Happy birthday grandma Jeanne!

Happy birthday, mom! I will post more tomorrow about this important day but for now am bushed. We all love you and miss you!

Happy 88th Birthday Great-Grandma!

My grandmother, Alice Margaret, turns 88 today. She was born in Aneta, Minnesota on a farm in 1920. German was spoken in her home when she was a child and still remembers snatches of phrases and numbers in German. She was married in 1944 to Frank Jacob, also born on a Minnesota farm though he came from a Czechoslovakian home. She bore seven children, has fourteen grandchildren and I don't know how many great-grandchildren...but Emmeline is one of them. Emmeline's name is partly derived from my grandmother's mother's name: Emma. When grandma first learned of Emmeline's name, she said "My mom's name was Emma. Did you know that?" She says this every time I have seen her since Emmeline's birth.

Grandma is living an interesting life: born during the roaring 20's (though Minnesota farms knew nothing of that), came of age during the Depression and witnessed a bother and a son go to war, WWII and Vietnam respectively. She never learned to drive or ever received a paycheck. She has raised men and women that teach, make machines and cars work, make sure the cities operate correctly and efficiently, and, more importantly, she has raised her children to be good parents and thoughtful people. Most of her grown grandchildren own homes, have college degrees and children of their own. A few of us grandchildren even have graduate degrees. A lot of my mom's wisdom has come from her own mom. More often than not, when I get into a tough spot with Emmeline, she will say, "Well, I am going to tell you what my mom told me...".

I was named after my grandma and I have always felt a special connection with her not just because she is my namesake but because she has been in my life everyday of my life. I hope she knows how much she means to me and how much I love her.

Happy birthday grandma. I wish I was there with you today and every day.

1-2-3-4! I can't take it anymore!

We saw this new rendition of Feist's "1 2 3 4" on Sesame Street a few weeks ago and since then Emmeline has asked for it over and over again...thank goodness we have it taped!  In a pinch I can play the original on our iTunes and it works just as well.  Hopefully I can get a video of her dancing to it and post it for you all to see.  So funny!  James Blunt was on the day before singing about "My Triangle" to the tune of "Beautiful."  If anyone finds out where I can buy these songs, let me know...

Cyber-Shot Shenanigans

Yay!  Thanks goodness we have a camera in our house again!  It is horrible to feel like you are missing out on capturing precious and important moments.  But on the other hand, it was kind of nice to not worry about taking pictures all the time.  Well, in any case, I am back in photographer-mommy mode.  I hope you enjoy our latest:

Trying out the new camera: Emmeline

looks as if she forgot what to do!

 

Our neighbor just adopted two new kittens.

Boy are they fun!

Our friend Micah had a going-away pool

party in his dad's back yard yesterday.

Micah is moving down to Bethany Beach

and, incidentally, just gave me my first

surfing lesson a few weeks ago near his new

bachelor pad!

Emmeline, me and Estella enjoying the last

vestiges of summer...

Yes, I know I post a lot of pictures of Emmeline

in the swings, but she loves them.  This evening,

at our new favorite park near Emmy Lou's school,

I was trying out our new camera's "sports mode"

and "Super steady shot".  In this picture you can

see Emmeline doing the sign for "again."  Paul

was serenading her as she swung.

And in other news, we have started interviewing people for Emmeline's part-time nanny.  We actually found one very nice young lady who was an English major at UD.  Unfortunately her schedule ended up not working out so we will start interviewing more people soon.  Emmeline and I are both sick again, probably as a result of all the new germs she in coming in contact with at school.  Just one more thing to complain about at her new school...

