Monday Funday

Today is another big day for Maya. We went to Under the Sea this morning with Mia and Jack. It's an indoor play place that just changed locations. Michelle wanted to check it out before confirming Mia's upcoming birthday party, so we joined them. It's a much nicer and larger location. They hit some traffic, so Maya and I started playing before them. She was literally running around in circles screaming with joy because there was so much to do when we got there. Thankfully Mia wanted to play with Maya today, which was good. At one point a boy hit Mia (so said Maya), so Maya took her hand and said "Im brave Mia, I will protect you" The girls wouldnt let me take any pictures of them. Which is probably ok since Maya got so hot from running around, she stripped down to her diaper. We had a 15 minute cool down break, and then nana came for their Monday date. Today she is taking her bowling for the first time. I hope this kid sleeps past 6:30am tomorrow. Oh, and a "yay me" moment. I got a DVR so I dont have to stay up late watching my favorite shows anymore, I can record them. Welcome to 2013!! I know, I know poor me right? But all of a sudden I have a ton of shows to watch, and am such an old lady, Im a mess the next day from being so tired because she is up at the crack of dawn every day. They forgot to give me instructions, so I really hope its actually recording what I want it to. Im not the techyist person, so fingers crossed.

Sunday Funday

Yesterday was such a fun day for Maya. We started it off by baking some cupcakes- vegan and gluten free of course. She decorated 1 for everyone. Sparkly frosting (thanks 99 cent store, why didnt I buy them out?), and rainbow sprinkles for all. Then in the afternoon, we headed to the beach where she tried boogie boarding for the first time! She caught a few waves and LOVED it. And guess what? Not a single picture. Nada. Nothing. No cupcake, no ocean, nothing.

Thank you Aunt Audrey!

I truly have the coolest aunt. Aunt Audrey drives one of my favorite cars, a VW Toureg. Every time I see her I ask to trade cars. I love VW's in general, (the jetta wagon is still in our family), but her ride is pretty sweet. She sent Maya and I a care package of these matching t-shirts. It can walk itself at this point. I love it so much I cant take it off.

Visit from Grandma

Grandma came last weekend, and Maya wanted to be sure she wouldn't be lonely at night, so she gave her a friend to sleep with when we made her bed. The next morning we took Maya to the park. As we were leaving, a family was blowing bubbles and let her have a turn.

Unicorn Bike

Maya is proud to show off her new unicorn bike. She chose it herself. The "basket" is the unicorn on the front of it. It zips shut. She put Pedjas keys and her water bottle in there for the ride. There were quite a bit of streamer-admiring-breaks. She did great. It is much larger than her last bike, but she's got the hang of it.

sit together guys

I need to take a picture of you two for the blog! HAHAH!!

close quarters

This sign is now on our bedroom door. As you know, Maya Pedja and I all share a large bedroom, and Pedja wakes us up multiple times per night. Per Maya "it is a picture of dad with a circle around him and a cross-over line through him. It says mom maya on the top". Translation: "mom and maya are sleeping dad cant come in because he always wakes us up. "

week 2

Yesterday was Maya's first Monday with Nana. They will be hanging out weekly. They went to the park, and then the mall when it got to be too hot outside. They both enjoyed their time together. It was also my second week of work. It is slowly picking up. I feel so lucky. I love my job and am very fortunate to get to do it from home. Maya and I are also starting to look at birthday party venues. I know its only September, but for some reason places here get booked up way in advance. Since her birthday is end of December, I cant count on a park or any outdoor space so Im looking at indoor places.

Mexican fiesta!

The Russians (Michelle Vlad Mia and Jack) and the Serbians (us) try and do family dinners once a month. That hasn't happened in quite some time sadly, but it did this past weekend. I cant tell Maya too far in advance because she goes nuts and CANT wait to see Mia. I decided to take a photo when I told her this time. That's Jack with the ripped arm muscles and amazing curly afro enjoying his water. He took out the straw and was drinking through the straw hole. Zero water was getting in his mouth and he could have cared less. Soaking wet, quiet and happy. Thats my favorite kind of kid in a restaurant. And Mia playing out front after dinner. She wanted nothing to do with Maya this time which was very hard for Maya. She wanted to play with Mia so badly, but Mia kept her distance. Said she was feeling shy. We met at El Coyote which boasts to be the oldest Mexican restaurant in LA. We liked it because its noisy so no one noticed our wild children. Food was good- mine was great really-crispy potato tacos and like 3 bowls of chips- and a pear margarita to wash it down.

