Why Change Daycare??

So this morning as I sat in traffic a common dilemma in our household rekindled in my mind. My son currently goes to an in home daycare that he loves. He often cries when it's time to go home (at least more often than when I leave him there). He enjoys the other kids despite a few child tantrums, the lady (and her family) who does the daycare is really nice and she reminds me of someone that would fit right into our family. So...

Why change daycare??

My dilemma here is that I've switched jobs and now commute in the complete opposite direction of where his daycare is. My husband doesn't have a commute so the last few weeks we've been having him drop off and I pick up. This system has worked great for the last couple weeks, but the husband is doing a few jobs in which he must leave really early so I'm stuck with traffic two ways on both my morning and afternoon commute. Here's a list of the pros and cons.

PROS of leaving him where he is

• My son loves his daycare and it's obvious to me that he has a good time there.
• I trust my daycare provider, and she lets me know if there were any issues or problems with the kids that day.
• It's a small amount of kids so I know he gets the attention he needs.
• He interacts with older kids and he learns much more than if he were home with me!
• My daycare provider has been doing daycare for 13 years and never once had a complaint lodged with the state (I did my research). She also has a degree in child development and used to teach preschool and kindergarten.
• If we have another child I know what to expect and how much it will cost.
• I would truly miss my provider and our casual chit chat when I pick him up and/or drop him off. Like I said before, my provider would easily fit into my family so I feel at ease with leaving my son with her. Her family is great with him too!
• I wouldn't have to research another provider! The husband and I went on 6 interviews and I called at least 30 daycares to see if they were taking infants after my son was born. When I finally decided on the current daycare provider I called the state licensee board and talked to the state representative that does visits to said establishment to ask her about the one that we had liked, luckily it was a good review. Yikes...that was a lot of work.
• Putting our son in a daycare center is almost completely out of the question. First off, they are SUPER expensive! For a single year of daycare at a center (this includes a discount from my work) I would pay almost as much as my student loans from a four year degree!!!! I feel that is absolutely outrageous and I refuse to pay that much for my son to be ignored! Don't even mention if we had another kid, that would more than twice as expensive (infants are apparently more work although I beg to differ!) Some people will say that you can't put a price on the safety of your child...they are right. I would pay this if it was my only option. However, since it's not and my current provider is less than half that of a center I like the in homes better. They also get a little more attention if you pick the right one.

CONS of leaving him where he is

• It's no longer convenient at all for either my husband or I. I spend at least an hour in traffic in the morning and at night. Fortunately half of that is with my lovely little boy and we count and sing songs, that is when I'm not cursing under my breath at the guy who just cut me off.
• Gas prices are still high (although they are down to $3.33 even with a new 3 cent tax taking affect today!) and that means my tank is expensive to fill. When I was younger I would always get carsick from the smell of gasoline, now I get sick from the final total!!
• I have to go through the worst "intersection" in my opinion. Not only do you cross the worst rated bridge in the metro area at least 40 feet above the Ol' Mississip...they are doing "inspections" on it this week and I'm pretty sure they are just checking it to make sure the cracks are still in the same place. It's slated to be rebuilt in 2011...but about 200 feet after the bridge you enter the on-ramp for 2 major interstates. You pull a 270 degree (which means you can't match speeds of the regular traffic) turn onto I-94 and then stay in one lane that takes you to I-35E north. You can only imagine how backed up this gets on a normal day...don't even ask what its like if some yahoo wrecks their car anywhere near it, but I digress.
• People do NOT know how to drive. I either get stuck behind the foreign immagrant that has never bothered to actually get a driver's license or behind the Grandma who's so self consious about driving in the big city that she becomes a hazard herself!

Well, as you can see I guess my PROs list is much longer. I'm also recounting my CONs list and most of it is about traffic anyway. I guess we're sacrificing for the sake of our prince. I hope he appreciates everyone of my grey hairs when he gets older!!

Working Rant.

Alright, I'm going to vent about work a little here so if the kids are in the room and of reading age you may not want them to read this, not because there will be swear words (though I'm not going to guarantee) but because they shouldn't pick up bad habits.

