Bring on the Birthdays

For anyone that doesn't know, Isaac's birthday is this Sunday, April 3 and Brian's birthday is Monday, April 4.  So this is going to be a busy weekend for me.  I just hired a woman to come out and do face painting and balloon art for the party.  I am trying to keep things simple so I am going to go with a carnival (kind-of) theme and we will have hot dogs (with Chicago style fixings), popcorn, and cake and ice cream.  If anyone can think of a carnival themed vegetable, let me know.  If it were warmer I would do corn on the cob on the grill, but since spring doesn't seem to be on the way yet, I am thinking indoor food would be better.  I already have the cake pan, so Cookie Monster will be crashing our party.

As far as the move goes, there isn't much new to report.  Isaac isn't yet loving his new day care, but he is at least trying to be brave.  He will now walk into his classroom and hang up his coat on his own and then we sit down and get his breakfast out and he keeps a brave face until I tell him I have to go to work.  Then he loses it.  They say he is doing better during the week and it seems like he may be getting attached to Miss Brittany.  Maybe next week . . .

I knew that I would miss Granny's Corner and I knew during the 4 years I had children there that I was lucky to find such a wonderful place for my kids.  There were so many things that Granny did that made life easy for parents that other places don't seem to do.  For example, they cooked meals there, including breakfast.  Although Isaac has pretty much always eaten two breakfasts every morning, it was so nice to take the kids there and have them sit down to breakfast together.  I knew they were getting a hot breakfast to start the day, even if I was running too late to get breakfast myself.  Wednesday was always pancake day, which made getting Mackenzie out the door on the toughest day of the week a breeze, and Friday was always cereal and TV day, which made the last moring of the week a breeze as well.  Now I have to make breakfast for both of them, package it up and haul it with us every day.  I am sure I will get used to it, but I miss my "carefree" mornings.  Speaking of hauling stuff, Granny supplied diapers and wipes.  I know this was difficult for her to do with the cost, but for a mom, what an amazing convenience. 

Also, the ladies at Granny's Corner used to watch for the parents and usually by the time I got inside one or both of my kids was bundled up and ready to head to the car.  During a midwest winter that is such a blessing and it means getting home and getting dinner ready that much earlier.  It is amazing to me how long it takes me to pick up my kids now and it isn't the dead of winter.  Who knows when I will make it home when I have to contend with hats, scarfs and mittens once again. 

Finally, Granny had sleep-overs once a month during the school year.  There was an added cost, but it was wonderful.  Mackenzie started going at 3 (she had to be able to go to bed on her own and be potty trained to attend) and I think she went to nearly every sleepover that year.  It was a fantastic way to learn that she was ready for sleepovers and it also allowed us to learn how she would act away from home.  Granny always told us that she was a little helper at the sleepovers and that she wanted to help get the food ready and clean up, etc.  Who knew?  Mackenzie loved the sleepovers because they gave her a chance to be grown up and Isaac loved being a single kid every once in a while. 

So for anyone out there that is thinking about running a daycare, those would be my suggestions for making it a great one.  It also helps if you can find women as wonderful as Miss Terry, Miss Carmen, Miss Ileana, Miss Natasha, Miss Gloria, Miss Maria and Miss Olivia to help care for the kids.  Hopefully I didn't miss any of the wonderful ladies that took care of Isaac and Mackenzie over the last 4 years.  You are all missed!