First day of school

Summer is over and it's time for a new school year. Moving up to the "big kids" class. Same school. New teacher. New friends & classmates. New playground. New activites. New adventures. And uniforms.

Yep, uniforms. Can't believe that my 3 year old is wearing a school uniform. While it's expensive, it sure makes getting dressed in the morning easier. Well, at least that's what I thought anyway.

So, this morning, while getting Maggie ready for school, I pull out her khaki shorts and red polo uniform shirt. She immediately starts to cry.

"Why are you crying, sweet pea?"
"I don't want to wear that ugly shirt, Momma." (I started laughing so hard!)
"It's not ugly. Isn't the red pretty?"

"NO, it's not." (She felt pretty strongly about it too)

"Why do I have to wear an ugly shirt?"

"All the big kids have to wear these pretty red shirts now."

"Well, why can't the babies wear the ugly shirts?"

(trying to contain myself, I'm not actually sure what I said but my thoughts went immediately to - hey listen, this is just one of the many tortures of growing up...better get used to it...but I'm pretty sure I just said something like, "sorry sweets...you just have to wear it"

Since she was returning to the same school, our routine stayed the same. Thankfully. She understood that she would be going to the same school but would be in a different classroom with different friends and a different teacher. After about a month of explaining this daily, she was ready and ok with that on the first day of school (whew!)

We walked into the play room (where she goes for early extended care) and she looks in the window and stops dead in her tracks....

"MOMMA....the BOYS are wearing MY shirt, too?! Ugh!!!"

I just laughed, smile, gave my girl a kiss and wished her a good day. That had to be one of the funniest things she's done so far. She was JUST beside herself that a boy was wearing the same shirt. Oh how I love my very girlie girl!

*************

I ran into Maggie's teacher on my way to pick her up that afternoon. I asked how she did. Her teacher was very sweet and said "well, she definitely has a lot of energy"(understatement!) I laughed. Then she said, "I will not kid you. She did not listen very well the first time around, but by the second request, she would finally do what she was asked/told." Yep. That's my Maggie. I asked her if she took a nap and she laughed. Oh no. What?

She said that Maggie laid down on her mat and was quiet but was not still. She just kept spinning round and roung on her back and stomach. Mrs. S knew immediately that Maggie needed to burn off some energy before she could fall asleep. So, she went up to Maggie and asked her if she'd like to go for a walk. Maggie said sure! Mrs. S. loaded up a backpack with some books and asked Maggie to put it on for their walk (such a smart lady!) and they went walking around the halls and the gym. Every now and then, Maggie would say, "Mrs. S, I'm getting tired. I'm ready to go back now." and they would walk just a little bit longer. She told me that they'd run into other teachers who would just laugh at the sight of it ~ laughing because they know Maggie (apparently EVERYONE knows Maggie....is that a good thing?!? and because they knew what Mrs. S was doing!) So, they started walking back and Maggie said, "Mrs. S, I am REALLY tired. I need to take my nap." They walked back to the room, Maggie dropped that backpack, immediately laid down, put her hands up under her chin and was fast asleep.

Not only was I glad to hear that Maggie took a nap, but more importantly that she has a teacher who is understanding of her individual needs and personality, and who was willing to do something different because of it.

I think Maggie's going to have a great time this year in Mrs. S's class.

Day with Nana & Dandy

My mom and dad (aka Nana & Dandy) have always been very involved with the grandkids and love to spend time with them ~ special one on one time with each one (there are 7 kiddos between all of us), going to all their plays/musicals/sporting events, having craft parties, etc. I've always loved that about my parents. We had that when we were growing up with my dad's parents, and we are all still very close to my Mamaw & Grandad. I was always hopeful that my children would have that same type of relationship with my parents.

Nana & Dandy have been wanting to have Maggie over for quite some time, but Maggie's been slow to go places without us. Actually, the only time she's been away from one of us has been at school or church nursery. So, I decided to just bite the bullet, asked Mom & Dad about a good day to have Maggie come over and see how it goes. We talked it up quite a bit ~ she doesn't deal well with surprises. She loves her Nana & Dandy but again, is somewhat reluctant to just go off with them, or anyone else.

