I'll take it

Last night, Madi refused to eat any strawberries so I told her:

"I'll get you some blueberries, Madi."

Madi looks at me and says: "Poo."*

I think she was going for "blue" so it's good enough for me.

Things are interesting as all of us are sick. I'm glad I took the girls to the doc on Wednesday - Lily had a puss filled ear infection and Madi had the beginnings of one. So they are on antiobiotics. wheeee! Lily never even told me that her ear hurt. I swear.

What else? I've got ants in my pants or something because I've been trying to organize stuff today. I think it was hearing a thing on the radio about hoarding. I'm not an extreme hoarder but I am guilty of not knowing what to do with things, or where to put them, and letting them pile up. So I've been going through things with extreme prejudice. Most of the time, this means I'm carrying hand loads of pens to the study, but still. :)

Best wishes for everyone for the New Year. Let's hope it doesn't suck!

* She loves blueberries and eats them by the handful - so it does give her interesting poop. I wasn't sure if that's what she was referring to.

Holy crap

So Madi has kept us up the last few nights. I hope it's a sign of changes to come - I mean, she tends to get restless at night right before she grows/learns a new skill. She was screaming for hours this morning and yes we gave her pain meds. She fell asleep 30 minutes before the alarm. *eyes* So all 3 of us are home today. We didn't get up til 10. Alright, they got up at 9:30 but I couldn't get my eyes open until 10. Satisfied??! :)

So I don't know what to do with Madi. I honestly feel like she's killing me. I know it sounds melodramatic but I swear I can see myself age every time I look in the mirror! What the frack.

And she's not that sweet anymore either. Pedro went into the bathroom last night and shut the door and she got mad and kicked one of my cowboy boots several times down the hall, stomped her feet and yelled. Until I told Pedro to hurry it up and get her in the bath! He gave her a shower and said she stomped in there like she was the boss. Geez.

What else? I guess I could go out today and get Madi a new school bag and some kitty litter. Unrelated. :) Hope everyone else is having a much better week!

hmmm

Well, in the good news department, Madi has started spinning. I know that sounds weird but she's interested in doing new things. And I swear last night, she said as clear as a bell, "super duper duper." I don't think she knows what she says but at least she's trying things out and that's important.

Also, she's got a cough and was up all night... with Pedro. whew I got a little sleep.

Riley just threw up all over the kitchen floor. wheeee! I don't know what to do with him. I've spent so much money (literally thousands of dollars now) and we don't know what's wrong with him. I just give him pills. Sigh.

BG peed on Madi's school bag and I tried using the stuff I have from the vet's office but it still stank (stunk?) so I had to throw it out. Anybody want some cats???

I guess that's it. Yes, I have a lot of pictures that I need to put up but nothing ever seems to be where I need it, ie. phone, cable and me.

Yorktown

We had a fun time in Yorktown. Well, most of us did. *eyes*

I was happily talking to Stacy after our successful trip to see Santa and not paying attention to Madilyn. Madi remedied this by throwing a noodle at me. I love that child but she is growing up to be a spitfire!

Let's see, Lily, Stacy and I went to Yorktown beach and then to the Victory Memorial (commemorating the US and French victory over the British) and listened to a choir and then the Fife and Drum people. Don't know what to call them. It was great. Then we were given "candles" and we followed the fifers and drummers through historical Yorktown down to the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

It felt... Like participating in an age old tradition. The Christmas tree thing started in 1945? but the procession felt much older. I'll have to research it. Anyway, it was an amazing night, cold and clear. :)

Then Santa Claus came. Lily was so cute. She cupped her hand to her mouth so she could really whisper in Santa's ear. I have a pic that I'll put up. I know, I know. I haven't even put up her birthday pics. gah

We picked up some pasta from Joe and Mimma's. Good thing Sarah and Pete were already on a cruise. :) I don't know, our food has always been good from there! Everybody dug in. :)

Saturday, we went back to the beach so we could look around a little bit. Madi kept me up a lot so I wasn't into a lot of exertion. I finally found the historical trail that you drive on. That was fun. We didn't see everything but we did see the French mass grave. It felt the most "real". A lot of the signs say "in the field to your right.." Well, there's nothing there so it's hard to imagine but the graveyard felt still and sacred.

That just reminded me of the time that my mom took me to my grandfather's grave, when I was about 10. I read a lot and had come across the phrase, dancing on someone's grave. So I asked her if that was his grave and when she said yes, I started dancing like mad on it. *snort* My g-pa wouldn't have been mad. He and I were tight like that. :) (We shared milkbones but that's another story)

My mother, however, looked like her mouth was full of sour milk.

hahahahahahhahhhaha

Quickie

I'm so tired so I'll just note some recent stuff. :)

Madi waved goodbye today at school. Huge deal.

We swear she said "sister" the other day and they've started forcing her to speak at school before she gets her snack. Obviously, not forever, just for the first bite. She's coming around.

Today, I gave her a diaper and told her to take it to the TA, which she did.

Madi is definitely getting there. We wish that she would talk. She now licks her lips to let us know that she's hungry. I applaud her efforts to communicate but still would like her to talk. And yes, we've had just about everything tested. Everything that's supposed to work, does.

What else? Had a great visit at Thanksgiving with g-ma, g-pa, Nicole and Claire. Madi was the only kid to sit and eat. When she wants to eat, you can't give her food fast enough. :) Too funny.

ummmm Can't think of anything else right now. I hope everyone's having a good week and peace out!

Viva Las Vegas

Okay, so I had that quick little trip to Las Vegas. It was a lot of fun. Moreso than the last time I went, because the last time was about the skincare convention and I was taking classes and had to be up early, etc. This time it was just to do what I wanted to do! I mean, once the birthday girl had her say.

First off, I got SO lost on the way to the airport. An airport that I have been too at least three times already. I think the instructions that I printed off were wrong because I was looking for an exit that wasn't there. I had to pay three tolls. Pay a toll, turn around, pay another toll, try to get out of the freaking neighbourhood pay another toll. Holy smokes. I turned on my phone's GPS and we were doing fine until it changed the destination on me. I actually drove past VCU in downtown Richmond. That's not the airport, folks.

Oh, and the worst snafu I hit was actually locking Pedro's keys in the car while it was running. VWs are supposed to have this gizmo in the door that will never let it lock without using the key to lock it, or the FOB thing. But his door wasn't closing properly so it half closed the last time and I saw the lock down and I thought, well it's supposed to pop right up if I push it. No. It locked so at 3:25am I was throwing all of Pedro's stuff out of his drawer trying to find the spare key. I did find it but I left an unholy mess. Oh well.

Okay, so I finally make it to the airport. I had time, because I try to always give myself enough time. I was lost for about 20 minutes. Jeez.

The flights were fine. I usually never have problems with United, which is now Continental. Actually, the flight from Cleveland to LV was fun. There were three of us ladies in a row, all with varying shades of red hair and all kind of artsy fartsy. We were all super nice to each other too. It was funny. :)

However, do not take the shuttle from the airport. It was the cheapest option ($6) but we had to listen to a guy trying to sell cheap tickets to shows if we went and checked out some time-shares. One guy got off of the shuttle and they saw him get into a cab. They didn't understand why he did it. I did, because I was about to do the same thing. Longest trip of my life. On the way back, I just took a cab. Better for my health. *rolling eyes*

The Monte Carlo is maybe a shade better than MGM. If you haven't been to the MGM in a while, it's smoky, loud and filled filled with yelling drunk people who then have loud sex in the next room. Or so I noticed the last time I was there. Monte Carlo was a little bit nicer, but the rooms were kind of shabby and in need of some fixing. Karie's sofa was downright terrifying.

