One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

That's the old saying, right? Well, that's how I feel right now. Anna and I had a great summer. She was making good choices, following directions, and making life relatively easy. Now - not so much.

The past several weeks have been very trying for all of us. Because I started back to work Anna has to get up at 6:20ish each morning and go to school all day everyday. Her daycare also moved to their new building. I'm hoping these are a few big changes that she's still adjusting to, and once she feels good with her new routine things will calm down a little. Another possible reason for her behavior - just a phase.

I get so embarrassed sometimes. She doesn't get what she wants and she's on the floor crying and wailing. I stay calm and remind her that she never gets what she wants when she acts like that. She will usually stop quickly, but the damage has already been done. Or she is running around, pulling on my arms, and acting wild and crazy - also embarrassing. Once she gets to this state, it's already too late; there's no turning back. I just have to survive it enough to get to the car where I drive home wondering what the hell is wrong with my kid and what I could have done differently. Why does everything have to be so difficult?

On the positive side, she did earn her trip to get ice cream by getting ready every morning (clothes changed, teeth brushed, and hair brushed) by the time her timer went off. She earned a sticker each morning for 2 work weeks for a total of 10 stickers. I'm really proud of her for this accomplishment. She was very motivated to earn stickers for her chart. We might work on something else for the next two weeks. We have two choices: 1) going into her classroom each morning without problems or 2) making it through the day without whining aka: being ok with "no". We'll have to decide this weekend what would be better to work on since both are important.

Today I am thankful for:

1. a really sweet class


2. a trip to the Farmer's Market (where we saw Will and Sarabeth)


3. the promise of ice cream later today

Summer Fun Driftin' Away...

I've mentioned in previous posts how this summer with Anna has been the best one yet (her 1st summer was nice too, but she was a newborn). We've been able to enjoy a lot of fun activities with little to no drama (most days). She usually wakes up around 7:00 and says, "Can I have some yogurt? I don't want to stay home today." Bryan and I are homebodies, so we aren't too sure why she doesn't like staying home. She would always rather be outside than inside, too. When I choose activities for us I make sure we can be back home for her nap around 12 or 12:30; if I mess with her nap or don't give her one she is very unmanageable, so we stick to routine!
These are some of our fun activities from this summer:

• Arboretum Children's Garden (I think it is $3/person): There are water features, paths, learning stations, and a garden to dig in and water. It's great fun on a sunny day.


• Swimming Lessons: Anna took 3 sessions at the Tate's Creek Pool and did so well. I'm really proud of her swimming ability. We are going to look into joining the YMCA so she can swim all year round. We also swam for fun before swimming lessons and on weekends.


• Chick-Fil-A: Always fun to eat some Chicken Minis (yummmmm) and play in the play land.


• Library: We don't do story hours since she can't sit still for long, but we love going to the library to check out books and wander around.


• Jacobson Park: What's better than feeding the ducks and playing on the giant playground?


• Explorium: We went here for the 1st time today. It was enjoyable, but I think it's just a once a year thing since the learning stuff is over her head. She did have a good time playing and exploring.


• Our very own backyard: We have a swing set, baby pool, water table, and giant bouncy ball to play with. We like to also play with her car, bike, bubbles, and chalk in the front yard.

A few more places I'd like to visit on the weekends while it's still warm:

• Lexington Horse Park


• McConnell Springs


• Salato


• Raven Run: We only made it here once, but I would love to go back.


• Cincinnati Zoo: We have passes, but haven't been in a while. We love the zoo because of the animals and the walking around.

All around it's been a fun summer. We've stayed busy with the above activities, had a nice vacation to Hilton Head, a trip to Cedar Point, and Anna started daycare 2 days a week at LHSC. I'll be going back to work full time next Monday, and Anna will start daycare full time at LHSC's new center (in the old JR Ewen building). Pre-school will start on August 22; I'm excited for her! She's made a few friends at daycare, so hopefully at least one will be in her class for the year.

Today I am thankful for:

1. a few more days to sleep in


2. a few more days to have fun with no real commitments


3. library books

another step

Tuesday...
Anna had her second speech lesson today, and it went really well. She's there for an hour (yes, an hour!) working hard. Like most things with Anna, she does better as time goes on; the evaluation was horrible, lesson 1 a little better, lesson 2 a little better still. I'm proud of all the hard work she does - even if it is for the piece of candy she receives at the end of the lesson! She's working on her ending "p" and "t" right now. She's even bringing it into conversation sometimes. She also had her first daycare class today after speech. I'm hoping that went well and she enjoyed making new friends. I still get a little sad when I think about how she won't be seeing her teachers and BFFs from Tots' anymore, but life goes on.

