Sunday, March 13, 2016

It's the Final Countdown!

Okay, so today is the day! I am going to be posting my very LAST (tear) blog post for my Technical writing class. I am going to try to keep up the ol' blog for all of my educational endeavors, in case I don't, you can keep up with me on here. If you are just now seeing this blog for the first time, HEY! I have been using this blog for the last two writing classes in college. I attend Lane Community College, in Eugene Oregon. My last assignment for my Technical Writing class is to write a proposal of some sorts. You can read about this assignment here.  I decided to take the opportunity to write the proposal on putting our daughter, Olivia in Childcare.
"All mommy wants to do is get her homework done!"

Olivia not wanting to let mommy get up


After about two weeks of preparation, and multiple drafts, here is my paper in full! Hope you like it, and hope Aaron really takes it seriously :-)

 ______________________________________________________________________________



MEMORANDUM







TO:               Aaron Smith, President of Smith Household INC.
FROM:          Crystal Smith, V.P & Domestic Engineer of Smith Household INC.
DATE:     February 25, 2016
SUBJECT:     Part-time Child Care for Olivia Grace Proposal






Aaron,


As you know I completely enjoy spending time with our two children, but along with my extensive, ever growing job title and responsibilities that comes with those titles, I am also a full-time student. I find myself noticing the need to socialize our daughter, create a structured environment, as well as continue her yearn for education based activities. I am proposing that we enroll her in an education based child care facility 2 days a week. Attached is the proposal, which includes, but is not limited to, the cost, schedule, and benefits to this proposed plan.


Sincerely, with love,


Crystal Smith









 ______________________________________________________________________________

 

INTRODUCTION

As Vice President and Domestic Engineer of Smith Household INC., my daily tasks are varied, yet extensive. The various titles that fall under my job description are, but are not limited to: Housekeeper, Chef, Event Planner/ Activities Coordinator, Teacher, Accountant, Psychologist, Chauffeur, Personal Assistant, CFO, Nurse, and Head of Procurement, just to name a few. While, yes I love my job, and enjoy a busy day, some days I would like to be able to rest my head on a pillow before 1 a.m. Not only do I have all of those titles under my belt, I also go to school full time. I spend at least 90 hours a week completing my job tasks, and I do it with little to no complaint. With this proposal, I am hoping to free up time from my day in the morning to take care of the tasks that I usually do from the hours of 10:30 pm - 1 am.  Enrolling Olivia Grace into a child care facility for only 12 hours a week will not only improve my productivity level, but increase morale within the company.

PROBLEM & SOLUTION

The time in which it takes to manage a corporation such as Smith Household INC. is extensive. The hours spent doing said tasks, racks up to, on average, 90 hours a week, and not all the tasks get consistently completed. There are many issues that have been arising with Olivia when I feel that some separation from the home and me would be beneficial. First issue is her complete obsession/need to be around me at all times. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy having her be my sidekick, but in order for me to work diligently, and get the things done that are required of me on a daily basis, I need some independence instilled into her so that she is not needing to be with me at all times. Second, I would like her to gain positive socialization skills. Ones that require her to interact with other children and adults. Third, and most importantly, in order for me to be the best I can be for this company (my family), I am going to need to start getting some sort of recharging time. Recharging time is, in my case, sleep. I stay up until at least 1 am doing homework, getting final things done around the house, and preparing for the next day. Running on 4-5 hours of broken up sleep does not bode well on anyone. Especially when what is required of that person is to be mentally, physically, and emotionally stable and alert. I am in no way saying that having Olivia around is a burden, or a hassle. But I do feel that there is a solution to all of these issues.

Having Olivia attend a childcare facility will allot me the extra hand in order for me to be more efficient and focused on certain tasks. It will cut out at least 10 hours of work time for me, allow me to be able to rest in the evening with my family,  enjoy some one on one time with Jaxson, as well as give Olivia some independence and socialization skills. There are prerequisites to where and what type of facility she will attend. The location has to be accredited with the state, has to run an education based program, be within 10 minutes to the office, offer part time positions, and be within the company’s budget.


PROPOSED LOCATION

After doing extensive research, which included interviews and tours, I have decided that 5c’s (Creswell Christian Child Care Center) is the best option for Olivia Grace. It runs an education based curriculum from ages 5 months to 5 years old. If we choose, it also continues through grade 12. 5C’s checks every box of my criteria list. The hours are 4 days a week, 3.5 hours a day. The cost of 5C’s is $210/ month, which after researching, is very reasonable.

BENEFITS

The schedule will go as follows: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we will be up, fed, dressed and ready to go by 8. She will arrive at 5C’s by 8:30 am. I then will take Jaxson back to the company and utilize that time to get what needs to be completed completed. I will pick her up right before 12, so that we can return for lunch, and Olivia and Jaxson can have their quiet time. This, in turn, will allow me more uninterrupted time, which I will most likely utilize for school work, and fitness time.  This will allow me to be more focused on being present with them once they break from their siesta, as well as more prepared for the evening tasks of that day.