Things not to do in the work place.
1. Do not yell over the cubicle at people that sit next to you. Get your lazy ass out of your chair and walk over to ask that person a question. If you are one of those people that don't know how to speak softly or whisper, perhaps you should use email.
2. When you are having a private conversation regarding your personal life at work, you should keep your voice down. I don't care to hear about how your sister is a spoiled brat and how she made you drive all the way out to the mall to pick up your mom and then back down to Shakopee to pick up the dogs. I DON'T CARE! My brain is already full, I don't need to know that your best friend's daughter named their baby Abigail. Since it is utterly useless information it will remain in my head for no less than three weeks!
3. If you have an issue with someone, go tell them or talk it through with them. We are all adults here and we should start acting like it. Do not come and complain to me unless you are willing to back it up. If you need me to boost your confidence then I'm here, but I don't want to hear you gripe about something day in and day out without doing something about it!
4. Don't copy me on an email unless I NEED to know about it. I hate when people copy everyone and their dog on emails for a stupid question. This just makes a chore for me, and it takes me twice as long to clean out my inbox.
5. Don't click REPLY ALL unless you really want everyone to see what you've written and what everyone before you has written. This stems from those people abusing #4. I don't want to get 400 emails regarding the treats that are getting ordered for someones birthday party. I was copied on the first email to be invited and then a string of random emails afterwards comes to me as well. Watch who you email!
6. Be cognizant of what you're doing in your cubicle. If you are moving heavy things and banging around remember that your wall is attached to someone else's and their stuff is flying off the shelves!
7. If you are stepping away from your desk either take your cell phone with you or make sure it's on vibrate. There is nothing worse than listening to someones annoying cellphone ring five times before their voicemail picks up. It's irritating, disrespectful, and just plain lazy!
8. Take notes. If I walk through how to do something then I expect you to retain at least some of the information. If that is a difficult task for you, then take notes. There's nothing more annoying that explaining something to someone 5 times...and then explaining it again!
9. If you don't know who's mail it is...find out! Do not just assume that it's my mail because it has the master mail station on it. There are at least 15 people that use that mail station, why do you put it in my mail box?? I know why, because I have this annoying reputation of actually doing a tiny bit of research to find out where the bill is supposed to go or who the piece of mail is for. Do some research people!!! How do you think I do it?
10. If you are going to tell a story, gather all the people that you think might care and tell the story once. I can't tell you how many storied I've heard 5-6 times because I sit smack dab in the middle of the most popular kids.

Man, I really feel better. Let me know if you have any work woes. I'd be glad to allow you a place to vent as well!!

Why Christmas so early???

What ever happened to Halloween and Thanksgiving??

Yesterday I ventured into a Target and I was absolutely appalled by the fact that they have Christmas decorations up already. Two measly isles for Halloween and four already dedicated to Christmas!!! I love Christmas, it's my two favorite holidays combined (I am a Christmas baby), but seriously folks, when did this holiday really get that out of hand?

It won't be long now that we will see Christmas commercials and they will get extremely irritating by the time Christmas actually gets here! It is 3 months and 10 days away and I'm already being bombarded to buy stockings, lights, cards, and other decor. Why can't I enjoy football season or Halloween? Santa has no place being an isle away from witches, ghouls, and Hannah Montana. I want to buy candy in the shape of a pumpkin, not a snowman! I start my Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving and so should everyone else.