I did actually sleep like a log on the last night that I was there. I was STILL tired when I got up.

I'm trying to think of the highlights. We did go out on Friday but even with a nap I was still exhausted from getting up at 3am and then doing all that traveling. So we had a nice dinner and went to a piano bar. Which was a little divey. When did I turn into such an old woman? :)

My friend Lynn and I were really tired so we went back to our room after trying to find me flip flops. I already had blisters. If there's one thing guaranteed in Las Vegas, it's expensive drinks and lots of walking.

So the next morning, I see Lynn off and since she got a text from Karie at 9am, I figured that Karie and Corey were awake. I text them, "I'll be there in two minutes" which was more like 30 seconds. I knocked once and heard something mumbly, so I banged harder on the door. :) Basically, I woke them up and made them get up and have breakfast with me. *snort* Then we all got ready and went to the shooting range.

There were five of us and Vegas cabs are only allowed to take four passengers. There were two stretch SUVs out in the middle of the taxi parking lot so we waved to them and asked how much. One guy held up six fingers, so we hoped it was $60 and not $600. Yes we rode in a stretch SUV (I thought it was a hummer) to the range. We laughed the whole way there. :)

The range was expensive but few ranges offer the chance to shoot fully automatic weapons. Fully automatic means you hold down on the trigger and shoot all of the rounds at once. My FN is semi-automatic, so I have to pull on the trigger each time for each shot. Anyway, I got to shoot a 1911, shotgun, Uzi and an AR15. I fell in love with the last gun. So easy to shoot, didn't kick like the shotgun and easier to handle than a handgun or the Uzi. Sigh.

So we all had a blast. :)

After that we went to Hooters, because I'd never been to one. I can't say it was all that and a bag of chips. The wings were greasy and the waitress seemed barely functioning. She came to me with ALL of the food. Every time. Like, I know I'm fat but don't you think other people at the table are eating too? *eyes*

So, I had raspberry lemonade. I was so thirsty. lol Then everyone else kind of pooped out. It's like someone dragged them out of bed early or something. *cough* I dressed up a little and bought some cupcakes and wandered around the casino. Some weird guy with a weirder eye sat beside me. Most of the slot machines were empty so I wasn't too impressed. But I ate my cupcake and found somewhere else. I actually won $125 which put me about $100 ahead. I cashed out immediately and then found a $10 store in the hotel. I got Lily an awesome tiara. Unfortunately, she now thinks she's royalty. She told me I don't have the same ears as she does because I'm not royal. She's about to get a royal butt spanking.

Anyway, the trip back was mostly uneventful. Both flights were early - hence why I like United. Usually half my flights are early. :) I had a safe drive back and both girls were still up when I got home. :) So it was probably shorter than it should have been. I mean, my body just feels sore. Sitting in airplane seats with only a one day break was kind of a lot to deal with. Oh well.

I hope that Karie enjoyed her birthday. I had fun being on my own. I shouldn't admit this but I was walking around my room naked quite a bit! LOL With the curtains shut. It just felt so nice to be ALONE for the first time in ages. :)

Yay

Lily had a dentist visit yesterday. The hygienist said her teeth were "spotless". yay! I used to have a lot of issues when I was little. I always had cavities and that's something that I want to avoid for Lily. It's bad enough that she has a wicked crossbite that will need taking care of in the future. *eyes*

Today we see Madi's doc. I haven't been giving her that medication anymore. It kind of makes me laugh to think of how excited I was to use something to help her sleep. It only helped about 30% of the time. The rest of the time, it made her cry for hours on end. In the middle of the night. AND it was making her walk funny. Really. Her PT commented on it and I did notice it myself but figured she was experimenting. Since I've stopped the meds, her walking has changed back to normal and yes, the PT noticed too. :) Weird right? Anyway, today is for a blood pressure check but I'll tell the doc that I"m not using the clonidine anymore.

I can't believe that in a week from now I'll be in Las Vegas. There just seems like WAY too much to do. *exhale*

Ugh

So I'm alive. I'm still on antibiotics. I got to this point with the stomach thing where I knew I wasn't going to beat it by myself. I've been feeling so much better this week. I mean, I wasn't getting any nutrition or hydration from my food last week and I started to feel so weak. That's when I knew I needed to see my doc.

I did lose five pounds so, there's that.

Let's see... Madi has been a little star lately. Oh, she still wakes me up but she's trying to talk. She said "bush" this morning before I brushed her hair. She's listening to more commands - she gets her blankie and binkie when I tell her to. So things are going on in there. And I swear she just grew another two inches.

Her teachers say she's doing amazing. Of course, she still has Madi moments but one day she held hands with another classmate all the way to the gym. On the way back, she laid down and refused to walk. *snort* She kills us.

I think that's it for now. I have to get Lily to the dentist and, of course, this is the first day this week that Madi has had a nap as soon as we got home. All I want to do is lay down.... Argh.

Ugh

I am so sorry that I've dropped the ball over here. I have some sort of stomach virus thing. I've been up most nights sitting on the toilet. I know, it's gross and I'm even more sleep deprived than I was last week. Which is saying something.

I see the doc tomorrow, although if it is a virus, there's not a lot that I can do. And I swear, I think I'm over it and then it flares back up again. I hope it's not something new that I'm developing. Good grief.

I'll be going to Las Vegas in two weeks with a suitcase full of Depends.

Week from....

Wow. It has been an interesting week. It's been crazy! I don't even know how I made it to Friday!

Okay, Madi hasn't been sleeping well. I think last night was the best sleep I've had in a week.

I'm on some medication that makes me nauseous. Sleep deprived and nauseous? Yay!

Both girls have/had field trips this week.

Madi was bit by a zebra on hers. She's okay. Now she has a war story.... once she starts talking.

Oh and Madi is now sick too so she's on antibiotics. wheeee!

Both girls threw up last night but both of them are hungry this morning so, yay!

There's a trunk or treat tonight. I hope Madi can go but I don't want to expose her to the cold when she's sick. :/

And I have to take Madi with me to Lily's field trip, since she's too sick to go to school. I figure we only have to stay an hour, if need be. Geez Louise.

ummm

It might be Day 47? I guess no one really cares anymore. *snort*

I am so tired. This new medication for Madi has been one big debacle. And it's the week before Hallowe'en and I have STUFF TO DO. I am sitting here, two blinks away from sleep, trying to figure out what needs to be done for tomorrow. argh

Tomorrow, is Madi's first field trip. :) I think she's beating Lily, in that respect. Lily goes on her field trip Friday. wheeee doggies!

And I signed up for Trunk or Treat at Madi's school, Friday evening. I have to decorate the back of my car and hand out candy. Sweet mercy. I wanted to do stuff. Carpe diem. You never know what you'll be able to do next year. Do it while you can. :)

Did that make sense? I'm exhausted. But after this week, things should calm down. Should. *eyes*

Geez

So we've been trying the new medication and it's just not doing us any favors. Madi doesn't sleep so much as dozes all night and wakes me up frequently. It's awful. Using no medication was better, at least she'd sleep four or five hours at a time before waking up. This napping is awful.

I'm going to try and get in contact with the specialist. I'm pretty sure this isn't what he had in mind.

It's so funny because Madi had one really great day last week and that was it. I'm not sure if her body has to get used to it....?

Anyway, we managed to have some fun this weekend. If I find my phone I'll put up pics. :)

Day 45

So Madi did NOT sleep through the night. We saw the pediatrician today and her blood pressure is great so we're going to up her dosage. I guess that was the game plan all along. We'll have to go back in another week and make sure her blood pressure is still okay.

