The price of cleanliness

With flu season in full swing, my son's daycare decided to be proactive and encourange frequent handwashing and hand sanitizing among the kids.

I found this out the hard way. Last week, Trystan had a false-sick day. He threw up at school on Tuesday, so had to stay home all day Wednesday. Of course, by Tuesday dinner time, he was fine, eating, and happy. Wednesday was a play at home with mommy day. That's very very aggravating for a working parent who has (had) a total of 20 sick hours to spend. (Note, after this week's strep/flu/ear combinations, I think I'm down to about 4, and I had to re-arrange my days to keep from hitting 0).

So, I was aggravated. I'm still no convinced that Trystan didn't just eat something he wasn't supposed to at school. But I have no idea what it would have been. Yep, this is all backstory, so we're all caught up.

Thursday, at work, my phone rings. One of the daycare workers tells me that Trystan has a rash. Mainly on his hands, a little on his bottom, and a small spot on his tummy. They're wondering if we were worried about strep, given the puke two days before. Um, no. He was eating and completely fever-free. Not strep.

I ask if there's anything he could have gotten his hands into (playing outside? Dirt? Flowers? Cleaning supplies?) No, they say. But we did start using hand sanitizer on the kids. "Its really nice stuff. It smells good."

Ok, big red flag. "Smells good" equals allergic reaction for probably 1/3 or more of the beauty products on the market, for me and the kids. "Smells good" usually means "we added bits of plants". Plants make us itch. There is a short list of scented products that I can use. Very, very short. And I'm not interested in adding to it. I buy fragrance free or hypoallergenic or "baby" everything. Though even "baby" products can cause problems--I went to one postpartum checkup after Charlotte was born, and I was covered from head to toe in hives from scented baby wipes I was using on *her*.

This afternoon, at Trystan's school Halloween party, the teachers sat all the kids down and squirted all but Trystan with their hand sanitizer before their snack. One teacher showed me the bottle. "See, its good stuff. Spa originals". Nowhere on this bottle are the words "hypoallergenic" or "fragrance free". It smells flowery. And no, I didn't care to try it on myself, just in case.

I got the impression that the teacher was still doubtful about the cause of his rash. By the way, they quit using that stuff on him on Thursday when I asked them to, and by the time he came home that night, the hives were all but gone, and haven't returned.

I think I'm buying them a new bottle of sanitizer for next week.

H1N1 update

Charlotte is back at school. Yesterday was basically a play day for her. Amoxycillin is a miracle drug. No, it wasn't prescribed to treat the flu--it was for the strep throat. I think the flu was on its way out, and the tamiflu finished kicking the virus out.

Trystan is home today, for the second day. He got both the flu and an ear infection. Probably the same buggies that infected Char's throat, and he has the same amoxycillin to fight it. Plus the tamiflu. Plus, he has asthma that only acts up when he's sick. So we have instructions to give him breathing treatments and an oral steroid just in case. He's fever-free this morning and playing well, so I'm sure he'll be back at school tomorrow.

Now that Char's back to classes, its time for her fall break. School's out Friday and Monday. Just what we need after expending so much sick time with the two of them the past week. I remember the days of earning more sick days at work than I could possibly use, and taking "mental health" days just so I didn't have to give away my paid time off. These days, as soon as I accumulate 8 hours, it's spent.

Charlotte told me a very interesting story this morning.

One of the new teachers at her daycare has a father who is Office Police. And the Office Police came to visit the school to talk to the kids. With his Boyfriend, and their Pet Dog. The dog wears a vest.

Translation:

One of the new teachers at her daycare has a father who is a Police Officer. The officer came to visit the school to talk to the kids, along with his Partner, and a Police Dog. The dog does, indeed, wear a vest.

Gotta love the vocabulary of a 4.5 year old...

My little fish

Today is the first day of Charlotte’s swimming lessons for the summer.  Every year, our daycare arranges with one of the local pools, hires their own instructors (who are also certified life guards), and drives the kids back and forth in the school van.  Charlotte will go three days a week all summer.  And she loves it. 

