'Is it a Sophie day today mum?' says Josh. No babes, Sophie lives too far away to be your nanny now. 'Who's going to be our new nanny then??' Me, I reply! 'So will you be a nanny mummy?' That will do I thought, and so it begins...... my first day as Nanny Mummy!!

After staring out the window as the rain pouring down and small rivers of water gushing down the garden paths forming small rivers at the bottom (where Josh was facinated by a lizard trying to swim), we decided to brave the elements and head out! Trousers, raincoats and wellies on - off we went!! Last night I decided to make friends with the Sat Nav as I think I'm really going to need her. I never got on with our old one and that really did me NO favours. Luckily for me, we got on like a house on fire and within 10 minutes we arrived at Manly Beach.

Surprise number 1, I didn't get lost. Even Josh said 'Are we there already mum?'. Surprise number 2 - NO more rain!!!! If fact it was so completely dry that you could hardly tell it had rained at all. The humidity had cranked itself up a gear too, so we all sat in the car, pouring with sweat, feeling a little silly in our raincoats and wellie boots! Another chat with the Sat Nav and off we head home to change.

20 minutes later and we finally made back it back to Manly Beach (and I didn't get lost the second time either), just in time for a picnic lunch. The seagulls ate most of the lunch as the kids found it highly amusing to throw parts of their sandwiches at the birds and then scream and run as they chase after them for more.....

The beach was great and so relaxing to just sit and chill whilst the kids amused themselves for hours, building sandcastles, making roads and chasing sticks in the sea. Hollie just loved to do 'drawing' in the sand with a stick. It took a lots of convincing to get her anywhere near the water. Josh and I were playing a game where you had to wait for the waves to almost reach your feet and then run away before you they catche you (great fun and took me way back to my childhood). We finally convinced Hollie to come and play too, but she didn't quite get what we were doing and as a small wave approaced Josh screamed in excitment and ran away, I followed, and poor little Hollie got such a fright she screamed and ran for the hills (literally). She didn't stop running until she got to the car!!!!!! Poor little love, when I coaxed her back to the sand, she told me the sea was 'scawy'!!! Perhaps we'll try again tomorrow!!

I met a lovely Scottish lady on the beach today who had kids of a simiar age to J & H. I was very brave and approached her for a chat. It was so nice to have someone to talk to for a few minutes and to learn about the local area. Unfortunaltey I was not brave enough to ask her for her number - maybe next time!!

So that pretty much sums up my first day. Did I pass??? A far cry from my desk at the VAA Base, but all in all a good day.