The End Of An Era - Good Bye Daycare . . . Hello Big Boy School

Four years ago, almost to the day, my baby was started daycare.  He was eight months old and I was a week away from going back to work - at the same daycare.

 

Liam's first day of daycare - August 31, 2009

 

Four years seems like a long time, but it also seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye. 

 

After a year in the infant program, a year in the toddler program and two years in the preschool program, with me working in the same building for three of those four years, today is my baby's last day of daycare.  He is almost ready to start school.

 

 

Liam's Preschool Graduation

 

My little boy, who has come to daycare with my for four years will now have to get on the school bus and go to school all by himself. 

 

I am excited for him to embark on this new adventure - to learn new things, to make new friends, to explore a whole new world. 

 

But I am also sad.  He is growing up far too quickly.  I won't get to see him with his friends every day.  He won't be there to run and give me a hug when I go into the room that he's been in for the past year.  I won't know what he's done every day and if he's listening to his teachers or not.  I won't be able to kiss his bo-bos.  I know that I am very lucky to have had him here at the daycare where I work.  I know it is a luxury that most working parents don't have.  But it still makes me sad.

 

And I have to admit that I am a bit worried for him.  What if he is scared on the bus?  What if he doesn't like his teacher?  What if he doesn't make new friends?  What if he needs me and I'm not there?

 

I am pretty sure that my worries will amount to nothing.  He is excited about going to big boy school.  He loved going on the school bus for our daycare field trip.  He's been trough countless daycare teachers in four years and they have all adored him and he's loved them all.  He is super social and he makes friends with kids anywhere we go. 

 

I think this is where I have to admit that I need him here more than he needs me here.  Even when he was a toddler and we were in the same room almost all day, everyday, he was content to do his own thing most of the time.

 

September will be a month of big changes and many new routines.  I expect that there will be a lot of chaos as we adapt to these changes and learn new routines.  I am sure that there will be tears (probably most of them will be mine!) but there will also be lots of excitement as we embark on this next stage of life. 

 



 

 

 

 

Six Word Fridays - FOUND

Found

An opportunity I did not expect.

New challenges, new confidence, new experience.

New insecurities, new obstacles, new struggles.

Pros and cons.  Positives and negatives.

Changes in every direction, every day.

I know I will make mistakes.

I will learn.  I will grow.

I will find solutions, fix errors.

I will do lots good things.

I have already done good things.

May be for a short time.

May be for a long time.

I don't know, no one does.

It's one day at a time.

But it really doesn't matter.

It is where I am now.

As long as I am there,

I will enjoy.  I will succeed. 

Where Does Time Go?

It has been almost 2 months since I have written a blog post here.  How is that possible?  As the days, weeks, months, years go on it seems as though time just keeps going faster and faster.  Sometimes I wish I would just slow down but I know that's not going to happen.  I do know that I need to learn to make more time for the things that are important to me . . . writing, scrapbooking, reading are a few things that come to mind.  However, making more time for the "me" things is a work in progress.  In the mean time, here's what's been keeping me busy and away from the blog for the past two months.

I started a new position at work.  I am now Acting Supervisor of our preschool building.  Although it took me just about as far away from my comfort zone as I could possibly get, it has been a welcome change.  There have been lots of new challenges and I am learning a lot.  As of right now, it is a temporary position and we have no idea how long it may last but I am going to enjoy it while it does and take the opportunity to learn everything I can about the job so that I can do it again if the need arises.

The whole family got together for a BBQ at my parents place for Mother's Day.  With my youngest brother in college in Lindsey, my youngest sister going to college and working in Peterbourgh, my other brother doing shift work as a firefighter, my other sister only having her son every other week, and us living almost 2 hours form my parents, this doesn't happen very often.

We all had a great time and there was even a family game of monkey in the middle with a football.  Give that I am very uncoordinated and as athletic as a stick, I choose to stay on the side line and take pictures!

As always, I spent a weekend (and lots of time before the weekend) helping with the New Moon Rabbit Rescue garage and bake sale.  Although it was a long, busy and exhausting weekend, it was a hue success.

