Tuesday, June 05, 2012

The new nanny S

Thanks, Tasha, for reminding me that I hadn't told you a thing about the nanny situation.

my little monkeys
Basically, something happened one Sat, we spoke to the old Nanny S but I was totally uneasy about it and couldn't rest.

On the Monday after I was concerned the whole day, D and I talked this thing to death and I wrote a long email to the agent.

The next day I spoke to the agency who told me she recommends we recruit someone else. That was Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning I told Nanny S that that would be her last day. She seemed a bit surprised but later when the agent called her, she said she could see I wasn't happy with her.

And that was that.


The very next day we were supposed to go on holiday to Sabie.

Instead of a lovely peaceful morning getting ready, I had 4 ladies here and it was Interview Central.

I interviewed and then sent them to have a little chat to D (so he could get a feel for them) but I liked 3 out of the 4 ladies.

Eventually we were done with all 4 and we set off on holiday at about 11:20, if I remember correctly.

I asked D what he thought and he liked the lady I didn't and one other.

OY!

Good thing I took notes.


We discussed this thing for about two hours (in excruciating detail), prayed about it and then after about 30 mins, I said I want to offer the position to the first lady.

I'll tell you why - she reminded me the most of V, but a more organised version :)

I've said before that V had her faults as we all do but she is gentle, patient and LOVED those kids like anything.

Anyway, so I sent the agent a text with salary, etc, she phoned S and sent me a text back to say she'd accepted and would be there on the 2nd May. The first is a public holiday here.

And that was that. Easy.

hand-me-down sandals from a friend - I LOVE THEM

Everything about Nanny S has been easy.

She's patient, kind, very organised (I tell her things once and it's done right forever after that) and so punctual she's here at 7:20 every morning (her start time is 7:30).

Best of all, she's a lot more forthcoming than V so she'll speak to me if there is anything she's not sure about or wants to clear up with me.

We trained on the fly because she was immediately here in the thick of it, but I did ask her to come in specially on a Saturday so I could train her properly.

In the meantime, we just both did the best we could and through all this, the kids were troopers.

She has quite a difficult name but I'm one of those people who doesn't believe in making her use a Western name to suit me; I really feel one's name is special so we've all tried and tried, and I think we've finally got it.

Funny thing is the kids got it first :)


One thing I really like is her demeanor - she's a very sweet person but she's not afraid to speak her mind.

My blog friend from last weekend met her - do you agree?

We've had a slight bit of conflict which she handled beautifully.

I made some lemon bars for my blog friend's visit. They were a huge flop visually but they tasted good. Anyway, I put the best 4 in a container on the cupboard.

I told S and Nester that they could have the scones and when I got home, my lemon bars were gone and of course, I freaked a bit.

I sent them both a text to say where are my lemon bars and she texted back to say, sorry, they only realised afterwards that those weren't the scones.

The next morning she came to me and apologised nicely. I said it really wasn't about the lemon bars; I just like to know if things go wrong in the house because I don't want to have to ask.

She understood and she's been asking me if she's unclear about anything since then.

I used that Saturday to really talk about my philosophy about educating my kids while they're at home (which is way too long to go into here) and I see she's made a schedule about what she wants to do with them each day so that's great.

And there we have it.

D and I have the utmost peace about this and the kids are happy. They don't cry in the mornings like they used to with the first nanny S.

They've even started saying things like, "Mummy, S doesn't do it like that" as if I'm doing it wrong so yesterday I said, "Kendra, this is the way I cut apples. Deal with it" LOL

So, any questions???

And no, we still don't know what we'll do with them next year. And yes, I know I have HUGE control issues.

PS please pray for me tomorrow at 10 am :) I will be having a difficult conversation with my boss about this big task. I just can't go on like this - headaches from stress every day, etc. BTW, if you think I'm a wuss, you would be right :) I can't take stress for long periods of time and it's been over a month now.

15 comments:

  1. I'm so glad to read about your nanny. And even happier that the kids get on well with her. Hmmmmm interesting how kids pick their authority figure!!!!

