Road Trip...

Wow.
Girl2 and I have been on the road since Wednesday evening.
What an adventure.
Here is a list of our mishaps...

1. Missed Hwy 7 exit in Clinton

2. No Dairy Queens (too late, or shut down and boarded up)

3. Get lost in Memphis

• No Graceland - too lost
• No famous BBQ Salad - too lost
• No Beale Street - Memphis traffic (& street signs suck)
• No Cheesecake Place - local $10 a slice cheesecake spot
• Had to past cool dead house photo op - traffic crazy and we were lost

4. Buy GPS at Walmart outside Memphis. Messed up our tight travel budget - no room tonight. But also got a whole CASE of canned boiled peanuts!

5. Don't listen to "Richard" (AKA God of the Highway, TomTom, Dick, or GPS). Get turned around in Birmingham, and Atlanta.

6. Find a cheap room. And we mean cheap - and in this case, you get what you paid for.

7. Need gas. Find a station in rural GA - stop to potty and filler up. Help elderly lady who is "Messin her britches" (her husband yelled it - not me). Get distracted with all that excitement and forget to get the gas.

8. Run out of gas in GA. Never underestimate the importance of knowing exactly what County you are in, and the mile marker you are at - EVER for the rest of your life. And try not to pull over in the middle of a mile marker that defines a County, apparently this can be quite confusing to various law enforcement dispatchers. And all mile markers are not like they are in KS. Forget it, this will be a whole other blog entry.

9. Be absolutely floored by the educational opportunities that await your child in life. Wow. We are now accepting donations for Girl4. Very emotional journey.

10. Meet up with your Baby Brother, Uncle Matt who you haven't seen in 5+ years. Is it possible the Jolly Green Giant actually grows as a man?

11. Super bad news on the road, crying a lot today - extreme reasons.

11. Forget all the drama, hang out for a night of fun and walking in Savannah, GA. Go to the beach at night and collect shells. Stay up late talking in super fine - make you feel better - very expensive (for our budget) - Holiday Inn.

12. Wake up, say good-bye to Little Brother. Have fabulous breakfast, update blog, head to beach, go back to old Savannah for a Praline Hunt (another personal mission), and a sandwich lunch in the Old Brick Grave Yard (6 acre Civil War Cemetary transformed to City Park).

13. Hit the road for good old KC. I can't wait to hug my husband, Girl3, Girl4, & Toots. I can't wait for the loving distractions my little babies will bring me on Monday either. I am having bittersweet fun, and missing my lovely life.

NEW:

14. Have so much fun at the beach running low on time for "Savannah Time" - oh yeah, I did find the Savannah Candy Kitchen (thanks to "Richard" and the reality TV show Ruby). Left with 3 pounds of pralines. No fun lunch in the cemetary though. I promise Girl2 - we will find a DQ on the road.

15. Within miles of the running out of gas incident on the West bound side of the highway I come across some road debris. It's big, no time to swerve, and it appears I can straddle it. WRONG. Off the ramp, find a local:

