my little lady

Maya was so happy with her fully accessorized and self chosen outfit today.

Black converse, black skinny jeans, heart and stripe shirt, hello kitty purse, 2 braids, 1 clip and a headband.

goopy fun

I know all I seem to write about is school, but its big stuff around here. Today they filled the water table with cornstarch goop. They put in a ton of toys and small pumpkins from the pumpkin patch they started at school. Maya was in it pretty much the whole time. Except for a quick break to play with some magnetic cool lego type thingys. She started out dressed in an actual dress, but by the end was in her big girl underware and a tank top. Oh, a note on big girl underware. Maya has been starting to toilet train herself. She asks to go pee on her little toilet all the time now. Today she had a dry diaper from the time we got home from school until she went to bed.

#651

As in this is my 651st blog entry! YAY! I cant get the spacing right, so this post looks like one big run on sentence, but its not. I apologize in advance, especially to my 6th grade english teacher. Anywhoooo. More Halloween Parade fun. Maya has "big-girl" receptors I swear. Wherever we are she finds a big girl (like a 5 year old) and latches right on. Today she found Chole who was so sweet. They played together the whole time. Their conversations were making me and Chloe's mom melt. Chloe: whats your name? Maya : Maya, whats your name? Chloe : Chloe Maya : its nice to meet you Chloe! (thank you yo gabba gabba for that one!) Maya: I like your hair clips! Chloe : thank you I like your braids. Maya : thank you Chloe kept yelling to her mom " mom this is my friend Maya. Shes playing with me!" So onto the festivities. They had a lady making balloon animals, which is HEAVEN for my daughter, and I know Im going to hell for it mother earth, Im sorry. Maya chose that cute turtle. They had a tattoo table - Maya chose a festive pumpkin. There was an obstacle course, raffle (we didnt win), a face painter that Maya avoided like the plague, and a little photo booth thingy. It was super cute and totally age appropriate. I ran into a couple of moms from mommy and me that I hadnt seen in a while which was nice too. Oh and in case youre wondering I did not dress up.

Halloween Parade

Maya the ladybug with Teacher Barbara the butterfly (she is the director of the program, not really outside too much). Teacher Monica the pumpkin (Maya loves saying "teacher Monica is a mommy!") And Teacher Gordon as himself

Preschool

Maya had another super fun day at school last Thursday. Here she is attacking I mean hugging her favorite girl Edith for a post lunch photo. Maya started lunch at a different table, but soon enough realized Edith wasnt there and promptly picked up her lunch box, and moved to sit next to her. She is also modeling (and when I say modeling i mean MODELING people.. Tyra who??) teacher Gordon's 2nd place medal in a trail run he did last weekend to raise money for the school. He let all the kids try it on. Teacher Gordon is trying to raise enough to put a roof on a little outdoor area so the kids have an outside option on rainy days. I also photographed her relocation of both cash registers to a more user friendly hay bale location.

the artist at work

These are the latest installments of Maya's photos on my phone.  Thats Luka's new pair of super -awesome -we -support- you- Lance Armstrong- Livestrong -Nike's  and her organization of her letters.  She always tells her subjects - even if they are inanimate - to say cheeeeeessssseeeeee.

Finally!

A pic with both kids lookin

g decent! yay!

she's back!

Maya slept from 10-445am, when Pedja woke her up to say goodbye before leaving for ork. Yes he leaves at that hour, nutty right? Well he does this every day, but Im usually able to get her back down, but since we were sleeping in the den (for vomiting purposes, I couldnt have it happen in both beds again after the 5 hours of laundry for all sheets etc) and thats where the only tv is, he says, "maya do you want to watch your monkey show?" Of course she says yes, so she watched tv until 630. I was sleeping on and off fuming at my situation. We then moved into our room since she hadnt vomited, and we slept until 9am. She woke up hungry and thirsty, with no fever. So far shes had a yogurt and a few bites of oatmeal. Shes acting fine, and already made a collage. PHEW. I on the other hand re-injured my left foot in the middle of the night while walking to the bathroom. I dont know the playroom very well, and hit my toe on the couch in the dark. Its all black and blue and Im in alot of pain all over again. UGH. BUT Im just happy shes on her way back to health.

