Cirque du Solaya: Kalamazoo

Showing posts with label Kalamazoo. Show all posts

Monday, March 18

A PARENT'S PURSUIT: FINDING A DAYCARE

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7 letters long and [quite often] the bane of my existence.

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The average child spends 10 hours a day in a daycare... let's say 80% of their daytime hours. That's a whole heckuva lot of time to leave your child with a stranger. So it goes without saying that finding a child care provider is incredibly important. This is one search that shouldn't be quick or easy. And guess what? It's not quick. It's not easy. A little research goes a long way when it comes to childcare, and will provide all the right information about the places you're considering.

It's easy to get flustered, confused, or overwhelmed during the search for quality childcare. It's easy to be overwhelmed by redundant information, or overwhelmed by too many options. And when you're a first-time parent, how are you supposed to know what to look for and what to avoid? I was there: a new mom, sleep-deprived, not.at.all.excited about looking for a daycare, and I was pressed for time. Thankfully/luckily, I found a great in-home daycare that was convenient, within my price range, and at which I felt comfortable leaving my child.

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Buuuut I do know how tough the search can be... believe me.
So I've created a printable checklist to take with you when visiting a daycare center.
To view/print, click HERE.

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In the meantime, bear with me through a pretty lengthy [but helpful!] post.

Here are some tips:

If possible, take your time. If you're organized and lucky enough to have some good lead time before you actually need daycare, congratulations. This will allow you time to do your research, make good quality visits, and really weigh the positives and negatives of each location.
Use a state-certified website to browse the registered providers in your area. Consider the advantages/disadvantages of in-home daycares, group homes, and centers.

In-home: has an intimate, loving, family-like feel; max of 6 children (in Michigan). Generally the least expensive option. Could potentially be somewhat unreliable, since you have 1 individual responsible for keeping the center open (if Caregiver is sick, you may be responsible for finding backup daycare... at 6am on a workday, which is not fun; also, Caregiver may take vacation and leave you to find a backup for a week at a time).
Group home: a "center" setting with a more intimate feel; max of 12 children (in Michigan). Generally reliable, since a group home is required to have more than 1 caregiver.
Center: a school-like setting, often very structured; max capacity varies based on staffing. Generally the most expensive options. Usually very reliable and rarely (if ever) closes, so you will never have to find backup daycare.

Ask your HR department. Some companies will assist you in finding a daycare center, or maybe they have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that will help guide your search.
Ask around. The very best resources are referrals from other parents. Another mom can tell you about her daycare, her sister's daycare, her boss's daycare, etc etc. And they can give you firsthand information.
Get references. Once you have contact information for a daycare, call them and ask for references. Plural. The more people you ask, the more likely you are to get a realistic idea of what this place is like.
Check state inspection reports (these can be found using the sites listed at the very bottom of this post). You won't believe some of the violations at centers (we're talking drugs, felony charges, sex offender registries, etc).
Visit each location before choosing. You won't believe what some places look like. First impressions are very important and can make or break your decision.
Consider the location. Is it on your way to/from work? If not, how far out of the way is it?
Do you want somewhere closer to home, or closer to work? There are pros and cons to both.

Closer to home: convenient, and it gives you time to "decompress" on your commute to and from work. Also, if you were to get sick and stay home from work (*knock on wood*), this makes it easier and quicker to take your child to daycare.
Closer to work: also convenient, and allows you to spend more time with your child (you get the "drive time" with Baby). In my opinion, better -- you can run errands after work and still make it to daycare in time to pick Baby up. If you occasionally work past your typical 8-5 schedule, this allows for more flexibility in pickup time (you don't have to rush to the daycare if you're running late for pickup).

