here is a silly, stately style indeed! ~ king henry vi

I was sitting on the floor of the playroom with Clara this morning and I had taken my shoes off downstairs. She and Ben decided to make a game out of putting stickers on my sweatshirt and were completely engulfed in this game as I sang silly songs to them or periodically attempted to grab them and snarffle their bellies. They were running back and forth from the sticker sheet to me, when Clara stopped in her tracks, halfway across the room. Her eyes widened and she pointed to my feet. "Yaren!" she says, in her high-pitched, three years old voice, "Your socks are matching today!! Your socks don't ever match!" It's true, I typically pull out the first two socks from my sock drawer, without a care in the world if one matches the other, and she always thinks it's the funniest thing that my socks don't match. What she doesn't know, is that I think it's the funniest thing that a three year old child noticed that I was actually wearing matching socks.

I gobbled her up and squeezed her as she squealed with laughter, and she wrapped her arms around my neck and said "I yuv yew Yaren and yer silly socks!" - she's a smart little girl and too adorable for words.

These are the moments that make up for all the other exasperating ones of nannyhood.

how many children hast thou? ~ king henry vi

When I arrived this morning at work, I was greeted by Phoebe, (Ben and Clara's mom) who looked undeniably frazzled and was wearing a hideous combination of clothing. (Typically she dresses adorably, but today was not one of those days) Phoebe was wearing a burgundy red wrap dress, that wasn't tied right. It in fact, looked awkward, as though she forgot she was tying it mid-bow, and went with a loose loopy effect instead. I have a feeling if she doesn't notice it soon, it'll come undone and she'll lose her garment. Her 5 month's pregnant belly is starting to round out and look quite precious, as she carries her baby weight completely in her belly. She was wearing light blue and pink jewelry, which I think might have been intended for a different outfit, and she was wearing pumpkiny-orange colored loafers that otherwise might have looked quite couture with the right slacks; but certainly not with this red wrap dress. She had started to put on blush, but missed a cheek.

She opened the front door with a forced smile and said: "Good Morning, Lauren, how are you?" I replied that I was great, a little tired and worn out from the usual stresses of my every day life, but otherwise, okay. She cut me off saying: "Lauren, I'm going to work today, and I'm never coming back. You can have the children...FOREVER." I laughed as she said this, thinking it must have been a hectic and crazy weekend for her, when she continued. "I'm serious, they're driving me crazy. I can't take it. I can't. Ben somehow crawled onto the kitchen counter, got in the sink and started washing his pacifier with the spray nozzle. I don't even know how he got up there. Clara goes in her closet every hour and changes outfits. They run around like banshees and -- they're yours. You get to keep them. Your birthday's next month, right? Happy early birthday..."

So, my day has been crazy. They're supposed to be down for a nap at 12:15-12:30, and I just got them wound down enough to go to sleep. It's now almost 1:45. I'm definitely worn out. "Let's play this", "I wanna eat that", "pick me up", "Ben stole my Barbie", "Clara has my train", and on and on and on and on...wow...and Phoebe's pregnant. AGAIN. That means, starting in August, I'll have three toddlers under the age of 3.

Anybody looking for a nanny job?