I'm going tile shopping today. I found a guy who could probably do my bathrooms and kitchen in tile for the price I was quoted for doing lino in the two bathrooms, so I'm hitting the discount tile room of the big tile place with my friend, Donna.

I talked it over with Russell and he doesn't want me to do the childcare because he wants to go do fun stuff like go up to the lake, the water park, hikes, maybe a camping trip or two and I would like to do that with him, too. I can't very well do that with a bunch of daycare kids if I don't have a car to hold them all. I am also worried about which kids I'd get. I know for a fact, one of his occasional playmates, would be one of my likely kids and he's essentially got untreated ADHD and I can totally see him doing stuff like letting himself into the pool when I had my back turned. He's a real problem child. With a two year old, it's likely my back would be turned a lot, so I don't want to deal with that nonsense. One Sunday, his parents had him call us up and invite himself over and as his father dropped him off, I realized I'd been had because he said that Mom was gone and he was trying to get stuff done, but the kid wasn't letting him and that they'd pick him up in 4 hours. All I could think is "Gee, thanks!"

As the kid was here, he griped about how bored he was, as if we should all jump up and entertain him. And he wouldn't stay at any one task for any length of time. I had stuff to do and it ain't my job to entertain someone else's kid. When I checked with Sylvia, we both started giggling about what a difficult kid he is. When I told her I was thinking about doing summer care and that I'd probably have to deal with him, she exclaimed,"Oh, no! Don't do it!" I realized then, I couldn't deal with him 50 hours a week. Also, his mom said that she works long hours, which means she'd want longer hours, too, and I'm not doing it. I think it's one thing when you have a really solid idea that they are going home at a particular time, as in school, but I know that daycare isn't like that -- people like to take advantage. If the parents are needing breaks from him on the weekend, I can only imagine what it would be like during their busy seasons at their jobs.

I'd rather enjoy the summer with my kids and as long as I have the combo of contract work and unemployment, we'll be okay. About the time my unemployment runs out is about the time Mike gets a raise, so it'll work out. I could also work as a substitute while I went to school in the fall. I'm just not worried about it.