Fer Realsies

Oak-a-ly-doak-a-ly.

So it's about time I give you a real update as to some of what I've been doing, or at least share some pics/images of what I've been telling you about over the past five months.  So, in no particular order of importance, here we go:

Nannying
I've been working as a nanny part time a little each day to two cute kids, mostly well-behaved, a little crazy, but super smart and really loving.  I mostly watch the older girl, Rebekah (3, now 4), while her brother Andrew (1 1/2) naps.  Both are smart.  Both are crazy.  Both are good kids.  I really like them.  Andrew has had a constant cold since I've started babysitting them (back in September) and always has slobber and boogers dripping down his face, but he is always smiling, loves running full force, and face first at you (yeah, the boogers--I stop him at arms length most times, but it doesn't save me in the end), will wrestle you and his sister forever while making "whooooaaa" sounds because he thinks it makes YOU happy :), again, runs full force at you with his head like a charging bull to topple you over because he thinks it's fun for YOU, and is just always smiling.  Goes right down for his nap, no complaints, after I cuddle him and read him a story.  A CRAZY climber with NO fear WHATsoever.  None.  None at all.  I wonder at his being alive, but luckily his parents and I apparently have good catching reflexes, and haven't ruined our backs entirely in the catching process yet. ;)

Rebekah is a doll.  A kind of crazy doll who is super cute, loving and funny, but also a bit reckless and crazy.  Reminded me a bit of Chloe at first, but not so much now.  She's a toe-head blonde smarty who KNOWS who she is.  Quick story about Rebekah.  Anytime we are playing something pretend and I say something like "oh!  Are you a princess (insert: Rapunzel, a horse, or any other pretend person or thing)?"  No matter what it is, she responds with an oh-silly-Tawna type voice and then says "I'm not a (blank), I'm Rebekah!"  If I ever say "oak-a-doakalie-artichokalie" she will say "I'm not an artichokalie, I'm Rebekah!"  It makes me laugh every time, and I'm sure I'll find some gospel connection to pull from it sometime about knowing who you really are and being happy for it, etc. ;)  Rebekah is smart--I've been working to help teach her her letters, numbers, and to read since I first got there, and pretty early on (say, October) we had success with her sounding out and writing her own words.  She likes "Map"and "Rapunzel" (that one I have to help with), but now can sound out and read along with me in many of the books she has checked out from the library, and it's pretty awesome.  Let's just say, I'm a fan of teaching my kids phonetics.  Seriously.  3 years old and she sounded out "this" without my ever having taught it to her (or her 'th' sound yet, for that matter).  She really will read sentences to me, and not just ones she's memorized.  It's exciting to see her learn and progress, and how quickly she catches on and can begin to focus with just a touch of personalized attention.  I love it.

Our first time with her writing down words she sounded out.  Pretty awesome, huh?

Two weeks ago as she was "making my hair pretty" she noticed the top of my spine bone.  She asked about it, so I drew her a quick little anatomy lesson on her whiteboard, starting the skeleton, then muscles, then skin, etc.  This past week her mom checked out a book on the human body for her and she ate up every second of it as I read through and learned.  That kid is a doctor in the making... probably to save her brother. ;)

I'm still helping with her potty training.  I consider what comes with that job, and her brother's drool and snot face constantly being rubbed across me, good practice. My own kids will be that much easier. I also understand why mom's dress so frumpy sometimes! Ugh. I have to change everyday after I come home.  But I'm learning how to avoid that too.  

These kids and their sweet ways and cute smiles are good for me, too. :)  We have fun.  (Sorry, I don't have any cute pictures of the kids, just fun videos on my phone that are too big to upload.)

School

Yeah, I'm back in it this semester.  I am done with classes but sitting in on one philosophy class so the teacher will agree to sit on my exams committee.  There is a British guy in the class with the most perfect London accent, who makes sitting through those 3 hours of  John Dewey indoctrination almost entirely worth it.  Just to hear him say "literature" and "poetry" the first week was enough for me. I was sold.  I am now, officially, studying philosophy-- legit, coming to you in British accent.  Other than that, I have nothing I care or need to report on about school. 

Um, hobbies?

Been practicing or just playing the piano almost every day.  The great books Dad and Kelly got me for Christmas are staples now in this house.  I am actually finally putting some real money into my "Tune the Piano Fund" (at least $10 every time I do extra babysitting--not my normal job) so that perhaps one day soon, it will actually make sweet (tuned) music for all my snobby music friends. ;)  Also, I really just want to keep it up; I want to have this piano for a long time.  Goal is to play a piece from one of these books for an audience sometime this year.  (And hopefully more than just an audience of you, Mom. ;) )  I'm also getting back into journal writing, which I hope will get me back into writing poetry again.  I miss that.  Maybe I can get Sir Jonathan, the British philosopher, to read some of them back to me to make me feel, ooohh, so nice about anything that I pen.  

Other stuff...

Working for Mom and Dad and having fun crafting, though there certainly has been a learning curve, especially with regards to how much time some even simple things can take.  I am hoping that will go away some as I become more comfortable with the machines and confident in the ideas and such with blogging.  But I like it.  It's giving me excuses to be creative and to play with all the fun and great stuff I have.  Also, to finally put to use some things I've had lying around for awhile now.  See, Exhibit A:

Ages ago Tim gave me some old "Federal Reporter" books that his law firm was going to throw out, because I thought they'd be fun to make hidden compartment/boxes out of.  I kept them--for a year and a half on my floor, kept them--and when I moved rooms in January and had to make my crafting stuff more accessible, decided I would finally make some of those books into boxes for extra storage for some of my lesser used things.  It took FOREVER, and a few raw fingers and many episodes of Downton Abbey later, I had one box done, and another...enough done.  ;)  It made a mess, which carried itself throughout my house on the bottom of my slippers, socks, shoes, pajamas, whatever, because the paper was so brittle, but in the end I really like them.  I just set them under my cameo and they don't take up any extra space, and they look cool!  I like 'em. :)  

I also decided to make some cute paper roses out of some of the extra cut-pages that I'd saved, which I'll use to decorate something.  I just wanted to see how they'd turn out.  Super easy and cute.

Anyways.  I hope this is enough for now.  Sorry they are all such random things, but at least they are real things about me and my "adventures" in Ohio and not just crafting posts for the parent's blog, or posts about blogs I don't want to forget for my someday wedding... :)  

Love you all.