~Munchkin Junction~

Another day...

2010-11-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm, it's been awhile since I've had the time to write anything let alone have a few thoughts to myself! Some days just seem to get away with me and the munchkins.
Lately we have been figuring out what it is we really like to do. That is besides making a huge mess!! Seriously we have some fun throwing toys all about, stomping on them and then scattering them all over the place! I mean really who wouldn't like to be able to do just that every day?
Oh then there are the really super neato fun times when we all decide that it would be great fun to throw our food on the floor and watch poor Miss Wendy hold her tongue! Now man those are the days.
Let's take today for example....today has been just like any other day as of late. Except one little difference.....my own son was home from school sick. Or so I thought he was sick! The little stinker decided he didn't want to go to school today and wanted to play games all day long with the kids. He has instigated several near fights, near food fights in the kitchen over lunch and an almost near Naptime revolt!
Now let's complicate matters even more and add in the phone ringing off the hook with telemarketers, being on hold for nearly 30min with a doctor's office and finally throw in the wails of an infant who just wants to be held !! Yes it is aggravating, time consuming and never ending...but this is what I do all day. So I say bring on the demands, bring on the whinny munchkins, the overbearing parents and yes bring on the hugs!! For they alone make each and every day worth while.
Imagine the smile on my face with the realization that it is already nearly 3pm and my day ends shortly......yes priceless!!

~Munchkin Junction~: Whew!!!

2010-08-31T03:55:00.000-07:00

~Munchkin Junction~: Whew!!!

Whew!!!

2010-08-31T03:53:00.000-07:00

Man oh man what a day so far today!! Let me start off by saying that if I didn't already know it was a Monday, I would have sworn it was!!

My day started at 4:15 am today and has not been a easy one either. My first group of kids walk through the door and they enter like a heard of elephants. Literally the bull dozed their way through the front door, stomping and talking loudly, then dropping their backpacks on the floor and finally by slamming the closet door where they put their shoes! I simply rolled my eyes and thought, 'Happy Monday! Here we go!!' Then I mention to the mother that I need to be out of the daycare for a two short errands today and that it was being covered by my assistant. The Mother looks at me and states, ' Well I won't pay for when you are not here.' mmm, so she wants a battle of the wills? Fine I think to my self...bring it on!! Now mind you this has all taken place in a matter of 4 min. or less.

It's now 4:50 am and the next set of kids show up. Amazing!! They are just as noisy as the first set of kids that graced my presence! So I get them all settled as quickly as I can, grab the baby a full bottle and change her diaper~as it was gonna be a full one in a matter of minutes.

In walks the next family at 5:15 am, I swear I think there must have been a memo that I missed. Seriously, what is with all the stomping and slamming of doors? So again I roll my eyes at the parent for allowing the children to act so rudely. This time the Father says to me, 'Ooops we were all up early this morning and I found the youngest one in the fridge drinking a Mt. Dew and eating the leftover birthday cake.' I guess the appalled and shocked look on my face was enough to warrant the parent to apologize for the kids rude behavior. Then he laughs and states as he is walking out the door, ' Oh yea, the baby pooped on the way over, Can you get that for me?' I am literally dumbfounded now. Ummm Why on earth would a parent allow a child to sit in a full diaper, let alone eat junk food and drink soda pop? Where is the discipline? I shake this off and get them all cleaned up, changed and tucked back in to hopefully get some much needed rest.

Wow, 7:00 am!! Where did the time go? I know I was busy with cleaning bathrooms, folding a few clothes and making today's menu or should I say game plan!! Ha ha ha.... OK time to kick it in high gear, wake all the little angels in the living room. Go in and wake up the two babies from their slumbering dreams. One child in each arm as I stroll back into the dinning room and step on a wooden block! OUCH!!! I put both kids down and look around for the little one who placed it in my walk path. Umm Huh just as I thought. Not a guilty party in the bunch as they all break into laughter!! Good Morning to me!!