stomach flu part deux

It is 715pm and Maya hasnt vomited since before 6am. She had water, then a bit of pedia-lyte which she is NOT a fan of. At 515pm I gave her 3 saltine crackers. She ate one. She has been sleeping alot of the day thankfully. She did have a 101 fever for a couple of hours, but once it went down, it hasnt come back thankfully. Alot of Curious George has been watched today.

stomach flu

UGH. Maya vomited at 1030pm, 1130pm, midnight and 115am. She was happy in between, and stayed up watching Curious George until 3am-the same time I finished all the laundry. If I never see brown rice again, it will be too soon. She slept until 430am. She asked for milk at 515am, I hesitated, but Pedja said I should since she had nothing in her. So I caved. A few minutes later she asked for some water. I let her have a couple of sips even though she wanted more. A few minutes later she vomited again. No fever thankfully, and she had a wet diaper at 530. I called her pediatrician, and spoke to the on-call nurse. She thinks its the stomach flu, and said I need to give her 2tsp of water every 5 minutes for 4 hours. If she doesnt vomit any up, I can give her 1TB of pedia-lyte every 5 minutes for the next 4 hours. Then I can start bland solids. Its 915 right now, and I started the water at 7am. Im averaging about every 10 minutes. So far she has kept it down, and is asking for more, and is sleeping on and off on the couch still watching Curious George.

the girls of 11:30

This is Maya, Jaia, and Edith. They are the only girls in class. Maya had an awesome day today. She didnt come near me again, (which is a good thing for separating AND let me keep my feet elevated AND read), was engaged in lots of activities, and when she needed a diaper change, I offered but she said "no teacher Kathy will do it"

klutz update

Ok so I know Im a klutz, but the gutter was completely slanted so I am only taking partial responsibility for this accident. The streets and gutters should be flat in my opinion. Anywho, I went to urgent care today after a firm talking to from my mom (mother knows best right?) I got both feet xrayed, and thankfully nothing is broken or fractured, but the bones and my skin are bruised. Today both feet are swollen too. There isnt much to do aside from elevate, ice and stay off of them as much as possible. Oh and not wear flip flops when Im working. Closed toed shoes. Im sure I wouldnt be so bad off if I had on proper shoes. UGH. Painful lesson learned.

lordy lordy lordy

I am sitting with my left foot elevated as I type. Why you ask? I took quite a spill today, and really hurt myself. There was an unexpected severe slope in the street/gutter, as I stepped off of the curb. My right ankle snapped, and I skinned the outer edge of my foot - lots of blood. But My left foot- OY VEY! Somehow my big toe and second toe bent a bit too far backward, and now I cant move them. I cant put any pressure on my foot. I fell to the ground, cried instantly and then started dry heaving from the pain. As of now miraculously, no bruising or swelling. I immediately thought the 2 toes were broken so I went straight to my doctor. They don't have an X-ray machine, so I left. No point. Im giving it 24 hours (and a massive amount of advil) and hopefully, it just really hurts and isnt broken. I so hope Maya doesnt get my klutzy genes.

mom of the year

Ya, thats me. So Maya says "you're so fucking smart mommy" after I recited the alphabet. Really?

Legos

Pedja built a daddy and baby robot for Maya, per her request.

YWCA

This is her new friend Jayde. Maya ate most of Jaydes lunch, and she didnt seem to mind. Of course she didnt eat a speck of her own, and yes, I did mind. It was Jayde's mommy I was talking to today that made me feel alot better.

chhheeeeeessssseeeeee

OK not to toot her horn or anything, but we may have a budding photographer on our hands. She is getting really good with the camera on my phone. She took these of us this weekend. These are all first try.

