PreSchool, Day Care, Waiting Lists....What?!

Grace is in a wonderful day care. She loves her 'Ghani and so do Hubby and I. Afghani, the woman who cares for Grace, has become an extension of our own little family. I honestly cannot imagine the last 3 years without them being part of it. Afghani is a big part of how I have managed to stay relatively sane as a working mom.

That being said...........................What about preschool? Should Grace start a preschool program? You know, one of the structured half days learning her ABCs, her numbers, her colors, and how to act in a classroom as opposed to a home day care environment?

I have gone back and forth in my mind the past few months. Hubby says to let it be; what we are doing now works, Afghani loves Grace and vice versa, and Grace is happy. That is all true.

I cant help but think Grace would benefit from a structured preschool. It would give her another social environment to navigate (with the Day Care Clique issue, this holds more water for me than it did before), it would teach her how she needs to behave in a school setting, and she would get the basic knowledge she will need for kindergarten. All good reasons, I know.

Sure, it feels as if there is a ton of time before "real" school (i.e. kindergarten) starts but its only 2 years away. Wow---just typing that is strange.

On the flip side, do I really want to embark on the pre-school hunt? There are waiting lists for preschools......is it really worth it?

TWO Gold Stars for Grace!

She did it!

Finally.

It has been done!

YEA!

Yep, thats right,

Grace po.oped on the potty last night!!!!!!

Could this be the beginning of the end of diapers???? I dare not say that out loud cause I might curse all this progress!

YEA!!!!!!

Little Miss Social Butterfly Turned Introvert!

Grace went to a birthday party this weekend for a day care friend of hers. It was adorable----at an indoor inflatable playground. Moonbouce, inflatable slide, and an inflatable obstacle course. The kids loved it and so did the parents. Yep, I was right there with Grace, climbing and boucing all over the place for 2 hours. AND Grace was exhausted by the time we got home and put herself to bed right on time! LOVE IT!

Okay, so we had fun. I also learned more about my child. I thought I knew her so well but I was wrong and know I know what I need to pay attention to: social skills.

Yep, thats right. Grace's social skills are not what I expected.

If you know Grace (in real life as opposed to blog-life!), you are probably shocked to read that. My daughter. Grace. The Bossy One. Little Miss Social Butterfly. Type A. That's how she is at home and with her friend-family. Not so much with her Day Care Friends.

M, E, and S are her Day Care Friends. M and Grace have grown up together from the first week of day care until now, when they are both about 3 years old. 'Ghani (the day care woman....aka my hero!) always calls them best friends. I saw something different this weekend.

There is a Day Care clique and Grace is not part of it.

E is the girl Grace used to bite and hit and all that. E is also the girl who bit Grace a few times, leaving bruises. Well all that has passed but I think I see why it happened in the first place. Every time this weekend at the party that Grace and M were palying together, E would literally push herself in the middle and drag M away from Grace. Grace naturally gravitated toward the younger kids, taking on such a Little Mommy role with them.

Is it the only child thing? Never having to share attention or playmates? Or is it that we have ingrained such a "good girls dont hit/bite/yell/etc" in her that now she isnt even sure how to stand up for herself? Does it hurt that I dont really like E or her parents? Could that be coming through somehow to Grace?

It was heartbreaking to watch Grace, normally my little miss social butterfly, involved in the playing but on the outside, looking in. She seemed to be fine playing by herself but I hated to see all these groups os kids playing and then there was Grace, bouncing and having a great time but almost by herself.

It reminded me of myself actually. In the middle of everything but on the outside just a little. Its safer there for me. Could Grace be the same way? How to I show her that 1) its okay to stand up for yourself if another kid pushes her way into your space, and 2) that playing with other kids is fun, not scary.

I want her to know that she is loved, that other kids do in fact like her, and that she can join in to play. But how?

((P.S.: E is not in the picture. M and S and Grace are.))

Yep, I Bought Her Forgiveness with a Fish

I love my job. And I love the industry I am in. Sometimes I get toleave the office early and spend some extra time at home with Hubby and Grace. Other times, there are industry events I have to attend that dont allow me to go home until 10 PM, after Gracie is asleep and Hubby is almost asleep on the couch.

