Imagine Nation Learning Center

Now that every one knows we are making the transition to day care let me give you some information about the one we choose. I think day care can be a great thing or a disastrous thing. If you pick the wrong one your child learns how to bite and fight. If you choose the correct one then your child grows, learns and thrives. I feel like we have really gotten it right with this one!

They have only been open at this location for 9 months but they have another day care center in Mansfield. The director is an amazing woman and her grandson is in our kids class. It helps a little knowing the director is constantly in their room. The grounds are all monitored by video cameras and the front door is code locked. Every person has their own code so they can monitor who goes in and out. You sign the kids in and out and communicate messages through the front door system. No one can pick up your children who is not on your list. Each person that is on your list must have a copy of their license on file before ever leaving the premises with your child. The front door is always monitored even though the door can only be accessed through a code. We definitely feel confident in the security of the establishment.

The teachers do not have any turn over rate at all thus far. She said all the teachers are the same ones that started there except one woman that moved. The teachers are all updated on lifesaving information such as CPR weekly at staff meetings. The teachers are put through many classes and training for child care and curriculum. They are all FBI background checked through two companies and finger printed for safety. The kids teachers are named Anna and Corina.

The curriculum used is a combination of Learning Games and The Creative Curriculum for Toddlers and Twos. They not only teach the kids numbers, colors, letters, shapes, etc but also things like manners and sharing. They have a password protected portfolio online that you can track your child's performance and progress. Dallas and I are extremely excited about this part of day care! The curriculum and learning is one of my biggest concerns. I don't know what to teach my children or what they should be capable of at their age. Working full time I don't have the time to research the internet and find this information. The teachers at Imagine Nation have done that research for us and I feel confident that they will keep our kids right on track.

They use positive reinforcement and redirection for discipline. The kids don't really have to be disciplined very often because they all know the routine. The structure of the classroom doesn't really allow much time for discord amongst themselves. The kids are too busy to be destructive or mean to each other. Sounds good to me!

The illness rules are the same as any other state regulated day care center. If a child has a fever of 100.4 they have to be sent home until they are fever free for 24 hours. They can only give your child medicine if a written doctor's note is provided. I always worried about this part of day care. What if I end up with my kid home sick more than them actually attending the center. The director assured me that she doesn't send home kids that aren't sick. If their nose is running and its clear then they are fine. If they have a temperature and its teething then they are fine. She said if she sent every kid home that had a slight runny nose she wouldn't have any kids there. They also post illness warnings on the "Community Center" which is the big bulletin board in the front entry. If more than 4 or 5 kids go home with the same symptoms then she post a warning to other parents. She said the kids might get sick for the first month or so but then they would build up immunities to the little stuff.

The kids are served breakfast from 7 to 8am every morning. I have decided to continue to feed them breakfast at home until later when they are older. They get a morning snack, lunch and and an evening snack at day care. I now only have to feed them two meals a day. Their menu varies from week to week and the director is very open to suggestions. Anything that she can buy in bulk that is nutritious and won't spoil she is happy to add to the menu. She said she welcomes parents suggestions. I can bring food to replace a menu item I do not approve of or know that my children won't eat. I don't plan on bringing any food. I want them to learn to eat what is in front of them or don't eat at all. They also provide daily reports that include what they ate, drank, diaper changes and nap times. I like having daily reports so I can keep up with everything.

The center doesn't charge a registration fee anymore. They don't charge any activity fees or any other fees. We pay weekly and that is it. The kids get to participate in the Tumble bus once a month. The Tumble Bus is ran by an individual family that gutted out an old bus and lined it with gym mats. They hung monkey bars and such from the ceiling. They drive the bus to the school and each class gets to go nuts in it for a certain amount of time. They also get to participate in the Stretch and Grow program. Once a month a group comes in with different activities for the kids such as parachutes. The director said the kids really enjoy this group. They also have holiday events such as a big Easter egg hunt coming up soon. The one thing they offer that really blew me away is the once a month Parents Night Out. One night a month parents don't have to pick their kids up until later so they can go have dinner or something together. That is free as well! Can't wait for that day!

