This past weekend was so much fun! We had horrible weather on Friday, so what should have been a two hour drive took us over three hours and we didn’t end up getting there until about 10:30. So we checked in and went to bed…or tried to at least…my daughter was still watching Hannah Montanna at 12:00 :)
The next morning we woke up and the boys and kids got ready for the water park, while my sister-in-law and I headed to our pedicures. The pedicures were 1 ½ hours! They were so nice! By the time we were done and met up with hubbies and the kiddos it was lunch time, and the kids were exhausted!
We grabbed some lunch and took it up to our rooms to eat. We tried to plug in the Wii, but the stupid hotel disabled the menu, so we weren’t able to switch the TV/Video over. Ugghhh! We ended up hanging out and talking and watching TV until about 4:00 when we decided the kids had to get naps in. So we all slept until about 6:00, which was so nice!
We headed over to dinner at TGI Friday’s, which was one of the two restaurants in the hotel, so you can imagine it was crowded. We checked in and they told us it would be a 40 minute wait but there was a kids room the kids could play in. We went to check it out and it turns out it was a babysitting service! They had a big screen TV with Cars playing and you just signed your kids in and came back and got them when your table was called. We headed over to the bar to get a drink! The only bad thing was that our wait turned out to only be about 20 minutes, so we didn’t get the full benefit of drinks without the kids.
After dinner we had every intention of going back to the water park, but we were too full and tired afterwards, so we headed to bed. The next morning we packed our stuff up and headed back down to the water park. The kids were so good and it had something for every age! I even saw some newborns being dunked in the water!
After a few hours we packed the car up and headed home. The kids didn’t sleep in the car, so we were able to all take naps when we got home.
It was so relaxing! A very nice getaway for the weekend. And believe it or not, I didn’t take a single picture. When I remembered to take some, we were in the water park and the humidity was making my lens a mess, so we scrapped the idea. Oh well, we still had a blast!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Little Vacation
Phew, another week almost over. I don’t know if I’m going to make it until March 4th, but I’m pushing along as hard as I can.
This weekend will be a fantastic mini-vacation. We are headed to Castaway Bay, which is an indoor water park up at Cedar Point (which is a huge amusement park here in Ohio). We are going with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and our nephew. I can’t wait…we’ll get to sleep in, take naps, and play in the water.
One of the things I’m really looking forward to is tomorrow morning my sister-in-law and I are getting pedicures. I haven’t had one in a while, so this will be a fantastic treat! I’m tempted to add a massage on as well :)
We are also going to bring up our Wii. As much fun as an indoor water park will be, I have a hard time believing that all of our little ones will want to be at it the entire two days, so we figured this will be another fun activity for us.
So all I have to do is get through today, and then I’ll be able to hopefully not think about work for two days. Or childcare.
Have a great weekend!
This weekend will be a fantastic mini-vacation. We are headed to Castaway Bay, which is an indoor water park up at Cedar Point (which is a huge amusement park here in Ohio). We are going with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and our nephew. I can’t wait…we’ll get to sleep in, take naps, and play in the water.
One of the things I’m really looking forward to is tomorrow morning my sister-in-law and I are getting pedicures. I haven’t had one in a while, so this will be a fantastic treat! I’m tempted to add a massage on as well :)
We are also going to bring up our Wii. As much fun as an indoor water park will be, I have a hard time believing that all of our little ones will want to be at it the entire two days, so we figured this will be another fun activity for us.
So all I have to do is get through today, and then I’ll be able to hopefully not think about work for two days. Or childcare.
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Daycare Review
The kids are doing OK in Daycare. My daughter has issues with it (pretty much the same issues I have) but we’re trying to work through them. One of the issues is that when they sit on the floor for circle time, they all have to sit Indian style. My daughter does not like to sit like that (just like her dad!). I can’t figure out why it matters how the kids sit on the floor as long as they are sitting? Especially when there are only 4 of them in the class??
The cots they take naps on are too hard for her. I can understand this…I like a very nice, soft, comfy bed to sleep in. She HATES getting up early. She’s looking forward to tomorrow when my parents watch her so she can sleep in (her words…I didn’t think I would hear that until she was in middle school).
My son has a good time. He’s so easy-going! His teacher wrote us a note on the first day saying how much she enjoyed him and how well-mannered he is and great with “please” and “thank-you.”