Long Beach

Maya and I drove down to long beach lsat weekend to meet up with my friend Cari. We went to UCSC together, and sadly only seem to get together once a year. It was great to catch up over some yummy brunch.

beauty day

I went in for a bang trim, and 5 minutes later I turned around to this gorgeous 'do on Maya! The lady put in GLITTER hair gel, did a gorgeous side-winding outie french braid, and gave her the big flower to boot! She was so excited.

My dream pantry

dentist

Today was mayas check up at the dentist. Im happy to report her teeth look great! On our next visit she will have her first x-rays. They gave her these cool sunglasses to keep that super bright light out of her eyes. On the way home she said "I liked those glasses at the dentist" As her parting gift she chose very cool glitter bracelets. She also got a princess toothbrush and 2 princess flossers. I kept her home from school today. I want her as healthy as possible before she goes back. No fever very little coughing and no runny nose, even though she still sounds congested when she talks. She also slept until 815am today which is a record. Normally this girl is up by 630 at the latest.

Restaurant

Maya and I love playing restaurant. I like it because I get her to practice her writing and math, and she likes it because, well, she likes playing just about anything. She was the server, and I was the customer, so she took my order. It reads TACO BEANS CHIPS CHAI MINT (as in ice cream) MOM . I am very proud of her writing. After she takes my order, she goes to her kitchen, puts on her apron and gets cooking. After I eat, she goes back to her kitchen and does the dishes. She then brings me the check, and we do some math to figure out how much to pay and the change I get. We do this with her cash register.

On the mend

I am happy to report Maya's health (and my sanity) are moving in the right direction. No fever, snotty in the morning, and coughing only at night. Her cough is now what I would call a dry cough which is good. She has watched so much tv since last Thursday its not even funny. And we have played so much UNO (which used to be my favorite game until now) that I know she is ready to get outside. Pedja is off today so he is home with her while I am working!!!! They said it will be a bit slow starting off, more like Im on call. As I type I am on the clock but I am sitting next to my work computer so Im ready for the next email. So far so good. We will see if shes ready to head back to school tomorrow, or I may keep her home 1 more day.

sick day 3

When Maya went to bed her fever was 101. I decided against the Advil and knew I wasnt going to be sleeping much, so I would keep an eye on her. She woke up at 1030 and needed to blow her nose. As I put the kleenex to her face, her nose burned my skin. I took her temp and it was 104. I took her into a cool shower and gave her some advil. In less than an hour it was 101. She asked me to sleep with her and I did for a while, and her skin was literally burning me. I was a mess. I was so scared. Afraid of a seizure, afraid it wouldnt come down. Thankfully it did. Its been low today, but is slowly creeping back up. She didnt sleep much and coughed alot last night too. I took her back to the dr today, and she has bronchitis. Not sure if its viral or bacterial. She is now on her first antibiotic, and I hope it kicks in soon. She isnt very hungry and is super snotty too. Poor thing. She has been a total trooper through this. Lots of TV is helping.

sick day 2

Maya's fever is still creeping up and when it does I am giving her the Advil. She slept pretty well last night without coughing. Today she's been coughing quite a bit, and when she does it makes her almost throw up, which is upsetting to her, so shes avoiding coughing at all costs. Its now a phlemy wet cough, no more barking. Her congestion is finally dripping and now shes a snotty mess. She napped for almost 2 hours, but didnt eat much today. I may take her back to the dr tomorrow. If she has liquid in her lungs (which it sounds like when she coughs), it can lead to pneumonia is what the dr told me yesterday. Thats the last thing anyone needs. Im sure Im overreacting as usual As I sat up worrying about her last night, I really thought about my anxiety surrounding her illness. I AM very worried about her, but I realized I am stressing myself out because I am starting work Monday, and I cant have a sick kid with me at home and work at the same time. I know it's only Friday and she will improve by then, but I think thats where its coming from.