Then came gardening!  Well, gardening started with that week of unseasonably warm weather we had in March, but in May I planted the vegetable garden which means much more time is spend playing in the dirt!  You can read all about my gardening adventures (and see lots of photos) on my gardening blog, My Almost Green Thumb.

We spent a weekend camping in June.  Henry and I have loved camping since before we were married. Liam loves anything that he can do outside, loves fishing and going to the beach.  Camping is a perfect little get away for us.  We enjoyed the weekend at Fitzroy Provincial Park and are looking forward to get out and doing some more camping this summer.

We celebrated Liam's birthday.  Christmas is far too busy to fit in a birthday party, so we opted to do a half birthday party for Liam this year.  We had a BBQ, hung out outside and it gives him a chance to get summer presents.  

It has been a fun and busy start to the summer.  And I expect it to stay that way!  We have lots of things we want to do around here (build a new shed, expand a flower garden, put in a shade garden . . .) and I am sure there will be lots of picnics and trips to the beach and other fun stuff.

Six Word Fridays - Charge

This week’s Six Word Fridays topic: CHARGE. Charged up? Charge on! Lead the charge.

In Charge

Next week is when things change . . . 

Am I ready for this change?

I don't really know them yet.

They don't really know me yet.

But we will be thrust together.

They will look up to me.

They will be asking me questions.

They will be following my guidance.

I will have to have answers.

I will have to have solutions.

I will have to lead them.

Am I ready for this change?

Do I have what it takes,

To really, truly be in charge?

I am ready to work hard.

I am ready to be challenged.

I am ready to learn again.

I won't always have the answers.

But I will find the answers.

I won't always have the solutions.

But we will all work together.

There will be headaches and times

that I just want to scream.

But,

I know I can do this.

I know I will enjoy this.

Toddler Art - Snowmen

No two snow flakes are alike, so I guess the same should apply to snowmen, right?  Especially when they are made by toddlers!

I love doing art with the toddlers at the daycare.  I don't always enjoy the mess taht goes along with it, but that's beside the point!  I have fun doing all kinds of art - finger painting, easel painting, glueing, colouring, etc - with them.  But my favourite is a glueing project where they glue pieces together to actually create something specific.

I've done eyes, nose and mouth on faces, putting Humpty Dumpty back together, faces on pumpkins, leaves and petals on flowers and most recently, snowmen.

When I do these projects with the kids, I glue one together a head of time, so that they have a visual example of what we are creating.  Then I put glue on the pieces, one at a time, and let them stick it on their paper.  I point to each piece of the sample as I give it to them, but they choose where to put it.

When it is all said and done . . . well, take a look!

  

Some are standing proud and tall.

Some are a little wobbly.

Some look like they have fallen over.

Some look like they are just pieces floating in the air.

Some look like they have melted.

I may be a little biased, but this is Liam's snowman, and it is my favourite!

It really doesn't matter what the finished snowman looks like.  The kids know that they have made a snowman and they are happy and proud of their creations.  And the parents love to see what their children's masterpieces.

Back to Reality

After the hustle and bustle of Christmas, there was nothing I needed, nothing my family needed more than some down time.  

The past week of pajama days, afternoon naps and playing with Liam were a much needed break from routine that we all needed.  

For the most part, we did a whole lot of nothing!  

We watched a lot of TV, spent hours playing cars and Liam did LOTS of art (colouring).  

We only got dressed when we had to go out somewhere.  

Henry and I drank lots of wine after Liam was in bed for the night.

But, all holidays must come to an end.  

Eventually we have to go back to the reality of having to work for a living.  

Reality reared it's ugly head with a growl when the alarm went off at 5:00 this morning.  OK, maybe I was the one growling as I dragged my weary butt out of bed. 

(Because, wouldn't you know that after over a week of sleeping perfectly every night, the night before I have to go back to work, I don't sleep worth poop!)

I showered and got dressed in a sleep blur before going to wake up my poor little bear.  After a week of sleeping as late as he wanted, I was greeted by a particularly grumpy little bear.

"NO MOMMY, NIGHT NIGHT," he cried as I gently tried to wake him.  "MINE, MINE," he screamed as I took off his pajamas.  Thankfully, he was soon settled with a sippy cut of milk and TreeHouse TV.