So, Saturday morning, I drove Maggie over to my parents house and she just couldn't wait to get there. Mom has PLENTY of things to keep all of the kids occupied and Maggie went straight for the toy cabinet. We chatted a few minutes and then I left, without any incident. Maggie was already working on her 3rd or 4th activity by that time.

Mom said that they'd see us about 5pm and to enjoy the day. What?! 7 whole hours by ourselves?! We honestly haven't had that in 2 years. We've not been able to spend any large amount of time together, just as a couple, since we brought Maggie home (unless it happened to be a school day or something small like that). This momma and daddy weren't even sure what we were going to do with ourselves, but we quickly developed a game plan. We had a nice quiet lunch together, actually had good conversation without constant interruption, and enjoyed a movie (again, uninterrupted!). We just enjoyed spending time together and enjoying each other's company. We were rejuvenated and ready to see our sweet girl that evening.

When I went to pick Maggie up, I was anxious to hear how she did. I was good and didn't call to check up on her. I figured if something went horribly wrong, they would've called. They said she did great, kept them busy (understatement of the year), she didn't take a nap, but they had lots of fun. She came home dressed in a ballerina leotard and tutu with a princess crown and wand. Oh I knew she had a wonderful time.

Dad sent me pictures of their time together and I just had to laugh. I'm pretty sure that she kept them on their toes because of all the different activies she participated in...her attention is captured for about 3 minutes and then she's done. I saw pictures of dancing, cheerleading, painting, playing games, putting together puzzles, drawing, washing dishes, watering flowers, playing outside, playing with baby dolls, putting on funny masks and hats, playing dress up....just to name a few :)

 

She was so happy when she came home. She couldn't stop talking about everything she did with Nana & Dandy...that is, until she fell fast asleep in the car about 2 minutes into the ride home.

As much as she needed a nap, I'm fairly certain that Nana & Dandy needed one even more.

I'm so glad that Maggie was able to spend the day with her Nana & Dandy.....grandparents who love her completely and fully and want to know her so intimately. We are so blessed to have my parents in the same town and to be able to share our lives with each other.

Can't wait for the next Nana & Dandy day....although I think my folks are still recouperating :)

Meet the Teacher

Maggie's staying at the same school this year (Northland Christian School) but she is moving up to the Preschool Older 3 year old class. This means a new teacher, a new schedule and uniforms!

Mrs. Salinas has been teaching at NCS for over 20 years and just loves it. You can tell. She first called to introduce herself and we chatted for about 20 minutes. It was nice to be able to do that, and I appreciated her taking the time to do it.

We went to school to meet Mrs. Salinas and to check out Maggie's new classroom. WOW! The room is massive, with so much stuff, I think I was actually overly-stimulated! (ha!) Maggie is in a class with only girls this year. She was the only girl last year, so this will be a big change for her. I think she'll really enjoy it. She always said that the boys were mean :).

We talked to Mrs. Salinas for a while but the one thing that really resonated with me was one statement she made. "I just want you to know that I will be loving your baby every day." Wow. That had to be the best thing she could've said. While I hope Maggie has a wonderful year of learning, gaining confidence, growth, and lots of fun...it does this Momma's heart good to know that the one who will be caring for her every day, is going to be covering her little one with love. I couldn't ask for more than that.

Sleep Study Test

It was that time of year again....time for the annual sleep study test. Since this was going to be Maggie's 4th test, I figured it would be pretty easy. Ha! Um, that would be a big negatory folks.

Maggie was diagnosed with sleep apnea before she came into our care but the former foster parents chose to ignore the symptoms. As soon as she came home to us, we started working right away on getting her set up for more studies, etc. The first sleep study wasn't too bad because it was without the mask. They had to determine what her "normal" levels were and that would determine course of action. This is when they determined that removing her tonsils and adenoids would be most advantageous and hopefully that would "cure it". We had the surgery done and it was amazing to see the difference almost immediately. She wasn't snoring like a freight train and she could finally learn to breathe through her nose (versus just mouth breathing). She always sounded a bit like Darth Vader!

