I wish it were fun again....

Gcj..... I was feeling the same way and so what I did was get a house keeper to come in every other week to clean my house so I wasn't spending my non working hours working.... And I could do done things with my family or just sit and relax a bit instead of go go go on the weekends.... I also scaled back the family diners and sometimes it soup and grilled cheese instead of these elaborate dinners every night....it just took a lot of the pressure off so I didn't feel stretched in all directions.
Another thing I changed was my eating habits .... In jan I was feeling depressed and blah and just generally unhealthy .... I am over weight and I was having pains in my shoulder and radiating down my arm ...I was breathless while reading bedtime stories to my kids so I decided to make a lot of changes and I have lost 27 lbs since feb 1. I have a lot more energy and no longer have pain in my arm. I am feeling good about myself again ... Hope with the warmer weather and the awakening of the trees and flowers you will feel better too

I think what a part of the problem is we work where we live and at the end of the day we don't get a break as then we move into dinner time, cleaning all the while still thinking of daycare stuff. We need boundries!
Last Saturday was all about the daycare. Cleaning, shopping and planning. I quess this is the life of a small business owner, but I am finding it really hard to carve out some time for me and am also feeling frustrated.
This morning I woke up with a sigh.....another day in paradise LOL. As I was getting my family out the door and receiving daycare kiddies I just told myself I should be grateful I have a job and can pay my bills. I vowed to myself that when I take my vacation I will not do any daycare stuff (have in the past) and pursue my hobby and books that have been gathering dust (yep, not much time for dusting) on the shelf. I have also decided I am not going to worry about always trying to please my dcparents. I will do what is best for me, my family and my dck's.
So gcj, I think we all understand how you feel. I hope this passes for you. Perhaps you are right in that we have been stuck in the house this long winter and am now so ready for some sunshine and nice weather. Keep your chin up and keep posting your vents as you have lots of supporters here.

You are not alone :flower: I am totally feeling that way as well right now......everything is getting to me :( Glad to see that I am not alone :)

I am sending my support to you as well, gcj. I am just re-starting my daycare after several years nannying, so I am not at that point of struggling just yet (in the circumstance of specifically home daycare, anyway), but I have felt it in the past, and empathize with what you're feeling. I'm sending positive wishes and hugs, and hope things look and feel brighter for you soon.

:flower:

ok....2 issues with FlyLady...already :laugh: 1. don't put dirty dishes in my sink?!?! That sounds like not putting dirty kids in my tub! 2. spend less time on the computer...then why won't she stop sending me emails?!?! so I can clean my freakin' sink!!

I am sooooooooooooooooo with you right now as well! I believe I do a good job and I believe this is what I should be doing....but for the past few weeks, everything is annoying me! I feel so easily irritated by little things :( It doesn't help that I have a new dcg who cries a lot...but other times I would have been able to ignore it without thinking about terminating right away. Now I am in a constant feeling of whether or not she is going to work out...whether I should get out now while it is easier, etc. Plus, I just generally feel annoyed with the parents, the kids, my own kids, my own husband, etc. And I don't even know why! In fact, my husband is doing more around the house and really being a great husband and father...so why am I annoyed?! I think it is me...maybe it is boredom...maybe I need a change...I don't know! And Playfelt...although I wasn't doing daycare when kids stayed until the age of 5, I think that would have been so much better! I love teaching the kids things, doing art with them, etc, but I only have 2 who can even vaguely participate in most things and it is frustrating. I also feel like all I do is change, feed, clean up all day long! And then just when you think the kids are getting old enough to do some more interesting thing...whamo...thre e leaving on mat leave soon :( Maybe it is this realization that I will likely always have more kids under 2 than anything else...I don't know. Maybe it's spring fever. All I know is many of us are in the same boat!

Very often I feel overworked, too. As crayola did, I too hired a housekeeper for every other weekend. What a difference... She had surgery about 1.5 months ago and has not come since. It still will take a while for her to heal... My second floor and the basement are a mess... Only the main floor where the daycare is located is all tided up... My hubby is the chief of laundry and vacuuming... You know what? with a toddler, cooking, prep for next day, etc and the rest of activities my day is full... My only break is nap time (thank God for it)... I realize I do not have to be a super woman... I am running a business, feeding others, taking care of my son 24/7... I cannot take anything else in my plate for now without burning out... I know my limits... I am still looking for a back up housekeeper... I'd love to see everything in order again...

I also think that what we sometimes feel is because of the routine... I just do not like routine. I am always looking for something to do different in my business to improve.... There are so many things that can be done to make our life easier. My current project is my basement. The floor is full of toys and materials that is hard for my to walk or even find something I need. Two weeks ago I bought racks and bins and plan to organize it in the next few weeks or months... One of my future projects will be organize my tax paperwork... I really hate it... but there should be a way to simplify the sorting and avoid to invest that much time on it. I am giving it a though in the future... Or something as little as making a new craft or activity with the kids made me go out of the routine... Some times we even spend the whole day with free play when I feel down and that had helped, too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sunnydays

And Playfelt...although I wasn't doing daycare when kids stayed until the age of 5, I think that would have been so much better! I love teaching the kids things, doing art with them, etc, but I only have 2 who can even vaguely participate in most things and it is frustrating. I also feel like all I do is change, feed, clean up all day long! And then just when you think the kids are getting old enough to do some more interesting thing...whamo...thre e leaving on mat leave soon :( Maybe it is this realization that I will likely always have more kids under 2 than anything else...I don't know. Maybe it's spring fever. All I know is many of us are in the same boat!

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Sunnydays and anyone else that wants to give ideas would be great - Given that we deal more with babies to age 2 than having a lot of the big kids able to do the lessons we want to prepare what would you say is the type of info, workshops, resources that would be of the most value to you? We have had poor attendance and even some cancelled workshops with the association and when I look in the newsletter of what is being offered I question the value of much of what is there for the young ages we care for. I am trying to work on a new method for workshop delivery, topics, resources etc and would love some feedback. Making everythign out of felt and fabric over paper has been the saving grace for a lot of my stuff lately but very much a work in progress rather than finished.

Well, I feel lucky on that at least. I'm in Quebec and they start at 5, so at least I get to do the fun preschool stuff! Assuming they don't ditch me the final year for a CPE....a centre, besically. Which has happened all but once in 5 years.

Playfelt, it would be nice to have workshops of issues that hit us very often such as business relationship with parents (how to handle situations to be win-win); potty training issues; activities for infants; behavior issues; picky eating; time management when having a home daycare... Maybe you can start a new threat and more people can give more ideas since this maybe lost with the issues of this threat...:)