Party Central and a Big Mistake

Its been a bit of Party-Central over here. Last night, we went out to a welcome home party for little Tessa, who is 6 yrs old and just home from China. Lots of little kids there, to T had fun, but it was an adult party too. With the exception of the office christmas parties, I don't think I've been to a real, adult party in about 3.5 years. Real, glass plates and everything...that should tell you something. There were about 50 people there, and I actually had a few adult conversations with people I work with and see on a daily basis.

These pics are from Zack's 10th birthday party. That was Sunday. T had a ball on the water slide, playing with all the big boys. You'll note that if you look closely, she comes up to about their bellybuttons.
No problems...despite their height T still took aim at them with the water cannon, and attempted to blast them from here to kingdom come.

That's my girl.
Shortly thereafter, the slide suffered technical difficulties, and started spontaneously deflating. All the kids migrated to the pool...my worst nightmare. Since T's swimming skills are not that good, I feel I have to stay close. Problem was, there was not one bit of shade around the pool...at is was a scorching 97 degrees before factoring in the humidity. Oy! I went out to the car and got one of my black rain umbrellas, like the little old ladies you see walking down the street during the day, so that I could have some shade. No one has ever prayed for rain more then me. Alas, my prayers were answered. T decided she had had enough, and wanted to go inside.

After singing the song and eating the cake, we came home. T was zonked. Lets hope she sleeps well tonight!

Meanwhile, I've added the video below, if you want to see a little sheer religious cuteness. Also, in answer to inquiring minds, soap and water did indeed get all the magic marker out...from everywhere. As Ceci said, thank god they weren't sharpies!

whoops, after posting I forgot the 2nd 1/2 of the title. Lets just say this, if you're busy wandering Target, and your kid spies a bright pink Recorder (the musical instrument), just walk on by...don't stop, don't buy it, don't bring the thing into your home. 'nuf said!

Trouble

I can't tell you how much in trouble T is in. It all started when I realized that T had shut her door, and it was quiet. Too quiet. I went into investigate, and she was under all the covers. Head and all. Not being stupid, I investigated further, and found this.

I can't tell you how mad I am. It was all done with the Dotsa markers, that are all in timeout until further notice. Every marker in the house is in time out. Luckily, it all pretty much came out. It was even on her back and butt. In the cracks of all her private places. Wherever you could possibly mark on her body was marked, and marked up good.

She has now been ordered to go to bed, and is somewhat cooperating, at this relatively early hour of 8:00 p.m.

I need a drink.

Catholic School Works

If I can ever get the video to upload to u-tube, I'll be posting a short clip. After a mere 3 days in catholic school, T spontaneously started doing the sign of the cross last night. Its really cute, so stand by while I work on the technical difficulties.


Meanwhile, today, t was basically black when I picked her up, from all the dirt on her. Took pics with my iphone, but I'm having techy difficulties with that as well. Picassa stopped working to download pics to my computer, so I'm trying to figure out a back up plan. So far no luck.

UPDATE: did it! Feast your eyes on the sheer dirtiness and sweatiness of my girl!

Lastly, T seems to be adjusting well to getting up extra early to be on time for school. Me, not so much. I'm dragging. Figures .

2nd Day a Success!

Well, the 2nd day of school went just as well as the first day. T reports that she really likes it and seems excited to go. When I pick her up at the end of the day, she's always dripping with sweat from running around the playground. She's in her glory b/c PK4 and the kindergarten, and maybe even 1st grade all get to play in the big-kid monkey bar area. T is thrilled about that. I was noticing the other day that the pk4 area is a little too babyish for my monkey-bar maven.

Its really sweet b/c as we walk to our car, we basically cross the area where all the bigger kids are playing and hanging out. Taylor is constantly saying Hi to all the kids...whether they respond to her or not.

So ends day 2. I was wondering how the drop off would go on the 2nd day, when the excitement had worn off a bit. On boy went into all out tantrum, kicking and hitting the teacher when his parents left. I was just glad that wasn't T.

I'm also happy to report that so far there have been no reports of T hitting, kicking, pushing or punching any of the other kids. I was getting those reports from daycare and was very concerned that T has an anger control issue. I still think she does a bit, but so far no reports from school. I'm hoping that it was a function of her being frustrated and stuck in a class when all her little friends had been moved to the 4 yr old room. Who knows. All I know is that so far, she hasn't taken out any of the other kids, so all is well.

that's it for now.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!

