Hi! I’m Denise, and I think I have the best job in the world! I’ve been a professional nanny for over 25 years, and run my own LLC, ExtraordiNanny®. I have worked for 22 families (the list keeps growing!) and have raised too many kids to count, including three sets of twins. I have a beautiful baby girl and two rambunctious dogs, Bailey and Bandit.

As a child, I loved babies and loved animals, and I find that the two go together very well. I cannot stand to see any animals suffering, and have rescued countless animals over the years, including dogs, birds, and lizards. If I see an animal in distress, I will do anything to rescue it, day or night, in my car or on foot, in sunshine and rain. And I feel the same about kids: they are innocent, sweet, and full of creativity and imagination. They deserve to have a childhood where they feel unconditional love and support, yet secure with boundaries that help them navigate and regulate their emotions and behaviors. Kids deserve a childhood free from physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, and I will protect my kiddos at all costs.

I am a huge advocate of early reading, and make reading and library trips a regular part of my routine with my families. I have studied American Sign Language (ASL) for four years, and discovered that teaching babies ASL and incorporating it into reading helps them learn verbal and reading skills at an early age. It is amazing to see how reading skills and ASL interconnect and support each other! It has helped me teach many children to be excellent readers and love a variety of books.

I earned an AA in Early Childhood Education, as well as an AA in Sociology from Folsom Lake College in California. I taught pre-school for five years, in addition to working as an after-school staff at an elementary school. I get my energy from kids and love being round them all day!

After teaching pre-school, I transitioned to a full-time career as a nanny, and absolutely love it! My favorite thing about being a nanny is having the flexibility to take my kids on adventures out in the community whenever we like, instead of being restricted to a classroom with just a few pre-planned excursions. I love being spontaneous with my kids and letting them have a voice in which activities they’d like to do.

My personal work ethic to “never quit on a child.” I never leave my kids for a new job, even if it means more money. I stay with the family until they are ready to move on.