"Oh No. Not the CDA!"

I have good news!  Yesterday, I officially completed the 120 hours of classroom training needed to obtain my CDA.  Brian always teases me with a reference to Monsters Inc. ("Halt!  This is the Child Detection Agency! . . . Oh no.  Not those guys . . .).

No, it's not that.  It's my Child Development Associate.  Now that I have put in the classroom time, I am working on a resource binder.  It is about halfway complete.  Once that is done, I will be 90% finished with the requirements.  I will have a formal observation while working with kids, take a test and survey the parents I work for.  But, those things will take a lot less time than the classes and the binder.

This is an extra credential you can get if you are a child care provider and I figured since I am licensed now, why not?  Well, and there is a cash incentive.  Once I get my CDA, I am going to cram in another 80 hours of classroom time so I can get another credential and a (bigger) cash bonus when I renew my license in May. 

Some of the classes are kind of fun and yesterday I met a really cool lady who has been doing licensed child care in her home for 30-years.  I could tell from talking to her that she runs a top notch program with daily art projects and a preschool program.  She gave me lots of good ideas.  And, I was encouraged by the rates she charges too (right here in Ogden!).  She is pulling in some cash, but she is working hard for it and is open for longer hours than I am.  It was encouraging because it gave me a vision of what my program can grow into with time and as my own kids get older.

I also got excited because she told me how to open a retirement account.  I've always thought that was one of the greatest drawbacks to being self-employed -- no retirement.  But, I didn't realize I could do it all on my own.  Of course, when I told Brian this, he said he knew that all along.  So, maybe I am the only person who didn't realize this?

Anyways, in other news, Isaac gave me a scare last night.  He came home from school on Friday with a hoarse voice and barking cough.  By bedtime he had a fever.  When he was still coughing and feverish yesterday, we had to make some adjustments to our plans.

Brian's sister and her husband and five kids came in town for the holiday and were planning to spend Saturday night with us.  In addition, we were hosting Sunday dinner for all of Brian's siblings and their families.  I was pretty excited for these plans, but we didn't want to expose everyone to Isaac's sickness, so, to our disappointment, the cousins had to make a new plan for where to sleep Saturday night and the family party was moved to another sibling's house.

We were also planning to take the whole family (along with our out of town guests) to a concert in Logan Saturday night -- to see another one of Brian's sisters perform.  Brian decided to take Sophie and Ian to the concert while I stayed home with Isaac and Katie.  Around 6 p.m., I checked Isaac's fever and discovered it had spiked, so I got him up off his resting place on the couch to see if he could eat a sandwich and take some ibuprofen.  Before we got to the sandwich, he had a coughing fit and was having a very hard time breathing.  It was so scary!  He was obviously struggling a great deal to take in breaths and looking desperately into my eyes squeaking out the words, "My breather isn't working."

It was, of course, croup, an illness that (thankfully) I don't have much experience with.  I knew it was croup, but I also didn't know how severe his breathing was restricted, so I got a little panicked.  I picked up the phone not sure if I should call the after hours doctor or 911, so, of course, I called my mom.  She calmly told me to take him into the bathroom and run the shower.  That reminded me that croup also responds to cold outdoor air.  So, I bundled him in a blanket and sat him on a stool outside while I got the bathroom all steamy.  After he sat outside for 10 minutes and in the bathroom for 15 more, he was breathing well enough for me to look up the urgent care clinic hours.  They were open until 8 p.m. (hooray!) no emergency room visit needed.

I loaded up Katie and Isaac and a couple of PB&J sandwiches and we headed to the clinic.  Illness almost never gets my Isaac down.  He is a man of steel.  But, I could tell he was pretty sick by the way he lay listlessly on the exam table (not at all like the way he usually explores every inch of the room and gets into everything when I take him to the doctor).  He was still having such a hard time breathing that all of the nurses would say, "What are we seeing you for?"  One look at Isaac and then, "Oh, never mind."