• Bad News: Lost all the transmission fluid - knocked a hole in the pan.
• Good News: Could have been worse.
• Bad News: It's 3:30 on Saturday in rural GA. All the garages are closed - they all gotta get to the dirt track.
• Good News: The Dirt Track is just miles down the road from us, and men in GA are for the most part quite the Southern Gentlemen - especially when one of the Damsels in Distress looks like Girl2. First Gentlemen (so cute) has an Uncle with a Tow Service - help is on the way!
• Bad News: The transmission shop we are getting hooked up with is in a very bad part of town - we need to be miles away from there. Oh yes, First Gentleman has confirmed that both part stores in Macon, GA do not carry the oil pan we need. Part will have to come from Atlanta - looks like we may not get on the road until Tuesday!
• Good News: Sheriff Sargent pulls into station. Ask him for advice on where to stay in Macon. He is a K-9 Sargent - cute too! Girl2 is relaxing - these handsome Southern Men seem to intrigue her. Now I am simultaneously conducting Future Son-in-Law Interviews between these two gentlemen as we wait for the tow truck.
• Bad News: There are lots of "gansta wanabees" just south of Macon, GA. At least one actually pulls up around us (with the Sargent and Dog RIGHT THERE) and initiates a Stare Down with Sargent Josh.
• Good News: Bad Guy looses and cruises off in big junk car.
• Bad News: Sargent Josh says now they know where we both are (he and the other officer on duty and Girl2 and I). The Bad Guys can now run "amuck" in rural Twigg County for awhile.
• Good News: Sargent Josh is not going to leave us alone for a minute. And a friend & coworker of his pulls in - sees him and comes over to offer a look-see. Larry Johnson (AKA"Bud") is actually the guy who works in the County Shop and keeps the officer's cars rolling. Also works on most of the officer's private cars in his home shop - just down the road by the Dirt Track. Mr. Johnson (correction "Bud" - please) thinks he can weld that hole right up and get us on the road.
• Good News: 8:30pm and we are back on the road. Bud has taught me how to to check the fluid and Sargent Josh has given us his private cell number - we can call him if we run into any more trouble in GA!
• Bad News: We found out Monday after we got home that the road debris had ripped THROUGH a major brace on the rear frame of the car. It is a wonder (I prefer to think it was the hand of God) we made it home in one piece.
• Good News: My Man is the Manager of a Goodyear. Good Men at Goodyear (where do you think I met him?). They took care of it!
• Bad News: I am now banned from driving more than 60 miles from home. Daddy is taking Girl2 on her next college road trip - the leave 4/16/09!

Circle Time Fun

So, I'm a bit lazy with the blog lately. That's probably because I'm trying to squeeze in my on-line course work during nap and in the evening. I love the new ideas I'm getting exposure to - but my goodness, it is a time-drainer! So, lazy woman that I am, here is from today's Daily Report and some extra added in with pictures and a video (TADA!) from Circle this morning:

Circle was really fun today. We started off with "Here We Are Together", "The Days of the Week", and the "ABC Song". We went over all our Nursery Rhymes from our Theme Page too. Then we read Skippyjon Jones up & down and Skippyjon Jones shape up – for the opposites book we have our own “acting out” movements we do and for the shape book we talked about the colors of the shapes and we tried to find similar shapes in our Circle Room as we read. We read Barnyard Banter – which I videoed with my digital camera and hope to have as my first “video” on our blog.

I know, I know. She bumped her head and I did not offer too much comfort. I was trying to stay out of the shot AND kept the story going! She shook it off fine, that Sunshine is quite a Little Trooper.

I played the video back and they watched it (very giggly) on the little screen on the camera. Baby Cakes was on the floor on her tummy up to this point when we switched to the Bumbo.

Then I got out some activities: Building/Nesting Blocks & Counting Chips, Building/Nesting Blocks & Counting Fish, and the Feeling Bear Puzzle. We rotated around the items. Well, except for Little who was very content with her just a set of blocks – happy to count the blocks themselves and build towers with secret hiding places for smaller blocks (Maybe we have a little engineer in the making here?).

What you can't see in this picture is how smart this almost two-year old is. She has awesome organizational skills. This is a set of 10 boxes. She had been stacking them while hiding a smaller tower of two inside of one big cube, then upward with another tower of two inside one big cube. This was toward the end of Circle when she was cleaning up her blocks - don't interrupt her - she can do it herself!

Baby Cakes got into the activity action in Circle today too – Sweetie Pie shared with Baby Cakes and they played with blocks together!

One is never too young to enjoy a good Circle Time. Above is Sweetie Pie showing Baby Cakes the ropes, such a Good Friend.

And here is Sunshine in a Sunbeam (the Circle Room is FULL of sunbeams) showing me a "Sad Feeling Bear" she told me that the bear got a boo-boo on her knee. Then she showed me her Weekend Warrior boo-booed knee.

And here is Mr. Smiley. I know that few of his pictures show him smiling, but I promise he is a smiler! Here he is concentrating on the task of seeing just how many counting chips he can hold in his little 21-month-old hands.

I think the Circle Room was one of my best ideas ever for our day care. These kids LOVE Circle Time. I'll send up the two-minute warning that we need to do our morning clean-up so we can go to Circle and they just scurry around putting away all the toys. As soon as I get the gate open - they rush out like a herd of little ponies hollering "Circle Time, circle time!" and running to the Circle Room.

