I believe in the power of words

I've started entering contests. I originally got this idea to do so in Middle School, I thought it would be an alright career to just constantly enter contests.

More recently, I started with this one that arrived in my Natural Gas Utility Bill. @NWNatural #neverendinggrill

The idea is to try to bank on this good luck that frequently occurs during my days. To cash in on my tall, white male dominance in this World. I know that I enjoy many blessings in this life, namely my home life, good health, acceptable looks, my general intelligence and charm. I bring this up not to boast, but to be publicly grateful. Also, I'm aware of the tendency to hex oneself where luck is concerned, so allow me to grin and knock on wood here. Why not seek out and find contests and use my success, or lack thereof, as a barometer of how Karma is doing.

For example, I recently filled out an online review of my dentist office, and I won two tickets to the Blazers game on Sunday, October 9th with the Denver Nuggets. Alright, winning! Also, when Katherine and I needed a new bed, I found this Simmons® Beautyrest® contest and we both entered via text and online everyday for 6 weeks and ended up getting a mail-in-rebate of over $350. That's something!

So I will shamelessly be promoting brands that have contests through my social network. I'll be asking you to like my photos, and trying to get stuff started. Just a warning that I'm jumping into this market and I'm taking you all along for the ride.

Leveled up at life! Taking Leroy back to SxS

This is the next chapter and update to my last post, Daycare Dilemma.

We had Leroy home for some time. Between Julie and Mike being here until Monday, and Katherine and I splitting his care on Tuesday (which is his typical day off during the week), we didn't have to have to take him back until Wednesday of this week. In typical Millennial fashion, we waited to the last minute to try addressing our concerns to the Director at SxS. Katherine wrote a great, respectful email the morning we took him in and I dropped him off on my way to work. She spelled out our concerns, even empathized as a fellow manager. She was firm, but not unreasonable. I was proud, she nailed it!

The director wrote back within hours. Her response was apologetic, respectful, and her tone matched ours with humility. She took responsibility, and shared our our horror at what happened. It turns out that they actually let that employee go over what happened. It wasn't the first lapse that management had to address and apparently the employee wasn't responsive to the criticism. She didn't take it seriously, so they let her go. I only feel a little guilty, but mostly I feel empowered by our approach to our dilemma.

Katherine and I talked it out, we freaked out a bit, we discussed our options and processed the situation. We confronted them like adults (I feel like), and they responded in kind. I mean, there is still a ways to go, and we have to work towards perfecting our relationship, making SxS into the provider we expect for Leroy. But I can't help but feel like we have made a positive step from our first reaction which was angry and reactionary. I'm embolden towards reason.

Coming out of my wide eyed, optimistic youth, I have so often been disappointed in my adult life with the sort of reactions I get from the World. Many times when I find myself in challenging situations and I try to act as my morals dictate, I don't find my intentions reciprocated. Or I even find myself being taken advantage of. Especially when viewing larger cultural events, I tend to see things played out negatively. Or I become appalled at people's seemingly sinister self preservation over humanity. I have to admit that I'm becoming jaded.

However, no! People can be reasonable. We can stand up for ourselves and ask for what we expect. Our first step doesn't always have to be reaction. I guess this is over dramatic, but hey, I'm just feeling a bit pumped this week.

Our next step is going to be to really outline (as in write and deliver) what we expect from SxS, and what Leroy's schedule should ideally look like. We can reiterate our appreciation too, and talk about what has been working for us so that it continues. It doesn't have to be a contract, just a syllabus. We can set the tone for our expectations. I'm feeling much better.    

Daycare Dilemma

We have been steadily loosing faith in our daycare. A few set backs with Leroy's sleeping, a major safety mistake by the employees, and a little lack of communication has lead us here. We're new parents and Leroy is our main man, so we are ready to go to bat for him.

Up until this month, we have really liked the place, we'll call it SxS. The girls were really friendly and the house was aways clean. I felt like I have a good chemistry with the staff, I was learning everyones names as best I could (especially the other kids). I kept it friendly and felt respected.

I also like how close it is to our home, walking isn't a problem. There is a bit of a hill, but I can always enjoy exercise and scenery (Portland is paradise).  SxS feeds him, diapers him throughout the day. They focus on good local diets, the director assured me. I took the tour during my leave from work. It has also been a staple of the community and has a fairly good reputation.

So get to the dirty right? Katherine's parents were in town this last weekend; we all love it when they visit. Mike and Julie landed at PDX while we were both at work. They got to our place, settled, then walked over to SxS to pick up the boy. This was all pre-arranged, and I let them know that morning when I dropped him off. I wrote down their names and asked if they would check ID. Common sense expectation. I also let them know that he should have his morning nap soon, he had been up early.

Well basically, none of this happened. He hadn't slept by the time his Nana and Papa arrived around 10:45am to pick him up. I was told that they asked if he had napped and the girls laughed it off saying that Leroy never sleeps. They also let Mike and Julie leave with him without checking their IDs'. (No emphasis added) I'll mention now that this was Friday, Halloween, the night of the living dead.

Leroy has recently started moving a lot, and he has ramped up his play and exploration. We read that during this time, it is common for babies to now have a hard time to settle down; their brains become stimulated with problem solving. He has a hard time holding still, even when he is tired, he will roll over or get on all fours. He will sit up, he has been moving all day. We understand that it becomes important at this stage to ensure that he has good naps throughout the day, so that he does not become over tired. Other parents will probably understand what I mean. If he goes too long without rest, the rest of his schedule goes to shit and we are left with the aftermath.

In fact, Leroy didn't take a proper nap until 1pm and he slept for just an hour. Katherine had a bit of a breakdown for the next several hours as she tried to focus on work, coordinate with her parents, and vented to me pleading for relief. I came home quickly once work ended at 4pm to wrestle him down into dreamland. He was so wound up, he kicked and his body jostled to settle down. He kept his eyes closed and cried his mantra moan. Luckily, I had done plenty of his sleep dance over the last 8 months, and I got him asleep in his crib after some time. I patiently fumed though, I replayed what could have gone better.  

I say proper nap, because Mike took Leroy out for a long walk around our neighborhood. It was a lovely day, and he was able get fresh air with Papa, to rest and sleep in his Bob Stroller. In fact, both he and Julie were great with him, I do not critique them. Do not mistake me. Our frustration is with the team that we hired to care for our son. His sleep that night was not good. He was up and down every few hours, from 2am through the morning.

It wasn't just Halloween. His sleeping has been getting more and more difficult. When I went back to work, and during the beginning of his time at SxS, we had a good schedule. He napped at about 9am, 12noon, 4pm, and then most likely he was asleep for the night between 7 - 8pm, generally. At first his daily report cards reflected this too, but in the last month or so, this pattern fell apart. Granted, he started crawling; we also finished switching him to mostly formula. Our concern at this point though, is the perceived lack of concern or perhaps followthrough at daycare. The new director has discussed his sleep training with us, but consistency is really what is most important we feel.

Katherine and I are deliberate in the way that we live, we absolutely reap what we sow, so we try to approach our challenges with perspective. We also work in customer service and have a high standard for what we deserve from our money. It is important to be reasonable. We are now in the position though, to start looking for another option to make itself clear to us.

I want to at least have a discussion again with the directors. I'm not looking to raise Hell, but I don't want this to continue as it has been. Katherine has said that if we do stay, and anything terrible were ever to happen at SxS, then we would say that this was the red flag we should have pulled. She's right. So that's our dilemma.