 

We love it too.  Last summer, not only did she massively improve her swimming abilities, but I didn’t have to wrestle her out of the pool every day.  My least favorite part of swimming is leaving, because there is always a tantrum (not mine!).

 

At school, they had talked with the kids about how swimming works, and my husband talked to Charlotte last night.  On swimming days, Charlotte goes to school wearing her bathing suit with sunscreen already applied.  She needs to bring a bag containing her towel and dry clothes for later.  The wet suits and towels are hung on the playyard fence to dry during the day.

 

Well, Charlotte had listened to the instructions.  And she was ready.  At 6:10AM this morning, before I’d quite forced my eyelids open all the way, she came into our room upset because she couldn’t reach her pool bag.   I think she already had her suit on, and had picked out her clothes.   This is the same kid that we usually have to drag out of bed around 7:30 and force into her clothes.  I guess she’s excited.

 

 

Nicknames

Got a nickname?

Mine was always just the short version of my name. Kris or Krissy.
Around the 5th grade I decided that it was silly to call me Krissy when
there was only 1 S in my given name. So I named myself Kristi. Short
for Kristina.

With Charlotte, I tried calling her Charlie (a la Top Gun, you know).
Somehow, Char has stuck instead.

And now comes Trystan. Believe it or not, there are 2 Trystan's in his
daycare class. Technically, the other is Tristen. With the same last
initial even. There are 3 in the daycare as a whole. And I thought I
was being unique.

A week or so ago, one of the teachers told me that they had given my son
a nickname, to distinguish him from the other Tristen. They didn't
shorten his name to Tryst (which isn't probably appropriate for a
toddler, LOL) or Stan. They decided to shorten <i>him</i>. Tiny. They
wanted to nickname him Tiny.

I think its not uncommon to give a nickname that's the opposite of what
the person is--so "Tiny" would be someone who is huge. Except Trystan
isn't huge. He's tiny. As in, falling off the bottom of the growth
chart in height and weight. Outsized by kids half his age. Literally.
Our pediatrician has said that she's going to watch his growth over the
next year or two, and we might be talking to an endocrinologist about
stimulating his growth. Personally, I believe its genetic--he's
actually bigger than his sister at the same age, and she actually went
up a few notches on the curve as she got older. But he is the smallest
in his class.

Kids, and boys in particular, who are smaller frequently end up picked
on. Add a diminutive nickname to the mess, and it's a recipe for low
self esteem or worse. And, like "Char", if we allow the name to start
now, he'll carry it until he changes schools around pre-k or
kindergarten. That's too much Tiny for us.

One of the teachers called him Tiny in front of me yesterday, and I
asked her, as politely but firmly as I could, to please find him a
different name. She actually pouted. I think she's older than I am,
and she pouted at being asked to find a way to support a growing kid's
self esteem instead of diminish it.

The other Tristen is nearly 3, and will then transition out of my
Trystan's class. Maybe then, my son can re-capture his name. Until
then, hopefully they'll go with T-man, or T-Rex, or even Blondie or
Towhead. Something not quite so belittling.

Books and Toys

I read a blog post on Stltoday.com recently about those Scholastic Book Club flyers that some schools hand out. Yep, those same newsprint sheets that we got in elementary school back in the "good old days".

A Boston-based group reviewed the flyers and concluded that they’re full of toys. Well, that for the series they examined, 14 percent of the items offered for sale were not books, and 19 percent were books packaged with other items. Apparently they found this to be a problem.

My kids’ preschool hands out the same Scholastic flyers every so often, and we almost always buy something (usually, many somethings). Now, we get a slightly different series than the one reviewed—I think that was for 2nd graders—but our flyers also have an assortment of "non-books".

