I think I am solving for the effects of a problem instead of the causes. SO. I am joining the YMCA so we can get priority registration for on-site after care next year. Minnie will likely be on the dance team (IT IS GOING TO BE SO CUTE YOU GUYS), so she will likely only go to care a couple hours a week (for six HUNDRED dollars a month), but I think those hours? WILL BE FREAKING AMAZING. Just to be able to stay 90 minutes or so later at work when Ben is OOT will be a game changer.
Reminder: her school dismisses at TWO THIRTY Tues-Fri and at ONE TEN on Mondays. If she could just stay there until 3:30, that would be wildly helpful. After care is done by 6, so it won't help me on my late Monday-- but hopefully Ben will be able to be the pick up guy that day.
Because the PROBLEM is that I do not have time to do all of the stuff I need to do, and all the tea in bed and new release books and atleisure in the world will not change this. A few extra hours of childcare? Will.
(Leggings as pants, though, makes A LOT of things better)
Also I am going to institute a LEAVE ME THE EFF ALONE rule on Thursday nights lasting fro the minute Ben gets home until the last child goes to bed-- I think this will help too.
Does Minnie have a friend she could go home with on Mondays? It would be a playdate for her and breathing room for you. Sometimes the school's act as if everyone has a stay at hone oarent is grandma still.
ReplyDeleteI am not a big fan of early dismissals/ late starts once a week. My teens start 2 hours late on Wednesday, and they have the fun of putting their sister on the bus- which has been coming 15 minutes late! Finally told them to pop her in the car with them and text me so I can let the bus know.
the braids are so cute!
Stay at home parent or grandma still. Aurocorrect fails me again.
DeleteTwo thirty - that is a very early dismissal!!!
ReplyDeleteWay to go at whack-a-moling all your problems. Brilliant solution. How does anyone who isn't a stay-at-home parent deal with that school schedule?
ReplyDeleteThat school schedule is bananas. Leggings as pants is so great and you are rocking it. I'll only do leggings if it isn't freezing out and right now my Lulu leggings are MIA while we're enjoying this unexpected warm up. Grrr. I am team LEAVE ME THE EF ALONE. If I close the door to the study, to send that message, I overheat in a matter of minutes because that room is right over the furnace.
ReplyDeleteThe hair craft is super cute. I'd fail at that.
This is Daria from momofchildren.com
ReplyDeleteOh, the never ending dilemma of dismissals... How I feel your pain.
We pay after care for both kids- exactly six hundred a month - and they can stay after school till 6pm. They rarely stay till 6 because #momguilt BUT they can stay till 4 or 5 and I can have some breathing room. I'm telling you... when Tony is away and I'l alone with the kids, just having those two hours between my work and pick up is so good for me. I can go to the Y, I can stop by a cafe, heck, how about grocery store without rushing like a madwoman? What a luxury. I've been known to come home, too, pick up, make dinner, have some tea. It's wonderful.
Any chance you could find a college student who has free afternoons to pick up Minnie a few times a week? I bet you could even find someone with some evening hours if you need them - more flexible than standard aftercare, plus likely cheaper because you can pay for the exact hours you need!
ReplyDeleteAftercare is worth every single penny. Our school dismissal is at 2:45. There is no way I could keep my job and pick up my children then. I don't know how dual-career parents do it. We also need before care as school starts at 8:15 and we need to start work around 7:45 at the latest. But our kids have always been in childcare for about 10 hours/day. I know people will think that is terrible, but they aren't the only ones and they really love before/after care. We drop them off on the way to work and pick them up on the way home so they are there as little as possible, but our days are very long between a full work day + a pretty short 20'ish minute commute. Shrugs shoulders.
ReplyDeleteI don't know when all this late start/early dismissal BS started, but I don't like it. I just feel like it must be so disruptive. And those are such early dismissal times! Sheesh!
ReplyDelete1:10?!? That’s insanely early!
ReplyDeleteIs that just for Kindergarten or just because they hate working parents?! (I’m a stay at home mom and I’m incensed for you!!) Also choosing super early dismissal on Mondays seems especially cruel somehow. Not that it would be less annoying with aftercare on a Friday but at least it might seem like you could get started on the weekend earlier if you wanted.
I fully support your plan to hit the problem rather than the symptoms head on. Well done you! I mean, cute clothes and coffee don’t need to go away, right? But you are pulled in too many directions and single parenting 3 days a week is no joke.
ReplyDeleteIf it is any consolation at all, I remember when my SIL was having trouble…her daughter got out of school at 1:00 one day a week, and (UGH) the school’s aftercare program was full and they didn’t have room for her. Can you imagine? What a nightmare. She was a single mom and worked full time. I don’t remember how she dealt with this problem…maybe my MIL came from 1/2 hour away once a week, not sure. My point is that I was bitching to my sister, a teacher, about it, and she said that while it was clearly not well managed at my niece’s school, early dismissal once a week is one sign of a good school/district, because they give the teachers time to do admin stuff/grading/etc that is not in their evenings and weekends. I know you teach and know lots of teachers, so you get this, but I was reminded of it.
I’m glad that your school has aftercare and that you can afford it, it is going to help a LOT. Also respect to your Leave ME ALONE time.
Invest in childcare, you’ll never regret it. I would go for a perky college student babysitter, with a reliable car. I have hired college students to drive my kids around after school. I would ask them to drive me around town in their car during their interview. They could start dinner for you too!
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