Srping has sprung, so let's talk about snow.

Finally catching up with some posts I neglected to get done. We have been blessed with beautiful weather for the past few days. Spring and its beauty are indeed responsible for my breathing difficulties, but that does not damper my enthusiasm for the sun and water fun that we will be enjoying in a few months. Who cares if I struggle to breathe? There are lots of worse things I can think of without such a great payout.

Now back to February 17 when we had yet another snow advisory. We live inland at at a very low elevation, so the most we have seen in three years is a light blanket of slush. Of course Murphy's law dictates that the day before SS's appointment for an ongoing cough, we get the most snow this area has seen in years at this elevation. I was nursing a cold as well (what else is new) and you can hear it in my voice in the video. Against my best judgment I decided to indulge SS, bundled her up and allowed her to have some fun. P called me and asked me to let her play, besides, if you have been here before you know that sound judgment is not my forté. I wish I had been as careful with myself, but ended up outside in a t-shirt, thin yoga pants, but at least I had my warm boots. I got so carried away taking pictures that I lost my balance and landed on my butt. I was wet, cold, shivering and could not get SS to come inside. She stayed outside for almost 90 minutes before I had to drag her inside kicking and screaming. But as is our motto, why bring children into our lives if we are not willing to endure occasional discomfort? SS had a blast and since she had an appointment the next day it eased my feelings of inadequacy somehow. It was truly worth freezing my you know what off.

Ready to catch some flakes.

Happy snow dance.

Getting used to her mittens. This is the smallest size available, allegedly for infants and small toddlers and they are so big on SS, the fair maiden with delicate hands and brutish manners.







This is what I woke up to the next morning, a first for us. It was fun but I can see how it would get old quickly if it was a daily occurrence. P helped me clear the snow, so I would not have to deal with it alone before SS's Dr.'s appointment.

Regressing and the big three o.

As we mentioned, SS is having a hard time dealing with the new big changes in her life. She has not had accidents at home in a while, but had an accident at school on Monday and Tuesday. She returns tomorrow for her third full day of the week. On Tuesday P was in charge of the morning routine, something he has not done before and SS fought him all the way. This included refusing to use the potty, something she does automatically for me every morning. P informed the school that SS needed to use the bathroom and we have no idea if they reminded her. SS was sent to the sophomore room after her accident and P was told that she will return to the junior room tomorrow. If she has another accident they would have to reevaluate whether she belongs in the junior room.

I was talking to SS this morning about her predicament. SS informed me that not only does she not want to return to the junior room, even though she likes the art projects better and gets to trace her name; but she does not want to return to the school at all. When asked why SS stated "Because Ms. A was mad." I asked if Ms. A was mad at her but SS would not provide more information. When I talked to P he stated that SS told him that Ms. A was mad at preschool yesterday, but would not offer more details. By the time I came home from class his brain was fried and he forgot.

I dropped SS off with P at work (she is really digging it there, thinks she works as a lab tech) and went to her school to find answers. Yesterday teacher helper Ms. K was sick and they had a sub. The kids were testing boundaries with the new sub and according to the director were wild and loud, Director D walked in the classroom because she had never heard such a commotion. As she arrived Ms. A was taking charge of the classroom and sternly told the hooligans to pipe down, that they were making poor choices and that she was not happy. SS was not part of the mayhem, which is hard to believe, but obviously took the admonishment seriously. Our girl is VERY sensitive and now we at least understand what happened.

This morning SS had shared something with me. She said "Mama, I like sharing my room with JJ. Not you and Baba, just JJ." There's gratitude for you, from the same child who takes over our room and bed without a thought. Maybe she thinks we actually like to share with her.

I had a doctor's appointment because for the past two weeks I have been having cough attacks that last too long. I usually see Dr. S, but she did not work today, so I saw her husband, Dr. J. The dude thinks he is a great comedian. He asked me how come after 10 years of dealing with asthma and allergies, it took me two weeks to realize I needed to see a doctor. Gee, I don't know oh mighty physician. Could it be that some of us do not like seeing doctors, you know, because there are hardly any good news associated with those visits? Or because the last time I walked into an emergency room I was hospitalized for a week and returned home sans a foot segment of my colon and a plastic bag attached to my torso? Seriously, I of all people have no reason to avoid doctor's offices. His diagnosis "Spring has sprung and it is trying to kill you." He should hang on to his day job.

But this visit actually had something very positive. When Nurse L called me to the scale, SS walked ahead of me and stepped on the scale. Out tiny troublemaker finally hit THIRTY POUNDS! Nurse L and I let out a YEAH!!!!! And there was fist pumping as well. W, the receptionist, who is crabby 99.9% of the time broke out the applause and congratulated SS on reaching this milestone. SS was so proud of herself, she was just beaming. It took her four years but she finally hit the big three o. Of course she is still five pounds away from the minimum weight to seat in a forward facing carseat.

Our 30 pound linebacker.

The pictures below were taken February 2, when we had a beautiful day amid all the rain that was bringing us down. SS was excited to use her Christmas gift from Abuela and Abuelo.

Buzz blizz.

