I’m talking to a male co-worker whose wife stays at home with their eight month old.
ME: We’re screwed. My kids are starting to combat crawl and we haven’t child-proofed the house yet.
MALE CO-WORKER: Oh, let me give you a link to this company that will come to your house and do a safety evaluation. Then, they’ll child-proof it for you if you want.
ME: Really? Where did you hear about it?
MALE CO-WORKER: Oh, at Emily’s Mommy-and-Me class.
ME: Hmm. I don’t do Mommy-and-Me.
Today was St. Patrick’s Day. I instantly realized it when I brought the kids into the daycare and everyone was wearing green. Neither Eleanor nor Miranda had a speck of green on them. I didn’t feel that bad until one of their teachers said, “I went to Target at 10 o’clock last night to buy this green shirt.”
On Valentine’s Day last month, I went to pick up the girls from daycare and their cubby was full of little “You’re mine” cards and candy from the other babies in their class. I felt like saying, “Umm, did you notice that our kids are six months old and can’t eat heart-shaped candy yet?”
I told my mom who is a preschool teacher what happened and she said, “What! You didn’t bring anything? Did you at least bring treats for the teachers?”
Oh great. I can hear them now–“What’s wrong with Eleanor and Miranda’s mom?”
You have twice the work and twice the stuff to remember for day care because you have TWO babies there…I’m sure most of the other families only have one kid in day care. Isaac had to wear socks on his hands one day at day care when they went outside because I forgot to bring his mittens (and I also forgot his hat, boots and snowpants). I can’t deal with the Valentine Day stuff, Thanksgiving stuff, etc either. They have a Santa Claus come to day care for Christmas who probably just scares the kids anyway.
don’t feel too bad. lucas’ daycare also celebrated every holiday/non-holiday under the sun with a party (meaning we have to bring something for it). they even did a kid’s gift exchange for x’mas which i refused to participate… what does a 18mo know abt that?
as for childproofing your house… not everyone needs the same degree of childproofing. for lucas, definitely yes! some of my friends don’t childproof their house b/c their girls would not touch the stuff they’re not suppose to. i think it depends on the kid. just go to target and buy all the basic stuff and lock up all the meds & chemicals. ikea has a really nice sturdy gate for the stairs.
Don’t worry about it. I actually find the idea of 7 month old babies giving and getting valentine’s cards to be pretty funny. It took me a while to figure out that you are supposed to give party favors at birthday parties! Anyways, if you are looking for a “manual”, you shoud see if there is a mother’s club (or parent’s club) you can join in your area. We have one for the bay area that has an active email discussion group where you can find out obscure things like who is the best childproofing guy in the area.