I’ve never found anything to complain about. They’re not selling guns and candy. The "non-book" items are frequently flashcards, art kits, kits that include small models (like dinosaurs or bugs). And honestly, my husband and I control all purchasing from the pamphlets, so there is no opportunity for Charlotte to blow all her cash on stickers. Not that she has cash to blow just yet. She’s only 4.

Have I ever bought any of the "non-book" items? Just last month. I got a pack of Valentines Day books that came with a rolling stamper (with 4 different colored stampers). Charlotte loved it. So much that she roller-stamped the walls (and then had to clean them). Guess I need to get that back out again tonight for her to work on Valentines cards for her school party. Wall washing aside, it was a nice little packet—4 or 5 books plus the stamper for around $10.

I think Scholastic is doing a fine job, and if they’re making money on the deal, that’s wonderful! I find it incredibly convenient to buy their books. There are usually 1-2 items per flyer for only $1 each (I usually buy these, plus other stuff). I love shopping in bookstores too, but the bookstores tend to carry more hardbacks. And while the hardbacks are nicer quality, I love the quantity and variety that buying all the little paperbacks affords us. And their packs introduce us to authors and series that I might not have chosen individually.

Each of our children has a bookcase overflowing with books (we’re talking 100’s, not even counting all of the early readers Charlotte just inherited from her "little aunt"), and they request to read more every night than we ever have time for. That doesn’t mean that we buy more than we read—but if you don’t cut them off, they’ll request to read every book in the place. Annoying as it is when you really just want the kid to sleep, I love that. I’m a huge reader, and we’re rearing two huge readers. That’s a good thing.

If selling a few educational trinkets helps entice a kid to read, what’s the harm?

Busy Busy Busy

I need a weekend. I know we just had one. Someone really should adjust the calendar to double up on those occaisionally.

Starting a little over a week ago, we've been busy non-stop. Saturday was a wedding. Sunday was church followed by a birthday lunch for my brother-in-law. Eating in restaruants was relaxing before kids. Monday after work we attended a birthday pool party, in the drizzle. Despite chilly temperatures, Char was hard to extract from the pool, except for the piñata. Trystan loved that thing too, and wanted nothing more than to stand independently in a group of 3-7 year olds and take his turn swinging the bat. Tuesday my husband had wallyball. Wednesday he had a night of gaming with friends.

Thursday I was "off", which meant making breakfast, taking the kids to the park (Char's little bike is still in my trunk), then to the library for story time, then home just in time for our Parents as Teachers lady to come see the kids, then lunch. I think they both napped for a while after that, and I mopped the floor and did a thousand other things instead of relaxing. My husband came home around 4:30, and I grabbed my laptop and ballet shoes and ran for the hills...er..for Starbucks. After an hour of writing time, I went to the Y for my "ballet sculpt" exercise class, then home for dinner and bedtime.

Friday I worked. Our daycare had a Father's Day "root beer social" so my husband went to that and stuffed himself and the kids full of hotdogs and chips. Unaware, I went to the grocery store after work and picked up dinner fixings, which I didn't make that night. After Trystan was asleep, I went to Borders (yes, the one with the flowery tote bags) with a couple of friends for a little more writing time. I didn't manage to buy any books (unusual for me).

Saturday morning we blessedly had nothing planned (swim lessons are now handled through daycare). I spent a couple of hours in the garden removing a veritable rain forest of weeds from beneath my rose bushes (I overflowed the compost bin, so we actually have a whole big bag of lawn waste to set out this week). Then my husband and I traded places, and I made the kids lunch and did some laundry while he mowed the lawn. Saturday afternoon we spent at my sister-in-law's house, celebrating my niece and nephew's first birthday (Happy Birthday You Two!). Baby pool, sprinkler, sand box (Trystan only ate a few handfuls before we stopped him), hamburgers, cake & ice cream, crash time.

