So, we have switched from having a daycare provider at a daycare center to the children being at home with a "Nanny" for lack of a better term. They seem happier (the children that is) and it makes my morning less stressful, so that makes me happier.
Our Nanny doesn't live with us, she arrives in the morning while I am getting ready and gets the children breakfast. They are usually sitting at the table happy as can be when I leave. I get kisses from them and off I go.
At daycare there would be days I would be LUCKY to even get a wave goodbye, never mind a kiss! There were fits and tantrums getting dressed in the morning, there were fits depending on which daycare teacher was in the classroom at drop off.
The only thing that hasn't changed, is super excited children when I walk in the door from work... "MOMMY MOMMY!! You look pretty Mommy!!" or "Up, Up!! Up Peace" How can resist? I scoop up "A"arron and get a nice big hug and wet kiss! Even our Furbabies are happy.. they get the privelage of not being a crate for 9 hours a day!
Do any of you have a Nanny or in home caregiver? What are your likes and dislikes? AND.. what do you do about taxes?
So I am not the DIY Crafty kind.. I try, but really it isn't me.
I am in love with Pinterest, but seriously I have no clue when I am supposed to have time enough to ever actually create any of the stuff I love on there!
But the hubs and I decided we needed to figure out how to give the girls an allowance. We are in the camp that you don't get paid for chores. Chores are expected, they are something you do because you are in a family, you live in a home. As adults you don't get paid for chores, you just do them because they need to be done. So, how do we accomplish giving them allowance that they can earn and teach them about the responsibility of chores? Well, I had a great discussion with my friend D (who has a fab Etsy Shop ~ The Super Cute Boutique) and she is in the same arena my husband and I are. Chores are Chores and you don't get paid for them (sorry to rat you out D). But within that discussion, D and I developed a plan! A LOOPHOLE to the no payment for chores sentiment.
The Plan:
The children will be required to do chores/tasks based on their age range (e.g. ages 2-3 appropriate chores).
They can do chores/tasks that are in the age range above theirs to earn money (e.g. ages 4-5 appropriate chores).
The chore tiles go up to about 16 years old and starts at ages 2 & 3.
Since our girls are ages 4 & 6, they will be required to do their daily/weekly chores based on ages 2-6.
To earn money they can do chores in the 7-9 age range (e.g. vacuuming, dusting, etc.).
We will use the white board to track their earnings and if they want to "bank" the money rather than physically keep it their banks.
Then, I print out the names onto the paper and put the magnets on the back or you can adhere them with just a few pieces of double stick tape.
Print out your "Chore Tiles" and collect your items (the magnets, stickers, and "Chore Tiles").
Place the magnets on the back of your cut out "Chore Tiles" (you can skip the next step if you don't want to use the epoxy stickers and just print the "Chore Tiles" on a nice thick cardstock).
For the magnets, I used the epoxy stickers (make sure you don't touch the sticky side, you'll get fingerprints on them) and the sticker magnets.
Then CAREFULLY place the epoxy stickers to your "Chore Tiles" ... I used the magnets to hold the "Chore Tiles" so that I could place them on the super sticky epoxy stickers.
And here is our FINAL PRODUCT!!
This process was quite time consuming, but I luckily had the help from "C"indy.. she happily stuck the magnets on the back of the "Chore Tiles" while I dealt with my epoxy stickers.. again CAREFULLY. Oh, and I duplicated some of the tiles because each girl needs to be responsible for the chore (e.g. brushing their hair, brushing their teeth, taking a shower); whereas some chores really can only be accomplished by one person (e.g. feed the dogs).
And because I am the coolest blogger EVER.. I am giving you the pdf version of the "Chore Tiles"!! Yup that is right.. for a limited time you've can win you're very own DIY CHORE CHART, from your's truly! Just Click Here!! After that they will be available on Etsy!
Weekly Theme (Start Monday, continue with the theme all week) This week's theme is A. The vocabulary word are ant, and, arm, apple ,ape.
Books to read aloud that support the theme: (You can choose one book to read all week, or a new book for each day. These are just suggestions, you may find others related to the theme in your library.) Books to read aloud: Ten Apples up on Top! by Dr. Seuss The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman Alligator Shoes by Arthur Dorros Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett
Poems that support the theme: A Little Red Apple A little red apple Hung high in a tre. I looked up at it, And it looked down at me. "Come down, please," I called. And what do you suppose? That little red apple Dropped right on my nose! The Apple Tree Way up high in the apple tree, Four little apples hung over me. I shook the tree as hard as I could. Down came the apples and mmmmm! Were they good!
