So today was the day we started looking at day care centers. I know, I know! Some people already told me I was nuts for starting so soon, but I heard some of the really good ones have year-long waiting lists. Plus, I didn't want to be stuck scrambling around at the last minute when I would probably be feeling lousy.

One of my co-workers passed me a link to a website to get me started. I was able to search for child care centers around work and home, based on whether the were full or part time care, and whether they took infants. From my search results, I could pull up the inspection (and re-inspection) reports for each center. ACK! Some of those reports were just plain scary!

Case in point: at one day care center, the inspector noticed that one of the classrooms was left unsupervised for who knows how long. He also found 3 children playing in the bathroom - one with his hand in the toilet, one with his HEAD in the toilet, and one FLUSHING the toilet! YOW! Scratch that one off the list!

I narrowed the list of possible providers close to work down to 3. One, I scratched off the listed before even dropping in, because I got a tip from someone who works with the inspectors that the center was rated a "D" and was not recommended for infant care. Apparently, the infant room was closed off instead of an open floor plan where any caregiver could see what was going on. Also, at the time of this person's visit, NO ONE was supervising the infant room!

So at lunch time today, Alex and I went to the other two on the list. The first one we went to was pretty impressive. Very open floor plan, happy children, plenty of staff, and healthy lunches. Playground was roomy with plenty of soft sand, each child got their own cot for nap time, and each infant had their own crib, tagged with their name. We talked to the director who seemed very experienced and knowledgeable and actually commended us for shopping around so early. I even saw that they did not use physical discipline, as one little girl was in "time out" when we arrived.

We then went to the next care center on the list and COULD NOT GET IN! The door was locked. No one was at the front desk. It was pretty dark in there. We looked around back, and their playground was a deserted nightmare! It was a tiny, little asphalt plot fenced in by a bent up chain link fence. Nearby were several dumpsters, which some weird dude going through. Um, yeah. Scratch that one off the list too!

Upon returning to work, me co-workers asked how it went. I said, "Great! I was offered top dollar! $50,000 - way more than I expected." Heh! Heh!

What can I say? I have to have a little fun whenever I can!

I’m now 15 weeks pregnant! Yippee! Even though I’ve calmed down a lot since the first trimester, I’m still a little nutty. I look forward to my doctor visit Friday so that I can hear the heartbeat once more for assurance.

Last night, I had a bizarre dream that hubby and I finally found out the sex of the baby. We went to some weird organ grinder/street vendor and asked what we were having. The man took out a big hunk of raw hamburger meat, rolled it into a ball, then pinched pieces of it into a strange shape. After that, he stuck the meat into his organ grinder box and pronounced “it’s a boy!”

Crazy as it was, hubby and I just accepted this strange man’s proclamation as the truth and went on to tell our friends and family. Ha!

Guess we’ll find out at next month’s ultrasound if this was a premonition or a big subconscious joke.

This weekend has been another rough one. I don't understand how I could be getting more and more sick days when I'm finally into my second trimester. Guess the weather changes are playing havoc on my sinuses. That, and my meals are off-schedule.

Yesterday, I had to get up early so I could finish cleaning the house for a visitor. Of course, that's when I feel plain awful and have a terrible headache! Finally got rid of the visitor so I could grab some food, but that wasn't until 10:30. Ugh! For the rest of the day, I felt so "blah."

When we got home, Alex went with my mom to look at flooring. I lay on the futon with the laptop and ordered Alex's birthday gift. Seems like forever before Alex and my mom returned, and I was STARVING! I finally managed to work up the energy to get up, but when I tried to get up, I somehow managed to pull a muscle on my right side, just above my pelvis. Yow!

Now I'm worried that I might have torn something or otherwise did damage. I keep think "placenta abruptio," but there's been no bleeding or anything. The spot isn't even sore anymore, but I can't help but be a little tense. Hopefully, I can put it out of my mind, at least until my appointment this Friday.

First I want to say thank you to Leila for signing my guestbook! Sorry to hear about the nausea thing, but glad that your pregnancy is going well otherwise. Hang in there - only a few more weeks before the infamous "honeymoon" trimester. ;-)

As for me, hubby and I have been messing with the people at work and loving every minute of it. Ha! Hubby started it after someone made a "now you'll know what it's like" comment.

"Yeah," he replied, "but I hear if you shake 'em [babies], they get quiet."

Needless to say, his co-worker was not amused.

The next day, one of my co-workers told me I was going to have to share all my toys once the baby's born. "Nah," I told her, "Babies don't need fancy toys. Just give them a plastic bag and they're happy."

Her face had a look of sheer horror on it, so I had to take it a step further and explain the benefits of plastic bag toys: they're cheap; they're versatile (can be used as a carrier); and they keep babies dry when it rains. Heh! Heh! Her look was classic!

Now, before I get any nasty-grams, let me just reiterate: IT'S A JOKE! We know that shaking babies is child abuse and would never ever abuse our baby. We also fully realize the dangers of plastic bags around children and will be keeping them far out of reach of little hands.

Well, gotta go! I just bought some cheap lead paint and need to finish painting the crib.