Martha’s Daycare

I just posted about babysitters the other day and mentioned Martha.  And said there would be more to come…well…here it is.
When I was pregnant I was terrified to leave my baby with anyone, anyone other than my mother of course.  I have to say I was probably even hesitant to leave Owen with Yosh at the beginning…I was a little crazy. I remember begging her to retire early, and telling her we’d pay her to watch Owen!! I know she felt horrible NOT being able to do that BUT I think it was a blessing in disguise that in the end she couldn’t…and Owen went to Martha’s.

Back in 2008 Mom was getting her hair done by a lady named Erika…who does hair out of her garage a few days a week (her garage is like a full blown salon though…its awesome!).  Anyway…Erika does hair for lots of Fontana teachers so that is how mom got word about her. Well…back in late 2008 Martha was in Erika’s getting her hair done as well….and her and mom got to talking about daycare and stuff.  Mom got her number and that was it.  Martha had told mom that she babysits for mostly all Fontana Unified teachers…particularly Oak Park and Canyon Crest. After that meeting my mom kept having people mention Martha’s daycare and how much they loved it…all coincidentally, not realizing that my Mom even knew who the lady was.  Mom felt kinda relieved to have a place with so many great referrals. One of the principals told my mom that even after her mother retired and was able to stay home with her children she opted to keep them at Martha’s…because of what they got out of it and how well behaved Martha made them. haha

Well the time to go back to work was approaching and I went to “interview” this stranger lady I was considering to watch my precious golden-child!!  I wanted to see what her house was like and everything. I remember driving to her house and saying to Yosh…how can we just leave our CHILD with a STRANGER….how do parents do it?  Well…I’m so happy that the “interview” went great, that I suppressed my crazy mama bear-ness for a bit and “hired” Martha to watch our little man.  It was the best decision I have made in a LONG time!

This was Martha teaching the kids “how” to trick-or-treat for Owen’s first real Halloween.

She taught my son so much…things that you wouldn’t even think about!! Yes of course I would have loved to have been a stay at home mom…spend all my time with my kids BUT unfortunately that isn’t financially possible in our house hold.  And I’m ok with it now…when I look back I’m so glad Owen got some exposure to other kids (of all different ages) in a social setting. She taught Owen about boundaries…like he knew he wasn’t allowed to leave the playroom unless Martha said it was ok, she taught him that if someone wasn’t happy (throwing a tantrum) to give them their space.  She taught Owen rules…where he was and wasn’t allowed to eat/drink, he was allowed to play with one set of toys, once done he had to put them away before pulling something else out (wtf that never happened in our house!)  She taught Owen about the rules of conversation, like not to interrupt, being a good listener, no yelling inside, etc.  She taught my son about empathy, losing a loved one and how to deal with tragic events. 
I know Martha is so proud of my little man BUT I have to say that not all of him was taught to him…I’m a lucky mama that has an intelligent, emotional, considerate, beautifully souled son…who was born that way.  He helped me get through one of the toughest times of my life (cancer and chemo)…and he seems to help others when they need it too! He’s a naturally caring individual.  And we all LOVE him for that!!

Owen saying Merry Christmas on his last day at Martha’s before X-mas break in 2010.  He still loves the Toy Story toys she got for him that year!

Best of all she got Owen sleeping!!!! Like a normal child! haha Owen was a co-sleeper for a long time. I was too sick to be up and down fighting with him in a crib when he was a baby…so he came into our bed.  But in August 2010 we know it was time for him to get in his own bed and in his own room…and thankfully Martha helped us with that!! Praise the Lord.

These 2 pics are the last day of his first year (May 2011, which I just read that blog post…gosh that went quick!) and the last day of his last year (May 2014) with Martha!

 

I’m so so happy that my mom got to be Nana…not the rule maker or disciplinarian. Which we all know wouldn’t have happened…so Owen would have ended up being a bratty little child because his Nana would NEVER be able to enforce rules with him the way Martha did.  When he saw his Nana he knew it was for fun…never getting sick of her because he wasn’t wearing her down Monday-Friday.  I like that now…I didn’t always think that way.

Yes it wasn’t a real pre-school…and some might think he will be behind when it comes time to start kinder BUT I think not.  Martha did some pre-schoolish type stuff and from what she DID do and the work we did at home, my little man is ready. He knows all his alphabet, recognizing all his letters, sounding them out, writing off memory, etc. And he knows his numbers…all of them pretty much. I’m always so proud when I see him writing his name and can’t imagine what he’ll be able to do this time next year…after one year of kinder.

In 2011 I started taking “first” and “last” day school pictures…no cute pinterest inspired signs BUT I always wanted to document his growth…

August & May (2011-2012)

August & May (2012-2013)

 

August & May (2013-2014)

Does anyone else think its freaking NUTS how much my little boy changed/grew this year…oh my lanta!!!!!! I didn’t realize it until now! Freakin’-A.

And I wanted to share some pics from Martha’s over the years…

 

Thank you so much Martha. I can’t thank you enough for what you have taught, and continue to teach my kids.  I know the time Owen spent with you did nothing but make him a better person!! I’m forever grateful!  Like I’ve said…you aren’t allowed to retire until I’m done with having kids and they are all ready for kinder…haha no pressure!