Sunday, the schedule was up to my husband. Trystan arose bright and early, and I whisked him downstairs quicker than I normally do. Char slept till almost 9 (she had no nap the day before), so her daddy got to sleep in a bit. We got ready for church, and, surprisingly, arrived a few minutes early. After church, we had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen (Trystan slept the whole time on my husband's shoulder), then saw Kung Fu Panda in the theater. Back home, Char napped, Trystan played, I made the dinner I'd bought on Friday (Grilled Teriyake Steak Kebabs....yes, women can grill, even on Father's Day). Char got a little play time with her friend Gavin before bed.

Tonight: we have no plans. Maybe we'll get a step closer to finishing the trimwork project we started on Memorial Day weekend. Maybe I will get some laundry done. Maybe I"ll just sleep. Wait, Charlotte's bedtime is almost as late as mine these days. I need a weekend.

The Little Mermaid

Charlotte starts swimming lessons through her daycare today. She's quite the fish, and we've been taking her for lessons at the Y on and off since she was about 7 months old. Lately she swims very very well for hours unassisted with a bubble belt, and can travel about 5 feet underwater without one. Her daycare shuttles the kids (ages 3 and up) who sign up to a neighborhood pool nearby, up to three days a week. Last year, although she could probably out-swim several of the older kids, she wasn't old enough.

I'm scared, excited, and nervous. It's scary packing a 3-year old off to a pool without me. At the Y she has to have a parent in the pool area during all lessons, and in arms reach whenever she's just playing in the water. I know that there is some student-teacher ratio at work with the daycare lessons that's not 1-1. Deep breaths and the knowledge that they've been offering this service for years (presumably) without a casualty is helping. Some.

I'm excited because swimming lessons at the Y has become an all-day, whole-family ordeal. With two day jobs, our only options for lesson times are Saturday mornings, when every other 2-career family on this side of town is also at the Y swimming, and there are not enough family changing rooms for 1/4 of the folks who try to cram in there. The chaos generally results in frayed tempers, cranky parents, and recently, a lost bathing suit. With the daycare option, we are cutting out that mess, and actually getting Char in the pool more often, and for less money than the same number of lessons would be through the Y.

I'm nervous about how Char will handle herself, changing her clothes after class (we send her to school in her suit on swimming days, but she'll have to get dressed afterwards), with her goggles (that she insists on wearing but needs help with), and her hair and skin. Blonde hair, for those of you without it, has a nasty habit of turning green with prolonged exposure to chlorine. I finally found Ultra Swim shampoo on Drugstore.com, which ought to help. I've broached the subject of cutting Char's hair short for the summer, but she is adamant that she likes it as is. She hates to comb her hair, though, and that worries me too. I did pack a labeled comb in her pool bag today, but I don't know that she'll allow any of her teachers near enough to use it (or if they'll even try). My husband coated her in sunscreen before she left the house today, and they have another bottle at school for recess. I hope they use that as well.

Of course, today, the first day of swim lessons, Charlotte headed to school among light showers and a tornado watch. I'm afraid she will be disappointed. But, she has the rest of the summer to make up for it.

Maximus Cutiness

Charlotte and Trystan have some very funny vocabularies lately.



Despite what all the baby books said, Trystan didn't bother with a lot of babbling until he was almost 11.5 months old. It wasn't that he couldn't make sounds, he just didn't do it very often. Sounds other than cries of indignance or anger, that is. Around 10 months, when he ought to have been repeating consonant sounds (ba ba ba or da da da), he was busy making a lot of raspberry sounds, and that tounge cluck noise. We were beginning to wonder if he was learning Swahili at daycare instead of English. His first word was "Hi", complete with a hand wave. He still does not wave "bye", though I'm certain he knows exactly what it means.

Then one day, he decided to talk. After "hi", the first word I recognized was "mine". I'd been playing with him, teasingly taking away his pacifier, and he would giggle and grab it back. With one of the grabs, he said "mine". Clear as day. I guess that's appropriate for a younger sibling. Since then, he hasn't stopped with the words, though he does make a lot of nonsense words. His babbling now is what one of my books called "jargoning"--saying a comibination of sounds, not just repeating one over and over again. I recognize some words in his talking--he says a lot of "bubba"'s, which is an endearment we've used for him since he was born. Here's a few of his other words (the ones we definitely understand):

Ada (Daddy--he's also been known to say "Hi Ada!" and wave...a whole sentance!)