The two year olds room schedule guarantees no time for boredom. They base it on the average attention span for a child of two which is short. Their day starts at around 8am with small and individual groups. Every 15 to 30 minutes the kids are doing something different. They have circle time, art and craft time twice a day, music, motor skills training, and they go outside twice a day. I can't imagine them fitting anything else into these toddlers busy day. The director said that my twins running wild is probably just them not being stimulated enough. She guaranteed me they would be coming home tired from now on. They definitely keep them busy!

It is definitely going to take a little time to adjust to our new routine and schedule but we are so excited for our future at Imagine Nation Learning Center! This Monday, March 16th was our first day. I will post updates on how our first week is going asap!

Daycare? It is decided (its a long one)

On March 25th we received a flyer in the mail for a daycare center near our house. It was advertising weekly child care for as low as $120.00 per child. I was taken back by the price and decided to call. I have always wanted my kids in daycare. I was on the waiting list for the daycare directly behind our house when I found out I was pregnant. Once we found out we were having twins the option of daycare was suddenly out of the question. We could easily afford daycare for one child but not two. Infants in daycare cost about $200 per week per child which is more than our mortgage! It would have cost us almost $1600.00 a month to have our children enrolled in a decent daycare. Ridiculous!!!

When the kids were born I had no idea what we were going to do for child care. We were blessed with Anita when the time came for me to return to work. Anita is our friend Claudia's mother and she stayed at home with her grandson, Zachary. I went back to work when they were three months old and Anita kept them for 6 months. I liked having someone I knew and trusted caring for my children. Anita had worked in day cares most of her life and had a degree in child development. She was excellent with the kids and taught them how to roll over, sit up, eat from a spoon and ultimately crawl. I could not have ask for a better first babysitter for them both!

Once the kids starting crawling and getting more mobile it was obviously time for them to move on. Anita's apartment didn't have any room for them to crawl and Zachary's toys were now a safety issue. We still could not afford daycare and were blessed to have met Melissa through my AMOMs club. She had a house with plenty of room for them to crawl and eventually run. Her twins were almost the same age as our children. It was immediately a wonderful change when Melissa took over because she understood the "necessities" of raising twins. She knew the importance of scheduling the twins and how to deal with their needs. She kept the kids for over a year and did a very good job. They moved from the bottle to a sippy cup, started eating regular food, started walking and even started talking with Melissa. They learned how to interact with Addison and Landon and they always seemed to have a really good time playing all day at Melissa's.

Although Melissa was definitely a blessing, the drive was horrible! At first it seemed like a long way but I eventually got used to it. In the recent months I despised that drive. I finally clocked the drive about three weeks ago and realized I was driving almost 55 miles round trip! Oh my goodness that is a long way! Not only is the distance and gas an issue but the time it takes me to drive there and back everyday is ridiculous. I have to leave my house by 8am or I am late to work. When I get off I have to rush to beat some of the traffic on the way to pick them up. If I stay and visit even ten minutes then I don't get back home until almost 6pm. By the time I get the kids fed and bathed it is time for bed. I wasn't getting to spend any time with them. We were rushed in the morning and the evening. I felt like I was only seeing them on the weekends.

The other main issue we had was the food we provided. When the kids started going to her house they were on bottles and baby food. Now the kids eat three meals a day with two snacks. We didn't pay Melissa enough to cover food cost therefore we brought their food everyday. Not only did that mean we had to purchase their food we also had to prepare all their food. Dallas was going to the grocery store every single day for something! We would have to spend an hour a night or early in the morning cooking meat, cutting fruit and sacking up pretzels. It was absolutely exhausting to keep up with that schedule! We found ourselves constantly doing something and never having a moment to rest!

Dallas and I have been discussing daycare or even the possibility of a mother's day out program for months. We both felt that the kids were getting to the age that they now needed a structured learning environment. When we received the flyer for the daycare I told Dallas about it and he said to call for sure. It was worth checking out. I called and talked to the director about their programs.