So I'm surviving this week. It's been Lily's birthday, new doctor's, new medication, gearing up for Halloween and field trips. It's been... something. :) Friday, as far as I know, I have nothing planned so. wheeee! I might get groceries. :P

This weekend I want to take Lily for a pony ride. And I think that's about it. Although, we might have to think about getting birthday presents for all the birthday parties coming up. Oi vey.

Oh and Madilyn took matters in her own hands today. And by matters, I mean poo. Pedro said she took her diaper off. Flung some poo in one direction and used the rest to play with in the toy corner. I was at an appointment. I asked him why he didn't stop her and he blamed Lily for not telling him.... *eyes*

Day 44

Well, I was having a little nap but someone decided to stomp around in the bathroom... Pedro's at work so that eliminates the usual suspect. ha!

We think Madi slept through the night. I didn't hear her and Pedro didn't come in to wake me up so... Her teacher said she had a fabulous day. She came to the "circle" on her own. Sat down on her own and actually tried to participate.

This is HUGE.

Yesterday, I thought someone was standing outside of my car. It was Madi, almost sounding like she was talking. :) She's getting so close! It might be why she had a few bad nights - making that next developmental leap.

Here's hoping.

Day... 42? 43?

Oops. Had a sick day and then skipped one so I'm not sure. I'll go with 43 and if anyone else is better at counting then you can correct me.

So Madi kept me up from 3:15 til almost 6. Pedro said she'd already kept him up for an hour before I got in there. Thank heavens for ear plugs, huh? This was with her medication. Poor thing. I was holding her and she'd fall asleep and then her body would spasm and she'd wake up again. We see the doc on Thursday and I'll let her know. I guess it could be seizures. She's done this since she was an infant. Her pediatrician figured that her nervous system was immature and it seemed like a decent explanation at the time. But now she's well over 2 years old...

However, in the good news department, she was playing with her toys and brought me a toy cup. This is huge because it's the start of independent play. They said that the PT was amazed at what Madi was doing today. She said Madi was doing stuff she wasn't doing 2 weeks ago. I don't know what those things are because I didn't get to talk to her.

And yes, today was Lily's birthday. It mostly came off without a hitch. I brought her cupcakes, juice, candles, plates, etc. Another mom brought pizza! How nice was that? I don't know why. Anyway, in true Sonia fashion, I showed up early and it was lucky. There are two teachers but they bounce around and help other rooms. So I was helping hand out the juice and pizza and just trying to keep up with everyone. Some of the kids have allergy issues so the other teacher was on the phone checking with parents and the other one had to help in another classroom.

It was just a good thing that I was there. :) ( Not that they can't do it without me, I'm sure)

I'll put pics up tomorrow. I have a busy morning in town. I'll be dropping the girls off and then racing around. wheeee! Thursday is also busy, so I'm holding out for Friday. :) I don't want to go anywhere this weekend. Oh and Lily has two birthday party invitations on the fridge so I guess things are just going to keep on being busy. :)

I'm trying to think.... I had a pretty set up in the dining room for when Lily got home. Fancy balloons held down by a little pile of presents. Hey, I tried. I didn't give her a big fancy party but she got a little party at school - WHICH SHE LOVED and then got the loot once she got home. And we took her out for Chinese food. whew I think she had a good day. :)

More pics (DER)

Alright, we'll see how this goes. I hate trying to write around photos in blogger... Oh yeah, I said it! Oh the little boy was trying to teach Lily how to fish.. in a rain barrel. :) Too cute. He was a little pistol. There were a few of us posted around the kettle keeping him from getting burned. whew













It was the most beautiful day. And I tried to capture that. I really, really did. Except for the wild creature in the lower corner. He kind of fits after all. :) He's related to Stacy and after a few years and a lot of medical treatments, his cancer is finally in remission. Seems wrong to be saying that about a 6 year old. I mean, I'm glad he's better! But he shouldn't have been so sick in the first place. Not fair.












The kettle! Where the magic happens. The guys had to keep it stirred constantly, for HOURS. And that, whatever it is, looks heavy. I declined my chance to stir. I honestly could picture myself knocking the whole thing over.















So Lily had her last ice skating class and complained the whole time that I was taking her boots off and getting her changed that she was starving hungry and needed food. She dragged me to the farmer's market and what did she eat? NOTHING She got her face painted instead. I swear. Did she ask me? Oh no, she just sat right down and told the girl what she wanted. She was VERY clear. It was hilarious. Little stinker.











Ahhh the finished product. I think we had almost 20 gallons of apple butter? mmmm I had some for breakfast. Haven't found a penny yet. I'm not sure why, but you have to throw pennies in it to keep it from sticking to the pot? Copper pot. It was fun. It was a beautiful day with a lot of fun people. :)

Pics (I mean, OBVIOUSLY)

argh

I know I dropped the ball for a few days. Sorry! It's been a crazy week. It's Lily's 5th birthday next week, so I've been practicing making her cupcakes for school. The teachers are going to let me bring in cupcakes to share with her classmates. I waited too late to plan a party. Again. Sigh. Did I mention this already? I'm so tired.

Anyway, we tried out the new medication for Madi. It worked the first night. She did sleep through the night. The second night, I had trouble splitting the pill and then I mixed it at the bottom of the bowl of yogurt instead of the top and I'm not sure she got it all. She did NOT sleep through the night last night. Oi vey.

So I think I got my act together for tonight. Here's hoping, or my butt will be dealing with her. Sigh.

Lily had her last skating class today. She is getting better but she's not quite ready for the next class. We'll put her in the same class level again and if she gets better she'll be bumped up. Sounds good. :) I really need to skate with her. I wonder if I should take the painkillers before or afterwards? Her teacher assured me it would all come back to me. Color me skeptical. I used to skate a lot! Every Sunday for a couple of hours and then rush home to watch Tarzan. How many of you remember those days??? :)

What else... Lily and I went to Stacy's house to help make apple butter. It's quite a production! Fire pit, huge copper kettle. I know it was a lot to do but I hope they do it again! Soonish. I'm definitely having biscuits and apple butter for breakfast. :) Pedro was kind of a sour puss and said that I'd have to deal with Lily when she got bored. Psha, I say. I knew Stacy's cousins' kids were going to be there. I had to drag her out of a mud puddle/pond so we could go home if that's any indication of how her day went. :) Huge property, lots of kids... She had a great day. :)

I, however, am about to drop. I had to prepare for today, last night. Got a chili in the slow cooker at 8am. That kind of stuff. omgosh. I hope I have a good sleep tonight. :)

Next week: Lily's birthday, and Madi's first field trip to a farm. (If it's not rained out) Whee doggies!

Day 40

I think. Another holiday messed us up. It looks like Madi had a good day. She was Feisty McAdams when I picked her up today. Lily had a good day but she's considering Carson boyfriend material now so that's a concern.... I mean, I chased the boys when I was 5. I didn't even think about boyfriends until I was 11? 12? She's 4@!

I haven't heard back from our pediatrician yet but I really want to get started on that sleeping medication. Madi had a good sleep last night, Pedro had to help her out a little bit. What if she got a good night's sleep every night? Would it help her development??? I hope so.

Well, I'm enjoying my moscato and my rotini with alfredo sauce and baked chicken. And snow peas! I read an article that vitamins aren't as helpful as previously thought so I made sure we all got our veggies and fruit today. And yes, I'm sure in 10 years time, vitamins will be amazing again. Remember when people used to tan with butter? ummm I guess we haven't gone back to that yet. hmmm Well, I had a point, dammit. Even if it was a tipsy bad one.