Overall they are fine. I’m not doing so well, but they’re fine. The worst part is that the nanny we were so happy about came in with her rate at $100 more per week than she had originally quoted us. Plus she wants all paid time-off (4 weeks per year…that’s what I have off, so she would automatically get that off). She says she’ll try to time her vacations with ours, but she still wants paid. It’s hard because we feel it’s fair to split it in the beginning. A lot of companies (including the one she used to work for that she admitted to us) you don’t get paid vacation until you’ve been there for a year. But the worst issues is the extra $100. She claims she hadn’t really paid attention to the hours I had sent her when she quoted me. I had told her twice before she gave me the first rate. I’m very frustrated because had she told me this rate originally, I wouldn’t have talked to her. And she’s working for family right now, and admits that she gives them a deal. So it’s not like it’s a rate she’s used to getting…it’s higher than the going rate around here. I don’t know what we’re going to do.
I always thought being a mom was easy. Whenever anyone would ask me if it’s hard having kids I would tell them it is so easy for me. Taking care of kids, playing with them, making sure they eat and sleep, it’s all pretty easy. But this part of being a mom is really, really tough for me. Worrying about them all day, worrying about who will take care of them and making the best decision regarding where they go during the day…this is when I think life was easier without kids.
So whenever anybody asks me if it’s hard having kids, I’ll really have to clarify now…the day-to-day stuff is a piece of cake, but the worrying is tough, and sometimes debilitating.
The cots they take naps on are too hard for her. I can understand this…I like a very nice, soft, comfy bed to sleep in. She HATES getting up early. She’s looking forward to tomorrow when my parents watch her so she can sleep in (her words…I didn’t think I would hear that until she was in middle school).
My son has a good time. He’s so easy-going! His teacher wrote us a note on the first day saying how much she enjoyed him and how well-mannered he is and great with “please” and “thank-you.”
Overall they are fine. I’m not doing so well, but they’re fine. The worst part is that the nanny we were so happy about came in with her rate at $100 more per week than she had originally quoted us. Plus she wants all paid time-off (4 weeks per year…that’s what I have off, so she would automatically get that off). She says she’ll try to time her vacations with ours, but she still wants paid. It’s hard because we feel it’s fair to split it in the beginning. A lot of companies (including the one she used to work for that she admitted to us) you don’t get paid vacation until you’ve been there for a year. But the worst issues is the extra $100. She claims she hadn’t really paid attention to the hours I had sent her when she quoted me. I had told her twice before she gave me the first rate. I’m very frustrated because had she told me this rate originally, I wouldn’t have talked to her. And she’s working for family right now, and admits that she gives them a deal. So it’s not like it’s a rate she’s used to getting…it’s higher than the going rate around here. I don’t know what we’re going to do.
I always thought being a mom was easy. Whenever anyone would ask me if it’s hard having kids I would tell them it is so easy for me. Taking care of kids, playing with them, making sure they eat and sleep, it’s all pretty easy. But this part of being a mom is really, really tough for me. Worrying about them all day, worrying about who will take care of them and making the best decision regarding where they go during the day…this is when I think life was easier without kids.
So whenever anybody asks me if it’s hard having kids, I’ll really have to clarify now…the day-to-day stuff is a piece of cake, but the worrying is tough, and sometimes debilitating.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Daycare
The kids are in daycare today. For most of you, this sounds like no big deal, but for us, it’s huge. This is the first time that my kids had to get up at 6:15 and get dressed and ready. It's the first time they won't get to eat and drink whenever they want. It's the first time they can't take a nap whenever they are tired. It’s the first time that they are separated. I hate it. I keep telling myself that it’s only temporary…the wonderful nanny will start in a month (although we haven’t gotten all the details worked out yet, so that’s not even definite yet.
They were actually in great moods this morning. I had fun doing my daughter’s hair and putting jewelry on her. We loaded them up and headed out into the blustery cold. When we got there, we took my son to his room, but we could only drop his stuff off because all toddlers meet in the baby room until more kids and teachers get there, and then he’ll go to the big room. He hated this. He had a really rough time and was crying a ton.
I took my daughter to her room, but it was the same thing as my son’s…she had to go to the preschool room until more kids and teachers got there, and then they would move her over to the pre-k room. She did pretty well. She sat down with a little girl that would be in her class and put beads on a string. She gave hubby and I both kisses and had no problem when we left. We checked on my son and he was in the teacher’s lap not crying, so we took that as a good sign.
There are definitely good sides and bad sides to this arrangement, and I just keep reminding myself about the good sides. They will get a lot of opportunities to learn a bunch. They will make some friends. They will have fun.
I’m sure this will get easier…it’s just hard when you’ve been used to doing one thing for 4 years and now you’re doing a different thing…it just takes getting used to it all!
They were actually in great moods this morning. I had fun doing my daughter’s hair and putting jewelry on her. We loaded them up and headed out into the blustery cold. When we got there, we took my son to his room, but we could only drop his stuff off because all toddlers meet in the baby room until more kids and teachers get there, and then he’ll go to the big room. He hated this. He had a really rough time and was crying a ton.
