I Do NOT Heart Mondays

4 infants screaming their heads off for most of the day. Why? Because they were home with moms who held them 24-7 all weekend. Why? Guilt - Because they worked 50 hours the rest of the week and left them in daycare.

Lucky me!

Easter Eggs

Did you know about this? Did you know about these "easter eggs" that are hidden on dvds? I did not. I guess because I run my business out of my home and work with children, I'm not as well educated in such wordly things as this. Anyhoo... go ahead, go to Google and type in "easter eggs dvd"... you'll find tons of sites with lists of dvds that have these hidden extras on them and how to find them. It's cool!

Thanks Rob!

Organic Shopping

I really wanted to get to Trader Joe's today, but we ran out of time. So, I was left to look for organic food at Walmart and Marsh. I actually thought Marsh would have a better selection, but I'm thinking that maybe Kroger has more than they do.

So this is what I picked up today...
Organic spaghetti and organic spaghetti sauce, organic milk, cage free brown eggs, some veggies, Annie's organic "All Stars" and "Bernie O's" (which is basically just like Spaghetti O's, but yep, you guess it, ORGANIC). I am really liking the Annie's stuff. I have been getting alot of their snack things for the daycare kids and my own kids. We tried the "Chocolate Chip Bunnies" (like teddy grahams) and they're real good. Today I got some "Cheddar Bunnies" and they're good too. I also have some of the boxed mac and cheese things to try. I found organic chocolate chip granola bars. I got some Kashi "Honey Almond Flax" granola bars last week, but haven't tried them yet. I LOVE Kashi food - especially the "Heart to Heart" cereal. It is so good! Sometimes I just eat it plain as a snack during the day. We also have the "Mighty Bites" cereal for kids and it's real good also. Their "Natural Ranch" TLC Crackers are devine! I could eat the whole box! I can't wait to try more of their stuff. I had to get another box of veggie burgers. I could eat those every day. Oh and we found organic oreos. Of course they're not as good as the real thing. I'm not going to lie. But they taste ok, and knowing they are healthier is worth it to me. Plus, when you dip them in milk, they are pretty similar... just not as sweet. I also picked up some oganic mashed potatoes with broccoli and garlic. I will probably have that for lunch sometime this week. And I found some organic apple cinnamon poptarts. I'm having a hard time finding good organic juice. I'll continue to look for that and let you know if I find anything. I know Organic Valley Farms has some good juice, I just can't find it anywhere. They're suppose to be in the Marsh supermarkets, but they didn't have any in the store I was in today. Guess I'll keep looking.

Of course my grocery bill was much higher than normal, but in my opinion it's worth it. You either pay now, or later with your health. I know I'm certainly not the poster child for healthly eating, but I'm trying little by little. I just wish I would have started earlier when my kids were younger. It's hard convincing them that this organic stuff is really better than the sugar/chemical-filled-manufactured-in-a-lab junk they've known all their lives. But it's never to late to start, right!

Happy Healthy Eating!

Guess I Missed Happy Hour

To the new mom who came in 20 minutes LATE tonight to get her baby:

Just to let you know - for future reference... I have a heightened sense of smell. I've had it for some time now. It was brought on by many ex boyfriends lying to me about the fact that they ALL were alcoholics. They were amazed by my smelling ability because they had all tried brushing their teeth 20 times, eating tins of Altoids, and drinking Listerine by the pint - only to get busted by my awesome sensory skills. The fact remains, I can smell booze a mile a way. So to you dear mommy... Just to let ya know...
Taking a shower in skanky perfume on the way to my house does not cover up the fact that you obviously got off work early and went out for drinks. But it's nice to know early on in our daycare relationship that you're the kind of mom who would rather be sitting in a smokey bar having drinks with your co-workers (who you see ALL week) than to make sure that you get to daycare to pick your child up on time. Especially since today was only the second day of your child being in daycare. I guess you're a free woman now. You've spent enough time chained to your kid. I mean he IS four months old, your obligation should be lessened now. Because you have me!

Cheers!

About the T-Shirt

To the person who wanted to know where I got the t-shirt... walmart.

