Watch your Child Grow with Daycare online Streaming

I must have been lost in the dark ages of daycare when I was taking my children. I learned this week that since as early as 1996 their were websites providing schools and day cares with the technology to install 'nanny cams' that customers can view live online at any time during business hours. Although, it appears that the day care online streaming craze did not really start until early 21st century.

If you are like me as a parent, you wonder all day about how your child is interacting in the day care setting. We wonder if the teachers are being fair and respectful. We worry that because they were crying when we left them, they had a bad day or cried all day. Just knowing that I could log on and watch my child at any time during the day would be huge. But to actually go to work in the morning and check on my kids when I get to work, would be phenomenal. I would go back to work if I could find affordable day care that provided this service in my area.

I was looking at some video and reading about this service through WatchmeGrow.com. This company sets up everything for this system and runs it all remotely. The childcare workers have no access to parent usernames and passwords, increasing security for the parents. Parents have to register with the Watch me Grow website and then be authorized by the day care center before receiving access to any live streaming video.

I am so excited about this concept that I intend on doing more research and provide more interesting and compelling information on the subject of watching your children at day care via live streaming webcams in the day care center.

ChildrensPlace.com

I have been doing more and more of my shopping online especially for the children's clothing. I just recently learned about Childrensplace.com. It is an online store that runs great deals for highly fashionable children's clothing.

The first time I went shopping at the The Children's Place, I spent over $100 and made out like a bandit. I was able to purchase 3 shirts and 3 shorts for Brayden (2). I also purchased 2 pair of flip flops for each of the girls along with a new swimsuit for each of them. 

The best part is that any order over $75 has no shipping cost so it is truly like shopping in the store. I almost always spend at least $100 on clothing per trip so this website is perfect. Plus, they are always running specials. When I made my last purchase, all the girls clothing and accessories were on sale up to 50% off. Plus, I received a coupon for $$20 off my next purchase of $40 or more. 
I am including the website, I recommend The Children's Place to anyone with children. The website is as follows:
http://www.childrensplace.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/home_10001_10001_-1.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Here's wishing the Happiest of Birthdays to my baby boy Brayden who is officially a terrible two year old now. My sweet baby boy, the last baby for our family is on his way to being a preschooler. It kind of makes me sad, but happy too.

Brayden got a ton of sandbox toys and sand for the sandbox. He received a bunch of mini monster trucks and matchbox cars. Plus his own bounce back punching bag. Maybe he will stop hitting everyone now. LOL I think that his favorite gift was the tool box though. He was fixing everything he could get his hands on all night long.

Again, Happy 2nd Birthday to our Precious Baby Boy Brayden Kyle!!

Softball Season is almost here!

Sometimes it can be hard for us as parents to find information on all of the extra curricular activities that our children would like to participate in. 2 years ago, a youth softball/baseball league fell into my lap and the children really enjoyed playing with that league. Then last year we had moved to a new area and I was able to find 2 different leagues in our new Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa hometown. 

In 2010, we lived in Evansdale, Iowa (it is connected to Waterloo, Iowa) and my oldest daughter was ready to start playing softball. I feel very fortunate to have heard about the Evansdale Youth Sports Association (EYSA) in time for registration that year. This league is for children aged 3 through the 12th grade.

.   Registration will be held at the Evansdale City Hall, which is located at 123 N. Evans Road. Registrations will be held on Saturdays March 24^th and 31^st from 9am- 1pm, Monday March 26th - Friday March 30th from 4pm-7pm, and Saturday March 31st from 9am- 1pm. It will cost $25 to register. With the exception of t-ball player whose cost is only $20. To download registration forms, or for more information please visit the Evansdale Youth Sports Association website at http://www.allprosoftware.net/EYSA/aplsnews.htm. 

 

Registration cost includes a team t-shirt, but parents are responsible for supplying the rest of the uniform. A complete uniform includes the team t-shirt, baseball/softball pants, Cleats, and a baseball glove. Players are welcome to bring their own bat and batting helmet although both of these will be provided by team coaches. All games and practices are held at Deerwood Park in Evansdale, Iowa.

This league is non-competitive so the focus is more on having fun and practicing your softball/baseball skills. They do have a tournament mid-season each year and those are the only games that scores matter. My eldest daughter Julianna really enjoyed her first season of softball with the EYSA.

