Nanny Diaries

Hello, friends!

I figured it was time for some summer updates, considering the fact that in less than a month I'll be back at Provo getting ready to start my sophomore year at BYU! (I can't wait, in case you were wondering.) Anyways, one of the things I've been able to do this summer is be a nanny for a few families and I absolutely LOVE it. Let me introduce you to a few of the kiddos that I've hung out with this summer.

Kaitlynn, Ethan, and Sidney: I watch these kids twice a week, all day, while their parents are at work. And I have grown to love them so much! 3 kids under the age of 6 definitely keep me on my toes, but we always have a great time! They love to go to the library, read books with, listen to the Frozen soundtrack (A LOT), get out all the toys in the house, and swim. I love all of those things, and I also really love nap time when I can clean up all the said toys+do the dishes+breathe for a few minutes. 

 My sweet girl Sidney...She loves "doing the dishes" and washing her hands. She also loves cuddling, her blanket and screams any time her brother touches her.

Kaitlynn and Ethan keep me on my toes in the best way! We spend hours on this couch reading books together.

Seiter Cousins: I am the oldest cousin on both my mom and dad's side of the family and have become the unofficial family babysitter (I'm wondering if its going to become official anytime soon...can I get a badge or something?) My aunt and uncle went on a little weekend trip and I had a blast with their 5 cute kids. They live about 10 minutes away from my family, so the kids are already fully accustomed to my craziness, making it a lot easier for mom and dad to be gone. To be honest, we spent about 75% of the time at my house, letting my brothers play with their cousins while my mom and I hung out. (This is when my mom and I decided we have to live in the same area when I'm raising a family...so I can mooch off her and we can hang out. Good plan, am I right??)

 I think there might be some rule against makeup on a 7 year old, but what kind of cousin would I be if I didn't do makeovers with the girls while their brothers were gone for the morning?

When you're 3 years old and picking out your own clothes, I guess wearing the same color from head to toe guarantees your clothes will match. 

Maxfield Cousins: As my role of the unofficial babysitter on my mom's side of the family, I flew up to Sacramento and helped my uncle take care of my 4 cousins while my aunt was out of town for 10 days. These kids aren't quite as used to my craziness because we don't see them as often, so it took them a few days to get used to my dishes dance parties, attempts at getting them to tell me about their days at school, and my non-ability to have all the parts of a meal ready at the same time. But we had a great time! I loved getting to know these cousins better and I learned a few things while I was helping out up there:

1. I forgot how early early-morning seminary is. I had to wake my cousin up at 5:30 every morning and I felt so bad for him (but not bad enough that I couldn't crawl back into bed and go back to sleep once I made sure he was up!) Luckily, he had a good attitude because seminary is great and so worth it.

2. Don't judge the moms who are still in their pajamas when drop their kids off at school. I'll be honest, I used to kind of judge them. Like, come on, its already 8 am. You can put some clothes on before you take your kids to school. But this week changed that. When you're trying to get 3 kids out the door, shoes on, lunches made, breakfast eaten, hair brushed, school play costumes intact...what I looked like was last on my priority list. So, moms who are still wearing their PJs at 9 am, I respect you.

3. Its all about the right clothes. My cousin Hailey is an amazing ice skater and I took her to her skate lessons, which was to be followed by a little shopping trip...as I got dressed, I pretty much only had the shopping trip in my mind so I threw on a thin blouse and some sandals. Well we walk into the ice rink and all the other parents are seriously wearing sweatshirts, coats, knit hats, earmuffs, snow boots...(Okay I might be getting a little carried away here, but you get the point.) I thought, "Oh, I'll be fine! It's only a 30 minute lesson...how bad could it be?" Well after about 10 minutes of sitting in the ice rink, my toes were freezing and I was the shivering girl surrounded by all these warm parents. Oh, and when I took my sweet little cousin to swim lessons, I forgot a towel for him. So he dried off using the cardigan I was wearing...#nannyoftheyear I still have a lot to learn before I can be a mom apparently...