PROJECTED COST

As previously mentioned, the monthly fee that we would be acquiring is 210. That breaks down to 52.50 a week, and $3.75 an hour. I feel that this company can cut back on other expenses in order to add this into the budget. The account in which the entertainment budget is pulled from can be reduced by $75 a month, The petty cash that is normally used to pay for random outings can also be deducted by $75, due to Olivia not being in the office Monday through Thursday, that reduces the amount of outings needed to be made. The last $60 can come out of the food budget. With her being gone, the food intake and waste will be less.  Below is a chart showing the old budget, and the new projected budget.



Current Monthly Budget
Projected Monthly Budget
Food:                                                 $600
Food:                                                 $525
Entertainment:                                   $270
Entertainment:                                   $195
Petty Cash/ Random Outings:           $150
Petty Cash/ Random Outings:           $90
Childcare:                                              $0
Childcare:                                          $210




CLOSING
In order for me to become the best mom, wife, student, neighbor, member of society, and V.P. of this company, I need to be able to get more rest. This change
can guarantee that you will see a happier, more pleasant, and rejuvenated person. As well as a more independent, structured, happier toddler. There is no set contract on how long she is required to attend 5C’s, so I propose we start on a month by month trial. I appreciate the time that you took out of your day to read this proposal, and I hope that you consider my proposition. 


 _______________________________________________________________



So there you have it! My last writing assignment for my college career! I hope that you have enjoyed taking part in my education. I am going to leave you with a little cuteness!
My first born, my tough girl, my dancer, my singer, my light, my love!

Fun day at the park

Nothing but love for her brother in Bend, OR

        
His smell is intoxicating, his kisses are addicting, and his snuggles are my life!   

Sunday, March 6, 2016

If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress

So, in my Technical Writing class, we were assigned as our last big project, a proposal. 
Not like this proposal
The night Aaron asked me to be his wife 
but like a business, or workplace proposal. You can see the assignment requirements here, but with this proposal, I decided to do something that would benefit me in the real world. I decided to write this proposal to Aaron, as if he was my boss, and suggest that we put Olivia in child care part time. (More on that actual proposal later)
We have been working on this project for about 2 weeks now, and my teacher has asked for a progress report. As some may already know, when you are given a large report of some sort to do at work, often your boss or supervisor will ask for an update on your progress. This assignment is to educate us students on how to write this in a professional manner. 
Here is my progress report:





_________________________________________________________

Memorandum

______________________________



To:              Sandy Jensen
From:         Crystal Smith   
Date:          March 3, 2016
Subject:     Progress Report on Child Care Proposal

This report is to inform you on the progress that has been made on the requested proposal on integrating child care into my family. The results that I have had while completing this proposal has been great. There have been minor set backs and issues that have come up, which I will explain more on that later, but I have been able to work around them, and found resolutions to. I am still on track to complete the proposal by March 13, 2016.

Progress to date
In the past two weeks I have researched, prepared, and outlined my thoughts in order to come up with a rough draft. I have found a great deal of information to share with you about how we would be able to integrate child care into our budget and schedule. I needed analyze our budget to see if it is even feasible,research and decide on 3 facilities, tour those facilities, and narrow my choice down to one. I do have a completed rough draft minus some minor details, as well as the budget chart. I have had two individuals from the class peer edit my paper. I am hoping to get more editing done, as the more the paper is seen the better it gets. The suggestions that my peers have made are on point as to where I want to go with this proposal. Since the bulk of the work is done, I am now going to work on making a chart/ graph to have a visual aide on the budget.

Problems Encountered
There have been very few problems that have occurred during this process. One was not being able to get a hold of two facilities in a timely manner. Even though I am working with a deadline, I needed to be able to not only contact the care facility to get information, but I feel it was detrimental for me to tour it as well. I wanted to see what went on at these locations, see how they interacted with the children, experience the activities offered, as well as how Olivia felt about each place. The second, and last issues was the budget, I am having a hard time finding a clean and concise way of making a display (visual aide) of our personal budget. I am sure that I will find a way to get it done.

Future Progress
In the next 5 days, as stated before I plan on completing the graph, finish final edits, and posting it on the blog. The last thing that I need to do is find a good picture/ pictures to accompany my proposal.

Conclusion
Although there is still much to be done, I feel that my overall progress has been on schedule. I do not feel that having the entirety of the project done by March 13, 2016 is unreasonable. It is a very realistic deadline and I do not think that I will have any issues meeting that deadline.


_____________________________________________________

 

Hope you are enjoying being apart of my education journey. I am going to leave you with a picture I took last week of Olivia and I doing our  "schoo-word" (1 year old talk for homework):
Olivia Grace 20 months old- 2/28/16