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Daylight Savings Time

I don't know who came up with Daylight Savings Time, but since I have had kids, I decided that I do not like it.When you don't have kids, daylight savings can be fun, but perspectives change when children are involved.

By no means is Daylight Savings Time harmful to our children. I want to stress that I am saying it is frustrating and exhausting for both parents and their children, not harmful. Most parents understand that children are usually better when they have a routine.

Daylight Savings Time messes up that routine twice a year. Even as an adult, our bodies still take time to adjust. We know how hard it can be to readjust our own adult bodies when we change clocks, now imagine being a kid.  

Twice a year there are drastic changes in the kids' environmental layout at bedtime and in the morning. In the spring, we all lose an hour of sleep from the time change; while in the fall everyone gains an hour with the time change. As adults, we have very minimal effects of losing or gaining an hour of sleep. 

However, children don't understand and their biological clock doesn't change automatically. So instead of sleeping in that extra hour with fall daylight savings, children tend to wake up an hour earlier. The younger the child, the crankier they are that next evening trying to stay awake until bedtime.

When the time change takes away an hour of sleep in the spring time, the children tend to wake up at the normal time. The problem is that their normal time is actually an hour less sleep. Either way, the poor kids end up spending most of a week frustrated as their bodies attempt to adjust to the time change.

When I was a teenager and young adult before having kids, I used to love fall time Daylight Savings because it meant an extra hour at the bar. Now I have to make it a plan to go to bed earlier at Daylight Savings Time so that I can keep up with the kids. 

All of that in mind, don't forget to change your clocks back tonight. Saturday night, March 10, 2012, be sure to spring your clocks ahead an hour before you go to bed.

My 4 Year Old Played Me to get Out of School

I know that all children go through a lying stage, but it is still one of the most frustrating things we deal with as parents. In over a decade, I am proud to say that none of the kids have successfully lied and gotten out of school until now. I was so angry today that I had to put kids down early for nap so I could calm myself down.

My 4 year old step son is with us 50% of the time. Sunday to Sunday with us, then back to his mom's for the next week. Without going into that situation, suffice it to say that this woman is not intelligent by any means and lets Nicholas do whatever he wants. So, Nick comes back to us each Sunday with an attitude and we have to retrain each week.

Anyway, Nicholas woke up this morning whining (not unusual). He said his tummy hurt and he went downstairs and laid down on the couch. I assumed he must be sick because he does not just lay around in the morning. So, the rest of the kids finish getting ready for school and take off on the bus as normal. 

It was not 5 minutes after the bus left that Nick asks me for breakfast. I thought that was odd, but little ones don't understand that eating is not good when you have certain tummy aches. I gave him a couple of saltines and some water and thought nothing of it until he started playing with Brayden. The minute I walked out of the room, he laid down behind the chair and tried to go to sleep.

When I made him get back up so I could talk to him, he got mad at me. I asked him how his tummy felt and he said his tummy was fine, he did not want to go to school because he was tired. Long story short, Nicholas ends up ratting himself out. He was up playing half the night (which explained why the baby kept waking up last night) and he just did not want to go to school.

At that point, I put him in a corner and he stayed there until my husband got home. I left the rest to him because I was too angry. Wow, my own kids have never pulled the wool over my eyes like that. He isn't even 5, he should not be able to lie and play people like that yet. 

Muddy Springtime

We live a mile off the highway on a gravel road and springtime is the worst. The last week I have had to run in 4 wheel drive just to get around my driveway and gravel road. In Iowa, we have had way more rain than normal for this early. It is usually still snow at this time of year. I was hoping to have another few weeks before this mess began.

We have a mudroom that is perfect for coming in and taking off those muddy shoes and boots, but with six kids that doesn't always happen the way we want it to. Plus, we have two dogs that need to go outside multiple times a day. And no matter how much you wipe their paws, they will still drop dirt for 15-20 minutes after they come in. 

Needless to say, in the springtime our household goes through a lot of Pinesol and vacuum bags. We have to sweep up the floors each time someone comes into the house. And when the dogs come in, we usually have to mop and use the vacuum as well. One advantage is that I have found that they mean what they say about Pinesol. It smells good all the time in the spring, but it is more than frustrating to have to clean the floors so often.

Of course, the kids cannot stay out of the mud. We have a gravel driveway that turns into a mud driveway come springtime, which doesn't help the kids stay clean either. So there are extra clothes, coats, snow pants, gloves, and hats to be washed during the spring as well.