A tribute.

A week from today, this smart, handsome and confident little boy starts kindergarten. I'm so proud of him.

 

Among other things, he tells me he can't wait to play on the playground, pick out his lunches and learn from his new teacher.

The key word there being "new," because he's had a teacher for the last 5 years and she is wonderful. Beyond wonderful, in fact. It's funny that most of my emotions around Alex going to kindergarten aren't centered around what he's going to; they're focused on what he's leaving.

I've raved more than once about how incredible Mrs. Davis' Daycare is, but it's also important to acknowledge that it's so much more for Alex. For Joe and me, it is a place where we knew he was safe, he was learning, and he was growing. But for Alex, it was his world. It's where he made his first friends, and learned how to BE a friend. It's where he learned to read and write his name. It's where he learned how to wash his hands and to be polite. He was encouraged to pray before meals, to honor our country and respect all people.

Aunt Jane (and yes, even Uncle Tom) have been much, much more than "just a daycare" for us. They're part of the village that has helped to shape and mold our Alex into the smart, creative and eager boy that he is. And for that I'm eternally thankful.

The wonderful news is that this isn't "goodbye" to our Aunt Jane, because Miss Harper will still be at Mrs. Davis' Daycare. I've half joked that she can stay there until she goes to College, but each day the idea sounds more appealing.

I'm not saying I have the cutest kids ever...

Ok, that's actually exactly what I'm saying.

If you follow me on any of the social accounts at right (Ahem. You totally should be.) most of these pictures will be old hat to you because the nanosecond I saw them I mad published them everywhere I had a login and password. Because the world needed to see them.

Yesterday was "Super Hero" day at Aunt Jane's Daycare. COME ON WITH THESE PICTURES.

It was also "Bring a Stuffed Friend" day. Alex brought Cody, his Pillow Pet Dream Lite; and Harper, of course, brought her Hippo.

 

Once you get over the cute (and how Alex looks 17), can we all, for a moment, relish in the awesomeness that is our Aunt Jane? I'm not sure there are even words to express how special she is to our family and how blessed we are to have found her. To have someone you love and trust like family to, in theory, be an extension of yourself, is just incredible. We love our Aunt Jane!

Life lessons.

Alex has recently been asking for a new game. Specifically, a very, very quiet and calming game called Hungry Hungry Hippos. I can only assume it's from the same toy designer who invented the ball popping "vacuum" cleaner. I hate that person.

Anyway, I thought about letting someone get it for his birthday (can't even talk about the f-o-u-r) and then we opted instead to use it as a little life lesson. We told him he had to earn his new game by doing special chores and helping around the house...which, to my surprise, he was SUPER excited about.

So after a weekend of cleaning up toys, helping with dishes and being a VERY good listener, off we went to the toy store. As luck would have it, there were two left on the shelf (and it was on sale!). My sweet boy asked if we could also buy one for Aunt Jane, since hers was "just a little bit broken." Of course we agreed and he was able to use his special weekend of helping to also bring a new toy to his friends at daycare. Two life lessons, one stone, & one happy Momma.

I think I'm getting the hang of this parenting thing!

That will be all.

Because this is all you need to be happy in life today.

America!

While many of us have been preoccupied by the national election, the REALLY IMPORTANT election will be held at Alex's Daycare today! Who will be their official daycare mascot? I invite you to meet the candidates...

 

The Dog Party: Meet Clifford, the Big Red Dog. According to Aunt Jane, those who have chosen the Dog Party Candidate like his cute tail, his nose, paws, big eyes and red floppy ears. They also say he is a really nice dog.

The Dinosaur Party: Meet Barney, the Dinosaur. I'm told that those who have made Barney their candidate like that he is big and purple, a nice green belly, and a friendly smile. He likes kids too.

Additionally, their respective poll workers will be passing out treats in an attempt to sway last minute voters.

And as each child practices his or her right to a Daycare vote, the official Mrs. Davis' Daycare mascot will be chosen. Viva la democracy!

In related news, I'm told that Alex is a fervent supporter of Clifford. And as such, he's taken on the role of campaign manager. Joey's never been prouder.

Go Tigers!

The Detroit Tigers are going to the World Series, baby! And the kiddos at Daycare are just as excited as the grown ups. Look what they did today - a parade!

My treasure box.

The 5 year anniversary "traditional" gift is wood (snicker, snicker). And in addition to the gifts Joey got me (more on that later), he had some special help with a gift from Alex.

He asked Aunt Jane if they could do a wood craft that day, and boy, did she deliver. This was my first legit "Mom cry" over a handmade present.

The world's greatest treasure chest.

The back of the lid and bottom of box.

Oh, I know! Isn't is just the BEST? I keep all my most precious treasures in it, and it will probably go down in the books as one of the best things he's ever made me. I love how there's a bigger jewel in the center of the lid to help remove it...and I can just picture how careful he was with his little tongue stuck out, gluing all the rest of the sticks and gems in place.

And look at how good he's getting at writing his name! *sniffle*

You've got a friend in me.