Finally

Madi and I (and Lily) went to KCRC. Fortunately, there was a playroom with an attendant so I left Lily there while Madi and I saw the doctor. I guess this guy was new because he was actually helpful. hahahaahh No, I mean, he really was. He said that he's seen a total of 3 Cris du Chat kids in his time practicing and he ain't no spring chicken. He said those kids are rare but rarer still are kids like Madi who have a partial deletion. He said it's only been in the last few years that the genetics tests have been good enough to detect anomalies like Madi's.

So he knows his stuff. Hurrah!

He encouraged me to go back to the genetics doctor and get more of an explanation. And also to go online and find parent support groups related to Madi's issues. He said because it's "new" sometimes parents have more info than docs because they've already tried so many things. There's no framework in place to treat someone like her. I've basically got all bases covered.

And I adored him because he said there's nothing that I can do to make Madi sleep. Yes, a routine is important but her sleep issues are neurological. He wants me to be more aggressive in treating her sleep issues because sleepy time is when kids develop and grow. Not to mention, we're all one step away from being zombies. He recommended a drug to help keep Madi asleep. I'll use the melatonin to get her to sleep (if needed - usually it's not) and then the other stuff to help her stay asleep. I can't remember the name of it. lol

I was up til 2:30 coughing. I have my own prescriptions to pick up. *eyes*

So yeah, I'm not disheartened that there's no way of officially treating her because I already had a sense of that. We'll keep up with school and hopefully take whatever comes. :)

Skating

So, yes, Lily still goes to skating lessons but since she wears the same thing every time, it seems useless to take pictures. She's doing better. She doesn't fall down but she doesn't move very fast either. I'll need to bite the bullet and skate with her. Am I the only one who sees this as a huge mistake? It's been decades since I last skated and there are no cute analogies about never forgetting how to skate. I'm pretty sure I have no idea and I'm also sure I might crack the ice with my big butt. There I said it.

Lily and I did a lot of shopping today too. Oh and I had my car fixed. There was a recall thing and I noticed that my gas mileage improved dramatically today. *eyes* Then we went to Target and I spent way too much money. But I needed another winter comforter. It gets very tense at my house in the winter time. :[

Then we got groceries and poor Lily was crying the whole time. Not sobbing but just so tired and sore. Poor thing. I got her some gum for being a good sport. Hey that's a big deal to a 4 year old! Daddy and Madi were already home by then so we kind of dragged ourselves back.

I guess that's it. Lily is hovering over me waiting for me to play with her. Pedro is asleep. Madi is watching tv. Yeah, I'm a great mom. :)

Day 39?

I wonder if I should even keep on counting...

So life is crazy. I guess I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean, it's mostly good stuff. Car recall, Madi school field trip, Madi doctor's appointment, Lily's birthday. my doctor appointments. I'm glad that we can all get the care we need. I'm not really making much sense. Of course, as sleep deprived as I am, I rarely do.

Life is just so busy with two little kids and I'm getting the sense that it will become busier. I talked with another mom yesterday who told me that there this is still room in a ballet class at a local gym. I know Lily wants to do ballet but holy smokes, I already feel like we're on the run all the time.

I'm debating whether or not to put her into a second skating session just because I'm so darn tired! I guess I need to such it up and be a mom but... I think I need to book myself a two hour massage.

And Madi has not been sleeping well. We're not sure what's going on this time. I'm glad that we take her to the specialist on Monday but as I've learned, just because you see a specialist it doesn't mean you're actually going to get any answers or help. But I go through the motions because I figure this is laying the ground work for whatever services she might need in the future. *exhale*


******

hahahahaha I meant suck it up. I am tired.

Day 38

Fortunately, no one was killed with carpentry tools. I found my book.

Ugh. One of the kids in Madi's class has started talking. Last week he said "mama" this week he said, with difficulty, "bye bye Madi". It was more like, "bye bye Dee". But still. I'm like, COME ON MADI!

ARgh

She is understanding more and more and copying our laughs so... argh

She's a great kid and good at problem solving. I don't know why speech is an issue. Okay, I know the OTs have said that if a kid is low tone it's a lot of effort to talk. But she runs around kicking a soccer ball now! She's not all that weak!

I think Lily had a good day at school. She's being kind of coy about it which means she probably got in trouble. If it's something big then the teachers let us know. I'm working with her teachers to have a very small birthday celebration for her. I left it too late to plan anything (again) so I thought if I bring in cupcakes, and they sing her a little happy birthday song, she'll be thrilled! She said all she wants for her birthday is cake so.... :)

Day 37

I think. Still not a lot happening. Madi goes to school. Does her thing. Comes home. Does her thing. Still no talking. It's kind of frustrating. And she's not sleeping well right now.

OMG I'm having a rough time with my pedometer. It has a really small screw to put in the battery so that took a while for me to take care of. Now I have the battery in and the freaking instruction book is gone. Do you ever just want to take a hammer to everyone's head? GAH

Day 35, sick sick sick

Pedro is still sick. He has an infection that I won't go into but he's been very ill and is now on antibiotics.

Madi was screaming and pulling at her ears so I had to go and pick her up from school. No fever, no ear infection. Just a little sore throat. I think she found a way to get mommy to school...

I have the same sore throat and I ran today so it's not THAT bad. Lily is the only one of us that is healthy so I was working her like a dog today. Just kidding. She has been really helpful. She did get to play outside with the neighbors' kids for a while. I think they're in middle school or highschool but they have fun.

Anyhoo, I have to sleep with both girls again. Pedro sweated through his sheets last night and expects to do the same tonight... I know it's not his fault that he's sick but my workload is maxed. argh And we don't know what or how he got his infection so he needs to be apart from the girls for another day at least. :p

Yay us!

In the good news department, I did enjoy sweeping off the back deck today and I managed to pick up some dead branches. I have some free time and I still do work. bah!

Day uhhh 34?

Well, not much is changing with Madi. She made a lot of strides when she first got to school. I'm not surprised that she's plateaued a bit.

Lily, however, is becoming even more social. I didn't even know that was possible. It makes my heart glow when we leave her school and I hear kids yelling her name. I'm not saying she's the most popular kid. She just likely is. Kidding! :) I think she has a lot of fun at school. I don't necessarily understand all that she's talking about when she tells me about her day. I'm sure it makes sense to her. I thought Lulu was a toy until I heard someone yell "LULU" and a 3 year old girl toddled on by.

Well, another day of ice skating tomorrow. wooooo!

I hope..

that some of y'all have read this story.

Yes, it's getting sadder and harder to read but I think it's important to try and enjoy a moment out of each day. You may not be a four year old dying of cancer but let's just remember how precious and amazing life is.

Okay, now I'm off to belly dancing. Carpe diem, people!

Day 32

Well, Madi had a good day, I think. She tried to nap during her lunch (at school). They said she annihilated all of her food. Usually her lunchbox is half full at the end of the day but today there was a sad collection of goldfish crackers and that was it!

She was a monster last night too. I guess we have a growth spurt coming up. :)

Lily had a good day. On the way into school she was behind once of her classmates, Carson. She yells out "Carson, do you remember that I like you?!". His mom bust out laughing. phew Leo is no longer at the school and I often wonder if Lily's affections were responsible for that... lol Anyway, she said that Carson said he likes her too. And her friend Josie.

Uh oh.

WTH

Seriously? I wrote banana bread below but I meant carrot cake. Major mommy brain today. I left my purse at home, so I had to drive the speed limit this morning. hahahahaa

I totally forgot my flu shot appointment and the girls' on Friday. *rolling eyes* And I've been getting more sleep, that's the scary part. Maybe I still don't get enough..

S.I.G.H.