7 years of bad luck

No joke. The huge crack and reason this mirror is broken? Maya was carrying it and tripped and fell on it on her hands and knees. Another no joke? Not 1 cut or speck of blood or shard of glass on or in her skin. I almost lost my shit excuse my language, but it was gnarly.

school update

I am THRILLED to report Maya had a great day at school, and basically ignored me the whole time. I met a new mom and we bonded over how similar our daughters personalties/tempers are. I seriously felt a whole lot better after talking to her. I am also so proud of Maya for being an empathetic and caring friend. Bella's mommy left today, and Bella was very sad. She was crying and thinking about her mommy. Maya was by her side the whole time. Rubbing her head, trying to hug her, bringing her water, and holding her hand. She didn't leave Bella until her mommy came back. Just like what happened today, for the past few days, she has taken my red Buddah bank (she calls it her baby), and made a whole narrative about her. So the "baby's" mommy isnt here, and she is so sad. Maya walks around holding her, kissing her, lays her down with toys and books, then covers her in a blanket so she's "comfy cozy" as we call it. OMG its just the cutest thing. I keep reminding her that all mommy's come back, and its ok if "baby" is sad and thinking about her mommy. Its ok to cry too.

YWCA

so today was Mayas first official day. SHe sat on my lap for over an hour which LITERALLY has never happened in her entire life people. I started getting nervous something was wrong. She felt a bit warm to me, and after passing her to the teachers and mommies, was determined fever free. (I asked for a thermometer but they didnt have one hence the passing. I think I will donate one) She finally got up and played a bit, and took like 3 bites of her delicious lunch- tofu, cucumber and humus and an apple if youre wondering. We left and went on a tour of a real pre-school like the kind she will go to next fall. The no mommy kind. I have a friend that freaks me out every time I see her about pre school because I dont have a place for Maya yet. I liked this place, but Im not a fan of the schools that are in someones home for some reason. But the program is awesome and so is the director. Its also a bit far. She fell asleep on the way home, but was a mess when we got here. She does have 101.8 fever and she is sleeping again. UGH. It stinks when kids are sick! Now Im worried I infected the YWCA and other school I toured. double UGH

hair envy

Maya gets so many compliments on her hair, which are totally well deserved, and I always reply "I have such hair envy"

happy campers

The boys went camping and fishing last weekend at Castaic Lake. Check out their prime spot - their tent was on the edge of the lake. We couldnt join them as we had a birthday party for our twin friends Violet and Julian. Luka caught a 4lb bass which he was thrilled about. Pedja got some fresh air and a little R&R which he was thrilled about.

preschool take 2

Well within no time Maya was down to her diaper because she found the holy grail- aka the water table. She didnt interact too much with the teachers, but i LOVE the 4 to 1 ratio. Its also outside except for rainy days. We will be starting next week and go Monday and Thursday 1130-130. Im really looking forward to Maya growing and learning at the YWCA.

sigh

Yesterday was quite a day. I was able to sell some stuff I dont wear anymore at Buffalo Exchange (yay). Had a great meeting with my boss (yay). We got Maya her ladybug halloween costume (yay). ate lunch at one of our favorite vegan restaurants, Native Foods (yay). did a BIG target run (yay), watched my new favorite show, Sons of Anarchy (yay) (but still devastated about Opie). and got into a minor car accident - my fault (boooooooo) We are fine, so is the woman I hit, and I have car insurance (yay) but still a big BOOOOOO. This is the 4th car "incident" this year, and Im just over it ya know? Im starting to get anxious every time I get in the car-which is a lot. I did take my car to my mechanic today, and aside from a few scratches, the car is fine (yay) Tomorrow is Maya's trial at the YWCA for their Cottage Activity Time (CAT), which is somewhere between full-on-5-day-a-week-no-mommy-in-sight-preschool, and the mommy and me class we took there. A "transition to separation program", like Art Zone was. She seems excited and I know I am. But she has asked me 1000 times If I will be leaving her there. I think she may be scarred for life.