    You are in my thoughts and prayers. Hope things go well with your discussion tomorrow

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    1. PS: I love the pictures of your little monkies in action. Nice close-ups

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  2. I really liked her - didn't get ANY funny feelings about her and I usually get a vibe very quickly. I can see that the kids love her and I don't think her name's difficult - I WOULD have struggled if I had to click though. Btw...where can I learn how to click? I asked Fundeka (cleaning lady) and she keeps laughing at my attempts. Need a proper teacher who won't laugh.

    I am laughing now about the lemon bars thing. Lance just asked me now what's so funny. So I told him that the maid ate the lemon bars. Can't stop laughing. He thinks I'm odd. Honey. I WILL pray for you. You are right. Things CANNOT go on like this.
    ps...we ALL have control issues - just over different things. I STILL don't like Joshua to go on play dates without me. He's 11 so I really should get a grip sometime! And Joel is not allowed to accept ANYTHING (food, toys etc) that other kids have touched. They don't blow their noses properly and wash their hands and stuff. So much germs!

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  3. So very glad to hear things are going well with S. I am glad you followed your heart about the interim nanny, and I'm so thankful you feel at peace with S now. And there's nothing wrong with being particular about your kiddos. That's your job! If you don't do it...if you just leave it wishy-washy...then no one else is going to step in and do it for you. [I know some people are OK with wishy-washy, and that's fine for them, but not for me, either. :) ]

    And I'm proud of you for addressing the Big Task at work. I know it has been weighing heavily on you in a lot of ways, and I'm thankful to hear that you're recognizing your priorities. It's not your job to stress to extreme degrees over something work-related. Will be thinking of you at 3am local time. :)

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  4. P.S. I love that you're a stickler for names! I just left this note on Ginger's blog, that I'm thankful to know the pronunciation of Ave's name...even if I'm only saying it in my head!

    My hubby has a unique name, and it's so uncomfortable to hear people who've "known him" for years STILL not pronounce it correctly.

    And Hubby has students from all over the world. He always gets glowing comments in his review about how he pronounces each of their names in their native languages. Um, why wouldn't you??? ;)

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  5. Anonymous2:52 am

    Thanks for updating :) I've been wondering for the longest time and I thought I had missed it somehow! Choosing someone else to care for your kids is harder than actually raising them LOL Praying for you tomorrow.

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  6. I will be praying for you about the work situation. Stress at work is tough. Glad to hear the nanny thing all worked out. Don't worry about next year. Take it one step at a time. I think our boys are ready to have the structure of preschool in September, if we could only get them officially potty trained!!!

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  7. Glad to read you sorted out the Nanny issues. I had been praying for you!

    I can never get over the transformation of watching my 2 year old turn into a 3 year old - such a HUGE difference! I call it the year the baby grows proper arms and legs. LOL

    Anyway ... just a thought (you know I'm a homeschooler) ... but is it cheaper to send them to a "proper preschool" or if not maybe you could think about letting the Nanny school them for a year? The older a child is when they start "real school" the less they are inclined to copy and bring home bad habits.

    Hugs and Love!!!!

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  8. Have just prayed for you my friend and will at 10 again. Deep breath, all will be fine. Let go and let God.

    So happy the nanny thing worked out so well.

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  9. Glad that it was all sorted out - finding reliable trustworthy care for your kids is really hard. We have nanny issues *sigh* - not mine but Davids - maybe I should blog about it.

    I think I missed the 10h00 meeting - hope it went well!!!

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  10. Glad the nanny thing worked out well. How did the meeting go with your boss?

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  11. Only just catching up on reading.... Hope the meeting went well today, but I am sure it did.

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  12. I'm so happy that Nanny S 2.0 is working out for you!

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  13. What a relief to have someone trustworthy looking after your children. I don't believe you can ever be too careful or too particular when it comes to who raises your babies while you earn the bacon.

    Good luck with the chat!

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  14. So glad it's going well. She sounds perfect for you!

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