More bites, Russian Doll, and Family Daycare

I have a mosquito bite on my right eyelid. It is not fun. It looks swollen and discolored, but it's only really noticeable if you know to look for it. Otherwise, people probably think my eyes look different/funny, but can't tell exactly why. Anyway, I'm am over the mosquitoes this year. They have never been particularly bad in our area until recently. And, it just so happens we have been out a lot recently in places where they have been - at the outdoor movie, at work, at the nearby playground, at the frisbee field. This particular bite was one on my eye was one I got while teaching. Pen has a bunch of bites on her hands too, and a couple on her face. We are quite the pair right now. 

Michael and I finished Russian Doll on Netflix. It was fun, but now we are without a regular show to watch until TWD and GOT come back. Every time we find a new show we like, it's only one or two seasons long, and we blow right through it. The same thing happened with Patriot (on Amazon Prime). Anyway, I'm looking forward to the return to our epic and prolific action-dramas. 

As I mentioned, I taught my first day this school year yesterday. I only taught a handful of days last year, so it was good to be back at a school where I used to work quite regularly. It was strange though, because so many of the kids I worked with are now much older after my hiatus. It was nice to see lots of familiar kids and staff, though. 

Penelope will be starting "family daycare" next week, and I am planning to teach a few days a week regularly, once she is settled. Family daycare just means that it is a smaller center, run out of someone's home. There are fewer children than a normal daycare center- this one has a maximum of four, but there are currently only three, including Pen. There is only one primary staff member, but there is a larger support entity for her - an organization that ensures she is meeting safety and curriculum standards and provides training. Anyway, I like the center, but I am just not happy that it is near Michael's work and not near our home. There are none currently near our home - just large centers that have waiting lists. We will see how it goes, and if something opens up closer, we might consider it depending on how happy we are once this one starts. 

Fingers are crossed that it goes well. We are obviously hoping that the benefits (Penelope isn't just a number filling a slot to make a company money, less kids = less germs/lice/etc., more consistent kids and one primary adult -  as opposed to large centres that can sometimes have a revolving door, more of a "family" atmosphere) outweigh the one negative aspect (the commute). We figure we have nothing to lose, in that, if we don't like it we can just take Pen out and find another place. If it goes well, then we will have scored a rare find. Bonus: the government pays a portion of our childcare according to a sliding scale based on our income. We are still waiting to find out how much they are going to cover, but it could potentially be as much as 50% of the cost. I am enjoying the role reversal, since I am used to being the educator in this scenario, instead of the parent.