Day 31?

I kind of lost track. There wasn't a lot going on yesterday.

Today, they said Madi had a good day. The therapists worked her pretty hard. She checked out pretty fast on the way home.

Lily had a good day. They did "arting" and she did the SPIDERWEB. Okay, already. Geez.

Trying to get into fall but it's still kind of hot and humid. blech At least I made some amazing banana bread. ;) I"m not sure what that had to do with anything but it made me happy.

And tonight, for dinner, we will be having homemade potato soup (I love this recipe) and homemade bread. I hope. The dough is rising and I have all the ingredients but I've learned with two kids, that you never know WHAT's going to happen.

Oh yeah, Madi has 3 little dots on her face and the teacher told me to check around her waistband tonight and make sure it's not chicken pox. No, really.

Yes

... this is now on my iPod.

The Skate Princess

Lily did so much better today. WOW Poor Pedro went to an airshow and was rained out. So he missed it. She was almost skating. She can turn now and even jump. A little. :) It was so nice to see because she really didn't want to go back. I told her she needed to finish her lessons and then she wouldn't have to go back.







Oh and my handgun request was approved! wheee! It took about 5 hours. I guess it had to go through Canadian law enforcement agencies. I wasn't totally hung up on getting one but I'm glad that I can. Was that English? I'm dead tired and Lily is pestering me with questions. Oh and we got her a riding helmet. It was just $30 so she can go to the lessons down the road. wheee! I feel like instead of slowing down, life just kicked from first gear to second.

Mercy.

Day 29

Well, hmmm Today was better than yesterday. Although, that didn't take much! Lily and I made it to the gym and I'm slowly making my way back up to running 2.5 miles. I'd really love to just be able to run 3 miles without trying. lol There's this woman at the gym who works out on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes or so and then runs for an hour. I'm like, wow. I don't think I'll ever be able to do that. I'll bet she can't belly dance. Just kidding. :)

So Madi was a PITA again today. (Pain In The Ass) There were only three kids at school instead of the usual five and those three managed to wear the teacher and the TA out. Madi's been a pistol at home too. Throwing everything. Ah well. Sorry, my belly is full of penne and meatballs. It's hard to get worked up about anything!

I made chocolate chip walnut banana bread. yummm Lily wanted to cut her own piece and I really should've watched her because she took a quarter of the whole thing. *eyes* So there's one teeny chunk of it left. lol Oh well. It's nice to watch your kids enjoy something. Even Madi got in on the action. The sofa is still recovering from the Great Banana Bread Fight of 2011.

I swear.

Day 28

What a horrible day. I don't even want to write about it because then I'll need to remember it again. Okay, so no one I know died (that I know of). Lily got hurt at school but not badly (I was going to write "no one got hurt" but then I remembered).

whew So there was a "popping" package at the Palmyra post office. Palmyra, the small town that sits on route 15 that I drive through four times a day to take Lily to and from her school. At first, one road was closed but so congested no one was moving, so I had to drive all the way home, past my house and then take the other way to school. argh This was stressful.

Pedro stayed home today, which at first annoyed me because I wanted a quiet morning at home but it paid off later.

So I finally get Lily to school and I go to the framer's to get my repaired picture. They open at 9 but no one is there. So I wait for about 15 minutes and I call just to see if maybe someone is in the back working or something... So I finally go home and my restful morning is blown to bits.

Pedro gets it in his head that he wants to go with me to pick up the girls just in case something happens to me, so he knows where they have to go. If that made sense. SO we go back down 53 to 15. The freaking road is closed! So fine, I turn around and do the whole thing, back home, other way to Lily's school. We get to Route 15 (to head south instead of north) and there's ANOTHER FREAKING ROADBLOCK! This is where Pedro came in handy because he popped right out of the car and stormed down the hill (we were waiting for other cars to turn) to the road crew. Imagine an enraged 6'6 former marine coming at you. The dude's face clearly said "oh crap". hahahahaha

So we were allowed to turn *cough* and we finally made it to Lily's school. Not to mention that the detours forced drivers onto roads they were unfamiliar with so it was SLOW going. My heart is like warped from today. I think we got there around 12:20 or so. She was not the last kid. I know a lot of parents were probably freaking today. Then we headed over to get Madilyn BUT we had to all the way back home and then the other way. The few miles we need to get through were blocked off. I mean, it was a nightmare. I drove over 100 miles today. No kidding. It was awful.

So yes, we all survived (my heart is still thinking about it) and thankfully Lily doesn't go to school on Fridays so it should be, SHOULD BE, an easy trip to take Madi to school.

Mercy.

Day 27

Well, I"m feeling a bit fatigued so this will be short. I hope.

Madi woke Pedro up at two am, who in turn woke me up at 2:30. ack Pedro went to bed at 8pm so all of this didn't really bother him when he had to get up this morning. I didn't go to bed til midnight. Darn you cooking channel!

So I slept in and left the house late. I was probably less than 10 seconds in Madi's classroom. They said she sat on the floor (where I dumped her and her bag) for about 10 minutes trying to figure out what just happened to her. ha! But she had a good day.

I finally got back to running 2 miles. 2.1 to be precise. *cough* I'm proud of my fat old self for running. It's hard work! But one of my shoes is starting to break down. Not surprising.

Lily has a show and tell tomorrow. wheee! She just happened to mention this so I'll need to check her bag for a note or something. Good grief.

Oh and I scored some half price horseback riding lessons. wheee! I get emails from livingsocial? Or something and most of the time, the deals don't interest me but today's did! The farm is just down the road from us so yay! I got one of Lily and one for me. LOL What?

Day 26

First of all, I cannot believe that Madi has been in school over a month. It's nice because she is on a routine now. She naps around 1 to 3 or 4, everyday, regardless of weekday or weekend. She's got more confidence, more attitude (argh). She's more fun to be around although she throws a lot of stuff so you have to be on guard.

Lily's skating lesson.... went better than the last time but she still cried. She gets frustrated BUT she doesn't listen to her teacher. She does until she gets on the ice. Then she falls and gets frustrated. But the last 5 or so minutes of class she got up and stayed up. She was kind of listening and moving her skates. She was one of the slowest kids but she was still doing it. Hey, not bad for only 2 lessons. :) Lesson #3 is this Saturday while Pedro is at an airshow. I've been pretty tickled that he's made an effort to come and watch her. Monday he went into work early so that he could leave early enough for us to pick him up.

Pretty cool, right?

Well, I think I'm going to go and lay down with Madi for a bit. I had some insomnia again last night. I swear. I'm my own worst enemy. Madi's been sleeping pretty well. She wakes up thirsty or hot/cold like the rest of us. The best part is that she rolls over and goes back to sleep. :)

Day 25

Well, now. Madi has been a pistol lately. I gave her a peanut butter cracker yesterday. She didn't want it so she threw it on the sofa. Which wasn't far enough, apparently, because she picked it up and hucked it far as she could across the living room.

She was fine when we got to school although, she got mad at me for making her walk. When I was leaving she walked up to me and the TA and started blubbing. I say blubbing because that's what it sounded like. She laughed a bit, squeezed her eyes shut and tried AGAIN to cry. I swear. I thought Miss Lily was melodramatic. She cried when I left and I could hear her down the hall. Good grief. But I just kept on going. ha! The teacher said she went and picked Madi up and there were no tears and Madi turned and laughed at her. Freaking Geminis.