Welcome to my Monday morning!

2010-08-16T04:59:00.000-07:00

Have you ever really wondered what happens when you drop off your sleeping child at daycare? For those of you who do, guess what? They don't really ever go back to sleep. Nope they kinda lay there waiting for their provider (me!) to get all settled into reading or doing whatever task is at hand and then they spring to life!
Yep, that's it they literally spring to life without so much as a stretch or a yawn. They literally throw the covers off, stand up and start screaming! Now we aren't talking about a low little whine here, nope full blown scream at the top of their lungs, enough to wake the rest of the house. You might ask your self...What on earth?! Well guess what..I did too !!! I think I leaped to my feet and flew over to the screaming child, missing the sleeping dog along the way. Nearly tripping over a pillow, catching myself on the corner of the wall and finally coming to a thud on the floor next her. I stood myself upright again and reached out to her to hold her and comfort her...oddly though she was still literally sleeping!!
As I quickly pondered the situation, risking more kids to wake and become just as agitated and distressed as this little girl. I decided to do the unthinkable and wake her from her current state of mind. Ummm not an easy task if I do say so. I tried to wake her by gently rubbing her back, shaking her hand, calling her name and more. Finally after what seemed like endless trying to wake this sleeping beauty, who by the way was still screaming and had now woke the others. It was evident that I needed to really wake this child before something else happened. I was getting ready to try one more thing when out of nowhere comes her little brother.
He walked around me, looked at his sister and shook his head from side to side. The look on his face was one of disdain and frustration. As if he was saying, 'Not Again!' He stepped around the front of her rather gingerly and then "WHAM!!" he stomped on her foot! She woke up instantly and all was quiet again. Her little brother smiled at himself, clapped his hands as if to congratulate himself and went back to bed. With the rest of us standing there simply giggling.

Happy Monday Morning to you all!

Little Smartie

2010-08-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

I was sitting back observing my group the other day and making some mental notes. One of my little munchkins came up and asked, " Whatcha doing Miss Winnie?" to this I replied, "Well I am observing how you and your other friends play." This little guy not missing his que says rather proudly, "Well Miss. Winnie I can tell them to let you play too!!"

Gotta love my love munchkins!!

I Love my Job!!

2010-08-04T05:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days when it felt like the rug was pulled out from under you? How about the wind knocked out of you?

Ok I know I have no excuse, however I have been feeling like this for a few days or so now. See the way things work in the daycare industry are very much up and down. That is we in the industry are subject to the whims of the parents of the children in our care. We are subject to idiotic demands, long hours, absurd requests, low pay and little to no respect.

But hey who's complaining? Surely not me!!

Nope I still love my job, it gives me the satisfaction of knowing that I am helping to mold our future generation....specially when I know that the tattooed, over pierced, low slung jean and thong wearing mom who has little to do with it all. I honestly think the parents wouldn't even be able to come close to teaching let alone guiding a child through the intricacies of toilet training, feeding one self or even tieing shoes! Heaven help them when the child is old enough to attend pre-school, let alone school for that matter.

What I am getting at here is that I SEE too many children with little to no self assurance from the parents. I honestly work my tush off each and every day helping these children learn their basic skills. By basic I mean quite literally basic...walking, talking, eating, toileting, respect for others and self, coping skills, and more. It is sad and quite appalling to see so many parents that are more into them selves and going out, than they are their children. It is not unheard of to see a child in daycare from 6am all the way until 5pm. Yes it's a terribly long day for them, I get the fact that parents have to work, but don't they have to take responsibility too? They chose to bring this child into the world, one would think that they want to spend as much time as possible with their child.

So when I ask about the wind being knocked out of you...I guess for me I am saying that as each day comes and goes I shouldn't be surprised any more by what the latest demand is from the mom who is obviously sporting a new pair of jeans that are obviously 2 sizes too small for them. Not to ask the mom why is it that she can go out almost every night of the week, spend money on a designer purse, and drink and eat until she's had her fill. Not to worry if their child actually ate something healthy, slept in a bed at all the night before, or even got into that big thing in the bathroom that is called a tub!