Now time to enjoy another summer…until August when Yosh and I return to Roosevelt to teacher, Owen will start kinder (unsure of which location just yet…that transfer has been a complete cluster!) and Ella will return to Martha!!

Babysitters

You can call me weird BUT yes my kids have basically never stayed with someone other than family (my mom) and Martha…ok I’m lieing a little bit.

When I was pregnant with Owen I remember the anxiety of THINKING about leaving my baby with a “stranger” to go back to work…mind you he was still in my belly at that point!!! And I would totally cry just thinking about it when he was a newborn (anxiety mixed with a touch of the baby blues…yes I cried a bit!).  I used to BEG my mother to retire early so I didn’t have to send him somewhere. Then BAM…I was diagnosed with cancer. The joke is I wished it upon myself…that's how bad I wanted to stay home with him.  So my “wish” was granted…I didn’t have to return to work until he was 10.5 months old (3 weeks after finishing chemotherapy).  When I returned to work we had about 2 months left of the school year…so we luckily had a girl named Hannah we used to coach (who had graduated and was a student at CSUF) be able to come to our house and take care of Owen.
Hannah did a great job with him…she kept him alive…haha we didn’t ask too much. I think she enjoyed it. That was when he was co-sleeping, so she would get to nap with him during the day (a college students dream…paid to sleep!)  He loved her and it was more than we could ask for.

 
Then the day came, the following school year, that we had to send Owen to daycare…I was nervous…but quickly felt very good about where he was at and what he was learning. More on that experience later…Owens last day at Martha’s is tomorrow. So bittersweet.  I’ll be sharing how great it was for him…and us.

 

And since we have my mom who is overly eager to get her hands on my kids…she NEVER would hesitate to offer to babysit for us.  Anytime.  Especially now that she IS retired, day or night…she’d stay with our babies for whenever we needed her to!!  We know we are EXTREMELY blessed! But since Mom is now living part-time out of the country, we knew the day would come that we’d need to get a “real babysitter”.  AND it happened last night.  Yosh and I BOTH had senior homeroom students…so we both had to attend graduation. No way to get out of it!

 

Luckily we have PLENTY of high school aged girls, more than willing to watch our kids (Yosh coaches the girls polo team!!).  But we didn’t want one girl to get mad we picked one over the other SO we went with another graduate…Brittany.

I told her to take these pictures…I knew I was gonna have to document this momentous occasion! 

And Yes I left her “instructions”….

 

I wanted her to have a base to work with…our nightly routine. I kept telling her if she did things differently I was ok with that…BUT here was how I did things. heehee.  Does that sound bossy?? Didn’t mean for it to be. Really I didn’t!

And I’m pleased to say Brittany did GREAT! Got my kids fed, played with, bathed, and put one (the hard one) to bed! So much relief to know we have a responsible young person to take care of our bundles of joy!!

Gotta get this in their baby books! lol ;)

Fur be gone…

The story my mother tells about the day she gave birth to me is pretty funny.  2 weeks overdue, after 3 days of labor, on an Air Force base in England (so you can imagine the medical treatment)…out I came.   6lb 13oz fur ball! Yes Mom says she cried the first time she saw me…I was hair from eyebrows to asshole.   (her exact words!)  First thing they did was cut my hair and nails (which were black and long!)…she says she literally thought she gave birth to a monkey!! She was horrified because I was NOT a cute baby…I was hairy AND I wouldn’t stop crying! haha

Well…I now am an adult monkey! I thank my father for the coat of fur that I sport year round! Yes its blonde, BUT I have a LOT!!!!!! My kitten-like face and furry body is something I’ve hated all my life. My friends in high school shaved their arms…I never could. If I shaved my arms I’d have to go up the shoulders, down the back, across the chest…yeah it would take me ages! So I’ve always just tried to embrace my furriness.

BuT I’m over the downsides of being hairy…ingrown hairs are my arch enemies that seem to haunt me constantly these days…some have even required surgical removal…crazy right?!?

Luckily my girl Kelley works at Dr. Tattoff’s OC Office, they do laser tattoo removal AND laser hair removal!!  Don’t worry…my Tattoos are staying ON but I want my hair to be OFF!!!!
I wanted to get laser hair removal and here are a few of the questions I had and seem to be what everyone has asked me since I’ve gotten it done.
ps. these are MY answers from MY experience…they aren’t the “rules” on paperwork I signed.

Q: Does it hurt?
A: TOTALLY NOT!!! Now I asked Kelley if it hurt and she told me no…BUT I’ll be honest…I didn’t believe her. Yes I still get blood drawn every few months, yes I get scars injected with steroid stuff to help with healing, yes mole removal is an ongoing battle, yes I’ve had a bone marrow biopsy BUT by NO MeANS does that makes me tough. I’m a wussy! And I’ll tell you…it TOTALLY doesn’t hurt at all! I thought that over certain scars (my c-sec scar) would be painful…NOPE!  Even after its all done…still didn’t hurt. The first zap on my armpit I didn’t seriously even feel! It was awesome.  Kelley said the tattoo removal hurts so people just assuming the hair removal does as well…BUT it does NOT hurt!