And well, we won't even talk about Henry's response to early mornings, other than to say that morning is his most hated part of every day!

But we made it to work - EARLY!  

And that was it. 

Back to reality.

Back to rules and routines.

Back to paying attention to other people's kids more than my own.

Back to working for a living . . . it may pay the bills, but somedays, that's all it's good for!

But, on the bright side of things, I booked my two weeks of vacation for our trip to Nashville in June . . . 153 days until I am on holidays!

And there are a few long weekends between now and then, right?

Monday the 13th is the new Friday the 13th!

At least it was for me this morning.  It started with being almost late for work.  And quickly went down hill from there.

The front gate lock at the daycare was frozen.  This shouldn't be a big deal.  I carry lock deicer in my purse for such occasions.  BUT, have you ever tried putting lock deicer in a padlock, on a chain while holding a squirming, impatient toddler, a purse AND a large reusable shopping bag full of stuff?  Well, let's just say it's pretty damn near impossible.

I tried putting the bags down and keeping the boy in my arms, but finally had to admit that there was no way I was getting that lock open without putting Liam down.  As I expected, he stood beside me for all of about 17 seconds before he decided to wander down the sidewalk.

Now, this is where it probably got really interesting for the neighbor across the street who was scraping the ice off their car, but I am pretty sure that she was just watching my comedy show.  

I grabbed Liam, just before he stepped out into the street (thankfully it is a very quiet street).  I wrangle him around so that he is between me and the gate and proceed to squat enough to use my knees to hold him against the fence so that he can't take off again.  

I repeatedly squirt lock deicer into the lock, shake it, wiggle the key, curse to myself and even resort to banging the lock against the fence all while trying to keep Liam from running away.  Honestly, I have to admit, that if I was the neighbor across the street, I would probably be watching and laughing too!  Or getting ready to call the police to say that a crazy woman was trying to break into the daycare with her kid.

Finally, I get the lock open.  And I got a slight confidence boost as Liam yelled "Yeah Mommy!" before I grabbed my purse and bag off the sidewalk, looped my arm around his waist and dragged everything through the gate and up the snow and ice covered front steps.  I put Liam down, to save dropping him at the top of the steps and frantically open the front door, knowing that the first children will be there any minute.  Of course, as I am ready to go in the door, Liam tries to run away again, causing me to almost set off the building alarm.

You would think that once I get us into the building, things would have calmed down and returned to normal.  NO!  It was a mad rush just to get the lights turned on and curtains opened before the first child arrived.  I had to get my co-worker to start her shift early to clean the snow and ice off the front steps.  

The phone was ringing nonstop.  I had one co-worker having major car issues and not sure if she was going to make it to work or not.  Another didn't want to come in because she was ill.  And the kids were coming faster than ever.  Parents probably thought I was crazy the way I was running around trying to organize and figure out the best way to do everything while short two staff.

Slowly, things started to work themselves out.  The flow of children into the building slowed considerable and a few had called to say they weren't coming in.  My sick co-worker was coming, but stuck in traffic.  And the co-worker with car problems expected to arrive by 9:30am.  

And I finally, after and hour and a half of chaos began to breath normally again.  And in a way, we were almost rewarded for the craziness we endured by a lower than usual number of children for the day.  But if that's what it takes to get a quiet day, I'll take the busy ones, thank you!

Over the years, I've come to realize that the only thing predictable about working in daycare is the unpredictability!  I've just got my fingers crossed that we got all the craziness of the week out of the way today!

And I'll be keeping my eyes out for the next Monday the 13th!

It's NOT Teething!!!

If I hear another parent tell me that their child's illness is just because they are teething, I think I am going to scream!  In 12 years of working with infants and toddlers in daycare, I have heard just about every imaginable symptom put off to "they are just teething".  And I am sorry, but for the most part, it is complete and utter bull shit!  

Teething DOES NOT cause high fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, rashes or whatever other symptom that I have sent your child home with.  If your child is not eating or sleeping normally, it is NOT because they are teething.  IT IS BECAUSE YOUR CHILD IS ILL!!!!

