One Week Left

... of vacation that is. So sad. It seriously flew by!! I created a list and barely got to check anything off. But, I am happy to say that the basement will be ready by the end of the month and I may be able to get a renter in there by Sept. 1. The appliances won't be delivered until the 28th but everything else should be done by tomorrow. Today they laid the new tiles and tomorrow they will finish that and all the last finishing touches. I haven't even listed it yet and I have two people expressing interest... and the best part??? The rent will pay half my mortgage! Woot!


I have one more week to get things together and I am pretty hopeful that I can accomplish mostly everything. So that's good.

In daycare news, I finally made a decision. I am going with the new site. It was a really hard decision. Remember the pros and cons? My biggest concern with leaving the old site is how her transition is going to be. That still worries me. When she is home with me all the time she is happy, easy-going, pleasant, obedient and rarely cries. I believe it's because she's comfortable and feels safe. On vacation, for comparison, she was whiny and clingy, cried a lot, shouted "No!" a lot and was throwing things and not sleeping well. (When she first got home from Ethiopia she used to cry in her sleep and she was doing that on vacation, too. I don't know why for sure but I have my suspicions.) Now that she is back with me she is sweet and a joy to be around. I worry that she is going to go back to her hitting and defiance and crying. I really, really want her to be happy. But, in the end I decided that if she is in school right down the hall from my classroom I can keep tabs on her but also the space, the other children and I can keep tabs on her teachers as well. I can look in at any time and they know that. Not to mention the principal has a two year old daughter as well in the same class so I am sure they are going to be doing their best. Someone left a really helpful comment when I posted about this before which was once I make my decision to throw all my energy into making it the best place possible for her/for us and that is what I intend to do.

(on our way to register this morning)

My biggest concerns about the new place were that it seemed too academic and the teachers/curriculum weren't terribly impressive but those worries have been laid to rest. Listen to what happened as I was driving over there to register her today! Early this morning there was a huge rainstorm and as I was driving over there I noticed there were power outages and trees down and other debris in the road. It made me realize how much more relaxed I will be if she is right in my building if, God forbid, anything serious were to happen. It's kind of hard to see from this picture, but this was a very mature tree and it was completely uprooted!!


I worry about her so much so having her right down the hall (yes, the daycare is on the kindergarten hallway!) will ease my fears. I can go check on her at any time and they can find me if needed. So, we get there and I register her and I ask the director if they have selected the teachers yet for her classroom. He said, "Yes. Ms. Essy and Ms. Rosa and I think you will be happy to learn that Ms. Essy is Ethiopian." I am telling you, this is all falling into place! An Ethiopian teacher?! I asked if I could meet her and the next thing I knew I was speaking to a lovely, warm 40-something woman who shared she's been teaching for 11 years and who Almi took to right away. I got a really good feeling from her. She was telling me about the other ages she has taught and she said she used to teach the "academic threes" but she likes being with the two year olds because there is a mix of academic work but also time for art and music and play. I swear, it's as if all my prayers were answered, I tell you. I am now pretty happy about the placement and Almi seemed to really, really like her and she won't be a complete stranger when she sees her next week. I asked Ms. Essy to speak to her in Amharic to see if she remembered any. She did and there seemed to be a glimmer of recognition in Almi's eyes, like it sounded comforting and familiar but she didn't respond in Amharic. However, like I said, she seemed to really like her so I am extremely relieved and happy about that. I really feel comfortable about my decision. And of course I'm thrilled to have it be less expensive on top of everything else!

Now the only thing I have to figure out is who is watching her for the first three days of work. We are due to report on August 19th but the daycare isn't going to be open until 23rd or 24th. Hmmmm.. You know what? I'm just going to assume that this will be taken care of as well.