We woke up bright and early and were at the school before the teacher. T was very excited to be going, and insisted at the last minute to having a pony tail ...which given T's short hair, is really a top knot.

We posed for pics outside the house, so T could show off her coveted Barbie lunchbox.

We then loaded up the schoolbus, and off we went. We parked at the school, then walked in. I started showing T where some of the big kids would be, and showed her a big kid schoolroom. I think that actually stressed her a little. This school is HUGE in comparison to her daycare.
Here's a picture of 1/2 the playground. Off to the right, not pictured in the photo, is the baseball diamond. The red roof is the cafeteria on the first floor, and the auditorium on the second. You can also see at the far end the big kid monkey bar area. PreK has its own little play area that is separate.

We made T pose in the front of the school. Then went on our tour, and then to her classroom.

This is a picture of about 1/2 of the preK play area. Finally, another little girl showed up and they were playing together. Unfortunately, she's in the other class. As they let us in, turns out most of the first kids there were in the other class, and T wanted to go with them. She started BALKING at entering her room. Luckily, Dot talked her down from the edge. I was afraid that she'd start crying or something, but nope. Some more kids came and went into T's room, and Dot got her to go inside with them.

T put her lunchbox away, then sat down to work on some puzzles. This shows about 1/2 the classroom, which is shaped in an "L" design. I took this picture standing by the teacher's desk, and the bathroom was behind me. The "smart board" is to the left on the wall, and the L goes off to the left. In that area, is the pretend play area, toys, etc. I told T that it was time for me to go, and she said OK, without a care in the world, kissed me goodbye, then was off to explore the room some more.

I picked her up from after care at around 5:00 p.m., and received glowing reports from the teacher and from T. She's very excited to return tomorrow, so I guess she had a good time. The whole day I could barely work, wondering what she was doing and how she was adjusting. Oy, what stress.

That's it for tonight. T will be going to bed soon. She's not used to the early morning hours, nor just a 45 min to hr nap. The daycare napped them for 2 - 3 hours, that's why she was always up til all hours of the night.

So ends our first day of school. It was clearly more stressful on me, than on T!

Sleepy Girl

Somebody fell asleep today while getting her hair cut. Aunt Dottie had to hold her head up so that Kelly could finish cutting it.

Another Milestone

Well, today is officially T's last day of daycare. She's about to officially make that leap from "baby" to "little girl". I've been telling her that today is her last day there, but I don't think its really sunk in to her. She absolutely loves her teachers and friends, to it will be interesting how she deals with it all. Coincidentally, they're having a pajama party at the daycare, so she's very excited and distracted about that. She is so, so excited to be wearing her pajamas to school and has been talking about it all week, so that's pretty much trumped any feelings of sadness, I think.

She also confesses to being very excited to start her new school. Again, we'll see how it goes. I suspect there will be many days of acting out in the near future, as she transitions and gets comfortable with her new surroundings and routine.

For myself, I'm a little sad too, to be leaving the Carol Center. They have been so great. They taught my orally defensive and starving baby to eat solid foods when we first came home from china and they potty trained her. What more could a single, inexperienced mom ask for??

With the new school, I'll be paying more for less. I say less because the mommy days are over...those few days when I was off work but the daycare was open. Nope, with the new school they're either closing early or taking the day off everytime I turn around. Plus, they don't feed T breakfast. My life is about to get infinitely more complicated. But in the end, I'm really excited for T.

My little schoolgirl!

What a Day

Good lord, what a day I've had. Started out with me going to the new school for the "book sale", and doling out some cash. Then I had to go meet with some investigators. Unfortunately, I forgot my phone in the car and forgot to tell my secretary. So, between about 10:00 a.m. and 12:30, when I realized I didn't have my phone with me, you guessed it, all hell broke loose.

I had a total of 20 calls and 13 voicemail messages. See the odd bandage on T's forehead? Turns out she was riding a trike at school, at her usual break-neck speed, when one of the other kids thought it would be a good idea to swing out some sign he was holding. T ended up with a cut to her forehead along the hairline. Bled like a stuck pig, and nobody could get me. Oy. By the time I called, everybody assured me that there was no need for stitches as the blood had stopped flowing. Plus, T was back to her old self, asked for seconds at lunch, and seemed fine.

