Little Stinker!

Today as I am finally folding up and putting away the last two weeks worth of Brighton's laundry (yes, he has a lot of clothes), Brighton all of a sudden thought it would be really fun to reach over the laundry basket and start picking out the hangers. Ok, so after about 20 minutes of this I dumped all the hangers on the floor for him to play with. Of course, that wasn't the fun part mom, DUH! So he then started reaching back into the basket and grabbing the clothes I'd just folded up. He got one sweatshirt, I thought "ok, he won't be able to reach the others". HA! He proceeded to pull out every single shirt I'd folded up then went after the jammies. I tell ya...It was pretty cute though. Finally he's sleeping so I thought I'd add this little ditty then finish unloading the dishes. Have a great week everyone!

My Little Bright Man

Nothing more in particular to write about Mr. Bright Boy. Just that he'll have two new cousins this year. One in July (22) and one in October. He'll be the Big Cousin! His pictures were done today but we haven't gotten a chance to get over and get them. I hope they're still OK since it's raining out. I just got home about an hour or so ago and can't sleep. And my phone died and I forgot to tell Andrew to pick them up. They turned out pretty cute. Though the three month photos are still by far my favorite.
Click on the photo or click here to visit his website.

Brighton with his gourd drum

Picture Day!

Today is picture day. Actually, it's make up picture day. We were supposed to have pics taken on Friday, but I made the mistake of running around and was running late and was all harried and crazy so we rescheduled. Today was supposed to be better, but so far, we're running late. We will make it though. Brighton is napping, I'm eating lunch, and will jump in the shower as soon as I'm done.

We went to visit a potential day care provider today. She's very sweet, has a 6 month old herself, and is 5 months pregnant. Crazy? Naw. Between them, they have 6 kids, and the one on the way. So they love kids, and have raised enough! The only thing that worried me is that they moved into this house, which was in the middle of being renovated, basically, it was just gutted. So they have few rooms that are finished, but the living room has just been finished, but it's totally unsafe for a crawler at this point. I did mention that to her, but the kids wouldn't be there yet. So I still might check out a couple other places in North LIberty/Coralville area that my Aunt Sally told me about. And this week, he's going to Carrie's again just to give Amy some time (if we do decide to go with her) to get ready. Anyway, I'm done with lunch, so I better be off. Enjoy the pictures I took this morning of my little man.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

I was kindof hoping today would be warmer so Bright and I could go to the parade. We still might go but we'll see. The sun looks like it's trying to come out. I would like to get some corned beef and cabbage for lunch for Andrew and I. I've never even had corned beef and cabbage. What kind of an Irish Lass am I anyway? Maybe it's not a good idea since Brighton has his 9 monht photos tonight at 4 PM. Speaking of which, I have no clue what he's going to wear, what props we're going to use, nothing! I'm totally unprepared this time around. My hair is purple...YES purple!!!

Brighton hasn't missed his old daycare. Tuesday he had a great time at his cousin Carrie's with his fifth or sixth cousin Connor who is only about three weeks older than Brighton, but is almost twice as big and is walking!!! Then yesterday, he went to my friend Jennifer's house in North Liberty and her daughter Rachel watched him all day while I was at work. She did a great job, but Mr. Brighton hasn't been wanting to sleep during the day lately. I think his teeth are bothering him, so we'll keep the tylenol handy today.

Well, little mister is on my lap and making it very difficult to type so I'm going to wrap this up. Happy st. patty's day!

The Weekender

Well, it's Sunday and we're relaxing at home. Bright is asleep in his bed and I'm sitting here waiting stiff-necked processing my hair color which I HOPE is not going to end up bright purple. It's supposed to be "deep mahogony black" but it looks more like a really dark brown with some burgandy highlights. I had to have Andrew help me (yes, I was desperate) because the last time I colored my hair by myself, I ended up not getting enough in the back. I had great color on either side, but the back was about three shades lighter than the front...
20 minutes later...
Well, we're done processing and all rinsed out. Not dry yet as I'm still a bit afraid. The water ran awfully purple. Oh well. I'm sure I've had worse color.