The flyer was for a church daycare which tend to be a little cheaper than the regular daycare centers. The program sounded wonderful but I was hesitant since the price was so cheap. In life you tend to get what you pay for and this sounded just too good to be true. I called Dallas back and told him I was going to go by at lunch and check it out. I also wanted to check out a place I had been looking at daily on my way to work. It was a newer building that I had noticed for the past few months.

At lunch I ran by the daycare that I see on my way to work and I was very impressed!!! It was nap time but the director and I quietly took a tour of the building. All the kids were asleep on little cots, precious! I talked with her for a long time about the curriculum, schedule and all the other details I needed to know. They have only been open for 9 months and were hidden behind a big fence. She said these two factors were the only reasons they still had openings. I told her I was very interested but the price was more than I could afford. I told her I would talk to my husband and let her know later.

I headed over to the church daycare and drove around the building. I didn't have enough time to go in but by the playground area I knew that I would more than likely not allow my children to go there.

I went back to work and started checking stats. I learned when the twins were born about the public government site that you can check all registered day cares records whether it be home, church, private or public. I looked at the church daycare's record and was not impressed. They had been written up countless times for the same problems that ranged from not having employee's records complete to leaving the electrical plug covers off. Are you kidding me, leaving the covers off in the toddler room! I don't think so! I checked out the daycare that I liked and they had absolutely NO write ups! They had been inspected five times in 9 months with no problems. The only thing that had been reported under their establishment was a month ago when a little girl fell and had to get stitches. They reported the incident themselves.

At this point I continued to talk with the director and Dallas about our options to see if it would even be possible for us to afford it. The only reason we could even look is because the kids will be 2 years old soon and the price per child drops when they turn two. I decided to go ahead and visit the church daycare after work because I could not truly judge it without seeing the inside. My initial reaction was correct. I walked in to find an empty room full of toddlers laying on the floor bored. I ask where all the toys were and the director pointed to a few boxes in the corner. She said, "We focus on the learning not the playing really." Yea right! It didn't take long before I was just trying not to be rude and get the heck out of there. The concrete area that led to the play ground outside was all eroded and had huge drop offs. I just envisioned my children falling face first into a slab of concrete and I was gone!

Dallas was excited to see the place I did like and he couldn't wait. He insisted I meet him there so he could take a look. I went to get the kids and met him back there to see his and the kids reactions. I beat him there so we went in the small foyer to wait. The director told us to come in and I told her she was crazy. I had them contained thank you very much. She insisted and said they could go to the two year old room and visit. So I opened the door and they took off running just like I figured they would. They made an immediate right to one of the infant rooms and I had to redirect them. We made it back to the two year old room and they went straight to playing. Ethan was already in the tube going through it to get to the small slide. Paige was digging through the kitchen area. I went back up front to meet Dallas and they could have cared less that I left.

Dallas arrived and we talked to the director about everything. We took a tour of the building and then ended up back in the kids room. Ethan was building a big tower out of huge Legos and all the other kids were too. The girl in charge said, "He started this". Paige was running back and forth between the tiny couch and the bean bag laughing and screaming. Once Ethan was done building he started to dump out different tubs of toys and I thought we better go before he tore the room apart. We headed home to take care of the kids and talk about our options.

Once we started crunching the numbers we realized that we were no longer saving money by driving to Melissa's house and we would in fact SAVE money in gas and food by enrolling them in daycare. We decided with Dallas' new opportunity at work with the possibility of traveling the time it would save to move them to daycare was essential. We would be saving at least 2 1/2 hours a day in time; almost two hours driving, time going to the grocery store almost everyday and time preparing their food. It was decided with high hopes for the future to enroll them in daycare at Imagine Nation Learning Center!