After speech I went to meet with the OT that did Anna's evaluation to hear what she had to say. She definitely thinks Anna has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). This incorporates Anna's sensory seeking behaviors, constant movement, distractability, and play integration problems. This is why Anna doesn't have boundaries, and why we work so hard to keep her safe. Just yesterday I had to pull her out of the swimming pool several times during swim lessons when she wasn't sitting on the steps but rather trying to swim underwater without her teacher! These are the behaviors Bryan and I work so hard to help her control, and sometimes seem to fail miserably, but lately have been having more success.

Wednesday...

I quit typing yesterday because it's hard to find the words. I'm so confused. When I was speaking with the OT I had several feelings: 1) she understands; I'm not overreacting just because Anna is different from me and does things that make no sense to me, but also 2) Anna is not THAT extreme; her behavior and ability to make good choices has improved dramatically since last year at this time. I think about all the things she does (good and not-so-good) and keep going back and forth: yes, she probably does have SPD, and then no, she continues to mature and do better (in routine activities). I just don't know, so I'm going for a second opinion with an OT that hopefully can accommodate our 2-parents-working-schedule come fall since the place I've been going won't be able to go to her school or get her an after school appointment. I also ordered a few books on Amazon to read through that will hopefully shed a little light on SPD so I can make a better decision. It's hard labeling a kid, especially when it's your own. I want to provide her with all the opportunities she needs to be successful; I just want to be making the "right" decisions. Why didn't anyone ever tell me that parenting is hard? LOL

Today I am thankful for:

1. much needed rain

2. playing with Anna this morning. 3 is so much better than 2!!!!!

3. time

It works for us.

Daycare is not for every child or every family, but it works for Anna and our family. She's learned so many things while she's been there that I don't know if she would have learned them if I was a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM). I guess I would have found books about what 1 year olds are supposed to do and learn, and I would have figured it out. (I'm very much attuned to six year olds I guess.) I love my baby and enjoy my time with her, but the SAHM thing is not for me. Anna is very active, like never sits still, ever. She's very curious, and she loves to be around other people. Daycare provides her with so many opportunities to be around big and little people and learn new things. Sure, we work with her on reading, talking, naming animals, completing puzzles, counting, using manners, being kind and gentle, and other fun things with toys, but they've taught her things that some of my first graders don't do!

Here are some of my favorite things she's learned since starting at her new daycare in August:

• she can show you that she's 1 if you ask how old she is
• covers her mouth when she coughs
• wipes her face when she's done eating
• cleans her area after eating
• does the motions to songs, and even says a few words here and there
• says 'shhhh'
• sits in a group and listens to stories and songs

I'm thankful for good teachers that love her and care about her and help her become a good little person.

big changes

It's that time...getting ready for the new school year which not only means I need to get my classroom ready, but I'm also sending Anna back to daycare. She's going to a new center this year.

For the most part I was happy with her old daycare, but since we moved it wasn't going to be practical to take her there anymore. I found a place where I think she'll be taken care of, learn new things, and have fun. We visited for the second time today, and she seems comfortable and engaged. When we visited last week her head teacher was on vacation, so we had the chance to meet her today. I really liked her - she has a lot of energy, is really sweet, is very friendly, and seems go-with-the-flow. I like the assistant too - she is friendly and nice and engages with the kids.

Anna didn't sit with the group during story time and song time. She does her own thing! I hope that after some time she joins the group - she likes stories and songs, so in her own time I guess. B was still doing his own thing in first grade (and probably longer), let's hope she has a little of me in her :)

She'll start on Monday, which is also my first day back in my classroom to get ready for the year. More on that later.

new daycare

I took Anna to her new daycare today. I stayed with her since she won't actually start until August when I have to go back to work to get my room ready. I just wanted her to get a feel for the room, the teachers, and the other kids. She seemed to enjoy herself. Some of the girls gave her kisses (how cute is that?). She sat on one of the teacher's lap, and she played with toys. Oh, and they gave her a cereal bar because it was snack time. She got her hair pulled by one little girl, but she was tough - didn't even cry. She just had that look on her face, like "what the hell?" Maybe she'll remember that when she goes to pull my hair...probably not.

