January 17, 2019

Did I say “international”? Yes, yes I did! My younger sister and I have been talking about taking “the trip” (the international trip) for months now, but it’s officially official cause we’ve bought the tickets! As Taylor aptly said, “There’s no going back now.” (Actually there is since I bought insurance on everything just in case one of us got sick or something. Though I’d be have to half dead not to go)

But where are we going…

I don’t any of these photos.

Yep that’s right! The U.K.! I can hardly believe it. As someone who is obsessed with all thing British, Irish and Scottish (Tay is much worse) and as someone who has never left American soil, this trip was daunting and exciting to plan.

I’m just gonna give you guys a brief look at our trip as it stands and some of the things we had to figure out to make it happen. (Of course as time gets closer to “the trip” we’ll talk more about it. Who’s excited?)

When to Go

A basic google search here people. I googled the best time to visit London and June was the answer. The gardens will all be in bloom and though it’ll probably be wet- It’s London! When is it not?

An Unexpected Stop

So London is a big vacation destination and visiting it can be pricey. At first the plan was to fly directly into the city but upon further research we learned it was cheaper to fly into Dublin. So we changed our plans and decided to stay a day and a night at the beginning an end of trip in Dublin. We’ll take the ferry across to Holyhead and the train into the city. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Passports

Like I said neither my sister nor myself have ever taken an international trip so naturally we needed to get our passports. I thought this would be a long and troublesome process… Yeah not really.

The Social Aspect

In the day and age we live in our cellphones are handy tools and I was anxious to be able to use at least my maps overseas. But frankly the train, airplane, museum and tour tickets are all electronic (which I love!). Hence why we rented a Teppy! It’s a small WiFi hotspot that fits into your pocket. It cost us $69 to rent it for the week for unlimited internet They send it to us 3 days before our flight and when we get back we have two days to return it. Cool, right?

Actually Booking the Trip

Last Sunday was the official book-it-all day. This was after weeks and weeks of careful research into hotels, inns and flights. (You guys know I love research and being overly prepared)

In Dublin (both coming and going) we’re staying at an inn in the heart of the city. We also opted to stay in the heart of London. It was slightly more expensive but we’ll save on travel and time. We’re literally a 3 minute walk from everything.

What to Do, What to Do

This is the fun part! We already have several tours and sights on our list. But if you globe trotters have any suggestions or things we can safely skip, please leave ‘em below.

Well guys be prepared to hear a lot about this for the foreseeable future!

Lots of loves,

Tally

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I know, I know. I promised this post weeks ago. Anyway last time I walked you through my personal journey into “nanny-hood”. This time I thought we’d talk about what to look for in your potential “work family”.

As a nanny, especially a live-in, I think it’s important to be critical when accepting a position. The parents are going to be critical about you (they’re inviting you into their kids lives) and I think you should show the same amount of scrutiny when going through the application/interview process. You’re going to spend a lot of time with these people; living, working, traveling- Basically going through day-to-day life with them. (I tell people all the time that being a live-in nanny is more of a lifestyle than a job. Always keep that in mind)

Checklist for Work Family:

Straightforward/Honest-

To me this is top on the list for any relationship personal or otherwise. You need to able to trust the people you are working for. And thankfully this is something you can gage pretty easily early on. Ask questions and pay attention to how they answer. They should be straightforward and complete. (Some questions to ask will be listed below) Do they follow through with commitments? Or are they constantly changing expectations?

Engaged-

Another crucial thing to me is to see how engaged they are with their kids. Now this doesn’t mean they spend every waking moment with their children, but that they are devoted to their kid’s upbringing. Not just spectators. This means their standards are set; disciplinary, socially, etc. It’s obvious they love their children and care how they’re growing up. Ask how they handle discipline? What are their standards as far as behavior goes?

Communicative-

This can be very frustrating. You shouldn’t have to chase down the parents every time you have a question or an issue. By this I mean there should be an established way to communicate, whether by email, text or in person. But you need to remember that communication is a two-way street. The same should apply to you, the parents shouldn’t have to hunt you down or text you five billion times to get an answer. And just like you want them to be honest with you and be able to tell you exactly what they expect (no guessing in the dark) you need to be honest and straightforward when they ask you questions. (Half truths are lies- Be honest! Especially if you’ve made a mistake of some sort. Tell them immediately and concisely; this builds trust)

Supportive-

Going hand-in-hand with engagement having the parents support you- putting a kind of authority behind you- is big! It does no one, especially the kids, any good if you and the parents are constantly undermining each other. This is why asking up front what their expectations are and getting a clear picture is sooo helpful.

Lifestyle Check-

I think this is also important, but so easily skipped over. Don’t pick a family if their lifestyle is in complete contrast to yours. It doesn’t have to exactly be like yours but if their going to expect you participate in something you don’t think is right or is going to make you uncomfortable think twice before accepting their offer. This isn’t an absolute rule as one of the joys of being a nanny is experiencing new things you might not have gotten to experience otherwise. That being said the lifestyle check is a good thing to keep in mind.