I'm worn out...

We began our morning with the Dress-up Box. I fixed our standard Thursday Breakfast, Cheesy Eggs, and tried to help everyone with boas, tu-tus, cowboy hats, and other assorted garments. Finally, it was time to eat! Here's what it looks like at a meal time. (And don't I need to "de-clutter" my kitchen! If I weren't so busy having fun and caring for kids, I'd be ashamed of myself.)

Cheesy Eggs, Cantaloupe & Bananas, Wheat Toast, and Milk. Everyone has their favorite part: The Prince loves the fruit, Smiley the eggs, Sweetie Pie the wheat toast, and Baby Cakes (no teeth - yet) The Company.

You certainly can not tell by the picture above, buy Baby Cakes is getting over her first really bad cold. She is such a trooper - still smiling and trying so hard to be the Happy Baby she truly is. I'm not sure in all my years I've ever seen a tiny baby with so much congestion - such a terrible cough - and this is the "up side". Her poor First-Time-Parents had the roughest days of her cold (last Friday through Monday of this week). While I missed her Monday - I'm glad I did not see her then, it would have broke my heart. God Love Her, I hear she ran low on smiles and high on misery - absolutely the opposite of her usual cheerful self.

This week (and next week's) theme was "Our Five Senses". I was set on finger-painting today. It's been awhile since we broke out our finger paints, and it seemed like an ideal activity for our "fingers to feel". I've never done this with 5 toddlers under the age of two. But never fear, God sent us an angel just in time - here is from today's Daily Report:

"We had a fabulous morning. Grandma Patty showed up (like a blessing from Heaven) just in the nick of time! Baby Cakes got hungry right in the middle of a big diaper changing session (we had a Synchronized Pooping Incident). So once we got past the diaper changing, and got Baby Cakes happy – we BROKE OUT THE FINGER PAINTS. Everyone had a good time playing in the mushy cold paint – of course the majority of time was spent in the set-up and clean-up phase with only about 10 minutes tops actual “fingers-on”. Once I cleaned up one, and they realized it was hand washing time they were all running across one another’s artwork (taped to the floor) to beat each other to the soap and water in the bathroom!"

Like the title of this post reads, I'm worn out - so here is some more about our morning from our Daily Report...

"We even had time for Circle this morning. Grandma Patty joined us. We sang our songs (she was very impressed) and did some Jingle Bell and Dance Moves to a few of our tunes. We read Barnyard Banter (again, she was impressed), Words About Me and Mine, Skippyjon Jones 1-2-3s (counting with the book) and Skippyjon Jones Up & Down (hand motioning to the opposites). It was a bit crowded in the Circle Room so we made it back to the FR and Grandma Patty lead some small block play at the coffee table while I fed Baby Cakes, then some counting of bears and balls while I got lunch together."

Then it was time for lunch: Chicken Nuggets, Mashed Potatoes, Peas, Bread, and Milk. Everyone slowed down - Sweetie Pie nodded off into her potatoes. Where are those nap mats, and why don't the Regulations allow for the Provider to nap too?

We tucked in our shoes, and we laid down for nap about 12:30 today.

And look at that - Sunshine asleep in a sunbeam. Now, isn't that sweet?

As I started this post, I also steamed our carrots for snack. And today for snack? Something new: Warm Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Pretzels, Steamed/Chilled Carrots, and Water. I hope they like it.

I had just put my camera batteries into the recharger when I started this post, now I'm wishing there was a wall-recharger for Child Care Providers. I am looking forward to something along these lines tonight: I get to dash out the door at 5:30, drive like a mad woman to Waldo, and have my "hair appointment" tonight (losing about 4 years of age in roots & gray).

Have a great weekend.

I'm Up for a Challenge

Let's see if I can succeed.

NAFCC Accreditation by the end of the year. Usually, it is a 3 year process - but I'm going in under the wire (to save money) and trying to get it done in 1 year. We all know how I love to fly by the seat of my pants, not to mention how much I love (and am getting really good at) pinching pennies.