The Continuing Day Care Saga:
Friday, I was still seething and obsessing about this whole thing. The more I thought about all the stupid things she said, and the more I realized that she thought she "really stuck it to me" the more I wanted to call her up and chew her out all over again but this time it was MY turn to talk. But I restrained myself and didn't do that just because 1. I need to just get over it, why do I care what that ignorant POS thinks? and 2. Karma - nuff said. Besides, I called 4C's and started a paper trail on her and I tried to call DHS but had the wrong number written down. So I'll call them tomorrow. I want to make sure that she's licensed like she implies. According to 4C's (a child care referral service) she is not registered in their database. I asked if she was licensed if she would be in there, and they said "yes, if she's licensed, she'd be in this database". Hmmmm. Interesting. She also spouts off about how wonderful she is and how all of her kids go to school with manners and yada yada yada. And how the secretary at Mt. Vernon school just raves about how wonderful her day care is. Well, I thought about writing a nice little letter to the secretary telling her that sticky vicki shouldn't be taking the credit for all the work that Rita does. See how she likes that bee in her bonnet. She certainly chose the WRONG mommy to deal with. And she thinks she really told me. HA!

Babes up, gotta go.

Mom has been KICKED OUT OF DAYCARE! (VERY LONG)

Imagine a group of moms wearing babies in slings and breastfeeding their happy babies. Hair a mess, no makeup, wearing the same clothes they wore yesterday. They're sitting around a untilitarian room in a circle looking desperate and exhausted, but with great love in their faces for their children. "Hi, my name is Marcy, and I'm a concerned parent." Everyone replies "Hi Marcy". The head mom softly and kindly says "Welcome, Marcy. We're glad you're here and we're glad that you have recognized that you have a problem."

WHAT?!

My husband, Andrew calls me while on my way home and asks if I told my day care provider that I was taking Brighton elsewhere the week after next. "No, not yet...why?" (The following is my version, though it did happen, this is what I envisioned while my husband was telling me...) Well, my sweet, unsuspecting husband walked into a firestorm of anger from our provider. "Take your shoes off! Here are all of Brighton's things, I'm not doing part time day care anymore, I'm too old for this!" She packed up everything that we had brought for Brighton, food (that usually stays there), all of his toys etc. (Though, she conveniently forgot his diapers and a couple other things that are really handy to have at day care...) and hastily shoved them into my husband's arms, and out the door went my sweet, completely dumbfounded boys.

ROAR! Now Mom is pi$$ed. Not just upset, not just angry. I'm talking mama bear ticked off.

Before I go on...

Let me begin at the beginning. I'm a new mom, a fresh 5 or 6 months new. Bright has been with me, my mother in law, and one of my best friends. So I've sailed through the beginning to work and leaving my baby stage. Next is the home daycare. So I get a referral to this woman and I call. During the day. At around 1:00. She's gone. (red flag, but I brush it off since after all it was a doctor appointment and I can understand having to run once in a while to go to the doctor). I call back again, not sure of the time and make an "appointment" to come in at 3:30 on such and such day. Then I'm running early, so I call to let them know I'm coming early, probably around 2 ish. "She's not here..." WHAT? Ok, another red flag. So I call the girl who referred me to her and ask her. ME: "Is she gone every day?" FRIEND: "No, I don't think so. She just had a hysterectomy so she is having a lot of Dr. appointments." ME: "Oh, I see." I brush if off again. Then to make a very long story short, this continues to happen over and over again. Brighton gets his first major illness, the stomach flu, and I freak. So I call her and chew her out. Then I realize I was a big boob and she can't control when kids get sick, so I call back and aplogize profusely. She reassures me that it's OK, and she knows how new moms are. Then I start discovering that they've been giving my child finger foods without telling me (before he started them at home). I let that go. Then they decide when he's on solids that he no longer needs the breastmilk I send for him. I get upset, but I just tell them I'd like him to have milk while he's there. I let it go and assume they're doing what I ask. Either that or what is more likely, just telling me what I want to hear and dumping my precious breast milk down the drain when he won't drink it because they've just fed him a three course meal of solids. Then I find out they've been giving him juice. Which is a huge no no in my house. Not that juice is bad, I just don't want him drinking it while he's still drinking breastmilk. What would you choose? A soda pop or milk? Yeah, you see my point. I tell her I DON'T want him drinking anything but milk or water. Period. I don't give a rat's rear if she is diluting it. Then Bright gets RSV and Rotavirus, but I don't blame even though I have my suspicions because he'd been sick almost every week that he started going there.

