Our Funny Valentine

My funny valentine
Sweet comic valentine
You make me smile with my heart
Your looks are laughable
Unphotographable
Yet you're my favorite work of art...

Will you be mine?

It goes without saying that Jon and I share one very special and cute little Valentine this year! :) We wish all of you a beautiful year full of love and happiness.

This week has been busy with child care tours for us. We've already seen two and will be seeing two more tomorrow. We're on the fence about whether we should choose a location near our work or near home -- it seems like both options have their pros and cons. Right now all the tours are near our home until we decide whether to expand out near work (Mountain View) or not.

The first place we visited was really nice -- organized, spic and span clean, lots of great programs for learning -- they even have both Spanish and Mandarin classes available (for toddlers) that would be perfect for us. But our first tour was also a shock to me. The reality of my maternity leave being almost half over (yes, already! I return end of April) hit me as I stood in the infant room, watching 3 women caring for 12 screaming little babies. I also realized how much I am going to struggle with dropping our little Valentine off every day to a stark, cold, institutional facility - nothing like home - and though very good at what they do I am sure, he still will not get the same amount of love and attention that he gets now (how can he, when these poor women are caring for 4 babies to their 1??). Returning back to work is not going to be easy.

I liked the second place a lot more than the first -- it had a much more mellow atmosphere -- less rigid and institutional which felt more comfortable and appealing to me. Jon liked the structure and curriculum that the first center offered more. So, we'll see. We haven't made any decisions yet since we still have a few more to visit.... of course a lot will depend on which centers actually have spots available for the timeframe we need! :)

As I write this post, Logan does a number on my shirt, spitting up all down the front. I suppose there are a FEW things I won't miss when I return back to work! ;-)