March 11, 2009 by Barbara.

On Monday night I made Hyderbadi Biryani chicken and rice with a new kind of spice paste. The kind I’ve tried before was too bland and so I was pleased to find a new kind that had many fewer four-syllable ingredients. Well, the chicken we had for supper that night was definitely not bland! Reid and I added yogurt to ours to calm it down some. Grandma Barb initially refused since she isn’t a fan of yogurt. She changed her mind, though, after her first bite.

Reid worked her way through her biryani chicken and rice, alternating bites and large gulps of milks. At one point, she looked up and declared emphatically, “This is hotter than curry!” And then she took another bite. Sometimes we have to keep her at the table to get her to finish her milk but, on Monday, Reid drank 3 times her usual amount and mooched some of mine.

If I ever need reminding of what a strong influence other people have over me, Reid’s attitude to drinking milk reminds me. At day care (I know) and at school (I think), the kids have to wait until the end of the meal to get their milk. I’m a sipper, myself, and really don’t like to drink a bunch of milk all at once. Ken and I prompt Reid to drink during the meal but she often doesn’t take our advice. We just don’t have the influence we used to have. The biryani chicken and rice, though, *it* has the influence we lack.

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October 9, 2008 by Barbara.

I’m not a political person generally but just as having a daughter has brought forward my feminist self that had slipped into the background after university, having a child makes me want to write a bit about child care just days before the October 14th election. I received a message from Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada that provides some statistics from a recent survey of attitudes toward child care. The key findings show:

• Three-quarters of Canadians (77%) think that the lack of affordable child care is a
  very (31%) or somewhat (46%) serious problem in Canada today.
• Across the country, the lack of affordable child care is seen as particularly serious in
  the Atlantic provinces (86%), British Columbia (85%), and Ontario (78%). Seventy
  percent (70%) of Quebec residents, and 75% of Prairie residents, see it as a
  serious problem.
• Supporters of all political parties see an important role for governments in
  helping parents meet their child care needs, including Conservatives (75%), Liberals
  (88%), New Democrats (95%), Green Party supporters (81%), and Bloc Quebecois
  supporters (88%).

The $100 cheque that I receive each month for Reid is simply not the same as a child care plan. The way to create an adequate system requires that the equivalent of those $100 payments (and more) be spent strategically on a system. Scattering the money throughout society is tactical - it may engender support for the party that implemented the payments but it doesn’t build infrastructure and it may even permit some people who couldn’t otherwise afford child care to afford it but it won’t help them to find child care. Our family has the money to pay for child care but it was not easy to find care for Reid before she started school - we had to drive in the wrong direction to take her to her day care but at least it was a good one - and we were unable to find child care that complimented her public school hours. We’re fortunate enough to have been able to find and afford an independent school that offers pre- and post-care.

I don’t know how to show respect (in monetary terms) for families who choose to have one parent stay home with the children. Maybe $100 per month does make a difference in their lives. For me, even though Reid will soon not fall into the traditional child care age group, I’m voting for a party that supports a  child care system. 

Whatever your reason, get out there next Tuesday and vote!

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September 7, 2008 by Barbara.

Reid and I went to her old day care on Friday. Her new school doesn’t participate in the Scholastic book program and I’m addicted to the low prices on the books. The books that the day care earns for their library because of my purchase are nice, too. The only hiccup is that I have to pay by cheque and when we were driving by on Thursday, I didn’t have a cheque with me. And so, on Friday evening, we made a quick detour to day care. Reid was more shy and clingy as we walked back into her old stomping grounds than she had been any day at school. She talked about how she was too big for day care but I had say that she could have stayed since Senior S (poor kid has such a popular name that she will always have a modifier) and C had stayed in day care. S’s parents hadn’t known to put S on a waiting list when she was just a baby to find care at the school.