Apology

I swear these blog posts are not run on sentences and all 1 paragraph. When I am composing them they are in paragraphs and look like a well written entry. But when I publish it comes out wrong. Im sorry

the good, the bad and the very sick

The good: Maya had another great day at preschool yesterday. 2 for 2! When I came to pick her up, she looked at me and said "NO MOM!! I DONT WANT TO LEAVE!!" and ran off. Made me sooooo happy. The good part 2: I also took home some school laundry which counts towards my 8 teacher support hours for the year. Since this is a co-op, we have to participate big time. 8 teacher support hours, 2 maintinance days, a parent job, as well as working at and participating in the school fundraisers. My parent job is "seasonal program coordinator". That means I work with 2 other families to put on 4 programs per year. 1)Back to School 2)Winter 3)Spring 4)End of year. We have the big "comedy night" fundraiser coming up in 2 weeks. For our donation (every family has to donate goods worth $100 or more for the silent auction), I was able to get 2 gift certificates for cooking classes to Chef's Inc. The bad and the very sick: Maya woke up today with a barking cough. Ya, no bueno. I of course freaked out because she hasnt really had many coughs, and NEVER a barking one, which means 1 thing and 1 thing only -CROUP. I called her doctor as soon as they opened and they were able to squeeze us in. Today is Rosh Hoshana, so 4 out of 5 dr's were out. That left 1 with a lot of sick kids to see. We had to wait 50 minutes, but we were seen. I took her temperature when she woke up and it was 99.1 At the dr's office it was 101.2 She coughed from 630am-8 then nothing. Then again a little at the dr's office, but not the croupy sounding one. No sore throat, and very hungry. The report? Basically nothing we can do. Lots of fluids, rest, 3 steamy showers a day to help with her congestion and chest. and if her fever is over 102, advil. This could last 3-4 days. If shes not any better or gets much worse I can bring her in Saturday or Monday. Jeez. I knew preschool was full of germs, but I wasnt expecting this after 2 days. We came home and she slept for an hour and a half with no coughing, then major coughing (the croupy kind) that woke her up. We took a steamy eucalyptus shower, and I took her temp. 102.6 Advil time. This is the very first time shes ever taken it in her life. I just keep thinking how lucky Ive been the last 3.5 years. Im way more stressed out about her being sick than necessary I know. She ate lunch and I just took her temp an hour and 15 minutes after the advil and its 99.2 I know thats because of the medicine and not because shes better, but Im glad shes comfortable. Thankfully she only has school Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday so we have 5 long days to get healthy and strong. Fingers crossed.

9/3/13 First day of preschool

Hooray! Maya had SUCH A GREAT DAY!! I knew we were on the right track because on the way to school she was grabbing at her seatbelt trying to get out, saying "I cant wait to get there!" We arrived at 1230, and I had planned on staying most if not all of the day. She was engaged and involved from the moment we walked in the gate. The schedule is as follows: The afternoon program is on the "big yard" from 1230-3, (even in the winter, they ask us to send them with rain boots and coats). Here they have bikes, a kid size hammock, and outdoor kitchen complete with unlimited running water. A mud pit, an edible garden, pullies and more. Then they head inside for snack at 3pm. The kids can then stay inside where they have a science/reading/writing area, a pet turtle, an art and science room, and a huge pillow room. Or they can go outside to the "little yard" which includes a kid size washer dryer, house, rabbits and hamster and more until pick up at 5. Maya was inside all of 5 minutes, and was so busy having fun, chose not to eat her snack. She told me at 1:15pm that I should leave. HAHA!! So I did. Believe it or not, I had nothing to do since I was planning on staying with her. I went to my favorite new hang out Penzy's spice shop and grabbed some pickling spice (I want to make dill pickles), Mustard powder (I am planning on making mustard too), and Cinnamon. Then since it was super hot, treated myself to some raw vegan peach ice cream with magic shell (divine honestly) and then relaxed at the beautiful new santa monica library. I got a bunch of books on canning since its my new hobby. I think I had as wonderful a day as she did.

1) She was laughing so hard when I was trying to take her picture with the silly sign I made. And the wind kept blowing her sign away. She was a good sport about it. 2) During her 5 minute indoor time she played with goop. Its a mixture of cornstarch and water and is actually pretty trippy to to play with. 3)She was fascinated by the pails on the pullies hanging from the tree. She would fill the pails with rocks and water, and pull them up and down. Dump them out, and repeat. 4)Maya and Sage decided to eat their snacks when I came to pick her up. They played together almost the whole time according to teacher Amanda. They were in school together at cottage too.

weeeeeee

quiet time

Reading Dora to her babies that were sick.

nap time

This is how she put her baby Sylvia down to nap.