My problem now was telling Melissa that we were going to move the kids. I didn't want to hurt her feelings or damage our friendship but we felt we were making the right decision for our children. On that Friday I told her that we were moving the kids in two weeks to daycare. I explained the reasons as best I could and hoped that it would all work out. She was understandable upset since she would be losing income and her kids wouldn't have interaction with other children. She has had our kids for over a year and I imagine you become quite attached in that amount of time. I knew we would still get the kids together for play dates and I hoped it would open more opportunities for Melissa. She would be free to do whatever she wanted. Take her kids places, leave her house whenever she wanted, enroll her kids in a program or even go back to work. She would have to decide what was best for her family and we knew we had decided what was best for ours.

Weekend away

As I mentioned last weekend the kids spent the weekend with Dallas' parents while we painted. It was only the second time they have ever spent the night away from home and the first time they have ever spent more than one night away. I was only planning for them to be gone one night and most of Saturday but I highly overestimated our painting skills and it took longer than expected. Ha!

I arrived with the kids on Friday evening about 4:45pm and Linda and Michael met me in the garage. The kids were of course excited to see their grandparents but a little confused by where we were. Most times when we visit we drop them off on the street above and then go park the car but since I was only this time I decided to go the garage route. We made our way to the elevator with all of their stuff and they still looked a little confused. It only took a moment once the elevator doors opened and they were home. The HALLS! Woo Hoo!

Running the long hotel style halls at Nana and Grand Daddy's apartment has always been a favorite activity. I thought this time they might be a little older and not quite so interested but I was mistaken. They immediately ran out of the elevator and took off down the first long hall. I went to the apartment to start setting everything up while Linda and Michael let the kids run. Paige was running full force when she suddenly stopped. She took a few steps backwards, turned to a door mat that had three monkeys on it, pointed at each one and said "Sheep, sheep, sheep" and took off running again! Priceless!


Ethan making friends with Tobey their dog.


The stuff I had to take this visit was significantly less than ever before. I didn't have to bring high chairs or playpens. I brought a new bed rail we purchased and we pushed their guest bed against the wall. The kids were going to try and sleep in the big bed. I didn't know how it would work but you never will know until you try it.

Once I got the kids all set up I headed home to get busy. I didn't talk to Linda again until later that evening when I called to check how bedtime went. I was shocked to hear that they were still awake and it was 9:00pm!!! Oh my goodness! I was hoping the kids would be wore out from the week and the evening with their grandparents and fall right to sleep. Nope, not even close.


Getting ready for bed.


Too much fun to sleep!

Round One:
First Linda said they put them in bed, told them night night and shut the door. They waited... and didn't hear anything. They both thought, "Wow that was easy." In about ten minutes in comes Paigey. She grabs a book off the floor, runs to Grand Daddy and climbs in his lap for him to read it. Noticing that sister has escaped Ethan soon followed. Linda never told me whether they read the book or not but knowing grandparents I imagine they did. Ha!


Round two:
They put them back in bed and this time Linda decided to lay down with them. The kids have never slept with us or even napped with us in bed unless they were really sick so I knew this was going to be good. She said that Ethan immediately snuggled up under her chin and cuddled. Paige was laying on the other side playing with Nana's fingers ever so softly. Linda laid in bliss between her grand kids and thought they were getting close to being asleep. All the sudden Ethan sat straight up in bed, turned and looked at her and zoomed down about a millimeter from her face. He just stayed there looking at her and she burst out in laughter. She said after that she couldn't stop laughing and had to get out of there. I can only imagine. I would have been doubled over laughing.

Round three:
They left the kids in bed and decided to give them another chance to fall asleep on their own. Soon they hear chattering on the monitor and they peak in the room to find the kids at the head of the bed peaking out the blinds. They were side by side whispering to each other while looking out the window. Of course Linda and Michael were beside themselves with how adorable they were being. Mom and Dad would have been more irritated that they weren't listening and going to sleep. Thank goodness for grandparents!

Round four:
Michael decided after a while that he would try to get them to sleep. He went in the room and tried to sing lullabies to them. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for this one. I sing them Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at night but it is only once when they go to bed and that's it. They aren't used to people being in the room with them not even each other. Within minutes he was back out of the room claiming failure with the lullabies. Ha!