Daycare-shmaycare

Today was the third time I left Emmeline at her new school and it was the hardest day so far. Last Monday Paul and Emmeline went for an hour together to play.  Afterwards he told me that I needed to be prepared when I was to go with her on Wednesday.  He said that it was incredibly chaotic and Emmeline didn't stray far from him.  On Wednesday I stayed with her and played for about an hour and a half.  I helped with lunch and after the other toddlers were starting to lay down for their naps, I felt like I should leave.  I knew that if I didn't at least attempt to leave her, Paul would be looking down his nose at me later that night.  One of the teachers (Bev) was finally able to take Emmeline by the hand when the others toddlers were napping and she lead her around the school.  Emmeline took her hand and when they were around a corner I dashed out.  I came back and half an hour later and she was napping on Bev.  I could see that tissues were strew about around them and knew that she must have gotten a bit upset.  Bev laid her down in a pack-n-play and she stayed sleeping so I decided to go.  I came home, ate lunch and went back after about an hour.  She was still sleeping so I played with the other toddlers and read books to them. When she woke up we stayed to play for a while and had fun on the playground.  I took it as a good sign that she didn't want to leave when I told her it was time to go.  On Friday, I dropped her off at around 11 but stayed until about 12:20 when she was eating lunch.  She whimpered a bit when I left but when I called around 1:15, they told me that she fell asleep and did just fine (later I found out she only slept for 15 minuets). I had a meeting on campus so Paul picked her up around 3:30 that day. Paul said that when she saw him she barely gave him a glance and went back to playing.

I was glad that she didn't seem mad at us or emotionally traumatized but there are definitely things that I don't like about her school.  One major thing is that there are three teachers to upwards of 14 toddlers and they are all in the same room.  I wish that there were less kids per teacher but most centers and home day-cares have a six or seven to one ratio.  Also, there is one teacher there who is particularly gruff with the toddlers.  She really is a crabby old lady.  I have talked to the director about this teacher because I didn't like the things that she was saying to the toddlers or the way that she was saying them.  She certainly did not seem to be in compliance with the school's positive reinforcement policy.  I told her that I think Emmeline is too little to be talked to like that; she wouldn't understand much of what this teacher expects them to do.  And as a rule, I believe that being gentle and understanding go a lot further than harsh scolding.  The director said she also had noticed this teacher getting gruff with the kids and planned to talk to her. Well, today I didn't notice a difference...and it was a rough day.

Today I brought Emmeline at about 8:30 as I had a meeting on campus at 9:15.  She was crying when I left and I was devastated leaving her but I had to make it to the meeting.  Plus I start teaching tomorrow and she and I have to try to get used to this whole thing.  When I picked her up, the teachers assured me that she had a fine day and that she *just* started to cry when I pulled up.  I am sure they are telling me the truth but I just wish I knew more about her day today.  When I arrived they were transitioning from lunch to naps and it is incredibly chaotic. Plus the kids are fussy because they are all very tired.  I wanted to ask more questions about her day, but they were so busy trying to sooth several toddlers, wiping noses and changing diapers.  And there were three teachers today plus the owner in the toddler room.

Paul and I have done plenty of research, sent out emails, scoured craig's list, toured three centers and interviewed two women who were interested in watching Emmeline part time out of their homes.  The school that we picked seemed like the best option because, among other things, it is the closest to our house and less costly.  Most centers and home daycares will not take kids part-time so that ruled out quite a few. One of the women we interviewed seemed really nice but taking Emmeline to her would mean an hour-and-a-half drive to drop her off and then to get to campus.  I just can't afford the time.  I feel like it is more important to spend more time with Emmeline even if it means if she is going to daycare center closer to home.

But my feeling right now is that this school cannot be our best option (and this is probably because the day seemed to be so rough for her).  I feel like she needs more one-on-one attention.  I do like that she is getting more interaction with other kids and that she is learning things, singing songs, and doing art projects, but ideally I want her to be cared for by someone only watching one or two other kids.  Is that to much to ask?  Oh, and it has to be affordable and close to home, too.  There needs to be better, affordable options for families out there.  I just feel sick thinking about tomorrow.

P.S. New camera has been ordered and is on its way...hooray!