Baby-Baby-Baby

For my job, I run a little daycare out of my home.  I LOVE my job and I love the kiddos I watch.  Depending on the day, and the time of the day, I have kids from ages 8 months - 14 years.  Each day is different and I love bouncing back between babies one day, and bigger kids the next.  No two days are alike!  Well today, I ended up with a group of 1 and 2 year olds.  Let me tell you, you just can't beat this age for entertainment.  The kids are so smart, and so sneaky.  They know exactly what they want, and they usually know that I am not going to let them do it.  These days usually play out like this:

They have "jobs" which they have appointed themselves.  One very important job, which they must never forget to do, is to clear all magnets off of the refrigerator.  This gets done first thing in the morning.  And during certain times of the day, Miss Jayne tries to tidy up the house and like an idiot, picks up the magnets and puts them back on the fridge.  When will I learn?  Their radar goes off and its back to work!  Until every magnet is in the floor again.

Recently I have tried to pull one over on them, by buying small puzzles and attaching magnets to the backs of each puzzle piece. I figure if they like playing with magnets, maybe they would enjoy doing something constructive with them.  They don't, that just gives them more "magnets" to throw on the ground.  And sometimes peel the magnet off the back in the process.  Double the things on the ground to pick up.

Smells Like Teen Spirit

A couple of months ago I went to the eye doctor.  He was a very kind, knowledgable man just about retirement age.  During the exam, he was making small talk, and asked me if I had children.  I said I did, and boy and a girl.  He commented on how nice kids are and how I must be so proud.  Then he asked their ages.  17 and 13 I said.  And then I swear I saw fear in his eyes.  He told me a story that I will never forget.  He said that when his son was 17, he sat him down with a notebook and a bunch of pens and made him write down everything he knew then, while he had everything figured out, so that as he grew up and ran into problems, he could refer back to his own teenage knowledge.  And that now as an adult his son admits that he did not really know it all after all:)

Well, contrary to what I hear and read about children between the ages of 12 and 20, for my husband and I, our teenagers are actually pretty enjoyable.  I do miss them being little, but it is very nice to be able to escape for a whole Saturday morning together, childless, and return to the house hours later to find the kids in the exact same spots doing the exact same things.  And now they are old enough to go on more trips/experience more things that Bret and I also find stimulating.  I don't believe in the parenting style of just throwing kids out into the world and letting them make their own mistakes.  And I also don't believe in coddling them and sheltering them too much.  I like to give them new experiences and step back and let them find their way, while maybe letting them make a mistake or two in the process.  I feel that is's how they learn.  And I sure have had some fun along the way.

And now...let's check in with Finn and Lucy

The last few weeks we have been busy!  Busy talking about summer, and holidays and school functions and all the hijinks that go along with them.  I think now it is time to check back in with my family's two furry mascots.  Our dog Finn and our cat Lucy.  Let's see what they have been up to lately!

Finn has been keeping up with her reputation of embarrassing me and mostly our daughter Tatum who takes her outside in the afternoon.   Tatum likes to ride her skateboard right after school and we live with a park directly behind our house.  She rides after school, and lets Finn run alongside her for her afternoon walk.  Only thing is...Finn is never put on a leash, and she had a short attention span.  She will be running beside T, which she thinks is her job and takes very seriously.  But all of a sudden - A FAMILY!  Have you ever seen the Disney movie UP?  If you have, then you know the dog on there I am talking about.  It can talk through a computer chip.  Every couple of sentences the dog will stop, POINTE and say, "Squirrel!!!"  That is always Finn, except for squirrel it is - Bird!  Person!  Guy on a lawn mower!  GOLF CART!!!  Today is was a guy - poor guy - riding on a golf cart around "our" park.  Finn ran halfway across the park after the golf cart.  Barking I'm sure.  Tatum and I had to do the call of shame from our yard.  Alerting everyone that the crazy dog belongs to us.

Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer

It is September  now, and this morning was the first time I turned on our heater for the year.  You know that wonderful smell it makes when the heater gets turned on for the first time in months? I love it.  This time of year is a transitional time.  During the day you can still wear shorts and flip flops, but when Finn and I go out for our morning walk, I bundle up in a jacket and long pants.  Shivering but loving it!  Fall is my favorite season ever, but even though I am starting to get to do all my favorite seasonal things, I am a little sad that summer is drawing to a close.  This summer was a great one - and tonight I would like to reminisce a little, about summers of day's past.

