Childcare

Matty plays happily at childcare - showcasing his gorgeous smile

My children go to childcare and sometimes I feel guilty. I do not feel guilty about working; I love my career and would never give it up, but I have made the sacrifice to cut back my working hours so I can be with my children. I feel sorry for the children who are in full-time childcare and I wonder what is the point of having children if you want someone else to look after them every day. I guess there are people who have to work, to pay the bills and all. But many people choose to have their kids in full-time care and I think that is a bit sad :(

So when I feel guilty for putting Georgie and Matty in childcare for one day a week, I am glad it is not all day, every day. Having said that, I put them in care so I can work in the morning and then have the afternoon to myself. I know I should have some rest and some 'me time,' but I miss them so much I find it hard to enjoy myself!

I had to record some things that childcare has recently said about my gorgeous baby boy. These are the same things they have said about Georgia when she was a baby not that long ago. The centre really loves our kids so I am happy that they are there, in good hands. I have heard terrible things about some childcare and family daycare centres!

Things they say about Matty-moo:

• He's the most beautiful baby (I already knew that ;])


• He's such an easy baby


• Everybody loves him


• All the children want to kiss him


• He is so friendly/happy/cuddly


• "Can I keep him"


• "Can you have more babies and bring them all here so we can look after them" (can they pay?)


• Ahhhh
  
• "I just want to kiss him"


• "I want one like him" (so do I. several in fact)


• He's no trouble


• He plays beautifully

Oh, the list goes on. I am so proud. I suppose that is rather obvious; I feel the glow from within whenever I am with him. Ever since he was born I have felt euphoric (and exhausted). I never dreamed that I could have another "angel baby" but here I am with another one. Georgia has been and is so easy; even those pesky three-year-old tantrums have been quite reasonable!

Last night I explained the love for my children like the pictures of the sun that kids draw. You know, the big shiny round yellow sun, surrounded by many many triabgles in red, orange and yellow, radiating light. Sometimes the sun has a smile on its face. That is how I imagine the love for my children. It fills me all up and surrounds me and guides me and is the reason why I breathe.

Just an Update

Matty's first swing!

Matthew has been doing all the normal baby things lately. He now has six teeth (luckily for me he doesn't bite when feeding!). He is also crawling around very quickly; often getting lost, or finding us when he has been left to his own devices in the playroom! As you can see he is rather cute. He smiles all the time! Last night was very unusual because he could not get to sleep and he cried a lot, until 12:30, when he must have exhausted himself. We thought it could have been the humid weather, and the fact that he'd been at childcare all day and had a lot of hugs to catch up on! His latest sounds are "Da" and "Ga" as well as "Mumumum" so I am wondering if he is learning our names...

Georgia and Matthew are best of friends

There is no doubt that Georgia and Matthew are best of friends. When driving in the car they hold hands. Georgia has been known to carry him around the house, bringing him when we need him or taking him away when we need him - whatever she feels like at the time. Matty loves her and laughs with her. Talk about stimulation.

Naigee rolling in the hay in the vege patch

Naigee is one of those cute sorts of cats who likes being around the action, albeit from the sidelines. I just thought this picture was cute.

One of the henny pennys on the loose

I don't think the chooks are that cute but I love them nonetheless. Four of our girls are laying now, and we got a big double-yolked egg today. We get 3-4 eggs a day now. Let us know if you want some! We're making our own mayonnaise and we have great quiche recipes. The eggs are delicious! This pic was taken when we let the chooks out. Except only one was brave enough to 'escape.' She spent the next twenty minutes trying to get back in. The thing I love is the noise they make whenever they see Monte!

Another typical GG and MM moment

Georgia jumping

I took this photo when we went to the local park a few weekends ago. It was really windy so Monte went and bought a kite. Georgia is really growing up, obviously. Her curls come and go and she likes wearing her hair down and in her face; she sweeps it back indignantly. She says lovely things, like, "When we grow wings we can fly up and pat the clouds;" "I love you more than anything in the world;" "You're my angel girl;" "You're my best daddy."

Georgia adores her grandma

Recently Georgia's Grandma, Maxine, celebrated her birthday! Georgia loves parties and she raved about this for a long time - before and after the occasion! You can see that Georgia and her grandma have a lovely bond. Recently GG had a holiday at grandma and poppa's. She went to playgroup and had a marvellous time. They certainly keep her busy and she just loves it.

As for me, I am finding work hard. Not the actual work hard (I love it) but the other bits that work around work. Like the children, the housework and err... me! In the pst 2 months I've had mastitis twice and tonsillitis twice! I know I should be sleeping more, but when the children are in bed I get a chance to have some ME time! A fortnight ago the kids started going to childcare all day rather than just the morning a week, so I have Thursday afternoon to myself now (spent being bored and missing my babies!).

Matty got his first lolly bag at Zoe's green party, and mummy ate the choccies but he got a finger puppet and a toy - how cool is that! Zoe is Brooke's daughter. Brooke and I have been friends for a gazillion years, since 1991! We're both ancient but it's so fantastic that our children are close in age.

It rained today (proper rain) so I sat with the children on the front porch and we watched the rain, smelt the rain and felt the rain. We sang songs and I held them tightly. You never know when an even such as this downpour will occur again. Georgia got wet playing in the rain; the pond filled up and the air smelt fresh!

7 Reasons not to rush your baby into Crawling

1. Crawling babies tend to collect ALL the dirt, pet hair and food crumbs from the floor onto their bellies, so if you have a dirty floor, watch out!
2. Crawling babies disappear without telling you where they are going.
3. Babies who crawl usually are overly curious, opening pantry cupboards and the cupboards under the sink - none of which is safe!
4. Crawling babies get trodden on, and they yell loudly
5. Crawling babies slow down the cooking process, because they have to be constantly moved from the food prep area
6. Crawling babies put even more things into their mouths (god only knows how long that mushroom has been there!)
7. A crawling baby means that the next step is not that far away, which means that they are even closer to asking for pocket money!

Matthew update: This crawling baby has two bottom teeth and some top ones on the way. He says 'dada' as well as a lot of other sounds that I never knew existed. He is eating all sorts of vegetables but is still having 4-5 milk feeds a day, so I am still pretty exhausted (but strangely euphoric).