Anyway...
HEY! It's me... I'm back from the land of "no computer". I decided that I had to fork out the money on either- someone to fix mine or a new one. I figured it would be cheaper to have someone fix it. So... yesterday morning I got out my phone book and started looking. One advertisment jumped off the page at me so I called, and got voice mail. I decided not to leave a message and just go on to the next number. Well, just like every other moment of the last week, a baby decided to cry, so I stopped looking up numbers and went to tend to the baby. In the mean time, the guy whose number I called, called me back. We set up an appointment for that day and come to find out, he lives right down the street from me. I can literally see his house from mine. So he came over, got the computer and said he'd call me tomorrow (today). He called today and brought it back about 12:30. It's all fixed and working great!! Yippeee! And it only cost... well, we won't go there. But,he did knock off $10 because I paid him in cash and he had too much change. I told him I'd get him his $10 and he said not to worry about it. How nice. I was figuring out about how much this guy makes doing this computer fixin job and I almost asked him to marry me before he left today, but then I convinced myself he was much too young and decided to hold off. He's cute though!! If I were just about 10 yrs younger... Maybe I'll just stalk him since he lives so close. Anyway, I have a computer guy now! I will definately call him again should something go wrong. And if it does within 30 days, I get it fixed for free. (yay)

I know you're just beside yourself to hear all about what I've been up to lately, so here ya go:
Well, we did go to the Animal Planet Expo and it was fun. Got a good story about it too... We were in this part where the kids did different physical activities like rock climbing, and hanging off of bars... well, we were in line to let Taylor hang off the bars and all of a sudden this yuppie family comes walking up and gets in the front of the line. They had 3 boys, all bigger than my Taylor and I just knew that they would probably be able to hang on longer. (In this game, you were against 7 other kids and the last one to fall off the bars won a t-shirt) So anyway, we're standing there and I just looked at my mom like "what the heck?!" and my mom just rolled her eyes. I mean, we had been standing in line for quiet a while and I think they had 2 other games before we actually got up to the front so for them to just come waltzing up to the front of the line, kind of ticked me off. Well, to make a long story short, their kids were the first to fall off (ha ha) and my awesome son won a t-shirt! And I wanted to look at her perfect hair, perfect make-up and perfect "Nautica" outfit and say "Nana nana boo boo stick your head in doo doo!" but you know I try to act grown up in front of the kiddos. (sometimes) The only thing I was disappointed in was that I thought they would have more animals. Oh well, it was free so I can't complain too much. AND... my kids got their picture taken with a stand up of that girl on Animal Planet that's that animal cop chic. You know, the cool one with blonde hair that goes and busts people for not taking care of their pets. I can't wait to get the pictures back... they looked like they were really standing there with her.

Other than that, I've been busy with the daycare babies. I have a 10 month old who refuses to sleep (EVER!) and a couple of 3 & 4 month olds who are MORE than spoiled and expect to be held every minute of the day. Needless to say, there's a lot of screamin goin on around here during the day. So much so, I've missed The Young and the Restless all week. Anyone know what's happening? I need tivo!! Hey, you think that could be considered a "business expense"?

My biggest complaint/vent of the week... I have a daycare mom (who I found out accidentally from the receptionist at her work) that gets off work at 3:00 each day. When is her kid picked up? 5:30!! (and by her husband) Yes, it more than ticks me off. Mainly because her kid is the only kid that I have until 5:30 and she knows that up until they came, I closed at 5:00 every day. Plus, all the rest of the kids are gone by 5:00, so I'm working a half hour longer than I need to. And why, because mom is young and lazy and is either out shopping or sitting at home.

I've been thinking about what I'm going to do. I could confront her and make it a big deal and tell her that I know she lied to me about her work hours and force HER to come and get her child by 4:00 each night and give her a little "talking to" about lying to your daycare provider like she needs, or I could say nothing and go with my plan... which is, to fill the child's spot with someone who can pick up by 5:00 and then give them notice and tell them that I'm sorry, but I've decided that 5:00 is going to have to be my closing time and that they'll need to find other daycare. Then when they say they will change their schedule to get their child at 5:00 (because they CAN), I'll tell them how even sorrier (is that a word?) I am because when they signed on they told me that 5:30 was the earliest he could be picked up, so unfortunately I went ahead and filled their spot thinking that they were telling me the truth when they said 5:30 was the earliest he could be picked up. Hmm, so sad! Hint: Don't lie to your daycare provider! I absolutely HATE that and frankly won't tolerate it. Especially when it cuts into my family time. She may not want to spend time with her kid, but I like to spend time with mine. OR, I could charge more for people who pick up after 5:00. That may work even better.

And, another vent... I had a new baby start today. His mom told me at the interview that she was chronically late all the time and I laughed and made a little joke out of it by saying that that could really be bad at pick-up time because I charge a dollar a minute for my late fee. (insert fake laughing here) Well, she was suppose to be here at 5:00... got here at 5:15. NOT real good on your first day!!