Do a dry run. Drive to the location at the time you would potentially be heading there. Traffic can be crazy at 7:30am and 5:00pm. Consider the ease of left-hand turns. Check out the parking situation. These things may not seem like a big deal today, but they will most certainly be a big deal when you're running late one morning.
Spend time there with your child. See how Baby responds to the staff there. Is your child terrified of them? Hello, giant red flag.
Ask for a daily schedule. This is more important for older babies/toddlers than for infants, but each daycare should have some sort of structure or routine. And the daycare should be able to provide this upon request.
Observe. Look around and check out the cleanliness of the home or center. As gross as it sounds, use your nose. Does it smell like sour milk? Sweaty socks? Dirty diapers? Cigarette smoke? Fried food? Something worse? YUCK. Your kid will be spending many hours there, so he/she will be coming home smelling like whatever the center smells like.
Check out the safety of the location: steps, kitchen appliances, bathroom access, fire safety, etc.
Ask a lot of questions. They should be used to it. If they're not used to it, something's wrong.

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Below are some questions to ask.
*Please note: not all questions may be relevant right now, but may be important in the future.*

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Hours of availability? Get this in writing... I know of someone whose provider changed her mind and charged for being late.
What is the weekly/daily cost for full-time or part-time? When is payment due, and what forms of payment are accepted? Are there late fees?
Is there a sibling discount? (Even if this doesn't apply to you now, it may in the future.)
What are the requirements for full-time/part-time? Does your child need to attend a minimum of x days per week?
Holiday schedules: what days is the center/home closed?
How are vacations handled? Do you pay if the provider goes on vacation? Do you pay if the provider cancels due to sickness/emergency? Do you pay if you go on vacation (some centers will allow you 1 or 2 weeks of vacation per year, where you don't have to pay while you're gone)? If Baby is sick, and you miss a day, do you still pay?
For in-home daycares: if the provider should get sick, does he/she have a backup available? Hear this: you do NOT want to be calling around for backup daycare at 6am. And you do NOT want to have to call in sick to work because you can't find daycare.
What is the illness policy, and how strict is it? What symptoms are not allowed there? How long does a child need to be symptom-free? Is there a certain window of time that a sick child needs to be picked up by? Some centers have a strict 1-hour policy: for example, if your child vomits you have exactly 1 hour to pick him/her up.
Who administers medication? Any forms that need to be filled out?
How many children is the center licensed for? What is the max they will accept?
How many other children are generally attending? There should be a good balance here: you want your child to get enough socialization with other children, but you also want your child to receive enough attention from the care provider.
What is the caregiver-to-child ratio?
Will the same caregiver be with your child daily, or will it be someone random every day? This also should be a good balance; you want your child to form a bond with his caregivers, but you also may want some variety in there.
Are the care providers certified in CPR/First Aid?
Are background checks done on the staff members and volunteers?
What is employee turnover like?
How secure is the building? Is it easy to keep children in and others out?
Are children ever taken off-premises, and what is the procedure for granting permission?
Are there any sex offenders in the area?
Do you need to leave a car seat at the daycare for emergency purposes?
Is there any sort of video surveillance in each room? Some centers offer this, allowing parents to see what the children are doing all day. If there's a camera, how is security maintained?
Who is allowed to pick children up? How does the provider manage pickups by someone other than Mom or Dad?
How are children disciplined? (not that your child would ever need it... haha)
How does the center handle disagreements between children? (sharing, hitting, pushing, etc)
How often are toys/pacifiers washed/sanitized?
Are children allowed to bring toys from home?
How often are diapers changed? What is the process? Is there adequate handwashing/sanitization nearby?
Shoe removal: do you have to remove your shoes before entering the center? Where are shoes removed? Some centers require shoe removal before entering the infant area (which makes sense, since babies are crawling all over the floor). I've heard of an in-home daycare that required shoes to be removed in the garage before entering the house; the baby had to be set down on the garage floor while shoes were removed... and in the winter, boots made this time-consuming and inconvenient, especially for a 45-second transaction inside the house. Again, may seem silly now, but it will be a big deal someday when you're late for work.
Who supplies food or formula? (This will save you MUCH time and money if the daycare provides these things.) If your child has a special diet, will the daycare accommodate, or do you have to provide special meals?
How does the provider handle picky eaters? Make sure this jives with your process at home.
Does the center support breastfeeding? Will they use breastmilk that you provide, or do they only use formula? If you're a nursing mother, can you pop in during the day to feed Baby?
Are children taught to brush their teeth?
Who supplies diapers? Who supplies wipes?
Do you need to supply a change of clothes every day?
Nap time: what is the routine here? IS there a routine?
Sleeping arrangements: where do children sleep? How far apart? White noise? Do you need to provide anything (i.e. pillow, crib sheet, etc.)?
How is potty training managed? When do they start? Will the center follow through with your personal system?
If you're religious: will the daycare provider support your family's religious beliefs (i.e. special holidays, pre-meal prayer, etc)?
Do the children go outdoors? (In some states, this is a requirement, weather-permitting.) If they do go outdoors, is there adequate shade? Is there a fence? What are the surroundings like?
TV time: how much (if any) per day? If so, what do they watch?
What school district is the center located in? Will your child be spending time with his future classmates?
Are any other languages spoken at the daycare? I know of a local daycare that only speaks French to the children; some parents may be turned off by this, while other parents may think this is THE. COOLEST. THING. EVER. (For the record, I fall in the second category.)
Does the center provide a daily report card of snacks/meals, diaper changes, nap times, behavior issues, etc?

