hammering out the details for you." I thought that was really cool. So through this nanny agency, they offer medical and dental insurance to all their nannies (full-time, part-time, temporary, summer) so that's pretty cool. That's something that was definitely a bonus and I needed! Plus, the families all go through a company for taxes so I don't have to worry about any of that (I get a W-2 at the end of the year just like you would through a "regular" company) and when it comes to contracts with families, Erin works out all the details and expectations with you and then negotiates with the family for you. She said it's easier for her to do all the negotiating (especially dealing with money, gas allowance, contribution to health insurance, etc.) for the nannies because then nothing becomes sticky between the family and the nanny which I thought was awesome! That's definitely not my strong point so I'm glad that Erin will be helping me through that!

Lastly, the thing that's great about this agency is their communication. They want you to keep in contact with them while they're finding you a family and once you've been placed with a family because they want to make sure that you're happy and that you made the right choice. They also are always there to call up if you have a problem with your family where you think you need advice or anything like that. And also, if I happen to get sick at some point, I can call them up and they have temporary nannies that can take over for me instead of the parents having to take off work so that's really great! They really seemed to cover all their bases and that's awesome!


So, basically, after almost 4 months of no job (minus nannying here and there for Joey) I get two job offers in two days! I guess it pays off to be patient? (And broke at the same time...haha...these opportunites came at the PERFECT time, let me tell you!) So...that's my exciting news =) Not much else is new...I'll keep you posted on the interviews with families...cross your fingers I find a great family that is semi-close!

Peace!

Coming soon...

Sooo...I could tell everyone how my interview went today. But instead I'm just going to wait until after my second interview and tell everyone tomorrow...that way if it doesn't go well, I'll at least have some positive news to go with the negative. Oops. Well I guess there's a little preview for you!
Peace!

--For now, here's some pictures from today!

Snack time!

Now all Cole needs is his handy dandy notebook!

Excuse the nakedness, but I just had to show you how hard Cole makes bath time now!

Lastly, this one isn't from today but it just cracks me up...shows how much he loves his Blues Clues!