Yes, if your child is an infant or toddler, there is a very good chance that they are teething when they exhibited the above mentioned symptoms, but teething is not the cause of them!  I can't stress this enough, your child has a fever, is vomiting or has diarrhea because he or she is SICK!

Don't listen to your mother or grandmother when they tell you that every child gets a fever when they are teething.  Chances are that when they were raising their children, the belief was that teething caused other symptoms, particularly fevers, but things change.  People once thought the world was flat, remember?

It is now known that teething only causes slight low grade fevers (less than 100 F), drooling, excessive chewing, redness and swelling of the gums and slight pain.  If your child has any other symptoms, even if you know they are teething, please take them seriously and realize that this is a sign of illness and that they need to see a doctor.  

And DO NOT assume that as your child's daycare provider, I am an idiot.  I can tell if you child is ill.  Chances are, he or she spends as much if not more awake hours in the day with me than with you.  I can tell if they are in pain or discomfort.  I am going to notice if they have a fever.  You may be able to dope your child with infant tylenol or advil but you can't hide the fact that your child is miserable and pale.  And I am not for a second going to believe that anything other than mild discomfort is "just teething".  

And DO NOT flat out lie to me and say that your child is just teething when you have taken them to the doctor and you KNOW that they are sick, especially when I know full well that there is someone who can look after your sick child while you are at work.  You may be a nice, cheerfully person, you love your son and seem to be a good mom, but you just dropped a few notches in my book.  

 

CHANGE - It can be a good thing, right?

The Executive Director, who we don't see very often at the daycare (most of her work is done behind the scenes) has decided to make some scheduling changes to the toddler program.  Now, I know that there are good reasons for her to have made some changes and I know that change is sometimes needed to make things better.  But in this situation, I feel that as the Head Teacher of the program and the one who will be ensuring that these changes are properly implemented, I should have had the opportunity to give some input before the new schedule was made.  

Some of the changes make perfect sense, really are needed and should make things easier once everyone gets accustomed to the new routines.  Other things, however, seem completely unnecessary and without any logical reason.  And that's where I think my input could have been valuable.  Because as far as I can tell, from looking at this new schedule on paper, it is just going to make an already difficult and busy time of the day, even more burdensome and hectic.  

But the Executive Director has been away from working with the children for so long that she probably doesn't even realize all of the ways this one little change on paper really could be not only for the children, but also for the parents and staff.

I am trying very hard to be open minded about this.  I keep telling myself hat she did run the daycare for many years before I was even hired.  I am telling myself that change can be a good thing.  I want to say that implementing these changes for the first time tomorrow will be easy and that everyone will be happy.  But I really do have my doubts.  

So, for the next few days, I will do my best to implement all the changes and follow the new schedule as closely as possible.  But I will also be documenting daily what does and doesn't work out.  Because despite my efforts to be positive, I foresee a lengthly e-mail to the Executive Director as well as the Director detailing my concerns with the changes, as well as my proposed solutions.  

This will be my first time dealing directly with the Executive Director.  Any issues I've had in the past have been dealt with by my direct Supervisor or the Director.  I don't know what to expect.  All I can do is keep my fingers crossed that things work out better than I am expecting and that if they don't, the powers that be are willing to listen to my concerns and make further changes as required.

Naptime

I would give just about anything to get to have a nap after lunch everyday.  To curl up with a blanket and pillow and sleep for two hours would be heaven on earth for me.

Yet, the toddlers at work who need the naps so often went nothing to do with nap time.

First off, who decided that toddlers need nap time more than adults?  We work hard all day, often stay up later than we would like fulfilling our parental duties or finishing household chores while they go to bed early and, well, SLEEP.  Then, we get up early so that we can shower and get dressed in peace before the kids get up and destroy the house that we stayed up late cleaning (while they were SLEEPING) the night before.  And did I mention that we work hard all day while they play?

And then there's the fact that you have to fight with them so that they will sleep - rubs their backs, sing lullabies, read stories - all of it just about puts me to sleep everyday as we fight to get these darlings settled for their naps.  Once they are sleep, we have to tiptoe around to keep them asleep or at least quite for two hours.