Mum Mum (roughly translated: Mommy, where's my pacifier)

Arla (Charlotte)

Dora (yes, *that* Dora...Charlotte watches a couple episodes a week)

Wipe ("Swiper"...as in "the Fox")

BackPack (sense a theme here?)

Duck

Quack

Book

Bubba

lunch (usually sounds like "nch"...definitely means food to him)

cereal (he said that one this morning--all 3 syllables plain as day, while looking at the Cheerios box)

That (more of a "da"...he's beginning to point when he says it sometimes too)



Not to be outdone, Charlotte's vocabulary is taking off too. She is telling long, complex stories, and recalling events that happened months or even years ago. She makes up stories and songs (sometimes she borrows an existing tune, sometimes both the tune and the lyrics are brand new). She is also turning into a fitness guru. Her daycare offers an extra exercise class called "Stretch N Grow" where a lady named "Coach Tammy" leads the kids in a variety of exercises, and teaches them about muscles and bones and staying strong and healthy. Charlotte does this adorable routine that involves stretches, toe touches, and waist twists as she chants "We Stretch! We Stretch! We Groooow!", in a scary imitation of the cheerleading coach from my Jr High (No, I wasn't one...but I had her in class...come to think of it, her name was Tammy too).

I think one of the best things Char has learned from her exercise class is what she now calls her bottom: her "bootius maximus", or occasionally it's her "maiximus bootiness".


Talk about cute!

Life's colder lessons

I have learned a few important lessons during today's snowstorm. Well, some of these were more like refreshers rather than new lessons.

1. There are many, many kind people in this town. Thank you to the nice old lady whose driveway my car got stuck in front of, for the loan of her snow shovel as I attempted to get unstuck. My sincerest apologies for the small muddy hole I have probably left in your yard, but I did spare your mailbox that you just had installed! Thank you wholeheartedly to Patty from St. Peters who gave Trystan and I a lift for the half a mile to daycare after my car got stuck and I gave up on moving it myself. Thank you to the 3 guys in the blue volvo who, along with my husband, ended up pushing my car up to the top of the hill that I was stuck on (while Charlotte and Trystan were waiting back at the school). And mostly, thank you to my husband who shoveled our driveway, half of the nice lady's driveway, drove to come rescue me (shovelling half of the roads on the way so he wouldn't get stuck himself), and who did get my car unstuck and pushed it up the hill.

2. There are many, many foolish people in this town. Tops on my list tonight are Suzanne and Jim, who run our kids' daycare, and who decided at 12:30 in the worst of the white-out thundersnow to call all parents and demand that we come retrieve our children. It took me 4 hours from the time I left my house to the time I left daycare with the children buckled into the car. Had they not attempted to "close early", then I would probably have left at 4pm, and arrived by 5, taking only 1 hour on plowed roads with actual visibility, and I would not have been a nuissance to all the people I've already mentioned, and a danger to Trystan who was forced to ride along the entire harrowing journey. They'll be lucky if their poor decision making only costs their school's families time today, and not property or worse, lives.

3. The next time I decide that the roads are too bad for me to drive to work after taking Trystan to an AM dr appointment, I should go and get Charlotte right then. Again, it probably would have taken an hour for me to get home, but better than the 5+ than I ended up with.

4. I need new snow boots. Ones that fit. I have decided that my current pair are really a men's size 8 and not a women's, and they are terrible to hike up snowy hills in, especially while carrying a baby bundled in your coat.

5. Did I mention that my husband is Superman? Sort-of? Well, I'll say it again. I am exhausted and I didn't shovel 2 driveways, several roads, or push a car up a hill today. He is reading Charlotte bedtime stories as I type.

