Brooks and I have been in Overland Park for five months now. It doesn't seem like it's been that long...the time has passed really fast. We've had our share of trials and tribulations, but we're taking the punches as they come. I'm on Christmas break right now and I'm doing my best to enjoy it and spend as much time as possible with Brooks. This past trimester was very stressful with all of our changes and adjustments we had to make, so I'm really trying to relax before the next trimester.
Spring trimester starts next Tuesday and our vacation has gone by way too fast, but I have a huge break coming up soon. I arranged my Spring schedule so that I have all of my classes in Mod I and no classes in Mod II. That means I get eight weeks off in addition to the regular two-week break between Mods. We're going home to Kentucky to have Brooks' birthday party so that his friends and family will be able to attend. After that break, I'll start the D.C. program in May and then our lives will be really hectic for the next four years.
So, since I'm starting this blog five months into our journey, I'll give you some background info...
When we moved out here in July, we brought a nanny with us. I'll refer to her as K. We had a full month here before classes started, to allow time for us to get settled and familiarize ourselves with the area. Although I did my best to make my expectations clear to K before we moved, her job and the move was apparently too much for her to handle. By the end of the first week of classes, she was ready to go home. I had no warning whatsoever. One day everything was fine, and the next day K told me she wanted to leave. She left the next day. Here I was, going to school, 11 hours from everyone I know, with a 3-year-old, and no childcare. K made her big announcement at 10 a.m. on a Friday, and I had to find childcare in time to make it to my 7:30 a.m. class the following Tuesday. Most daycare centers aren't open on weekends, especially on holidays, and it was Labor Day weekend. I knew when she told me that I had to do something and do it fast.
I immediately started calling all the daycare centers in the area, starting with Special Beginnings (SB). SB is the center on campus at Cleveland Chiropractic College where I go to school. Although SB has higher rates than several other daycare centers/preschools in the area, it was by far the most convenient location.
I've never been a huge fan of daycare centers. The few I had been in prior to touring SB were mostly places I wouldn't even take my child into, let alone leave them there without me. Fortunately, SB was different. Even Brooks seemed to like it there immediately. He even let me leave him in the classroom while I went to talk to the school director in her office. In fact, he liked it so much, that he threw a little fit when it was time to leave. I felt as good as I could have ever hoped was possible about taking him to school there, although I was still really nervous. I had a long weekend to spend with him before his first day, and tried my best not to worry about the following week while we met my parents in St. Louis for the holiday weekend.
Having solved the childcare issue, I was still left with one problem. One of my classes was an evening class from 4:30 p.m. to 9:20 p.m. Special Beginnings closes at 6 p.m. I had to drop my evening class and rearrange my schedule. That gave me 7 weeks before the next Mod started, in which I had to figure out something for evening childcare until I got my three evening classes behind me. To be continued...
Since it's after 2 a.m. and this post is getting ridiculously long, I'll continue the background info later. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my Realtor at 10 a.m. to view some houses. Yay! I can't wait to get out of this rental home and into something that's ours and actually lowers my monthly payment!