The TA took Miss Madi for a walk today and Madi flopped to the ground and wanted to be picked up. When no one would, she put her hands behind her head and crossed her feet like fine. She is a trip. whew I'm glad that I have her in school and that she's learning new things but dang, that girl is just testing us to see what she can get away with. Which is good but whew. :)

And we're heading into to town in a bit for more skating lessons. This is to make up the one we missed. And I've been coaching Lily on some things. Hopefully, it will help. If not, once the lessons are over, she never has to skate again. :)

X(

Hooo boy, skating didn't go so well. I think Lily will attend all of her lessons and I hope she gets better. She kind of just went off and didn't listen to anyone. Granted the lessons were about 90 seconds long. I talked to the head teacher, I think, and she said she likes to just get them out there so no buckets or training tools!

Lily was getting really frustrated. Afterwards, I talked to her about what could help: bending her knees slightly, practicing grabbing her knees when she feels like falling, falling to the side, etc. We also bought her her own helmet today. She outgrew the last one. :) The one she had on at the rink kept on falling off or falling in her eyes and I'm sure that was annoying. Well, it was our first outing and now we know what to expect.

We had a VERY long day out. We left at 9am and didn't get home til 3! That's long for us! But we did some shopping and had lunch and went and looked at guns. I think Pedro and I have found something to share... firearms! And hopefully, I have a place to shoot at. Not all the time but when they feel like it. Yes, I have a coveted Friend With Property. The man at the gun store said that's the best place to shoot. :)

And yes, before I hear any lectures, I know gun safety is super important. The handgun I'm interested in, FN P9, has a magazine lock and I would buy a gun safe. I haven't bought the gun yet so no one get too excited. :) The FN P9 has a couple more safety features than a Glock. There's a doohickey to release the slide and another to release the hammer. So you can't just shove a magazine in and go to town. But the Glock holds 17 rounds.... Sigh.

Day 24

Poor Madi. She just wasn't acting right when I dropped her off at school. I also forgot her bag at home. I called Pedro, who was willing to bring it to me but we were kind of seeing how Madi was going to do. She kept on crying and clinging to me and just not acting like herself so I made the executive decision to bring her home. Sigh.

She had a good day at home though. Lots of running around and kicking soccer balls. :) I swear she said "papa". which she probably did though it may not have meant anything. I've got some GI tract thing so I had a low key day. Seriously. I haven't even washed my hair yet.

Tomorrow is Lily's first skate lesson so wheeeee! Stay tuned.

Day 23

Oh my goodness. This is the day that will not end. Or something. Madi had a good day blah blah blah. Just kidding. I have had a real up and down week so I have to complain about that.

I don't even know where to start there's been so much. I'll skip the Nutella mouth and let y'all know that when it comes to peanut allergies, apparently raw almonds are also bad. See, Lily's school doesn't allow unhealthy snacks. Kind of ties my hands for things. She won't eat mushy fruit and I can't send cookies or chips or anything. Which I wouldn't want to do but... She pretty much gets applesauce and goldfish crackers. EVERYDAY. I finally remembered to buy some yogurts so she can have one of those next week. So anyway, feeling bad for her I think of what I have in my cupboards and hurray, I have some raw almonds. They have a very firm no peanut rule so I think almonds are okay. I guess there was a big to-do and Lily cried and the boy in her class was fine but holy crap.

If you can't bring any nuts then how about NO NUTS WHATSOEVER gets printed in the forms? I don't have a nut allergy, my kids don't have nut allergies. If you tell me no peanuts, hey, that's cool. But if you really mean NO NUTS, then say it!

*cough*

So then there was the skating rink thing which we finally sorted out. I'm glad I run because all of this stress is probably hurting my heart.

So, there was another plea for information from the sheriff's office regarding this man that disappeared earlier this year. I saw the guy driving his car the same day he disappeared but later than what the sheriff's office knew about. It kind of bugged me but I thought how could knowing he was in Cville 90 minutes later be a big deal? But I felt bad, which also made me not want to call (don't want to get in trouble, gah), but I bit the bullet and called and told them what I knew. The Lieutenant was glad for the call and said every bit of info helped. I'm sure he was hoping for more info than I had but at least they know where he was a little later in the day.

JEESH

What else? So I almost killed a kid, or so you'd think from the reaction, I know, I know, it's serious. *eyebrow* I had to cancel on a friend's birthday plans which also sucked gas, but I can't be everywhere at once. Sigh. I swear I'm forgetting something else...

Oh well, it's been a very turbulent week. And I have one more COTTON PICKING day to get through. Well, Lily doesn't have school tomorrow so I can't kill anyone that way. It's just Madi, who WILL get a yogurt. LIly and I will hit the gym, get a few things and then get Madi again. I think it's time for carrot cake and or pecan pie. Oh yeah!

Hope everyone else had a good week.

Peace!

Day 22 Imitation!

The teacher was really happy that Madi started copying some of the kids in class! It's only taken a month... :) She started clapping when the other boys were clapping and laughed when the teacher laughed. That's a big deal. :) Yay for Madi!

Lily had a better day at school. She was super impressed that another girl got a bee sting and didn't cry. lol

Argh

So Lily was a complete bear this morning and didn't want to go to school. I finally snapped because I needed to get Madi out the door so I threw her alternate runners on the floor and headed out. Lily came running after me sniffling but I'm tired of these power struggles.

I think she got in trouble yesterday and I guess she's embarrassed? She got in trouble for yelling at Carson and for throwing her cracker crumbs on the floor. Yeah, Lily. There are repercussions to your behavior. We teach her that at home... I let her teachers know that she was in a bit of a mood today and didn't want to come to school. I feel that Lily needs to learn this stuff. Hitting is bad, yelling is bad. And I'm certainly not upset with the teachers.

She is a strong-willed kid. I'm not sure how to get through to her. We had an absolutely awful day a month or so ago where we had a sit down talk and worked a few things out. We might need to have another one. :/

Day 21

I guess nothing really new to report today. Madi had an okay day. I had time to wax my legs. All is well in the world. :)

Oh well, Lily was finally back to school and she was telling me all about it on the way home. Apparently, Carson pushed her so she screamed at him and got in trouble. SIGH But she ate all the food in her lunchbox so I know they tired them out. :)

Day 20

Well, nothing new or dramatic to report. Madi had a good day, they said. She ate all of her apple sauce by herself. wheee!

Tomorrow, she'll meet with all of the therapists so she's sure to be good and tired.

I guess we're slowly getting better. It just takes time, and then we'll get sick again.... Sigh.

Madi

This is how Madi spent her time while Lily was riding the pony.

So...

We all know what today is known for an since every tv station has a 9/11 special on, I'm not going to go on about it here. No disrespect intended but I have pony pictures to put up.

I'm glad that Pedro dragged my infected carcass up the mountain yesterday. We had to move a bit because we didn't leave until afternoon and it takes a couple of hours to get there. That's why I kept on saying "just pass him!" all the way. Once you hit Skyline Drive and get stuck behind a motorhome, you might not get a chance to pass. But we made it.


omgosh it was a beautiful day and there were tons of people up there. Which sucks if you're sight seeing but good revenue for the park (you have to pay $15 to get in). We didn't care so much about the trails but we still enjoyed the lookout views. :) Last time we went, it was super cloudy.

So we get to the stables and Lily runs in and yells "Where's my horse????!" Fortunately the ladies working there have a pretty good sense of humor. :) They had two cute little ponies tied up and they guessed it was me that called them earlier. Since we got there in good time and no one else was waiting they told me I could walk Lily as long as I wanted. I did 3 loops instead of 2. The bugs were pretty heinous. :)

I'm glad that I brought my cowboy boots. I'm sure I looked pretty in my dark green skirt and tan boots. lol OH well, you do what you have to do. :) Pedro was exhausted so he walked one loop with us and then took Madi to the car.