Yes, that's my opinion, yes I can say this openly, yes I am MOM in every sense of the word!

Diaper Party!?

2010-07-27T05:03:00.000-07:00

There was once a time in my life that even the shear thought of changing a diaper made me cringe. Funny how my life now revolves around diapers!!

Let's take yesterday for instance. Oh it was about time to feed the infants, there were four of the little rascals all at different stages in the game. Some are just starting to toddle around while others are literally running marathons now!! Any how I gather all the items, the diapers and wipes and creams and what not, take my place on the floor. Then as each one toddles on by I reach out and swoop them up and lay them down to do a quick change; or so I thought!!!

The first one rounds the corner and spies me on the floor, instantly he knows what time it is and tries to pass me with his lightning speed! Ah Ha!!! gotcha~Whew what the heck is that smell? Lordy what have your parents been feeding you? Better yet my mind screams, what just crawled up your toosh and died?! LOL, Oh My Goodness, as my eyes literally start to water. Then my mind jumps into second gear and I quickly reach behind me to grab the towel before his tooshy hits the floor and everything comes oozing out !!

Yuck!!! It is as bad as I first thought. Oh good grief, this poor little boy. I bet he sure feels better though, lord no wonder he's been a little on the winey side. Ok back to reality and the task at hand. Ok, I know I can do this, I've done this a million times at least this year alone. Quick take a deep breath in and don't whatever you do, Wendy, inhale through your nose until this one is safely disposed of. Ummmm yep this one is a doozey!!

Oh lord the smell is starting to make me gag, hold it together girl you can do this. Come on just a few more passes with the wipey's. Oh great, I have depleted all the wipey's!!! Panic starts to set in as I fumble to keep a hold of the squirming little guy making sure he doesn't accidentally get his yucky tooshy on anything. Oh great, NO! Now is not the time to put your hand down there!! Oh gross! Great now I have a hand to clean up quickly too. Double Yuck!!

Thank goodness my Witt's are about me, I can just barely reach the other wipey's with my right foot. Come on reach girl, a little more, a little more....YEAH!! Success!! Ok with my toes I can get this stupid container open. Come on just a bit more....YEAH!!! ( gotta love having nimble toes!) Now to figure out how to get the wipey's out without releasing the grip on the child? Hmmmm, this took a little more cleaver thought. Picture me with kids playing all around, the dogs barking as the mailman just delivered, and now of course the phone starts to ring. I really didn't want the other kids near, so I decided to do what any other insane provider would attempt to do...dump the wipey's on the floor and bend over and get a few in the mouth! Sure that would work, right?

Ummm let's just say that wipe's taste horrible! I really need four hands at times and I have learned to check the wipey container before starting another Diaper Party!!

