Party in my crib at 2:00am? Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Mad Dad Warning
Watch out world, Daddy is on the warpath.Little King David spends his days at a licensed daycare center while Mommy and Daddy slave away at work. It’s not the best scenario, but like many other families in America, we have mortgage payments and child support payments to make, so the parents must work. Despite our concerns about fulltime childcare, David has flourished. He is well-adjusted, very outgoing, eager to interact with other children, and happy to arrive at school each morning.
We are blessed that David has a special connection with his primary caregiver. His teacher has a special place in her heart for him and he gets a little extra attention because of this. He is always thrilled to see her in the morning and he screams and cries when she leaves the room for her lunch break. Mommy and Daddy are happy that he has an emotional bond with her.
The problem is the daycare director. She owns a daycare center, but she doesn’t like children. Does that make any sense to you? It doesn’t make any sense to me, either!
Personally, Mommy has had several battles with this daycare director. For example, we paid the registration fee in January of the year that David was born. He was born in March and was scheduled to begin daycare in mid-April. The director assured us that we would only need to call her a week before he would begin attending. Mommy called two weeks before returning to work and was informed that there was no space available for him until June! The director finally agreed to move another child to the toddler room to make space for David, but he still couldn’t start daycare until May. Daddy had to miss two weeks of work to stay home and that was just the beginning of this fiasco.
Since then, the director raised the tuition rates by $100 per month. Then, she changed the vacation policy the week before we were scheduled to take our tuition-free week of vacation. Then, the afternoon teacher quit and the director assured Mommy and Daddy that the teacher would have been fired anyway because she was inattentive to the babies and refused to follow directions. Then, the director allowed that teacher to stay! She still works there!!!
We have bit our tongues through all of this mess because David loves his teacher and his teacher loves him. A connection like that is hard to find and we know it is valuable to his development.
Daddy is done biting his tongue.
He is going to meet with the director today because she insisted that the babies’ nap schedules change because she doesn’t want them sleeping in the afternoon when parents arrive to pick them up. She obviously doesn’t have a degree in child development and she obviously can’t read or she would know that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ages 12-18 months should get two naps per day for a total of 3-4 hours. She obviously doesn’t know how cranky David was last night when she tried to change his nap schedule without his parents’ prior knowledge or consent.
She also probably doesn’t know that Daddy is leaving work early today to meet with her. She probably doesn’t know that he will ask her to show him the codified ordinance that grants her the authority to supersede our parenting rights when our baby is in her care and allows her to make decisions on our behalf.
God help that woman because he is one Mad Dad today!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Shopping Spree
As the weather slowly warms, I have realized that Little King David needs an entirely new wardrobe. That means a shopping spree for Mommy.Hurray!
Look what I bought for the little man on Ebay this weekend. Can you believe I only spent $50, and that includes shipping fees?!!?
I won’t have to wash laundry for weeks!!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Living in Cleveland: Preston’s Hope
Lynette recently left a comment on my blog because her family is relocating to Cleveland and she wants to know more about our fabulous city.I’ve promised to share a few of my favorite hang-outs, and the family destination of the day is Preston’s Hope Playground in Beachwood, Ohio.
As you may recall, Baby is not all that fond of swings, but I can’t wait to take him to the park this summer. He is walking more and more each day and I can just imagine him running to and fro and falling face-first into a pile of mulch.
Aaaaah, the joys of summer.
I’m looking forward to a family-outing at this amazing playground. Preston’s Hope is a 60,000 square foot playground that is entirely accessible to children with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. The playground is free and open to the public. It’s location is easily accessible from all communities in the Cleveland metro area.
Imagination Village is a wondrous place for kids to explore, filled with child-size houses and stores. Little ones can ride bikes through the winding streets of the town. Some accessible features of the village include large windows in the houses and stores that allow parents of hearing-impaired children to communicate visually with their kids using sign language while they play inside.
The playground has a variety of slides, ramps and bridges that allow kids to run and explore. Broad ramps throughout the park allow youngsters in wheel chairs to participate in the fun. The slides are equipped with transfer decks that allow children in wheelchairs to be helped onto the equipment. There are also learning stations throughout the playground that teach kids Braille.
The playground offers separate play areas with appropriate equipment for preschool and school age children.
The Water and Sand play area is a great place to dig for dinosaur bones, ride a safari jeep, or play with water and sand.
The Play Theater offers a venue for your young Shakespeare to practice his acting skills for an enthralled parent audience.
Best of all, there is a public pavilion offering shade for parents and grandparents and the park features clean restroom facilities. What more does a family need?
Maybe a picnic lunch…
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Wordless Wednesday: Why I Don't Bake
Resurrection Rolls gone awry...Discover more Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
An Evening To Remember
The sun was shining and a warm breeze was blowing yesterday afternoon as I left work. I took off my winter coat and cracked the windows as I raced down the freeway to pick up Baby from daycare. Could it be true that Spring is finally here?We rushed home to cook dinner and eat quickly so we could spend some time outside. After a lot of coaxing and persuading, I convinced Daddy that we should take Baby to the playground for the first time. How excited would he be to sit on a swing for the very first time? It took a lot of restraint, but I left the camera at home.
By the time we got to the park, the clouds had rolled in and gale-force winds were whipping in from the lake. Our gorgeous day had turned gloomy and chilly. Baby gasped for air as the wind smacked him in the face. We couldn’t give up. We took Baby to the swing-set and placed him in the baby seat. He clung to the chains with all his might. Daddy gave him one strong push and a look of terror spread across Baby’s face. He was too afraid to even cry.
Baby was afraid of the swing.
After a couple of minutes, it became evident that Baby was not having fun and wouldn’t be warming up to this experience. We decided that he might be more eager to play on the playground after he had a chance to watch the other kids playing, but it was too cold to hang out. We got back into the minivan and headed home.
You would think this outing was ruined, but Baby ultimately had the time of his life.
We parked the minivan in the garage and Daddy was going to move his cargo van into the driveway for the night. Baby loves to watch Daddy park because his van beeps when he drives in reverse. If Baby sees the van parked on the street, he will wait patiently at the picture window in the living room, hoping to see the van move.
On this special night, Daddy invited Mommy and Baby for a ride INSIDE the van. We all hopped in and drove from the curb to the driveway. Baby was ecstatic! He got to hear the beeping sound from inside the van, he was allowed to adjust the heat and air conditioning controls, he was allowed to change the radio stations, he played with the GPS antenna, he unplugged Daddy’s cell phone charger, he opened and closed the ashtray, and he scattered Daddy’s important papers.
It was one of the most exciting outings Baby has ever had!
If only we were so satisfied by the simple things in life…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