At this rate we might as well skip right on over Turkey Day and make Christmas a two month holiday. So sorry to the Pilgrims, the cornucopias, the turkey's made out of my hand prints. Glossed over are the decorations that remind us to give thanks to all the things that we love, they are now replaced my the twinkling light-up Santa that sings Jingle Bell Rock screaming "buy me, buy me, buy me!" We need to celebrate all the great holidays, not just the ones that are retail driven. Why don't we just have the Christmas decorations up year round. I used to always get mad at people who would leave their lights up until April, but now I know that they were ahead of the curve! Eventually we will all have to mow around that Santa and his Reindeer display because the retail stores will force us to start thinking of Christmas in June!!!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. It's the only time of year that it's okay to scare people and to have a HUGE bowl of candy in your house. For one night you get to dress up and have fun without feeling weird. You can put on a costume and pretend to be someone or something else! Thanksgiving deserves it's share too. I really do love this holiday because I get to cook and visit with family. I get to eat entirely too much and drink wine all day and never get drunk! I get to tell my family how thankful I am that I have them and oh yeah, and the four days off work isn't too bad either!

What I'm laboring to say here is, there are many more holidays throughout the year other than Christmas. This year I plan to make most of my gifts so the "subtle suggestion" behind the retail industry starting so early is completely lost on me. Don't forget the little holidays as they are just as important and carry their own traditions.

Happy FALL to you all.

There are good things about FALL!

There are a few good reasons for the weather to turn colder again. Believe me, I hate to see summer go by the wayside, the boating, jet skiing, swimming, camping, and other outdoor-sy things are so much fun! Below is a list of things that I love about FALL.

1. Once it freezes, my allergies will calm down. As an update, over-the-counter Zyrtec doesn't work either...it cost me $20 to find that out!!
2. Football!! I love watching the sport. I love the hype around it especially when you live in a town and state that has a pro team. Tailgating, awesomely-bad-for-you food, and of course I can't wait to try out my new football shaped dip bowl!
3. Bonfires! These are great all summer long, but it's hard to sit by a fire when it's already 80 degrees and humid. The fall is great because the days still climb up to 65-70 and the nights lend themselves to cozy-ing up to a great fire with great friends. And an added benefit...no bugs!
4. Sweaters. I love hoodies! I also love a good non-itchy sweater that makes you feel good about your body! And, gone are the days that I get made fun of for wearing a sweater in the office when it's 90 degrees outside. To those teasers I say, "It may be 90 outside, but it's 65 in here and I'm freezing!"
5. Halloween and Candy!! I have a HUGE sweet tooth and I love the cheap bags of candy around this time of year! The miniature Reese's, York peppermint patties, candy corn and peanuts (I hate Salted Nut Rolls, but I love this combo...go figure), the combo bags of Tootsie Rolls, and Bottle Caps! I could go on forever. I love figuring out what I should be this year for Halloween. My friends usually put on a spectacular Halloween party where everyone dresses up. Now that I have a son, I get to go Trick-or-Treating again without all those awkward, unpleasant glares!!
6. Crunching dried leaves. I don't know what it is, perhaps my weird addiction for sounds (flipping through a book, nails beating on the table...my friends will know what I'm talking about.) I LOVE the sound of a good "CRUNCH" from a dried out leaf. Speaking of leaves...
7. The beautiful colors! The shore of Lake Superior is spectacular this time of year! The leaves are turning and rival that of the upper East Coast in their beauty. It truly is a wonder of nature!
8. Pumpkins, apples, and spice! I love pumpkins. I love carving them, I love grinding them up (actually I usually let the canned pumpkin company do that!) and making pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin cake. Unfortunately my husband does not like the taste of pumpkins...but that just means more for me! Apples are the best too. Caramel apples, apple pie, applesauce, hot apple cider! Who doesn't love these things!!!

Well, that's all I could muster up on this cold, rainy day. I hope that I've encouraged you to be happy about the season change and to make the most of these fleeting days of summer!

Work vs. Home

Ahhh...the joys of being a working mother. I believe that this will always be a conundrum with me because I would give anything to be able to stay home with my little prince and cook, clean, and mother all day long (well, almost anything...food and a roof are definitely things that my family have come to expect). I could have dinner waiting for my hunk of a man every night, a drink in one hand and a cigar in the other. The kids are fed, the house is clean, and I all I have to do is enjoy the evening with my husband.
Wait...did I just say that?
It's true, there are some days when I just wish that I could walk out of work and never come back. But there are also days when I look at the mountain of dishes piled up in the sink, the Everest of laundry piles mounting in the bedrooms, the cat hair and dust settling on the TV and my son whining and crying for a cracker ten minutes before dinner is ready and I think to myself "thank God I get to go to work tomorrow!"