Way up high in the apple tree, Three little apples hung over me. I shook the tree as hard as I could. Down came the apples and mmmmm! Were they good!
Way up high in the apple tree, Two little apples hung over me. I shook the tree as hard as I could. Down came the apples and mmmmm! Were they good!
Way up high in the apple tree, One little apple hung over me. I shook the tree as hard as I could. Down came the apple and mmmmm! Was it good! Apples Apples, apples, one, two, three, Apples for you, Apples for me. Apples for big, Apples small, Apple trees tiny, Apple trees tall. Apples sour, Apples sweet, Apples, apples, are nice to eat. I Like ApplesRed apples, Big apples, Good apples, Yummy apples, Any kind of apples, I like apples!
An apple on the tree, An apple in the basket, An apple in a fridge, An apple in a store, I like apples! A squiggly little worm into my apple bit. He chomped and chomped until the core he hit. I asked him why he did it, And thought it sopunds absurd, He said, "I love apples." Now that is what I heard. Apple (to the tune of BINGO) I know a fruit that grows on trees, An apple is its name, oh! (Chorus) A. P. P. L. E. A. P. P. L. E. A. P. P. L. E. An apple is its name, oh!
In summer and in early fall It's time to pick an apple!
Chorus
It amy be sweet or may be tart, It's red, or green, or yellow!
Chorus
A McIntosh or Granny Smith, A Winesap or Delicious!
Chorus
Make applesauce or apple juice Or apple pie with apples!
ChorusApplesauce (to the tune of "Yankee Doodle") Peel an apple, cut it up, cook it in a pot. When you taste it you will find it's applesauce you've got. Gross Motor Skills Activity: (Monday) Let's Pretend Have the kids stand up tall with their arms up and say "be as tall as an apple tree". Then say "be as small as an ant". Repeat this slowly and then get faster and the kids don't even know they are touching their toes!
Have the kids pretend to be an Ape, they can walk around with their arms touching the ground and making ape noises.
Fine Motor Skills Activity: (Friday) Addition on an abacus - If you have an abacus this could be fun. If not you can use animal crackers or some other manipulatives and teach simple addition such as 1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 1 = 3, 3 + 1 = 4, 4 + 1 = 5, 2 + 2 = 4, 2 + 3 = 5. ( If your child is ready you could add up to 10 or more)
Shape/Color (Tuesday) This week you will teach the shape of a square.
Collect 3 - 5 everyday objects in the shape of a square... i.e.: blocks, pot holder, CD jewel case, etc... to share with your child and discuss.
Walk through your home looking for squares.
Cut squares out of playdough.
Put a drawing of a square on your learning poster.
Find Something Red - Have the children find something in the room that is red and have each child bring it to circle time. Have each child tell the class what they have found.
Red Chat - Have the children name as many things they can that are red. Write down their list.
Kool Aid Art - Sprinkle a little dry red kool aid mix onto a piece of paper. Have your child spray water from a spray bottle onto the paper. For added adventure, you may choose to take your children out into the rain with a piece of paper that has kool-aid on it.
Red Tracks - In a pie tin, place 3 to 5 teaspoon sized portions of different shades of red tempera paint evenly spaced about the area. Supply the children with washable toy cars that have wheels that roll. Have the children dip the wheels in the paint and roll across the paper.
Letter (Wednesday) The letter this week is the letter A.
Give your child a printout of the (capital) letter A to color. ~Letter Printouts~
Teach your child to trace the shape of the letter A using his finger. You can trace in pudding, finger paint, a shallow tray (cookie sheet) filled with rice or beans, etc.
Point out the letter A in signs, cereal boxes, etc.
Post the letter A on your learning poster.
Number (Thursday) The number this week is the number 1.
Show your child 1 object to count, or eat 1 cracker, 1 cheerio, etc.
Show your child the written symbol (numeral) for 1 and put on your learning poster.
Add 1 sticker to your counting book.
Show your matching index cards for the number 1 to your child.
Draw 1 square on a piece of paper and count it with your child.
Walk around your home counting 1 of many different objects.
Song / Nursery Rhyme / Fable (Friday) The song this week is The Ants Go Marching. Recite often!
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching one by one, The little one stops to suck his thumb And they all go marching down to the ground To get out of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The fable this week is The Ant and the Dove. Recite often!
A Dove saw an Ant fall into a brook. The Ant struggled in vain to reach the bank, and in pity, the Dove dropped a blade of straw close beside it. Clinging to the straw like a shipwrecked sailor to a broken spar, the Ant floated safely to shore.
