Nanny McPhee wannabe

I've been M.I.A. this week and that's because I've been taking on the role of Nanny McPhee to three sweet kids.

I've learnt a lot from my 2 day nanny stint and I'll share a few with you (for you to laugh at me of course):

1. When giving 3 under 7's breakfast, don't wear the same clothes you were planning to go to work in - they'll get a little covered in Nutella/milk/mashed up bagel etc. 
2. Start the wake up and get dressed routine with the oldest NEVER the youngest - it's a little hectic keeping an eye on a hungry under 2 when she's dressed and wanting breakfast and at least one of the other kids isn't even out of bed yet. 
3. Don't let any of them into the kitchen without you - just don't.
4. Give a lot of time to breakfast - I never appreciated just how long it can take to eat a bagel when you're 4. 
5. Preparation is key! Their mum left out clothes before she left for work in the evening, so the following morning this wasn't an issue. Simple.
6. Get yourself up 15 minutes before even waking up one of the kids - it's nice to get ready for work without tripping over discarded pyjamas/nappies/soft toys and various other things which get strewn about in the morning. 
7. If there's a loud crash upstairs during the late evening it's not always awful - ya'know, it could just be a bookcase being tipped over and when you go to check the bookcase will be ignored and he'll just ask for water, from the fridge, because you can't drink water from the tap or you'll die.
8. Prep. your muscles to physically drag little bodies from bed. 
9. If you haven't heard the under-2 for a few minutes, find her - she's up to something. 
10. Laugh at yourself! I did this a lot. I did this when I couldn't buckle the car seat for the upteenth time, when I couldn't carry a toddler and a car seat and had to look a little weird across the car park as I lugged both, when we all sang to the radio in the car and when I wondered if I'd ever find the missing shoes (which were there the night before, I'm sure they were!) 

So thank you to their parents, who although this whole scenario was doubtless a little stressful, I enjoyed myself and I hope the kids did too (a little, maybe, hope so). 

Now I'm off to Starbucks to celebrate keeping 3 little humans alive and well, hooray!