Now don't get me wrong, there are some who fall straight to sleep and stay asleep for the full two hours (and I thank my lucky stars everyday that Liam is one of those ones!) but all the rest exhaust me and make me want to give up and go home for a nap of my own!

Chaos!!!

After my week off, I returned to work on Tuesday to complete and utter chaos!  And I really wasn't ready for it!  Now, before anyone misinterprets what I am saying, it isn't like the place when to hell without me or anything, it is just a case of bad timing!

September is always a BUSY time for us.  Lots of kids moving from the toddler program to the preschool program, which in turn means new toddlers!  Some of them are from the infant program and some of them are new to the daycare but in my years of doing this job, I have found that it doesn't matter where they are coming from, it can be a very difficult transition.  We have had so many kids come into the toddler program since July, I have completely lost count!  All of the kids that were in my group in June are gone and I have five completely different kids!

Some of the new ones are really not enjoying daycare right now, so there is a lot of crying.  They don't know the routines, so it takes longer and a lot more effort to get anything accomplished.  And to top it all off, we have a new ECE teacher.  Don't get me wrong, I really like her (and I helped hire her!) and she is really good, but she is new!  And it takes even the best new staff time to get accustomed to a new job!

I know that in a week or two, things will be back to normal and this will become a distant memory.  But right now, there is absolutely now way to describe it but pure and utter chaos!  Which leads to pure and utter exhaustion on my part . . . 

Next week is Brownie registration and meetings start the following week . . . time to get organized!

Oh, and my brother is getting married this weekend, and I volunteered to do a bunch of baking which I haven't started yet (yes, I know that it is Wednesday!)  Did I mention CHAOS??

So, my poor blog has been neglected this week.  And probably will be for the rest of the week.  But don't worry, there will be a vacation post with pictures from our trip to Syracuse to the New York State Fair.  And a wedding post and who know what else!  As long as I survive the chaos!

Work . . .

Work is crazy busy!

Work is stressful!

Work is exhausting!

I want work to be fun again.

I still do enjoy my job.  

The kids are great.

There has just been so much other "stuff" to deal with lately.

We are on our 4th cook since Christmas.

We've had two staff (in our building) quit since May.

We've had another staff go on Maternity leave two months early - and we are still looking for a replacement.

We have another staff going on Maternity leave this week.

We had two staff transfers and another one next week.

We have had countless supply teachers . . . sometimes 3 in one day.

We have kids transferring to Preschool.

We have new kids starting.

We have staff on vacation.

We have had problems with the dishwasher, air conditioner and security system.

And the list goes on and on and on . . . 

Why has there been a never ending list of things to cause stress and low moral lately?

When does it get to be just about taking care of the kids?

When will things return to some semblance of normal?

This week, I am "playing boss" again - working in the office while my supervisor is on holidays.  I am really looking forward to the change of pace and break from potty training!  But at the same time I am cringing in anticipation of what might come up for me to deal with.  

The week hasn't even started yet and plans and staffing has changed due to staff illness and a fractured foot!  Let's hope that's all the excitement for the week!

Playing Boss

This past week I worked in the office for the week as my supervisor was on vacation.  It was the first time since my promotion in October that I've had the opportunity to work in the office for more than a day or two at a time.

And I got to do a little bit of everything - work out coverage for staff coming in late and leaving early for appointments, organize appropriate coverage for staff lunch breaks, attempt to fill daycare spaces with new children, try to organize the waiting list, send sick children home, book supply staff, deal with repair people, organize the training of a new cook, inform a staff that she is being transfered to another program, inform staff of shift changes, make photocopies, fill in the paysheets, do paperwork and filing . . . and I'm sure there are other things that I missed.  And that's not to mention the countless phone calls to the supervisor at the other center and the director.

I know that it is all part of the job that Rhonda does on a daily basis and I've had a taste of it all on my others days in the office, but for my first full week, it was a bit overwhelming.  Despite being somewhat overwhelmed, I did throughly enjoy the week and I am looking forward to another week of playing boss in August.  Normally, I am not one for change but this is a very comfortable change and every time I have a day or even part of a day to work in the office it becomes more comfortable.