Last night, I missed bedtime. I was at a great event for a city I am planning a convention in and I pulled into the driveway at 9 PM.

But I learned a valuable (maybe) lesson last night.

At the event, I answered a trivia question correctly and won a stuffed animal fish from the aquarium rep who was at the event. Yep---I was the nerdy one in the front of the room who actually knew the answers!

When Gracie woke up this morning, she said "You come home last night?". I told her I was at work but I will always come home. But this time I brought a present home for her.

She loves that fish already.

Apparently it doesnt matter if I miss bedtime.........as long as I have a present the next morning.

Do You See the Flames Coming out of my Ears?!

A month ago, I took a very important test for my career. Months spent studying and stressing out over square footage formulas and even the number of inches needed from the bottom of a ur.inal to the floor in order to be ADA-compliant (17 in case you are wondering!). Study groups after work and on weekends. Everywhere I went, so did my bag of flashcards. I even sat in the ICU room after Hubby's surgery doing flashcards to the sounds of the OV pump.

Seriosuly. I was devoted to this test.

The organization who manages the certification sent a letter out last week to all us Jan 20 test takers. It read something like this: We are sorry. We take our communications seriously. It has been a month since the test and we are just now letting you know that your results will not be available in 2 weeks but rather the week of April 9. Only 11 weeks from the date of test. Yes, we know its a Sca.ntron test but we stink at communicating that we dont even know what pass or fail is yet cause we didnt standardize the test before letting you take it in January. Oh yeah, and dont call the office to find out whats going on. It might divert our attention from the job we havent done but should be doing....you know, like scoring the test!

They s.uck.

And now I am mad. My performance review cant be done until my results are in. Passing means I have more negotiating power when it comes to a salary increase. Failing, well that would stink. But still, they said it would be 6 weeks til results and now I have to wait a full 11 weeks.

Ridiculous.

Mad. Irritated. Annoyed. Mad. Communication is one of the cornerstones of my profession. How can the "elite organization" fail so miserably at that?!

And there is nothing I can do about it.

Where did the lid go!?

At the top of my blog, there is a quote. One that I smile at, laugh at, and truly believe.

"Having a toddler in the house is like having a blender with no lid!" --Unknown

It sure is.

A whirlwind of activity and you never know what is going to happen. How will she turn out? Will she be a good girl today or will it be a disaster-day? Each morning is a surprise.

You can see where she goes all through the house. A trail is left behind. One snow boot here, the other over there, a na.ked baby doll thrown under the kitchen table (her new fort), and a Bar.bie doll half under the fridge. Obviously she was looking for a snack.

Or how about naptime?! Yesterday, Hubby went to work. Grace took a nap while Mommy relaxed (yep---I actually did!). At the end of naptime you can never be sure that you will find when you open her bedroom door. Sometimes she is curled up in her bed but you cant find her among the 50 stuffed animals. Other times she is curled up next to her door with her blankie and her dolls. But yesterday was MUCH more exciting.

I opened the door 6 inches before it stopped. All her books were out of her bookshelf and piled behind her door (guess she couldnt find the one she wanted), the baby doll doctor station was pulled up next to the dresser at the doorway (when the baby is sick, the doctor station needs to be close by!), and baby was asleep in her doll stroller (in case she needed a quick getaway if Dr Grace pulled out the shot).

And there was Grace, asleep on top of all the books with her feet inside her clothes hamper. Stuck. But she was sleeping peacefully with her blankie and fingers in her mouth.

Her room.....the lid to that blender has gone missing!

Car Seats, Seatbelts, Kids' Safety

I came across this YouTube video today while searching for potty training tips. Not sure how the 2 subjects got crossed in the Google search but I am glad they did.

Every one with a child needs to know this story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

Valentine's Day is SO overrated

Flowers. Candy. Barbershop Quartets. That nervvous feeling everytime the florist walked into the receptionist area at the office. Are those roses for me? The tulips maybe? Getting all dressed up for a nice dinner date out with your Valentine.

When I was single, I hated Valentine's Day because there was no one to send me flowers or take me out. I always expected Valentine's Day to be SO exciting once you were dating. It was better but still missing something. Maybe engaged V-Day is better. Never had one. Married V-Day has got to be the best.