We were late enough that only one of the teachers and two kids were still around. Reid seemed to be disappointed by this and I said that we’d try to be earlier when we pick up the books we ordered so that she can see more friends and teachers. I suspect she’ll feel like an interloper the next time, too. Next to the new Juniors she definitely looked like she really was “too old” for day care. It’s odd how quickly things can change.

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August 24, 2008 by Barbara.

We had thunder and lightning and heavy rain Monday afternoon and so the kids missed their outside time. Think “arsenic hour” at home times 32 kids who usually burn off their energy in a large play yard. When I got to daycare, one of the teachers was painting the kids’ faces. Reid’s face was white with black splotches. She told me that it was a “fire dog” but I could see a bit of Fu Manchu also. Still, I agreed that she was a cute Dalmation because she was.

We got surprisingly few comments about Reid’s face while we were eating our supper in the viewing area of the complex. I tried to convince Reid to knock on the glass and show her face to her teacher but Reid was too shy. She wasn’t too shy to give me puppy lick-kisses (yech) or puppy cuddles and she did respond when I said, “Sit, Puppy. Eat, Puppy.” Fortunately puppies like cheddar cheese, hummous and herb crackers just as much as little girls named Reid do. In fact, this particular puppy also liked Clementine oranges and apple sauce. (What’s with Clementines being available in July - oops, August - anyway. I remember in the olden days they we available in November and December only.) I put together a good supper last night, if I do say so myself, although a beverage of some sort would have added to the spread.

Once we got to the change room, I told Reid that we needed to wash her face paint off. She asked why she couldn’t get into the pool as she was and I said that her teacher would say, “Out, out, spotted dog.” The other ladies in the change room laughed but Reid wasn’t impressed. I’ll have to remember this story until Reid takes MacBeth in high school.

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August 13, 2008 by Barbara.

View More Wordless Wednesday Participants, look at my previous Wordless Wednesday entries, or
check out the Wordless Wednesday HQ. You’ll find lots of cute babies and kids at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Posted in Wordless Wednesday, Daycare | Print | 7 Comments »

June 28, 2008 by Barbara.

Friday was the last day of show and tell at Reid’s daycare. When I picked Reid up, Claire told me that Reid would probably report that Claire had been angry and cancelled show and tell. (Unlike the time when Reid told me that Claire had made them all sit on the porch and, when questioned, didn’t think that Claire had been angry or frustrated with their behaviour.) Claire said that the kids had been a bit wild and just weren’t listening to instructions or carrying out routines that they knew very well. It is far too early in the summer for the kids to get wild and I think, sad as it is to say, taking away the last show and tell was  a good and logical consequence for the bad behaviour. Reid, at least, likes show and tell a lot.

As we picked up the photo Reid had brought for show and tell, Reid told me that they hadn’t had show and tell.  When I asked why, she said, “We weren’t listening.” I acknowledged that it was a sad thing to have happened and said how Claire must have been frustrated with their misbehaviour and Reid repeated that they hadn’t been listening. I’m not sure if Reid isn’t troubled by Claire’s reaction or if she didn’t notice it. She certainly didn’t blame Claire for anything.

Reid volunteered the information about show and tell being cancelled and why, when she saw Ken. When she told Grandma Joyce and Aunt Karin, she told them it was the last show and tell day at daycare. She asked about her new school and I said I wasn’t sure if they had show and tell there. In a grave tone, Reid said, “It was the last show and tell ever.” I sure hope that they have show and tell at school.

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June 25, 2008 by Barbara.

On the way home from daycare Monday night, Reid was sitting alone in the backseat and Ken was driving. I, for once, was not sitting in the backseat as I usually do. (Don’t ask me how or why that started. I swore I wouldn’t but it really is easier.) Out of the blue, Reid asked, “Who wants to play ‘Dora is Dead’?” Well, you wouldn’t believe how quickly Ken can raise his hand while still driving safely! I had to ask Reid to repeat herself to fully believe it but it turns out that she really did want to play Dora is Dead. I had to decline the invitation in order to prepare supper. Reid said that the rules said that there were supposed to be 3 people playing but that it would be okay with 2. Who knew that there would be rules to such a game? In the end, Reid didn’t mention the game once we got home and so we don’t know exactly how it is played.