For my job, I run a little daycare out of my home, so I get to spend the hottest time of the year with lots of adorable little ones.  We live with a big sports complex right behind our house, and it is like a personal playground for us.  One of the best things about this are the sports fields - particular the soccer field.  Because when the summer drought sets in - they set out sprinklers!!  Large sprinklers, and I love to get swimsuits on everyone and run down to them.  No one can resist the powers of the sprinklers.  Inevitebly, someone will not be in the mood and will pout that I am making them go, in the process refusing to put on a swimsuit and absolutely declaring with crossed arms that they ARE NOT getting wet, and am not going to have any fun.  Fast forward 5 minutes and they are running through the sprinklers, their clothes soaked, screaming the loudest of all - and not that I would point it out to them, because that might make me petty - but they are having the most fun.  ( My favorite year for sprinkler hijinks was the year that kids got the bright idea to bring umbrellas down.  So fun!)

Be True To Your School

School functions.  When your kids are little, and not in school yet, they sound fun.  I just couldn't wait to be able to go on school field trips/be a homeroom mom/carpool.  It sounds so fun - and it is!  There are frustrating times, like when literally you are saying goodnight to your child at the very end of the night and they tell you that - by the way - they need a pair of black dress pants by tomorrow - a work day - at 4:00.  Or when they tell you they need an angel costume for a Christmas play.  An angel in a Christmas play!  How cute is that?!?!?  Do you know that at Christmas there is no place to buy an angel costume?

A Thousand Miles

One of the best parts of the year is when you get to take a vacation.  While on a vacation I am always ready to come home at the end.  But then after being back for a few days - I am always ready to go back.  Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow, and my family has lots of little bits of us made up from all the places we have gone.  I have so many memories - too many to list.  But here are a few.

Have you ever been to a wax museum.?  A couple of years ago we went to Washington D.C. and one of the places we went was a wax museum.  it was very nice and well lit and not scary - the wax dummies looked like wax.  But years earlier on our honeymoon we stopped at a small potatoes wax museum somewhere in Kentucky.  That museum scared the s&*$ out of us.  You had to walk through a door into a long dark walkway, and the door locked behind you with a thud/latch.  Along the way were dummies.  W were certain we were traveling down a walkway to our deaths.  We were making our peace with God - and then we rounded the corner to the final display.  Which was a wax figure of Jesus.  We knew it was a sign.  And past Him was the only way out.  A single black door.  Do we open the door?  If it is a door to death can you just crack the door and peek out?  Then if it is bad, run back through terror tunnel and bang on the locked door?  We decided to join hands and push open the door together - bonded against certain demise by our love.  We opened it, closed our eyes and took a step.  Into the parking lot.  AND THEN RAN TO OUR CAR AND SPED AWAY!  Death - come back another day.

The Autumn Carnival

Now that Labor Day has come and gone, I am hearing a lot people start to talk about fall.  And already it is starting to feel a little bit like it.  Tonight I stepped outside to sit on the porch and got chilly.  Fall is mine and my husband's favorite time of year, which prompted tonight's post to celebrate the season we call Fall.

Fall has it all - football games.  We live next to a high school and can hear football games from our house.  I love it!  Listening to the band practice weeknights for the football games.

Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

This morning our daughter got baptized at church.  This was all her idea, and the idea came to her a couple of weeks ago, we are so incredibly proud of her!  I wanted to celebrate a little bit and make a weekend out of it.  So yesterday she wrangled a couple of friends and we took them to a movie.  When we got back they wanted to stick around awhile so we said sure!  The more the merrier.  Well after awhile of enjoying 3 teenagers, I decided I might be a little more comfortable relaxing in my nice quiet room, watching reruns of Full House.  (Cause that's how I do Saturday Night.) While I was relaxing it got strangely quiet in my house, but I didn't think anything about it.  Now, there is a park right behind out house - totally open to the public.  I am used to hearing noises from people behind our house at all times of the day, but for 9:00 on a late August night, usually it is quiet.  So, you can understand how terrified I became when I heard a woman's scream right outside my window.  And that is how I came to write tonight's post about getting scared.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

When my husband and I had been married 3 years, we had a baby girl.  My due date was in July, but she surprised us by showing up at the end of May - Memorial Day weekend to be exact.  They put her in my arms, and I thanked God for our miracle, and then I thought, "This time of year is such a great time to throw a birthday party!"  And it is!  For the last 13 years we have had some doozies - each one more fun as the years go by.

