*edit* - let me just say, I’m posting these after writing them at home during “nap time” – I was pretty tired and sometimes pretty frustrated by then – so I can’t promise everything will make sense or won’t be crazy…but at least it’s an update…right??

Well, I’m finally getting a chance to write. It would have happened a lot earlier but we don’t have wireless internet yet (so I have to drive to campus to post) and these first couple days I’ve been SO tired that by the time 430 comes I’m pretty much useless…I can’t even think straight. Adjusting to my new job/life in Greenville is proving a bit more difficult than I expected. I knew that things would be different, but I guess I assumed that I’d be so excited to be back “home” that everything would fit together easily. That’s not how it’s going so far. Let me try to explain…here’s a recap of the past couple days:

(wait a minute, I have to take a second to tell how much I love BBC-America…seriously, British humor is my favorite…so dry…the punch-line always left understated or not out-right mentioned…o man…the show on right now is “Keeping Up Appearances” – and I’m having to try so hard to contain my laughter so as not to wake Isaac up…ahh – it’s the highlight of my day…ok – moving on)

So, I moved to Greenville on Saturday – pretty much just moved boxes into the Pasley’s house, met Scott’s other children (Kennedy and Dalton – they come and stay every other weekend), and hung out with the fam.). Sunday I went to church (which was fantastic – mainly because I feel like I “belong” there), did some final shopping with my parents before they headed back to Janesville, met with Scott and Dana to get they’re expectations/rules/advice, and ended the evening at the Filby’s (which felt somewhat awkward – but was still good). And now we come to the first day of nanny-ing.

Well, I had gotten a heads-up from some people (including Scott and Dana) – that when Isaac doesn’t get what he wants he tends to throw huge fits – they’ve decided not to spank, do time-out, or any of that stuff…so they just wait out the tantrum and deal with him when he’s calm again. I don’t know what I was expecting (maybe I thought that I’d be able to keep a handle on things better than other people – stupid pride) but I got a wake-up call Monday. I had NO idea that a child could yell, scream, cry, kick, throw themselves around, and say the same three words over and over and over again for a little over an HOUR straight. Wow. I knew it would be real bad to give in to him…especially the first day…but after 45 mins or so…I started to wonder if I was doing the right thing. And so, now I’m learning new ways to be kind, but firm…and not take words so personally. Learning other stuff too…but those are the main things.

But really, on the other hand, Isaac can also turn around and suddenly be the sweetest, most generous child I’ve ever seen. He’s adorable and says some of the funniest things I’ve heard in a long time. I’m getting used to our new “family breakfast deal” (decided to all meet for breakfast everyday at the same time…good, but early)…at the same time, I’ve started to look forward to Isaac running down the stairs to come let me know it’s time to come up :)

Another highlight involves sleep. Everyone knows I have trouble sleeping a lot…well, I finally have a job that makes me absolutely exhausted by the end of the day. It is such a blessing to be tired, knowing that it’s because I actually did something instead of being tired out of boredom. Also, I haven’t taken a nap in at least 6 years…when it’s hard to sleep at night its pretty much a given that naps don’t happen either. Well, my first day being a nanny, I got Isaac down for a nap and pretty much passed-out on the couch…really I’m taking my “nap time” right now to write this…otherwise I’d probably be ‘out’ today too :) so nice!