Unfortunately, going back into the program after even a day in the office is more difficult than I expected.  It always seems like I have missed out on much more than a day with my kids and it takes both them and me a little while to get back into the swing of things.  And life in the toddler room is just so much busier and louder than life in the office!  

Despite my enjoyment of my office time and the difficulty that I have getting back into my routines in the program, I'm not sure that I would want to be a full time supervisor right now.  It is a place that I do hope to get at some point in my career and if the opportunity presented itself, I would not turn it down but right now, I like my toddlers too much!  Some days they drive me mad, some days I feel like I never want to change another diaper or potty change another child, sometimes I want to scream, sometimes I want to run away and never come back, but then one of them randomly runs over and give me a big hug and reminds me how important my job is and that despite all the little things that drive me batty, I really do love toddlers.  And I am happy and content with where I am in my career.

Good Bye Old Friends . . . Hello New Friends!

Today we said good-bye to four of our toddlers as they graduated to our preschool program which is located in another building.

I have been working in daycare for 12 years (yikes, that makes me feel old!), so I've gotten used to kids coming and going.  Saying good bye is all a part of the territory, especially with infants and toddlers as they  aren't in the same program for more than a year.  However, I have been with this particular group of kids since they were infants, so I have developed a much stronger attachment to them.  Before my maternity leave, I worked in the infant program with all four of these kids.  Than, after my met leave, I found myself in the toddler program with them again.  Although I missed eight months with them, I feel like I've watched them grow and develop every day for the pst two years.

They all have a special place in my heart and I will remember them all fondly.

"A" was almost a year old when she joined us and has always been very grown up for her age.  On a regular basis, she blows me away with her knowledge and language skills.  She is already well on her way to becoming a teacher or a lawyer!  

"H" is our little Ladies Man!  He had a very difficult time when he first started daycare at 9 months.  I remember wondering if he would ever adjust, but he did.  And although he has had some difficult phases (including potty training!) he has grown into a happy, friendly, entertaining little boy.  I will miss his curiosity, asking me a dozen times a day, "Nicki, what doing?"

"M" was a pretty easy, go with the flow kind of baby.  As a toddler, she started off pretty quiet and suddenly, almost over night she became a little chatter box with a very vivid imagination!  I will always remember her as "Rhonda's girl" wanting to go to the office or to visit the babies!

And finally, there is "G", my little Peaches.  "G" and I bonded almost from day one, when she was a little tiny six month old baby.  For the first few days, maybe even longer, I was the only who could get her to eat or sleep.  She was a "Nicki's girl"until the day I felt for mat leave and stepped right back into that spot the day I returned to work.  And as much as she loves me, I think she loves my "Baby Liam" even more.  Along with all my other memories of Peaches, I will always remember her as Liam's first girl friend because he loves her too."

As much as I am sad to say good bye, I am very happy for them.  They are all more than ready to move on.  They will all have a wonderful time learning new things, making new friends and forming exciting relationships with their new teachers at Preschool.

And every time a child leaves our program, it makes room for a new one to start.  Friday is a day of new beginnings as one new toddler enrolls in our program and three babies move up to the toddler program, one of which is my Liam.  And in the coming weeks, we will see more friends leave us for preschool and move new friends join our fun little group!

All in a day's work!

No, I wasn't scratched by a cat or any other type of animal.  I was scratched by an angry toddler!  The child, usually one of the best behaved of the group recently found out that mom is expecting a baby and has started lashing out at me whenever things don't go her way.  And lately, that is often!

It's not the first time I've gone home with scratches or bite marks, in child care, it is all in a day's work!

For Mother's Day, I got . . .

A little boy with a fever of 102 F.  But the day wasn't all bad.  Henry got up with Liam, so that I could sleep in.  We went ou for lunch and all had a nap in the afternoon.  It wasn't until after nap time that i had a sick, crabby baby in my arms.  But I must say that we are very lucky with this little man.  Even when he is sick, which isn't very often, he's usually in a pretty good mood.  As soon as I got a dose of infant tylenol and a bottle of milk into him, he was playing like there was nothing wrong!  We even had a little photo shoot!