For her 2nd birthday, we had a party at home and invited all of our closest friends.  Many of them had children who were all playing together in our living room.  Our living room had a big picture window showcasing the front yard.  One of the kids took a break from playing to gaze out the window long enough to notice a wild rabbit that had hopped into our yard.  "A bunny!"  the child exclaimed.  To which every other child hurried over to see it.  As they were all watching the rabbit in sheer joy - our siamese cat Oliver sprinted over to the rabbit and proceeded to kill it in a very gory bloodbath.  Of course all the kids were devastated - some even crying.  I think in the end I was able to persuade them all that Oliver and The Bunny were only playing - and re deirect their attention as a friend ran out and threw the carcass out of the children't sight.

I Want Candy

The most popular room in every house is the kitchen.  I know that personally, when I am in the kitchen preparing food, I am never alone for long - even if I would rather be.  Our kitchens serve as the hub of our home, as our food is being prepared, people in the house follow their noses which lead them straight to the warmest, happiest room in the whole house.  The kitchen is where we make meals for our family, snacks, cooking disasters which fill the whole house with smoke - especially if you are expecting company right then.  At our house my kitchen is where our dog and cat, Finn and Lucy, eat their meals, stalk me in the kitchen while I cook for the humans.  I cook three meals a day and prepare thousands of snacks.  We make sweets at Christmas time and big pots of chili and hot chocolate in the fall.  In the spring I boil dozens and dozens of eggs for easter, and then prepare lots of bowls of colored vinegar to dye those eggs.

I don't know if I would say that I love to cook - but I certainly am used to cooking.  I love the memories that come along with it.  Memories like:

Don't Eat Stuff Off The Sidewalk

Around here, our home houses a daycare, and my family gets to spend our days with adorable toddlers and kids from ages 1 to 13.  It is August now, and we have just seen the bigger kids start school again, leaving me and the really little ones here all day.  Every summer when the "big" kids come back they kind of push the little more vulnerable ones aside so when they go back to school, I feel like I am getting reacquainted with the little ones.  No older child is there to push them aside.  I love, love, love the big kids, and cherish my little bit of time a year I get to spend with them.  But now that they are back in school, I  am having so much fun with these mini people - Sunday's post was about kids who talk and the words that come out of their mouths.  Tonight we are going to focus on the ones who cannot talk yet.  These are their stories.

Here is a countdown to why small toddlers are so cool:

6.  Attempting to throw a ball in any way, shape or form.  The ball often goes behind them, or just straight down.

Kids Say The Darndest Things

 I was on my laptop today, procrastinating starting to write this post, when I came across a quote.  "When I Was A Kid My Parents Moved Around A lot, But I Always Found Them - Rodney Dangerfield.

I suddenly knew what I wanted to write about tonight.  I run a daycare out of my home, and on average, I hear about one hilarious thing a day from the little kids.  There are no dull moments with small children around.  They constantly keep me on my toes, with all of their questions and comments.  And everything is completely unfiltered.This summer I have had some extra kids at my house and  I have heard some real gems - so I decided to dedicate tonight's blog to Funny Kids Sayings.   Here are some highlights:

Oh, I Was So Embarrassed

 I would love to say that I was a perfect person.  Ladylike at all times, always graceful, never got pimples or cavities.  Every day I had perfect hair and make up.  But in reality, there are all sorts of opportunities for embarrassment.  Common wardrobe malfunctions, any kind of singing in public ever - especially if you are trying to match the singer on the radio.   Those are more along the lines of my life. Tonight my husband and I went out to Taco John for dinner, and he brought along a fancy notebook and expensive pen combo.  I used the back of the receipt and his special pen to jot down some thoughts for tonight's post.  What could I write about, I wondered.  Then I realized that the lid which probably cost more than our entire meal, had fallen off when I had dropped the pen on the floor.  I had to lean my entire body, hair on the floor, off the seat to move the table around and around to find that stupid lid.  And hence, we have a post that was very easy for me to write, about embarrassment.  Here are my tales.

My earliest embarrassing moment is locking myself in a restaurant bathroom and having to yell and bang on the door through the whole restaurant until my parents finally heard me and came and somehow got the door unlocked from the outside.

