Here it is, Friday again.

We don't have too many plans this weekend. If K.T.'s gotten over her sinus infection, she's coming down Saturday so we can spend some time together. Saturday evening is Matt's monthly D&D game. And Sunday is the usual chores.

The weather looks good, though, so hopefully Penny will get to spend some time playing outside. It's astonishing, how much exercise affects her sugars -- she was having a mild high when she got home from school yesterday, and just 20 minutes of running around with Ray between her bath and dinner dropped her by 50 points.

It looks like Matt and I are going to make some pretty big changes to our schedules when Penny starts kindergarten.

We're happy so far with the school itself. Obviously, as a public school, they're legally obligated to accept Penny and do whatever's necessary for her care, but so far I haven't detected any hesitation or reluctance from them on that score -- they have a full-time RN on staff, and one of the administrators is certified as a backup. Since they already have an older student with type-1 diabetes, they've already worked out things like scheduling and how to handle special events.

They're even going above and beyond, a bit -- it happens that the other student's mother works at the school as an aide. When they found out they were getting another diabetic student, she agreed to take the classes and get the certifications needed to be a second backup caregiver. (I admit that makes me somewhat happier than the idea of an administrator who's only called to do this a couple of times a year, when the nurse is out.)

So -- at least so far -- I'm feeling pretty confident that the school is going to do its best for Penny. Our problem is with the after-school care program. For starters, it isn't actually sponsored by the school, except for using the school's location. They have a contract with the county, but they're a private childcare company, which means they have the option of refusing to take responsibility for medical care.

I spent some time on the phone with them this week, and their corporate policy is that they don't do shots. Period.

"If she's on the pump by this fall, we might be able to take her," one woman told me.

Well, no, not really. Even on the pump, if the tubing fouls, or the cannula pulls out in the rough-and-tumble of play, then you have to revert to using a syringe until you can get the pump's line re-established. And if she were to have a major hypoglycemic episode and fall unconscious, then the emergency kit is another shot. (And in that case, standing around waiting for a parent or an ambulance to come and do it is risking her life.)

If she was on the pump, chances are pretty good that they wouldn't have to give her any shots -- but the possibility exists. And if they're not going to commit to everything necessary for my child's health, then I don't want my child in their care.

It's nothing against them. I'm sure they do a fine job with kids who don't have special needs. In another five years, when Alex is getting ready to start kindergarten, I'll happily sign him up for the program if we need it.

But we may not need it, because Matt and I decided that we're just going to do it ourselves.

Matt's office already has a lot of telecommuters, so he thinks he could pretty easily get permission to work from home every afternoon. Penny will have to learn to entertain herself while he's working, but she'd only be home during his working hours for an hour or so, which is pretty reasonable.

In the meantime, my work hours are fairly flexible and I have a very understanding boss. Instead of working 7:30-4:00, I can work 8:30-5, and that lets me be with Penny in the mornings until it's time for her to go to school. On that schedule, she can even eat breakfast at home, and then the school doesn't have to worry about dosing her until lunchtime.

(It's still kind of up in the air how we'll work Alex's drop-off and pickup schedule into this, but that kind of depends on where we end up placing him.)

In any case, we'll be making some changes this fall. It makes me sad and frustrated that the care program is exclusionary, but I'm glad we'll have the flexibility to make this work.