10 Things I've Learned in My 1st Week of Nannying

1. The proper way to do the splits.
2. Bring band-aids to any exercise-related activity.
3. There's a difference between ballet tights and "regular" tights.
4. When lost, ask the kids for directions. (And be ready to turn around alot, because they won't tell you you're supposed to make a turn until after you're past it.)
5. There are two Dallas Public Libraries.
6. I am old enough to be married, therefore, I ought to be married.
7. Some candy canes are spicy.
8. Superheroes are for boys.
9. Male best friends are automatically "boyfriends". (And if you tell the girls one of your best friends is, in fact, a boy, they will sing, "You have a boyfriend!" together until they get distracted by something else.)
10. Nothing cool ever happens at school.

My first week as a nanny has been fantastic, though still quite tiring. I'm so grateful that I was able to get this job and can't wait to earn money doing stuff I love with two great girls. I actually get paid to drive, color, read, and watch TV! Of course, the job still has it's challenges, but it's totally worth it!

Nanny Diaries: I'm Gonna Marry Him!

My first day as a nanny was yesterday and I already love it. I watch two girls, H (8) and L (5), and they are ridiculously fun to hang with. From my first day, I can already tell I'm going to love this job, even if it wears me out at times.
For my first day, I stayed for 3 hours. Only getting 30 minutes of TV a day, these girls are crazy creative and keen to do as many things as they can lay their hands on, often forgetting about one project when they dream up the other. We even found ourselves playing Sorry and putting together a Spongebob puzzle at the same time.
All in all, we have fun. We walked to the park, colored, put together puzzles, played with Aquasand, ate lunch, and went to ballet class.
It was after the aformentioned ballet class that the girls and I had this conversation:

H: I love him, he's my boyfriend.
L: But I thought Luke was your boyfriend.
H: I have two boyfriends, L. Two boyfriends.
Me: I'm pretty sure you can only have one boyfriend at a time, H. *long pause (we were getting in the car and getting buckled)* Does this boy know he's your boyfriend?
H: No, I've never told him.
L: I'm gonna tell him!
H: No!!!
Me: L, don't tell him she likes him if she doesn't want you to tell him.
L: *huffs loudly* But if you don't tell him, how are you gonna marry him?!
Me: I think she's got plenty of time for that, sweetheart. It'll be a while before she's old enough to get married.
H: Yeah, L, I have to be, like, older than a teenager. Right, Kirsten?
Me: You have to be at least 18, which is as old as me.
*both girls ponder this new information for a minute*
L: Then why aren't you married, yet?
Me: I haven't found a boy I wanna marry yet.
L: Can the girl ask the boy if he'll marry her or is he supposed to ask the girl?
Me: The boy is supposed to ask the girl.

I'm still laughing over it. :)

2011 Reading List

Edit (4/14/11)
*Books that have been struck out are the ones I've completed now

As some of you already know, I have a journal that logs each book that I read. I've kept it since June of 2007 and have since read 118 books. This seemed like a monumental accomplishment to me, up until I checked Oxford University's English Department website. They're required to read 100 books per school year.
Talk about making me feel dumb.
I started making goals for how many books per year I read last New Years Eve, when I realized that I'd read 30 books in 2009. So I made the goal to hit 35 in 2010. Sadly, I slacked off during the summer and fell just out of reach at 29. *shakes head sadly*
*Edit 6/25/11: Turns out, I actually hit 31, but forgot to record 2 in the notebook, having written them in my phone instead. :)
Since I don't see myself hitting 100 right off the bat, for 2011 my goal is 50 books. I'm already working on book #1: The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks.

In honor of my challenging New Year's Resolution, I'm going to fill y'all in on my reading list for 2011. These are the books currently waiting on my (and my brother's) shelf, just dying for me to read them.
Here they are:

The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks [almost halfway through it and loving it!]
Comma Sense by Richard Lederer and John Shore [this is more of a read-a-few-paragraphs-and-set-it-back-down kinda book]
Elyon by Ted Dekker and Kaci Hill [last book in the Lost Books series]
The Princess Adelina by Julie Sutter
What He Must Be by Voddie Baucham Jr.
Inside a Cutter's Mind by Jerusha Clark with Dr. Earl Heslin
Honor's Reward by John Bevere
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen [read about 1/5 of it so far and didn't quite get into it, though I thought it was good. I'm sure I'll like it once I'm invested in it.]
How Fiction Works by James Wood
Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar
DragonKnight by Donita K. Paul [3rd in a very good series!]
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott [somewhat of a sequel to Little Women]
When I Don't Desire God by John Piper
Yours, Jack by C.S. Lewis
Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef
Starlighter by Bryan Davis

Now obviously, that's not 50 books, but there'll be plenty more for me to read soon enough! Speaking of which, The Rescue is currently begging me to delve into it's pages again. What's on your reading list?