Our 2nd study was a basic test again, just to see if the surgery had fixed everything. Alas, it did not. Boo. We really thought that her apnea was gone, since her breathing/snoring issues had improved. She still thrashed around all night but then again, she is just a little on the active side :) so we didn't think much about it.

Third test was ordered with the full CPAP mask. This determined that she did have severe sleep apnea and would need to be on the CPAP machine, indefinitely -- and most likely for life. The doctors did not feel that she would outgrow this (although it does happen).

The CPAP machine was ordered and eventually she grew accustomed to it. Whew - that was a hard adjustment. I wouldn't want that thing on me either. However, she sleeps through the night without hardly moving a muscle. And on those occasions that she chooses to not wear the mask (meaning when I just don't feel like fighting with her over it), we can see a big difference in how she sleeps and how she is the next day. This is when I tell myself that it's worth the fight the night before, so that I don't have to deal with the devil child the next day :)

So, when it was time for the annual sleep test, I figured it would be really easy. She's been wearing the mask for over a year now, without any problems. She helps to put it on and is the only one who can start and stop it!

Alas, my dream of an easy night passed pretty quickly. First of all, there was a little one in the room next door and it was her first time being tested. Enough said there. Poor thing. She SCREAMED for HOURS...NO exaggeration there folks. I felt so bad for her and for her momma.

Maggie was fine when the technician started putting the wires on her. We had a great tech ~ she interacted very playfully with Maggie and she seemed to really like her. The main issue is that it takes FOREVER to get everything set up and like I've said just a few times before, Maggie is pretty active and doesn't really do well with just sitting still and not touching anything. Moving on.

2 1/2 hours later, everything is set. Wires/electrodes are tested and we're given 5 minutes for lights out. First of all, you're in a completely different environment. It's not your room or your bed. Your routine is completely ruined. (Maggie doesn't handle change in routine well). She's also not allowed to eat or drink anything due to aspiration issues, although my child has managed to learn how to do both at home without any issues. But due to liability issues, they wouldn't allow it in the room. This caused another breakdown on my sweet baby since she couldn't drink anything and she always goes to bed with something to drink. (Something we are still working on but haven't felt the need to destroy that need of Maggie's quite yet). Between the foreign room, wires and machines everywhere, no drink and screaming baby next door, it took just a little while for Maggie to fall asleep. I guess 2 hours would be just a little while, right?!

Oh yeah, this was a really sweet moment in the midst of chaos. Maggie was almost asleep but she could still hear the little girl screaming in the other room. She looked up at me sleepily and said, "Momma, I'm gonna pray for that baby to stop screaming and go nigh-night." I said ok and she immediately prayed "Dear Jesus. Help that baby stop screaming and go nigh-night. Thank you Jesus. Amen." Oh my sweet girl.

Oh and the doctors ordered a half & half study. This meant that they would do without the mask for the first few hours and then "just come in" and put the mask on her in the middle of the night. Oh. Great. Yeah. That's not going to work. And I was right. Maggie finally fell asleep around 10pm. Tech comes in at 1:45 to put on mask. Wakes her up. She is NOT happy. Does NOT want it on and proceeds to cry and scream for 2 hours. She FINALLY fell back to sleep at 3:30. I was about ready to walk about but I just kept telling myself that she'll fall asleep in just a minute....

6:30am ~ we're woken up, everything is removed and we're out the door in about 30 minutes. Funny how it takes 2 1/2 hours to set up and less than a half hour to get it all off.

We won't have the results for another month (the soonest appointment I could get) but I doubt that anything has changed. Thankfully we don't have to do another test for another year.

All marked up and ready to be wired up

All hooked up ~ think they have enough wires?!

So thankful for this light toy ~ it was a lifesaver!

Yay! All done....get this stuff off of me!