I'm a College Kid: August 2014

I'm writing this now because I never want to forget this feeling.

This feeling of excitement. Of promise. Of FUN.

I was going to write this post next week, once I was completely moved in to the new place and had my first day of class and my first day of work at Nine Irish Brothers. However, I just can't wait that long! Because I don't know when this feeling wears off, this feeling that from here on out I will refer to as an "Apartment High." I know halfway through the school year, when it's freezing cold and dark and snowy and I have homework piled up and my room is a mess and there's no food in the fridge, I will NOT feel the way I do now. So I need to document it before it disappears.

Yesterday morning was the big move in day (and Jess will be here Saturday)! My dear roommate Annie has been working on apartment stuff since we got the go-ahead-and-move-in-now email on Sunday. And let me tell you, she is great. She went through and did an excellent cleaning job before I came, and even got us a new living room carpet out of it. So when I arrived yesterday afternoon, my dad, sister, and I all loaded down with boxes and bags and tubs of all my crap, I was able to move right in. And I am notorious for having a lot of crap, by the way.

So we got all my stuff moved in and my dad got my desk put together and we went to Walmart to get some food to hold us over for awhile until we can really make a shopping trip and then we went to Annie's parents' house for some delicious lasagna. And then I had to say goodbye, which freakin' sucked, because today Kourtney leaves for Nebraska and I'm so excited for her, but I also wish she wasn't so grown up already. So yeah.

Shoutout to you, sister! You will do great at Nebraska! I'm so proud of you and can't wait to hear about all the adventures you have at your new school in this new chapter of your life. Remember, I'm always here if you need me :)

But then I came back to good ol' apartment 4 and finished unpacking my stuff and organizing it. Annie and my friends, Matt and Corey, came over to hang out for a little, so it was good to see them. But then they left, and most of the big unpacking was done, and suddenly Annie and I realized that we were about to spend our first night in our apartment. She even made the comment that this was the first time I have ever really been alone and unsupervised in my living, considering I had an RA the past 2 years. It felt great!

So then we started going through our apartment, deciding where we wanted to hang decorations and the things we liked and disliked about it. But boy do we love it! And yeah, sure the paint job is mediocre at best, and there are stains on the carpet, and our faucet handle has chips in it, and there's a chunk of tile missing in our bathroom, and the air doesn't flow into our bedrooms, and the doors are missing from our closets, and people can see into our apartment from the parking lot. But honestly? It makes me love this place even more. It's a place of our own, and I am so excited to live here the next 2 years. I legitimately feel so giddy with excitement right now as I sit here in my new living room, stomach full of orange rolls that I made for Annie and I for our first meal in the new place. It's going to be a great year :)

Annie and I moving in to apartment 4. More pics to come!

Summer isn't truly summer when you're in college unless you have a job to pad your bank account for when the school year rolls back around. (Seriously though, what I wouldn't give to have an 8-year-old's summer, the kind where all you do is play outside and run around and not have to worry about anything except what's for lunch and when mom will take you to the pool.)

So what did I decide to do to fulfill this? I became a:

chauffeur
nurse
maid
chef
entertainer
lifeguard
librarian
teacher
mediator
dog walker
mother.

Okay wait, that last one didn't sound right. No, people, I did NOT birth children this summer, relax. Rather, I became a nanny. But really, what is a nanny but all of the former jobs compiled into one: a fill-in mom (Mom B) while real mom (Mom A) is at work.

And let me tell you, it was a struggle. Though I have nannied 2 summers before this one (really, third time is a charm, right?), this summer proved to be the most challenging. My children for the summer? A giggly 3rd grader, a sporty 4th grader (and the only boy), a sweet 5th grader, and a sassy 6th grader. I have been babysitting for the brother/sister duo of Sporty and Sassy for the past 3 and a half years and have been sitting for sisters Giggly and Sweet since last summer, though I have known them since my first summer with Sporty and Sassy. (Goodness, with these names, it sounds like I'm nannying for a little over half of the Seven Dwarves). You would think, after several years of working with these kids, and at an age where they start gaining some independence, this summer would be a breeze!

...Think again.

Because besides the average nanny duties of preparing breakfasts and lunches (no easy feat with 4 younguns), cleaning/doing dishes/doing laundry/vacuuming, and planning fun activities for the kids, I was running my own private shuttle business, carting the kids to taekwondo practice, dance class, gymnastics practice, basketball camp, soccer camp, art class, softball practice, piano lessons, cheer clinic, band practice. No kidding, there were days that I drove 70 miles IN TOWN. The struggle.

And somehow, between all those activities, we managed to squeeze in some pool days, finish the library program, go to some parks and spray parks, hit up the zoo (RIP Miller Park tiger), show off at the bowling alley, and eat more ice cream than is probably healthy for children of that age. But then again, consult the list of activities these children were enrolled in, and you'll see how easily they burned off those calories.

Needless to say, I am EXHAUSTED. And though we were constantly busy and the summer could seem long at times, I can't believe it is almost the end. In fact, I had to say goodbye to Sassy and Sporty yesterday as it was my last day with them and I will not be nannying for them next year since I'll likely stay at Purdue. Now THAT was difficult. I have played an minor role in raising these children for around a third of their lives, and suddenly it was time to say goodbye. Sassy and I began tearing up in the parking lot as I dropped her off for softball one last time. And Sporty? Well, he said he wouldn't really miss me too much because, "After three years, it's time to move on." Oh. Well okay then. Lol.

And then next week will be my last week with Sweet and Giggly, so I'm basically dreading 5 pm Friday.

And if anyone has spent any time at all with me this summer, you'll know that I complain A LOT about this job. I won't deny it. Between cleaning up the sticky messes and putting up with the bickering and coming home night after night ready to pass out, who can blame me? But then again, there are so many fond memories I have of this summer, specific and general. Like that time I was playing my oldies CD in the car and the kids fell in love with "Build Me Up Buttercup" and requested that I play it so they could dance and sing along each time we were in the car. Or when I was finally able to get the kids excited about reading and Giggly and Sweet came to enjoy the times I read aloud to them from our chapter books, which became good bonding time, as well as a chance for me to practice for my future profession. Or when we tirelessly studied the lyrics to Iggy Azalea's rap in "One Less Problem" until we could recite it effortlessly. Or spending countless mornings in the kitchen whipping up a wide variety of pancakes (banana, cinnamon sugar, s'mores, chocolate chip/sprinkle/whipped cream/chocolate syrup). Or even the little things, like when they would remember something specific that you'd said, or when they'd grab your hand, almost subconsciously, as we were walking to and from somewhere, or when they said they love me and will miss me and that I'm the best sitter ever. It's the things like that that really get me, that made it totally worthwhile. I really do love these kids, each in their own way, and I'm going to miss them lots next year.

But that doesn't mean I am anywhere NEAR ready to be a mother. In fact, the nanny rally cry happens to be, "I'm never having kids!" At least not now :)`

But besides nannying, I did get to do some other cool stuff this summer. These included:

-Family reunion in Nebraska at Platte River State Park
-Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne concert with some friends
-Visiting Jess in Chicago with Annie and going to IKEA to shop for our apartment
-Going to Purdue and seeing all my school friends
-Going on vacation with Sydney and her family...RV trip to Glacier National Park in Montana!
-Other various shenanigans with my frands and family.

But, in just a couple weeks, I will begin round 3 of being a College Kid. Stay tuned :)