So I won't bore you with the gruesome details of who the NAFCC is and the process - here is a link if you are that interested and have the time:

http://www.nafcc.org/include/default.asp

I've got to get 90 hours of Continuing Education in as part of the process - this is a challenge. It is not just any CE - it's broken into areas and types. Some stuff I've done in the past two years can count towards that, but not a whole lot.

I signed up for a 45 hour course with the Salt Lake City Community College last week.

First poor SLCCC IT Guy had to help me work through getting online. I haven't used a Corporate IT Guy in 5 years - those were the days. His name was Gus - he will be sorry he ever told me his name. Made him laugh - I'm just that pitiful.

Took me back to the days when I had IT Guys visiting me weekly (at least). Man, was it ever SWEET to call down to IT in a hissy-sobbing-rage and have an IT Guy appear in my doorway within minutes.

Second poor SLCCC IT Guy that tried to help me was Richard. I don't know what a "Drag and Drop Activity" is - how to drag it, or where to drop it. Apparently, neither did he. I mean, he didn't say he didn't know how to drag it or where to drop, just that it wasn't working for him either. Okay, I got that from Little's Mom who tried to see if she could figure it out - but she isn't an IT Gal - she is just a very experienced On-line Course Taker.

Gus is an IT God.

Richard? He must be in training or something.

For now, I'm going to skip the Drop and Drag Activities until this Friday - then I will call around 10:00 and see if I can find Gus again (yes, I noted the time I talked to Gus). Like I said, he will be sorry he gave me his name.

Just wondering...

All my Girls inherited the K-family Gene that says "read in the lue" -

take your time... 2 hours if you need it.

Don't give a thought to the line that is forming outside of the Powder Room,

they can go to one of the other ones in the house.

Here is Girl4 (quite some time ago) figuring out the potty training thing.

I love this picture. One of my Little Cowgirls (man, I love their Daddy too).

How long, with as many irons in the fire as I have right now,
will it take me to figure out how to add music to my blog??????

Stay tuned.

What a Mess!

Here is our Green House of Love upon the sun rising this morning.

This post is dedicated to The Prince, whose over-the-top affection for tools (power or otherwise) and heavy equipment proves to me (again) that it really is Nature over Nurture. Boys are Boys, and Girls are Girls - it isn't that they don't enjoy sharing activities but some things are just "magnets" for each. I thought he would get a kick out of checking in and seeing what is going on at Marty's today...

Big Truck in the drive.

The first to arrive is the Big Truck bringing the supplies for the new roof. It takes up all of our little-bitty driveway. The big, tall driver is smoking a nasty smelly cigar - but he is nice and does not mind if we take pictures. The other guy speaks "Smile".

The truck has a big boom on it that has a conveyor belt - once they get the a platform built on the roof and the boom in place they move the supplies off the truck up onto the platform on our roof.

The big, tall man puts out his cigar and loads the supplies onto the conveyor.

The little guy (who is really bigger than this picture makes him seem) also knows some Sign Language too and gives us a big "Hello" from the top of our house.

Very soon after the first crew is gone, a second crew of 5 men showed up in a van and truck. 1 of these guys can speak pretty good English, and tells us they don't mind if we take pictures - the other 4 are fluent in "Smile". They work together and laid blue tarps on the ground all around the house. Then they climb on the roof and seem to be "getting organized". There is very little conversation - I think they know what they are doing. These guys really know about Team Work. They were getting ready to make a BIG MESS. It is too bad The Prince and Smiley aren't here to teach these guys how to make a big mess - and my little guys don't need any organizational time before hand.

This guy is in my husband's favorite spot on the roof (not). Look, Honey! He can do it WITHOUT clutching the house.

Girl4 and I go back into the house because we have pizzas to bake (and a Pizza Party to pack) and take and serve to Girl3's Kindergarten classroom by 11:05. Girl3's Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Idkhsdi (I Don't Know How She Does It), has done an awesome job with the whole class. When school started back in August, there were only 5 children that tested at "benchmark" for Kindergarten. They tested again in December, and 100% (23 children) are at benchmark now! That is some great teaching and some good learning too. They deserve a Pizza Party!

Girl4's Class & Teacher (and Girl3)

The picture below is what we found when we returned from School. Man, those 5 men work fast - not as fast as The Prince and Smiley - but pretty fast for "old guys".