Discipline~My View

2010-07-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

My view. . .
Why am I doing a page solely on discipline? This seems to be a subject which is often overlooked or if it is mentioned at all, it is done briefly. People tend to shy away from discussing 'problems.' Yet discipline plays a major part of my day, especially being a daycare provider. I don't believe that discipline is punishing a child, I believe it is a means of teaching them.
There's no doubt about the fact that daycare and parenting are very stressful. Despite all of the joys and rewards of being with children daily, it is often very "trying" and tiring to work with little ones. It takes lots of patience and self-control. I believe EVERYONE should have to take parenting classes before becoming a parent and/or a daycare provider.
I'm not going to elaborate on the stresses stemming from the fact that child care is such a low-paid profession. I think most people would agree this is true. I also think most daycare providers would say they love children and that's why they do this job - not for the money. At least this is certainly true for me.
All of the ideas I have expressed here have come from information gained from these workshops and from personal experience.
I view discipline as a means of teaching children, not a form of punishment. Children need discipline - I will go as far as to say that they even like it. Of course they will never admit this to you, but all the same when they act up - they are telling you - please set limits so I know what is right and wrong. Children aren't born knowing how to behave, it is up to us to teach them.
The two most important things for us to remember as parents and caregivers are consistency and follow-through. If you change the rules frequently the child will become confused. He may even feel it is a game to see what will happen the next time he breaks the rule. If you don't follow through with your "threats" the child will quickly learn that you do not mean what you say. Do not say, "Timothy, if you ask me one more time for candy, we will leave the store" without being prepared to actually leave! So be prepared to follow through on what you tell your children. This type of thing is heard frequently in stores, amusement parks, friend's homes, the library, everywhere! How many parents do you suppose actually get up and leave? Not too many - I suppose if the child knows you mean what you say, you won't have this problem to contend with in the first place. Here's something you can do - set the child up for failure (yes, I said that!!) Take him somewhere he likes expressly for the purpose to leave! State the rules before or on the way there - "If you scream (choose a behavior your child has a problem with - one you know will happen) in the grocery store we will have to go home." To help the situation along, be sure to have some enticing items in your cart! So sure enough, little Timothy will undoubtedly scream in the grocery store. You calmly pick him up, abandon your cart, and leave. Timothy is sure to take quite a fit, just stay calm and when he is calm you can remind him of the rules and DROP the subject.
Here is a personal pet peeve of mine - Parents talk TOO much!! We don't have to go on and on explaining ourselves to our children and/or trying to get them to cooperate by saying things like 'don't you want to see daddy,' 'if you can calm down we will go to the park,' etc. Stop talking during the tantrum!! In the first place they can't hear you, in the second place it is not what the child wants.
The child wants you to set limits for him/her. Better to say "that's the rule and I'm not willing to discuss it any further at this time" and walk away! Pick up your child and carry him/her out if you need to. When you stay and "talk" to the child, it is giving him/her attention. Attention is not a bad thing, it is just that you do not want to reward 'bad' behavior with attention, it leads to the same type thing happening all over again at a later time. Discuss these behavioral problems at a "good" time. Let the child in on the problem-solving. You'll be amazed at the wonderful, workable ideas they come up with that we often don't think of.
There are so many rules in our lives - we all have them. Children need rules to learn how to function in this society. It is important to remember not to go overboard with rules - choose what is most important to you and work on that. If Timothy picks his nose, maybe you should let that slide and concentrate on more important issues like his habit of pushing other children. Not to say we have to allow the nose-picking, but solve the larger issues first. Don't overwhelm your child with too many rules.
I hate to say "no" all the time! But I do have to do it and I believe children need to learn what this word means at a very young age. It is OK to tell a crawling 8-month-old "no" and remove him from a dangerous situation. Just try to eliminate a lot of the need for "no." Fix wires so they are not accessible to the baby - move knickknacks up high so you don't need to say "no." One thing that is very effective in stopping the use of too many "No's" is to replace NO with YES! It is a simple thing to do, here is an example: Timothy says "I want ice cream." But he hasn't eaten any of his lunch and you don't allow treats if he hasn't eaten his healthy food. Instead of saying "NO," say "YES, Timothy you sure may have some ice cream just as soon as you eat your lunch." I've found this to be very effective with my own children as well as my daycare children.

Friday Oatmeal Folleys!

2010-07-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

Friday, Friday, Friday!!

The day of shear joy to a Provider! Why? Well for two reasons really; payday being the main reason and followed by it's the last day of the work week for us.

On Friday Mornings I wake with anticipation of a great day. Kids entering all smiley and cheerful. Parents handing over their payments without a reminder. And no whining all day long.

