Big Changes

Here at Chez Ferris, we are experiencing big changes. You might remember back in September when Cole's day care teacher was a horror show, we were considering what I said were "many options." It was then we realized that our child's life was passing by like a speeding bullet and he was spending 45+ hours a week in the care of someone else. That someone else could be someone who didn't treat our child like we would and who second guessed what we were doing at home. Since her departure, we've been happy with Cole's primary teacher (who was the only full-timer in the toddler room), but for the past 3 months, she's been on sick leave after breaking her arm before Thanksgiving. During these past few months he has had a rotation of part-time teachers. Needless to say, most days when I arrive and ask how his day was this is the kind of response I get, "Oh well I just got here at 2, but they didn't say anything" or "So and So was with him all day, but she left already" or "I wasn't here this morning, so i'm not sure." You get the picture. There's not any exchange of positive information (like Cole did this or Cole did that), so I have no idea what specific details happened during the day. All I know is my kid knows his ABC's and he can count to ten. That's great and makes me proud, but I don't know how he learned that since there's no one there to share his entire day with me when I pick him up.

So all of that combined with Keith's desire to be somewhat self-employed again is what led us to the decision that Keith would apply to a part-time job at SUNY with the hopes that he would get it and be able to stay home with Cole during the day and also work to supplement his income with his photography business.

Well that day arrived (can you feel me smiling?). A few weeks ago Keith was offered the job and today is his last day. Tomorrow he begins the new job, and next week he starts to stay home with Cole during the day and mostly work at night (with the exception of one afternoon). Cole will go to daycare twice a week, and within the next few months we will find a daycare closer to home where Cole will make friends with kids he will eventually go to school with. As it stands right now, all of the kids he is friends with live in New Paltz and will go to school there and not here in the Rondout Valley district.

Understandably, Keith was nervous (but excited) about taking this step, but his current employer and his co-workers all showed such a deep respect for his decision that it helped reassure him that it was the right one.

In honor of this big change taking place in our lives, the following are some Dada son pictures I've taken and some pictures of Cole from Keith's perspective. All are iPhone photos.

After our second official snowstorm of the season (2 in 3 months!)

Cole found a walking stick!

Cheese!

Finally! A shot (albeit grainy from the iPhone) on the balance board. This kid's a natural!

At the Bakery

Cole gets cuddles from Dada after a long morning without him.

My boys love the snow!

Daily Cuteness: Mama's hat

Mama's hat

Night Night

The Life of a Toddler

Cole likes to sit at our chairs, so Grandpa Bill got him his own table.

Cole likes to cook, so we got him his own kitchen.

Cole likes to climb, so Keith built him a toddler climber.

Cole likes to stand on things that shouldn't be stood on, so Keith built him a balance board.

He stands on it very well. However, we can never photograph him doing it, for some reason.

It doesn't matter though, because Cole will always do what he wants to do.

Realistic Resolutions

I usually don't do resolutions, mainly because I used to make lists and lists of them when I was younger (be nicer to my father, get better grades, etc), and I'd never follow through on anything. But this year I'm trying something new - I'm being realistic about my resolutions. I have one resolution for my personal life and one resolution for my professional life. I posted a month ago about how my personal resolution is to spend more time with family (and now I've added friends) more often, so that Cole can have a rich well-rounded experience as a toddler. It's also just fun and more fulfilling to spend more time with those you love.  Can you tell I'm reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin? If I cited some happiness research, then you'd be able to tell for sure.

We've been Skyping with my father on a weekly basis, and hopefully once Keith gets his old computer to his mother (he just bought himself an iMac) and sets her up with a webcam, Cole can see her more often too. We have play dates lined up with Andreea and Lori in the coming month, and one with Allison in the works. This is a very good start, in my opinion.

As far as my professional life, over the Christmas vacation I realized the benefit of electronic grading. I realized this is the direction education is going. So, I've decided to make the plunge to go paperless.

My goal is to go from this...

Top Folder: Everything I graded last Friday afternoon  Bottom Folder: Everything I still need to grade

To this....

Our Macbook shows My Big Campus, an educational website that models Facebook

I am tired of lugging around the above folders. Since I am a traveler, I carry everything with me everywhere. It kills my back, literally. Since I've removed the folders (ha! what an idea!) my back has been thanking me. Also, every time I take my work out to grade, it's such a long process. It takes about 2 minutes to set up and another 2 to put away.  It may not sound like much, but when you've only got a certain amount of time to grade and a sleeping baby in the next room, it's a huge waste. And now thanks to a few cases of ringworm at one of the schools I teach in, I am paranoid I'm going to get the fungal infection from my student papers. If that's the case, why would I even want to take it out at home?

The second picture is a photo of my personal laptop that has My Big Campus, the website my district is now using to get students doing their work. It's like Facebook, so they can connect with each other (sort of - some of the cool features it offers have been turned off by the district because of misuse by students), and we can collect homework and assignments online in an organized fashion. The kids can have discussions similar to Facebook discussions. And most importantly, the kids get their grades the moment I finish grading an assignment they completed. No more waiting a month to get their essay back! And bonus- they can read my handwriting, because my comments are all typed! Some teachers are not into it because they think it's something extra they are now being asked to do, and because it makes them even more connected to students on their time off, which they are weary of. I hear this, but no one says you have to answer a kid's question late at night. No one says you even have to check!

My Big Campus is an awesome way for me to go paperless. I am making a huge effort in heading this way. Because when my students heard me say the words "eventually" some of them groaned, as if they've heard this - or a promise like it - before. Now I am determined to make it a reality by the time my student teacher comes in two weeks.

This is a picture of my grandfather, me when I was 4 or 5 and my aunt, who died in 1997.

Today would have been my Grandpa's 88th birthday. He died in 2003. He was a good man. May he continue to rest in peace. 

Top 10 things we never thought we'd say to our kid

1) Don't drink your bath water.

2) You can't climb on Dada

3) Lotion is not for eating.

4) Cole, Clem doesn't eat bacon.

5) Take your hand out of the toilet, please.

6) Your shoe doesn't belong in the garbage.

7) It's not time to vacuum now.

8) That's very nice of you to invite Mrs. Claus to dinner, but I'm not sure she eats hummus.

9) Take that fork out of your ear.

10) Cole, stop licking the window.

Why my kid is the most lovable and awesome kid on the planet

Of course I know other kids are doing this too, but, folks, this is my kid and he'll always be super special in my eyes. Thanks for your understanding while I gush on about how adorable my kid is...

• He kisses Dada and I regularly.
• He likes to give me a good night kiss and hug that melts my heart.
• He insists every night that when Dada kisses him goodnight that: "Dada kissa Mama."
• He said "I love you" or more accurately "Ah wuff wu" to me several times in the past few weeks.
• When I let him whisk the eggs and scramble the eggs (with my guidance and sure grip of course) or "cook," the oatmeal he eats more eggs and oatmeal than other times when he doesn't help.
• He regularly tells me when he has to poop, but plays on the toilet when I put him on.
• He is so gentle with the cats, hugging and kissing them (except of course when he pulls Kiwis tail and sits on her.)
• He misses friends and family and he is constantly reminded of those people when he sees things that connect him to them (the computer to my father, the phone to Keith's mother, the phone at 5 p.m. to Keith, a red ball to his friend Haley who came over to play, etc.)
• The sweetest of all: He says "I luff Doo Doo" and then rests his head on my breast.  Am I glad I continued to nurse him into toddlerhood? When I get to hear things like that? Absolutely.