24-hour Day Care

I saw something this week (either on the news or online) about these 24-day care centers that are popping up.  I guess they are primarily for working parents who work outside the home, but I thought it was an interesting concept as they mentioned that many parents (especially moms) are now working “non-traditional” hours.

I don’t see myself dropping Owen off at a day care center at say, 8pm, so I can sleep and get some work done…but I found the whole idea of an industry popping up around non-traditional work hours an interesting one.

I’m actually considering some “in house” day care when the new year starts.  Someone just to help me with Owen while I’m here at home working a few hours each week.  That way I sort of have “oversight” but I can hole up in my office and not have to worry that he’s tearing the house apart unsupervised.  I think for me (and maybe for a lot of work-at-home moms) the key may be an extra hand a few hours a week (if you can swing it) combined with the non-traditional hours (for me its 3:30-6:00am most mornings.)

On another (but related topic) — I know some folks are probably interested in how the product development/invention side of things is going as well, so I promise to devote some blog time to that in the next few weeks too.  I’ll get to it, say, around 3:30 am one morning….

In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!  And thanks for reading!

Today’s Baby O’Blog Quote: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The Great TV debate

For those of us that are home the majority of the week with the kids, the TV can be a blessing and curse.  Its easy to get sucked into the “TV trap,” especially if you have toddlers in the 2-3 year old range.  For them, TV can be like a drug.

There was an interesting article out this week that talks about the love-hate relationship that moms, especially, have with the TV.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/11/10/par.moms.tv/index.html

My own personal view on the great TV debate is sort of like my view on every other debate — I’m somewhere in the middle.  I’m not a die-hard “no TV at all” mom, but you’re not going to find me on Dr. Phil either, asking for help because my kid is watching 8-10 hours of tube a day and I don’t know what to do about it.

For me, its “everything in moderation.”  Owen likes to watch the WIGGLES, and sometimes when he wakes up he’ll ask for them, “Wig-gles…wig-gles…”  But other mornings he could care less.   At 8am Curious George comes on (“George!”) and most mornings he’ll watch that (1/2 hour.)   After that, the TV goes off, but sometimes if he’s interested I’ll let him watch Sesame Street (usually I’ll ask him if he wants to watch it or not…he’s usually pretty honest and doesn’t have much interest except for Elmo and the occasional letter of the day, especially if its X.)

On mornings when we go to playgroup (Tues/Thurs) he usually just watches George (1/2 hour) and then we come home for lunch and a nap.  Very rarely is the TV on in the afternoon.  At 5pm he’ll start asking for the news (seriously) which I sometimes turn on.  Around here George is on again at 5pm, so if he asks I’ll let him watch it.  And right before bed he gets to watch 5-10 minutes of his beloved Bob the Builder.

The TV can be a great relief when you’re working at home or (late in the day) trying to get dinner started.  I sort of feel like if I’m too militant about any one thing (TV included) its going to backfire on me somehow.  There are days when he watches no TV, and there have been days that he’s “lost” his TV privileges (ie: no Bob before bed) for acting up.

He’s getting pretty savvy about the TV and the particular shows he likes.  He loves Thomas the Train too and will sometimes ask for “train, train.”  Don’t try to put Percy in when he’s asked for James, though — that’s when the trouble begins.  But generally I’ll gauge what kind of day he’s having, if he’s watched any morning shows and whether I think he’ll benefit from the program he’s asking for.

Again, I try not to get myself too worked up about it.  I have more important things to worry about.

Today’s Baby O’Blog Quote: They say that ninety percent of TV is junk.  But, ninety percent of everything is junk.  ~Gene Roddenberry

My Household Standards

Awhile ago I posted an entry about “loving the mess.”  I haven’t really learned to “love” our mess so much as embrace and accept it.  When you have a toddler running around the house, it really is a given that the place is going to look like a hurricane hit it about 99.9% of the time.

I have the same take on housework.  We go for the “illusion” of clean around here.  Could the house be cleaner?  Sure.  Am I going to stress out about it?  No way.

I wouldn’t say its about lowering my standards so much as it is about making choices.  I’ve got a kid to keep healthy and happy and work to do while I’m at home.  Housework is running a distant third at this point.  I do what I can every day (usually I’ll run the dishwasher and washing machine at least once a day) but I can’t remember the last time the kitchen floor saw the underside of a mop. 

Oh, and I’m fairly certain the Easy-Off under the sink has expired.

I try to do a few chores each day so I don’t get overwhelmed, but its more about maintenance than anything else.  And I figure a few germs are good for Owen.  (There IS such a thing as TOO clean….at least, that’s what I like to tell myself!)  The house is kept-up, but not spotless, and everyone has clean sheets, towels, clothes and dishes. 

The rest can wait.

If the mess is really driving you crazy try enlisting some help (mom-in-law, hubby, etc.) and spend a Saturday going full throttle at it.  When Owen was about 6 months old I had a Saturday like that…just me, the mop, the vaccuum cleaner and roll of paper towels for 4 hours straight. 

I think that was probably the last time I dusted.

Today’s Baby O’Blog Quote: “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.”  ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller’s Housekeeping Hints, 1966