 Isn't the cousin love present in this photo just overwhelming? Hahahaha I laughed for a solid few minutes after I saw this picture....I promise we had a good time even though he is visibly cringing in this picture.

 Little better.

Selfies with my girl Hailey. We had so much fun together! She starts junior high in a few weeks and she is going to rock it. Her  social media skills are probably better than mine, she loves her bunny, and wants to be a clothing designer for animals or a pie shop owner when she's grown up.

 Two of my favorite things: froyo and silly faces.

How's your office?

 Parker and I had lot of time while his siblings were at school, and we shared lots and lots of laughs! This is the wine closet that they have, but don't use. So it makes a perfect hideout spot.

"In jail"... This would be a good picture to put on my online nanny profile, yes? Hahahah

Maxfield Cousins (Round 2): Guys I'm really not kidding about the family babysitter thing... My grandparents celebrated their 50th Anniversary and took all their kids+in laws on a cruise to Alaska. I tried to push for the "18 and up should be invited" thing, but they didn't go for it. I guess it wouldn't have been that fun to third-wheel with 8 couples anyway...But anyways, I went up to Idaho to watch my 5 cousins while their parents were gone while Riley stayed here with Jack. I brought Nick with me and we had a great time! I also cared for 6 boys for 8 days and survived, so that's an accomplishment. Even though it was honestly so easy because they just played together the whole time! Like, hours and hours of Legos and soccer on end. My main responsibilities were getting 3 meals a day ready (easier said than done when you're feeding 7 people), getting kids to swim and piano lessons, and trying to convince 4 boys who are sharing a room for the week to go to sleep at a reasonable hour (As hard as you might imagine...) I watched these boys while their parents went to Spain and it was so great to come hang out with them again! I especially had a good time teasing the 15 and 14 olds about girls and staying up late talking to them. Cousins are really the best. Nick loved having 24/7 playmates for a week and wasn't ready to leave when it was time go!

 I got to sit next to the cutest boy on the plane.

Silly faces for texts to mom to let her know we're alive.

 Just playing soccer with all the boys in the neighborhood who are all better than me.

"Cady take a picture of us!"

I made friends with the neighborhood girls who would just stop in for snacks, drinks, some coloring time, or to get their nails painted by me. It was fun to have some girls time after hanging out with all these boys!

As you can see, I've spent lots of time with kids this summer and I'm not complaining. My twitter followers probably are though, because when I'm not tweeting about how much I miss BYU, I'm tweeting about little children. Here are some of my favs. (These all prove that even though I love my job, I'm not above a little Twitter complaining every once in a while.)

Two in a row...this is a real problem, people.

Well, there you go. Way more than you probably wanted to know about my nanny life...but if I don't write it here, I'm not going to write it anywhere so #sorrynotsorry

I'll have some more summer updates coming soon, but until then, just listen to this song that's been on repeat in my little corner of the world because it's just too cute.

XOXO
Cady

Home {Bittersweet} Home

So tonight I'm really missing BYU. And although I've been a complete slacker on the blogging front (and Kayla reminds me of it every time I talk to her), I'm coming back if you'll have me. And even if you won't, I'm coming back for my sake. After crying a little bit to my mom tonight, I somehow ended up stalking my blog and realized that blogging has been super good for me in the past. So here I am, trying to gather my thoughts and get a little bit more in touch with myself.

I actually wrote the next few paragraphs of this post a couple of weeks ago, complete with pictures and everything and it was wonderful and I thought it published but it didn't...and it didn't save half the post either. So Blogger and I weren't exactly BFFs that night and that just added to my excuses for not blogging. Anyways, here is a super melodramatic post for your pleasure. I'm feeling a little bit on the dramatic side tonight, so this is working out perfectly...