10 Ways To Distract A Toddler

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but this post is a day late, and I'm sorry for that.  Runny noses have been popping up around here.  Kids can get a runny nose, and just bounce back and not even really get sick.  I however, have a good 35 years on them, and end up on my deathbed for a day or two when I get their "runny nose".  AKA - yesterday I was sick, so I am just now getting down to write.  My apologies.

Which brings me to tonight's post about those precious runny nosed toddlers.  Every day I plan things to do with them that should enrich their lives in some way.  Art projects, educational games, pretty much anything that will make them use their brains.  But normally, something I set out on the side ends up being much more fun and interesting and will entertain them for the whole day.  I work 11 hour days, so these thoughtless things I casually set out with no planning, will keep their interest 10 hours and 55 more minutes longer than the things I actually spend time planning for them to enrich their lives.  This blog shares my secrets.

10 ways to distract a toddler.

Happy Anniversary!

Let me tell you a story.  Once upon a time,  11 years ago, I was working in an office as "office help."  I didn't mind the job at all, or my colorful co-workers.  (One of them cussed like a sailor and chain smoked right outside the door. )  What I did mind was leaving my baby every day to go to work.  I began to pray that God would lead me to a way to bring some money into our household, but also not have to leave my baby to do so.  Then a good friend told me she was having problems with her babysitter, and would I consider quitting my job (!!!!!) and babysitting her baby every day?  YES I WOULD - I WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT!  was my very nonchalant, cool answer.

So...that is how it all began.  It started out with just my sweet 2 year old, and this precious 10 month old girl.  I remember how the most exciting time of the whole day was when the opening tune for Elmo's World would come on.  Let me tell you - those girls would fly into the living room, and watched transfixed for 15 whole minutes.  It was so cute.  I would brush their little teeth every morning and we would get strapped into my brand new fancy double stroller, and finding little adventures in the neighborhood.  After a while, I started getting calls from other mothers wanting to know if I could watch their babies too.  I was so excited to get a real daycare off the ground!

This week marks that time - 11 years later.  I have so many memories from all the babies from those 11 years...

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year (Back To School)

Around here we watch Frozen a lot.   For those of you who may have seen it before, remember the scene where Anna wakes up the morning of Coronation Day?  At first she wakes up thinking it is just another day, but then she remembers that it is a special day.  She sits up and says, "It's Coronation Day!"  Well that is how I felt when I woke up yesterday morning - I woke up thinking it was just another Saturday when I would have to do all my Saturday morning errands.  But then ---I remembered that this was the day we were going shopping - for items to go BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

In the spring, the thought of summer seems so wonderful.  Having more free time, not having the strict schedule of school, not having to go to as many activities, ect.   But the reality is that I run a daycare out of our home.  I absolutely love my job.  I love children, and I really feel that God has put me right where I belong.  Having said that, I also feel that God has a sense of humor.  Otherwise known as my summer.

Christmas In July

It is currently July, and the middle of the summer.  The time of year for pool parties, sitting on the porch, popcycles, killing mosquitos and flies, catching fireflies and listening to people shooting off their left over fireworks.  Back to school is just around the corner, and the stores are starting to put up some displays for fall.  The Hallmark channel usually plays a lot of their made for tv Christmas movies to celebrate Christmas in July, and it always gets me in the holiday mood.

Not Just A Walk In The Park

Remember growing up, one of the best places on the face of the earth to go to was always the park?   Every time your parents would ask if you wanted to go to the park, you get so excited and the answer was always,"Yay"!!  Parks offer entertainment for everyone.   A playground for kids, ballparks for school, city and church league sports, benches to sit and enjoy the day on, and over all - peace.  A place to get away from your job, get out of your house where nothing needs done and you have no responsibilities.  My family has the advantage of living right next door to a park.  It has it all.  Beautiful scenery, comfortable benches, pretty trees, sports fields, a playground, a couple of bridges for kids to play on.

When we moved into our house and right next door to this treasure, we were so excited to get to go into it any time we wanted.  But there was no way for us to predict how the park was to become such a part of our everyday lives, that it has turned into an extension of our house.  And just like inside your home, their are good parts...and bad parts.

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner

My job is to run an in home daycare.  It's not always what I wanted to be.  When I was a little girl I wanted to be a hairstylist named Debbie.  Then as I got older, a secretary, and then finally a photographer.  I thought I would have a big career doing something amazing somewhere wonderful.