This evening, I returned to the school for the parent/teacher orientation. I really like her new teachers and her new school. She's in a class of 19 in total. They nap them for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Phys ed is on thursdays. The classroom is really cute and cosy. While I was there, T got to spend some quality time with Uncle Jack, who took the pics you see here.

That's all for now, I'm sure dot will be calling from Houston soon for all the minute details.

Good night, all!

The Artist Formerly Known as Nan Xian Yi

Dot Crazy

It appears that we're crazy for Dots in the household, and surprisingly, I'm not referring to Aunt Dot in this instance. Instead, I'm referring to Dotza....markers that make circles of color with a dot in it. The thing comes with templates. You put a piece of paper over the template, and then trace the dots with your dotza pens, forming a picture. Can I tell you that T LOVES the things? She's busy dotting away. I highly recommend this toy! But, make sure you have a good clip board around, else the pictures will look odd, as T isn't that good at ensuring that the paper and the template stay aligned. Clip board takes care of that.

Meanwhile, if TS Ana wasn't bad enough...they heavens are giving us Bill. He looks a bit more formidable and requires close watching in the next week.

Mission Accomplished

Operation Seek School Shoes and Seek School Socks was a raging success. T is now the happy owner of some patent leather Stride-rite shoes. She also scored new sneakers. After the obligatory Gymboree run, we found more socks at A Children's Place. Problem is, I realized that they're really more off-white than white. I'm hoping a turn in the washer with lots of bleach will take care of that.

After this bit of shopping fiesta, we left the mall and headed to an outdoor one, where Dot and I hit the Coldwater Creek store and each scored hugely. We haven't had a day of shopping like this in maybe a year or more. What fun!

While at the mall, I rented one of those carts that you can load up with packages, and T got to sit high up in the front and LOVED it. All she would say was "I like my new stroller". Poor thing thought that it was ours to keep, so I had some 'splainin to do.


Well, I was bound to happen sooner or later, we are now smack dab in the cone of misery for Trop. Storm Ana. Its really far away, but looks like its making a bee-line for us. Scheduled to hit at 8:00 a.m. Thursday. Lets hope it doesn't stregthen AT ALL, changes course, or at least that we get a "rain day" and have the day off.

A girl can dream, right?

I'm exhausted from my big day of shopping, and am off to have a nice big glass of wine. Hope you all have a great weekend!

School Daze

We're in a bit of a school daze over here. Have you checked the countdown clock? We're down to 1.5 weeks before she starts! I've been annoyed that I haven't heard word one from the place regarding the dress code in addition to the uniform, i.e. socks and shoes! So, I had Marie call a friend who's cousin has a daughter who goes there, to find out the answers.

Turns out, they can wear any type of black shoe (I'm checking into whether patent leather is OK) and knee socks. I'm now in the market for toddler sized socks. The ones you see here are folded over a couple times, and they are not made to be folded over. If they were not folded, they'd be thigh-highs...and she'd need garters to keep them up! Since I suspect that the school would frown on garters, we're desparately seeking socks. If you look closely below, you'll see that the heel of the socks come up to about mid-calf.

Here is the 2nd look for the uniform. The skort is teamed with either this shirt or a similar one in light blue.

Lastly, here's how Miami does winter uniforms. T has this shirt in both blue and white. For the really cold days, T is able to wear some navy blue pants and also a cardigan sweater. That should keep her nice and toasty...on those freezing cold days (all 3 of them) when it gets down into the 50's .

So, we'll probably be shoe shopping this weekend, as the shoes she's posing in are too small.

Wish us luck!

Check out the heels on this sock!

Sports Gal and Pocohontas

After talking up her new school, T came parading out of her bedroom wearing her gym class uniform for her new school. Lookin stinking cute, I might add.

BTW, These odd poses you see, are a product of T doing jumping jacks while I was trying to take her picture.

T then disappeared into her room, only to emerge as Pocohontas wearing the dress and mocassin boots. After posing for the obligatory photo opp, she again disappeared for quite a while, watching TV. Next thing I know, the door comes flying open, and T stands there full of 4 yr old outrage. She looks at me, and announces "Pocohantas has feet, not boots, she has feet." The boots were then stripped off at the speed of light, and all was right with the world once more.