Lily seemed to have a great time. She was nervous at first but then she started holding her arms out to the side. :) She's a wild woman.

argh

So I'm the virus's latest victim. Holy crap is this thing brutal! Now I know why Lily was running around in sweater dresses and jeans when it was 85F out. I was so feverish last night that my jaw started chattering. Pedro turned the house up to76 (23C) and I was wearing sweat pants, a heavy sweatshirt and winter booties. And I felt just fine. Geez.

It took 2 vicodin to get me to sleep, omgosh the aching in my joints and even my skin! I mean, really, this thing is awful. My head is clear though so I'm grateful for that. Nothing worse than not being able to breathe. :P

And my heart has been pounding so hard and fast. Ugh. Pedro has been eating popcorn non-stop so I asked him when he started liking it so much. "When the chef got sick."

Gee, thanks.

Oh and if you have some time, this blog is as depressing as hell but I think it's an important read. It's not done yet: she's putting up a post each day in October for each month her daughter went through cancer treatment. Oh yeah, but I think it's a really great view into what really transpires. Have tissues handy.

http://www.chicagonow.com/mary-tyler-mom/donnas-cancer-story-2/

Day 19

Yeah the holiday messed us up.

Well, it looks like we're all sick now. Yippee! It's funny once I get as sick as Lily was I can relate to her comments about "sore bones" or "hot feet". Ugh, I feel awful. And she fights me on taking painkillers and yet she runs around like the Roadrunner twenty minutes after she takes some.

Argh

Madi cried for about an hour at school. She's usually Miss Sunshine but today they said she cried and then she turned into Search and Destroy. The teacher said if she said "Oh, Madi" once she said 99 more times. :)

So it's going to be a long weekend. wheeee! I mean, you know, it will be of regular length but it will feel long. argh

I guess that's it. I need to get my coupons ready for grocery shopping and make some more tea with honey! Hope y'all stay healthy and enjoy your weekend!

Day 18 hahahahahha

So Madi has this thing where she doesn't like to poop around people. She'll go down the hall or into the foyer for some privacy. Or the bathtub. We know she loves doing it there!

She hadn't pooped at school until.... The back story is that I made home-made cauliflower soup and it was pretty good. Everyone ate it. It was very healthy with a whole head of cauliflower, a few potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic. Plus some milk to make it creamy. So Madi had a whole bowl last night and then ate more today....

The poor PT was putting her into some yoga poses. *snort* She pushed Madi's legs all the way up and guess what came out??? lol I honestly didn't notice that Madi wasn't in the clothes we sent her to school in until we were at the doctor's office. (Lily had a viral strep again) So it must've been SOME POOP! Beware of yoga. :)

Also, I haven't checked her bag yet. I'm not feeling great - I've only had one greek yogurt to eat all day. Maybe I'll tackle it after my lunch!

Day 17? I'm behind

So there's an auspicious cloud over our house today. Lily didn't go to school. She looked awful this morning. Then I gave her tylenol and now she's running around the house. Alright, her daddy made her lay on the sofa under a blanket and she's eating Eggo waffles. But I'm tired and sick so it looks like running around to me!












Oh man I'm sore from belly dancing. Stacy said she's not sore but I don't know if she was shaking things the way that I was. :) But I have two dimples now on either side of my belly button. So I keep on practicing. :)

I guess Madilyn is just keeping pace. She's vocalizing and making different sounds. Following one of the other kids around. School is going to do more for her than I can. And I asked her teacher about next year. She'll be evaluated and they'll see if she still needs the therapists. Cool with me!



Lily has been... I don't know. I'm taking her to the doctor today and I want to get to the bottom of this tummy ache business. The doctor did say it could be a mild case of irritable bowel but... It doesn't hurt unless we ask her to clean up her room. She went on and on about a sore stomach when we were with her g-ma and she told me the next day that was just kidding about the whole thing. So now I'm like, okay, that's it. I don't want her to suffer if she does hurt (she might have food allergies?) but I'm not going to let her pass on her chores every time either.

argh

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy the pictures. I'm feeling pretty off myself today, I'd love to just lay down and sleep for the next 2 days. SIGH.

Day 16

I think. It seems like it's taken FOREVER for Lily to go to school. She starts tomorrow. whew

Well, nothing really new to report with Madi. They let her eat her yogurt by herself so I guess I should start doing that too. :) She's still kind of punky feeling. It could be molars. :/

Well, Pedro is home and I have to go and give him the bad news that I ate most of dinner. It was chicken and veggies with rice.

Day ... shoot

I guess it would've been 15? Madi is sick. She didn't sleep well last night and has a fever this morning. So she wasn't doing too well in school yesterday.

I figure this is the training ground, right? They all get each other sick and build up immunity to things. Right? Someone tell me I'm right, otherwise I'm hiding Madi under a rock!

I guess I need to think about flu shots soon too!

Lily is pretty mad that we're not going to Yorktown this weekend. But we're exhausted and Madi is sick so... I'm tempted to let G-ma take her for a couple of days but daddy is being well, himself.

Hope everyone has a happy healthy weekend.

Day something...

My computer was down. Apparently, they don't like water.

gosh, I'm still amazed at Madi's progress. They worked her hard on Tuesday and she woke up babbling away trying to tell me all about it. lol She is getting so coordinated and I noticed her ankles are becoming much straighter when she's not wearing her braces. It used to make me wince to watch her walk around.

She's trying to participate in circle time and she's started scooping her own apple sauce! wheee!

I'm still so glad that we did this. :)

I am counting the hours until Lily goes back to school. She is a PITA.

Lunch

... tastes better when you don't have to eat it sitting down.

Day 11?

I think blogger is keeping track for me. whew

Over the weekend, Madi pushed her big sister. I thought it was awesome since Lily is at least twice the size of her and deserved it. But I realize I can't let that kind of thing go on because Madi might do it to the boys in her class. Who might also deserve it since I heard she got whalloped today. *eyes*

They wore her out again. Miss Janice explained that every week she's going to be adding more and more structure to their day. It's probably too much to get them to do everything at once. Madi did clap twice in circle time. The PT was mostly concerned with getting her in a better chair. One that's going to force her to sit upright so she's not so round shouldered.

I gotta tell you, I'm SO glad she's in that program. She's getting great care and exposure to the world but also professionals are dealing with stuff that I would NEVER have thought of. Does it drive me crazy that she slouches in her highchair? Yes, but I wouldn't have thought of the impact of it on her posture.

whew

And Lily has been a monster the last couple of days. I cannot wait for her to start school! Nine more days............. I still have a half a case of wine so I should be okay.

I don't care

... how many times I watch this it always cracks me up.

Good Deed

I think. There was a small white poodle looking thing running down the road that I came across while I was driving home. We were going in the same direction but he was in the opposite lane and I was worried he'd get smushed. So I put on my hazards and drove behind/side him. I tried calling him but that just made him run faster. I think he got out during the "storm". I didn't notice a storm, but I'm not a wee doggie either.

I collected a small group of cars behind me, but the pup cut across the road in front of me and ran into the grass. THEN everyone got off of my bumper. Cuz there's no reason a woman is driving slow with her hazard lights on, huh Virginia? *grumble* I hope the poor thing gets home. I was just scaring him the more I tried to call him so I figured getting him off the road was the best that I could do.

I have seen footage of Va Beach and I hope everyone there and in the surrounding areas are doing okay. Looks like fun! We have some light rain here. I think we'll be fine. :)

Oh and I'm slowly getting over my cold. Lily keeps on begging to share my food but I don't dare. It's hard to put up with her badgering me but I know that pales in comparison to taking care of a sick kid. :/

Day 10

Well, it's a little hard to concentrate with the cold and lack of sleep. No, it's not Madi's fault this time. I'm so miserable when I go to bed and that it takes me hours to fall asleep. :P

So Madi had speech training today. They never tell me much about that so I'm guessing it doesn't go so well.