Look! They have installed a sun light in the garage.

And one in the attic - can we say "REMODEL"?

This is just plain inspirational, my wheels are turning...

Well, it is 2:40. Girl4 somehow managed to fall asleep for afternoon nap about an hour ago. I need to go outside and rest my head. Sometimes it sounds sometimes like someone is falling off the roof, then sometimes it sounds like there is a herd of elephants are walking around up there. I WANT to survey the damage. I NEED to get out there now, it is completely silent. Hopefully they are just having lunch or taking a nap and the silence does not mean the last guy has fallen.

Progress on moving to the DR Table for lunch...

One of the many things I love about Montessori Traditions is "Family Style Dining". I've been wanting to incorporate this method of dining for at least our Day Care Lunch. However, we are a much younger group of children than Montessori methods usually apply to, so we will need to develop a little "higher than average" level of table manners before we can move into the Dining Room.

Finally, I have all the dining furniture my dining room can HOLD. My husband will be glad to read this part of the blog. Well, except for the part where we actually have a little TOO MUCH furniture and need to find a spot to move a few pieces to - otherwise cleaning up after the kids will just be too difficult.

Last weekend we got all new Toddler Dinnerware (plate, milk cup, water cup, and silverware for each kid) and we have been working extra hard this week on using good manners at the table. Having silverware that fits in your hands is a bigger help than I had previously thought. Here is some of what we are learning:

1. Everyone has their own Eating Bubble. Your bottoms need to be on the bench, your feet toward (or touching if you can) the floor. Your hips should not touch the person next to you, and you do not reach into another friend's Eating Bubble - even if they still have grapes left and yours are gone. It helps when Mrs. Marty sits with you at the table during snack to remind you about this crazy invisible bubble concept.
2. The "all done" signal does not include: Dumping your meal remains from your plate in front of you, shredding your food into tiny bits (or otherwise playing with your food), or dropping bits of food onto the floors. This is not easy to learn. Having to pick-up scattered and dropped food from your area or the floor helps you remember this. We say or sign "all done" when we are finished - its just good manners.
3. There are 2-3 at the picnic table and 2-3 in high chairs right now. Everyone must wait their turn to be cleaned up and excused from the table or to be cleaned up and helped down from their high chair. Patience is a Virtue - but is really difficult for young'uns to learn. But this group of kids is exceptional and for the most part are very patient.
4. Silverware is a Privilege and not a Right. Sort of like driving for big people. You mess up and you may lose your silverware for the rest of your meal. You only get 1 warning, and there is no Diversion Program you qualify for. We do not poke friends/table tops/cabinets/or ourselves with silverware. If you are advanced enough to sit at the Picnic Table, your silverware is not meant to go into/out-of the umbrella hole (that is really germy and considered "playing" at the table).
5. Some foods are MEANT for eating with our hands - like bread, bananas, and tater tots - we don't use silverware on these type things. It's okay NOT to use silverware, if you can do it without making a terrible mess. Hey, this is accepted in many cultures, they are kids, and everybody knows that eating with your fingers makes the food taste better.
6. Under no circumstances do we pound or slap the table tops in unison to try and make Mrs. Marty move faster. This is not a prison. "There are 5-6 of you and only one of me" I say upon the commencment of pounding as I stand in the middle of the general viewing area NOT WORKING on getting the plates distributed. If you pound, I stop - period. I also like to say this phrase upon discovery of an SPI (Sychronized Pooping Incident). And in that situation I don't stand firm in one spot, but rather scurry - but that is a whole other post (or not).

This may seem all to much for such little people. But as long you temper the training with a TON of love, praise, a little humor, and a big smile it really isn't too much for them to handle. And how do I know if I'm not using enough love, praise, humor, or smiling enough? They aren't happily eating their food! WE have come a long way in just a few weeks. Every day gets better and better.

Breakfast & Lunch is a little divided as far as sitting privileges, but Snacks are together at the picnic table (to help the littler ones with the Eating Bubble Thing).

I'm confident that they will be ready for the dining room in a few weeks. And that in a few months, when out to eat some where with their family, someone is going to comment on their INCREDIBLE table manners!

Until next time - CHOW. ; )