Today is SS's first full day at school. Yesterday we went shopping for a Buzz blanket and pillow for nap time. I also made sure to get her Buzz shirt ready for the big day. Her blanket and pillow fit nicely in her Buzz backpack. We are hoping that her Buzz bliss will help SS adapt to her new big girl change.

What are the odds?

What are the odds of having two children born twenty-four years apart in March? We don't know. But when we take into consideration that we had no control over conception of one child, it is amazingly welcomed. Our kids were born in opposite sides of the world. They had a huge age gap that many people felt compelled to tell us it was insurmountable. In plain speak, why would you want your kids so far apart?

What are the odds both came face to face with the Grim Reaper, but it was the GR who blinked first? JJ and SS have iron wills, the type who gives us headaches as parents, but that same steely nature is why they are still here today.

What are the odds that both kids were born in the year of the boar? We were talking about this today over cake and ice cream. Our boars celebrated together

SS said she could not blow out her candles (all four of them) and asked for help at school. Funny how she had no qualms about helping her perfectly capable brother blow his candle.

Birthday siblings.

JJ arrived yesterday and leaves tomorrow. The guy forgot his things and had to return to his place after being an hour on the road. I give him a lot of credit because I would have stayed home. JJ inherited my sleep problems (then again so did SS, so WTF?) and he was running on very little sleep.

It's been raining a lot and that made his drive more difficult. SS is happy as a hyperactive clam. When she woke up this morning P got her out of the room to allow JJ to get much needed rest. SS opened the tear dam, but we held our ground. JJ has not had a moment's peace since he woke up. We are considering sabotaging his car to make him stay.

New routine.

SS is spending time with Baba at his work before school. This will continue next week when SS begins to attend three full days a week. I am taking a class some evenings and SS is not handling my absence well. We are working on getting her used to Baba's care, and that he is as good (at times better) than Mama. P is also picking up SS from school. So proud of our four year old dynamo who is busting her hump to earn her keep, early in the morning, as the littlest lab tech.

The Beagle has all the answers.

Happy birthday JJ!

If having a 4 year old cooked our noodles last week, you can only imagine what is like to have your first born hit 28. Man, we are as good as dead. JJ is visiting this weekend and we will be able to celebrate together.

We did not discontinue the blog, Blogger did that for us for suspicion of "possible illicit activity," whatever the heck that means. Thank goodness P is an easy going guy, he just asked me to curtail my illicit activities because getting caught is no fun. I had to change my password and had some bounced e-mails that I did not send. Weird.

SS is a big girl of 4 now and is drunk with her new found status. Never mind that our pixie is 29 pounds (lost 3/4 pound since last checkup) and 36 & 3/4 inches in height (only gained 3/4 inch in the last year, ouch). The last weight was taken during a sick visit before her first round of amoxicillin since coming home. So dropping a little weight was expected. And at least she grew almost an inch. My poor tiny weapon of mass destruction. But we are taking her in a little package because she packs a heck of a punch, no idea what she would be like if she had the body to back up her iron will.

SS started transitioning to the 4-5 year old classroom last Friday, and it was a struggle to get her teachers to concede that it was time for SS to move on. P was furious because SS's behavior at home has been atrocious, she was nearing four and acting like a two year old because she was surrounded by non verbal "tards" (P's term of endearment for the kids in SS's classroom). I was doing well waiting for her birthday, until one of the non verbals bit my daughter and that did it. Mind you, SS is not a saint and we are sure that she is teaching the non verbals how to hack their parents bank accounts, how to make long distance phone calls by charging them to the school, along with running a very profitable pyramid scheme (how do you think I have been able to remain home). But SS does not hit and she does not bite. And what stung the most is that it was a day when I did not pick her up, the teachers did not write an ouch report, and P had no idea. He returned to work as soon as I walked in the door, and then the paranoid in me did what I always do when away from SS, inspect her perfect body. And there it was, a freaking bite mark. P felt awful about not noticing but one paranoid freak in the family is enough. Anyway we insisted that she be moved.

Thankfully her new teacher Ms. A sees SS as a 4 year old. She read the manifesto letter I wrote at the beginning of the year, asked what still applied and got right to work with SS. So far SS has had two great days and Ms. A is confident that SS is ready for her classroom. We do appreciate the fact that Ms. M and Ms. L like SS so much, but our daughter needs to grow up. It's time to move on. Next week SS will start attending three full days a week. This will be a big transition for her, but P is a few blocks away and ready to offer comfort if needed. She will be napping at school, so SS is going to score another Buzz blanket and a pillow just for school.

Now I have 30 pages to read for a test tomorrow and have a paper due. So I better stop wasting time online.

Celebrating at school.

It was a Toy Story celebration. Ms. T made SS a hat. SS was beyond excited, and proudly showed off her TS T-shirt. Will post pictures of the cupcake/cake later.

Fabulous Four.

Sorry about the blurry picture. Our angel is four today, P and I were wide awake at 2:00 a.m. wondering where the heck the time went and how did we end up with a 4 year old. Things have been a bit hectic lately and I will eventually write a proper post about SS's special day. We took her to lunch at her favorite Thai restaurant for the traditional white rice and noodles (for longevity).