Looking for daycare sucks! I would rather undergo a 12 hour root canal than dial number after number only to find out that the person on the other end of the line is 1) a complete freak 2) is the cat lady 3) or the dog lady 4) smokes -in a daycare? REALLY? 5) is actually normal but oh, so sorry doesn't have any openings coming up until the next ice age.
Seriously - this is pretty emotionally exhausting. I am losing sleep over this. I have spoken with at least 25 daycare providers and have went to only three personal interviews so far. One lady had 7, yes 7, cats. A couple of other providers had several huge dogs that they promised "just love the little ones". Yeah, they love them as snacks I'm sure. And just too many I have spoken to spend most of the day schlepping their little charges back and forth between school drop-offs and pick-ups and sports practices and on and on. They all assured me that the kids "just love it" - but they haven't met my baby, Dane, and witnessed his extreme hatred of his carseat. It would not be a good situation.
So, I am trodding along and praying that someone will surface that is everything that my children and myself need and desire in a daycare provider. If you're the praying type send some good vibes my way - I would appreciate it.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
You're Outta Here!
My daycare provider, (I'll call her TL for TOTAL LOSER) officially gave my kids "the boot" last Friday. Her exact words to me were "February 29th will be the last day I will be able to provide care for your boys. I hope we can part on good terms because I consider you to be a close friend and I know we both gave it our best" All I managed to do was stammer out a measley "okay", turn tail and leave. Since they are only 10 months and 3 years old, they have never been kicked out of anything before and I took it personally. Truthfully though, I saw it coming. TL has been grumbling about my boys for the good part of a month now, coming up with a variety of "complaints" about them. At first she said she was going to let my baby go because his "personality didn't fit in with the group" He's a baby for God's sake - how can his personality not "fit in"? Is he telling offensive jokes? Or maybe he's putting the moves on TL's 18 month-old daughter. She also claimed that my oldest son was"bored". When I asked her to explain more precisely why she had her panties in a knot, she gave me one lame explanation after another, none of which made any sense to me. She has A LOT of daycare experience. She knows how to get babies to nap on schedule and she knows how to keep a pre-schooler engaged and stimulated so her general unhappiness with my kids really had me stumped...until I finally put two and two together.
It turns out that our part-time existence in her daycare doesn't generate the KA-CHING she needs to continue her bad habit of buying crap she doesn't need. To remedy this cash-flow problem, she has three full-time kids, two of which are babies, (which means BIG BUCKS), waiting to fill the spots left by our departure. Now, I'm a reasonable person. I understand that we're talking about her income, but I'm still rather pissed about the whole thing- as if you couldn't tell by this post. Trying to pin the blame on my boys is so dis-respectful to them. By no fault of their own they have to leave a place they have always enjoyed. Unfortunately she has me by the short hairs and there's nothing I can do.
I know I'm either completely nutso or just really, really brave to put up a post about daycare drama. This topic can be as hot as immunizations. So, as I delve into the overwhelming and emotionally draining process of hunting for a new daycare, I would love to hear any HELPFUL feedback that one may have. I stress HELPFUL because I don't need to hear that I'm a crappy mom for having them in daycare in the first place. I would lay down my life for my boys without so much as blinking. It's just that some of us moms have to work, and God forbid, some moms even like to work - but we don't like being deemed a bad mother because of it. Looking forward to hearing from you.
It turns out that our part-time existence in her daycare doesn't generate the KA-CHING she needs to continue her bad habit of buying crap she doesn't need. To remedy this cash-flow problem, she has three full-time kids, two of which are babies, (which means BIG BUCKS), waiting to fill the spots left by our departure. Now, I'm a reasonable person. I understand that we're talking about her income, but I'm still rather pissed about the whole thing- as if you couldn't tell by this post. Trying to pin the blame on my boys is so dis-respectful to them. By no fault of their own they have to leave a place they have always enjoyed. Unfortunately she has me by the short hairs and there's nothing I can do.
I know I'm either completely nutso or just really, really brave to put up a post about daycare drama. This topic can be as hot as immunizations. So, as I delve into the overwhelming and emotionally draining process of hunting for a new daycare, I would love to hear any HELPFUL feedback that one may have. I stress HELPFUL because I don't need to hear that I'm a crappy mom for having them in daycare in the first place. I would lay down my life for my boys without so much as blinking. It's just that some of us moms have to work, and God forbid, some moms even like to work - but we don't like being deemed a bad mother because of it. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Friday, January 25, 2008
My very first time
Okay - get your heads out of the gutters - I'm not talking about THAT 'very first time' - although I do remember it clearly - aaaahhh, good times.
Rather today is my VERY FIRST blog post. Ever. Yes, I am what I guess you could call a 'blogger virgin'. You see, I read an article recently in Wondertime Magazine called 'Moms that Blog" or something like that. After reading it I realized that I had found the "new" thing that I had promised myself I would try this year, and since Irish Dance lessons wouldn't fit into my schedule, kablam - a blog it shall be! Now, I'm not a writer by any means, so if you're looking to be swept off your feet with dazzling writing coupled with a razor sharp wit then you will probably find me to be somewhat......lame. But I did sign up for Dictionary.com word of the day so I deserve some credit AND my friends and many other people consider me to be a smart, funny, person with a lot to say. So, I'm giving this blog thing a try and hopefully you, yes You, will find it to be helpful, funny, uplifting, interesting or whatever enough to leave a comment and/or any helpful advice on how to improve my blog. Hopefully I'll see you around again.
Rather today is my VERY FIRST blog post. Ever. Yes, I am what I guess you could call a 'blogger virgin'. You see, I read an article recently in Wondertime Magazine called 'Moms that Blog" or something like that. After reading it I realized that I had found the "new" thing that I had promised myself I would try this year, and since Irish Dance lessons wouldn't fit into my schedule, kablam - a blog it shall be! Now, I'm not a writer by any means, so if you're looking to be swept off your feet with dazzling writing coupled with a razor sharp wit then you will probably find me to be somewhat......lame. But I did sign up for Dictionary.com word of the day so I deserve some credit AND my friends and many other people consider me to be a smart, funny, person with a lot to say. So, I'm giving this blog thing a try and hopefully you, yes You, will find it to be helpful, funny, uplifting, interesting or whatever enough to leave a comment and/or any helpful advice on how to improve my blog. Hopefully I'll see you around again.
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