I took my daughter to her room, but it was the same thing as my son’s…she had to go to the preschool room until more kids and teachers got there, and then they would move her over to the pre-k room. She did pretty well. She sat down with a little girl that would be in her class and put beads on a string. She gave hubby and I both kisses and had no problem when we left. We checked on my son and he was in the teacher’s lap not crying, so we took that as a good sign.
There are definitely good sides and bad sides to this arrangement, and I just keep reminding myself about the good sides. They will get a lot of opportunities to learn a bunch. They will make some friends. They will have fun.
I’m sure this will get easier…it’s just hard when you’ve been used to doing one thing for 4 years and now you’re doing a different thing…it just takes getting used to it all!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wii Had a Great Valentine's Day!
Our Valentine’s Day turned out to be really cool! I came home to pick hubby up so that we could go to my daughter’s gymnastics class, which is where we were meeting my mom. He told me to read my Valentine’s Day card first…it was a cute card and he wrote some more that went along with it, and then on the back, he wrote that he got a Wii!!!
So we headed to my daughter’s gymnastics, gave the kids tons of hugs and kisses because we missed them so much, and then brought them home to show them their new toy!!! Both of them knew what it was as soon as they saw it! My son kept saying “we got a Wii Wii.”
We headed back out for a great dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and then we went to the store and got three more controllers, the gun with the shooting game for my son (he calls it shoot ‘em up) and another game.
We came home and got it all set up and played games until 11:00! I think this is really going to be a great thing for us! It’s amazing how we were playing (the carnival games) and even my 2 ½ year-old son was playing and doing well all by himself! They have so much fun with it!
And hearing my son go through the store saying “we got a Wii Wii” is just hilarious!!!
So we headed to my daughter’s gymnastics, gave the kids tons of hugs and kisses because we missed them so much, and then brought them home to show them their new toy!!! Both of them knew what it was as soon as they saw it! My son kept saying “we got a Wii Wii.”
We headed back out for a great dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and then we went to the store and got three more controllers, the gun with the shooting game for my son (he calls it shoot ‘em up) and another game.
We came home and got it all set up and played games until 11:00! I think this is really going to be a great thing for us! It’s amazing how we were playing (the carnival games) and even my 2 ½ year-old son was playing and doing well all by himself! They have so much fun with it!
And hearing my son go through the store saying “we got a Wii Wii” is just hilarious!!!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Valentine's Day and Daycare
The kids have been gone too long, and thankfully they come back today!!! Yipppeeee! We went and visited a local daycare that they could go to until the nanny can start. We aren’t even sure we’re going with this nanny as she hasn’t met the kids yet. She should hopefully be coming over Saturday to play with them.
They daycare was good. It’s brand new, so in my daughter’s class there were only 3 girls, and then my son’s class only had 2 boys. I have to push him into that class though because by his age, he’s supposed to be in the baby room, but since he’s potty trained, he can move up to the three year-old class. We saw the baby room…we definitely don’t want him in there!
Since last night was our last night without the kids, hubby and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day last night. We went to Whole Foods and got two flank steaks stuffed with spinach and gorgonzola, some lemon-pepper shrimp, a Greek salad, and some macaroni salad (hubby’s request :) ). We went home and cooked it up, and hubby set the table for us while I made the butterscotch-cookie hearts I will be giving to my family.
When I went to the table for dinner, I saw all of our good china out and set up very nicely. He got us out special salad plates and salad forks! He lit a bunch of candles and turned the lights off. He really thought of everything! It was a great dinner! It tasted amazing and it was nice to talk to him without any interruptions or fighting anyone to eat their dinner!
They daycare was good. It’s brand new, so in my daughter’s class there were only 3 girls, and then my son’s class only had 2 boys. I have to push him into that class though because by his age, he’s supposed to be in the baby room, but since he’s potty trained, he can move up to the three year-old class. We saw the baby room…we definitely don’t want him in there!
Since last night was our last night without the kids, hubby and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day last night. We went to Whole Foods and got two flank steaks stuffed with spinach and gorgonzola, some lemon-pepper shrimp, a Greek salad, and some macaroni salad (hubby’s request :) ). We went home and cooked it up, and hubby set the table for us while I made the butterscotch-cookie hearts I will be giving to my family.
When I went to the table for dinner, I saw all of our good china out and set up very nicely. He got us out special salad plates and salad forks! He lit a bunch of candles and turned the lights off. He really thought of everything! It was a great dinner! It tasted amazing and it was nice to talk to him without any interruptions or fighting anyone to eat their dinner!
But we’re definitely ready to have the kids back. It’s been way too long!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Nanny Number 2
We had another nanny come over last night. This lady has 2 kids, a 7 year-old and a 2 ½ year-old. The 2 ½ year-old would be coming with her daily, and the 7 year-old would come when there wasn’t any school.
