$60 for some Name clothing labels!

Jamie will be moving to a new daycare a week from next Monday. It's a larger church run daycare with many more rules and regs, but will allow Jamie to be with her peers (other 2.5 yr olds who aren't potty trained yet) and also allow her to go outside twice daily. WHere she is now is a home daycare who has one other child Jamie's age, one a year younger and the other 3 or 4 are babies. So it is time, and Jamie is looking forward to it. We took her there and showed her the playground and she calls it 'My Park!'

They require that all of Jamies clothes have her name in them. As I hope to sell her clothes at a twice annual consignment sale I don't want to use magic marker on the labels. I think its tacky for the next person who may want the clothes.

So I went in search for some name labels, Walmart didn't have them, which surprised me. I found some options online after checking with Hobby Lobb* and Office *epot. Walmart has a Brother label maker that can use either plastic labels or labels made from material.


Their label maker was marked down from $39 to $19.99 - the same label maker from Office Depot was $40 - neither place has the material tape though. So I found it online - $20 for a roll of it - I will wait to order this until I recieve the label maker from Walmart.

I also found a site where they do sew in labels and stickers so I ordered 200 labels and 80 stickers - the roll for the label maker is iron on and I wanted both, plus you need stickers for the sippy cups and stuff right? Also these labels should last us a long time, maybe throughout Jamie's childhood! And the label maker will come in handy for other things - Mike is a teacher and he should label up all his stuff in his classroom.

Like how I rationalize this $60 worth of stuff just so I follow the rules at the new daycare?!

New toys

I remember when my proudest possessions were my 1970 Cougar, and my newly installed cassette deck with tapes of the Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees. Now its my MP3 player (I refuse to pay the price for an Ipod) and my Laptop. That's it - two toys I use on a regular basis and couldn't be without.

But lately the tools of old age are creeping into my repertoire. Know what these two items are? I didn't - not the first one anyway. I never really needed to know what a foot rasp was. I have nice feet, they look great in sandals for the most part. Until now, as a result of my age and of wearing open backed shoes for years (even in the winter) my heels have come to need the aid of a rasp. Of course I have always known what an cold pack is, but now I have intimate knowledge of applying it daily. Although the chiropractor has helped I am still having issues with muscle spasms on a daily basis. *sigh*

Blogging at the pool

I feel so lucky, Mike is in making salads and me and Jamie are poolside. We just got our spa fixed and the 3 of us have been in and out of it and the pool all day. We only have the spa up to 97 degrees so the water isn't too hot. Jamie's cheeks got a little flushed earlier - guess we better not let her be in there more than a few minutes or so.

I had to tear myself away to go work a trade show for my job for a couple of hours this afternoon. My new job is better than my other one but does have some extra demands and responsibilities. Thats Ok, I like to talk to people, I just wish I didn't have to do things on the weekends or evenings but I guess that is why I get paid the big bucks. LOL

Vacation at home & Peepee in the potty

I have a few days off and we are sticking close to home. The high cost of gas does have something to do with it, as well as some back pain that I am finally getting a grip on. I have been going to a fantastic Chiropracter & Alternative health center and I can't recommend it enough. I went for the first time on Tuesday and again today and I feel better, after more than 2 weeks of constant pain under my right scapula. (shoulder blade). I tried 2 massages before going to Dr. Will and although they helped, the pain really dissipated after getting adjusted and manipulated. Plus I get a massage at Dr. Will's!! Enough about my pain, or lack thereof.

Today was my first day off and we had a bit of a pool party. My friend Chris and her granddaughter Shelby who is five came over first thing this morning and later my other friend Michelle and her two boys Danny who is 5 and Jordan who is four came for swimming.

Then we had marinated roast beef on the grill with potatoes, cauliflower and 5 bean salad for lunch and brownies for desert. Yum. That was our big meal of the day, Jamie went down for her nap afterwards and I went to see Dr. Will.

After my adjustment I visited a new day care center behind the Dr. office that is affiliated with the local Catholic church in this part of town. I have always thought it looked interesting and even called about it for Jamie before we put her in her first daycare situation (which turned out to be at my good friend Michelles'). Anyway Dr. Will and the massage tech use this daycare for their two year olds (isnt that funny; we all have 2 yr olds) and it is less than a mile from our house, and has a huge shaded playground. I went in and toured the center. Where Jamie is now is a home daycare which is nice as she has interactions with the whole family, loves it there and they love her; but she hardly ever goes outside and she is the oldest kid there now that her older girlfriend Sidney moved to a center. I think it's important for her to be around kids her own age and older some of the time, and I know my girl wants to be outside more.

There are only about 12 or 15 in the 2.5 year old class and there is one opening. I was impressed and I think that is where she will go. The rate is a bit more than we are paying - $125/week or $500/month; but it goes down to $110/week once she is potty trained. I was impressed with the kids there and Dr. Will says they love all the teachers there.

And that leads me to our big news~!!! For the first time ever Jamie went peepee in her potty right after her nap!!! We are so proud, I opened the bathroom window and yelled out to Daddy (guess who just went Peepee) I am sure the neighbors are very proud as well! (JK)

She got a peanut M & M and handed out kisses to both of us. We clapped and cheered, it was quite an occasion. If she goes poo she gets a sucker, and that will really be a big day.

Mike is outside pressure washing the spa, we just may get it working again soon. I am thrilled as I miss it so much.

Well that is all for now. Hope everyone is having a great day. I will add pictures later.

Ok I know I'm an older mommy & Swim lessons

Well it finally happened to me today. Mike has been called Jamies 'Grandpa' on more than one occasion and when he tells me about it, I say "Honey don't worry about it, we are older parents..." but when Jamie's swim teacher referred to me as the Grandma today it was weird. And not in a good way. Darn I wish it hadn't bothered me but it did despite her assurance that she is getting alot of grandmas taking their grandkids to lessons lately.

The swim lessons went ok I guess. What do they teach a 2 year old you may ask? Well Jamie learned how to get in the pool by crawling down the wall by twisting her body, she learned to wait to jump until I say "1, 2, 3, GO!" and she learned how to crawl out of the pool pulling herself up by her elbows and then crawling out. I am not sure she will be able to do it in our pool as we don't have the ledge like at the city pool but we will see. She did not learn to roll over, this maneuver where I have to get her to allow me to support her as she is floating on her back and rolling her over onto her stomach. She even got a little pissed with me for trying it again and again. But she did better than the little boy 'Nicholas' who sobbed the whole time and pleaded to get out. Jamie missed the first 2 lessons this week because of a private swim team meet and a nearly bad weather day on Monday, but she is almost caught up to the rest of the Aqua Tots. We will see if she will roll with it tomorrow.