Technically my hours are 7:30am to 5:30pm. But when I first began I agreed to have 1 child begin at 6:45am, since I am normally a morning person. Then I agreed to allow another child to begin at 7:00am, thinking once again "not a big deal, what is one more child". Being pregnant and having a 20 month old to get ready, plus feed the 2 dck's, can prove challenging some mornings. Plus, I have been doing it for free even though my contract clearly states any hours outside the opening/closing are subject to additional fees. Rookie mistakes that will not happen in the future.

One day this week when both of these kiddies were off, it really hit me that I needed to stop offering it. I know 30-45 minutes doesn't sound like much, but I am finding it is a HUGE difference in the morning. As sad as it is to see families leave, my family time and peace of mind are paramount to me. Most importantly, I have to be "on" all day in order to provide excellent care to all the children entrusted to me... and scrambling in the mornings was not cutting it. Half the time I wasn't properly eating breakfast myself (drove my husband nuts considering I am almost 7 months pregnant) and that is with getting up at 5:45am, just to get ready to start the day.

I had 4 children attending. Now I know 2 are leaving. Not sure about a 3rd leaving, I'll have to see how they absorb the reality that I will not offer the early morning drop off in the future.

Not upset with any of the families by any means, just sad to see them go.