Yea, in some ways. There is no mystery over whether or not you have a Valentine this year. Going out to dinner is still possible, as long as the babysitter shows up on time. Flowers at the office? I have never got any so I dont really know what that is like.

Why is it that the holiday focused on romance and love just feels like any other day? This year, its a snow day. So here I am, sitting in the home office while Hubby and Grace play downstairs. Working away. In a few munutes I will make all of us lunch. Then come back to work. ANd then make dinner, give Grace a bath, put her to bed, and probably work some more.

Where did romance and "butterflies in your stomach" and all that go? I miss it.

Inside Out and Backwards UPDATED

Update: Federal Govt closes at 2 pm and so does my office!!! YEA!!! I am outta here...............

Snow days were the best as a kid. No school. Playing in the snow with all the neighborhood kids. No school. Hot chocolate made by Mom. No school. The plan in our house growing up was 1) get all your homework done, 2) get everything ready to go to school (really just to trick Mr Weather), and 3) wear your PJs inside out and backward. That was the recipe for a snow day.

Obviously, no school was the best part!!!

As an adult, snow isnt that much fun. Commutes are 3 times as long and just because there is snow on the ground, you still have to be at your office bright and early! Sucks really.

Lately, though, the fun has come back into snow. Grace woke up this morning so excited. Why? There was only an inch of snow on the ground, not even enough to play in for her. But she got to wear her pink sparkly snow boots to day care. That is all she needs to make today the best day ever.

Pink sparkly snow boots.....that's what it is all about.

Oh the Po.tty, the Po.tty

Update on Surgery: Hubby went to the office today. Maybe the recovery is coming to an end. Maybe, just maybe, we can get back to "normal" life soon. You know, the life when I am still running around like crazy but at least I have some help on simple things......day care dropoff, carrying laundry up and down the stairs, changing diapers, etc. Its really the simple things that count.

Speaking of changing diapers........I have a dilemma.

Potty training. We are stuck and I have NO clue how to move it along.

Grace can tell me she needs to go. She evens takes herself to the potty. She has the whole thing down pat. BUT she refuses to even try at day care. The peer pressure isnt working; the 2 other toddler girls are training now but Grace just wont try when she is there. At my mom's house, she has no problems at all.

She is even training her dolls to use the po.tty.

#2 in the potty is a whole different story. Just wont do that unless absolutely necessary (read: Mommy is mean and MAKES her try).

So obviously, we are ona roll here. She is 3 years old and I would love to have her trained by the summer.

Dr. Greene has some good advice. So does BabyCenter. And so does Po.tty Training Concepts. But how do I push her across this little threshold? Hpw do I get things moving into the "no more diapers except overnight" phase? I really am looking forward to saving that $100 a month!!!!

All Growed Up

There are so many milestones when your child is an infant.....first smile, first crawl, first step, first tooth, first word, and so on and on and on. I felt like there was a "first" every week when Grace was an infant. As a toddler, the milestones are further apart. They are just as exciting but now they happen every few months.

We had a milestone last week. And this morning. Same one but still. Its exciting.

Grace has named 2 of her toys.

For months now, all her toys had the same name: Me. Yep. My daughter is so creative. I think she got that from me actually---I named my toys Yellow Baby (yep, she was yellow), Blankie (uh-huh, a blanket), and Big Baby (she was bigger than me!). Apparently Grace did not inherit Hubby's creative mind when it comes to those kinds of things.

But she is proving me wrong lately.

Her new Ca.bbage Pa.tch Newborn has been named "Emmie" and a plastic frog (a freebie from a promo company at my job) was named "George" this morning.

Its such a simple thing, naming toys, but it really struck me this morning. Grace's imagination is growing so much. She is taking in the world around her and coming up with her own thoughts about it all. She identifies people as friends and can ask if her friends can come to her house to play, even when she hasnt seen them for a month. Its very cool. She has her own little social network!!!!! She spends time talking to her dolls and toys in her room every morning. I even heard her disciplining one of them the other day. Apparently Cheerleader Doll hit her friend Emmie and Grace was going to have none of that....Cheerleader Doll was on the Naughty Step/Chair when I got into the room. Pretty soon, I will have to be managing my daughter AND an imaginary friend.

