30 Days of Thankfulness in Words and Pictures, Part 1

Day 1 - Today I am Thankful for traditions. Our Halloween tradition of going to my Dad's house for dinner and Trick-or-Treating is probably my favorite one of the entire year.

Halloween 2012

Day 2 - I am thankful for access to affordable healthcare. Especially on a day like today when I have already had one medical appointment for myself, Lily has her 9 month well visit, Noelle has a pediatrician visit, and Noelle also has an eye appointment. 

Waiting for her second flu shot...ouch!

Day 3 - Today I am Thankful for my husband. We have our share of ups and downs, but we work through them and try to come out stronger than before.

Justin - Father's Day 2012

Day 4 - I'm Thankful for my amazing son Adam. He is a sweet, loving, and sensitive child. He made me a mom and I couldn't be more happy about that.

Space Derby October 2012

Day 5 - I'm Thankful for Noelle. She is such a caring and helpful big sister. Noelle taught me that no two children are alike and you have to learn to appreciate each for who they are as individuals. She amazes me daily with how smart she is!

Ready for her first Girl Scout meeting

Day 6 -  I'm Thankful for Lillian! My sweet Lily Bug. She really is my sunshine and has completed me as a mom. I love her so much! She is truly the happiest, smiliest child I have EVER met.

October 2012

Day 7 - I am Thankful to live in such a gorgeous state that has graced us with some amazingly warm days this week.

My gorgeous view of the mountains from work!

Day 8 - I am Thankful for my family. They are some of my favorite people in the world and are always so loving, caring, and accepting. Love you all!

HUGE Allen family - September 2012

Day 9 - Today I am Thankful for the amazing preschool teachers Noelle had at LOTH and B&B. At her first Kindi conference last night we learned that she reads at a DRA of 16 which equals an end of 1st grade level and has the math skills of a strong 1st Grader. It is such a blessing to us that she excels in school. With all of the behavior problems we have at home it is very nice to know that she does not struggle in any way at school.

B&B June 2012

Day 10 -  I am Thankful for my IRL friends. I love having you all as part of my life. You make me laugh and smile on a daily basis. Thanks especially to Lorien Klette and Melinda Beckman for scrap booking with me last night!

Some of my favorite people.  This is an oldie, that is baby Noelle in my lap!!

Day 11 -  I am Thankful to all the Veterans! Thank you for keeping us safe and giving us our freedom. A special thanks to my brother Merle Cordova for serving in the Navy!

My brother, Merle Cordova - US Navy.

Day 12 - Today I am thankful to be able to work as a Nanny. Not only do I get to play and teach all day long, I get to do it with Lily. I LOVE my job!

Lily and Miss M reading together.

Day 13 - Today I am Thankful for all my FB friends. I enjoy keeping up with everyone's lives. It's fun to hear what you all are doing, learn about your kids, and to be able to "like" from afar.

Day 14 - Today I am thankful that my kids' school is going traditional next year. Yeah!! If I were a stay at home mom I would love and embrace the track system. But since I work FT and therefor have to pay for 3 weeks of FT care every 9 weeks I am really excited to be done with it. I am also excited for my kids to get a "real" summer vacation.

Summer 2012

Day 15 - I am Thankful to be able to shop online for Christmas gifts. Not only is it hard to get out to stores to buy things without kids in tow, I no longer have the extra time to do it! This year I am excited to use the Box Tops site as a portal to all our favorite stores, that way my children's school earns money while I shop.

Christmas 2011

Random Tidbits 3

1.  My 4 year old begged to watch "The Safe Side: Stranger Safety" video by Julie Clark (founder of The Baby Einstein Company) and John Walsh (host of America's Most Wanted), this morning.  When I said no and recommended watching a "real" movie she responded with, "But Mommy, I don't remember how to be safe around strangers!!"  She got to watch it.  I really like the video and think is does a good job of teaching safety without scaring kids.  It teaches about different people, "don't knows", "kinda knows", and safe side adults.  It also uses great language for young children and is easy to follow and understand.  We watched it with the kids the first few times, but now they randomly ask to watch it on their own.  I highly recommend it!!

2.  This 4 year old had a 101 degree temp last night and was coughing horribly.  I'm very thankful she bounces back quickly.  (Clearly I am not someone who believes kids can't play in the cold when sick.)

 
Also, I LOVE that I have a sledding hill in my very own back yard.  I personally HATE the cold and snow.  The fact that she can play in the backyard to her hearts content and I can stay warm inside makes me very happy.

3.  I had to file a formal complaint with the Colorado Division of Childcare this week. Really long story short...a little over a week ago my daughter hit her head under her cubby and bled for over an hour before I arrived to pick her up and noticed the blood.  Not a single person at the school noticed the dried, bloody hair on the back of her head that was as big as my fist and had dripped down the back of her shirt.  I was NOT a happy Mommy that afternoon.  She ended up bleeding for about 2 1/2 hours before it finally stopped.  It was a scary experience and my first time dealing with a bleeding scalp.  Impressive after 12 years in childcare.  To make matters worse both the Asst. Director and Owner tried to touch the wet blood with their bare hands.  That's a really big no no and very common First Aid knowledge.  I had to speak up and stop them.  Now I am anxiously awaiting the outcome.