{One month (plus one day) ago, I was on a flight from Provo to Mesa. I had just thrown away a few things to meet the weight limit on my luggage and given Erica one last hug as we cried at the security checkpoint. A couple hours before, I said goodbye to my favorite guys that I won't see for another 2 years. The morning before, I had bawled my eyes out in the Salt Lake airport with Erica and Kayla as we said "see ya later" to Kayla for the next 20+ months. I had packed up my dorm room and cleaned out the empty room. One month ago, I was having one of the most emotional weeks of my entire life.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Come on Cady. Its the end of a school year. Not a funeral. Nobody died. You didn't graduate. It's just 4 months until you get back." But let me tell you, leaving Provo was the toughest goodbye I've ever had to go through. This was one of the best years of my entire life and I spent my time with the most amazing people! You become extremely close to people when you live with them, eat all your meals with them, go to the library with them, go to church with them, and basically spend any minute of free time with them. And these goodbyes weren't just "See you in 4 months! Have a good summer!" type of goodbye. Even though, honestly, we still would have been bawling. Most of these goodbyes were "See you in 2 years!" type of goodbyes. And two years is a long time. It's sad to realize that I might not ever see some of these people again! (Even though we already have a reunion for 2016 planned.) The other thing that made leaving so hard was knowing that my freshman year was such a unique experience that I can never repeat. It was my only year in the dorms and the only year that everyone will come to BYU knowing next to no one. It was my only year where everyone is living away from home for the first time. These things combined to create an extremely unique and amazing environment for meeting new people that would become like family. I am so excited for the next 3 years and everything that is in store, but I think I will forever look back on freshman year as one of the best years of my life!

Coming back home for the summer has been a huge transition, to say the least. Most of my friends from high school are on missions or at school or married or engaged...aka they can't hang out with me. Luckily, one of my very best friends Chelsey just got home from school and is here all summer! (And living with me in the fall!) She was at BYU Idaho last year, so its been a while since we've been together and that was a very happy reunion! She is my go-to girl and we're already planning all our summer adventures. I have also had a blast partying with my girl Valerie, who I have missed so dearly the past 8 months. I have been going to the young adult ward in my stake and have met lots of great people! The social scene is definitely different here (aka you can't just walk out your door and find something to do) but I have high hopes for the rest of the summer. It has been a blast to hang out with my family more. My mom and I have become basically attached at the hip. I love being around her and because this is probably my last summer at home, we're trying to soak in every moment! My little brothers and my dad are always making me laugh. I haven't seen much of my busy little social butterfly of a sister, but its been fun to hang out with her a little bit! (And enjoy sharing the bathroom/arguing over borrowed clothes again of course.)

I am babysitting for a couple of families so I am keeping busy and saving up for next year! Although its really hard to resist the temptation to spend all my money on plane tickets to visit all my friends/go on adventures with Chelsey this summer. Who needs to pay rent anyways? But luckily I love the little kiddos I'm working with and am kept on my toes all the time. My family and friends are great, and my friends from BYU aren't more than a Google video chat, Facebook message, text, call, or letter away (and yes we use all those methods to communciate...) This is a transition, but I'm trying to enjoy every moment just as much here as I did in Provo!}

There we go. My thoughts from May 27th aren't that different than they are now, but things are better! I am seeing the many great reasons that I have for being home and have still managed to fit in plenty of adventures. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and I plan on enjoying the heck out of the 2 1/2 months I have left in Arizona this summer! I'm motivated to come back to blogging, and  have some summer updates on here within the next couple of days to prove that I haven't just been moping around my house crying about how much I miss BYU for the last 2 months.

XOXO
Cady

The Seiters Take Provo.

Hello! I know I have been gone way to long from this little blog of mine, and I have missed it! I've just had to make some decisions of how I'm going to use the little time I have left up here and friends have taken top priority! (Should that be school? Oops...Don't worry Mom, I'm still studying too.) All I've gotta say is that life has been crazy and I'm suffering from a "I don't want my freshman year to end" depression. That's a thing right? If you want to see a little bit more of what I've been up to lately, check out Kayla's and Erica's blogs. I do lots of stuff with them and they are better bloggers than I am.

