Merline V.

Merline Volcy has been with our family for about 10 months. She has joined us in August 2012 to take care on a full-time live-in basis our twin girls, who were 1.5yrs at the time. Merline has been a fantastic nanny. From the beginning, Merline was keen on discussing what we wanted, how we wanted it and she was taking notes! Merline’s responsibilities included mostly taking care of our girls, which involved cooking healthy meals, bringing them to the playground on a daily basis, attending any programs I had the girls signed-up (at the local library), setting up playdates, laundry and cleaning the girls’ room and bathroom. However, Merline also took over the overall housekeeping of our house to the point that our kitchen is always sparkling clean. Merline has also been asked to cook for us (not just for the girls) and as an avid cook, she has tried out new recipes from magazines or the web and we sincerely appreciated coming back home late knowing that dinner was ready. She was also key to communicate any issues/problem with the handyman, the plumber, the landscapers or the cleaning ladies. Merline has consistently asked for feedback during her stay with us and she was always eager to learn what we like and what we would like for her to do differently. Most importantly, Merline has supported our requests and I’m happy to say that she has successfully potty trained the girls in 4 months (the girls just turned 2 at that time)! She has taught them their numbers (they can count till 10 and recognize the numbers) and recognize their letters. She has also spent time with them drawing, painting and writing their first letters (at 2.5, they can write “0”, “a” and “b” – which is unusual for twin girls at this age). Merline has never looked at the hours and never made us feel bad for coming late. Both my husband and I work long hours in the city and it’s not always possible to come by 7pm or to even call ahead of time to say that we will be late. Merline was never worried, if she didn’t see one of us by 7pm, she would proceed giving the bath to the girls, as we have asked her to. Finally, Merline has never been late or sick that she would miss work. In 10 months, she has asked for ½ day as she had a scheduled doctor appointment (scheduled prior to joining our family) and she has never missed work. After about 10 months, it’s with sadness that we needed to go our separate ways as we are in need of someone who will be comfortable driving the girls to more programs further away (Merline is a new driver and as such didn’t want to put the girls at risk). Our loss could be your gain. Should you want any more information, please feel free to contact me. Nathalie & Neelson