Hello! I want to give you a formal welcome and tell you a little bit about myself and how I got here! My name is Kelsey and I currently reside it Nashville, Tennessee. Like most folks who call Nashville home, I was not born and raised here. I was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania as an only child. Not having any siblings, I developed a strong love for my younger cousins & other children at a very young age. Nurturing was second nature.
I started babysitting in high school, even having work release my senior year of high school in what I consider to be my first nanny position. During that time, I spent three summers as a nanny for a family friend and her two children. In 2006, I took arguably my biggest leap of faith to date to pursue a degree in Music Business from Belmont University in Nashville.
During college and after graduation, I continued babysitting while gaining experience in the industry. While my career in the music industry failed to take off, I was looking for other options. In 2012, I was presented with the opportunity to nanny locally for a new family. What started as a temporary position, quickly grew into something much more. That is where the original idea for Nanny Years came about. Kelsey wanted a way to track her Nanny Journey on Instagram, and thus the "#nannyyears" hashtag was born!
Let’s take a quick break to talk about “nanny years.” We often refer to different times in our lives by “the school years” and “the high school years” and “the college years.” When I started nannying, those were my nanny years! And what better way to track that then by creating my very own hashtag!
Back to our story! After two years with my nanny family, I found a job that I thought was going to be my big break in the music industry. I know this might be spoiler alert - but it wasn’t! So after a year and a half away, and a second baby, I took my old job back with my nanny family. Long days with an infant and an already established hashtag lead me to some creative thinking and the creation of the @nannyyears account.
Since I launched the @nannyyears Instagram account in 2016, it has documented the funny and frequent "yep, me too" moments of the day in the life of a nanny. Which is relatable to all caregivers - moms and teachers a like. When it comes to kids, no one is immune to the drama of toddlers! Along the way, Nanny Pro-Tips are shared, as well as funny quotes from the many children in my life!
But I wasn't done there. The seed and idea to grow had been planted. In late 2017, I decided the best way to expand the Nanny Years brand was by launching an Etsy store dedicated to nannies and caregivers of all kinds! Since launching my shop full shirts and totes, I have greatly expanded the brand to include tank tops, decals and most recently the ever popular tumblers.
What comes next for me? Well this website and blog were one thing. After that, no one knows for sure. But one thing I do know for sure is that this isn't where it ends!
Thanks for joining me on this crazy journey!