Well this weekend my lovely family came up to visit me and to watch General Conference (more info on that here) and it was so much fun! It was a whirlwind trip, but well worth it, in my opinion. It was especially fun to have Riley stay with me and get to experience a little taste of college life!

They got up here Friday night, took Kayla and Erica and I out to dinner at Brick Oven (aka Provo's classic restaurant). We ate lots of delicious food, flirted with the cute waiters, and caught up with the family. What's not to love about that? Then I went bowling with the family and we had a blast! Minus a few tears from a frustrated Nick who had a rough time keeping the ball out of the gutter. I was just casually dancing to the music in between my turns and was surprised by the fact that my family thought that was unusual. So either they just forgot that I'm actually a little crazy, or I've actually gotten weirder since coming to college...jury's out on that one.

 I take about 90% of my selfies with this girl. 

After bowling, Riley and I met up with a bunch of my friends to go out to some hot springs in Lehi. Unfortunately, we got there and a policeman informed us that they were closed for the night...apparently midnight is not ideal time for exploring hot springs? Lame. So we hit up our favorite restaurant in Provo-Roll Up Cafe. If you're in the area and have never been there, do yourself a favor and indulge in the delicious crepes. The names of the menu items all have to do with relationship statuses, like "The Heartbreak" or "Summer Love". My recent favorite is the "Blind Date" where they surprise you with the toppings. Let's just say it is better than any blind dates I've actually gone on. Then we went hot tubbing at one of the nearby apartment complexes (one of our favorite hobbies!) and it was great. It was so much fun to have my sister by my side. I kept turning to her and giving her a hug and just saying "I'm so happy you're here! I love you!" I couldn't help it! I've missed my best friend.

On Saturday, we had a lovely time watching conference. Riley and I watched the morning session with some girls from the hall in the basement, complete with a delicious breakfast that some of the girls got up and made. For the afternoon, my family had the opportunity to go to Salt Lake and watch Conference in the Conference Center. I went for the first time in October, and it is such a special experience! I'm really grateful for our leaders that are entitled to receive revelation from Heavenly Father and share it with us twice a year in this great conference. I always leave feeling so inspired and ready for life!

We celebrated our German heritage by having lunch at this cute little German deli...it was delicious and reminded me of New York City! I want to go back. My dad went and watched the Priesthood (Men's) session while the rest of us shopped at City Creek Mall. Let's just say that it was basically Girls Night Out with all of Salt Lake and the Utah Valley. Crazy crowded, but Riley and I snagged some cute stuff! 

When we got back to Provo, Riley and I said goodnight to our family and started our evening! We went Disco skating with some friends! I forgot how bad I am at skating, but we had a good time skating/dancing/making fools of ourselves.

We ended the night with IHOP and hot tubbing and I was very ready to crawl into bed at 4:30 am.

Sunday was a little more chill. My family came over and we watched Conference together, introduced the little guys to the good ol' Cannon Center, and then said goodbye. My parents also took home tons of my stuff so flying home will be a lot easier in a few weeks. It was crazy to be packing up all my stuff with my mom when it feels like she was just barely helping me move into my dorm room. This year absolutely flew by! 

I sent home this + a laundry basket full of stuff home. I'll let you know if I survive the next two weeks of my dorm bed without a mattress pad...

I love my family so much and had such a great time with them this weekend. Conference weekend is always one of my favorites, and this one was even better because my favorite people were here with me!

Look for a post later today recapping my 19th birthday! 

XOXO

Cady

Riley Elizabeth.

Today is a very special day because my sister Riley is now 17 years old! There is no way I could sum up our relationship in a blog post, but here are some of my favorite things about my little (taller than me) sister!

Riley always makes me laugh. We have been entertaining each other since were just little girls and Riley hasn't stopped making me laugh since. We have spent many late nights talking and laughing in her room and would always remind my mom that we are just "sister bonding" when she would tell us to go to bed because we had school the next day. I also don't think any family road trip would be the same without her in the backseat with me, usually taking ugly selfies and singing along way too loud to the music with me. Just the other night, she called me and I hadn't laughed so hard in a while. This girl is hilarious and doesn't take life too seriously and I love it!

