Saying Goodbye to Being a Nanny

Oh, this one is hard for me to write.

My passion for working with kids has been present since I was very young. Babysitting was my main job throughout my teenage years and after graduating from University I took a job nannying right away. That first job lasted almost a year and I loved every minute, so I knew I wanted to continue with it. I remember spending sunny afternoons at the park with two adorable one year old's and thinking "Whoa is this really something that I get paid to do?!"
Of course saying goodbye to those kids was tough- they were the first kids I looked after in my nanny career, but I made it through. I still see them from time to time and am thrilled that they are doing so well. They were an important chapter in my life.

I was very ready for another nannying opportunity at this point, so in the fall of 2010 I accepted a second nanny job and wound up caring for those children for three years. I watched them grow from babies who were learning to take their first steps to being ready for school this fall. They were my constant companions five days a week. We had so much fun together. I cannot watch Toy Story, eat jujubes, go to the local mall, wading pool or see a photo booth without thinking of them. That's just a handful of the many special things we did together.

Every job has it's tough moments, and I'm not going to say that being a nanny was all sunshine- but spending time with those boys and being there to watch them grow made any tough moments very worth it. With them going to school and pre-school this fall- my time with them came to an end. I struggled with this for months, saying goodbye knowing I would no longer see them everyday. It's always hard to spend that amount of time with anyone you care about and have that change immediately. I will still be able to visit them, which I am thrilled about, but of course that is not quite the same. I will make the best of it though.

August 2nd, 2013 was my last day as a nanny. It was a tough day for me, and in the days since I have missed the boys and my job a lot. I decided not to continue with nannying after this because I am getting married soon, and ready to start my own family. Plus I just could not imagine getting attached and then having to eventually say goodbye to any more children right now- hands down the toughest part of the job. As I mentioned in a previous post, I did accept a new job with a great company and I am excited about the opportunities for me there. But I know that I will always look back on my nanny career with fondness. It taught me patience, it gave me confidence and it undoubtedly prepared me for motherhood.

The families that I worked for threw me a little party on my last day. Such a sweet thing for them to do. There was even a cupcake cake- brought in for me because they knew how much I loved cupcakes.

Seriously. Amazing.

Then the boys gave me one of my favourite gifts of all time- a charm bracelet with a little boy charm to represent them. Words cannot express how much I love it. I wear it all the time.

I won't be sharing photos of any of the children I looked after here (nor do I mention any personal details) because this was my job. I have never felt comfortable writing about my job here, but still felt that this post was an important one to write- as I move on to another phase in my life.

It's been an adjustment these past few week for sure, but I know that good things are in store. Someday, when I have children of my own, I will tell them about this time in my life-and about those amazing kids that held my heart.

More vacation- Girls Day Out

While I was on vacation I spent a couple of "girls only" days with my Mom, sister and cousin. My cousin moved back to Montreal last Sunday after spending almost three months with my family- so these days were so special to all of us. The first day trip involved shopping for my Mom's dress to wear at the wedding and a delicious lunch at Swiss Chalet. My mom found an amazing purple lace dress to wear and I am beyond excited to see her in it in just over a month! We all had fun helping her decide:)

This is by far the best photo taken of my Mom, sister and I - ever. Thanks to Meaghan for taking it.

Next we took a scenic drive down to Constance Bay to walk on the beach. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. 

It was a beautiful day.

Our next girls day was spent in Almonte- an adorable small town just a 30 minute drive from Ottawa. We have been driving up there occasionally for years, but Meaghan had never been. I'm pretty sure she fell in love with it, just like we have. It's full of antique shops, boutiques and cute restaurants! Were I not saving for my wedding/honeymoon right now I would have come home with many treasures! Again, I'm going to let the pictures do the rest of the talking here;)

                       I don't take a whole lot of outfit photos lately, but I really loved this one!

Dress: Forever 21

Sweater: Walmart

Belt: Street vendor in NYC

Neclace: Lisa Leonard Designs

 I did bring home a vintage suitcase from this shop:) $20- score!!

 My Mom's favourite Tea Room

The pictures taken by the water are from my Nikon SLR camera, I need to take it out more often. 

Just looking at these photos makes me want to go back immediately! Also makes me wish my cousin were still here in Ottawa- it was amazing spending so much time with her.

Montreal

Time to catch up! Clearly I did not do so well with the goals I set for myself during my vacation. If you can believe it I was busier on vacation than I was at work! Yikes! But I got a lot done:) Now that I have a quiet moment I am excited to get back to this blog.


So on Wednesday August 7th,  my cousin Meaghan and I took a day trip to Montreal. She had a job interview and invited me along- of course I said yes!

We took a bus around 8 am and got into the city just after 10. Along the way we chatted and I got to listen the the new Civil Wars album- it is SO good. (Really sad that it may be their last one!)