The first steps, first tooth, first word.......they were all so amazing. But these new milestones, though further apart, are so incredible. Watching Grace go from an infant and toddler to a little person is worth all those sleepless nights and even a public tantrum or two.

She isnt a baby anymore but wow, what a cool kid she is becoming!

The Name Game--NOW WITH UPDATES

I got myself an "0ffice Pet".

2 betta fish. 1 male, 1 female.

They are SO pretty.

But what to name them? Yes, I understand they are just fish but they still deserve names, right?

UPDATE: They have been named............drumroll..............Rhett and Scarlett! Thanks L for the suggestion!

“What parts yourself do you hope that your child gets from you?”.

At 2 1/2 years old, she walks up and down the stairs by herself. She knows exactly what she wants and when she wants it. She has to do everything herself. Her personality is all her own.

But she still cuddles with me, still likes to be carried, and she still asks me to help her.

Its Carnival Time over at Crazy Hip Blog Mamas. And look at me, participating! Late, but better late than never, right!?

“What parts yourself do you hope that your child gets from you?”


I want Grace to keep that independence---do things for herself, be her own person, go after what she wants. My mother complains, to this day, that my independence broke her heart. But know what? That's what I hope I can give to Grace.....to be independent and confident. I can let her grow up, move away to college, get married, and all that knowing she can handle it; she can be her own strong person.

But I want her to always remember that Mommy loves her, no matter what, and that asking for help is not a sign of weakness. That's what I dont want her to get from me.

Oh, Bearded One

Hubby and I made a deal a long time ago: When he is sick/in the hospital/etc, shaving is optional. Last month, when he had his surgery, he was thrilled to be able to grow a beard, temporarily. A month later, he is threatening to keep it.

I hate it. Reminds me of Paul Bunyon.

What do y'all think? Should it stay or should it go?

Flowers Will Bloom!

Phil, the groundhog, saw NO shadow. Early spring!!!! YEA!

I love spring. Nice weather, sunny days, flowers bloom again. My favorite part, though, is eating dinner outside. Simple, yes, But I love sitting on my back deck, watching the deer in the back field, and watching Hubby grill. And the late nights relaxing on the deck (or even poolside) with a glass of wine and my Hubby.....that's the best.

My grandparents sent us an Amaryllis bulb for Christmas. When it arrived, I thought it was a really nice gift but there was no way I would manage to keep it alive long enough to enjoy the flower. You see, even bamboo doesnt stand a chance near me. Well, check out what Hubby and I managed to grow!



To me, its a little more than just a flower in a pot. Its hope. Hope that plants can in fact live near me. Hope that spring is coming (thanks for more, Phil!). And hope that life will continue to blossom this year for me. I love everything about this flower....the color, the way it looks, the hope it gives me.

Everything,


So, Spring, hurry up! It is 32 degrees outside right now and I am tired of wearing a scarf!

BFF

I have been thinking about friends a lot lately.

What is it about friendships that makes life so much easier, so much harder, so much funnier, so much more dramatic, and all around just so much better?

The past year has been interesting for me on the friendship-front. Some friendships have grown stronger. Some have stayed at status-quo. Some have turned into a family-like feeling. And some friendships are no longer---whether good or bad, they are no longer a part of my daily life. I learned that standing up for myself, my family, and my friends is more important than anything else.

Going through the last 6 months of studying for the CMP gave me more than industry knowledge to use Monday through Friday. I gained some terrific new friends. Tonight, I am going to the 10 Year Reunion Planning Meeting to see old high school friends. The anticipation of reconnecting with people who knew me in 4th grade and in 12th grade is building. Will we still like each other? Will we even care anymore? Does it matter?

I think it does matter. Friends are what makes the world go 'round. Who else can you call to dye your hair when you find the first grey strands? No one else will understand why you are so excited that one of you just met Joey McIntyre (remember NKOTB?!). And you can be damn sure that the husbands just dont understand $70 hair cuts and $35 skincare products.

Tomorrow night is Girls Night Out for us. 27 hours to go.......and I am counting. I am so excited!