Daycare Woes

So I'm really not looking forward to going back to work. I haven't been into the building at all yet and school starts in two weeks. I still have furniture to move around and my desk to set back up. Plus bulletin boards to put together...Oh, and those annoying lesson plans. Haha.


I'm not feeling the same anxiety I did last time with leaving Max because we decided to switch daycares. Last week I visited three traditional daycares and interviewed three private people and we finally made the decision to go with a different daycare center in town. It just started in April and we actually know the people that own it in a roundabout way. There are positives and negatives to this whole experience.


Positives include:

• There are quite a few less kids in the rooms. Which means a lot more one on one attention for Max.


• In addition to less kids, the rooms are MUCH larger than his last daycare. In his new room he has plenty of room to crawl around (when he finally starts doing that!) and there are lots of toys and books on the floor within his reach.


• The new facility has tiled floors with playmats. They mop every day (which we have witnessed on the several visits we've made there) and they also clean the sheets and mattrasses on every crib daily. None of these things were done at Max's last daycare.


• We also don't have to worry about putting together bottles! The new center will keep several of his bottles or sippy cups at the facility and they will wash them every day in there super steamy dishwasher. It means that we only have to drop off the carton of goat milk and the rest of the work is on them.


• In addition, Max is mostly on baby food at this point, so it's food and bibs. This is a lot less work on us for washing bottles every night and labeling them.


• There is a lot of play time on the floors involved in the new center. Very little time is spent "up". There is only one exersaucer and one swing in his new room.


• It costs the same amount as his old daycare.

Negatives include:

• The stress I went through in finding a new place.


• Having to tell the old place that we were leaving and be treated rudely by the assistant director.


• Learning that our old place was violating SEVERAL state requirements and that Max probably suffered because of some of them.


• Having to call Jobs and Family Services to report our old daycare for the violations.

I can't tell you how many parents I've talked to that have withdrawn their children from Max's old daycare this summer. Another friend of mine withdrew her son today after witnessing several two year olds dragging bags of dirty diapers behind them to a dumpster (the teacher was "supervising") and then coming in and not washing their hands. Furthermore, she noticed there wasn't even any soap next to the sink!

We learned that in Max's room they are not supposed to have ANYTHING attached to their cribs (state law- Max had multiple things hanging on his crib that they encouraged us to bring in) and that there must be a fire exit in the room (there isn't one). We also learned that the daycare center isn't even allowed to put a wedge in the crib if they try to roll over while sleeping. We signed a waiver giving Max permission to sleep on his stomach (the whole SIDS concern) but they were still forcing him to sleep in a wedge.

We also heard that in order to make room in Max's age group, the old daycare was transitioning anyone who could walk up to the two year old room. So there were several 16 month olds in with 24 month ++ kids.

Needless to say, we're very happy to have switched and it should cause a lot less stress on us at work and home. I'm starting him this Thrusday and Friday and then three days next week. I'm sad that I have to leave him (esp at such a fun time in his development) and I fear that I will miss important milestones like crawling, walking, and his first word. But hopefully we all come out the better at the end of this year. I just can't believe that my baby is turning 1 in four months time! Before I know it, I'll be planning his birthday party and celebrating Christmas again!

I Love My Yard...and Hate the Neighbor's

So I've mentioned how hard we worked on the deck and The Great Wall. But until it was all finished, I didn't realize how much I was going to like it. It thought it was going to be an improvement and something I could "live with" until we had the finances to do what we really want. (It involves a large covered patio that's attached to the house with ceiling fans and a built in grill, large outdoor furniture, etc.)

But now that it's done, and my plants are all in and my new over sized chairs are set up, I love it! I can put the awning out and pretend it's my permanent roof, and I can watch the trees blow gently in the breeze and admire my potted plants, all from the comfort of my red cushioned armchair and ottoman. :) And it certainly helps that the neighbors have been very complimentary.

But what bugs me more than ever now is my neighbors' yard. They don't do anything to maintain it. The couple that lives there are technically friends and you would think I would be able to say something to them, but I can't. And I think most of the other neighbors are fed up with their yard too. So much so, that they don't speak to them. It's awkward. And part of me wishes I could put up a fence so I didn't have to look at the giant weeds growing in their beds. I should sneak a picture to show you how tall them are. I think my dogs would get lost in them! Even their family is fed up with the way their yard looks because they've been over to trim the bushes and clean some of the smaller beds when they're not home!

Another pet peeve of mine is mulching. They haven't mulched since they moved in 2 years ago. The beds look bare and the mulch would actually help keep down the weeds! One neighbor was kind enough to give them a couple of yards of leftover mulch for some of their front beds, but even that didn't cover everything! And they keep saying they're going to get more mulch to finish the front beds at least, but it never happens. We had about 2 yards left over from our own job and I'm contemplating just finishing the job myself. It's just an eyesore on our street.