Q: Do I have to let my hair grow out before doing it?
A: No you actually have to shave the area the night before the procedure.  Actually in the paperwork I signed it says you must come in shaved or have a $25 fee! haha AND you can shave the day after too, depending on whether you have some sentivity. You’ll have multiple treatments and hopefully you’ll see thinning of the hair growth every time. I can’t wait to see my results after treatment 7!!

Q: Was it totally awkward?
A: Every single person has asked me this…I laugh because this was what I was nervous about too.  BUT the nurses are SO nice and make you feel completely comfortable. I was thinking it was going to be like the yearly visit at the OB’s office but it wasn’t. You stay covered up except for the part she is working on. And it was easy-peasy!!

Q: Am I able to go swimming, workout, wear regular clothes after?
A: Yes and no.  As my nurse said to me…swim but if the chlorine bothers it, get out! Wear all your regular underwear and clothes, if they irritate it, wear something that doesn't.  Keep the sights moisturized and not too much in the sun.  Can’t work out for a day or 2 because of the salt (not exactly sure why that is…probably because it will irritate it)

Q: Does it work? Is it permanent?
A: Well its too early for me to say BUT I don’t think my friend Kelley would lie to me about it…it has worked on her so I’m thinking it’ll work on me too! I’ve purchased 7 treatments…you do them every 4-6 weeks and they guarantee at least an 85% reduction in hair growth.  Then the nurse said usually you’ll have to do some type of maintenance treatments.

Q: Is it red, swollen or noticeable after?
A: I’m sure every person is different BUT I’m TOTALLY not. Yesterday right after I felt a bit “warm”…but I put some lotion on, my regular clothes and that was it. Didn’t bother me again.  In the paperwork I signed it said on the rare occasion sometimes it can be red, swollen, pussy even…possible infection BUT I don’t see how.  I had a pool party to go to today and you’d never know! 
This is my armpit this morning…
 

hahaha I know you all LOVE seeing my armpit!! hahahaha BUT I wanted to show you the arm-math and felt my bikini line would have been totally inappropriate. lol

So I had to share my AMAZING experience with laser hair removal. I LOVE Dr. Tattoff in OC, I loved my nurse Jessica who did it…Kelley is awesome and got me a great deal! If you are looking into something like this…let me know. I’ll give ya my girls contact info and she’ll get you a great deal too!!

Pool Progress – Part 1

When we moved into this house we knew the backyard was going to be a work in progress. Whenever we had chunks of money we’d try and do something out there to eventually get it the way we wanted and could afford.
This was, in no way Yosh’s dream home. He wanted a house with a pool and on a cul-de-sac. His plan was that we’d always sell after 5 years and get something that met ALL our criteria since I “rushed him into buying this house” back in 2008 when I was 5 months prego with Owen.

I kinda miss our doggies! Poor Ando and Clare!
This was our backyard the day we signed our names on that dotted line of debt! Talk about total mess right…

We are coming up to our 5 year anniversary in this home (in November)…and the real estate market is currently in the sellers total favor. We could sell and make some pretty good money! So we started looking into buying a new house and putting this one on the market! But we were conflicted on whether we wanted to stay in Eastvale, which SIDE of Eastvale, how many bedrooms we’d need, amenities we’d give up if we had to, etc.  We went and saw a few houses and we quickly realized that our house is NICE and we weren’t willing to give anything up. We liked the 4 bedrooms & loft upstairs. We liked our downstairs playroom.  We liked our flooring.  So there was lots of things we weren’t willing to give up.  So we starting looking into how much money we’d need to make this home “ours” for another 10 years.
So LONG story short…we are putting a pool in the backyard…yes just after we had finally “finished” it. lol figures. You know how much money grass freaking costs!! haha

RV side parking, concrete patio, grass, retainer wall, etc. It was perfect. And took a lot of work and a LONG time! lol   I was looking for pics of the backyard…yeah I’m realizing I’m an idiot that didn’t take “before” pictures….DAMMMNNNIIITTT!
But I’ve had a few people start asking me about the progress of our pool…who we are working with, do we like them, etc.  So here are the pics…
The DIG…

Framing and plumbing…

 

Rebar & Electrical…
 

My turn to pick the tile and venture….talk about pressure! Take 2 color-deficient people and have them pick colors for something thats REALLY matters. Oh dear lord.

 
I made Yosh stand outside so I can see the sparkles in the sun. Yes you know I picked the glittery stone! heehee.

Shot Crete Day…

Pouring the coping/cantilever…

Next up is tile and pouring the deck! We are moving right along which is great…only thing that could hold us up would be Eastvale City inspectors. Hopefully they are available and we don’t have anything that needs some attention.
We are going with Premier Pools and a great guy named Warren. If you need numbers give me a holler, don’t contact premier pools, I’ll give numbers!!  erin.souza14@gmail.com
Stay tuned to see how the second half of construction goes and of course the final product!! I can’t freaking wait!!!