But...when my daughter was born, I first worked 3 days a week.  My 4 days at home with Tatum were pure bliss.   I had a 4 year old step son who would come over and I felt so complete, so full of love.  Exhausted, but it's funny how you don't remember that part so much.  When I opened our home to watch other people's children, I thought every day would be magical.  Full of sunshine and shadow puppets.  Kids sitting in little chairs in a row listening to me and being quiet while I read aloud my favorite children's storybooks.  Everybody being good and getting along and staying clean and relatively quiet.  But the reality is...

A Day In The Life Of Finn

When my husband Bret and I were growing up, we both had dogs.  He had a german shepherd and I had a labrador retriever.  I grew up with my lab - she was the calmest, sweetest thing.  She would lay around all the time and just be the most loving, faithful servant to man you can ever imagine.  In the first years of our marriage, Bret and I always wanted a dog, but never lived anywhere big enough to accommodate one.  But then we bought our house.

We had been thinking of getting a dog, but had never got the ball rolling.  Then one day we went hiking out in the country, at a park next to a farm.  One of the farm dogs snuck over to the park and proceeded to hike with us.  She was the sweetest little thing and we all fell in love with her instantly.  In fact we were so enamored with her, that we weren't really paying enough attention to our young daughter who got into a couple of scrapes.  She would complain and ask us for help but we would just say, "Tatum , get up and come over here to see what this amazing dog has just done!"  We figured it was time to start our hunt for the newest furry member of our family. So we went home and started looking for dogs online.  We found a chocolate lab in a nearby shelter named Finnigan who needed adopted a.s.a.p.  So that Monday Bret went to look at her and ended up bringing home !  When we first got her, she was very weak, scared and very quiet and loving - a very faithful servant to us.  But then she started getting used to the good life, and getting fat and spoiled and her true personality shone through.

I once saw a blurb about A Dog's Life.  It showed a dog's daily schedule:  6:00 a.m. Go for a walk - MY FAVORITE THING!  8:00 Breakfast - OH BOY!  MY FAVORITE THING!  12:00 Go out to check the mail - MY FAVORITE THING!  And so on....

Tatum's First Halloween Party

In our neck of the woods, we are having extremely cool weather for July.  It is downright sweatshirt weather in the morning/evening, and it feels more like the beginning of October.  And October reminds me of one of my favorite holidays - Halloween.

When I was a little girl I absolutely loved dressing up in a cool costume and trick or treating around to my neighbors, who every single year were so nice to make such a big deal over how clever/creative/original my costume always was.   As I grew too old to trick or treat, my mother put together an amazing Halloween party one year for me and my high school friends.  The highlight of it was a scavenger hunt she put together for us, starting at our house and leading us to the very end of our road - which was a graveyard!  Nothing is cooler then having a Halloween party scavenger hunt with your friends in a graveyard, and I have always remembered it.

Then as I became an adult and had kids, we would always get invited to my friend's Halloween parties they would put on for all of our kids.  it was such fun to dress my kids up and watch as the party hostess would always be so creative with themed snacks and games, and I ALWAYS wanted to get to host such a party - but our house was v-e-r-y small.  So I was always so frustrated.

Until we bought our new house.

Hello world!

Hello!  I'm so excited to be writing my first blog.

Let me start by introducing myself.  My name is Jayne Jennings and I am 35.  I am a Christian, and belong to our town's 1st Baptist church.  I am married to my sweet, smart, funny and patient husband Bret.  We have been married for 16 happy years.  We have two perfect children - Bret's son (my stepson) Tommy who is 17, and our daughter Tatum who is 13.

When I had Tatum, I had such a hard time leaving her to go to work, that I eventually decided to just start my own daycare out of our house so I could stay with her while still bringing in a paycheck.  That was in 2004 - a lifetime ago.  In the last 10 years, we have had dozens of babies/toddlers/big kids in our home.  I have cleaned up so many body fluids, spent 10 minutes at a time cooking breakfast and lunch every day, then spending 30 minutes at a time cleaning up after breakfast and lunch every day.  I have had my hair pulled, glasses broken, muscles pulled, toes stubbed, foot bottoms bruised by *%$# legos and Barbie shoes left on the floor.  When I sit down for story time, I usually have one attentive toddler on my lap, two crawling all over me, and one baby trying to rip the book out of my hands.  My reflexes are spot on - I can be talking on the phone, catch a toddler who has climbed up on the barstool and decided to randomly jump off (this happened Friday) on my way to catch the baby that has just learned a new fun trick - climbing on the kitchen table, but not knowing how to climb down safely.