Back to the present, Yesterday

I called her house and we had a pleasantly loud conversation where she started out telling me that she doesn't want to do day care for part timers anymore. Then she said she didn't want to do infants anymore. Then she told me that she couldn't count on us because Brighton is always sick, and he must have a weak immune system because anything that is going around he gets. (hmmmmm...) Then she says it's just not worth it for 25.00 a week or 50.00 a week. After I ask her if she's trying to tell me that there is something wrong with my son (at this point, my hackles are up, my claws are out, and I can feel the veins in my neck and head popping out and my heart beating out of my chest in Saturday morning cartoon style.) Eventually, she tells me that she is sick of sanitizing everything (HUH!?) and trying to keep the other children from playing with the same toys. THEN she tells me that I call "ALL THE TIME" and it disrupts their day and that the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was when I asked the other day care provider (henceforth referred to as DS2) there if she was gone a lot. And that pi$$ed her off. Ok, that's it. I had been being fairly cooperative at this point. I proceeded to attempt (with many interruptions) to tell her that I wanted to know an honest answer as to whether she was gone every day, because EVERY TIME I call, she is gone and the other day care provider is left with all the children. And that makes me uncomfortable. (In your world, what time is lunch time? 11-1? yeah mine too) . She explained that away by telling me that when DS2 lays the kids down for their naps, DS1 is "outta there". OUTTA THERE? WHAT? WHAT THE HELL AM I PAYING HER FOR?!?!?!?!? To leave some one who is "less qualified" (her quote not mine) to take care of how many umpteen kids by herself during LUNCH!? But that's when they were supposed to be napping!

Moving on...

As we continue to talk for the next 45 minutes, we continue to hammer out what we both don't like about one another. She incinuates that my care for my child is going to ruin my marriage, that I am going to run everyone ragged because I care too much about my child's well being, and that I shouldn't call oh, once a week or so (which is what I usually called - except for maybe the first week) to check on my child because it messes them up. AND she says that when Brighton is sick, and because I don't take him, it messes up their "routine". So, am I supposed to bring him when he has 1. the stomach flu (which he got there) 2. RSV which I suspect he got there, and 3. Rotavirus (which I suspect he got there too)? Just so his routine isn't messed up? On top of all of this, I can tell when there's another mom there and her demeanor get's softer. Then I can tell when the other mom leaves because WOW she explodes again. (See what I'm getting at?). Wow, if I would have known just how volitile this woman was, I would NEVER EVER EVER have taken him there.

So now that I've ranted and raged about this, I guess I have some serious thinking to do about just how much I should care about the welfare of my child when in a setting that I'm not familiar with. (that was sarcasm). If nothing else, thanks to my best girlfriend, Jill, and my husband Andrew, I am more confident that this was a GOOD THING to get him out of there and that as parents, Andrew and I have EVERY RIGHT to call or stop in to the daycare where my child is being taken care of. I have EVERY RIGHT to be concerned that he is not getting appropriate attention because one person is being stretched too thin. I have EVERY RIGHT to ask, to insist, that the person or persons that I am paying, even if it is "only 25 - 50.00 a week, to respect my wishes as a parent regarding anything that enters my child's mouth. I have EVERY RIGHT to be concerned when every week that my child is in someone's care that he doesn't get exposed to serious and scary and nasty "bugs" unnecessarily and uncommonly frequently. Period.

Sigh...I'm going to go kiss and snuggle with my sleeping baby and be glad that I get a fresh start.

Vomit, Cupid, Donner...no wait....

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, OR STOMACH

OH MY GOD! You have NO idea how much vomit and poop I have seen today, and yesterday, and the night before that...I am SO SICK OF VOMIT! Brighton has (we suspect) rotavirus. YUCK YUCK YUCK! I can't imagine having more than one child with this horrible virus. We took Brighton into the hospital this morning to make sure he wasn't dehydrated, which he was a little, but not enough to keep him there. They sent us home with pedialyte (which they charged WAY too much for and he won't even drink) and a prescrip for suppositories. I've never given a suppository, never in a million years thought I would give one, but as a mom, I've done a lot of things I thought I'd never do...like give birth for starters. And naturally, immeditely after I gave him his suppository for nausea, he proceeded to VOMIT all over. So Andrew and I in a most interesting and disgusting balancing act, took the baby, the changing pad and the vomit (which by now was all over him and he thought the feeling of it between his fingers was interesting...) into the bathroom where I sat him in the tub and proceeded to hose him down with warm water.

YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK!

I can't wait until the month is over so that we can be out of this viral season. Of course, there's going to be something else I'm sure, but I don't know how much more I can take. Can't I just keep him in a bubble? The doctor's reassure me (is that what you call it?) that "this too shall pass" and if it wasn't now it would be later when he is in school. But not much reassures a mom with a baby who just vomited on her shirt...