They did a strep culture just to be sure he didn't have that too (and they did it so deep and for so long it made him throw up), gave him some steroids and sent us on our way.  By 9 p.m., we were back at home and he was sleeping soundly with much better breathing.  I kept him in my room all night just to be sure.  Today, he seems almost completely better, but I'm keeping him calm and resting so we don't have a relapse.  Whew!  I'm so grateful he is O.K.

This Makes Me Smile

A few months ago, I posted about my fears associated with running a full time child care from my home.  Today, I want to say that, even though it has its ups and downs like any job, it's mostly been great.

There are lots of things that make it that way -- getting to still be with Katie all day is at the top of the list.  My decision to become licensed was a good one despite the many hoops to jump through. 

I've been taking lots of child development classes at Weber State University since May.  They have a lot of good ideas and help me have a clearer focus and feel more of a sense of purpose in what I am doing.

Here is a story that makes me happy.

I started watching one of my babies when he was just 2-weeks old.  That is the youngest baby I've ever spent so much time with (other than my own).  When he was about 3 months old, I asked my mom to come to my house and help me one afternoon.  It was Katie's 3rd Birthday and I wanted her to hold the baby while I got some things done for her party.

My mom held him, but she said, "I think he wants you."  I said, "No way, he is too young to express a preference for me over you."  But, it soon became clear that he was only happy if she was holding him where he could see me.  That is the way my own babies were -- knowing who I was and wanting me over someone else even at a young age.  But, that was the first time I realized that someone else's baby felt that way about me.  It really touched me.

Now that baby is  8 1/2 months old and still as sweet as can be!  I began watching another baby when school started.  She will be 1 next month.  I love watching them crawl around like little partners in crime.  They always keep me in their sights.  Again I was reminded of the bond we have when, the other day, one of the other kids needed a bandaid.  I walked down the hall quickly to grab one and both babies came speed crawling right behind me.  

I feel very blessed to get to watch kids who are so sweet.  They make me smile.

I Love: Snowmen in my Yard

I love magical snowstorms.  When the kids were little, starting from the first year Sophie could walk, I made it a point to take the kids outside and build a snowman when we got our first good snowstorm of the year.  I love driving through the neighborhood after a storm and seeing all those creatively crafted guys staring out at the street. 

I did this every year until Isaac was 3 or 4.  Truth be told, I am a fair weather kind of gal and I don't relish getting all bundled up in my snow gear and romping around the yard.  O.K.  Truth be told, I actually do enjoy building snowmen with the kids, I just have a hard time talking myself into it because I don't like being cold.

My point is, I was kind of hoping that it would catch on and that one day, they would build their own snowmen. 

This year, Isaac carried out the tradition unprompted and unassisted.

We had a magical snowstorm a few weeks ago.  We had been having a lovely, mild fall when suddenly we were hit with a good accumulation of snow.  It wasn't huge, but when it was done we had a good 4 or so inches standing on our front lawn.  Isaac and his friend Jordan came home from school and before they even came inside they had built two beautiful snowmen together complete with stick arms, goofy faces, and one of them even had a narrow board for a tie.  Cute.  Cute.  Cute.

I was so happy and I even snapped pictures. 

This storm melted away as suddenly as came.  In fact, the boys were out building the snowmen wearing snowpants, boots, short sleeve shirts and gloves.  It was a sight!  All of that snow and 60-degree sunshine beaming down on them as they worked. 

Then we had the most beautiful fall weather I can imagine for a few more weeks.  The warmest Halloween ever!  I think we had a high of at least 70-degrees.  The fall leaves were so pretty.  I love living in an old neighborhood where the streets are all lined with ancient trees.  It feels like a fairy tale. 

On Thursday, as I drove around, the wind swirled the leaves around me like snow globe.  And, then Friday, the snow came.  And came, and came, and came.  It snowed all day until, when I left my house at 6 p.m. to take Sophie and Ian and meet my mom for a production of "Footloose," there was at least 4 or more inches. 