I suspect that she was thinking of an episode of Little Bear where the friends stage a pretend funeral for Lucy, Emily’s doll. I am going to ask the daycare teachers if they proposed the dead game yesterday when they needed the kids to quiet down a bit in the midst of a day when they couldn’t go outside. They’ll appreciate the humour in the question.

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June 25, 2008 by Barbara.

View More Wordless Wednesday Participants, look at my previous Wordless Wednesday entries, or
check out the Wordless Wednesday HQ. You’ll find lots of cute babies and kids at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Posted in Wordless Wednesday, Daycare | Print | 14 Comments »

June 23, 2008 by Barbara.

We went to Reid’s daycare picnic on Friday night and, as always, I learned a few things while there. The first involved the kids in the yellow t-shirts in the picture below. Can you guess why they aren’t still all wearing them?

When I first got there, all of the children were wearing the yellow. As their parents arrived, the children had the yellow t-shirt removed. The daycare staff then were able to tell which children were still “in care” and which were, more or less, being looked after by their parents.

I thought that this was a clever idea and it could be also be used at a birthday party at a crowded location. When the kids arrive, you could give them a t-shirt and when their parents come to pick them up, you would take the t-shirt off and put it in the treat bag. Hmmm… I wonder if they will be necessary for Reid’s party next month?

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May 30, 2008 by Barbara.

I must have been like  school kids who think that their teachers live at school because I was a bit surprised when Reid announced that the cook at Reid’s daycare had taken some time off. Before the conversation ended, I knew more than I ever imagined I’d know about his life. It went something like this:

Me: What did Todd make for lunch today?
Reid: Todd is away. It was Won.
Me: Won?
Reid: *Wuh*-on!
Me: Oh, Ron! Sorry. (That should have been obvious but my brain was tired after a day in French class.) Where’s Todd?
Reid: What is the word for his woman?
Me: Mother?
Reid: No.
Me: Wife?
Reid: Yes. That’s it. She had another baby. He is staying home to watch over the baby. His older child goes to school by itself.
Me: (I had no idea that he had a child already, let alone one that was old enough to attend school.) How long will Todd be staying home?
Reid: He is staying home until… (Her voice trails off as she is clearly searching for an answer. Then with confidence) When he’s back, I’ll ask how long.
Me: If we ask the teachers, you could make a “Congratulations on your new baby” card.
Reid: Yeah! Let’s do that
Me: Is Ron a good cook like Todd?
Reid: Todd is a good cook. But sometimes he cooks yucky food. Sometimes we try the yucky food.
Me: Just because you think some food is yucky doesn’t mean that it wasn’t cooked well.
Reid: (No small amount of skepticism on her face. No words but much doubt.)

After driving a bit further
Reid: Let’s play daycare but there’s no director.
Me: (Wondering: do I ask to be director when we play? Why has she eliminated the option?) I want to be the cook.
Reid: (Humour in her voice) No, I want Daddy to be the cook. And I’ll be the student with CareB and Eeyore and Princess Dolly …

It would seem that in Reid’s world, it is laughable to suggest that men might carry Blackberries or women might do the laundry or be cooks outside the home. I hope there’s a little boy out there who has some pretty flexible ideas about gender roles. Note that I chose “boy” carefully in the preceding sentence. When Reid mentioned marriage recently she said she couldn’t marry L because she is a girl, too. I said that sometimes girls marry girls and Reid told me emphatically that she wasn’t going to do so. During this sort of exchange I usually tell Reid that she has to be a grown up lady before she can get married. If Ken is around, he throws in the number 30 as the minimum age. Dads can dream.

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