Dude, I can’t even think of a title

Hello my neglected blog. Yes, I am still pregnant and roasting in this rare Seattle heat. It’s supposed to cool down next week though. From the 90’s to the 60’s in a matter of days - gotta love the schizo weather.

So, obviously I am not going to have a lot of time in the next few weeks to do… well…. anything, really but I wanted to pose a question to all you parents with kids involved in preschool and activities.

First of all, if you have more than one child and the older one is ready for preschool or extracurricular activities, how do you arrange it so that you can

a) particpate in the activities with the older child as well as

b) drop them off with a crazy active toddler and soon to have newborn baby? Seriously, how to people plan these things? It’s not lIke I can just leave the two younger ones in the car while I walk my oldest into preschool, right? Can I? No? Oh FINE.

I don’t have anyone that lives close by that can stop by to give me a hand while I drop off my daughter, so while that is a fabulous suggestion, it wouldn’t work for me. Also, I don’t know my neighbors well enough to trust any of them with my children. Heh. I mean, I’m sure they are lovely people, but still.

Anyways, I’ve been seriously thinking about how I am going to handle the logistics of having three children. I’ve always said that having two was not as hard as I thought it would be. Before becoming hugely pregnant with this third, I’d throw both in the grocery cart or in a stroller to walk the mall without a second thought. Now I fear that juggling all three will be so tough that I’ll end up resorting to ordering groceries off Safeway.com (so expensive! Limp produce!) or I’ll just wait until my husband has a day off and then waste half the day running errands alone.  I’m sure the first few months will be the toughest, when the baby is small and will need to be nursed often. I guess I’ll just have to become more organized in planning our days, esp when my daughter starts preschool.

Luckily, there are a few things we plan on teaching her at home on our own. Besides the fact that we can’t afford to pay for expensive lessons, I figure my husband and I have at least a few talents we can hopefully pass on to all of our children. My husband can teach the basics of golf and volleyball (his two favorites) and I can figure out to teach them piano. I’ll have to buy a “how to teach piano” for dummys (dummy = me) but I’m sure it’ll be way easier than doling out $25/lesson, four times a month to some teenage piano prodigy. ACK. Again, how do people afford these things?!

Anyways, I guess I’m just wondering how people juggle and organize their schedule so they can enroll their children in these types of things and actually get them there on time.  I don’t want to be one of those parents who go totally overboard and bombard their children with back to back activities but I’m sure my daughter would love to get out of the house a couple times a week and have some interaction with kids her age.

Any suggestions? Stories?

If you don’t hear from me in a while, it’s probably because I’ll be a little… busy

 

Babysitting

Here’s the scenario:

I am babysitting my friend’s daughter. She is about 9 months younger than my daughter, who will be four soon. I have some steadfast rules when it comes to eating and playing, namely that there will be no running around and playing while eating. Mealtimes are meant to be spent at the table, eating. Play time is when they can run around and be free. Also, I only offer one choice of food during mealtimes. I never cook different things for different children depending on their tastes. I just do not “do” picky eaters. If they don’t want it, they can eat later. Or never. It’s their choice, really. 

So, I prepare lunch and have them eat on their mini picnic table outside on the patio. Friend’s daughter is jumping up and down, ignoring her food which she states she does not like. Cheese quesadilla. What’s not to like, right? Anyways, I decide if she’s not going to sit down and eat, then I will take away her quesadilla and her milk. She has not eaten anything besides this and I’m sure she didn’t eat much this morning. Besides, I know a large pregnant woman who will GLADLY eat the leftover cheese quesadilla.

Question: Because it is not my child and I am being paid to watch her, do I cave and give her something else that she will eat, or do I stand by my rules and hope she will eat later when another snack is offered? At this rate, it looks like she will have not eaten one thing while at my house.

I try to treat my friend’s children the same as my children. We are a pretty close knit group and spend a lot of time together and the general consensus is that any of us is allowed to discipline one of the children if need be. However, is this situation different because I am being paid to watch this child?  I guess it just feels more complicated because I am being paid to watch her as opposed to just having her over for a playdate.

Anyways, I’m sure it’s not a big deal. I am just curious as to what others do/would do in this situation. I don’t consider myself a completely strict discplinarian but I do have certain rules and manners I try to instill in my children and naturally I apply these to the kids that are in my care as well.