Finding a Daycare

Even though I'm doing internet classes I have found out that I need to find a daycare for my son at least two days of the week so that I can really have the study time I need for my classes. I finally scored the perfect sitter, but that's almost 3 weeks after school has started. So for this post I'm going to write several ways to find a good sitter and give some advice on what you as a parent need to ask. The first thing I did when I started looking for a good daycare for him was to ask all my friends for refferals. The next step was to google any daycares that were in my area. I came up with a couple of helpfull sites. List of Daycares in your area, Childcare site The last link shows state by state listings of childcare centers, financial assistance resources, and a daycare checklist for parents. Both sites are easy to use and provide a lot of information. After narrowing down which daycares you like the next step is calling them. Here is a checklist of very important questions to ask your daycare provider. Interview sheet It is important that you face all the awkward questions at the beginning. As a parent it is our responsability to make sure our child is treated right and is well taken care of. If you were wondering I went with the daycare that my friends reffered to me. I found out by calling her that her daycare was around the corner and she was very flexible with her hours and days. I also know I can trust her because my friends had used her for their children and still do. It's difficult to put your child in daycare, but when it's necessary I hope I have given you the tools you need.

Feeling Sorry

       I've already wrote a blog about my family so I want to write one about other important things in my life that sometimes go unrecognized. I'm not sure if anyone one else in the class has both children and animals, but I want to make a tribute to my wonderful animals. I feel so badly for them right now. With so many things going on in my families life they really have fallen into the last place of importance. We have two dogs, Sadie and Taliah. The first dog we bought was Taliah who is slightly insane and can run around  a tree one hundred times before realizing she wasn't getting anywhere. She's crazy but is one of those dogs that will only love one family. When she was a little pup she always liked to lay the closest to your face as she could get. Then she grew bigger and still thought she could do the same thing. She's not the smartest of dogs, but she definitely is the sweetest. Sadie is the more mature of the two and will lay there and watch Taliah pounce around the backyard sometimes running into objects. Sadie also comes in handy when Taliah starts to bark for attention. Now that I have a new baby in the house Taliah will start to bark and Sadie will nip at her until she stops. I really think Sadie is the smartest dog alive and Taliah is the most lucid. As my life has changed over the past couple of years our dogs lives have drastically changed too. They went from being just inside dogs to completely living outside except for the occasional hot or cold day. I wish I could spend more time with them and give them more attention, but they still have a good home compared to others. Right? I try to make up for the downgrade in living quarters by giving them leftovers after every meal and a kiddy pool to jump in. I might even be feeling bad for nothing. They might like the new arrangements better. We have a huge backyard that is all fenced in and they have the freedom to do their duty all over it. Literally, we just cleaned it up a couple of days ago. So I just wanted to write this in rememberance of all animals left behind due to busy lives.

Unconditional Love

      Like I have said in my first post, I have two wonderful children. The day I had my oldest child Josiah was a life changing day. I saw him and I for the first time saw my purpose. I was attached from that moment on. This little guy held my heart and still does. When he was just 15 months old I knew I wanted another baby. He was so perfect and my husband and I were ready to add to our little family. Just one month after trying we found we were pregnant. I was the happiest I had been  in my life. I knew this time what I was looking forward to. At least that's what I thought. One day coming home from work I decided to clean the whole house because it was mess. When I was done I sat down on the couch and felt something I'll never forget. Blood. When I went to the bathroom it was everywhere. I yelled for my husband Noah and he held me for an hour before we went to the hospital. That was the end for our second child. That little baby was in my tummy for  10 weeks and those were the best 10 weeks of my life. I loved her so much. I would sit in the future nursery and imagine her there with me. I had major complications and almost bled to death after miscarrying her. I never thought I would be able to carry again.
      Just four months after I lost her, I was pregnant again to my surprise. I was so scared through the entire pregnancy. I even had similar complications to my last one. I just prayed that everything would be fine. I couldn't lose another baby. It's too devastating. Then 9 months later I gave birth to a completely healthy baby girl. I named her Kaitlyn Grace. It was by the grace of God that I had her and I won't say otherwise. I'm glad to say that I'm happy once again. God brought joy back into my life with Kaitlyn. Love is a scary thing, but to have unconditional love for someone is worth it. Kaitlyn is three months old now and I have enjoyed everyday with her. It's hard to put her down. Life would be nothing without the love I have for my husband and our children. It's worth every fear, every painful moment, and every time you feel like your going crazy. It is so worth it.

Republican Canditates

With the presidential elections coming up I've been researching more about the candidates. I'm not republican or democrat as of yet. I'm giving myself time to learn more about the differences each party has. For now I'm going to vote for the candidate I think would put more emphasis on fixing our economy. Isn't that best rather than to vote based just on your party? Anyways, since the caucuses have started I've been paying more attention to the Republican candidates. I was first liking what Rick Santorum had to say on his beliefs and values. He was doing great until he made an extremely racial comment about black people. That kind of ruined it for me. “I don’t want to make black peoples’ lives better by giving them somebody else’s money,” was his exact quote.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/rick-santorum-singles-out-black-people-at-iowa-event/2012/01/03/gIQAAn1JYP_blog.html Next, I'm going to bring up Mitt Romney. I never really liked him from the beginning. In all of the debates thus far he came off as pompous and self-centered. Then there was a big debate on how much money he makes yearly from profit or interest. So he released his tax information. In 2010 he made 21.7 million dollars and last year 20.9 million. Remember everyone that none of this is from normal wages, just profit. Then I thought maybe having a very financially successful person as president would be a smart decision for helping our economy. Seriously having made 21 million dollars from profit makes this guy very savvy in my eyes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2012/01/23/gIQAj5bUMQ_story.html
Lastly, I'm going to bring up Newt Gingrich. What I like about him is his experience being the Speaker of the House back when Clinton was president. Most people know that when Clinton was in office our economy was in very good shape. Him being the Speaker of the house during that time shows he had an influence on the economy of that time. It wasn't until president Bush's second office that the economy really started going down hill. http://www.biography.com/people/newt-gingrich-9311969 For now I'm between Gingrich and Romney. They both seem like good contenders for president.

The Start of Something New

My name is Alicia and I'm majoring in Respiratory Therapy. I am married and I have two kids, one of which is turning three and the other is three months. I'm not a very creative person, but I'm hoping this class will get my creative juices flowing. I like to spend any extra time I have with my husband Noah. I also have an amazing talent or you could say skill; picking items up with my feet. Having a little baby I'm finding myself utilizing that talent more often. Also, my favorite color is yellow. I'm really looking forward to this semester.

-Alicia