Unfortunately, this morning, the fever was up to 103 F and my little bear spent the day with Grandma and Aunty Margaret and that's where he'll be again tomorrow.  Although I know that he is well cared for when he's with that, I know that he has lots of fun visiting with them (and his furry friends that live there) and he absolutely adores Grandma and Aunty, the mommy guilt is hitting me pretty bad today.  I wish that I was the one with him when he was sick so that I could cuddle him and make him feel better.  I know that I should be grateful that I have someone who can look after him easily on days like this, and I am, but I still feel like I should be there with my baby, not taking care of other peoples' kids.  I hope that he knows that I would be with him if I could.

Toddler Personalities

Do all toddlers suffer from multiple personality disorder?  I am seriously beginning to think that they do!  The sweetest, most cuddly child can go from quietly looking at a book to beating his best friend over the head with said book for no obvious reason.  There's the little girl who is carefully playing with one of the younger children, then as quickly as if someone flicked a light switch, she becomes Little Miss Bossy, telling everyone (including the teachers) what to do and how to do it.  Another child appears to be my best friend is suddenly hitting and scratching me because I needed her to move a step so I could open a door.  This same child can adore a person one day and the next day be too shy to even speak to the same person.

If you can imagine a personality type, chances are a toddler has it hidden in there somewhere.  They are very unpredictable creatures, you never know quite what you are going to get or when you are going to get it.  Chances are if you expect that a situation will cause a scene and are prepared for it, it will go by unnoticed.  And then, when you least expect it, some insignificant little thing will cause a melt down of epic proportions.

When it comes to toddlers, you have to always be on top of the game, prepared for everything - ready to give hugs and kisses to kids who adore you; ready to deal with outbursts from kids who feel like they hate you; ready to redirect behaviors; ready with firm words and time outs; ready to be a doctor for boo-boos big and small, real and imaginary, new and old; ready for anything you can imagine and a million things that you can't.

And don't expect to figure them out - ever!  Because even with more than 10 years experience with toddlers, I haven't figured them out.  Every time I think I'm getting close, a new one comes along and blows everything I thought I knew about them out the window!  There is never a dull moment in a toddler program . . .

We now return to our regular scheduled ramblings . . .

Phew!  Garage Sale weekend is over and I've had a few days to recover.  New Moon Rabbit Rescue raised just over $1200 for the bunnies.  As much as I love being able to help out this wonderful organization, run by two of my dearest friends, I am so glad that it is over!  It was four long, exhausting days of hard work!

Now it is time to focus my energy into other things - BROWNIES - two more meetings and camp and then we are done for the summer.  Yee Haw!  It is another one of those things that although it is a lot of fun and very rewarding, it's nice to have a break.  HOUSE WORK - the place looks like a tornado went through it.  GARDENS - so far so good there, but soon it will be time to plant the veggie garden, then it gets busier!  And of course, WORK - I am still venturing into potty training hell every day - although yesterday, one of my boys ASKED to go to the potty and then actually PEED - is it a break through or a coincidence?  Only time will tell!

And of course above everything else is FAMILY TIME!  There never really is enough family time.  My little boy is growing up so fast, I just can't keep up with all the things he's learning and doing.  And soon (by soon, I mean should have been done last week!) we are going to have to take him for his first haircut.  It makes me sad.  But I've always said that I'm not going to be one of those moms who cries every time her baby reaches a new milestone!

So, if I disappear from blog land again in the next little it while, it is either because I have gotten lost in this disaster of the house - please send help!

Why???

Do you ever wonder why you chose your current profession?

Do you ever wish you could turn back time and choose a different career path?

Usually I only have those thoughts when I think about how poorly child care workers are paid compared to other professions.  And when I am fantasizing about writing for a living!

But this past week, there were countless times when I wondered what the f*ck I was thinking when I decided to become an ECE.  This week was filled with just about everything that makes an ECE's job difficult - sick/absent staff, supply teachers, late staff, miserable kids, aggressive kids, communicable illness . . . the list could go on and on.

I hardly sat down all week -  between continuing to delve into Potty Training Hell, breaking up seemingly constant fights, putting ice packs on bo-bos, cleaning up messes from art, lunch and snack, I was seriously on my feel all week.  Not only was it excruciatingly exhausting, it made me realize that I REALLY need new/better work shoes!

