November 30, 2009

Not Me Monday: Post-Black Friday Edition

If I would have posted a blog on the eve of Thanksgiving, I would not have written about how I was not going to give in to Black Friday shopping with my dear MIL and SIL. And there was no way was I going to feel guilty for even thinking about backing out at the last minute because I was exhausted. I did not complain about it incessantly to my husband before and after said shoppping trip either.

While on this trip, I did not drink four huge cups of coffee and therefore suffer from a caffeine crash later in the day. Not me!

I did not miss the "football" part of the football party that evening. And it was not me who drank a bottle of wine all by herself. It was not me who neither used profanity while in this crazy state, nor forgot a few conversations that evolved over the course of the night. I would not do any of the afore mentioned things at a party that included my child care clients.

And I would not seriously consider therapy after the events of Black Friday, 2009!

November 19, 2009

The Daycare Diaries: The Routine of Napping

Before I began working as a child care provider, I could not imagine getting two children to nap at the same time, much less eight or ten children. Then I started working at a child care center. Ten or twelve children, ranging in age from 12 months to 3 years, would lay down on their little resting mats and fall asleep! Even on a crazy day, at least half would sleep for a good two hours. Amazing! Then I would be home on my days off, struggling to get my two children (2 1/2 years and 11 months old) to nap, without success.

One of the most important things that I have learned after five years in the child care business is... Keep a routine! When I say "routine", I don't mean that at precisely 12:53pm each and every day at my child care program, we lay down to sleep. It means that each day, we eat our lunch, use the restroom, wash our hands and then lay down for rest time. In that order. Bed time works the same way for my own children. Children love routine! They know what to expect. No surprises.

Of course, I cannot guarentee that they will all sleep every day, or that their naps will last for the same amount of time each day. Hey, I'm not a miracle worker here... but I do have all eight children sleeping right now. And that's routine!

November 18, 2009

Cluttered Thoughts

You know you've been neglecting your blog when you can't even remember neither the password to log into Blogger, nor which email address you used to create your account!

I think I'm having a mid-middle-thirties crisis here. Or perhaps it is just that we are approaching the holidays and I feel completely unprepared. I feel so unprepared and apathetic that I have been sitting at my computer staring at my homepage, hoping an answer will just appear on my moniter. These are some of the questions running through my head...

What do I put on my childrens' Christmas wish list when they don't need anything and we don't have any more space for things they want?

How am I going to get my holiday baking done when we have plans every weekend from now until 2010?

My house is a cluttered mess! Can I clean it in time for the holidays?

Why am I blogging when I should be de-cluttering?