Day Care Week #1

So many thoughts. This week was amazing. It really did unlock some weird part of my energy-level that sucked the most out of every day. Every morning I woke up to the alarm (?!) and got myself ready first thing. Fed and dressed the baby and the two of us opened the drapes and the door to the day care room at 7:45. Stephan was in charge of getting Sawyer out of bed and ready for the day- a job I'll have starting next Thursday when he's in school full time.

BUT it's been amazing to have a segmented day- and a list of chores that get finished at specific times. About 20 minutes of meal/lunch/snack planning per week.... and another 20 minutes of project/song/art planning sets up the week to run on auto pilot. There have also been surprises!!

~ We found some bubbles. Day over.

~ Chalk is too messy for causal use.

~ My washing machine takes 40 minutes per load.

~ One art project, one large-motor activity, and one song is often TOO MUCH for a 9 hour day.

~ We eat something every 2 hours, which burns 30-45 minutes at a time.

~ Girls sit still. Often.

~ Someone else's kid is fascinating.

Some other things that have been surprises are not so great:
+ It's tough to wake up at work.
+ When there's no time for makeup I feel different.
+ Being 30 minutes late with a meal melts everyone down.
+ Three kids eat a LOT of fruit in 4 days.
+ I'm tired.

So it's good that it's Thursday night, the dishwasher is running, the laundry is working its magic, I've got an iced drink in front of me, and tomorrow I sleep in a little. In a few months we add one (and then two) infants. So it's good that we are getting the routine set up with the bigger kids now. All in all, daycare might be the best thing I never thought I needed. Some people get their energy from being in groups, or being alone... I think I might get mine from following a daily schedule.

Day Care Day #2

At some point last week I realized that I would be learning a lot from the kids I would be watching. Before our first official start, I learned that the children would NOT be spending the whole day in the "day care room." Little Girl (LG) took a complete tour of my house, dirty laundry and everything, within the first hour. Areas I had planned to be off limits (really, everywhere, so I didn't have to clean my house every day) were explored, and declared fit for playing in.

Lesson #2 was about scheduling. My pretend "9am art class, 10am snack time" turns out to be completely fluid, within a 20 minute grace period.

Lesson #3 is buy more coffee. We ran out this morning and my heart sank in a way I was not expecting.

Lesson #4, screen the art supplies before letting them near the kids. We accidentally played with non-washable markers today. LG's favorite color is purple. So..... the kid looks totally bruised across her hands and arms. Sigh. Her dad says it's no big deal. But the hand-print on my wall may disagree.

Lesson #5. Just keep moving. I'm not sure if I'll have the energy to maintain the schedule of the last two days, but as I sit here after 8pm on Thursday evening, 90% of my house is totally clean. Because, apparently, I can have my own kids crawling around on a dingy, dog-hair-matted kitchen floor, but the minute I see LG trailing a tuft of fur I freak out and vacuum the whole place.

I had assumed the "give the work to the busiest person" theory was going to kick in. Maybe it already has. Laundry is put away. Dishes all done. Fridge full of food. I love the routine I've set up for the boys and me to get the day started and ended. Actually, I just love routine. And maybe I've created the day care so everyone around me will finally have to bow to my master plan. All of you? In bed by 8. Daycare starts at 7:30am!!!

Resting vs Slacking

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the fight of the century!!

In this corner, weighing in at a perfect 22 BMI, lean, mean, fighting-machine.... It's a well-deserved break in the middle of a busy afternoon, a seat on the couch with a tall glass of water and a short trashy television program, a glass of wine at the end of a jam-packed day, a slow walk in the middle of a 5 mile run, a day in bed fighting off an incoming viral attack, it's.....

RESTING!!!!

And in this corner, edging right around the 24.8 BMI mark [just below "overweight], resembling, but not quite copying The Blerch... It's an extra serving of ice-cream after a large pizza dinner, a fourth hour of a marathon viewing of something socially irresponsible, an entire 20 oz soda WITH caffeine AND sugar, a slow walk in the middle of giving-up-on the 3 mile run, watching the laundry and dishes pile up because "I'm not the only one who lives in this house damnit!", it's......

SLACKING OFF!!!!!

Sometimes when these two go toe-to-tow (haha! see what I did there?) it gets messy and you can't see whose arms are whose. And it can be confusing and frustrating when resting feels like slacking off, and sometimes slacking off feels like resting when life is just toooooooo complicated. But it's a push and pull I think everyone wants to end up on the right side of. Obviously, if you've read this far, you know it's a distinction I've been working on for my entire life.

I don't think there is a set answer to it. Maybe there's an internet quiz about it. I'll go check and get back to you.

;-)