So you've made your visits and asked your questions...

Once you've narrowed down the top few choices, make sure you have a second opinion. If there's another parent in your family, make sure that parent has had a chance to make some visits and ask questions. If you're a single parent, ask a friend or family member to go with you. A second set of eyes and ears is always a bonus.

When you find the care provider that makes you and your little one uber-happy, give yourself a giant pat on the back, and pour yourself a glass of wine or grab a candy bar or something. This was not an easy process, but you did it! Then go back to the daycare center (preferably NOT after drinking the wine) and ask them for all the forms that need to be filled out. Read each one carefully, and ask questions where needed. Ask what paperwork you will need from your doctor (health appraisal? immunization record?), what legal paperwork you need (copy of birth certificate?). Get a list of everything you need to provide on Baby's first day (food/bottles/sippy cups/diapers/extra clothes/pacifiers/pillow/crib sheet/etc).

Then prep yourself emotionally for what could be a very difficult drop-off. Baby may not be happy to see you walking out the door, but that's okay. You're doing the right thing :) And at the end of the day, picking up Baby will be that much sweeter. 10 points for being a stellar parent!

**Side note, especially for families using in-home daycare: it may serve you well to do some extra research and find providers in your area that offer "drop-in" daycare. Visit them ahead of time, fill out any necessary paperwork, and know their drop-in policy. THIS WILL COME IN HANDY. TRUST ME.**

Need additional information?

Below are some child care resource/referral agencies, listed alaphabetically by state:

Monday, March 11

SATURDAY NIGHT SANS FEVER

Last week was hell. I hate being sick. And while I try to be as brave and tough as I possibly can, there are some days (or weeks) where you just need to throw in the sweat-soaked towel and chalk it up as a loss. Very few people understand the trials and tribulations facing a single mother... much less a single mother who's knocking on death's doorstep.

Being a single working mother is hard.
Being a single working mother to a sick/healthy/sick/healthy child is harder.
Being a single working mother who's nauseous and exhausted while trying to juggle a sick/healthy/sick/healthy child is impossible.

Really, it's impossible. It can't be done.

You can imagine my delight when the clock finally struck 5 on Friday afternoon. The longest week of my life was officially over. On to the weekend: free of fevers, free of vomit, free of work, free of short nights and early mornings, free of emails or text messages from people who just don't understand how hard that week was, how physically/mentally/emotionally draining that week was.

On Friday, the whiteboard in my office (which usually boasts something inspiring, or fun tic-tac-toe games, or a list of things I have to get done that day) there was nothing but white space and 5 bold words. All day long.