Havasupi backpacking trip-Summer 2013. Dying at mile 8.

Riley always makes time for me, and the other people she loves. I cannot count the number of times that I've been trying to do homework or go to bed early or do other some productive thing and Riley will come in and ask me to watch a movie with her, or if she can just "show me this YouTube video real quick". Let me tell you, 10 YouTube videos later, it's never very quick. But I love that she helps remind me what's important because I remember those nights messing around with her a lot more than perfectly completed math homework! She also understands my extrovert needs to be with people a majority of the time, and puts up with me when I just walk into her room and lay on her bed.

Trampoline naps-February 2014.

Riley isn't afraid to talk about her feelings. For some reason, I get super awkward when I'm talking about my feelings with my family. I'm comfortable telling other people about them, but when it comes to the people I know and loves best, the awkward 12 year old that didn't tell my family anything comes back. Riley is really good at genuinely complimenting everyone and expressing her appreciation and love for her family. We used to mostly just joke around and talk about the latest drama, but as we've gotten older we've been able to talk about the things that really matter and I love it.

Cheesy Target portraits-December 2013.

Riley has an unbelievably strong belief in Heavenly Father and his gospel. My sister sticks to her beliefs no matter what, and her testimony shines through everything she does. Even if her friends aren't making the greatest decisions, she always keeps things in perspective and chooses the right thing. She is an incredible example to me. I love walking into her room and seeing the scriptures laying out on her bed, motivating me to do better!

Seminary Graduation- May 2013.

Riley is always learning new things. When she was in elementary school, she would write "reports" on different animals just for fun. Not to turn in to her teacher or anything. She had a huge collection of books on animals and with those combined with the Internet, she would research things she was interested in and just write in them. Even now, she loves to read just like me and we have spent many Christmas breaks laying on the couches in our living room reading.

Natural beauty and sister love.

Riley is one of the most generous people I know! When we were younger, she would always buy me little presents or ask me if I wanted anything when we were at the store. Whenever we go on road trips, I never bring cash because I know I will waste it on stupid stuff, but we always walk out of the gas station with a snack for me and a snack for her, all on her bill. I probably owe her about $50 in gas station snacks, and it's kind of become a joke between us. (I mean, why would I bring money if this system is working so well?) She surprised me with a trip to Disneyland for my 16th birthday and it was so much fun! Riley is always willing to share the things she has.

Thanksgiving kisses-November 2013.

Basically, I love this girl a lot and I look up to her so much! I'm sad I can't be there for her birthday, but I'm so excited that she'll be up here in a week and a half with the rest of my family!

XOXO,
Cady

P.S. I have to admit that I stole about half of these pictures off Riley's Instagram... I don't have a ton of pictures of us on my computer! Also, apology for lack of childhood pictures. There are some pretty good ones, but they are all on my home computer :(

Happy.

Happy International Happiness Day, folks! Yes, that's a holiday and today has been simply grand.

But first, let me apologize for my complete lack of presence in the blogging sphere these last couple of weeks! I have been so incredibly busy with school and friends and trying to get enough sleep and maybe exercise sometimes that I have had no time to blog! Tomorrow I'll post an update on my life, for those of you that are dying to know what I've been up to ;)

Anyways, back to happiness. I've had plenty of reasons to be happy today! (Well, most days really.)

First of all, it was so sunny and beautiful out...I wore a short sleeve shirt and sandals and it was glorious.

Just a little selfie to prove that I'm still alive. Shout-out to that headband for hiding my 3rd day hair.

Also, March Madness started today! I'm usually not a big sports follower but my girl Kayla is and organized a bracket challenge for our ward and I'm getting a bit competitive about it. Unfortunately my bracket skills have not been amazing thus far...I'm at a solid 21.4% accuracy right now. But these upsets today are killing me! As is the fact that BYU lost today. Especially since I may or may not have skipped two classes to watch the game. (Shh don't tell my mom.) I'm still holding out for ASU to win tonight and then I can be happy with one of my schools! 

