Had an Epiphany :)

[Josiegirl]

Are you at my house?? Lol, my kids have been doing the Anna/Elsa cape thing for over a year and it drives me NUTS when they pilfer clean towels or sheets from my laundry room when I'm not looking. They are stinking adorable doing role playing, but I completely understand your need for a sense of order.

I love the suggestion of getting capes for them to play with, and maybe just have designated hooks for them?

haha, It IS cute and at first it was just my 2 4 yos. But now I've got the 20 mo and the 2 yo's running around, singing let it go. And still, it's cute. But I do have to take care of the napping blankets, maybe cut the other blankets in half so they're not trailing around everywhere. Believe me, if it hadn't become an issue, I would've 'let it go'.

Whenever anything becomes an issue as to create so much stress in your day, it needs to be changed somehow. Like locking the front door when the first car pulls in at 7. Lol I'M KIDDING

[KiddieCahoots]

Duh....I'm going to make a written(not mental) list of all the things, little and big, that make me irritated or the days impossible, then come up with a fix-it for each.

I'm always thinking. My mind is running constantly during the day as things come up that are NOT working. But by the time the day is over, they're gone. Until the next time. Then it seems like every time that particular issue comes up, it's gotten bigger, irritating me even more. Until something blows over the top.

Onto next problem.

Just tell me it'll work.

It'll work!!! happyface

I live by written notes and lists! It's a must for someone with ADD, where the mind is switching gears constantly. And with the amount of multitasking we daycare providers do, it's so helpful. Not to mention how rewarding it is to cross a solved problem off that list. I like to exaggerate it a bit while I'm successfully crossing off an item on the list, by singing like a chorus of angels as I do it....Aaaaaahhhhh ....::....

[AmyKidsCo]

Ok, this is just a thought....not something you should or have to do....but have you considered instead of changing/altering the things that irritate you to just (pardon the pun..it just seems fitting ) but to just "let it go?"

Instead of trying to get the kids to stop using the blankets as capes but instead LET them? I know, I know.... I am NOT crazy.... ::

I just mean that sometimes THOSE moments are the reason this job is awesome! Sometimes letting the kids dictate the things they want to do and just going with it (within reason) is so much fun that I don't know why I don't just "let it go" every day. I know why...we DO need consistency and routine but sometimes when that consistency and routine becomes dull and boring, we need to change it up.

As providers it seems we spend a majority of our day trying to keep bins from being dumped, toys from being tossed, pieces to puzzles from getting lost, and are constantly and continually trying to keep the peace and organization we cling to daily with the belief that THAT is what is necessary to keep us sane but in reality.....it's important but it's not the end game. Its not really whats important.

Sometimes putting a blanket around your shoulders and setting out to save the world IS what's it all about. Sometimes play OUTSIDE of our normal daily routine is what WE (as adults) need to remember why we do what we do day in and day out.

Like I said in another thread - "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Rather than go nuts trying to "beat" the kids (not literally!) join 'em instead. Let them use the blankets, with the expectation that they'll be put back on the cots when the children are done with them.