Today was "Bring a Friend" day at Aunt Jane's Daycare. We talked about it extensively this morning and Alex narrowed it down to about 82 toys/stuffed things that he so gently lined along the couch. (He has a thing for lining things up. It's weird.)

His final two selections were a 3 foot "fi-oh-twuck" and a dog aptly named "Puppy Dog." Call me a horrible Mom, but for nothing other than logistics, I devilishly convinced him the dog was the better choice.

And off we went.

Gah! I can't even stand how cute he is. And please don't judge the up-to-his-knees-grandpa crew socks. All of the anklets are dirty, and laundry is currently below the bottom of my 'to do' list.

Have a kickin' weekend, my friends. As for me, I'm goin' in a hot air balloon ride!! Pics next week.

Where To Begin?

Ohhhh what a morning it's been. I suppose I will tell the tale from the very beginning, because that's what Julie Andrews would have me do. Buckle in kids, it's gonna be a long one.

Our morning began at about 6:45, when I woke in a frantic flurry because I had overslept the alarm and needed to be at work for a 7:30 meeting. We had worked it out the night before that Joe would drop Alex at daycare and I would pick him up at the end of the day.

As I was tornadoing around the house getting ready, Joe was being a dear and getting Alex ready for his day. You know - food, clothing and all that jazz. About the time I was applying my mascara, Joe hollered that he needed help because Alex was throwing up his bottle.

Lordhavemercy. My child was literally spewing 6 oz. of formula exorcist-style out of his lips. I've never seen anything like it.

After a quick check for fever (none) and realizing he was in very good spirts (still giggling at his 'toons and smiling like a fool), we decided he must've just had an upset tummy and carried on about our business. Five minutes later, I grabbed my cell phone, coat and computer and was out the door.

Cue the cameras to me walking into work and finally looking at my phone, only to find 2 missed calls and a text message from our daycare provider telling me she had the stomach flu and could not watch the kids today.

::facepalm::

In a tizzy, I called Joe EIGHT times, left 2 messages and sent 2 texts, hoping he would see them before he bundled Alex up and shipped him off to Daycare. Meanwhile, I went up to my desk and alerted my boss of the situation at hand. He was relatively cool about it and told me to just call into my morning meetings. And so I did - Supermom hops back in her car, managing meetings and life from the road.

Imagine my surprise upon pulling into the driveway and Joe's Jeep is nowhere in sight. Seriously? Did he not look at his phone? Uhhhm, as I very obviously demonstrated not 15 minutes earlier, this is very possible.

I put my meeting on muted speaker and sent Joe a text message: "Where are you?" I get back: "Headed to Daycare." I say, "Jane's sick. Come home. I'm here."

Fast forward 2 minutes to Joe calling me 3 times in a row. I'm still on my conference call, so I text him back, "In meeting. Can't talk." And I get back, "911."

Shiiiiiiiiiite.

I'll spare you the details moving forward, (mostly because reliving my morning is elevating my blood pressure) but to summarize, Joe got into a car accident as he was turning around to come back home. He and Alex are both fine, but the Jeep has seen better days.

I can't help but think that ALL of this could have been avoided if I just would have stupid looked at my stupid phone before I stupid left for stupid work. You can bet your sweet arse I won't be making that mistake again.

Oh, and Alex? Still spewing. My Momma's coming to nurse him back to health tonight and watch him tomorrow. Thank jebus for her.

Proof.

Alex is at the BEST Daycare in the world:

Best text message I've gotten all day. :)

Report Card.

Let's review the interviews of possible Team WIP members from this week, shall we?

1) Possible daycare provider #1 - A "corporate-style" daycare (ie - not homecare) with a really great staff. Both Joe and I felt super comfortable there. WIP probably would dig it, too. As far as Metro-Detroit daycares go, it was priced moderately. Grade: A-

2) Possible daycare provider #2 - A gem! This place was referred to me by a coworker, and is run by two older women who left "corporate daycare" 22 years ago because they felt the business model was overpriced, unfair to parents and didn't provide the best care for each individual child. These women are amazing. They not only provide an excellent level of care for all the children, they also have learning time, read to the children and give them all 1-on-1 time. Lucky for us, they have exactly one spot left before they max out the number of kiddos they are licensed for. How fast did I write my deposit check? Um, it's in the mail right now. Grade: A++++

3) Possible daycare provider #3 - Obvi, I'm skipping this interview.

4) Possible Pediatrician #1 - Eh. The location is absolutely perfect - in a brand new Beaumont facility about 2 miles from our house. I liked the doctor enough, but she got a bit defensive when I started asking questions about vaccines. It was almost as if she immediately took me for an "anti-vaccine" mom, which I'm totally not! I just don't want the Hep B shot at the hospital and I want the MMR vaccine given all by itself. I did, however, appreciate her asking me why I made those decisions, and in the end she did say that while the practice has a vaccine schedule they use, she would work with me on whatever I wanted for WIP. I'm not totally sold on her, yet, but we'll see. Grade: B+

We're visiting 2 more pediatricians next week and then I'll make the call.

In other news, I learned that the OB-GYN does the circumcision. Go fig. Seems weird to me that the pediatrician doesn't do it.

Happy weekend!