The little girl I've been looking after won't need my help any long as her dad is finishing studing and will be home with her full time. I am thus looking for a part time nannying job. Here are the details:

I am a stay at home Mom with an 13 months old son, Connor looking for work as a part time nanny. I am a loving and dedicated mother offering childcare in a home with plenty of toys. I am energetic, fun, warm and reliable.

I am a caring, organized and responsible woman with a bachelor’s degree. I have CPR and First Aid certificates to work with infants and children. I am a non-smoker and TB negative.

I am open minded, flexible and looking for part time work 2–3 days per week with a minimum of 12 hour a week. I am happy to give the care out of my home in Piedmont.

I will provide stimulating, fun and creative time with the children. I will give daily feedback of your child’s day and will entertain them with singing, reading, massage, walks to the park and Gymboree-inspired developmental games. I believe interacting with Connor for social development and play will be wonderful for your child as well.

I have excellent experience in taking care of children from infancy to 10 years old in home settings and am happy to provide good local references. I am also available occasionally for evening and weekend babysitting by negotiation. The idea situation for me would be to find someone close to Connor's age so that the boys could play together.

I support attachment parenting and cloth diapering!

Please pass this on to anyone who may needs my skills as I am available from 16 May.

Life has been pretty hectic recently and I haven't had a chance to send out an update so here it is albeit a little late!

Connor is now 13 months, has eight teeth, chatters away constantly in a language all of his own and is walking and virtually running all over the place. He is definitely a toddler now and looks like a little drunk midget as he explores his environment. He has finally started sleeping through the night although we're still working on his nap schedule during the day and trying to get him to sleep in his crib. He still way prefers to sleep wedged between Mommy and Daddy. Connor is very independent and loves to go out and explore. I take him to the park often and it is fun to watch his little personality emerge as he interacts more with other kids and can now choose what he wants to do at the park instead of Mommy always deciding for him. Connor also loves climbing up and down stairs and last night climbed up the ladder to Liam's loft bed for the first tiem with Dad's help.

Our trip to South Africa was amazing. I loved being back in the sunshine again and leaving the Californian winter behind for a while. We stayed first in Ballito (I had never been to that part of SA before). We were very spoilt in that virtually everywhere we went we were able to see and hear the sea. It was gloriously warm and humid which was good as SAA lost our luggage so Connor walked around only in a diaper for most of the time. It was very special to be at Ilke and Gene's wedding (old clubbing friends of mine from London) and to get time on the beach. Connor loved the beach and climbed on the rocks, chewed on mussel shells and ate sand. He was also looked after by a wonderful maid called Jessie who got him to eat all sorts of things I can't and carried him on her back in the traditional African way (see the attached picture). Connor also made friends with some African boys on the beach and it was beautiful to see him bonding so well with Africa, a part of his heritage. Pity he won't remember much of this trip. Someday I'll have to take him back again, this time with James and Liam in tow.

Next we ventured onto Johannesburg (JHB) where we hung out with Maree and her family before the wedding. I was so pleased to have this time with her as we wouldn't have had much one on one time at the wedding as she had so many other guests she had to see. After a few days in JHB we drove down to the Drakensberg and stayed at Cathedral Peak. It was so beautiful and the mountains were truly breathtaking. Again, this was somewhere in South Africa I visited for the first time and the beautiful astounded me. I was also really impressed by the drive us there especially as wel passed traditional mud huts and people bathing in the rivers, something I have never seen in SA before. Maree and Brendan's wedding was wonderful and I was so pleased I had made the effort to be there on their special day. I was also able to hire a baby sitter (who cost the same for a day as we pay for a hour of childcare in the US). This gave me the freedom to relax and enjoy my time there and I could go to Connor when I wanted while having someone else running around after him.

On our last day in JHB I saw my brother and we had a very special day together. We got a chance to visit the Lion Park that Mark and I used to go to as children. We all, Connor included, got to pet some lion cubs and we saw giraffe, springbuck, bontebok, zebras and ostriches. What a great way to say goodbye to Africa! Mark is a great uncle and gave me a bit of a break by feeding Connor and doing most of the running after him. I only wish he lived closer so he and Connor could spend more time hanging out.

Connor was wonderful on all the flights and on our outbound journey, didn't cry once in 30 hours of travel. He was my little angel keeping me calm even when our flights were delayed. This was the most special bonding experience for Connor and I. The only thing missing was having James by my side.

This past weekend we celebrated James' birthday. We started it off with a surprise hot tubbing party for James with friends. I baked a cake and brought some champagne and a good evening was had by all. Connor even enjoyed his first time in the hot tub too. On James' actual birthday he was treated to breakfast in bed and then a treasure hunt for his gifts, one of which was a full body massage in the garden gievn by a friend of ours who is a Certified Massage Therapist. We then went for a drive to Saulsalito and had a late lunch followed by a short work but a beautiful drive up around Mount Tamalpais which afforded gorgeous views of the bay area. That evening I cooked James fillet mignon (not bad for a vegetarian) to complete his birthday treat.

The sunshine is returning now to California and we are gearing up for loads of fun this summer. I can't wait!

I leave for a two week trip to South Africa on Wednesday. I will be attending two wedding of some of my dear friends from London and catching up with many more. My brother will also be meeting Connor for the first time. I will get to see some of my cousins and one of my uncles as well. This is my first trip back to South Africa in about two and a half years. I will be staying in Johannesberg, Durban and the Drakensberg. I was born in Johannesberg but have never been to Durban or the Drakensberg. I hope despite the grueling flight (20 something hours) with Connor on my lap and looking after Connor all on my own I will end up having fun and a bit of a holiday. I will nto be checking tribe or email while I'm there but will be back in contact when I return on 11 March.

See you all when I get back, hopfeully with a sexy tan!