Not being able to access my blog and by extension, all of the blogs I read regularly, at work has really thrown me for a loop. Yes, I have an iPhone so I can go on my Google reader and access them that way but have you ever tried to type a blog post on an iPhone? It’s a laborious process and not one that I plan on doing regularly. Instead I will try to come up with witty posts during the work day, email them to myself and post them at night when I get home. Except for one thing: my personal computer has shit the bed. It’s only 5 years old so I’m a little annoyed. It’s a combination of the fan not working and a battery that only lasts 8 minutes. Which means even if I’m plugged into power my computer shuts itself down (stupid fan) every couple of minutes. It’s gotten so bad that I can’t even boot it up entirely before it shuts down. So I’m in the market for a new, basic laptop. I basically read email, edit photos, blog and watch Hulu on my personal computer. A MacBook is too expensive and a NetBook is too small for watching online TV. Any suggestions from my readers for a not too expensive laptop?
We had a wonderful weekend with far too much booze, much socializing and plenty of fun with Cameron. I would have blogged about it but see above. We have joined a local community center that has an awesome splash park for the little ones. You would have thought that it would be prime picture time and you would be right except for one thing. Both times we went I forgot my camera. Oops! I promise pictures after we go again (weather permitting) this weekend. Cameron has been very tentative about going up to the spraying water and interacting with the other kids. She’s definitely one of the younger ones but it also highlights a personality trait DH and I have commented on in her. She is very much an observer at first. Cameron needs to stay with me or DH, sitting on our laps for a few minutes in a new situation before she’ll start exploring. Sometimes she sticks to our side like glue for an entire situation. With all the noise, water and kids running around the splash park I have no doubt it will take more trips before she is comfortable. I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking about next steps in education and child care for Cameron. First of all, my morning commute sucks. It takes me 45-60 minutes to handle drop off, fight traffic and be at work by 8 AM. Pick up in the evening traffic would be worse and I run the risk of having meetings that run up to 5 PM so we have to stick with me doing the drop offs and DH doing the pickups.
The other concern that I have is about the educational program at her school. Cameron’s daycare uses the High Reach Learning program which is a nice philosophy but doesn’t include formal music, language (foreign) and art programs. But wait, you might be thinking, Cameron is only 14 months old. True, but before I blink she’ll be 2 and ready for pre-school. The other daycares we are STILL on the wait list for have special teachers for the areas I listed not to mention my top choice has an indoor gymnasium and the kids get physical activity regardless of the weather. The problem is that there are really only two daycares with the programs I like right in our area. My commute would be even worse if we settled on something outside our neighborhood area. Sigh. DH says he loves Cameron’s current school and I think it was great as an infant and waddler. But now that she is getting closer to “school" age I want more for her in terms of education and enrichment. And I’m willing to pay for it. Has anyone else struggled with this?
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5 comments:
I have a dell I got last year for about 600 bucks (plus it's pink!) I super love love love it! Madi was not a fan of the spray park, but I keep taking her day after day and she is starting to enjoy it. She just really doesn't like her face to get wet~ :)
I just went through some of the same questions about my daycare. One thing someone told me to consider: is it worth moving her when she is comfortable and familiar with her current daycare? I'm thinking about revisiting the change when he turns 2 unless there is a non negotiable reason for switching. I'm sorry your commute is so long, maybe once school is out it will shorten up a bit.
I have to say, as someone who has had kids in day care, the infant and 1s room are "throwaway" rooms in terms of organized education. Kids at that age learn best from exploration, not from structured language and art classes. I saw our facility's 1 year old art class and it was COMICAL. Each 1 year old spent about 5 minutes painting before moving on to play with other toys. Yes they will sit still for circle time... for the most part. But really, as long as she is in a happy environment, she will be learning.
Once they get to the 2s, they have a little more structure and routine to the activities and the attention spans of the kids is generally better. So maybe you can hope you will get off the waiting list at one of the places you like?
Also we pay extra for gymnastics at our school. $45 a month for two years and the ONLY thing my boys have shown me is a somersault.
PS We like Toshibas for PCs, good screen quality, good user ratings, good technology inside the computer.
Toshiba, I think it was $400 and some change. And we got our MS Office and stuff on-line for $60. Good luck with the daycare stuff!
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