Siblings

Growing up with a younger brother made me always wish I had a sister. I didn't care if she was older or younger, I just wanted someone who I could share clothes mainly. It's not that I didn't love my brother, but we just never got along doing ANYTHING. We would argue and fight non stop and as stubborn as we are nothing ever got solved. My brother was/is sneaky, he knows how to push ones buttons and he also knows how to talk himself out of trouble. So yeah, I wanted a sister.

In case you missed my message, I said WANTED. After being with Jules, Shay, and Corinne for a year I've learned that sisters aren't any better than brothers. Corinne being 14 dignifies attitude and sass, I know what to expect as I was a 14 year old once and let me tell ya, I feel SO bad for my parents. It's not easy to talk sense into them or really get them to listen to ANYTHING you tell them. I've had very little success making sure Jules doesn't pick up on Corinne's attitude sometimes but it's inevitable, they live together. I've also seen Shay develop quite the personality and she's only 1. I didn't think she would be so attention seeking and fake cry when she doesn't get her way...but she does!

I've witnessed that having a sister means constant fighting/arguing. I think I expected to see this between Corinne and Jules but I certainly didn't expect to see it between Jules and Shay. How does a 1 year old know that if she fake cries she will get her way? Did Jules do this one time in front of her and she picked up on it? I've given up trying to figure it out because I'm busy dealing with trying to figure out how to make this stop. So I did a few Google searches and liked this one best and tried to make this happen.

For example, Shay would be playing with one of her toys and a few minutes later, Jules would stop whatever she was playing with and go up to Shay and take whatever it was in her hand, out. I would ask Jules why she did that and her answer is always..."I don't know". Well, I've gotten tired of her giving that excuse so we've been working on answers being given like, "What color is the sky Jules?'.. and she would reply, "Blue?". I would tell her that THAT was an answer, not, "I don't know." She's been getting better but today she came back with a smarty excuse as to why she took the toy from Shay. She says, "Shay doesn't know what she's doing and I do." Well, needless to say Shay looked at me and started fake crying because she no longer had her toy. Okay, that was justified so I didn't make a big deal of it so I picked her up and walked over to Jules and took her toy she was playing with. I know I know a little harsh, but it worked because she asked me why I did that and I said, "You took Shay's toy and she doesn't know any better to take it back, but I do, so now you know what it feels like when something is taken away from you." She was shocked I did such a thing and went right back to Shay with her toy and said, "I'm sorry I took your toy Shay, I won't do it again." BAM that was easy!

But then a few minutes later, Shay went up to Jules and tried taking her toy and Jules held on tight and didn't let go. Shay looks at me and starts wailing and boy, did it break my heart but I didn't cave. I looked and Jules and said, "Maybe we can give her a similar toy and let her play with you that way she doesn't feel left out?" And Jules agreed and ended up giving Shay an identical toy and she was satisfied.

My point is, I don't think it matters what gender sibling you have because no matter what, they're going to make you angry sometimes and make you wish you had a different sibling. But now that I'm older, I'm just glad I was able to grow up with a sibling at all because my brother has taught me a lot about myself and has also surprised and made me proud to be his big sister.

My Week With Sick Kids

Such a trooper

Last weekend the girls went on a mini vacation to Mackinac Island with their family and Juliette had gotten sick the morning they were leaving. I had received a call from their mom Monday morning saying that she was staying home the rest of the day because Jules was sick. I figured after a whole weekend plus Monday that by Tuesday morning she would be fine. Boy was I wrong.

I've learned that taking care of a 4 year old when she's throwing up for the first time she can actually remember, it's kind of like taking care of a drunk person who doesn't know how to hold their head up. I mean she was a trooper I will admit that, but for the life of her she just didn't know HOW to throw up. That being said, she performed on the couch (which was disgusting). Now let's add in a 14 month old who wants to go investigate what just happened on the couch while I am busy in the bathroom with the 4 year old. HELP!

This picture of Jules was taken on Wednesday morning on our way to school and she was just so tired and happy that I was surprised we were sending her to school. She didn't have a fever and wasn't throwing up anymore but you could tell she just wasn't feeling herself. This whole last week has consisted of us staying indoors and not really doing anything other than school in the morning and games, reading, and movies in the afternoon. She just wanted to lay around all day which I wasn't complaining about until Friday when I was feeling a little cooped up in the house. She was finally feeling better and we actually got out of the house and played outside for a little bit and boy was that refreshing!

She actually fell asleep just like this

Now let's move on to Shay. She has been teething this whole week and was so cranky in the morning until after her naps around noon. There just wasn't a moment of silence from these girls in the 9-10 hours I was there each day and it finally hit me on Friday that I was exhausted. I can't imagine what our mothers had to go through with us and never having the choice to go home at the end of the day like I do with being a nanny. Being this has made me realize that I should just get used to it and find ways to make it "fun". This video clip is of moms who have to stay strong for their sick children and it just made me think that having kids with the flu or cold or even teething isn't something to get stressed or angry about. Be grateful that they are here with you.
With Shay it was natural to hold and cuddle her, which come on let's be honest, cuddling babies are comforting to ourselves if anything. She is such a cuddle bug that I didn't mind her not feeling her best... up until I have to take care of a sick 4 year old and have to put her down and she starts screaming and whining and clinging to me feet.

After this exhausting week of sick babies, I was just so excited to go home and get takeout with my boyfriend and just relax until Monday. HA - joke was on me. I was just taking care of sick babies all week, why did I think I could get away with no getting sick too?
By Saturday morning my boyfriend and I were both in and out of the bathroom and then in bed the whole day. Sure I "relaxed" a bit but not the way I had planned. Nothing got done that needed to and on top of all of that, my endless amount of homework just kept piling. I'm glad we are all feeling better and I hope this next week is filled with laughter and activities outside or anywhere OTHER than the girls' house! Wish me luck :)

Oh and here is a few more photos I took this week of the girls either being silly, happy, or bundled on the couch!