4.  We did not buy costumes or pumpkins this year.  Otherwise we celebrated in all our normal ways.  The kids never asked about carving pumpkins, thank goodness.  Noelle dressed up as Snow White (donated to us by a friend), a REDS baseball player (her t-ball uniform, minus cleats), and a Ballerina (hand me down tutu from who knows where, leotard from the 1 class she took 2 years ago, a.  Adam was a Wizard, Optimus Prime, and Wolverine.  The only costume that was fairly new was the Wizard.  I made it in July for our family's King's Day Celebration and it consisted of a tabard and cloak.  I think they actually enjoyed getting to pick a different costume for every event we attended.

5. We had a ghost pinata at out Halloween party last Saturday.  We always start with either the birthday child or youngest kid.  Noelle went 3rd and smacked the bottom off.  I was flabbergasted!!  Fortunately the kids were so excited for the candy pouring out that they didn't care that they didn't get a turn.  Not a single child spoke up about it.  WOW!!

Random Tidbits 2

(Mostly just "Random Rants" this week.)

1.  Note:  Noelle is not allowed ANY dairy.

This is what this weeks lunch menu for the daycare she attends looked like:

She attends Monday through Thursday every week.  (We feed her breakfast at home every day.  Especially since you have to pay extra for breakfast at the daycare.)  You will notice that the lunch each day she was there this week included dairy (aside from milk, they give her soy regardless).  Here is what she was actually given for her lunches:

It really irks me that the cook can not plan lunches at least 2-3 days of the week that the non-dairy kids can eat.  I HATE that she is given a different lunch than most kids almost every day.  Also, she isn't always given the equivalent of what the rest of the school is.  If the menu says a fruit AND veggie, she should still be given BOTH!  The lack of protein she receives at school also bugs me, but that is one I have to just give on.  And for the record Noelle had bread with jelly for breakfast, lunch, AND afternoon snack on Thursday.  Poor kid, it's no wonder she is starving every afternoon when I pick her up.  Two more things, who really wants to each a plain piece of bread with a slice of ham on it (DRY!!!) and why does the cook feel the need to butter the carrots when she makes them (is she trying to make the kids fat!).  UGH!!

2.  I am starting to bake more foods by scratch at home again.  I had no desire to spend time in the kitchen the last 4 months.  Thank goodness I'm over that.  When I don't have to use a box mix it is a lot easier for me to make sure there is no dairy in it.  My little Remy (Noelle) and I made Blueberry muffins this morning.  We substituted the oil for cinn. applesauce and used dried blueberries, since that is what we always have on hand.  They are a little dense and did not come out of the muffin papers well.  I would LOVE to know what causes them to not come out of papers well if anyone has a clue!  They are plenty edible and the kids are enjoying them!  A few pictures:

 

3.  Here's what my water bill looks like every month:

• Water                   $11.60
• Admin Fee            $5.00
• N Project Fund     $25.00
• Sewer                   $29.25

How is it that I only BUY  $11.60 in water but we more than DOUBLE what goes to the sewer?????  And what about the $30 in other stuff we pay.  The total bill has actually been exactly the sane the last 3 months.  That seems a little iffy to me.

4.  I received an interesting bill in the mail Tuesday from the Pediatricians office for my daughter.  BOTH my children had gotten the Flu Mist last Tuesday, one week prior to this bill arriving.  They wanted $40 for the Flu Mist vaccine.  It also listed a co-payment that was made in January of this year.  Obviously I knew something was wrong since it takes a good month normally to get this kind of bill AND it was only for one child who IS covered under health insurance.  I called them up and she told me to throw it away.  She was super nice and said it appeared they had never even billed the insurance but that she would get it taken care of.  YEAH for people who are friendly and personable in customer service!!

Random Tidbits 1

Sometimes I just have something random to say or maybe I come across something I think someone else might like or find interesting.  I am going to try for writing this post every Friday since it is my day off and I usually have at least a couple minutes free time.  So here it goes:

1.  My kids and I went to the Denver Zoo today.  They took pictures and will blog about it this weekend.

2.  I figured out how to lessen this awful pelvic pain I am having with this pregnancy.  No more criss-cross-applesauce for me.  :(  For those of you that don't know, I almost always sit this way.  In a chair, on the sofa, on the floor, and even when driving (granted only my left leg is up in the position).  Um, yeah, I'm 30.  This is NOT an easy habit to get out of.

3.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Pediatric Dermatologist I took my daughter to today.  Dr. Swanson at Advanced Dermatology was very personable and great with Noelle who is very reluctant to let Doctors and Nurses anywhere near her.

4.  Apparently beetle juice can be used to treat warts.

5.  I enjoy listening to books on tape once in a while.  Right now I am listening to A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.  I am really enjoying it and look forward to being in the car alone so I can listen.  I chose this book on CD, instead of in book form, because I didn't think I would be able to actually read it and get through it in a timely manner while remembering what I was reading.  Sometimes that is just how it is.