So, for all you people who think that daycare is such a easy sit-around-all-day-doing-nothing job... YA, I dare you to come and deal with the stress that I deal with daily!! I double DOG dare ya!!

2 Weeks Ago...

...is the last time I posted. Life has been hectic to say the least and my computer is about to have a date with a baseball bat. I have been working my booty off. And it's been a sick booty at that. Well, the "booty" hasn't been sick, but the lungs have. I have a nasty summer cold. I sound like a 50 yr old chain smoker and have spent most of my nights awake and watching infomercials. It hasn't been fun.

On the work front... I only have one opening left. Yippee! So excited! I don't think I've been this busy in years though. I have 3 infants under 4 months old and of course at that age they aren't on a schedule yet so it's really hard to get anything other than feedings, burpings and changings done. But I'm not complaining.

It's been HOT here and we're getting a nice storm as I write. I sure hope it cools things off. Tomorrow we're taking the boys to "Animal Planet Expo" in Indy and the event is outside, so I'm hoping for some nice weather. My oldest son is convinced we'll come home with another dog because the Indy Humane Society will be there with their adoptable animals... pray that I stay strong! The last thing we need is another dog. But it's hard when they're giving you their puppy dog eyes and wagging their tails (the dogs, not the kids), so who knows, we may end up with a new member of the family. Let's hope my mom can convince me otherwise.

Well, we're off to the video store and then to figure out something for dinner. We got chinese for lunch, so we'll probably make something here tonight. OR I'll be lazy and we'll order pizza. HEY! I'm allowed... I'm sick and I worked hard this week!!

Have a great weekend!

Another Week Finished

Whew! This week went by so slow.... even with the holiday and having a day off it seemed to just drag and drag and drag on.

I haven't done anything exciting. I'm in major pain today because I thought I'd be nice last night at about 9:00 pm and decided to mow the front lawn. My mom was going to do it this morning but I was sitting outside and thought "wow, it's such a nice cool breezy night, it would be much easier to do the lawn now than tomorrow in the heat!" So, I went in, got some tennis shoes on and started up the mower. Ok, the next time I think something like that, I hope the thought goes away, QUICKLY! Oh my gosh, every muscle in my body hurts. Especially my chest muscles from having to push the mower uphill. Advil is my friend today!

I had an interview this morning. Adorable baby. Nice mom. I think it would work out good. I should know by this weekend. The only draw back... the baby is 10 mos old and is still breastfed and according to mom, he won't take a bottle of any kind. Hmm, that could be a problem. I'm thinking... sippy cup time!

I have a new baby girl starting on Monday. She's only 9 weeks old. Cute as can be!

I have another interview on Monday morning. Wish me luck. Of course, this is for another infant. I think everyone on earth has had a baby in the last year! The Class of 2023 is going to be HUGE!!

I am so happy we keep getting calls and having interviews. The Lord is really taking care of us. I wasn't sure how things would go after my mom quit her job to come and work with me. It was a huge leap of faith, but it looks like we're not going to have any problems getting the amount of kids we need. (So far.) Of course that could change overnite. But, if the calls and interviews keep up, we'll be turning people away.

I don't have any big plans for the weekend. I think my mom and I (and the boys) are going to go over to their other house tomorrow to do some cleaning and yard work. I think I'll offer to clean INSIDE! No more yardwork for me! Not for a long time!

Have a great weekend!

Happy 4th!

Happy Birthday America! How old are we now? Hmm, I guess I'll have to give my kids some homework today and make them find out.

So... what are your plans for the day/night? It's pretty icky weatherwise here. Not raining right now, but did earlier this morning. It's still wet out and they're calling for more rain this evening. We may not see fireworks. Oh well, we've see them plenty of times before. Every year is the same. We'll go get our own little fireworks to do in the driveway, later today. If we don't get to go to the fireworks tonight, the kids will still have things to do another night. Our neighbors and a lot of other people in our subdivision have been setting off firecrackers and fireworks all week. The kids have already had quite a show just from their bedroom window each night. What cracks me up is when these people start letting off fireworks at 6:00 (when it's not even dark out), so you can hear them, but you can't see them. What's the point?

Anyway, we don't have any big plans. I have to work tomorrow, so it's just another night to me. Pretty boring around here.

Have a fun and safe 4th!

Debit Card Is Found...