I often find that my two worlds are not that different! I have to tell my dear prince four or five times to pick up his toys (granted he's two, but there's no time like the present for him to learn how to pick up after himself...his future wife will thank me!)
This is a conversation all too often had in our house: "Pick up the red truck and put it in the toy box. No, the RED truck...[pause]...right there by your foot. No, turn around...look down, right there, now it's behind you, the RED TRUCK. There you go, now put it in the toy box...no, not the toilet the toy box. Right there. Good job!!"

This is a conversation all too often had at work: "Click file, then save as to save that file. No, close that window...with the little "X" in the corner...click the file menu...[pause]...right up here where it says FILE, then scroll down...nope too far, go back up, right where it says SAVE AS. Okay, now name the file whatever you will remember. Save it to your My Documents...no, not My Computer, My Documents. Right there. Good job!"

The similarities don't end there either. There are meetings to arrange...menu's to plan...people's schedules to coordinate...appointments to keep, and then I have to go to work! One thing that isn't similar...my organizational skills don't always flow from one life to the other. At work I can find just about any file or folder within a few minutes, however, Microsoft helps out by adding a Search function to their software. If only there was a search function at home. I think it would go something like this...

Search for: Clean socks
Look In: Bedroom, Laundry room, Living room

Searching...

Results: One pair white socks. Found under left cushion of couch in living room.

Wouldn't that be nice? Hey Mr Gates, let's get this project off the ground eh?

As much as my work and home life are similar, I truly would like to spend more time with my baby. I'm jealous of all those moms out there who get to do projects and remember all those obscure holidays like May Day or the Pagan holiday of Obscurity (yes, that's a nod to my sister!) Usually the only holidays that blow my skirt up are the ones that I get Paid Time Off! Unfortunately, I don't know if my personality would be able to handle toddler talk for eight hours a day, nor could I handle going to a Mommy and Me class. Other people's kids usually bug the crap out of me! However, I have noticed quite a lack of "crap bugging" since I've had a child of my own.

Some of the similarities really do make me feel more at home. I appreciate my fellow colleagues for their effort in that. Perhaps someday I will seek employment on a more "part-time" basis, a bank teller or a teacher. But for now, I will just have to take all the days I can get with my family. I think all the time we spend apart really makes the time we get to spend together that much sweeter!

To all those stay-at-home moms out there: bless you for your patience, your kids will appreciate it some day!
To all those working-moms out there: bless you for your ability to schedule, your kids will appreciate it some day!

Why do people miss-pronounce words??

Okay, so I was watching the McCain speech a few nights ago and I heard him say "Warshington". Seriously, this gaffe is enough to sway my vote alone...there is no "R" in Washington!! So...

Why do people miss-pronounce words that are clearly spelled?

It happens all the time. From "Expresso" to "Warshington" I can't help but get aggravated when I hear people miss-pronounce words. So below you will see a guide of the most common (at least that I can think of) words that are miss-pronounced.

Incorrectly - that's right people, there is a "T" in there before the "ly". Let's break it down as my second grade teacher did. In-correct-ly, say it together class "incorrectly". That's good! You all get a gold star.

Hundred - I used to always get mad at this one kid in my grade school class that always said "Hunnerd". I realize that I grew up in a rural town with farmers and ranchers that talk with that country drawl, but the word is clearly spelled with two "D"s. "Hun-dred" just because there are two does not mean that one "D" is less important than the other.

Nuclear - This one gets miss-pronounced all the time! If we break it down into syllables you can clear-ly see how "New-clear" is supposed to sound.

Especially and Espresso- If there is one sure way for people to think that you have a lower IQ, it's definitely to pronounce "ESP" "EXP". There is no "X" in either of these words so please, leave that consonant alone!