Miss Janice worked with teaching Madi to use a spoon and apparently they had a fight so Madi screwed up her mouth into a pout, then squeezed her eyes shut. When the tears didn't come she opened up her eyes and laughed at her teacher.

She might be worse than Lily!

Day 9 or something

Ugh. We're all coming down with colds. I think I'm in the middle of mine. I still went for a run. 2 miles on toast and coffee is pretty good. I usually try to hydrate but I just didn't care. lol

Gosh, I'm trying to remember what the teacher told me about Madi. She had OT today and hated it. The OT came back to work with another child and Madi kept on throwing her side looks to make sure she wasn't coming back to work with her.

She is seriously a character.

At home, she likes walking around me on the floor. Last night, she started stepping over my legs. She was successful about 80% of the time. That's terrific because think of the effort involved in standing on one leg while you lift the other one over. :) Her gross motor skills are vastly improving. We're still waiting on speech and play. Fingers crossed.

The Characters

Both girls kill me. They both have their own quirks. Oh geez. I'm not sure how I'm going to do this now. lol Pictures are all over my screen! I'm not sure I want to know what was happening in this picture....




Lily and I were shopping at Target. She was tired and wanted to sit in the cart and I didn't mind because then she can't run around on me. However, we had a lot of bigger stuff to get so we started running out of room. *snort*














Madi was not really interested in waking up this morning. I think that she slept okay. It's hard to know because we're all coming down with something. I will even hold off going to the gym today so I give myself a chance to get over it. Maybe I'm kind of itching to go, even if it's only for 30 minutes. Sigh.













I finally got Madi's hair cute for her picture today. I didn't order any of the pics. They take pics again in the spring and maybe I'm an old grouch but school pictures don't start til they're in elementary school. Also, I remember we always got class pictures. Weren't those the bomb???













Yes, that's Madi's classroom. It's kind of big for only 4 kids. Madi loves it though. I got a picture of her just before she pulled everything out of the kitchen and threw it on the floor. She throws it all over her shoulders. She reminds me of Henry the 8th. Hoo boy.














And here's my poor girl Lily. I told her that there's a hurricane on the way. Since she's terrified of storms, I thought that giving her a heads up would help. Not so much. She had to make sure there weren't any hurricanes before she'd run out to the store. You try to do something nice.... Sigh.

Day 8

I have a head cold so this will likely be brief. Luckily I survived Pedro's illness last night. How did I survive it? I find men notoriously sissy-like when they are sick. Or at least Pedro can be. There I diplomaticked it a bit.

So today Madi refused to let Miss Nae carry her back from the cafeteria and walked all the way back on her own two feet. Yay! Later Miss Nae told her no and Madi spun around, flipped her hands up and gave her a LOOK.

She cracks her teachers up. She is a pistol but she's also even tempered, if that makes sense. She'll do what you ask but she'll let you know how she feels about it. *snort*

I do have some cute pics from this morning to put up. I hope I remember. Hopefully today I can get a nap without an earthquake interrupting me. *eyes*

Day 7 and hoo boy am I tired

Madi worked with the PT and OT today. Everyone is pretty happy with the progress she's making - as it's related to walking and climbing.

She still holds back in social situations.

Ugh. I must have a sinus infection. My head is killing me. Sigh.

Day 6

I apologize up front for any typos - mama's halfway through her moscato!

Madi really paid attention to her surroundings as we went through school to her classroom. The teacher said that Madi's been paying a lot more attention to pictures during story time. yay! She's being drawn out into the world. :)

They played in the "rice" box today. It's filled with uncooked rice and beans. Madi, of course, flung fistfuls of both over her shoulders. It's okay, Miss Janice has a cordless vacuum cleaner. :)

I didn't really get a chance to nap today - maybe 15 minutes? Between, Lily and the cats.... phew I really don't know what to do about Madi. Pedro and I keep on switching off so neither one of us is too tired. :/ It doesn't mean we feel great, just that we can struggle through our days.

SIGH

It is great seeing Madi progress. I just can't wait for more!

Oh and Lily found some of Madi's "art" projects. I held my breath because I was sure a meltdown was imminent but she asked me if Madi made them for her and I smoothly lied and said "yes". So all was well.

Lily starts school in 2 weeks. Can't wait!

Day 5

Madi was good today. All the boys were crying off and on but Madi was the rock of good-naturedness. :) I'm starting to think about her lunch now, when I make dinner, so she got leftover pasta for lunch and she LOVED it! She didn't even throw much of it. :)

We were playing with her last night and she did a move I'd never seen. Slapped one hand against another and then slid it. I told her teacher and she said it sounded like Madi was trying to do the sign for stop. Lily and I did kind of come up on her fast. So how awesome is that?

They let me know that this week the therapists have been taking it easy with them but next week the kids will be worked hard. Oh boy.

Madi crashed again on the way home and since she kept us up half the night....

The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers

Well, I'm off to put some nail polish on Miss Lily's toes. Wish me luck - I've had a big glass of Moscato. wheee!

Day 4

I don't have to do things in order if I don't want to.

Wow, I reminded myself of someone....

This morning, Madi cried when I left. The TA said that the honeymoon is over. She's starting to realize that this is an everyday thing. Also, another little boy in her class always cries when his mommy leaves so.... They teach each other all their bad habits. :)

Madi's area at the lunch table looked like a tornado went through it. They used a new chair for her, one that forced her upright and held her more in position and she was ticked off at them for that. *snort* So she took it out on the carpet. :)

They do say she's a character. Miss Janice tells her to do something and Madi screws up her face like, I don't think so. The PT was there working with her again today. She's getting such great care. :)

They told me she says "ow" now whether she falls down or not. lol!

It's still a learning process for me. I know not to leave ANYTHING for the next morning. I make sure her bag has everything in it - except for her lunch box because the perishables are packed up but in the fridge. WHEW And soon, I'll be making snacks for Lily too! GAH

First Day

Apparently, Madi wasn't all that enthused about the hand painting as the TA almost got a hand print on her face. Madi might be small but she's scrappy. :)

Day 3

... of school and Madi really seems to be taking to it. She's there from 8:30 til 12:30. We might add in a nap later, we might not. I mean, once Lily is going to school it won't really make sense to have to drive out again later in the afternoon to get Madi.

hahahahahaha I told Lily that I would protect her piece of chocolate cake for her. WHAT. A. FACE. She must know me well or something.

Let's see, today Madi got blueberries with her lunch and proceeded to throw them everywhere. When I came to get her the TA was sitting right next to her with her hands up, ready to catch blueberries. *snort*

She does well in circle time, as long as the teacher doesn't stop singing. We've noticed that she's vocalizing a lot more. Not words but different sounds and intonations. It sounds like she's trying to talk. Sorta.

I've been working on the back deck, trying to make it more of a peaceful oasis for me. When it's cool enough, Lily and I light the citronella candles and sit outside. Me with a big glass of wine.

I'll be honest - it's been a lot easier without Madi in the mornings. I know she's getting great care and she seems to like it. She's not grouchy or crazy. The only thing is that she doesn't sleep like anyone thought she would. Yesterday, she had one 20 minute nap and that was it until 10pm. I'm keeping her up later because we had that awful night when she went to bed at 9. She just doesn't need that much sleep!

And I need to take a pic of Madi's first day at the school photo. The teacher and the TA made them. It's so cute!