The perfect day

This past Saturday was one of those perfect days. You know the kind I'm talking about - the one where everything goes as planned, the kids are happy and extra-loveable, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and your hair looks good even though you didn't shower. Ah yes, I love those days. I wish I had more of them - many more of them but alas I don't. So when I am blessed with one, I'm giddy as all get out and I savor them like a wine lover savors a fine Pinot - breathing it it's aroma, experiencing every last drop.

The day started out like any other Saturday - awakened at the crack of dawn by my baby yelling "mmmaaammmaa daa baa baa" from his crib. I stumbled to his room, picked up his chubby, warm little body and breathed in his intoxicating babyness like I do every morning. Then I opened the blinds and.......taaaa daaaaa! Sunshine! Now maybe to you sunshine is no big deal, but in Oregon, in the middle of winter, it is A BIG DAMN DEAL! Baby in arms, I ran to our bedroom and screamed at my still unconcious hubby, "Get up, get up, get up! The sun is shining! We have TO GO!"
"What the hell....are you yelling about? Go where?"
"I don't know - anywhere. Outside."
A couple hours later, after breakfast and the baby's morning nap, we were outside at the park with picnic lunches in tow -all of us soaking up the sunshine and warmth like bonedry sponges. Oregon winters can be harsh. Not really cold or snowy or even particularly cold. Just very drab and gray and cloudy. You can literally go weeks and weeks without seeing the sun. So when Mother Nature serves up a sunny, rain-free day in the middle of winter you can bet yer boots that folks are going to enjoy it. It's not uncommon to see people standing still, staring straight at the sun like they're trying to soak up as many rays as possible to tide them over till the next sunny day.

Now I would love to tell you that the sun hung around all day, but it didn't. The clouds started rolling in towards the end of our morning, but we were thankful for what we did get - a nice long walk in the park, a picnic in the back of the van and lots of family time outside. It was wonderful day and nice reminder of all the great things to come.

And hubby makes 3

I'm the mom of two little boys, Dane and Kellen. Sometimes my husband's behavior makes me feel like three is a more accurate number. Here is a perfect example of what I mean.

Hubby (changing Dane's diaper)
Kellen - Daddy, I want to see Dane's butt.
Hubby - You want to see his butt? Okay, here it is. Isn't it cute?
Kellen - Yeah and there's his butt-hole!!
Hubby - Yep that's his butt-hole.
Me - Actually, Kellen, it's really called an "anus"
Kellen - You mean a "Danus?"
Hubby - hysterical laughter and uncontrollable snorting
Kellen - A Danus!! A Danus!!
Hubby -by this point is doubled over with fits of laughter.

Now, my hubby is a smart guy. He knows that you're not supposed to give attention to behavior that you don't want repeated again and again. But I guess he had a moment of weakness, when his inner little boy could no longer be contained. I'll let you know if I have to change my baby's name to "Danus"

Little boy crushes

It's official. My three-year-old has a crush. A big one. A whopper. The object of his affection is Libby, the 10-year-old daughter of his new daycare provider. She's a quiet, cute little girl with shoulder length, straight brown hair and glasses. She's the third out of seven children. And somehow she has stolen my little boy's heart.



When he walks into their home in the mornings, he just stands there and gazes at her, like someone admiring the Statue of David or something. During dinner he rambles on about how much he loves her and with a sparkle in his big, beautiful brown eyes, says things like "she's beautiful as a flower" and "the next time I see her I'm going to give her "some lovin". What?! Where does he get this stuff? "Exactly what kind of "lovin" are you going to give her?" I asked. "I'm going to hug her arm" he said with a smile as big as the state of Texas itself. Whew! For a second there I was worried we'd get booted out of daycare #2!

Libby for the most part is being a very good sport about this whole crush thing. She aware that he thinks she's the cat's meow for and is very kind to him - something that all of his crushes won't be. But that's for another time and another post - both of which I hope are WAY in the future.

I hate this

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.

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.

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.