Toddlers are more unpredictable than a teenaged girl with PMS.  I have got two little boys who can be the best of friends one second, playing so nicely together and then without any warning they are beating the snot out of each other or biting each others faces off.  (And yes, I mean that literally!)  They go from perfectly respectable children to wild animals in 0.3 seconds.  I have another little girl who hits and scratches me every time i ask her to do something that she doesn't want to do.  And we won't even talk about the fact that I stepped on a child this week!

And then there is all the behind the scenes confidential stuff that as head teacher I know about.  And although my "need to know everything" personality is thrilled that I know some of these details, some of it just frustrates me beyond words.

I keep telling myself that this week has got to be better than last week, but in reality I am dreading going to work tomorrow, just in case this week isn't any better.  Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy my job, just some days (or in this case, weeks) I would really love to be able to say "I don't need this" and quit.  But the reality of my life is that I need to work and despite having a bad week,  I can't imagine anything else I'd rather do for a living.  (Except for my daydreams of writing all day long . . . )

"Nicki did it!"

I love toddlers, I love toddlers, I love toddlers . . . really, I do!  But sometimes I wonder why!

This morning, between trips to the bathroom with the boys, one of my girls, we'll just call her Peaches, decided that she wanted to beat up one of the boys.  I told her to stop and in typical defiant two year fashion, she looked right at me as she continued to hit him up side the head.  It was now obvious that I was going to have to move her away from him, so I start to walk towards her.  Knowing that she was in trouble, Peaches threw herself on the floor right in front of me, causing me to step on her arm.

Now, of course, I instantly felt HORRIBLE about this as I picked her off the floor, screaming like she was being tortured, to survey the damage.  Fortunately, the scream was MUCH worse than the injury.  One could say that Peaches is a little bit of a drama queen . . . and by little bit, I really mean that she should win an Oscar for some of her performances.  Her arm was red and there were some small scratches form the sole of my shoe, but it could have been a lot worse.  If my full weight (and don't even think about asking what that is!) had gone on to her little arm, I am sure that it would have broken bones.

However, regardless of how minor the actual injury was, the Oscar performance lasted for about an hour after I stepped on her, with Peaches sulking around and holding on to her arm like it was going to fall off.  Perhaps she was trying to convince me that she was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Whatever it was, as soon as lunch arrived, the bo-bo was forgotten for a little while.  Funny how it was remembered again as soon as the food was gone and it was nap time!

After nap, Peaches continued to take great pleasure in making me feel guilty.  On numerous occasions (and by numerous, I mean so many times I that I couldn't begin to count!) she came up to me clutching her arm, saying "bo-bo, bo-bo, Nicki did it."  Or she would hold it out to me, give me a sad look and say "Kiss it."  And she quite delighted showing everyone her bo-bo and announcing "Nicki did it!" while grinning from ear to ear.

As the day went on it was a toss up between feeling horribly guilty for hurting one of my darlings and laughing at her showing everyone and telling them that I did it.  The conversation would go a little like this:

Peaches:  "Bo-bo." (holding her arm out like it was about to fall off)
Teacher:  "What happened?" (looking at her arm)
Peaches:  "Nicki did it." (grinning from ear to ear)
Teacher:  "What did Nicki do?"
Peaches:  "Give me bo-bos."
Teacher:  "No, Nicki didn't give you bo-bos.  What happened to your arm?"
Peaches:  "Nicki did it."
Teacher:  "I don't think Nicki did that.  You're being silly."
Peaches:  "Nicki did it.  Nicki give me bo-bos"
At this point I would interject with a nod to indicate that, yes, I did indeed do it.
Peaches:  "Nicki did it."
Teacher:  "How did Nicki give you bo-bos?"
Peaches:  "Nicki step on it."
Then she would run off to play and wait until the next opportunity to tell her story.

Seriously, how could I not laugh at this??  I am just glad that her parents are very understanding about things like this!  And I can hope that none of the other parents heard her saying that Nicki gave her bo-bos without hearing the whole story!

I tell you, there is never a dull moment with these kids . . . but I love them!  I really do!