Ok now let me take off my rose colored glasses~

It's Friday mid morning and I have already enjoyed the front row seating at today's main event!! That would be the "Munchkin Meltdown". I so enjoyed the full performance and expertise of the flailing arms and kicking feet as the newest member to our crew joined us today. ~Bravo!~ Then enter stage left one cranky and over tired little one. Followed by yet another scream of delight who was placed on the floor and out of the director's arms.

Ahhhh time for the early morning feeding frenzy! Let's get to it shall we~ On the well planned out menu this morning is Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. Which in by my standards sounded wonderful for a cool Summer morning. Picture 8 kids at an oval kitchen table, all waiting patiently for their breakfast. Some were chit chatting about their ball games from the night before, or their swimming lessons and some even about how they got to eat McD's on their way to another event. ~the all knowing provider in me now knows why we all experienced a meltdown earlier~ While others simply placed their tired heads on the table to get a little rest. Now it's serving time, 8 bowls at the table with spoons for each, then another two in the highchairs for the toddlers who think they need to have the exact same thing!! And let the chaos begin!!!!

Instantly the toddlers scream out with frustration and distaste. Wham! there goes the oatmeal flying on to the once clean floor. Then as I am cleaning up the latest work of art off the floor, I hear the low rumbling of yet more dis-satisfaction coming from behind me. Whack!! Another bowl hits the floor, then another and yet another!! Hmmmm I start to think this wasn't such a great idea for breakfast or it's a conspiracy. Ok on to plan 2 for breakfast~cold cereal! So I turn to grab the rest of my bowls and spoons quickly and Ooooops! Yep there I go down to the floor, falling precariously on my toosh with a thud! The ooey gooey art work is all over me and the rugs. Yuck!! I turn various shades of red as another one arrives through the door and the parent merely looks at me like I am a fool. The laughter that erupts from all the kids and now this parent is priceless and contagious. We all enjoy a good laugh and continue on with our day.

Can today get any better? You bet it can!!

Stay tuned for act 2!!

The Toilet Caper!!

2010-07-23T04:13:00.000-07:00

Imagine to my surprise the mess I just found and cleaned up!

Let me paint the picture here, both of boys took off to the park with their grandmother after dinner. I took the time to relax~1 hour of peace and quiet~ That was a huge mistake!! I wathced my recording, surfed the net and enjoyed my ice tea. But for some reason I kept hearing water running, I had dismissed it thinking it was the dishwasher. NOT it was the boys bathroom toilet!!! Yes what a wonderful surprise. Not only had my munchkin used too much TP as he often does, but he neglected to let me know and quietly closed the door and took off for fun. So as I opened the door, stepping in soggy carpet rugs in my stocking feet, there I found the entire bathroom flooded!! Great~so I just spent the last half hour cleaning up the mess and shaking my head. At the end of the mess was a small toy soldier happily floating in the bowl with his friends in a boat! Gee thanks Johnny!!

What I Make as a Daycare Provider

2010-07-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

I was asked by a member of my community last night 'What do you make as a babysitter?' First off I corrected him in his terminology and educated him to the fact that I am a professional and conduct myself as such. Then I went on to say:

"You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them try.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them write.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them understand that if you use your brains,and follow your heart,you can accomplish anything.

I make them know they are important and loved.

I make them know they are special.

I make them know if someone ever tries to judge them by what they make,they must pay no attention because that person just didn't learn.

"You really want to know what I make?"

"I MAKE A DIFFERENCE."

"What do you make?"

I think I can, I think I can...