Yes, I'm glad last week is over. And this past weekend was a wonderful weekend. Wonderful and relaxing... with a few work-related errands to run on Saturday, but who's counting?

Blue Eyes and I were in dire need of a date night. We were unable to find a sitter, but decided to give date night a go anyway. Once we found out that we weren't going to procure a babysitter for the evening, we hopped on downtown, cheeky baby in tow.

Note: we had only one baby that weekend; had we found ourselves with two babies, we would probably have stayed in for the evening. We were in dire need of an enjoyable evening; we were not looking for a night of lunacy (which is precisely what happens when you try to dine out on a Saturday night with two 1-year-olds... it just doesn't work).

So we went to Bell's Brewery (which has both a restaurant/bar as well as a general store at which you can purchase homebrew supplies), and Sol watched in amazement as Mr. Blue Eyes carefully selected and mashed the most delicious roasted barley... so we can brew our own Vanilla Java Porter.

Oh yeah, have I mentioned that he's into homebrewing? A blue-eyed man after my own heart.

So after making our final purchase at the brew store, we traversed over to the restaurant side of things and, in doing so, I went straight to victual heaven. Let's just set aside the fact that I indulged in one of the best chocolatey porters EVER... Bell's is home to many a vegetarian entree, and I was all too excited to try their BBQ tofu wrap. That was one lucky flour tortilla: wrapped around juicy, marinated tofu with an avocado cream spread, Muenster cheese, Porter BBQ sauce, and cole slaw. Mmmmm mmm mmm.

Blue Eyes got himself a little brisket meal... which is fine. Whatever. Nuff said about that.

We sat all cozy in the warm upper level, where people would coo and wave at the puffy-cheeked baby who sat at our table, shoveling chubby handfuls of Cheerios in her mouth and flinging sweet potatoes across the floor as she "fed herself."

On our uber-romantic date night (enter dry sarcastic laughter here), a nice young staff member from Bell's came over around 8:30pm, and politely stated that "it was getting to be that time," because Bell's doesn't really care to have minors in there past 8pm (half-hour extension if said minor is a baby with cheeks that just won't quit). It was time for Sol to leave anyway... she'd had enough of the restaurant scene.

So we packed up and went home on that Saturday night: bodies healthy, bellies sufficiently stuffed, beer-snob palates satisfied with the libations of the local brewery, and backseat filled with one sleepy Sol and several pounds of roasted barley.

And no evening would really be complete without a bedtime tickle attack on Solchop by Mr. Blue Eyes. Warning: the following video will make your heart swoon.

Ah, date night.

Friday, December 21

FIVE GOOD THINGS FRIDAY

I'm so bad at this. I apparently can't keep up with being a full-time mom, being sick, working, shooting photos on the side, having some inkling of a social life, and posting regularly on my blog. Ahhhh, but I was doing so well for a while! 2013 looks promising, dear ones. Fear not; I will regain my status as the #1 blogger of All Things Sol-Related.

Until then, however... back to five good things.

Good Thing #1: Outings with Joleen
Have I mentioned how excited I am that Aunt Joleen lives in Kalamazoo? Okay. I'm excited that Aunt Joleen lives in Kalamazoo. She brings us straight-up Michigan Christmas cookies like these:

That's a sugar beet and the lower peninsula of Michigan, btw :)

And she goes to Target with us and attempts to put Avengers helmets on my child, much to the dismay of poor Sol (haha). And she stands at the checkout with us and listens to Mr. Crazyman tell her how beautiful my child is and oh can he take a picture of her and not every child is beautiful for example he has three kids of his own and his oldest son isn't so pretty but he's smart so that's good and he gives single moms a lot of credit because he doesn't have hips so he can't hold children the same way women can and his mom is a supermom when she goes to the Old Country Buffet with one kid on the left hip and one on the right and one on the teat and one holding her hand and she's still eating at the Old Country Buffet and oh well Merry Christmas anyway. Oh yes, that whole scenario happened. Joleen can vouch for it. We did not allow him to photograph Sol; we DID, however, laugh about it the whole way home. And THAT, my friends, is exactly why I like having company when I'm out in public.