And I have to be honest and say I don't feel bad for complaining about them. Because I'm of the belief that if you can't afford to maintain the house, you can't afford the house. Just because you can make the monthly mortgage payment, you also have to factor in what it costs to maintain the exterior. I'm not asking them to water their lawn (heck, even I don't do that!) or put in new plants. I'm just looking for them to weed and mulch to help maintain the clean look of our street.

But I don't know how to say that without being rude. So I won't say anything. And will sneak over there in the dead of night to pull weeds. Or hope for an early frost. :P

Time

I just don't seem to have time for this blogging thing anymore! I feel bad. I don't even have time to read other people's blogs. I'm amazed at how much time a kid can take up! And then when I'm staying home I find there are a million and one things that I could be doing! Here's what we've been up to lately:

• The Great Wall of Erdahl is finally finished. Most of our evenings have actually been spent outside working on the yard. It's exhausting! But the end result is awesome. We have all of our flowers in, the mulch laid, and even managed to build some new patio furniture. We bought two chairs and ottomans with bright red fabric and really big cushions. They look awesome, if I do say so myself. I'll try to get a picture in here later.
• Max FINALLY has two bottom teeth peeking through. They've been waxing and waning in his little gums for almost two months. And now they are finally peeking through. Nice and jagged. He is now experimenting with biting things. Including me. :P
• My birthday party was a great success. Lots of visitors (upwards of 50 people came!) and plenty of good times in the Jumpy house. :) My legs were SOOOOOO sore the next day. It was crazy! But totally worth the money. I am thoroughly enjoying my new decade. Considering I've only been 30 for one day....haha.
• We're taking Max on a plane for the first time ever next week. Kendall is heading to a conference in Orlando for 4 days and we're tagging along. We're staying a pretty posh resort and spa that offers a crib for the room and on site babysitting for when I want to get a pedicure or massage or whatever. Crazy! I'll try to take pictures of Max and me by the pool. We're thinking of trying to get a shuttle to either Sea World or Disney one night. Should be a good time. Hopefully Max behaves on the plane.
• School starts in a month. *sigh* I'm totally not looking forward to it at all. I think I'll be counting the days until Christmas break. And then Spring Break. And then Summer Break. :) I was looking as my class rosters and I'm already having dreams about screaming at the kids. Not a good sign.
• I have really enjoyed my summer with Max. I was sitting in front of him the other day at his highchair and was thinking about how great it's been to have him in our life. This time last summer I was just wondering what it would be like to juggle a baby and all of our other day to day chores and business and now I realize how great it is. Even if he has meltdowns and bad days, Max is such a great kid.
• I got a Sony Reader for my birthday and I'm super excited. I've already downloaded three free books from the Internet and the library. It's compact and lightweight and easy to read the screen. This might actually help cut down on the ridiculous number of books we have in the house! We'll see.... :)

Fake Sneezing

I guess this is all the thing now as a 7 month old baby. He thinks fake sneezes are HIL-AR-I-OUS.

I posted this from my phone just so Sarah wouldn't drown in her disappointment. :P.

We took Max to the pool tonight and decided to buy the family pool pass. That we can go whenever we want and not worry about how long we stay. :)

I am officially testing to see if I can post blog entries from my phone. If it works maybe I'll actually blog more! :)

Summertime

Well, now that I'm off on summer vacation, hopefully I'll be a little better about blogging again.  Here's a list of the things I'd like to happen this summer:

1.  Get the deck refinished.  This one is "in process". Kendall is on his way to get the sander as we speak.  Should be done by the end of the week.

2.  Finish the Great Wall of Erdahl.  Again, we hope to have this done soon.

3.  Get the front yard finished.  The landscapers are supposed to be here around the 16th of June.  Hopefully they stay on schedule.  I want a pretty front yard again.

4.  Max sitting up on his own.  He tries so hard.  His head is so heavy.  His belly makes him spit up almost every time he tries.  But I'm hoping that by July he's sitting up on his own.  It will make playing with toys so much more fun!

5.  Read at least 10 books this summer.  Half trashy, half young adult lit.  I think one of the 7th grade teachers is going to start a book club with me at school in the fall.  It would be a great way to get the kids reading for their required reading and I think we could read some really fun books.

6.  Start trying for baby #2.  Yes, we're crazy.   But we also know we want several children.  And at the rate it took us to have Max, we don't want to take any chances.  We're thinking maybe September....but we just won't commit yet.  Which means we're not ready.  :P

7.  Clear out my closet.  It is full of old clothes that I have just beat the crap out of.  White t-shirts that just look gray.  Sweaters with holes in them.  I need to pitch some of this stuff!

8.  Find a way to marry my iPhone.  Yeaaaaaa.  I love it.  I want to marry it.  Must find a way around polygamy being illegal.....*grin*