The lady seemed really nice and really active and talked about how she really liked taking the kids places. I really liked her energy!
One thing that kept bothering me was that every time her son came upstairs (they were playing in the playroom while we talked) she would immediately look over and talk to him…even though I was in the middle of talking to her! She just let her kids interrupt the interview! Interrupting is a HUGE pet peeve of mine, and I work really hard with my kids trying to teach them that it’s rude. Now of course they still do it, but I always “ssshhh” them and continue listening to the person that was talking to me. We really got the impression that her kids get her total attention, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but we were worried she would be giving them more attention than our kids.
We started talking about discipline, and she told us that she was really into getting down to the child’s level and explaining why what they did was wrong. She said she would rather do that five times per day than put them in time out. OK…hubby I thought that sounded great…we’re really big about making sure the kids know why it was wrong to do what they did. However, as they were leaving, the 2 ½ year-old kept running off and wouldn’t put her coat on and threw a tantrum. The mom had no control. Seriously, they sat in my foyer for 10 minutes and she just waited until the little girl was ready to go.
Now I’m not saying that my kids don’t get upset when it’s time to leave a place they like, but there’s a look we can give them that means business, and they know it. I just couldn’t imagine my son, who is also 2 ½, acting like this little girl! So hubby and I decided she probably wouldn’t be a good influence on our kids…I can already hear my daughter “mommy, why is she allowed to do that and I’m not?” The nanny also shared stories of her daughter smearing mascara all over her parents white carpet. Ummm, yeah, we have white carpet and so help me if anything like that ever happened…
It just emphasized again what great kids I have. I know that even if I wasn’t watching them, there’s no danger of my daughter getting into my mascara and smearing it all over the carpet.
So the first nanny is looking like a winner so far. The problem is she wants to give her current boss a month’s notice, which I find very honorable. So we might have to put the kids in daycare for a month…which I’m not that happy about, but if it gets them the right care then it has to be done.
The lady seemed really nice and really active and talked about how she really liked taking the kids places. I really liked her energy!
One thing that kept bothering me was that every time her son came upstairs (they were playing in the playroom while we talked) she would immediately look over and talk to him…even though I was in the middle of talking to her! She just let her kids interrupt the interview! Interrupting is a HUGE pet peeve of mine, and I work really hard with my kids trying to teach them that it’s rude. Now of course they still do it, but I always “ssshhh” them and continue listening to the person that was talking to me. We really got the impression that her kids get her total attention, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but we were worried she would be giving them more attention than our kids.
We started talking about discipline, and she told us that she was really into getting down to the child’s level and explaining why what they did was wrong. She said she would rather do that five times per day than put them in time out. OK…hubby I thought that sounded great…we’re really big about making sure the kids know why it was wrong to do what they did. However, as they were leaving, the 2 ½ year-old kept running off and wouldn’t put her coat on and threw a tantrum. The mom had no control. Seriously, they sat in my foyer for 10 minutes and she just waited until the little girl was ready to go.
Now I’m not saying that my kids don’t get upset when it’s time to leave a place they like, but there’s a look we can give them that means business, and they know it. I just couldn’t imagine my son, who is also 2 ½, acting like this little girl! So hubby and I decided she probably wouldn’t be a good influence on our kids…I can already hear my daughter “mommy, why is she allowed to do that and I’m not?” The nanny also shared stories of her daughter smearing mascara all over her parents white carpet. Ummm, yeah, we have white carpet and so help me if anything like that ever happened…
It just emphasized again what great kids I have. I know that even if I wasn’t watching them, there’s no danger of my daughter getting into my mascara and smearing it all over the carpet.
So the first nanny is looking like a winner so far. The problem is she wants to give her current boss a month’s notice, which I find very honorable. So we might have to put the kids in daycare for a month…which I’m not that happy about, but if it gets them the right care then it has to be done.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Closure
So last night we headed over to the old sitter’s house to get our stuff. Hubby and I were both wondering if they would have the guts to be there or not…we knew she wouldn’t show her face after she showed what a coward she was by trying to hide behind e-mail.
But as we were picking our stuff up, her husband opened the door. Ohhhh, I was so ready! I started by pointing out that neither of the two care bears were anything like the one that his daughter ruined. He told me that his wife had bought two, and included the receipt, so that we could return them if we wanted. I made the comment that I shouldn’t have to be the one to do that. Then he made this statement “it didn’t have to be like this.” WHAT??? So hubby and I lit into him. He of course defended his wife, but to his credit, he took what we gave him and he never tried to shut the door and run away or anything, and for that, we definitely had more respect…for him. The sitter never showed her face, although we knew she was close by and could hear us yelling.