Soon after, the Ant saw a man getting ready to kill the Dove with a stone. But just as he cast the stone, the Ant stung him in the heel, so that the pain made him miss his aim, and the startled Dove flew to safety in a distant wood. A kindness is never wasted.
For this Week's Lesson in PDF Format - Click Here!
For me both are emotionally draining and anxiety ridden. And with both you can never seem to anticipate anything because once you think you have it figured out.. it changes, for better or worse... it changes.
With TTC and FT's time ticks by at the pace of a cycle.. everything is defined in terms of your ovulation. You have the fertile time leading up to ovulation, and then the dreaded Two Week Wait to find out if you conceived.. only in our case that TWW never gave us the desired and hoped for BFP. In the beginning the signs of AF weren't so depressing.. it was "oh well there's next month, we are still young" outlook and adage. Then you start realizing.. SH*T this just isn't working.. and you seek medical help.. you take medication and are told that "it wont be a problem for you to conceive".. only there is still a problem.. you still aren't conceiving. So you move further into the treatment process and continue to struggle with conception.. until there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. A time when decide to grieve the loss of your biological child and either live a child-free life or pursue other means create a family.
Then we have the Foster Care side of the equation... time ticks by at the pace of a court date (every 3 months). And information isn't freely passed between parties. Foster Parents can "see" how the case is going by their foster children's behaviour, but that can be misleading. We aren't even always told what circumstances brought the children into care... we can surmise based on comments or attending court hearings (which I never attended.. working in the legal field, I never wanted the court to ask me a question without having been fully prepped on how to answer it -- the big thing with courts is that everything has to be facts not opinions and so mixing your feelings into the fold, won't always bring about your desired outcome). And I can tell you, this past case was emotionally exhausting for me. I always felt as thought I couldn't truly determine whether or not I was being selfish or if I was truly thinking of the children's best interest. Sadly, there are times (in parenting not just foster parenting) where being selfish and having the child's best interest at are are one in the same... and yet you feel guilty because of that simple truth.
So for me.. although they were both riddled with anxiety and heartache, being a Foster Parent was much harder. Solely because there are lives at stake. With TTC & FT's YES I grieved, and yes there are days when I still continue to grieve, but it was in the abstract. Whereas with Foster Parenting, I see .. daily .. the toll it takes on the children and on their families.
For me.. being a Foster Parent is much harder than TTC'ing or injecting myself with needles and being jabbed by the U/S tech every other day to see if things are "ripening" properly.
is a blog that I happen to add some info to every now and then. Recently, Colleen wrote about something that hit home. "I LOVE YOU!"
Check it out and see what she has to say about children with past trauma and/or other issues and the various meanings of "I LOVE YOU!". Trust me.. you'll be surprised to find out how often they don't really mean "I LOVE YOU!".
I've recently been asked to do a product review for CSN Stores (GO ME!). This is an online company with over 200 unique sites (can you say COOL?!?), they have merchandise from ranging from furniture, cookware, fitness equipment, baby necessities (including furniture, strollers, bedding), children's toys and even wooden swing sets. Yes a WOODEN SWING SET can be PURCHASED of all places ONLINE!!
I am not sure what product I will be reviewing, yet, but I can tell you that it won't be a swing set (although that would be AWESOME!!maybe next time..HINT! HINT!! especially this amazing one to the right ------------------------>). I am leaning towards reviewing a product in the educational category. But am also thinking about other baby/momma/toddler necessities... I am little wishy washy. :D
But the reality is that, I really need as much help, educationally, as I can get with this girls. As an example: Little Miss "B"ella thinks that school buses are "Dween".. even though I repeatedly remind her they are "Lellow".. ummm err "Yellow". On our rides to "school" (aka daycare) in the morning we pass SEVERAL "tool buses" (yes she means school busses, although remembering my rides on the bus, I would say that there are days when it probably is a "tool" bus), I will tell her a "Look a School Bus! What color is it?" she responds "Dween!!" and I say "Nope, Yellow." and then we pass another... this one is "Lellow", but after about the 5th bus and as we are pulling into school (with no buses around) I say "We saw a lot of school buses, huh? What color are school buses?" and she says (after saying "lellow" 4 times now) "DWEEN!!" at this moment I feel like Homer.Simpson.. DOH!
Any.who! I am really excited about this whole product review thing!! Check out their website and see if there is anything you all could reccomend or would like me to review! I have a few things in mind, but if there is something that garners enough "votes" that'd be AWESOME!!
