I quit my job

Last week when I took Fi to school, I saw her teacher speak to several children in a way that was horrible. He obviously had favorites and ones he didn't like. He may have been having a bad day, but that isn't allowed (to the extent I saw) when you are the main adult around two and a half to four year olds. The secondary teacher didn't even react when he was talking to the kids, so to me that says that it is something that happens with some frequency.

So, the next day I quit my job and she is no longer in daycare. It is a relief. Of course, when it comes time to pay the bills next time it won't be fun, but we will manage.

Much better thank you

As I said, I am doing much better. Fiona and I went to the park yesterday on a last minute whim. We had fun. Then there was grocery shopping, amazingly that was mostly fun, too. We belong to a co-op that offers all kids a free piece of fruit when you come in to shop. It is a lovely thing. As we were going through the store she kept telling everyone that her apple was a piece of candy.

She has been very interested in the story of Heidi. She has a Little Golden Book version, the full story and we recently checked out a movie version. When we were at the store I asked her if she wanted to buy some goat milk. Now, I have to say she likes goat milk, so I expected her to say yes, but with all of the Heidi influence she got more excited than I would if someone offered me a free vacation, alone, anywhere. "Goat milk?! I LOVE goat milk!! Hurray, goat milk! Goat milk, goat milk, goat milk, goat milk! People in the dairy section were either looking and and smiling or staring and confused.

I just finished reading the Unprocessed Child by Valerie Fitzenreiter. It is about how she unschooled her child, what their values were and how things turned out. She is a bit fanatical I think in her approach, but I came away with some things to think about. Specifically, that if you want to homeschool you have to really enjoy being with your kids and you have to respect them. I've been working on these two things. I often find myself tired at the end of the day and I don't feel like I have enough energy. At least once or twice a week I look at the clock and think, "Oh, thank goodness, only an hour til (her) bedtime." It makes me think of the times when I have read Thich Nhat Hanh's writings and practiced as I could. Maybe it is time again.

I keep seeing the Six Wierd Things meme. I don't know why I like doing memes, I just do.

1. Most people are quite surprised when I tell them that I was in the army

2. One of my favorite snacks when I came home from school (I was a latch-key kid) was a head of iceberg lettuce and a bottle of red wine vinegar. I would tear off a leaf, then pour vinegar into the bowl made by the leaf, drink it and then eat the lettuce. I really, really like the taste of vinegar.

3. I dyed my hair "Atomic Pink" about two years ago. I always wanted to have crazy colored hair, but I was too afraid to do it. I realized that as a stay at home mom I didn't have to worry about my job. I also figured out it would only look sillier the older I got, so at the ripe old age of 35 I dyed my hair pink.

4. I only had three wisdom teeth and they were laying completely on their sides inside my gums.

5. My husband and I worked together (while dating and married) at three different employers. We have finally figured out it isn't the best idea.

6. When my husband was a freshman in high school he visited my high school when I was a senior. We met for the first time in a different town 13 or 14 years later.

Food poisoning

Yep. I ate at the company cafeteria and I got food poisoning. After I was sick the first time and feeling a little better, I thought, I might actually knit while I'm home from work. I'm afraid not. I have, however, read most of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It has been an interesting ride and read. I wasn't sure if I was really enjoying it until about a third of the way through. I would definitely recommend it.

I'm still "working" on the scarf for my co-worker.

Fiona's daycare is still closing. We haven't quite found the best solution yet. Thinking about a new place for care then rolls into pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. I don't want her to go through more changes than necessary. I went to 14 different schools between kindergarten and high school, and I went to the same high school for three years. I don't want that for my child.

I have lately been intrigued by unschooling/homeschooling. Am I a nut? I don't know. My husband doesn't like the idea one bit.

Be well.

I am here but...

things are kind of crazy right now. Work is busy and my daughter's daycare decided to close in a month. Nice.

I just picked up some Louisa Harding Kashmir Aran in a lovely gray. I'm going to try and knit a scarf in the next two weeks (deadline is set by others at work who are also knitting) for a co-worker who had cancer a couple of years ago that has come back with a vengeance. The doctors say he has 1-2 years left. He and his wife of only 3 years, were in the process of adopting a child. He is on chemo and still at work. He says he keeps coming because every minute he thinks of something at work, he isn't thinking about dying.

We are so lucky

When I was pregnant with Fiona I took a Birthing From Within childbirth class. There I met two wonderful couples (who also had the same midwives as we did). We all stayed in touch after the classes were over. All of the moms and babies went to this wonderful support group for new parents here in Seattle at the Community Birth and Family Center. The group was called First Weeks. There we made friends with a couple of other mothers. After First Weeks was over we decided to meet at a coffee shop and hang out with our babies. We picked up a couple more people along the way. Three years later we are all still friends. We don't get together as often, but it has been such a blessing for all of us. We found kindred spirits. These are people I expect to be friends with for the rest of my life. Here is a picture from our second annual Christmas party. There are the eight original children (all born between June and Sept of 2003) and now four second children join the ranks.