School got out early on Friday, and all of my kids had their friends over to play.  I had the day off from babysitting since one of the kids I watch had a fever, yet I still ended up with 9 kids at my house for the afternoon.  It is so wonderful that they all have such nice friends. 

Isaac and his friend Birdie built another snowman and then spent hours making dams out of snow in the gutter.  I love that Birdie.  She likes to catch bugs too.  Isaac's kind of girl!

The real surprise came when we woke up Saturday morning to at least a 12-inch accumulation!  I love storms that dump. 

I had a class at Weber State until 3 p.m., and Brian took the kids with him to Salt Lake to shoot an assignment for the newspaper.  His second assignment got canceled and he took them all to IHOP.  I was sooooooo grateful that he had them instead of having to leave them with a babysitter all day.  Not that sitters are bad, but don't you think an outing to IHOP with your dad is the bomb?

When we all got home that afternoon, Isaac was immediately back in his snow clothes -- making snow angels and sledding down our front lawn.  A truck parked in front of our house and I watched him repeatedly slide down and bump into the tire over and over.  Sometimes he just lay in the sled gazing up at the sky.  He looked like a man in paradise.

I was inside busily whipping up a cinnamon (with no nuts) cake and getting ready for Ian's big birthday party.  He is turning 10 this week.

Halloween 2012

Ian exclaimed upon arriving home from hours of trick-or-treating, "This is the most candy we've ever gotten!"  Which is what the kids think every year.  So, yay for success in their minds.

Sophie was Harry Potter's wizard friend Hermione.  I read the first three books with the kids over the summer and Sophie has finished 4, 5 and 6 on her own.

Ian was General Grievous from Star Wars Episode III.  Last year he was Luke Skywalker.

Isaac was the Transformer Bumblebee.

Katie chose a horse costume from the costume box (with straps so it looks like she is riding a horse).  It was perfect with Isaac's old Sheriff Woody shirt and vest.  She wore that a few times and then discovered Ian's old monkey costume.  She was a monkey from then on.  A cute monkey too.

Brian was Lucha Libre (he looked awesome), and I borrowed a pirate costume from my sister for one party.  I was suppose to come up with a cool costume to go with Lucha Libre for a couples costume party, but I guess I was too busy putting the kids' costumes together and planning their school parties and one hour before the party I realized I dropped the ball on getting my own costume together and ended up going in my pink bunny pajamas.  We were almost the only couple that didn't match.  I had a bunch of great ideas after the fact.  I could have been his agent!  Oh, well.

On Halloween, I saw one of my friends in a super sassy pirate costume which was actually this -- nice khaki pants, a darling silky blouse, a way fun leather vest and boots like I have been wanting forever.  I decided that next year I need to buy my own pirate costume.

And, it will definitely need those boots.

Brian will need one of those Jack Sparrow hats from Disneyland with the fake dreadlocks too.

The kids ate a ton of candy at school and from their trick-or-treating bags on Halloween.  The next day, we began to examine their loot.  Sophie decided to trade about 75% of her candy for Taylor Swift's new "Red" album.  Isaac decided to do the same for a new Star Wars lego set -- but, only after clarifying that the legos had to come from the Sweet Tooth Fairy (which, I guess is something he has heard about from friends at school - where a magical fairy comes and takes your candy away in exchange for a cool toy).

Ian decided that he wanted to keep all of his candy.  Katie hasn't seemed to notice that her candy stash significantly decreased while she was sleeping.  She is addicted to C-A-N-D-Y!!!  That is all she wants now.  She is so cute how she pulls out each new treat and says, "What is this one?" before she gobbles it down. 

We also carved Jack-o-Lanterns as a family and roasted the seeds.  It turns out that Isaac shares my love for this treat and Sophie enjoys pulling out the pumpkin guts while Ian hates putting his hands in the sticky dark pumpkins (just like me!).  Sophie got ambitious and tried to carve Tinkerbell's face into her pumpkin.  I was proud of her for trying. 

Halloween = Good times!