Like getting done with work an hour early.
Oh, my gosh, that was nice.
Partially because it was a ruckus at work, four boy play date and pizza making party.
Can you say melee?
I spent most of my lunch break making pizzas, that was a new one on me, I have not made a pizza from scratch since I don’t know when, high school?
I actually did not make them completely from scratch, I bought the dough pre-made from Lucca Ravioli on Valencia Street. Plus, the pepperoni, and pizza sauce.
Really what I did was assemblage, but it did take a while to do, just preparation wise and I did have to roll out the dough and pre-bake and then build them up.
It was a little strange having my hands in flour, I don’t bake anymore, but I soon found myself wielding a rolling-pin and even flipping the pizza dough up in the air a few times.
I made two mushroom and spinach pizzas, one pepperoni and cheese, and one four cheese, for the parents, then for the boys I made tiny little pizzas using cookie cutters, and then plated all the things that they would need to build up their own little pizzas–marinara, “leaves” (spinach which the youngest likes to call leaves, make a face at me, blow a raspberry and drop on the floor for the dog, who also flaps her lips in disgust and waits for the boy to displace some sausage), sliced mushrooms, and four cheese mix.
I also roasted a head of cauliflower in the oven and made an extra trip to the corner market for staples.
It was quite the morning and afternoon and I found myself grateful that the little guy got in a few extra minutes on his nap and the mom was a tiny bit late from pick up with the four-year old from pre-school.
I found myself eating my lunch in shifts, standing up, walking around with a bowl of food in my hand or jumping up to swap out a pizza from the pizza oven to the pizza board.
I hate eating my lunch like that, but prepping food for three adults and four children and doing snacks and milk and general nanny issue things, I just got grateful that I had food and that a lot of my food has been happening at work.
Ie, the family provides about half of my meals for me.
Plus almost every day buys me a coffee or a latte.
I don’t mind running around a little if I get a nice coffee from Ritual or I get to augment my own food with fresh fruit from BiRite, it saves me quite a bit over the long run and it’s so nice to not have to haul my food around from home to work like I have with quite a few of my other nanny jobs.
However, as much as I appreciate the little perks, a sit down does me good and I found myself a tiny bit more flustered with the boys and finding that I had to tell myself to cool off and breathe and settle down.
Especially if I was going to run my two charges around for a bit before the play date landed on the doorstep.
I also am like a solar battery.
It’s sunny out, get me outside.
I think that has to be one of the most important perks of my job, I get to go outside.
It’s a little thing, but it means a lot to me to be able to charge my own batteries, especially since I do have seasonal depression. It’s not so bad being here in California, although, July, ironically, can be challenging with the fog out here.
The boys are not always super eager to get out when mom and dad are home and there are working guys doing construction on the house, but it saves my bacon to get outside and be in the sun and the air, even when it is laced with pot smoke.
I know it’s pretty much legal, but keep it out of the park yo.
I have called the cops a few times on really obvious usage, most of the time the boys don’t pay it any attention, I’m the one that it annoys, I’m allergic to it.
We only spent an hour at the park, but I let myself sit down and “relax” for a little while.
Just sitting down is a big deal.
I don’t spend as much time sitting as some of the other nannies I see do, that’s partially just how I nanny, and it’s also because so many of the parents in the neighborhood are out with their kids and a lot of them go to the same school and know the parents.
Sometimes I think I am being a little paranoid, that parents are reporting back to my boss, but you never know and I have had moments when I even think I am being tracked about with the stroller.
I work for tech people and I know there are drop cameras all over the house.
The monitor in the boys perspective rooms is pretty open and out there, but there are more and I don’t know where they are located.
I just know I am on the camera.
I don’t pick my nose or anything.
I also don’t make personal calls, for the most part, from the house.
I am pretty much consistently moving and shaking and doing.
I forget most of the time that they are there, but once in a while the mom wills say or do something and I will be reminded, oh yeah, you’re on camera lady.
Not that I feel that there’s anything that I am doing wrong, I am doing a great job, but it was obvious that I got watched today.
“You worked your entire lunch, why don’t you take off an hour early, we’re just going to watch videos,” the mom said.
Huzzah!
And that’s how I wrote my blog before I even am normally home on a Wednesday night.
I got to get out and ride in the rush hour bicycle commuters lane and get to the Inner Sunset and meet with some folks that I haven’t seen in a while and get home over an hour and a half before I ever do the mid week.
What a treat.
It’s the little things that make the difference.
Being upbeat and doing a good job.
Happy, happy.
Joy.
Joy.
I shall be well rested for the morrow.
Auntiebubba 