2010-07-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

This is dedicated to all the women who think they can do it all ~
~ Lord knows I try but keep falling on my face!!~

My day starts off every morning at 1:30am~mainly because my DH has to get up and get ready for work and I do the same.(What an ungodly hour to be getting up! ) Specially since my first daycare kid shows up at 4:10am.
Oh the joy of finding my youngest in the living room this morning too~yes he was wide awake and watching cartoon central. Had fixed his breakfast already and was wearing half of it! Picture this~a little boy about 8.5yrs sitting on a sofa with a bowl of CoCo Puffs and signing to Backyardigans~I love being a mommy to an independent kid.
Fast forward a few hours~Now I have most of the daycare kids here and it's breakfast time for everyone and I had put on the menu for today "Pancakes". Really not a bad thing in itself, however not very good planning on my part either. Why? Hmm, well it's the first day of college here and that means that I have a new baby starting, 2 returning kids (that I haven't seen all summer), and today is the day that the "monster child" is here! So as I am spooning out batter onto the griddle (imagine if you will) enters the new baby screaming because it is starving ( mom decided she didn't have time to nurse this morning her hair was more important) and the other two returnee's screaming because they too don't want mommy or daddy to go back to school(yea they dropped off early too, some excuse about needing to stop for breakfast!). Got that mental picture yet? It only gets more hectic here, as the morning goes on. The diaper changing, the boogers, and yes more screams of frustration. All while I am trying to maintain a sense of happiness and fun.
Lets jump into outside play now, shall we....Oh the joy of today while I battle this terrible cold. The kids are going absolutely bonkers today, mainly because they have figured out that Miss Wendy doesn't feel well. Kinda like we all did as kids when there was a substitute in school. Can you feel my pain? My head is throbbing, my nose is running and I have lost my voice by now. Picture this group of out of control kids all between the ages of 18mths-5yrs, then throw in the mix the new baby and my 2 kids that are 16yrs & 8 1/2 yrs....my youngest (the one who was up before me) is now the whinny one because the other kids are looking at him! Duh...your acting like a baby!! My 16yr. old is trying to help out today, bless his soul, but he's not moving fast enough for me...I know picky me. Anyways he's gotten them interested in some weird ball game and they are happy to be running, yelling, laughing, being goofy and having fun....all outside!!! Oh my ears~~ring ring~darn phone..No Honey I didn't make that call for you, no call and make your own appointment, no I don't know whats for dinner, No No NO~yes I am cranky~ you would be too if you slept in a freaking chair because you can't breath~Geez do You not see how I feel?!
Now it's time for the lunch session to begin, starting with the youngest and moving on up to the older ones. Again I didn't plan well for the meal but i make it work, chop the meat up for the beef and gravy over rice, put the rice on to cook, quick grab a bottle for the baby....stop by the highchair and give the 18mth yr old another couple of carrots. Now as I grab out the extra chairs to set up for lunch, I notice the distinct smell of a yukky diaper~OMG it's horrible~Who fed that child what??!! Lord that smell could make even the straightest hair curly. Ok situation Diaper bombing is under control, thank goodness I remembered to turn off the stove-lunch could have burned! Ok time to lay baby down for nap...burp already~Burp~yea small victory for me! Ok start dishing up the lunch-shoot where's the veggie? Oh yea in the micro.......ok wash up time kids!! No it's not play in the water time, come on guys you know how we do this.........No J.D. that's not your seat, that's Reid's, now stop crying she didn't mean to sit there....and on it goes until they get their plate.
Now mind you this is all going on at the very same time the concrete guy decides to show up and start replacing the sidewalk on the south side of my house. Yes I hired him, however when he said he was going to start today I assumed that meant he would be here in the morning~not at lunch time when it is the busiest!! (Actually I call it feeding frenzy time) Enter some stranger to a group of starving kids~ can you say CHAOS?! Yea it's a zoo in here today....OK sorry I can't hear you. He walks out and the next thing I know, we loose power!! The ceiling fans stop whirring, the fan on the stove stops, the clocks start blinking, my computer!! Oh No!!??!! What has he done, I'm gonna kill him, the idiot, he didn't did he?? Yep cut through the power lines to my house!!!
So yea lunch goes on, the noise levels drop slowly, the kids get cleaned up for nap time, everybody finds there spots for nap, diaper party commences again, I take the ringer off the hook, I sit down with my juice and laptop...........
Thank goodness for a sense of humor and a smile :) Hey Wanna trade with me???