Listening to his explanations we came to the conclusion that she got in over her head and didn’t know how to get out. He kept saying that there had been problems with our kids the whole time, but she just didn’t want to bring it up to us…does that sound right to any of you? Give me a break! He didn’t understand why we kept saying how convenient it was that now they were trying to say that our kids were the problem…who would not bring that up to the parents if that were true???
I never try to claim that my kids are perfect. But we’ve had a couple sitters and of course nighttime babysitters and friends watch them, and we have NEVER heard anything like this. So I’m inclined to think that this family is completely insane, and like I said, she just got very overwhelmed with the number of kids and didn’t know how to “quit.” Someone also brought up to me that maybe her kids (and maybe even her) were jealous of us…my daughter was definitely more advanced than her daughter that was just two days younger than my daughter, and my daughter wrote about as well as her first grader, so maybe there’s some truth to that as well.
In the end, we got our venting out and hubby and sitter’s hubby shook hands and we left. We definitely felt better and I left there not wanting to set fire to their house as I had wanted to when we arrived (just kidding…sort of).
All I know is that we’re done. I never want to see them again. I never want to drive over by their house again. I never want to hear their names again!
We did have an interview with a nanny last night. She has teenage kids of her own, and she would come to our house to watch the kids. The one downside to having a nanny is that the kids don’t get any outside social interaction. She is very open to taking them to story time and stuff like that, so maybe it would work out. We have another interview with another nanny tonight, so we’ll see how that goes.
Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement…you have no idea how nice it is to see an e-mail pop up when I’m knee-deep in work and read your support…THANK YOU!!!
But as we were picking our stuff up, her husband opened the door. Ohhhh, I was so ready! I started by pointing out that neither of the two care bears were anything like the one that his daughter ruined. He told me that his wife had bought two, and included the receipt, so that we could return them if we wanted. I made the comment that I shouldn’t have to be the one to do that. Then he made this statement “it didn’t have to be like this.” WHAT??? So hubby and I lit into him. He of course defended his wife, but to his credit, he took what we gave him and he never tried to shut the door and run away or anything, and for that, we definitely had more respect…for him. The sitter never showed her face, although we knew she was close by and could hear us yelling.
Listening to his explanations we came to the conclusion that she got in over her head and didn’t know how to get out. He kept saying that there had been problems with our kids the whole time, but she just didn’t want to bring it up to us…does that sound right to any of you? Give me a break! He didn’t understand why we kept saying how convenient it was that now they were trying to say that our kids were the problem…who would not bring that up to the parents if that were true???
I never try to claim that my kids are perfect. But we’ve had a couple sitters and of course nighttime babysitters and friends watch them, and we have NEVER heard anything like this. So I’m inclined to think that this family is completely insane, and like I said, she just got very overwhelmed with the number of kids and didn’t know how to “quit.” Someone also brought up to me that maybe her kids (and maybe even her) were jealous of us…my daughter was definitely more advanced than her daughter that was just two days younger than my daughter, and my daughter wrote about as well as her first grader, so maybe there’s some truth to that as well.
In the end, we got our venting out and hubby and sitter’s hubby shook hands and we left. We definitely felt better and I left there not wanting to set fire to their house as I had wanted to when we arrived (just kidding…sort of).
All I know is that we’re done. I never want to see them again. I never want to drive over by their house again. I never want to hear their names again!
We did have an interview with a nanny last night. She has teenage kids of her own, and she would come to our house to watch the kids. The one downside to having a nanny is that the kids don’t get any outside social interaction. She is very open to taking them to story time and stuff like that, so maybe it would work out. We have another interview with another nanny tonight, so we’ll see how that goes.
Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement…you have no idea how nice it is to see an e-mail pop up when I’m knee-deep in work and read your support…THANK YOU!!!
Monday, February 11, 2008
I Just Want It To Be Fixed
I don’t even know where to begin today. I have a huge knot in my stomach that will not go away, no matter what I do. We all know I have stress at work…it will be with me for another month. But this childcare thing is really pushing me over the edge. I know in my head that it’s out of my control, and everything will work out…but my body isn’t listening…and I’m not sleeping well, and my stomach is upset, and I just feel like crap.
My kids were at my parents’ this weekend. They wanted to give hubby and me some time together and give me time to rest so that hopefully I can get better. Hubby and I had FANTASTIC weekend! We watched a movie, we went t a really nice restaurant for dinner…we just hung out with each other and had a blast!
When the kids came home yesterday I was unpacking their stuff and I looked at my daughter’s Care Bear…there was writing on it! My kids know that you only write on paper. I asked my daughter about it and she said that the sitter’s daughter did it. When I really looked at it I realized it said “I Hate (insert my daughter’s name here).” To say hubby and I were furious would be an understatement.
