Feels like a good luck day.

It's a great day today for child care providers and other state employees in California because the legislature and governor finally passed a state budget, 100 days late. Devastating cuts for early child care but the welfare to work program, which has benefitted so many of my parents is fully funded. Everyone can take a deep relaxing breath now. I think.

This morning the children ran outside ahead of me and started screaming about a BUG!!!! I hurried out and to my delight they were watching a Praying Mantis more than two inches long. It's been years since we've had any of these in our yard. This one looked particularly intelligent. I am intrigued by the expression on that tiny face. Of course I had to run grab my camera. As I leaned the camera as close as possible to get a macro shot, the Praying Mantis reached up to the lens. I took the shot then let it climb on the camera and moved it to the flowering bush nearby. Then took more pictures. I am fascinated by these creatures that look like space aliens or something. The children decided it was a girl mantis and watched "her" for a long time. Seemed like it watched us as much as we watched it, turning its head as we moved. But our newest child, who hasn't yet learned to be gentle, pulled off all the flowers and the mantis disappeared. Nellie and I searched all over and couldn't find it. Hopefully it flew to another place of freedom.

One never knows what will turn a child on. Today as I cooked lunch our new little girl pulled all the little chairs away from the table and lined them up and decorated them. Then she went into the napping room and brought out the extra two chairs and lined them up too. She has a fertile imagination.

After lunch as I clean up the girls go choose books for me to read to them. I get such a kick out of how they read to each other. They have so many of the stories memorized. I love it that they love books. Once I asked a mentor (Bev Boz) how much we should read to children and she said to read to them until our lips fell off then read three more. So we do, ha.