Good Thing #2: (Christmas baked goodies!!)
The Christmas season is upon us. And I like having meetings in different buildings. Because a) I get to see a different crop of people than if I were holed up in my office all day long, and b) by the time I get back to my office, I've accumulated a container of treats that looks something like the Gladware delectability below:

Good Thing #3: brown paper packages tied up with strings (or packing tape)
I also like Christmastime because I come home from work and there are cool things like Christmas cards from friends, or packages on my doorstep. The other day, I got what may be one of the cheeriest packages I've ever received:

Is that Bath and Body Works? Oh yes it is.

And this was also the best-smelling package I've ever received.

Because the contents went a little something like this:

Good Thing #4: Christmas Cards (outgoing)
Christmastime also means I get to return the favor and send out masses of Christmas cards for the first time EVER. (This also means I get to stay up till 12:32am five days before Christmas, addressing envelopes and losing 75% of my saliva to the gross adhesive on these glad tidings...)

Good Thing #5: good butterflies

Butterflies when I'm straightening my hair and curling my eyelashes.

Butterflies when I'm frantically trying to pick out a shirt to wear.

Waiting for me to expound? Let's just say that I had good butterflies on Saturday night. Because it was just one of those Sunday morning things, you know, where God plops you down on the far left side of the fourth pew from the very back, and you turn around to share the peace with the person sitting behind you, and [oh yes] it's the same guy that caught your eye in church almost a month ago, and upon talking to him you find out that he's a single dad of a 1-year-old boy. And somewhere after losing yourself in his blue eyes you give him your phone number, and then you spend the rest of the night wondering... Did he actually ask for my phone number? Did he ever explicitly state that he was single? Did I just make myself out to be a total moron? Do I need to transfer my church membership now? And two days later he calls you and you find out that you have a ridiculous/scary number of things in common, even down to the teeniest, WEIRDEST coincidences. And then he asks you to go out on Saturday night and you go into it expecting very little (because that's the only way to avoid disappointment) and it ends up going so well that he asks to see you the next day and you're almost too excited to believe that this is happening.

Things are looking awfully bright. There are very few presents wrapped up beneath our tree (and incidentally none with my name on them), but THIS gal is a happy Christmas camper regardless.

<<<>>>

And one good song.

<<<>>>

My absolute favorite Christmas song. I heard it a few years ago in Old Navy, and I was hooked.

After some extensive research, I found it and downloaded the entire album on iTunes. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas :)

Tuesday, November 13

RAMBLINGS ON A TUESDAY

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's a video worth?

This weekend Joleen and I had a project.

The video below is Sol's first time seeing the fruits of our labor. Pure elation.

I bet you reacted the same way the first time you saw one, too.

And don't judge me. Last year I put my tree up on November 1.

I waited a whole 10 days longer this year.

Go me.


Whooo wants an owl tree topper? I do, that's who. But unfortunately it wouldn't stay on the $%^* tree. So this sad little owl is going back to Target...

...which is okay, because Sol loooooves Target at Christmastime!
(yes, that's garland, courtesy of Aunt Joleen)

This weekend was also the Kzoo Holiday Parade. Which was phenomenal.

Here's Aunt Liz and Eloise... with Santa in the background!

I made the mistake of going to Hobby Lobby on my lunch break yesterday.

Nothing will empty your pocketbook like Hobby Lobby during the holidays.


On a random side note, I ate a pomegranate the other night. At first I thought, Why don't I eat these more often? And then I tried to peel it and remove the seeds. Oh yeah, that's why I don't do it more often. 30 minutes later, it was ready to eat. What's the best part about eating a pomegranate? NOTHING. I am not a patient person.