Thankfully, I have great parents that rearrange their schedules for us (even though I kept telling them they didn’t have to). My dad ran his errands last night and we went to church and then he packed the kids back up and took them back to his house. It was really hard…I hadn’t seen them in a couple days and now they were leaving again. But hubby and I knew we had to…they could never go back to that sitter again. I really pray that this week we can find someone who will be perfect for the kids…and for us…so that we can get back to our normal lives.
I told the sitter that we needed to talk to her about something and that we would be over tonight to get our stuff and discuss something with her (I called her and told her this). She sent me an e-mail saying that she knew about the Care Bear, and there wasn’t really anything to talk about – our stuff would be on her front porch and we shouldn’t contact them again. Her excuse was that her kids had a really hard time adapting to having to share her, so they act out. First of all, she should have anticipated that, and second of all, it’s called discipline!
I can’t even describe how I’m feeling right now…how can two people trick you into thinking they are the nicest people ever? How on earth did hubby and I not see this??? It just really makes me mad…how can people act this way? I know I’m not biased…I’ve had a bunch of people tell me what great and easy-going kids I have…so I know it’s not my kids (because if it was, I would deal with it).
We have an interview tonight and hopefully we’ll get some more set up for this week. I just really want my kids to come home and I want the knot in my stomach to go away.
My kids were at my parents’ this weekend. They wanted to give hubby and me some time together and give me time to rest so that hopefully I can get better. Hubby and I had FANTASTIC weekend! We watched a movie, we went t a really nice restaurant for dinner…we just hung out with each other and had a blast!
When the kids came home yesterday I was unpacking their stuff and I looked at my daughter’s Care Bear…there was writing on it! My kids know that you only write on paper. I asked my daughter about it and she said that the sitter’s daughter did it. When I really looked at it I realized it said “I Hate (insert my daughter’s name here).” To say hubby and I were furious would be an understatement.
Thankfully, I have great parents that rearrange their schedules for us (even though I kept telling them they didn’t have to). My dad ran his errands last night and we went to church and then he packed the kids back up and took them back to his house. It was really hard…I hadn’t seen them in a couple days and now they were leaving again. But hubby and I knew we had to…they could never go back to that sitter again. I really pray that this week we can find someone who will be perfect for the kids…and for us…so that we can get back to our normal lives.
I told the sitter that we needed to talk to her about something and that we would be over tonight to get our stuff and discuss something with her (I called her and told her this). She sent me an e-mail saying that she knew about the Care Bear, and there wasn’t really anything to talk about – our stuff would be on her front porch and we shouldn’t contact them again. Her excuse was that her kids had a really hard time adapting to having to share her, so they act out. First of all, she should have anticipated that, and second of all, it’s called discipline!
I can’t even describe how I’m feeling right now…how can two people trick you into thinking they are the nicest people ever? How on earth did hubby and I not see this??? It just really makes me mad…how can people act this way? I know I’m not biased…I’ve had a bunch of people tell me what great and easy-going kids I have…so I know it’s not my kids (because if it was, I would deal with it).
We have an interview tonight and hopefully we’ll get some more set up for this week. I just really want my kids to come home and I want the knot in my stomach to go away.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Not Again....
So we have to find a new sitter again. I don’t even have the energy to describe the past couple of days, but just know my body is about ready to quit on me.
Basically our current sitter doesn’t feel that watching our kids is a huge priority, and if she wants to take some time off she’s going to…even if it puts us in a huge bind (she e-mailed me Monday and told me that she can’t watch the kids next Thursday, Friday, the following Monday or Tuesday because her mom’s coming into town…on top of 3 weeks she had already told me she couldn’t watch the kids, and that was just through July!). We beat this issue to death when we met with her and her husband…we kept emphasizing that we had to have someone dependable and that realized this was a job, with responsibilities.
She also told me that she felt that we didn’t trust her. This shocked me as I have never had that feeling, and when I questioned her about it, she said it was because I brought up an issue with her about my kids being bitten by another child that was in her care. And then, hold on to your seats…she told me the “not being trusted feeling” began when we asked her if we could do a background check on her. I was stunned. She was honestly offended by this! I asked her if it would be OK if her kids went to school and they didn’t background check any of the teachers, and of course she said “no,” but I guess this situation is different.
And then you know what she told me? “You get what you pay for.” Her rates are lower than our previous sitters, but they were set by her, and we tried to give her food and extra money every now and then…but to tell me that…I was so mad. She told me that she set lower rates because she didn’t want to have to do as much. The whole time I just kept telling her that these were things that should have been told to us when we first met!