Final countdown:
The kids were essentially having their first sleepover. They laughed, talked together, played and did everything except go to sleep. They finally passed out from exhaustion at around 9:45pm. They aren't used to sleeping in the same room but apparently they had fun. I was just glad that I wasn't the one dealing with it that night. Grandparents have a way of laughing at things that drive parents crazy!

The kids were up bright and early at 7am the next morning. It was not a great weather weekend so they were forced to stay indoors during Saturday. I imagine they read every book a hundred times and ran the halls till the neighbors complained. I haven't had a chance to get all the details.


Ethan was making faces in the mirror at himself.

They took the kids to Chick fil A for lunch. The kids had a wonderful time playing on the playground, running through the tubes and looking through the openings way up high.




Nap time in the big bed was pretty much pointless from what I hear! I didn't even get details this time. Nana and Grand Daddy simply said, "We tried and tried but it just didn't happen." Ha! I can imagine! Linda said they had put a small blanket over the window before nap like I suggested. It apparently was useless because the kids simply got under it and looked out the blinds. Oh well...


Curious George always getting into something. Nana said not to worry the light bulb was a spiral one that doesn't get hot and Grand Daddy was sitting right there.

Even without a nap Linda and Michael braved taking the kids in public. They took the kids to meet Michael's twin sisters at their living facility. Linda said she was a little worried about their moods since they didn't nap but they didn't want to pass up the opportunity to introduce them. The kids did really well once they warmed up. Ethan tried to get in the fountain in the lobby over and over. Linda said Paige had to touch every single porcelain object in that facility. Glad I didn't have to chase them around that place. I imagine it was exhausting.

Tired girl when they returned.

Saturday night the kids went to sleep a little better. They were asleep by 8:00pm and slept until 7:30am Sunday morning. I think the kids had a wonderful weekend at their grandparents house. They looked like they had been ran over by a truck they were so exhausted but they always look like that when we do something out of the ordinary. I can't wait to hear the rest of the stories from their first weekend away from home. Thanks again Nana and Grand Daddy for keeping them!

New Baby Girl!

My older brother and his wife welcomed their newest addition yesterday morning. Lily Grace Thornell was born at 8:49am weighing in at 7lbs 14oz and 20 inches long. She was delivered via c-section and both Mom and baby girl are doing well. I haven't heard many details yet but I am scheduled to be off work tomorrow and go meet her. Yea!

Sweet thing!!!

I think she looks just like John Mark and my mom with Wendy's nose. She is just adorable from the few pictures I have seen. I can't wait to meet her tomorrow. Congratulations John Mark and Wendy! We love you guys!


Sweet baby and mommy.


Grammy with Lily as big sister and big brother watch.


They aren't quite sure what they think about her yet?

Big kid room transformations have begun

Dallas and I decided a few months ago that we wanted to redecorate the kids rooms for their 2nd birthdays. We have thought, planned and even started to order a few things for their rooms but we hadn't actually started production until this weekend. We decided this weekend would be a perfect time to paint. I called Dallas' parents on Thursday and ask if they could keep them on Friday night and most of Saturday so we could at least get Paige's room painted. They were thrilled to keep the kids and I was thrilled to get started!

I packed all the kids stuff on Friday morning and at lunch. I decided since the kids were climbing out of the playpens last week at Melissa's to just let them sleep in their guest bed with a bed rail. I didn't have to bring booster seats either because Grand daddy and Nana have a little kids table and chairs. I packed all their food, clothes, toys, books and everything else needed to keep them entertained for a couple of days. I picked the kids up from Melissa's around 4pm and headed straight to Las Colinas. We hit a small amount of traffic but over all the kids did really well on the trip.

Linda and Michael met us in the garage and helped get everything upstairs. Once the kids were settled in I headed home to get to work. Cheyenne had offered a month ago to help us paint so she headed over and met me there. Dallas had had a very long Friday at work which is a blog in itself. He was exhausted on Friday night but still managed to help some. Cheyenne and I worked on cleaning out Paige's room and started taping it off. We worked until around midnight and got 1 1/2 walls primed.


