Daycare Nana

A little over three and a half years ago, our live in nanny abandoned us (she got married and decided she would rather live with her husband than us, rude!) so we had to find another solution for childcare.  At the time, Boyfriend and I were not working traditional schedules and knew we would need to find an individual vs a center with strict hours.  Little did I know contacting a home daycare I saw on Craigslist would be one of the best decisions I ever made.

I was hesitant at first, finding someone off Craigslist because of all the horror stories.  I consider myself a good judge of character and we had just been successful with our live in nanny (found on care.com) that I figured it wouldn't hurt to go at least meet her.  Her driving attraction was location, less than two miles from our home but the moment we met her, I knew she was "the one."

At our first meeting, the grandmotherly (but not old) woman explained to me that the kids she takes care of are her family and everyone calls her, "Nana."  Boyfriend and I laughed, knowing this would make my mom, another Nana, jealous.  Over time, Evelyn started differentiating my mother as "Regular Nana" and the other Nana as "Daycare Nana."  Instead of using her first name, we too have started calling her as Daycare Nana because she is truly the additional grandmother in our lives.

As a former nanny, I really do get how much your charges mean to you.  You love them and adore them and miss them.  Daycare Nana goes a step above the norm and pretty much lives her life around her kids.  She spoils them rotten-she has Santa personally come to her home each December, she bakes each one of them THE.BEST.CAKE.EVER. for their birthdays, she cooks them meals every day based on their preferences.  She is just the best.

One thing all of the parents of the other kids and I agree on is that Daycare Nana doesn't mess around with attitude or misbehavior and I am so appreciative of it.  Sometimes when things are really rough at home, instead of saying, "I'm going to call your father!!" I just have to say, "I'm going to call Daycare Nana" and Evelyn will straighten up real quick.  I wish I had the level of respect and boundaries Daycare Nana has, but I also know that kids will push their mother in that oh so special way.

Daycare Nana is about to have a turn over of several kids, they all start Kindergarten this year.  To celebrate she took them all out to lunch at Gloria's, for popsicles at Steel City and then to Barnes & Noble for each kid to pick out a book.  Evelyn is going to miss seeing her every day so, so much but luckily Penny will still be going to Daycare Nana's so there will still be the occasional visits.

I don't know what Evelyn is going to do without seeing the woman who loves her as much as her blood family does.  She is going to miss her doing her hair, her yummy lunches, and hugs when she isn't feeling well or sad.  The only thing Evelyn is sad about when it comes to school is not going to her house every day.

We love you Daycare Nana!