Her normal teacher is on vacation this week, so the assistant from her room and an assistant from another room were in there today. They were both really nice. She will be the youngest in the room (unless they move some kids around after school starts). I also realized while watching some of the kids, they can all be stinkers. I was worried after the past few weeks of her less-than-desirable behavior that she was going to cause trouble, but I think she'll be just fine.

I put her on her time out rug at home when she does something bad (biting, pinching, pulling my hair) more than once. I count to 10 and use my "teacher voice" and say something like "we use nice hands" or "no biting". They don't use time out until the 2 year old room, so they just get the verbal discipline, and maybe removal from the area. I hope she is a good girl while she's there.

I can also send a lunch in when I want, which might be often. Since I don't eat a lot of sugar, salt, highly processed foods, fried foods (ok, I like to eat french fries now and again), and other stuff in the "tastes good, but is bad for you column," I don't really like Anna eating those foods. She definitely won't be eating hot dogs and mac and cheese - gross. I'm sure she'll pitch a fit.

I'll take her again next week. She can get a little more comfortable and meet her teacher. I'm sure she'll cry the first day and maybe more, but then I'll put her in a high chair with her banana, and all will be good.

busy bee

It's going to be a busy couple of weeks, or maybe months. B and I packed a ton of stuff yesterday; we still have a ton more to pack. I found more things for our garage sale next Saturday. I probably could have gotten rid of more things. I have a lot of fun party and holiday dishes that we don't use very often. We can actually have people over to the new house - it's great for entertaining, so maybe we'll get more use out of those things.

We are also on the hunt for a new daycare or home daycare. It's a hard choice; it's a big decision. The place where Anna goes now won't be convenient at all for B or me. We visited one home daycare where the lady and her husband are super nice, but I worry that they are too old. I have a few more people to call. I also found some places online to check out in the coming weeks or during the summer. I feel stressed about this decision.

As far as the recipes from this post go:
1. I made mini breakfast pastries - they were delicious. PW likes them warm out of the oven, but I prefer them the next day. They taste like cinnamon sugar donuts.
2. I also made the banana nut muffins as minis. They were good. I would make them again.
3. The mini chocolate chip muffins weren't that great. I wouldn't make them again.
4. The punch was yummy. I had to make 1/2 at a time because there was so much liquid involved. I froze it in 4 gallon size Ziploc bags. I took it out to thaw when I left in the am (around 6:30), and by 10:30, I could use my hands to crush it inside the Ziploc bags before putting it in the punch bowl.

We only have 8 days of school with kids - I can hardly believe the year is almost over. It's been a good year, but I'm excited to spend the summer with Anna. We've had a fun 3-day weekend. She's so darn cute.

I Can't Decide

I might have overreacted. I might not have overreacted.


Anna got a new "teacher" in her room a few weeks ago. I liked all the girls in her room. They were sweet and easy to talk to. I don't particularly care for the new girl - she's loud and rough. I feel like most of the people at daycare enjoy Anna, she's sweet, funny, and laid back; don't get me wrong, she has her moments, but her fits can usually be solved by paying some attention to her or singing to her. I feel like the new girl made a lot of negative comments about Anna and interrupted my conversations with the other girls, you know, unsolicited feedback. Anna's diapers were also put on very loosely which I think contributed to the every-day accidents on her clothes. So, we didn't exactly get off to a good start.

Bryan (drops her off in the am) said something about the diapers being put on poorly to Anna's head teacher, well, they got a little better. Then today, I went to change her diaper, and her onesie was only buttoned on one snap and the diaper was kind of half-assed. The onesie was all stretched out and started to make a rip at the snap. I kind of started fuming. I called the daycare and talked to one of the main people in the office. I calmly (yes, I was calm) told her I've not been happy with the new person in her room and why. My biggest complaint or worry: if she can't even put her diaper and clothes on, what else is she half-assing? Is she paying any attention to my baby? Is she taking care of her at all? I don't expect the girl to teacher her French, but cover the f-in' basics.


I've been happy with her daycare for the most part up to this point. There have been some small concerns, but I never worried that she was being taken care of until this point. So did I overreact, no, because taking care of Anna is my number one concern, and I have to stick up for her.

I just don't want the girl to take it out on Anna. I think I'll call and talk to her head teacher tomorrow to clear the air.