Target Gift Card All Used Up

We used today one of the T@rget gift cards that Great Aunt Connie had given T, I think for her birthday. I've been saving it to buy T something special, and T found the perfect gift today. Its a vat of toys. The vat contains:
chinese checkers,
regular checkers,
cards,
tic tac toe, 2 card games, and....
BINGO!



I feel its only appropriate that Aunt Connie buys T her first Bingo game, as my sweet Aunt Connie is a bingo-shark. T loves bingo, but is less thrilled with the other games. Regular checkers is too hard for her, and she makes up her own rules with chinese checkers. She especially likes making the marbles roll around the board.
Also purchsed with the gift card, was T's first school notebook, notebook paper, pencil pouch and ruler.

So, thank you Aunt Connie, for this wonderful gift!

My Latest Purchase

yes, this is my latest purchase. Its a full length mirror , which opens up by the mirror swinging out like a door, and you can store jewelry in it. I had seen it years ago and wanted to buy it, but didn't want to spend the money, since I had a perfectly good full length mirror in my bedroom.

Yes, you guessed it...

SOMEBODY broke my mirror the other morning when they whacked it with their little broom.

So, while I was mildly annoyed when it happened, b/c I can't tell you how many time's I've told T to be careful with that dumb broom, I perked right up when I realized the implications of having no mirror. ...Gotta buy a new one....If I'm gonna buy a new one, I might as well buy one with storage given my teeny tiny house.

Yippee!!! Present for mommy! Thank you T, for whacking the heck out of my old mirror!

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

...in response to questions posed by one of T's most loyal readers (Laura), here's an update.

We had lots of fun at Mrs. Goldenberg's 100th birthday party, depsite the lack of bounce houses. T was a hit, and my friend called me today to say that Mrs. Goldengberg was on the phone with her other friend...90+ yr old Lill, and the two of them can't stop talking about T. Lill sat herself down at our table and was quite interested in the whole adoption process. She even paid T the highest of compliments....she said she'd be willing to babysit!

Like Laura and everyone else, we're getting ready for school to start...in a little over 2 weeks. Since T is in preK catholic school, there's no supply list. At least I don't think there is. I just have to go to the school on the 19th, which is booksale day, and plunk down a cool 400 bucks for "books", which is really craft supplies since she's so little. I think I also have to give my 100 buck "festival donation" and another 25 bucks for the stupid parent association which is apparently mandatory to join. Also on the 19th, at 7:00 p.m., is the parent conference/orientation. Watch, I bet they give me a school supply list on top of this exhorbitant book fee, and I'll be really annoyed.

I'll also find out what shoes T should be wearing...navy blue or black, and we'll spend the weekend madly scouring the stores for the right shoe.

Luckily in October, I can apply to the public school I want her to go to for Kindergarden through 8th grade. There will be some major praying in this house going on, in hopes that she gets in. Its a lottery system. If she does get in, we'll be feeling quite rich not having to shell out $$ for tuition for the first time in about 4 years. Wow. I'm living for that day...

Meanwhile, if you were in my house right now, you'd be asking why is T's comforter balled up and on the floor of the dining room? Inquiring minds want to know...

That would be b/c its full of lotion. Not just any lotion either. Its full of the million dollar dermatologist-recommended lotion. T, who got a mosquito bite at the party, decided that she needed lotion. She snuck into my room with her plastic vanity stool (that's currently in time out on top of the TV), snagged the bottle of lotion, then went into her room with the door shut to spread the stuff ALL OVER her legs and arms. In the process, she go it all over the comforter. Needless to say, SOMEBODY is in BIG FAT TROUBLE.

Hmmm, What to Report?

...I'm having blogger's block tonight, and can't think of what to write about. We ran errands today, went to 2 different home depots, made a publix run, and miscellaneous other stuff. Our big news from this weekend is that we're going to a very special birthday party tomorrow afternoon...

my friend's mother is turning 100 years old. T is very excited to be going to the party. She's made a special card for Mrs. Goldenberg, and picked out a box of chocolates at the Godiva store. Mrs. G has a taste for dark chocolate, so we got her a big assorted box!

Hopefully, I can get some good pics from tomorrow. I wonder if T realizes that there will be no bounce house, pony rides, or cartoon characters in attendance?