Meet the Family

After being gone for three months you might be wondering who are these people that I'm working for/living with. I know Gram and Gramp were afraid I was signing up for white slavery or something equally horrible. Though at times I do feel like I'm slaving away it's hardly slavery. I use to joke with Jenn that I was her slave labor because I didn't get paid for the first two months I was working. Anyway, here is a small look at the family. I'm sure you'll all be hearing far more about them when I come home.

The Woolcock Clan

I feel it is appropriate to start with Richard for a couple of reasons, the biggest one being that he is the center of the family. Very little gets done or goes ahead without his knowledge, opinion or help. He has lived on Oakey Creek all his life. It's his family's land and I believe he's the fourth generation of Woolcocks to work/live on it. He's a nice man with an off color sense of humor (he'd fit in well with the Morgan's in that way). He works hard putting in long hours six days a week. That being said I don't feel like he respects the work Jenn does at the house and her shop because it's not as physically demanding or as income generating as what he does.

Jenny, 41 or 42 is constantly moving. She runs her own shop called House of Magnolias in the near by town of Springsure. It's a cool place with new and used clothes, jewelry, and antiques. She also does all the book keeping for the ranch and her shop.

Ally, 11, is Jenny's daughter from a previous relationship though Richard has been her dad from almost the beginning. By being the oldest she is great with helping coral the other kids into what needs to be done. That being said, Ally acts as if she's 35 and knows more than any of the rest of us. She constantly questions me, as well as Jenn and Richard about what is being done, as if we don't know how to do our jobs or look after the kids. Hastings, 5, the oldest and only boy in the family. Cute as a button and can be sweet and helpful when he wants to be. However, he tends to throw tantrums whenever he doesn't get his way. He wants to be and do things just like Richard or how he thinks Richard does them. For example, we went through a phase where he wouldn't wear his jammies to bed, but a tank top instead because that's what daddy wears. Bella, or Isabella, 4, is the tomboy of the a family. She is the most fearless out of the four kids. Where ever there is trouble you will find her in the mix and usually leading the way. She loves animals and being outside. Though it's Ally's job to collect the eggs from the chook (chicken) pen Bella loves to do it and will more often than not do it without being asked. She also the artist in the family, for better or worse. Much of the house is marked in "art" work. She is also the one who has bitten me on two occasions. Bridie, 2, is the baby of the Woolcock Clan. She is super cute and likes to be helpful which basically means making my job 10x harder. She is smart, already knowing her alphabet (something Hastings still struggles with) and is able to count to 10. She adores her older siblings and often copies them good behavior as well as bad. She nearly drowned less than a year ago by falling into the creek that runs through the property. The current nanny at the time saved her life at great risk to her own, or so the story goes. Dave and Clarice work for Jenn and Richard, Dave full time and Clarice on a as needed basis. They are great people. Dave and I cut into each other on a daily if not hourly basis and Clarice is a funny strong woman who I'm sure could probably rule the world given half the chance.

Then there's me! As the nanny I work generally from 7 am to 9pm making beds, making bed, helping to keep the house tidy, doing laundry, making dinner. However, I also get to explore my inner child with fingerprinting, fight and hunt monsters (who taste like chicken by the way), and test my mental know how with such as mind benders as the alphabet puzzle.