Finding childcare

I had my first interview this afternoon with a potential caregiver for Isabelle - the woman runs a licensed, in-home daycare and happens to have a spot open for an infant. She has 10 kids total and employs a second licensed employee (in the state of California, an in-home facility with more than 7 children needs to have two licensed adults on site).

She has five children of her own and has been operating a licensed daycare for about 15 years. Additionally she's a former teacher and said she provides structured educational activities for the kids each day. The children that were there today were rambunctious (mostly little boys) but they also seemed well-behaved and they listened to her whenever she asked them to do something. They all came and looked at Isabelle sleeping in her car seat but none of them touched her - they stood several inches away and just watched her (the woman I was interviewing reminded them that they shouldn't touch her, especially on the face or hands).

I asked her for references and plan to call them, but I thought it was a good sign that most of the children who she was caring for today have been with her since they were babies - meaning her child turnover rate seems pretty low. And her licensed "helper" has been with her for 10 years so there is some stability there too.

She lives only two miles from me and Jason which would be convenient. Even better, she said she'd be willing to accept Isabelle on a part-time basis with the possibility that she may someday need full-time care...I'm going to continue working full-time but will be working from home two days a week to start, which will help our budget.