...and it's back in it's safe little spot where it belongs.

I went to my bank this morning and they had had my card since Wednesday. Ummm, thanks for calling! Anyway, I did forget to get it at the ATM, and I guess the machine only gives you about 20 seconds to get it before it takes it, so the machine got it before the people behind me could get it. I'm going to have to be more careful next time.

I had to work this morning but only had my one infant from 7-noon so that was nice! I'm off now until Wednesday. I've been getting quite a few calls and I hope they all pan out. I have 2 interviews set up for this week. Both babies. I'm either getting calls for infants or pregnant women. It seems like everyone is having babies right now.

I took the kids to Dairy Queen for lunch and now they're out in the pool. I may go join them in a little bit. It is hot and humid here today so the water should feel good. And goodness knows, I really need to work on my tan. Or should I say I need to GET a tan. This is the first summer in a long time that I haven't been pretty dark by the 4th. Usually I've been tanning in a bed and outside some and have a real good tan by now. I guess my priorities were in a different place this year. Oh well, it happens.

I've been starting to look into what kind of curriculum we're going to use this year in our homeschooling. I'm so excited that we'll be able to go back to the co-op this year. I am hoping that I can talk my friend Kristy into coming too. I think she would like it and I know her kids would.

I am looking into a new math curriculum called 'ShillerMath'. Here's a link for all you homeschooling families:
http://www.shillermath.com/sm/home.php?src=index.htm
(I like the zero preparation time! lol) For spelling I'm thinking about 'Spelling Power'. You can get a free sample and catalog here: www.CAhomeschool.com/QW2 I haven't figured out the rest yet.

I got our 'Indiana Association of Home Educators' and the 'Home School Enrichment' magazines in the mail last week, so I've been looking through them to find out about different curriculums. I also found out in the Indiana magazine that they are having a "Home School Day" at our State Fair this year. So, I decided that I'm taking the boys. It's on a Friday so I have already let my daycare parents know that I'll be closed that day. I think most of the public and private schools will be back in session by then, so hopefully it will mostly homeschoolers and not too crowded.

We're also going to go to the "Animal Planet Expo" when it comes to Indy this month. Taylor is always watching Animal Planet and fortunately it's on a Saturday so we can go. I think the kids will have lots of fun since they both love animals.

Well, I'm off to look at more curriculums and hopefully make it outside before we get our "forecasted" storm. It's sunny and beautiful right now, but we're suppose to get bad storms later today. And of course, tomorrow night during the fireworks it's suppose to be pouring. I guess we'll see.

Anyone Seen A Debit Card?

I realized at the Walmart check-out yesterday, that I've lost mine.

And I'm pretty sure I know where.

Wednesday, being the nice mom that I am, I took the kids to a movie. Well, we thought it started at 1:45, but decided to check online to make sure the paper was right. It wasn't. The movie started at 1:30 and at this time it was already 1:05, it takes about 25-30 minutes to get to the theater, and I still needed to go thru the ATM because this theater take cash only. (Get with the times people!!) Anyway, my dad had the day off and overheard our conversation, so he gave me $40 and told me just to pay him back whenever. Of course, once again, dad saved the day. So we hurry along to our movie and get there in plenty of time (just in time to see the stupid 10 minute cartoon they play before Cars).
So we get back into town and I decided to go to the ATM and get some money to pay him back so I wouldn't forget. So, I'm punching in my pin number, punching in the amount I want, etc... and a car pulls up behind us kind of fast. So, me being me, I am hurrying to get done to let this person behind me go and I think because I was hurrying, I grabbed my receipt but forgot to grab my card. So... the person behind me must have my card. YIKES!!!

I'm just praying they are a nice person with a very strong conscience! And so far, so good. I checked my online banking site yesterday and they haven't used it (yet). I'm hoping they either threw it away or turned it back in to the bank.

OH, and of course I didn't realize any of this until AFTER I had made a nice sized deposit yesterday morning (at 11:50 - bank closes at noon, so I couldn't even call them after I found I had lost it - so I'm stuck until Monday.)

If these people AREN'T good people, they could have a pretty good holiday weekend. Let's hope they're good people! I mean, if I found a debit card I would be a good person and turn it in.

I'm sure I'll keep you updated. In the mean time, please pray they don't drain my account before Monday.

And NO, I'm not one of those stupid people who writes my pin number on the back of my card! They can't really get much, BUT... it is a Visa debit card so you can use it as credit too at many different places, including gas stations and online... Ohhh this could get ugly!