I'm also really happy that my family is coming to visit me in TWO WEEKS! They are coming up for General Conference and I'm so excited to see them all. Riley is sleeping over and it is going to be so much fun! I'm excited to show my little guys around campus and instill some BYU pride in them :)

Oh, and I almost forgot. This has been my soundtrack for the day. I mean, what works for International Happiness Day better than this song?

Yes, it's a little bit embarrassing how much I fangirl over this group. But come on, they are so charming and those voices. They kill me.

I'm off to Salt Lake tonight for some 80's dancing and am so ready. And by ready, I mean running on 4 hours of sleep. Oh, college life.

Hope you had a happy day!

XOXO

Cady

Seven Weeks.

I look at the calendar. Seven weeks left, it tells me.

Seven weeks left of my freshman year of college.

Seven weeks with these people that I have grown to love so much over the past six months.

Seven weeks with a meal card that has given me a lot of unnecessary calories, but a lot of good memories.

Seven weeks of taking naps on my comfy bed in my cozy little dorm room.

Seven weeks where my best friends live 5 steps away from my door.

Seven weeks of cramming as many people into cars as possible wherever we go.

Seven weeks of staying up and sleeping in too late.

Seven weeks of Relief Society lessons taught by my dearest friends.

Seven weeks of visiting hours, where the boys invade the hall for a few hours every week.

Seven weeks of being with friends every night, not just on the weekends.

Seven weeks left in one of the best years of my life.

Seven weeks of classes that interest and excite me.

Seven weeks of some classes that I won’t be sad to be finished with.

Seven weeks of nights at the library till 12 am.

Seven weeks of cramming for tests and hoping for the best.

Seven weeks of last-minute assignments and rushing.

Seven weeks of reading that I will never be caught up on.

Seven weeks of trying to stay motivated and always feeling a little bit stressed.

Seven weeks left of my freshman year of college.

That leaves me feeling both thankful and unhappy, in the most bittersweet sort of way.

Seven weeks, that’s all I’ve got.

What matters now is what I do with it.

XOXO
Cady

Oh Darn, I'm Not Perfect.

You know when you're just feeling like you're really rocking at the whole life thing? And just thinking, "Yeah I'm a great person! I got this." And then you just have a reality check where all the things you need to improve on come crashing down on you in one big wave of realization? That happened to me today. I realized that I have been so self-absorbed lately that I've been having a hard time really caring about others. I may notice that one of my friends seems a little down but decide not to say anything because I don't really have that much time to listen. Or I may think of one of my friends back home that I should call and catch up with, but then I remember the test I need to study for. Life is busy, but if its too busy to make time to love others and show them that I care, then it's too busy. Sure, its great when my makeup looks good or I get asked out or I get an A on a test, but if I'm not doing anything to make the lives of those around me a little better, what's the point?

In college it's pretty easy to get selfish. I basically only have to worry about my schedule, my stuff, and my desires. Gone are the days of sharing a car with my sister and my mom and working my schedule around those of five other people. No more babysitting, driving siblings around, helping make dinner, or stopping by the grocery store to my mom. And I'll admit, it's nice! It's nice to be independent and make my own decisions and I've learned a lot from being away from home, but I'm not sure its made me less selfless. Luckily I have the amazing opportunity to be surrounded by people who need help! Everyone gets stressed out by school, everyone gets sick without a mom to take care of them, and everyone wants someone to talk about their day to. Its all about being a little less selfish, getting out of my bubble, and reaching out and helping someone else.

Now I can respond two ways to this reality check that hit me today. I could justify my actions and tell myself that I'm doing enough already, and let this thought slip away. Or I could let this fault of mine motivate me and inspire me to be better. I think I'll choose the second. I won't spend time regretting what I have or haven't done in the past, but today I'm going to change. I'm going to look outward just a little more and just try to be a little better. That's what we're here for right?

XOXO
Cady

found on Pinterest

found on Pinterest