Tag Archives: daycare

a little toddler romance

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This was an actual conversation tonight at bathtime.

Me: Hey Catie, did you have fun at daycare today?
[Note: I ask her this probably half a dozen times in the evening, because each time she tells me about a different part of her day.]

Catie: Yeah. I kissed a boy.

Me: What? You kissed a boy? Which boy?

Her: Um… (long pause while she tries to remember his name)… Roman.

Me: (thankful it’s a kid from her class that I know, not some random stranger-kid) Oookay. So, did you kiss Roman on the cheek?

Her: No. On the lips. And on the nose.

Me: Really?

Her: Yeah. And Miss Meeko say (mimics stern finger-wagging gesture), “You gotta stop all that kissing!”

That’s my girl. Also? Come 2022, when Catie is about 15 or so, I have a feeling that I am gonna be in for a world of trouble.

4 days

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Four freaking days. That’s how long it took for Catie to come home sick from daycare.

I knew something was up when I picked her up today, and she immediately started crying about something silly (a Valentine’s Day stamp on her hand, which she didn’t like and wanted to wash off). We went to the grocery store, and she said she wanted juice, but then she started crying as soon as she took a sip. I asked her if her throat hurt, and she said yes. I asked what else hurt, and she said, “My eyebrows.” Which, ok, that’s kind of funny, but you know, a sinus headache does hurt right around your eyebrows, so I thought that was actually pretty smart of her to be that specific.

So, quick side trip over to the pharmacy section of the grocery store where I promptly ripped open a box of children’s Tylenol meltaways and handed her two of them (don’t worry, I paid for them later). We finished up our shopping and headed home. She ate an Otter Pop and a couple of strawberries, but that was it. She’s had a fever and chills all evening. I managed to get about a 1/2 cup of watered-down juice in her before she went to bed, and I consider that a small victory to keep her from getting dehydrated.

It’s just amazing to me that in the course of a day, she can go from this:

hamming it up for the camera
Taken this morning.

To this:
sick girl
Taken tonight. Note she’s wearing a hoodie over her winter pajamas and still shivering, my poor girl.

Obviously, there will be no daycare tomorrow. I predict a lot of time on the couch, watching cartoons and eating Otter Pops. Which is fine, as long as she starts feeling better soon. I hate it so much when she’s sick. I miss my happy chatty girl.

I smell like fake watermelons, and I sorta like it

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For those concerned, Catie’s first week at daycare has been pretty good. She seems to like it there, and drop-off time is much less tense than it was the first day. But I think it’s also a little overwhelming for her to be there all day long, because by the time I get there to pick her up, she is ready to GO. HOME. And she informed me this afternoon that she was sad because she doesn’t want to go back to “daycare class” (her term for it), but I also think she’s pooped and might feel differently in the morning. Because the past two mornings, she’s been very excited to go.

Of course, she’s also throwing around a whole new world of attitude lately (complete with telling me, “no, ma’am!” with her hands on her hips, which is pretty much mimicking exactly what I do to her when she’s being a pill). But I don’t know how much of that is because of the daycare transition, and how much of that is just… being 3.

Random funny: when my mom came to visit last month, she noticed that Catie’s lips are really dry and chapped. (And they are, you can sort of see it in this picture.) So we went to Target and bought her some fun fruity-flavored chapstick, which Catie promptly decided she wanted absolutely nothing to do with.

But sometime this week, she changed her mind, and now every morning, after she gets dressed, she wants to put on her chapstick (not just one, she has to use all three different “flavors”), then she puts some on me, and then she wants to take a picture of the two of us “all pretty wif our lipstick on.”

big hugs

Even though most of the pictures turn out super-cute of her and “meh” of me (at best), there is absolutely nothing about that ritual that sucks. I love that she wants to ham it up for the camera. Three year-olds are a freaking riot. Even when they’re obnoxious.

the weekend, by the numbers

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The past few days, recapped:

1. On Saturday, we went to my cousin’s house for baby Austin’s first birthday! I can’t wait until Cat gets those pictures uploaded because man alive, that little boy was covered in frosting. It was a great party, and Catie always has so much fun playing with her cousins. There were many tears when it was time to leave.

2. On Sunday, Catie “helped” me clean the house, then we went grocery shopping together. Dave spent most of the day in bed because he just quit smoking and feels like hell. (Everyone, give him a big cheer: yay, Dave! You can do it! Hang in there!) He did manage to wake up in time for dinner, and we watched the Puppy Bowl because we are totally not a sports-type family. I mean, yay for the Saints and all that. New Orleans is my mom’s hometown and I do really love that city. But, watching a bunch of grown men slam into each other over a ball? Not my thing.