The weather the entire day was so beautiful! There was a risk of thunderstorms, but the entire time we were there it was sun and blue skies. Our first priority upon arriving was brunch. I love getting brunch in Montreal, so many cute restaurants to choose from that are reasonably priced, and the food does not disappoint! We both enjoyed our meals in the sun by an open window, excellent start to the day.

Before my cousins interview we wandered and took pictures- something I love doing in big cities. When it came time for her interview my priority was to find a coffee shop so I could enjoy a cold drink and dive into a good book. I was pretty overjoyed to discover a Starbucks right across the street from where she would be interviewing! (Yes, I know I have a problem.) I spent my afternoon outside on a patio with some delicious decaf iced coffee and a really good book. So good that I was taking notes (one of those dorky parts of my personality). When Meaghan's interview took longer than expected I didn't mind at all!

After Meaghan was done, we made our way down to the Old Port. This, hands down, is my favourite area of Montreal. It's so beautiful. All of the old buildings, cobblestone streets, art everywhere, the waterfront in plain site, plus it's filled with amazing restaurants. We chose a really good one for dinner, and were seated by an open window again. The food was amazing! Could not have asked for a better end to the day!

Before we knew it we were headed back to the bus station for the trip home. The day was kind of a whirlwind, but so enjoyable. It was nice to have a little getaway thrown in with my vacation time because I spent most of it at home. Grateful to have had such a wonderful time with my cousin. Headed back there tomorrow with Ben and my siblings to celebrate Meaghans birthday, cannot wait:)

Oh, and it didn't rain until we were on the bus headed out of Montreal ;)

It's August- more big changes coming.

It's August...what?! 

I still feel like June just ended (and I still need to get caught up on that month, yikes!)
I will do my best.
This week and next I am on vacation. Not only that but I am transitioning into a new job, and career on August 19th. Scary and exciting all at once. Also a little sad. I truly loved being a nanny. It's only been 5 days since I last saw the boys and I already miss them like crazy. I could write a novel about that subject though, and right now I feel that's best left for a separate post. 

Back to being on vacation- it's been very enjoyable and busy so far. Over the weekend I caught up with my friend Brittany over coffee, cleaned and cleaned (and I'm still not done!) and spent the day on Sunday with my family. I had my first dress fitting with my Mom, and I'm not sure who was more excited, her or me. Since Monday was a holiday Ben and I didn't have to worry about getting home early so we stayed at my parents pretty late and played many card and board games. I was introduced to Mad Gab- tough but so fun! 
Oh, here I am forgetting the main reason we spent the day at my parents house (other than their company of course), we were celebrating Ben's birthday! His birthday was indeed July 2nd, but I'm not kidding when I say that we have all been so busy this summer. Last weekend was the first chance for us to get together and properly celebrate with the whole family. My cousin Meaghan made a really delicious meal, as well as Ben's birthday cake- which was a practice run for our wedding cake! The cake was very very delicious and looked great! (None of us are huge fans of fondant, but it sure makes for a pretty cake.) 

Ben and I spent most of the holiday Monday together and I was almost able to finish addressing all of our wedding invitations with the help of Brittany. I feel like we are down to the wire with getting these invitations out, having to start all over did not help! I really appreciated Brittany coming over to help me, again! Monday evening Ben and I were pretty tired. We watched some old episodes of How I Met Your Mother and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep on the couch around 9:30 pm! I'm glad we had that bit of quiet time together, we really need it from time to time. 
Tuesday I had an interview for my new job. I was so wired for it that I found myself up at 6:30am...the interview wasn't until 1pm! Meaghan was able to drive me there, which was great since it's actually pretty far from my apartment. It was also awesome to have her around for moral support. The interview went really well! I don't tend to blog about work, and so I won't be giving a lot of details here, but I have a new job with a great company, it's going to be completely different from nannying and I am excited. Also grateful to have time off before starting so that I can decompress a little and get a few things done at home. 
What's really awesome is that I was able to return the favour for Meaghan on Wednesday when she had a job interview in Montreal! I went with her for moral support and to spend the day there with her. I will share more about that later. 

A little preview.

So that's my week so far. I got another early start today (unintentionally) and I'm spending my morning at Chapters to blog and get organized.

 I knew that if I stayed home I would be in pyjamas until noon and watch endless TV. (Not that I don't deserve that every once in awhile but my free time this week is limited!) At least for the rest of my time off I'm hoping to make my way down to Chapters most mornings to blog. I love blogging and I'm hoping to get back into a groove with it. I'm also hoping to do yoga at home most afternoons. I'm putting this on here to hold myself accountable. Having time off means no excuses. 

Later this week I will post about my last week as a nanny, my trip to Montreal, a wedding update and my goals for August. Also planning to get started on my first ever Project Life album this week that I hope to share here as well:)