The Pumpkin Patch

I did not grow up in the St. Louis area. Though I've been here since I started college (13 years now...boy do I feel old saying that), there are still a lot of things around town I am still learning, and many places that I never knew existed. Last week, Charlotte's daycare took a field trip to the pumpkin patch at Thies Farm. I had no idea this place existed. We really don't live that far away from the Creve Coeur location, and though I realized that there was some farmland and at least one nursery in that part of town, I didn't know there was a farm that was open to the public with a farmer's market, pumpkin patch, strawberry fields, etc. Not to sound like a commercial for the place, but I'm just mystified that I had no idea that it was there. I will have to remember the farmer's market in the future--they had a lot of good looking veggies in there, including beautiful bell peppers that were grown right near the pumpkins, instead of from Isreal like the ones from Schnucks seem to be.
The field trip was a lot of realy exhausting fun. For once, my "regular" work schedule was a benefit, as the group went on Thursday, one of my days off. I had signed up to go along and help, and was able to leave Trystan for the morning at the daycare while I accompanied Charlotte's class. We arrived around 9am, and I got to watch some of the class room dynamics as the kids finished breakfast and were branded (on their backs with stickers containg the school's address and phone number) and herded first to the potties and then towards the waiting collection of school vans and parent vehicles. Charlotte rode in my car--had she needed to ride in the school van, it would have been a pain as they only have booster seats and she's not heavy enough for one yet. I would have had to install her carseat myself in their van. Our group had 36 kids between 3 and 5 years old, and 11 adults--about half teachers and half parents. There were two school vans and at least a half dozen parent cars, and we looked like an odd sort of funeral procession as we drove the short way to the farm.
Each parent and/or teacher had 3-4 children to keep watch for in the farm's Pumpkinland play area--a neat kiddie play area constructed from haybales and tractor tires. If you havent' been there, it's a lot more impressive than that sounds. I had Charlotte and two other 3 year olds, and I decided that day that I'm thankful not to have triplets. At any one time, two girls would run one direction, and the other would run in the opposite direction. But, I didn't lose anyone and they all had a blast climbing through tunnels, across rope bridges, through the hold of a hay pirate ship (CinderCharlotte nearly lost a shoe there), down a big slide, and more. They had over an hour of playtime before it was our turn for a hayride. We had a tour of the farm, and the driver talked about all of the various things that they do (strawberry festival, Christmas trees, etc). Afterwards, there was a greenhouse with baby farm animals that the kids could look at. Then we all piled back into our caravan, and after all heads were accounted for, drove back to school. The kids got pumpkins and a mini coloring book to take home.
We enjoyed the farm so much that we went back again on Saturday, this time with my husband and Trystan, and some friends of ours. It was such a nice day Saturday that I think half of St. Louis County came also. Charlotte and our friend's son had more playtime in Pumpkinland. We skipped the farm tour hayride this time and instead hopped the wagon to the pumpkin patch to pick a few pumpkins of our own. They had obviously seeded the patch with pumpkins from another field, but there were still plenty on the vine, and all of them looked quite nice (not so bruised and beaten as the grocery store ones always are). I had Trystan in our front carrier the whole time, which made carrying a pumpkin kind of difficult (had one on my head for a while...that hurts). My husband would have carried them, except somehow we came away with three good sized pumpkins, and a very worn-out 3-year-old, which is more than one man can carry. Before we left, we browsed the farmer's market and picked up some fresh-picked sweet potatoes, pumpkin butter (like apple butter--there's no actual butter involved, just spicy pumpkin-y spread), apples (from Michigan as the Missouri crop was nonexistant this year, but yummy nonetheless), and a few other odds and ends. Both kids crashed in the car on the way home.




Charlotte, Trystan and I posing by a pumpkin horse.

This is Charlotte, looking for a little pumpkin amongst the giants. She's been very taken by a book called The Littlest Pumpkin.

