Betsy, I'm so sorry. I hope it turns out to be a communication issue, rather than anything more serious.

Do day care centers generally have TVs for kids to watch? I haven't eve heard of such a thing, but my experience is limited (to an extreme), and I have never asked any of my friends specifically.

When do you go back to work, Aimee?

Most "centers" out here are private homes, at least, that I've found. I'm scheduled to go back Feb 21, but the opening at the school isn't until begining of March, so I'll go back after she starts.

I DON"T WANNA!!

I missed the discussion on waiting in doctor's offices yesterday. DH is insano about punctuality. The last three times he's gone to his doctor his wait hasn't been under 1/2 hour to get into the office (once it was 50 minutes!). He ALWAYS schedules the very first appointment of the morning. He finally told his doctor that this isn't acceptable. His doctor seemed shocked that he would make an issue about it and offered some lame excuses. DH finally said, "Look, I schedule the first appointment so I can get in here and get to work. How can you be 50 minutes behind if I'm the first appointment?" The doctor asked him several times, "What time do you want to come in?" DH gave up and told him he was switching practices.

The appointments were to check his cholesterol and blood pressure. His blood pressure was high every time they took it because of the long wait (He usually waited another 10-15 minutes once inside the exam room). I go to the same practice (different doctor). I've never had to wait longer than 15 minutes. And then my doc is right there, in and out. Weird.

My OB on the other hand, is always at least a 30 minute wait. And they don't keep ANY magazines in the office besides Fit Pregnancy and Child magazine. I started bringing my own books.

DH is insano about punctuality.

heh. I'm very pleased we beat you guys to Skyline, then!

I am, unfortunately, catless due to the extreme fees my apartment complex puts on owning pets ($250 non-refundable deposit + $20/month). Stupid apartment rules.

I got pretty lucky here. We technically aren’t allowed to have pets, but before I moved in I sent an e-mail to the landlord asking if Toto could move in (Bastet already lived here. Apparently cats aren’t a problem). She thought I’d already moved in, so she gave in, ‘cause she didn’t want my dog and I to be separated. It was really kind of sweet.

Toto and I did live in an apartment complex with the same rules as yours, though, for three years. It worked out ok. When you already have the pet, you’ll do just about anything to keep him/her. Plus, at that time I had a great job with a decent amount of money coming in, so it wasn’t such a problem. I wouldn’t be able to do that now.

We used to find Elliot sitting in my stock pots at the old place. He likes to sit in things. Boxes, pans, bags...Such a freak.

Bastet is the same way. She doesn’t sit in my pots, ‘cause I stack them in a way that she wouldn’t fit. But she sure tries sometimes. Boxes are her thing, though. We can’t throw them away. We’ve got a stack in the kitchen right now, and she just LOVES them. Her favorite is the box that my new coffee maker came in. Apparently, the first time she jumped in it, she was sitting on top of the styrofoam, and it collapsed. Totally freaked her out. I wish I had been here to see it.

We go to check out the daycare center we really want today.

Good luck! This must be so hard for you.

Shit, Betsy. That’s so scary. I hope you hear something soon.

I DON"T WANNA!!

Understandable.

Re: doctors' offices. I've been dealing with doctors my whole life for all kinds of fun and different reasons. My mom calls it the "hurry up and wait" syndrome. I try to always make sure that I have something to do or read. I swear, I spend half of my life in doctors' offices.

Shit. Betsy, I'm so sorry to hear that.

Keeping a good thought for your friend.

heh. I'm very pleased we beat you guys to Skyline, then!

Heh. I told him you guys were from out of town, so we shouldn't get there too early. You should here him complain about BANDS! It's so hilarious. When the bar advertises the band starts playing at 10:00 p.m., the band is usually still at the bar doing shots before their warm up. And Christopher sits there saying, "if I had a band, we'd start RIGHT at 10:00." I had to remind him it was "sex, drugs and rock & roll." NOT "punctuality, drugs and rock & roll."

Aimee, good luck with the search. Day care is part of the reason I decided to stay home. We have a friend who's son is in a Montessori school and he LOVES it. If I had to go back to work, that is where we'd take O. The other licensed day care centers (not private homes) I checked at had a six month waiting period! And would have cost over $9K a year (the government only allows you to take out $5K pre-tax for child care expenses. Feh.)

Job hunting is going to be a serious pain in the ass for us.

We cannot afford to have me NOT work, but we can't afford daycare until I'm working, and with waitlists and the fact that I almost always wind up in contract positions because there aren't enough "real" jobs out there? OY!

Betsy, I'm sorry. I hope they find your friend safe and sound.

I am, unfortunately, catless due to the extreme fees my apartment complex puts on owning pets ($250 non-refundable deposit + $20/month). Stupid apartment rules.

Our old apartment had a $300 pet FEE (non refundable) a $300 pet DEPOSIT (refundable if no major damage to the carpet) and $15 a month additional rent PER PET. Our only official pet at that point was Mac the dog.

I strongly encourage anyone who is pregnant or even TRYING to become so to check out day care centers ASAP. In some areas (i.e. mine), you have to get on waiting lists for the best centers BEFORE the child is CONCEIVED to get a spot. Eve is on the wait list for the on-campus facility, and is about 25th down right now, after having been on the wait list for 14 months.