The countdown begins

This has NOTHING to do with my kids, but I just wanted to say I am SO frickin' excited for the new season to start September 10. That is all.

field trip!

Believe it or not Ive never been to the Natural History Museum here in LA. It is pretty awesome- Maya made this flower as soon as we got inside. She got stopped by a docent because she was walking around the museum with it. Apparently a big NO-NO. Added bonus is an amazing, colorful rose garden behind it that we walked through. We went there via the train (GENIUS!! SO fun and NO traffic to deal with!) with our friend Erik and his mommy Andra.

Happiness comes from within

The past year has been quite the roller coaster around here. I love this sheet I saw and am trying to add more positivity to my thoughts by reading and re-reading it.

cousins

We always have so much fun when we go to cousin Charlottes house, and this time was no exception. Maya even got to make her own crown during arts and crafts time.

Getty

Last time grama was here we had a family outing to the Getty, and then some Thai food for lunch.

Date night

Pedja and I have started going out on dates again. We went to the Hammer museum last time and saw this wacky sculpture. We then went for pizza (mine wasnt so hot- they didnt have any vegan cheese so it was sauce and some veggies. EH) then for some vegan persian ice cream on the walk home. Its nice to get out as adults after so long.

Last day at Cottage

To celebrate Maya's last day at cottage, I made granola for all of her teachers, and she drew pictures for them. This is how the final product looked. That is her FAVORITE teacher ever, Monica. Next up, the gorgeous girl with the shaved head is her teacher/babysitter Melissa. Getting in some last minute Dinosaur fun before saying goodbye. Her teachers made her a sweet card with special notes on it and let her friends draw on it. I did fine until I read the card. Then I burst into tears. Maya was there a year, and that place and those teachers will hold a special place in my heart forever. It was with their gentle guidance and care that Maya and I were able to separate, and have her grow in so many ways.

Annenberg Beach House

We met Mia and Michelle at the beach last week. As a special treat, and since Mia was having one, Maya got an "ice lolly" (Thats what the Brits call popsicles according to her fav cartoon Peppa Pig.) She was SOOOO happy.

New York in August

The 3 of us had a great time in NYC. Maya LOVED riding the subway, and always wanted to stand and hold onto the pole, even when it wasnt crowded. Should I be worried my daughter is so fond of poles at such a young age? She posed with the NYPD in Central Park on our second day while I was working. This beautiful rainbow was in SoHo on our way to one of my ALL TIME FAV places--- Dean and Deluca. We were walking there from dinner in Chinatown. Over the weekend we went to Battery Park to check out the statue of Liberty-if you put on some glasses you can see it waaaaaaaaay teeny in the background.

Camping Trip

In July we took our first family camping trip. Luka and Pedja have gone before, but Maya had never been. The boys left Friday morning to to try and get a spot since we didnt have any reservations. They scored an amazing campsite, and were able to keep it for 2 nights, so we joined them Saturday afternoon. Needless to say, she LOVED every second of it. She didnt want to leave and keeps asking when we will be going again. The kids played soccer on the beach, and we made gluten free vegan smores at night over the campfire. Pedja is a fire master, and Maya was a great helper. She liked stacking the wood after he chopped it. I surprised everyone with headlamps and that was a huge hit with the kids in the dark. Surprisingly, it sprinkled overnight and through the morning, so we left earlier than planned on Sunday because I was not into being cold and wet, and none of us had rain gear. The 3 of them were ready to stick it out, but I was over it. We did take a quick hike before packing up and heading home.

9/1/13

Maya was home sick the last 2 days. This is her second cold-with-low-fever of the month. This is a bit worrysome to me because she really only gets 3-4 colds per year. And doesnt really get fevers either. But as of last night no fever and no more snot, even though she still sounds a bit congested. She also napped from 1245-4 yesterday. She hasnt napped since she was 2. She woke up this morning and said "I want to start taking naps every day" Ha! Music to my ears. Tomorrow is her first day of pre-school and she is VERY excited.