I’m honestly in shock because I didn’t see any of this coming. Seriously, when you meet this family you think they are the nicest people ever, but at one point in our conversation she made the reference that I was “farming my kids out” and I was livid.
I’m glad we will get my kids out of there…her kids are kind of mean. Her oldest daughter stepped on my daughter’s face (she was punished) and her daughter that is my daughter’s age tells my kids they are stupid and to shut up all the time…not what I want my kids hearing all the time. And lately my daughter has told me that the sitter is on the computer all day and makes her kids get things for her. So after we were hearing all of this we had decided we would start looking again anyway…I just didn’t need to start doing it this week.
So one more stressor in my life…I really don’t know how much more I can take.
Basically our current sitter doesn’t feel that watching our kids is a huge priority, and if she wants to take some time off she’s going to…even if it puts us in a huge bind (she e-mailed me Monday and told me that she can’t watch the kids next Thursday, Friday, the following Monday or Tuesday because her mom’s coming into town…on top of 3 weeks she had already told me she couldn’t watch the kids, and that was just through July!). We beat this issue to death when we met with her and her husband…we kept emphasizing that we had to have someone dependable and that realized this was a job, with responsibilities.
She also told me that she felt that we didn’t trust her. This shocked me as I have never had that feeling, and when I questioned her about it, she said it was because I brought up an issue with her about my kids being bitten by another child that was in her care. And then, hold on to your seats…she told me the “not being trusted feeling” began when we asked her if we could do a background check on her. I was stunned. She was honestly offended by this! I asked her if it would be OK if her kids went to school and they didn’t background check any of the teachers, and of course she said “no,” but I guess this situation is different.
And then you know what she told me? “You get what you pay for.” Her rates are lower than our previous sitters, but they were set by her, and we tried to give her food and extra money every now and then…but to tell me that…I was so mad. She told me that she set lower rates because she didn’t want to have to do as much. The whole time I just kept telling her that these were things that should have been told to us when we first met!
I’m honestly in shock because I didn’t see any of this coming. Seriously, when you meet this family you think they are the nicest people ever, but at one point in our conversation she made the reference that I was “farming my kids out” and I was livid.
I’m glad we will get my kids out of there…her kids are kind of mean. Her oldest daughter stepped on my daughter’s face (she was punished) and her daughter that is my daughter’s age tells my kids they are stupid and to shut up all the time…not what I want my kids hearing all the time. And lately my daughter has told me that the sitter is on the computer all day and makes her kids get things for her. So after we were hearing all of this we had decided we would start looking again anyway…I just didn’t need to start doing it this week.
So one more stressor in my life…I really don’t know how much more I can take.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Mommyca tagged me for the following meme:
Here are the rules:
-Link to the person who tagged you.
-Leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours.
-Post the rules on your blog.
-Share the seven (7) most famous or infamous people you have met. Or go with the original 7 weird things about yourself.
-Tag 7 random people at the end of your post.
-Include links to their blogs
-Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
So I definitely will be doing the 7 weird things because I do not know anyone famous :(
-I very rarely make the same recipe twice. Even if we love it, I’m always on the hunt for new great things that I hate making the same thing twice. It makes hubby really mad because if he likes something, he wants it again and again.
-I really don’t like leftovers. It stems back from when my mom would make one huge meal and we would have it for dinner the next night and the next night and the next night.
-I am a night person. I hate mornings. It is so hard for me to get up in the morning, but no matter how tired I’ve been all day, I can stay up really late and get a ton of stuff done. Hubby is the exact opposite. He’s up at 5:15 every morning and usually crashes by 9:30.
-I secretly kind of like grocery shopping, but only if I’m not alone. I have to either go as a whole family or take the kids because I tend to talk to myself if I don’t :)
-I always have to have something to drink. Lately I’ve been really good about drinking a bunch of water…but no matter what it is, I always have to have a drink on my desk.
-I like to write with lots of different colored pens. In school each day of notes had to be in a different color of ink, and now at work I always have tons of colors to use.
-I am always cold. My heater runs in my office all day long and I still get cold. My sisters are just like me and we have no idea why. We always have to bring a jacket with us whenever we go to eat anywhere and because of this I HATE WINTER!
So there you have it. Nothing too off the wall…I think I’m pretty normal :)
I'm still too sick to really think straight, so I'm not tagging anyone...but if you feel like doing it, feel free!!!
Here are the rules:
-Link to the person who tagged you.
-Leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours.
-Post the rules on your blog.
-Share the seven (7) most famous or infamous people you have met. Or go with the original 7 weird things about yourself.
-Tag 7 random people at the end of your post.
-Include links to their blogs
-Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
So I definitely will be doing the 7 weird things because I do not know anyone famous :(
-I very rarely make the same recipe twice. Even if we love it, I’m always on the hunt for new great things that I hate making the same thing twice. It makes hubby really mad because if he likes something, he wants it again and again.