Frustrate - This one really is really "fustrating" to me. Yes, there are two "R"s in there, so please give this consonant it's due (twice) and pronounce the word "FR-UH-STR-ATE".

Realty - I have actually been guilty of this myself. It is correctly pronounced "REAL-TEE". A lot of people like to put an "A" in there, but really it's real-tee!

Last and certainly not least (as I'm sure there are many more, feel free to comment if you have another good suggestion!)
Pitcher or Picture. My high school geometry teacher used to always refer to a picture as "PICHER". I was genuinely waiting for an example of a pitcher so that she would say "Look at the picher of the pitcher." Perhaps then she would realize there is a "C" in "PICK-CHUR".

Alright, I'm off my high horse. You have to agree that four years of listening to the person representing our country refer to the White House in "Warshington" would get pretty old!

Edit: Thank you to anonymous for pointing out that I miss-spelled "definately". With all the deliberate miss-spellings I didn't catch that...even on my high horse I can be humbled!!
Also, watching the Presidential Debate I noticed a definite change in McCain's pronunciation. Kudos to his speech therapist!

Why not donate??

With the RNC in town I just can't help but post a blog about it! I'm not a huge fan of matching wits when it comes to an individuals political affiliation. I say whatever you believe in, as long as it doesn't harm anyone else, is your business. There are some out there that go way overboard to get their point across. My question is...

Why not donate your money?

Kare11, the Twin Cities NBC affiliate recently ran this story (all I can do is shake my head, I can't believe they even publicized this): There are a couple of people that have rented a jumbo tron to put on the top of a building and show "anti-Republican video and audio messages" (whatever that means). This thing seriously cost them $30,000 just to rent! Not to mention the legal fees and site rentals and I'm sure all the other incidentals it takes to rent and install a jumbo tron! That would be an amazing dollar amount which could have gone towards supporting the troops in Iraq, helping with a food shelf, donating the money to a charity or even donated to the Democratic Party. Check it out if you want, I just can't believe they spent all that money on a protest that hardly anyone even noticed.



Now, I can't say that I'm a Republican or a Democrat. I like to think I fall somewhere in between. So in no way should this post be construed as a commendation to either party. I also want people to know that the Saint Paul police department has been working around the clock to ensure the safety and health of all the delegates, protesters, and citizens of Saint Paul alike. I personally appreciate that since I live only a few miles away from the downtown area.


Overall I haven't been impacted by the RNC being in town, other than the news coverage and a visibly higher police presence I haven't noticed anything a miss. Of course had I been curious or stupid enough to venture downtown this week I might be writing a whole different story!

Why Allergies?!?

Today I am officially apologizing to my brother and my mom for thinking that you were faking it all these years. I now know all about the allergy haze and the face-erase! That brings me to my first Why question of my blog...

Why don't they make stronger over-the-counter allergy medicine?

I understand the obvious reasons for not making stronger medications over-the-counter (which will probably be another Why blog), but I don't understand why, with all the medical marvels that are in the medical field today, they can't make a stronger pill to alleviate my allergies that isn't included in the recipe for Meth! I don't know what I'm allergic to since I've only recently been afflicted with this monstrosity, but for the love of Pete I don't know why I can't stop the sniffling, scratching, itching, and running of my eyes, nose and throat! I've tried Allegra, Claritin, Benedryl, and Sudafed, only to become desensitized to them all. I'm currently working on my tolerance of Actifed which is now down to about a pill every two hours.

It all started with the conception of my son. "It's because you're pregnant" said the doctor when I told her I have never had any sort of allergy before. Well, I can officially attest that I am not currently prego so what gives??
My mom says it's hormonal. Does that mean that I will have to suffer through this every year until I go through menapause?? Not only do I get to carry and deliver an 8 pound baby (and hopefully more to come), but now I get to suffer through allergies for the next 30 years...great.

So for now, I guess I will be at the whim of mother nature, and not far away from my pills, eye drops, and throat lozenges. I also plan to open a portfolio with Pfizer being at the top of my investments!

I hate to see summer go, but I can't wait for the first freeze!!!