3. Catie didn’t get much of a nap on Sunday, so she was in bed by 8:15. (Hallelujah!) Dave was already asleep by then too. After I got Catie settled, I started to head downstairs, but I slipped on the first step & went crashing down the stairs. I only fell down about four steps, which is not that bad, but I slammed the left side of my back into the steps when I landed. I thought for a second that I had broken a rib, it hurt so bad, but I think I just bruised it. And I knocked the wind out of myself so hard that I couldn’t speak (because believe me, I tried to call for Dave, but I couldn’t).

When I finally regained my breath, I realized that I was probably ok and didn’t need to go to the ER, so I just scooted very gently down the rest of the stairs. I tweeted about it, and a couple of people told me to ice it. And when the Internet tells me to do something, well by golly, I do it. So I iced my back while I watched “Big Love”. (And incidentally, did any of y’all who watch it cry during last night’s episode? Or am I just a hormonal, injured, still-slightly-sick mess?) I don’t know if the ice helped or not, because my back still hurts like a son of a b**** today.

4. Today was Catie’s first day at her new daycare. We’ve been talking it up a lot for the past week, about how she’s going to have so! much! fun! there, and she was excited to go. Then we got there, and I could tell she was nervous. I got her all settled in with her stuff in her cubby, and she grabbed onto me and said, “I stay wif you.” I told her that I’d stay for a couple of minutes while we looked around the room. We introduced her to the other kids and the teacher, and we walked around, looking at all of the various toys and activities.

I spent a few minutes with her, then told her that I was going to go, but that I’d come back this afternoon. She said ok and gave me a kiss, but her shoulders were still hunched up the way that she does when she’s feeling anxious. I stopped at the door and turned around to wave bye-bye one last time; she gave me this tiny, tight “putting on my best brave face” smile and waved back. I barely made it to the car before I started crying. I’ve left her places before when she was crying for me, and that was awful. But this was harder in a way that I can’t quite explain.

5. I’m going to have to pick her up early, because there’s no way I’ll make until 5:00.

resurfacing

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Ok, let me sum up the past couple of weeks here:

1.) Holy crap, I have a three year-old!

my 3 year-old girl

And boy, it’s like some kind of switch went off in her head and she KNOWS that she’s three, and that she’s a big girl now. I can’t even really pinpoint the change I’ve seen in her recently, but it’s there and so strong.

She starts at her new daycare next week. We’ve been talking about it a lot, and we’re all very excited.

2.) SNOW!

snowfall at night

I know that people in other parts of the country find it hilarious that we get 5 inches of snow & everything here shuts down, but… well, yeah. That’s how it works. I don’t even have any pics of us playing in the snow like last year, because Catie came down with a cold the day that the snow started, and then both Dave and I had to work all weekend. So that sucked. I wouldn’t have minded a cozy weekend inside, but this was kind of a stressful one. And poor Catie got cabin fever, so by the time Monday rolled around and Dave had to go to the store, she threw a screaming fit because she “HAVE TO GOOOOO WIF YOUUUUUU!!!” (And yes, he took her to the store with him. I’m pretty sure it was the highlight of her day.)

3.) Work, work, work.
Ok, so I started a new job, right? And I kind of casually mentioned back here that oh yeah, I also got asked by my old job to do a quick little freelance project for them. And I don’t know if I can accurately convey just how much this has kicked my butt, but OH HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, has it ever. The last time I worked a full-time job was when I was pregnant with Catie, so we’re talking 2006, right? To go from my little casual part-time here-and-there gigs to not only working a full-time job but then ALSO having to work in the evenings and weekends on this freelance project, not to mention being a parent to my kid, and trying to keep my house in order (which, HA! Haaaa!!! Y’all should see my house right now. I’m waiting for those snarky British ladies from “How Clean Is Your House” to show up at my front door and point out the dust bunnies lingering around all of the baseboards because I haven’t vacuumed since before my mom’s visit three weeks ago. And with 2 cats and a toddler? I NEED to vacuum more often than that, BELIEVE ME. And exhibit B: Catie’s toy box is currently empty because she has dumped every.single.toy. on the floor and I haven’t had the energy to either make her clean it up or to do it myself). So, yes, this is killing me, is what I’m saying.

But! The good news is that I finished up my freelance project last night, and the extra money is going to be really helpful this month since we’re still recovering financially from our Christmas trip to the UK. When I finished the last little bit of work that I had last night, I promptly burst into tears because I am just that tired and I was holding it in because I didn’t have the time to cry before that.

My plan was to go get a massage as soon as I finished this project, but wouldn’t you know it, I’ve caught Catie’s most recent cold, and there are not many things in life that are grosser than lying face-down on a massage table with a runny nose. So the massage will have to wait a while. *sad face*

Oh, and the new full-time job is going really well, so that’s great. I’m enjoying it a lot. But I told Dave that if my old job contacts me again about doing a “quick little project” for them, I don’t care how much they pay me per hour, I’m just going to take a hammer and bash myself in the head with it, because I think it’d be about the same on the pain scale.