Saturday morning we woke up a little later than planned but I was not about to get up at 7am with no kids at home. We slapped ourselves around and got busy. By 12:30pm we had Paige's room primed and ready to be painted. Ethan's room was almost ready to be primed. We had ran out of primer and hadn't gotten the paint yet so I headed to Home Depot while Chey and D continued to work.


Cheyenne and Dallas' masterpiece they created when they ran out of paint. They were having fun I was so irritated when I returned. Sounds about right, huh. Ha!

I was at Home Depot for 1 1/2 hours getting paint!!! Geez, Really! I was the second person to get helped however I needed two gallons of each color and we had to paint match. It didn't help that the guy helping me had to go to lunch in the middle of my order. The deaf gentleman that was left to fend for himself did the best he could but he was ambushed with customers. I finally got home, we ate some lunch and it was time to get busy again. I was starting to panic because the kids were supposed to be home in about 4 hours and we were no where near being ready for them to come home. I called Linda and she said they would love to keep them longer. Thank goodness!

We started painting Paige's room with the pink and I was thrilled! The pink was such a beautiful color and it was very easy to apply. It didn't take the three of us very long to knock out Paige's room and we were on to Ethan's room. We worked our rears off all day long and were finished painting both rooms around 7pm. Safe to say we were all exhausted and disgusting. It was time for showers and down time. The rooms looked so good!!!



Dallas decided to take advantage of the kids being gone and went to hang out with his brother and Kris. Cheyenne and I took advantage of the kids being gone by sitting in front of the TV. Ha! I sat as long as I could but the ocd in me took over and I had to go finish working on the kids rooms. I stayed up until midnight or so taking down tape, putting light covers back up and arranging the rooms. I was so excited!

Sunday morning we had to get the kids earlier because Linda had to go to work about 11am. We decided to send Dallas to get the kids so Cheyenne and I could put the house back together before they arrived. The house was a painted disaster area! He had to drive around the block a few times but we pulled it off just in time to welcome them home.

The kids had a very full weekend at their grandparents house and that too is a blog in itself. They were exhausted when they got home but they came alive regardless when they walked in the door. We were waiting with a camera in the playroom for their reactions...

The first discovery was the full size mattress we had laid in the playroom floor until we can get it moved. The bunk beds in Paige's room had to go since Ethan figured out how to climb onto the top bunk by himself. Cheyenne's oldest boy is going to use the bunk bed until we are old enough to be safely left alone in the room with it. They went nuts jumping on that mattress! I had to physically remove them to even get their shoes off.


Ethan eventually made his way into Paige's room and stopped and stared. He looked, pointed and smiled so big.



We had to pick up Paige and bring her into her room. She did the same thing. Just looked and smiled. She ran to her bed, her new princess table and she even ran to the wall and touched it. Priceless!



We then took them to Ethan's room and the reaction was just the same. They were amazed by their new colored rooms and so excited they didn't know what to do. They really wanted in their beds since they had been away from home all weekend. I took the front gate off their beds so they could freely get in and out of them.




They ran phsyco for the next hour. They ran from room to room, bed to bed and moved chairs between rooms. We all agreed that all our hard work was well worth it by their reactions!





The rooms are by no means finished we don't even have the borders up between the colors. The hardest part is done and now it is time for the fun part. I am currently shopping for the accessories for each room and the kids toddler beds are on order. We should receive their beds this week or next which is perfect since Ethan keeps crawling out of his crib. I can't believe how old the twins are getting but I love every single moment!


Mommy getting Thank You Kisses!

A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to Linda and Michael for keeping the kids and Cheyenne for working herself to death to help us finish on time! We Love and Appreciate you guys!

*PS- Ethan's room will ultimately be a Dallas Cowboys/Football room and Paige will have a pink and purple princess room. Yea!