-I really don’t like leftovers. It stems back from when my mom would make one huge meal and we would have it for dinner the next night and the next night and the next night.
-I am a night person. I hate mornings. It is so hard for me to get up in the morning, but no matter how tired I’ve been all day, I can stay up really late and get a ton of stuff done. Hubby is the exact opposite. He’s up at 5:15 every morning and usually crashes by 9:30.
-I secretly kind of like grocery shopping, but only if I’m not alone. I have to either go as a whole family or take the kids because I tend to talk to myself if I don’t :)
-I always have to have something to drink. Lately I’ve been really good about drinking a bunch of water…but no matter what it is, I always have to have a drink on my desk.
-I like to write with lots of different colored pens. In school each day of notes had to be in a different color of ink, and now at work I always have tons of colors to use.
-I am always cold. My heater runs in my office all day long and I still get cold. My sisters are just like me and we have no idea why. We always have to bring a jacket with us whenever we go to eat anywhere and because of this I HATE WINTER!
So there you have it. Nothing too off the wall…I think I’m pretty normal :)
I'm still too sick to really think straight, so I'm not tagging anyone...but if you feel like doing it, feel free!!!
Monday, February 04, 2008
What a Weekend...
This weekend hubby was away on a “guy” weekend so it was just the kids and I. I was really, really looking forward to spending time with them and doing some fun things as well as just hanging out at home.
Unfortunately that is not what happened because I got hit with some bug that landed me in my bed almost the entire weekend. I have seriously never felt so helpless and lonely as I did this weekend. The kids desperately wanted me to play with them, but my head and body hurt so badly I could hardly move. My parents were busy and couldn’t come up (although I’m sure if I flat out asked them to come and get the kids they would have, but I know they were super busy grading exams, so I didn’t). I totally empathize with stay-at-home moms when they get sick…there’s no one to help you! Normally if I’m sick the kids still go to the sitter’s and I stay home and get better. Or if it’s a weekend, hubby’s there to take care of the kids. But not this time.
Saturday I played with them as much as I could - we played house, and painted and played with play-doh, and then after naps we had to run to the grocery store as we were out of essentials, and then we got some Chinese food for dinner. Sunday when I woke up I couldn’t move. I seriously couldn’t get out of bed. Getting the kids breakfast took every ounce of energy I had. Thankfully my sister-in-law just happened to call and when she heard I was sick they came over and got the kids. They were supposed to take both of them, but at the last minute my son started crying and saying he wanted to stay with me, so he and I went up to my bed and watched TV and took a nap while my daughter went with her cousin to Chuck E. Cheese’s. Hubby came home around 3:00 and took over, thankfully.
As I read this it doesn’t even make a lot of sense…sorry. It’s taking everything I have to sit here at my desk today. I really shouldn’t be here, but as I said over and over again, I’m slammed, and we have to send our first draft out this Friday and it’s no where near ready.
So please think of me, and say a little prayer that I feel better, because right now I think getting hit by a car would feel better than I feel right now.
Unfortunately that is not what happened because I got hit with some bug that landed me in my bed almost the entire weekend. I have seriously never felt so helpless and lonely as I did this weekend. The kids desperately wanted me to play with them, but my head and body hurt so badly I could hardly move. My parents were busy and couldn’t come up (although I’m sure if I flat out asked them to come and get the kids they would have, but I know they were super busy grading exams, so I didn’t). I totally empathize with stay-at-home moms when they get sick…there’s no one to help you! Normally if I’m sick the kids still go to the sitter’s and I stay home and get better. Or if it’s a weekend, hubby’s there to take care of the kids. But not this time.
Saturday I played with them as much as I could - we played house, and painted and played with play-doh, and then after naps we had to run to the grocery store as we were out of essentials, and then we got some Chinese food for dinner. Sunday when I woke up I couldn’t move. I seriously couldn’t get out of bed. Getting the kids breakfast took every ounce of energy I had. Thankfully my sister-in-law just happened to call and when she heard I was sick they came over and got the kids. They were supposed to take both of them, but at the last minute my son started crying and saying he wanted to stay with me, so he and I went up to my bed and watched TV and took a nap while my daughter went with her cousin to Chuck E. Cheese’s. Hubby came home around 3:00 and took over, thankfully.
As I read this it doesn’t even make a lot of sense…sorry. It’s taking everything I have to sit here at my desk today. I really shouldn’t be here, but as I said over and over again, I’m slammed, and we have to send our first draft out this Friday and it’s no where near ready.
So please think of me, and say a little prayer that I feel better, because right now I think getting hit by a car would feel better than I feel right now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