Famous last words, right?

that ol' work/daycare thing again

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I started my new job yesterday and so far I’m liking it a lot. I don’t really know what to say about it because I try not to talk about work on my blog too much. But I’m very happy. It’s good.

And of course, because things always work out like this, it was only last week (after I’d already accepted the new job) that my old job back in Seattle contacted me and asked if I could do a little freelancing project for them. I said yes, thinking, meh, it’ll probably take me two days, no big deal. And holy mother of pearl, this project is HUGE (nobody’s fault, just miscommunication about exactly what was involved) and so basically I’m now working on evenings and weekends in addition to my full-time job. Not cool, although the money sure will be nice when I get it finished.

Also, we’ve decided to change things up a little with the daycare situation. I’ve had some qualms about our in-home daycare situation since the time Nicole (daycare provider) emailed me to tell me that she thought Catie had Sensory Processing Disorder. Something about that was a red flag to me, so I’ve been watching Catie carefully, and here’s what I’ve noticed:
* Catie used to be excited to go to daycare, and now she cries when I tell her that she’s going to Miss Nicole’s house that day.
* Her behavior at Nicole’s house isn’t improving. She’s fine if she’s left to play by herself, but she shuts down & cries when Nicole tries to get her involved in an activity.
* She freaking loves the drop-in daycare down the street that she calls “daycare school,” and the lady who runs the place has told me repeatedly what a sweet, friendly little girl I have.

It’s become pretty clear that the in-home daycare is not the best fit for Catie. I’m not sure what it is, maybe it’s because there aren’t enough kids there (just Nicole’s own 2 kids and another baby who’s about a year old), maybe it’s because Nicole is too rigid and doesn’t really “get” Catie (who I fully admit is a pretty quirky kid), I honestly don’t know what it is. I was originally thinking about trying to get Catie to go to Nicole’s 3 days a week until preschool starts in the fall, but something about that decision just didn’t sit right with me.

So, rather than holding out and waiting for preschool to start, I’ve started looking for a full-time preschool/daycare that would work instead, where she could start now. Last week, my mom and I took Catie with us and toured a few different daycares. I found one that I think will be a really great fit for her. Of the three places we saw, it was the first place where Catie let go of my hand and ran off to play. She really seemed to like it there, and I got an overall good vibe from the place. So, we’ll see. I’m optimistic about it.

Oh, and did I mention that my baby girl is turning 3 tomorrow? I can’t really believe it. More updates on THAT milestone (with pics from her birthday party last weekend) tomorrow.

I just happy too

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Today I worked out, keeping up with my couch-to-5K thing, and I took Catie with me to the gym. The daycare at the YMCA is pretty cool; Catie goes to the room for the 18 month-olds to 3 year-olds, and they have different activities for the kids every 30 minutes or so. Music time, puzzle time, etc. There’s a half-hour that they’re scheduled to go outside to the playground, but if the weather is bad, they section off half of the gymnasium, get out a bunch of balls and toddler toys, and let the little ones go nuts.

Today the weather wasn’t so bad, but the playground was swarming with bees (WTF? I don’t know why either), so they kept the kids inside to play in the gymnasium. On the second floor, there’s a track that goes around the perimeter of the gymnasium, and there’s also a little alcove where they have treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical machines. I worked out on the treadmill (nothing against doing laps, but it’s easier to keep track of my time and pace on the treadmill), so I could look down and see part of the gymnasium below.

It was interesting, contrasting how Catie reacted today compared to the same situation a year ago. I worry a lot about Catie’s tendency toward being overly cautious, and the way that she freaks out in crowds or new situations. Last year, when the kids were in the gymnasium, I jogged laps on the track above, and I kept looking down at her and trying to will her with my mind to get up and play with the other kids. She didn’t. She found a place to sit, hunkered down and stared at the floor. I kept getting angrier that none of the daycare teachers came over to check on her, as she was obviously miserable. She finally broke down in tears, and then one of the teachers finally came over and picked her up. It was awful, I kept fighting my instinct to run down the stairs and go scoop her up, thinking that at some point she’d get used to it and start playing with the other kids. She never did. We both hated it. I didn’t go to the gym for about 6 months after that.

Today, when we first got to the gym, Catie started to throw a tantrum, which I misinterpreted as more of her social anxiety flaring up again. My heart sank at the idea of going through that again. Turned out, it was actually because she really needed to use the potty; as soon as I took her to the bathroom and brought her back to the gym, she was like a different kid. She gave me a kiss and said, “Bye, Mommy!” and took off to play.

From my little vantage point on the 2nd-floor treadmill, I could only see part of the gymnasium below. But every now and then, I’d see a blur of blonde hair go running by, jumping on mats, kicking balls, and actually interacting with the other kids. It was awesome.

On our way out of the gym, I asked her if she had fun. She said, “Yeah, Mommy! No screaming, no crying! I just happy!” No lie, y’all, I almost cried happy tears.