Working and Schedules

I am currently working part-time, 3 days a week as a software engineer. The other two weekdays, I stay home with my kids. In theory, this is supposed to help free me (and my husband) to get things done that we’d be taking off of work for anyway—kids sick days, doctor appointments, errands, deliveries, etc. In reality, it seems much more difficult than that.
The sick day problem has probably given me the most headaches so far. I’m theoretically working Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and you’d think that the kids would have at least some of their sick days on Thursdays or Fridays. So far, I don’ t think that’s been the case for a single illness since I went back to work. My job is flexible enough that I can just go in on different days, without anyone blinking. The problem is daycare. If I work a Thursday or Friday, then I have to call and OK that ahead of time, so that they will have enough staff (obviously, I also have to pay more if one kid will be going 4 days that week instead of 3). I do still earn sick days, as does my husband, plus he has the flexibility to do some work from home. But I’ve earned like 2 total since returning from maternity leave (the leave consumed the rest), and we’re both also planning for known hospital stays.
Doctors, also, seem to want us to schedule appointments on other days of the week besides Thursday and Friday, so I get into the same issue as with sick days. In theory, I can be somewhat flexible with my hours, but it’s been difficult to impossible to make up hours with getting kids ready and/or picked up from daycare at decent hours, and managing break time to pump milk for Trystan. (Before you even suggest giving that up, the answer is No, that is non-negotiable for me. I breastfeed. Period.). Working from home is not an option for my job (protest all you like about my being a software engineer, but truly it is impossible).

As for errands, some can be done with the kids, and some just cannot. Unfortunately, until Trystan is walking and/or Charlotte is walking better, the number of things is more than the number I can do. Grocery shopping: by the time I strap Charlotte into the seat, and put Trystan’s carseat in the cart, there’s no where left for the food. The sling is an option, but that makes it rather difficult to pick up some things (and he’s putting his hands into everything). Doctor appointments for me: maybe if the case were severe enough, but Charlotte’s not patient enough. Picking up a package from the post office: I would need one hand to carry Trystan’s carseat (or push the stroller) and one to keep track of Charlotte. Where do I put the package? The sling is just plain out, because there’s no way to balance a box with a baby strapped to your chest (unless you have superior arm strength I suppose). Usually, my home days are spent doing kid-focused things: story time at the library, walks to the park, playing around the house. I sometimes get lucky and get some housework done when the stars align and both kids nap at the same time (I try to let Charlotte be involved in taking care of the house so that she learns, but some things are just not kid-safe). For anyone who thinks I have time “to myself” on my “days off”, I laugh.

Oddly enough, there are two possibilities for how to address my time issue: quit work altogether, or work more hours. The former has issues with money and health insurance, and is not realistic right now. The latter option seems counterintuitive, but might accidentally work. I’ve been kicking around going back 4 days a week instead of 3 after Trystan’s next surgery. That would still allow me one day off a week with the kids. We would actually have to pay for full-time at daycare, but that means that we have guaranteed childcare on any of the 5 weekdays with no special phone calls to make. Within a 2-week payperiod, it is also much more likely that I can flex a couple of hours here and there if I have to (my job allows flexible hours, but not partial sick days for appointments). Actually, within a 2-week payperiod, it becomes plausible to actually flex an entire day off so I could work 7 9-10 hour days and have 3 off days. Note I say “plausible” not “possible” or even “probable”. The other benefit is that at 32 hours/week I earn full-time pay for holidays (currently, only paid half for holidays), contribute less (none actually) for health insurance, and earn vacation and sick time faster. Obviously I would also take home more pay to start with (80% of my “regular” salary instead of my current 60%), but that’s actually at the bottom of my list of pro’s right now
If/when I make a switch, I will likely follow up this post with one about how difficult things are when working 4 days a week. I wish there were a better solution, but winning lottery tickets aren’t often found laying around where I can pick them up, and other creative financial plans haven’t been well-received by all stakeholders.